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Category Archives: RagBlog
PAUL BUHLE / RADICAL COMICS / Anti-facism, partisan comics
By Paul Buhle / Special to The Rag Blog / August 28, 2025 The understandable fear of an American-style fascism will remind European readers and comics fans that their seemingly all-powerful but culturally backward cousins are slow to understand the … Continue reading
MARTIN MURRAY / CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE / Lt. Burt Gerding and I
Photo by Belmer Wright published in Austin’s underground paper, The Rag, January 15, 1968. By Martin Murray / The Rag Blog / August 19, 2025 Lt. Burt Gerding served in the Austin Police Department (APD) in the Criminal Intelligence Division from … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers, RagBlog
Tagged Austin 'Red Squad', Austin Police Department, Burt Gerding, Burt Gerding Papers, Criminal Intelligence, Dirty Tricks, Espionage, Martin Murray, Police Informants, Sarah Clark, SDS, Students for a Democratic Society, The Rag Blog, University of Texas
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MICHAEL MEEROPOL / POLITICAL COMMENTARY / Vice President Vance says people who fought in the Civil War have a larger claim to citizenship than people living here today
J.D. Vance by DonkeyHotey. This caricature of J.D. Vance was adapted from a Creative Commons licensed photo from Gage Skidmore’s Flickr photostream. By Michael Meeropol / The Rag Blog / August 5, 2025 The following is an expanded version of a … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Commentary, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Michael Meeropol, Political Analysis, Rag Bloggers, Vice President
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MICHAEL MEEROPOL / TRUMP / The war with Iran should not distract us from important domestic issues
E. Jean Carroll, 2006. Photo by julieannesmo. Creative Commons image. By Michael Meeropol / The Rag Blog / July 3, 2025 The following is an expanded version of a commentary delivered over WAMC-FM on June 27, 2025 by Michael Meeropol … Continue reading
ALICE EMBREE | REMEMBRANCE | Honoring the Lives of Bernice Hecker and Jere Locke, Austin Peace and Justice Activists
By Alice Embree / The Rag Blog / July 1, 2025 Two remarkable advocates for peace and justice in Austin, Texas, have passed on. In 2014, I posted to The Rag Blog in 2014 that featured Bernice Hecker and her … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Austin Peace and Justice Coalition, Bernice Hecker, Jere Locke, Palestinian Rights
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NORMAN SOLOMON / POLITICS / When will the Democrats put up a fight?
Democratic party leaders just met for the first time in months. When will they take real action? By Norman Solomon / The Rag Blog / June 10, 2025 This article was originally published at The Guardian and was cross-posted to … Continue reading
MICHAEL MEEROPOL / ECONOMY / Is there a danger that the stagflation of the 1970’s is coming back?
By Michael Meeropol / The Rag Blog / June 4, 2025 (Michael Meeropol and Houston-based historian John Moretta will discuss this commentary and related material on Rag Radio, KOOP-FM in Austin, Friday, June 6, 2025, from 2-3 p.m. It will … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged 1970's, Economics, Economy, John Moretta, Keynes, Michael Meeropol, Stagflation, Thorne Dreyer
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THORNE DREYER / INTERVIEW / Ronnie Dugger: The Reporter
Ronnie Dugger. Photo by Alan Pogue / The Rag Blog. By Thorne Dreyer / The Rag Blog / May 29, 2025 (On Friday, May 30, 2-3 p.m., Rag Radio is rebroadcasting our June 8, 2012 interview with the late Ronnie … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Deaths, Interview, Journalist, Making Waves, Obituary, Rag Bloggers, Rag Radio, Rag Radio Interviews, Ronnie Dugger, Texas Observer, The Rag Blog, Thorne Dreyer
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CARL DAVIDSON / COMMENTARY / Trump as big-city crimefighter?
Cartoon courtesy of LeftLinks. By Carl Davidson / The Rag Blog / August 15, 2025 This article was originally posted on August 15, 2025, as a weekly editorial on LeftLinks by its editor Carl Davidson and is cross-posted to The … Continue reading →