Dandelion Salad
Originally published Dec. 24, 2014
December 23, 2022
with Chris Hedges
David Alexander Bullock on Dec 25, 2018
Rev. Chris Hedges and Rev. David Bullock discuss the real meaning of Christmas with Paul Jay.
by Gaither Stewart
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rome, Italy
January 3, 2020
In February 2019 Germany opened a brand new intelligence complex in the city of Berlin. The new headquarters of the BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst or Federal Intelligence Service) occupies a huge space—by the way, much as STASI or State Security Service once did in East Berlin the former German Democratic Republic—and supposedly employs a total of over six thousand persons. The move from its former secret location in the Munich suburb of Pullach reflects both the centralization in Berlin of federal institutions that after World War Two were widely dispersed throughout Germany and importantly, European Union-NATO leader Germany’s efforts to get away from the nation’s Nazi past. The new BND location in Germany’s capital city seems also a giant step away from the former obsessive secrecy of its location in Munich, hidden away in that obscure suburb and operating under a cover name and, above all, until the late 1950s an affiliate of the CIA. The move to Berlin can be interpreted as the BND’s declaration of sovereignty.
by Gaither Stewart
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rome, Italy
August 7, 2019
Editor’s Note:
Historical fiction is a special and important genre. It can bring history to life, but more importantly it can allow us to put ourselves in the lives of those of another time, another context. There is a strong tendency in the United States toward historical amnesia. This is perhaps one of the biggest character flaws of the country. Floating in a constant now there is a complex, but highly malleable, context that disappears in the moment. This can drain the richness from our lives, set us on paths both personally and societally destructive, and perhaps most importantly, totally erode the concept of free will replacing it with faux will.
by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
July 19, 2019
Fiery. Evocative. Uplifting.
Fiction meets reality in these impassioned and hard-hitting essays on love, courage, politics, and resistance.
The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published Dec. 15, 2013
June 6, 2019
“Look out upon this nation and tell me what you see,” a friend once said to me.
I told her I saw anger, hunger, poverty, senselessness, fear, sick and worried people, hatred twisting faces, greed stuffing overfull guts, ignorance regurgitating lies, well-intentioned impotence, self-centered passivity, and, beyond this roiling sea of humanity’s foibles, I saw my opponents lined up to massacre us all.
The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 20, 2019
If you really love your country, you would not be satisfied with platitudes and flag-waving, national anthems and military parades. A truly patriotic citizen does not sit idle as the land and waters of his country are polluted by extractive industries. A true patriot does not sneer and scorn her fellow citizens who live in poverty or are unhoused. A true patriot does not place higher loyalties with corporations than human beings. A true patriot sees no glory in war, nor security in spending more on military than on peace and justice for all of humankind.
The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
December 9, 2018
I want to love this broken-hearted country, this land of shattered dreams and dashed hopes. I want to place my ear to the drumming cadence of our cities and hear the insistent pulse of life. I want to wander the forgotten highways of stories that run like wrinkles through our body politic.
The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
November 8, 2018
What do we do when we finally understand that the elections really are stolen? Or rigged? Or thrust out of our reach by the manipulations of rich and powerful people? Corrupted by corporations? How long does it take before we call the bluff? Another disappointing election cycle? Two? Three? How much more gerrymandering, corporate buying of elections, voter disenfranchisement, and outright fraud can we stand? When will we take seriously the necessity of change?
The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published Nov. 16, 2017
September 17, 2018
Despair rides in front of our opposition, an invisible wind that blows like plague through our hearts. Here, our stand begins. Moment-by-moment, day-by-day, we must keep despair at bay in the siege waged by the forces of destruction and greed.
Shepherd Bliss and Daisie
Copyright by Taylor Lampson, used with permission
by Shepherd Bliss
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Sebastopol, California
August 25, 2018
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” — French Nobel Prize winner Anatole France
Searching for a dog, I recently visited three animal shelters. At the final one, I saw a dog that I instantly connected to.
Dandelion Salad
Originally posted Jan. 26, 2010
August 10, 2018
with Chris Hedges
TheWritersFestival on Jan 26, 2010
Chris Hedges reads from his book Empire of Illusion at the Ottawa International Writers Festival.
with Chris Hedges
RT America on May 12, 2018
In this 100th episode of “On Contact”, director Jerrell Henderson and playwright-actor Boris Franklin discuss their upcoming play “Caged,” which takes a look at life from inside and outside the US prison system.