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*** SPECIAL NOTICE!! ***
Courage to Resist podcast featuring little ol' me! Courage to Resist, in collaboration with the Vietnam Full Disclosure Project of Veterans For Peace, has compiled a collection of oral histories of GI resistance to the American War in Vietnam. My contribution to this was edited down to 28 minutes and, for whatever reason, the stories of my most militant acts were excised. The full story will appear in my written memoir when I'm able to publish it. For now, here is the link to the audio and a transcript via Courage to Resist:
https://couragetoresist.org/podcast-greg-laxer/
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*** SPECIAL NOTICE!! ***
Courage to Resist podcast featuring little ol' me! Courage to Resist, in collaboration with the Vietnam Full Disclosure Project of Veterans For Peace, has compiled a collection of oral histories of GI resistance to the American War in Vietnam. My contribution to this was edited down to 28 minutes and, for whatever reason, the stories of my most militant acts were excised. The full story will appear in my written memoir when I'm able to publish it. For now, here is the link to the audio and a transcript via Courage to Resist:
https://couragetoresist.org/podcast-greg-laxer/
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Battleship Potemkin blog
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Commentary on current events, never lacking in fury and possibly even signifying something.
* * * [NOTE: Continuation of current article and previously published ones can be viewed on the Past articles page but you must click on "Details" on that page to view content.] The New Year:
[NOTE: How the time does fly! I admit it’s kind of inexcusable to go this long without posting a new commentary on current events. I clearly spend too much time posting comments elsewhere on social media, primarily at “Bracing Views.” Also, I have been doing final tweaks to my memoir, and am aiming to launch an online crowdfunding campaign around February 1 to empower me to self-publish that book. Updates on that situation will appear on this site.]
“Countdown to Ecstasy” was the name of the debut album by the remarkable Steely Dan, and I express my gratitude for their very existence. The most important event since my last post was the successful defeat at the polls of the Severely Mentally Deranged individual currently occupying the Presidency of the USA. I described Trump as Mentally Deranged in one of my early commentaries on this website, and I have upgraded (downgraded?) his condition since then. His current absurd campaign to discard the result of the November 3, 2020 election is no surprise, since he warned us in advance he would not “accept” an outcome showing his defeat. He will fail again in all efforts, and the White House will be ready for serious disinfecting on January 20. How I wish Mr. Biden’s ascent to the Top Job was something to genuinely celebrate, beyond the fact that it represents Trump’s defeat. January 20 will decidedly not mark the (much delayed!) dawning of “The Age of Aquarius.” This candidate went to great lengths to prove, during his Democratic Primaries and the general election campaigns, that he is absolutely no threat to the Established Order. Will he even make a serious effort, once in office, to address the Global Climate Catastrophe? And of supreme importance, even if he was serious about this genuine existential threat to our planet, would the Republicans in Congress succeed in thwarting said good intentions? All this remains to be seen. It is not necessary for me to say much about the Virus Pandemic. The situation speaks for itself. Even some of Trump’s supporters apparently faded in reaction to the incumbent administration’s disastrous mishandling of the situation. And yet...and yet...over 70 million of our fellow citizens still voted to retain in office the candidate least qualified to hold the office in the history of our nation. Unless they have lived in caves with no access to the media, or were in medically-induced comas for the past several years, they can’t possibly claim to be unaware that Donald J. Trump’s campaigns (and the rallies did not end with his inauguration in 2017) were based on hate, Hate, H-A-T-E. His “shout-out” to the extreme-racist Proud Boys during a televised Presidential Debate clearly did not deter his hardcore base. Doubtless it thrilled and inspired them! Trump’s supporters are not going to fade away on the whole, and likely will become crazier and more violent with the passage of time. Nothing to celebrate there. The real damage to the US, and world, economy has yet to emerge from the shadows. The level of irrational exuberance among those throwing their money at US stocks is at an unprecedented level in my view. I can’t tell you exactly when--only by sheer dumb luck will someone win a prize for prophecy, predicting the exact date this will occur--but I guarantee that the last folks “holding the bag,” the last throwing their funds into these markets, will be very severely hurt and disappointed. This will probably hold even more true for those who’ve pumped up the price of Bitcoin, an imaginary “currency unit,” to stratospheric price levels. You read it here first! Let us all strive to make 2021 a better year, but let us keep our eyes open to the reality that it’s going to be a very rough ride. Staying alert is a big help in staying alive! END * * * Why "Battleship Potemkin"? Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 movie about the mutiny in the Tsar's Black Sea fleet during the failed 1905 Russian revolution is acknowledged as a masterpiece of cinema. The author of this website endorses the film's message: To rise against cruel oppression is not only justified, it is essential for the preservation of human dignity. |
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Previous two blog articles, available on Past articles page:
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Previous two blog articles, available on Past articles page:
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My current writing projects
I am seeking Literary Agent representation for the memoir of my resistance to the American War in Vietnam from within the ranks of the active-duty US military. TAKE THIS WAR AND SHOVE IT! A Most Unwilling Soldier 1967-1971 consists of approximately 82,000 words of text, plus several appendixes, copies of official government documents and photos.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, GO TO "MEMOIR" PAGE (click HERE) [coming soon, I swear!]
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While I endeavor to find a publisher for the memoir, I am having fun writing my first novel. It is a savage satire of the Music Business, of which I have some personal experience. Its title is classified (Top Secret!) for the time being.
I am seeking Literary Agent representation for the memoir of my resistance to the American War in Vietnam from within the ranks of the active-duty US military. TAKE THIS WAR AND SHOVE IT! A Most Unwilling Soldier 1967-1971 consists of approximately 82,000 words of text, plus several appendixes, copies of official government documents and photos.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, GO TO "MEMOIR" PAGE (click HERE) [coming soon, I swear!]
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While I endeavor to find a publisher for the memoir, I am having fun writing my first novel. It is a savage satire of the Music Business, of which I have some personal experience. Its title is classified (Top Secret!) for the time being.
This blog site addresses and comments on these topics (among others!): peace, war, US politics, American politics, political analysis, climate crisis, climate change, climate change deniers, Donald J. Trump, social commentary, social criticism, social satire, current events, racism, anti-war movement, anti-racism, religion, religious extremism, religious fundamentalism, atheism, Buddhism, fascism, anti-fascism, socialism, communism, American war in Vietnam, the Vietnam War, Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, "The Vietnam War" PBS TV series, GIs, GI resistance to war, US Army, US military, militarism, anti-militarism, 'Bowe' Bergdahl, national debt, Pentagon budget, literature, books, authors, writers, cinema, music, movies, environment, ecology, anthropology, evolution, human race, humankind, misogyny, homophobia, philosophy, resistance, "Star Trek," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," United States Constitution, The Federalist Papers, James Madison, "The Simpsons," Bob Dylan, "Tombstone Blues," Commander-in-Chief, al-Baghdadi, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, endless wars, Major Danny Sjursen, Fritz Lang, Peter Bogdanovich, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, M, The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, Josef Goebbels, Hollywood, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Herman Melville, Moby Dick
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS NOTICE: Unless otherwise indicated, owner of this site is the sole author and owner of all material posted (with exception of public domain graphics). Permission is granted to share contents of this site elsewhere on the Internet or by other means of reproduction provided original author (Gregory Laxer) is credited. Please include a link to this website as a courtesy. If only excerpts are shared, original context must be accurately conveyed and, again, credited to original author. Please include a link to this website. EXCEPTION: Selections from my as yet unpublished memoir (see Memoir Page of this site) may not be reproduced elsewhere without express permission of the author.
DISCLAIMER: The author/owner of this website is not responsible for or necessarily in agreement with ideas expressed on other websites to which links are provided, nor does he endorse products that may be advertised on this site by the website service provider.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS NOTICE: Unless otherwise indicated, owner of this site is the sole author and owner of all material posted (with exception of public domain graphics). Permission is granted to share contents of this site elsewhere on the Internet or by other means of reproduction provided original author (Gregory Laxer) is credited. Please include a link to this website as a courtesy. If only excerpts are shared, original context must be accurately conveyed and, again, credited to original author. Please include a link to this website. EXCEPTION: Selections from my as yet unpublished memoir (see Memoir Page of this site) may not be reproduced elsewhere without express permission of the author.
DISCLAIMER: The author/owner of this website is not responsible for or necessarily in agreement with ideas expressed on other websites to which links are provided, nor does he endorse products that may be advertised on this site by the website service provider.
