OH MY GOSH THIS IS A THING!!!!! : Andrew Schaffer’s Hope Never Dies

Yesterday I was browsing Barnes & Noble.  My barrage of midterm grading was finally behind me and I was enjoying an afternoon of meandering with nothing much to do (until chaperoning the Homecoming Dance last night).  I glanced down at a table of new paperbacks and saw a cover, reminiscent of a pulp noir novel, featuring Barack Obama and Joe Biden riding in a car.  Then I took in the title – Hope Never Dies: An Obama/Biden Mystery.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?  I can’t remember the last time I bought a book, drove home, and immediately started reading it.  But no other plans could compete with this and if it wasn’t for the previously mentioned dance, I’d’ve finished it one sitting.  This isn’t an analysis nor a review, not traditionally at least.  To paraphrase Ron Burgundy, I got excited.  I just wanted to…shout it from the top of a mountain.  But I didn’t have a mountain.  I had this blog.  Look, I write about comics, that’s what I do.  And today’s top story, in Michael Miller’s world read something like this – I love Andrew Schaffer’s Hope Never Dies and this needs to become a long-lived series!

New American Resistance – Fighting Moral Decay for Health Care

Sadly speaking to the reality of our times, the twentieth post in this series comes on the heels of the Senate voting to rob millions of Americans of their health care.  In a literal matter of life and death, the GOP chose wealth for a few and feeding their pathological need to try and “fix” their loss in the presidential election of 2008 by voting to go forward with repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.  Do we know what they want to replace it with?  No.  They have no set plan.  The rough drafts we have seen rob twenty-two million people of health care, gut Medicaid, abandon those suffering from mental health problems or in recovery for addiction, and roll back any sort of protection for those with preexisting conditions (like myself).  There is no longer even the hint of pretense that the GOP at large cares for the America people.  I’m angry.  I’m sad.  I’m exhausted.

New American Resistance – 20 February

I am ANGRY this week.  My righteous fire has cooled a bit since Friday but I’m still angry.  This last week has seen an egregious attack on our health care system which could leave many without life saving coverage AND the most direct and reprehensible attack against the environment I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.  But I’m channeling my righteous anger into something productive.  I ask you to do the same.  All of this has yet to be voted on.  All of this can be stopped if we raise our voices, united.  Without further ado, this weekly series aims to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice. 

New American Resistance – 6 February

This weekly series aims to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice.  This past week has seen extremes, from important victories in the fight for justice in our country to the first American lives lost to a rash, uninformed decision Trump made.  We must let the country and the world know what we value and what we will fight for.  We must let those in power know who we are and who we want to be.  We must be aware.  We must be vocal.  We must be active.  We must be loving.  This is how we triumph and how we transform our lives, our nation, and our world.

The New American Resistance – 30 January

Last week I started a new series called “The New American Resistance.”  Taking its name from a comment Bruce Springsteen made last weekend, these weekly posts aim to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice.  I don’t know where we’re heading as a country but I know I have to do everything I can to aid the growing struggle for justice.

The New American Resistance

So…it’s been a week huh?  I was planning on writing a fun post about how much I’m loving The Totally Awesome Hulk today but I can’t get my head around it.  Reading the news for the last five days has taken me on an emotional journey.  I’ve been spending much time in thought and conversation with loved ones about where our country is heading.  I’ve been struggling to understand, let alone find my place in the events that are unfolding.  As I do this, I keep thinking of something Bruce Springsteen said during a concert in Western Australia last Sunday.