Steve Loney: How to fight back when the federal government tries to silence you online
The freedom to openly criticize the government without penalty or punishment is the keystone of our democracy.
Lisel Mueller: Place and Time
My life began
with Beethoven and Schubert
on my mother’s grand piano
Ma Yongbo: On the Farm in the North
It is quiet all around, only the two of us—
no red flags, no father, no yellow military uniforms.
The army seems to have withdrawn,
leaving us there, forgotten.
Virginia Raguin: Why Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’ endures
in 1536, Michelangelo was asked to create a painting for the wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. For this 590 square feet, filled with 391 figures, he labored until 1541.
Delmore Schwartz: By Circumstances Fed
By circumstances fedWhich divide attentionAmong the living and the dead,Under the blooms of the blossoming sun,The gaze which is a tower towersDay and night, hour by hour,Critical of all and … Continue reading
Shelley Inglis: How to prevent elections from being stolen − lessons from around the world for the US
Citizens of many affected countries have learned various techniques to help protect the integrity of their elections and democracy that may be helpful to Americans today.
John Lawson: Flowers
A special tragedy, to survive
Almost till spring, when the nearing sun
Might quell dark fear, still
Convulsive shivering.
Woody Lewis: ‘A Stranger Comes To Town’, a novel by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Lynne Sharon Schwartz begins her new novel, A Stranger Comes To Town, with Tolstoy’s maxim about plot: “All great literature is one of two stories: a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”
Barbara Crooker: Things That Can Be Doubled
Team, time, troubles. It’s this,
or nothing. Boiler, barrel, bed, the blind’s
bind that puts us in jeopardy.
Robert Lipsyte: The Barbarians at the Gate
I was shocked, but not surprised. What do we do now? Yes, we all knew they were coming, still….
Todd Friedman: The World is Filled with Learning
Yes, good and evil are on the table like salt and pepper shakers.
It’s easy to reach for the wrong one.
Negin Owliaei: As Trump Bombs Iran, We Need to Reckon With the American War Machine
We in the U.S. need to reckon with the fact that so much of our state wealth, capacity, and technology goes toward burying children in rubble.
Donna Hilbert: Two Poems
Fire and ice, ice and fire.
I’m loathe to say much more
of fear, of loss, and of desire.
It’s all been said, or sung, before.
History of US-Iran relations: From the 1953 regime change to Trump strikes
Iran remains the US’s adversary in the Middle East since the 1979 Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. ~ On February 27, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered direct strikes … Continue reading
