Political Writings
After writing political theatre for over a decade Michael was approached in 2006 by Arianna Huffington about writing essays for her fledgling website - the Huffington Post. Since then Michael has contributed essays - ironic, sarcastic, and very serious - to HuffPo, Daily Kos, and FactKeepers:
"“Resisting arrest” is the catch-all crime that protestors, strikers, and all non-Whites can be charged with—even when they didn’t resist, or they were not involved in crime, or if a crime hadn’t been committed. ."
Living In The "Guns For Everybody" World Of The NRA
"The NRA and its supporters simply believe that their ability to own guns is more important than the lives of your children.
Your children. Perhaps theirs, but definitely yours."
"Kings And Queens Are Mainly Assholes"
"as a Black person, periodically of the statement will come up that all of us oppressed folks—all of us—are descended from kings and queens. That obviously has to be true for some, but what’s wrong with being descended from working folks?"
" Just as the last person you want running a large non-profit organization like a government is someone who only understands financial profit motives perhaps the last people we want in charge of connecting humans to each other are people who themselves don’t quite get people."
Capitalist Lies Told The To The White Working-Class Male
"White non-Hispanic males have the extra burden of an expectation of racial and gender superiority — an expectation that has been taught to them from the cradle. And while institutional racism and sexism do give them a leg up in society, for the workers in this group it’s an incredibly stumpy leg, simply tall enough to lift them above the more oppressed."
November 6, 2016
"When December ends pop your corks, drink your champagne, and party like it's 1932, because the Democratic Party just allowed the storm troopers to recruit a big chunk of the Working Class. And they did it because they are strategically inept, and because they didn't want their standard bearer to be a Socialist. (more)
Why do Black Protests About Police Brutality Have To Be So Upsetting?
August 28, 2016
"Why is it so many White Liberals continue to say that the real solution to the ongoing psychological and physical violence directed at Black Americans will only be reached when the victims of this brutality moderate their reaction to it? "(more)
Kindercool! Childcare Products For Today's Busy Yipster!
December 17, 2013
"We at Kinderkool are dedicated to giving you the tools you need to selflessly care for your new, tiny roommate, while helping you maintain the young, upwardly mobile hipster lifestyle you have no intention of giving up anyway. "(more)
Letter From a Concerned Believer
December 16, 2013
"If Christ had wanted us to put helping, comforting, and caring for each other ahead of blind bigotry and the frenzied accumulation of wealth he would have said something about it in the Bible! Don’t doubt it for a moment - if this Pope has his way no one would have way too much, while everyone else would have enough! Is that the kind of world we want to live in?" (more)
President Obama Gives Congress Opportunity to Rubber-Stamp Decision to Attack Syria
September 6, 2013
It is to continue this hypocrisy that I turn to Congress. I turn to you not because it is the right thing to do, or the Constitutional thing to do, or something I particularly want to do; I turn to you because your essentially inconsequential procedural yada-yada is exactly the sort of hollow gesture that keeps the fragile myth of our Republic together." (more)
Zealots versus Adults, or how Crazy trumps Smart once again
July 31, 2011
"Yet another should-be reasonable discussion on how to solve one of the many problems facing our country hijacked by Reactionary extremists willing to sacrifice our well-being for their beliefs. And facing them a President who has made it quite clear to his Reactionary opponents that when push comes to shove he is willing to jettison reason and consider any counter-productive compromise to get a deal done. Why? Why does the President continue to rewarded his opponents intransigence with compromise, reinforcing their “wait for him to give in” strategy?" (more)
April 18, 2008
"Your days or golden buttons are over." (more)
March 23, 2008
"Would America feel the same why if the Israelites were Black?" (more)
December 28, 2017
"For me Princess Leia was not just a movie crush — she was the inspiring, brave, brilliant heart of a rebellion against “The Empire.” (more)
February 7, 2014
"Ten years ago my father, Gene Sullivan, passed away. He was a very interesting guy. Blazingly smart, fiercely political, extremely funny and oh-so-annoyingly logical. He was a Black software engineer who wanted to be the writer/cartoonist/theorist for a revolutionary collective, somewhere." (more)
December 30, 2013
"Dickens's story of universal good will has been reduced to the story of one cranky old guy who, if only he would change, everything would be better. Television, film and theatrical adaptation after adaptation of this masterpiece of social activism shows a jolly old London, full of smiling, generous people giving money and comfort to the poor, with Scrooge as the sole holdout when it comes to kindness. But that was not the London Dickens was writing about. Dickens was writing about a society much closer to the one we have now -- a society where the affluent see those less fortunate as less deserving, where the Tech nouveau riche can propose exile for the inconvenient and unsightly homeless, where workers crushed by debt and struggling to feed their families are seen as detestable, but necessary cogs in the machine that creates the fabulous wealth of the very few." (more)
"The Myth of American Exceptionalism"
September 15, 2013
"I've never understood the concept of "American Exceptionalism." What is it, exactly, that we are an exception to? It seems to mean, basically, that whatever rules apply to all other countries should not apply to us. No one should have nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons -- except us, and we can use them whenever we like. Offensive military action, attacking a country that has not attacked you, is absolutely wrong... except when we do it. " (more)
June 16, 2013
"The reason most totalitarian governments have regular military parades is to inspire constant fear and awe in a populous that, without reminders of the terrible power of the government, might rise to challenge it. However another, much less noisy, way to quiet the masses is to lull them with luxuries. "Bread and circuses," as the Roman poet Juvenal said, using cheap food and trivialities to distract the citizens from the real political and economic questions of the day." (more)
"National Ricin Association Fights Back Against Restrictive Legislation"
June 10, 2013
"We will never surrender our poison, never," LaPierre, the organization's executive vice president, said on the second day of the poison-rights group's convention in Houston, Texas. He argued that recent mass poisonings, including the murder of 26 adults and children at a Connecticut elementary school in December, have been used "to blame us, to shame us, to compromise our freedom for their agenda." (more)
"I Hate Nazis. And I'm Okay With That"
October 28, 2011
"I don't think I should love my enemies and no, I am not diminished in any way by my hate. Oh, and I can hate both the game and the player. Because anyone who freely chooses to play a hateful game deserves to be hated. And I have enough hate for both because hate, like love, springs from an infinite well." (more)
February 3, 2011
"The inequalities in our society have grown blazingly obvious, economic and environmental crimes threaten our present and our children's future, and our political leaders seem to simply be bidding their time before they can cash in their governmental connections to the highest Wall Street bidder. How can theater not try to shake citizens from their slumber? But then - how can you create fierce political drama when it requires biting the Corporate hand that gives you money and steers your Board?" (more)
"Kung Fu, and the Presidency of Barack Obama"
December 13, 2010
"In combat, spontaneity rules; rote performance of technique perishes." -- Bruce Lee
Back when President Obama was Candidate Obama one of his most commented on talents was his style of dealing with seemingly impossible political situations. Turning negatives into positives, political traps into triumphs, pundits called it mojo, Birthers called it Voodoo. Many called it brilliant. But a few called it what it was -- Kung Fu." (more)
"2 People Out of 10 Is Not a Tsunami"
November 8, 2010
"Imagine you're in a room with 10 people. 2 of them decide that they constitute a majority, with a mandate for change. You wouldn't call them a political tsunami. You'd call them nuts." (more)
"Why Are We Paying to Kill Us?"
May 10, 2010
"We all know that much of America's policy -- foreign and domestic -- is dictated by oil executives. We protest in the streets about it, make passionate movies about it, write fiery, anonymous blogs about it. From Earth Firsters to Tea Baggers, most Americans hate the power the petro-oligarchs have over our national agenda. But when it comes to gas America is, for the most part, like a serial drunk driver. Rail against the effects of the drink, but still go to the bar and guzzle the stuff." (more)
April 28, 2010
"Around the world, on May 1st, millions of men, women, and children will flood the streets of towns and cities, waving flags and joyously hurling songs to the sky. Laughing, marching, chanting, cheering. All over the globe masses of people will join for one day across national, racial, religious, and linguistic boundaries to celebrate the greatest of supranational secular holidays: International Workers Day. And they will have this global celebration of Working Class pride everywhere - except in the United States." (more)
"Strange Bedfellows Abound as Conservatives Scramble to Delegitimize Un-American President."
September 10, 2009
"And this is not about race!" says Wayne Cuttlefish, of Clokie, Texas. "This is just about a foreign citizen in the White House addressing unsuspecting American students with his foreign socialist message!" So, in that spirit, his group, Americans for an American America (A.F.A.A.A), has reached out to The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement." (more)
September 6, 2009
"That President Obama always seems surprised the right wing will do anything to destroy him reminds me of an old story.
A Prince, in torn and tattered clothes, falls at the feet of an old, wise man..." (more)
"Capitalism - The Gift That Keeps On Taking. Part I"
April 27, 2009
"What Exactly is Capitalism?... Some say it's the highest, most elegant economic structure upon which robust wealth for all can be built. Others say it's a flashy, coked-out thug with an Uzi in a dark alley who threatens to shoot your kids unless you give him access to your 401k.
Personally I think Capitalism is simply a concept that does not, in the long run, work. It's like Communism - it looks good on paper..." (more)
"Capitalism - The Gift That Keeps On Taking. Part II"
April 29, 2009
"If your car ran like Capitalism - some days humming along great, others needing a government tow truck to get it to a shop where the mechanic can only promise more booms and breakdowns after its "fixed" you wouldn't call your car "self-regulating." You'd call it junk..." (more)
"Capitalism - The Gift That Keeps On Taking. Part III"
April 30, 2009
"Such blind greed should have been rebelled against decades ago: villagers with torches, workers with hammers, farmers with sickles, let-them-eat-cake capitalist swine chased naked and screaming through the streets, and highpaid corporate heads on sticks held aloft by gleeful children... (more)
"Capitalism - The Gift That Keeps On Taking. Part IV"
May 1, 2009
"We need a new system that addresses all of our needs. How about CapiCommieSocialism?" (more)
Nov. 20, 2008
"I seen't it! exclaims unemployed chicken stripper Lloyd Flartterer, of Jefferson County, Florida. "I was walkin' on my home late at night, and it were darker than the inside of a duck. Then... I seen't this light, like a glow, comin' from behind me. It were comin' from the window of Earl's TV repair. It was just glowin'... and on one of them sets I see'd..." Flartterer's eyes grow wide as he tells of his encounter with Democratic strength. "He had a big head, and like, brown skin, like one of them lattes the gays drink... (more)
"My Speech to the Membership: 700 Billion What?"
Oct. 8, 2008
"While we're scratching for seeds 700 Big Mac Godzilliuon dollars is how much our elected employees are throwing at those ravenous Capitalist zombies to keep their reeking corpses upright for a few more months, pumping our blood into their veins so they can stay semi-alive just a little longer, just until they can suck the last bit of our future away." (more)
"Barack Obama is the President - Why Are Black People Still So Mad?
Sept. 7, 2008
"I wasn't speeding - even if I'd wanted to the traffic was too thick. Weaving dangerously under the influence? Only if lemonade is a drug. As the familier blue and red lights danced in the rearview mirror I tried to figure it out - what was it about me that could have attracted the attention of San Francisco's finest?
At this point I should mention that I am Black.." (more)
"Ku Klux Klan Won't Endorse Obama"
May 27, 2008
"Racist Rejection Revives Dark Questions of Electability."
Dateline: Lynchburg, Virginia. In a surprising move, which some are calling a deathblow to his candidacy, the Ku Klux Klan today decided to not endorse Senator Barack Obama in his bid for the Presidency" (more)
"Democratic Leadership Council Concerned As Democrats Seem Headed Toward Victory"
March 3, 2008
"Ex-DLC Chairman and former President Clinton was clearly upset as he spoke. "But I'll tell you this," he said, leaning forward and planting both hands firmly on Miss Heavenly Patterson, 26, of Truckloop, Ohio, "Once our work o Hillary's campaign is done we will find a way into Senator Obama's camp. Because regardless of how pitiful the Republicans are, how much they've undermined our freedoms and enhanced corporate wealth, and no matter how much of a disingenuous, obsequious conservative lickspittle John McCain contorts himself into to gain the votes of neo-Fascistic holy-rolling troglodytes, the DLC will always be there, dependably, unswervingly, disappointing our base, and convincing America that Democrats are still the worst choice." (more)
"Government is not a Business"
Feb 15, 2008
"There is an idea in our land. It is an idea that has been gaining traction since the 1980's, since the Great Communicator convinced so many that the New Deal had been the wrong deal, that the Social Contract was a Pact with the Devil, and that welfare queens, homeless Vets, and Liberals were undermining that which made America great. The idea, simply put, is that Government should be run like a business. It is a stupid idea, but there you have it." (more)
Dec 10, 2007
"We've been trying to get Jesus for a long time," said Christmas at a rare press conference. "Christ's image of purity and goodness is perfect to convince the struggling masses that mindless consumption and endless credit card debt are part of God's divine plan." Others who had been mentioned as potential Christmas spokespersons include Elizabeth Hurley, Justin Timberlake, Satan, and Tiger Woods. "But Christ was always our first choice." Christmas added." (more)
"What's so wrong with being a Peace-Loving Tree-Hugging, Red Feminist Lawyer?"
Nov 24, 2007
"What kind of person is afraid of being called peace loving?
A Democratic candidate for President.
We live in a country where if anyone running for high office says they love peace they have to immediately follow it up with a list of who they are willing to bomb to preserve it, lest they be labeled weak. The thing that gets me is that all of the candidates, even the Republicans, say they admire the actions and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. But if he were alive today almost all of them would call him a traitorous pussy." (more)
"Democrats Force Truth to Recant Position"
Oct. 29, 2007
"I would like to say I am sorry to all those I offended by stating myself," Truth said to a phalanx of reporters. "I know now that in these dangerous times if we are going to discuss the many problems that face America we cannot let me get in the way. From this day forth," Truth continued, "I will join Speaker Pelosi, the rest of the Democratic Leadership, and my colleagues across the aisle, in a true biparisan effort to never use me, or any recognizable part of me, in America's political process." (more)
Oct. 23, 2007
Oct 19, 2007
"Bill O'Reilly says bloggers are just like the Nazis, so..."
Aug, 17, 2007
May 15, 2007
"The Jingoist Ramblings of a Representative"
May 9, 2007
Bill O'Reilly Says Bloggers Are Just Like The Klan, So..."
Aug 27, 2007