Donald Trump is going to be re-elected. It doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate. Trump is going to win, because the Democrats are fragmenting and disintegrating, and the party’s more progressive base is going to be blamed.

We’ve seen this before, in 1972 (of course), but also in 2016. Democrats fight among themselves, turn on each other, and in the process leave the field to a more unified Republican Party. Then, as the smoke is clearing, party centrists and the party establishment look to their left for scapegoats.

Bernie Sanders already is being set up to take the blame if (when) Trump wins another term. The most high-profile effort comes from Hillary Clinton, who attacked Sanders in a recently released documentary and again in a podcast interview in January. Clinton, by virtue of her years as First Lady, Secretary of State, senator and party nominee, is seen as an elder stateswoman for the party, and her comments can be read as indicative of the party establishment’s thinking.

Read the article here.

A call to abolish ICE in the wake of the agency’s shooting of an unarmed immigrant.

If we are to create the next generation of critical thinkers, college instructors need the freedom to say what needs to be said.

An essay I wrote after a parent called the dean at one of my colleges to complain about my politics.

<!–[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <![endif]–> <!–[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <![endif]–> <!–[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> Adelaide Literary Award. My essay, “Philosopher’s Stone,” was named a shortlist winner in the Adelaide Literary Award — Best Essay contest for 2019. <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!– –> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> Philosopher’s Stone <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> 1. The fear, always, is that blood is destiny, that the confusion I see in her eyes will be visited upon me. I hear her repeat herself. I watch her obsess — over her phone, her bag, my niece’s baby. I hear her tell the same stories, ask the same questions. We’re watching television in the den, my dad asleep in my reading chair. Football had been on, but with the big man asleep, I flip the channel, find an old favorite show of hers. “How about this, mom, The Wild, Wild West?” Victor Buono is chewing up the scenery. Robert Conrad is all cool and bad-ass in his waistcoat, a cowboy, a spy, facing off against another surreal sci-fi threat.   <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> “I think I remember this,” she tells me, and she watches. “That’s Robert Conrad, James West,” I say. “That’s Artemis Gordon. You used to love this.” She smiles. It goes to a commercial for My Pillow. “That’s supposed to be the best pillow,” she says. My dad rouses. “They don’t tell you how much it is,” she says. She’s right. No price. A two-for-one offer but no price. She says it again, tells me again that it is “supposed to be the best pillow for sleeping.” <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!– –> Read More <!– –> Notes on Black Mama, Hero Worship, and Complicated Legacies Even in the aftermath of such a tragic death, we have to avoid hagiography and the deification of celebrity and politics. Read my essay here. <!– –> Immigrants and Advocates Drive the Debate From The Progressive Activism matters. Direct action can change minds and create environments that are ripe for change. That, as much as anything else, is the lesson that should be taken from the successful effort in New Jersey to win driving privileges for undocumented residents. <!– –> Broken Cord Anthology Coming This Spring I’m editing an anthology of Alzheimer’s and dementia essays and poems, which will be out in the spring. To donate / buy in advance, visit our Go Fund Me page. <!–[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <![endif]–> <!–[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!– –> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> Copyright © 2020 Hank Kalet, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you’ve signed up for the Channel Syrfing newsletter. Our mailing address is: Hank Kalet 16 Rumson Road Kendall Park, NJ 08824 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. <!–[if mso]> <![endif]–> <!–[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <![endif]–>

My essay, “The Philosopher’s Stone,” was shortlisted by Adelaide Press for its best of 2019 contest.

You can read it at Patreon.

The essay also will appear in an upcoming anthology, Broken Cords, to be published by Stream River Press. You can help us raise seed money for the anthology, which will feature writing on Alzheimer’s and dementia, by going to our Go Fund Me page. All proceeds will go to research and care groups. Contributors who donate $20 or more will get copies of the anthology and a mention on the acknowledgements page.