TomPaine.com Stories

Retirement is a bad subject, starting to think like a politician though."

"They'll just have to throw Me out !!!""

Enie Menie Minie Moe.
Which way will the Nation go.
It's hard to say with all this Pride.
But, GOD, you bet is on OUR side.

The…

Toward A More Perfect Union: Lessons Learned or
Not: Since 9/11

My heart racing, my foot tapping as I watched
nervously the twin towers colliding with the cause of
a single aircraft on each building. I felt as if I
were in a dream, a dream being…

What So Proudly We Hailed

American Consumerism Sullies the Flag


It seems Americans have always been prone to passionate buying stampedes. Remember the infamous Tickle-Me-Elmo, and in more recent consciousness, the Furby? Now, as forgotten…

Melvin, have you rehearsed the song I wrote for you?

Well, boss, we wrote something of our own.

What do you mean, something of your own? I write the songs around here, I call the shots, I deposit the checksÖ

But boss, there's something we thought…

Toward A More Perfect Union: Lessons Learned- Or
Not- Since 9/11

September 11, was a wake up call for the Americans.
Then, what did we see when we open our eyes? Now that
we see that our United States have been attacked,
people started to get…

It serves them right a taxi driver told me on the day after 9/11, in Sri Lankas capital, Colombo, while expressing sorrow at the tragedy. When Colombo Airport was attacked in July 2001, the US Government advised its citizens to stay away from here.…

America has always been thought of as a very strong and independent nation by millions of people. But do those people still feel that way?
There have always been threats against America by terrorists but obviously not all of them have turned out…

September 11th, 2001 marked the end of national media attention to Election 2000: there was a sense, in the dog-days of August 2001 that the 'official' line of 'just get over it' was crumbling and that the greatest political crisis in the U.S. since…

What have we learned from 9/11? Look at the budget and tell me where this government should put our taxes - in the coffers of a bunch of greedy corporate welfare recipients, or into our own people and communities? The tax base a year ago was said to…

Toward A More Perfect Union
We Are Not Alone



Stephen Sondheims "Into the Woods", like the best traditional fairy tales and myths, deeply resonates in reality. In the Winter issue of the Sondheim Review, comments attached the events of 9/11 to the…

THE HOME ON 9/11: agenda interrupted


In the retirement home's living room that morning, several elderly
residents are relaxing after breakfast, watching TV, getting ready for their
community exercise period - a regimen that contributes to the…

The very first time I went to the World Trade Centers was on a
thunderstormy afternoon. The towers rose into swirly clouds like beanstalks
climbing to strange heavens. I loved looking up at the buildings measured in
miles, not feet.
Then, a few…

The United States of America has always been believed
to be above and beyond other countries; it has always
been one of the most powerful and respected nations in
the world. The recent terrorist bombings of September
11, has caused our dominance on…

"Should we go to war against Iraq?"

September 8, 2002

This morning I listened to Bob Schieffer interviewing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on CBS TVs Face the Nation. Rumsfeld gave evasive answers to Schieffers questions, and Schieffer was too…

Toward a More Perfect Union


September 11 brought a lot of changes to Americans
all over our nation. Although this brought us
together in ways we would have never imagined, it
changed people s thoughts and actions all over the
world. Teenagers…

The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that in a public relations
move, San Francisco Police Department employees were instructed to answer the phone by saying, ""Hello, this is So-and-So of the SFPD, how may I help you?"" But that's not the…

Toward A More Perfect Union: Lessons Learned - Or Not - Since 9/11

Part of me is ashamed to be an ugly-American. Our government has abused the tragedy of 9/11 to accelerate policies that create enemy lists and appeal to our basic need for…

The aftermath of September 11th has been a chilling affirmation of the
saying just because youre paranoid doesnt mean theyre not out to get you.
Many people disregarded the fears of civil libertarians before the attacks, but
now that our Justice…

In the eyes of many Americans, September 11th was much more than simple a tragic event; it was a realization. Hundreds of Americans sadly lost their lives in an effort to run the country, when terrorists invaded the United States for the same reason.…

"Toward A More Perfect Union","

Saddam Hussein. Osama bin Laden. Mullah Omar. To the average American these names constitute a virtual usual suspects lineup of Evil. But these reprehensible figures share another common link - as
former friends…