Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
Brief History of the Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party was a civil rights organization whose primary focus was the protection of black neighborhoods from police brutality founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in October 1966. The group’s goal was condensed into a ten-point program to create areas of opportunity in human and civil rights, employment, housing, the inclusion of African American history in public schools, exclusion from military service, and equal justice within the court system. The group also published its own newspaper, self-titled The Black Panther, which first circulated in 1967 edited by Eldridge Cleaver. One of the groups early successes was the Sacramento California State Capital March, which protested the ban against public display of loaded weapons. This event attracted a lot of new membership.
GAHMEIH THE VAGAHBONDPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
What If Churchill Had Died In 1931?
His death in a New York road accident was reported and he was mourned, but it was the passing of one who has already had his day.
Kevin McClintockPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Donald, Never Again
President Trump, one of the worst parts of today's news is how many people probably tuned in for a moment, and then returned back to their regular Saturday morning television because you have numbed us to the reality of our country's current situation.
Frank WhitePublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Donald: Please, Go Gently Into That Good Night
Sir, I know you've got five kids and some grandchildren at this point, and while you are incredibly well off, I'm fairly certain you would have at the very least seen a temper tantrum from any one of these individuals. Surely, you wouldn't have been so disconnected from your family that you wouldn't recognize a tantrum when you see one.
Christina St-JeanPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Brief History of the Young Lords Organization
In general, The Young Lords was a nationalist group for Puerto Ricans who lived in — and migrated to — America. The group began as a gang in Lincoln Park Neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. By Sept 1969, the organization evolved into a human rights group led by Jose Cha Cha Jermenez with one of their main causes being the independence of Puerto Rico. The catalyst for the organization’s upgrade from “gang” into “human rights group” was the displacement of Puerto Rican immigrants — through Mayor Richard J. Daley’s political policies — which evicted entire Latino communities for the sake of lakefront and downtown properties.
GAHMEIH THE VAGAHBONDPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Review: Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President, by Robert Dallek
Sadly, that might be all that most people know of him other than that he ascended to the presidency after JFK’s assassination.
Kevin McClintockPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Is This American?
I will just go right to it. It is perplexing and therefore ultimately a shame that Colin Kaepernick is not on an NFL roster right now. The Miami Dolphins recently "kicked the tires" on him before deciding to dump $10 million plus on a dude, Jay Cutler, that recently retired and essentially said, "I'm done." The Baltimore Ravens are still mulling over signing Colin Kaepernick or not as well. Reportedly, the head coach and general manager are game, but the owner has to "pray" about it. What? What is going on here? Why is this story even important to you even though you may have absolutely no interest in sports aside from going to that local sports bar that drafts that really good beer or makes that deliciously awesome craft burger you like? I am going to explain that here. Basically, this is a story about human rights and American hypocrisy in how we decide to "defend" those rights placed in a real time unfolding story that is happening RIGHT NOW in sports. So, here goes.
Howard ThomasPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
17 Amazing Examples of Street Art Trolling Kim Jong Un
The insanity that is DPRK has caused a wave of Kim Jong Un street art to be made — and all of it is lampooning the dictator.
A. Walter CoxPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Is It a Threat? Is It a Joke? Scaramucci Says He'll Bring a "Professionally Monogrammed Front Stabbing Knife" for Stephen Colbert
Anthony Scaramucci, aka "The Mooch", aka the White House Communications Director with the shortest lived tenure, seems like he might be going off the rails.
Christina St-JeanPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
When Your Skin is Seen as a Weapon...
I am a single mother of color, and my anxiety for my children grows at a rate that has left me physically ill daily and exhausted. Unable to lock my children away in a safety bubble and not expose them to this racially based society we live in keeps me in a state of panic and depression. They are not safe with police because what they see is black skin as a weapon. Shot first cover up afterward, their peers, who are ignorant and lost in the white haze, believing that other blacks are their enemy, or white people in general, due to their white privilege blindness.
STACEY PATTERSONPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
They Have You in Their Sights
Targets used to be something to aim at (see illustration). Nowadays they are (a) a means of control and (b) a sure fire way of screwing up the systems they are meant to regulate. Nominally introduced to ensure that certain services are being delivered or improved (sales, hospital care, student retention etc.), they have evolved into the main point of the exercise, whatever that may be. Want to cut hospital waiting lists? Then do as many ingrown toenails as possible and hey presto! You have met your target! Need to keep a tight hold on the hospital budget? Then avoid all those expensive life-saving therapies and operations, and concentrate on — well, toenails, obviously. Hand-in-hand with the tick-box, targets are the bureaucrats' dream, positive-performance indicating and cost-cutting everything in sight!
Kevin McClintockPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
Selling Green
Let’s be completely and totally honest with ourselves here; the climate is changing. This is not really up for debate. Some may think that it is, but if you look at the data and even just use the eye test it is clear to see unless you’re sticking your head deep into the sand like an ostrich. 97% of experts agree on climate change, which begs the question: why is there so much opposition to it?
James MullenPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp
