Hey! What does history have to do with what has happened?

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Articles by Dr. Wes Browning

US democracy is hanging by a thread

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 25th, 2020

What are the Republican Michigan legislators who agreed to talk to President Trump about their state’s certification of the election thinking? What’s the point of talking with him about it except to see what he can offer them in exchange for meddling with...

Read more in the Nov 25 - Dec 1, 2020 issue.

Tough guys never give up. That’s what makes them cute

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 18th, 2020

I’m writing this from last Friday the Thirteenth. Unlike most people, I like Friday 13thses because I’ve always had good times during them. Ever since I flew a red-eye flight across the country on a Friday 13th and asked specifically for a 13th-row seat and...

Read more in the Nov. 18-24, 2020 issue.

Nevada could borrow a cell phone from a neighbor

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 12th, 2020

This hasn’t been a very funny week. The funniest thing all week has been the ongoing call from Trump, echoed by his supporters, to stop the vote counting in precisely those states where Biden is currently ahead in the count. This is going to help Trump how...

Read more in the Nov. 11-17, 2020 issue.

Future people think they’re so special because they know stuff I don’t

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 4th, 2020

I’m again trapped in your past, unable to say anything useful about your present. The big news for you is the 2020 election, which has mostly happened. The big news for me at 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, is the sun isn’t up yet. Daylight Savings Time is still in...

Made it. 9 AM exactly, reeling after a driving nightmare

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 28th, 2020

I have to write these by 9 a.m. Friday mornings, and I usually try to get at least one paragraph down before 6 a.m. It’s now 6:10 a.m. I’m late! Editor’s note: Wes is one of the few writers I’ve ever known (excluding myself) who honors a deadline. Don’t...

Read more in the Oct. 28 - Nov. 3, 2020 issue.

I want my streetcar! Give it! It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 21st, 2020

There’s some circumstantial evidence that President Trump is being weaned off the dexamethasone. He hasn’t demanded that Bill Barr arrest Barack Obama and Joe Biden for several days. I’m so slow that I’ve only in the last week figured out what great crime...

Read more in the Oct. 21-27, 2020 issue.

The Temptation of St. Mike: The fly on his head painted him in glo-ry

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 14th, 2020

We all remember the adorable house finch that landed on Bernie Sanders’ podium during a 2016 Portland, Oregon, rally. Now we get to remember an adorable fly who became attached to Mike Pence’s head for two minutes during the debate. I’m going to say that...

Read more in the Oct. 14-20, 2020 issue.

I give Trump credit for being rare. He’s one in 8 billion

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 7th, 2020

Because I write these things, I often jot down thoughts I have, thinking I might use them later. Here’s one I found that I wrote a couple of months ago. I have no clue what I was reacting to: “Some people invite karma. They beg for life’s hard lessons. Who...

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And robots. Fear them

by Dr. Wes Browning | September 30th, 2020

Some cheerleading is in order. There’s little chance the national election will come down to one state locked in recounting votes, as in Florida in 2000. The most likely scenario is that by Nov. 20 or so, after mail-in ballots have been counted everywhere...

Read more in the Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 issue.

Hey! What does history have to do with what has happened?

by Dr. Wes Browning | September 23rd, 2020

As usual, President Donald J. Trump has said something that deeply annoys me. I tried to resist making the whole column about what Trump said, so I looked around for anything else in the news I could grasp at and found a headline that quotes Helena Bonham...

Read more in the Sept. 23-29, 2020 issue.