Stars and Stripes Forever
Recently Published
There are obviously much bigger issues to worry about, but Trump’s ballroom is still an easy target. Opulence in the face of mounting national debt and persistent inflation just seems absurd. At a time when ordinary Americans are struggling with…
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This is what conservatives fear, right?
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What if the National Mall were designed by a man who thinks gold toilets are classy Among Donald Trump’s most consistent malfunctions is his complete lack of taste. Everything he touches seems to drift toward the aesthetic sensibilities of a…
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If anyone could lose a conflict with Iran, it’s probably Donald Trump. After all, this is a man whose résumé of failures includes Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump Vodka, Trump Wine, Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, and multiple Trump casinos —…
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In a remote island village, Gerold is known as a drunk, a jailbird, a man to avoid—but the narrator sees something else: a quiet strength and freedom forged through hardship and labor. As glimpses of his life unfold—ploughing fields at dawn, enduring prison without bitterness, living on the margins with dignity—the narrator is drawn to him but never quite bridges the distance. What remains is a portrait of a misunderstood man, and the lingering regret of a connection that never happened.
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Despite Trump’s Bible-thumping, it’s obvious even to casual observers that he is not a particularly religious person. He touts the Bible, yet appears unfamiliar with scripture when asked directly. It’s well known that he has never regularly attended church, and…
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Much of the Bible’s most enduring imagery casts God as a shepherd and believers as his flock. In its most generous reading, the metaphor suggests care, guidance, and protection. A good shepherd tends to his sheep so that they “shall…
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It is hard to overstate the whiplash. Donald Trump campaigned as the candidate who would end “endless wars” in the Middle East, only to initiate a direct military confrontation with Iran. Along the way, he warned voters that Kamala Harris…
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Donald Trump’s shifting stance on the Strait of Hormuz is a case study in governing by impulse. After escalating tensions that helped destabilize one of the world’s most critical chokepoints, Donald Trump now suggests that other countries should step in…
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If you really want to understand the American psyche in 2025, you might start with a different dataset entirely: the top-selling items at a major retailer of “adult” products.
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