Rural American Gazette

09/08/2022

We tend to equate having a college degree with being college educated. But as I point out in “An ode to being wrong,” this is often not the case. Increasingly, the goals of higher education are hostile to learning and growth.

The joy of learning from our mistakes

25/07/2022

Despite having an approval rating below that of Congress, gerrymandering is all the rage across the country. As I point out in “Gerrymandermania,” our national hatred of each other is much stronger than our desire for effective government.

Redistricting and the politics of hate

20/07/2022

In “The madness of total victory,” I reflect on recent conversations with culture warriors on the right and left. Most striking are the sacrifices the Culture War demands. Truth, progress, family, friends and even basic decency can all be casualties in this seemingly endless conflict.

A dispatch from the Culture War

11/07/2022

It’s Monday. Start the week on a positive note by checking out this humorous column about the terrors of telling someone the truth. In “Honestly, I made a mistake,” I expose the shabby way we treat truth tellers while rewarding those who lie through their teeth.https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/honestly-i-made-a-mistake?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

The truth about lying

08/07/2022

In “Remembering those peaceful days with Clarence and Ernie,” I contrast the joy my grandfather had while visiting his brother to the verbal landmines we are forced to navigate because of the Culture War. Convincing everyone to think just like us can’t be worth it.
https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/those-peaceful-days-with-clarence?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

06/07/2022

Like it or not, our communities and families are creating these mass shooters. In “A different look at the violence blame game” at the Rural American Gazette, I point out the obvious: People exhibiting warning signs have become too numerous to count.https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/a-different-look-at-the-violence

What has happened to our communities?

04/07/2022

The answer to rural America’s economic woes is not for everyone to go to college. In “The elitist brain drain claim,” I explain the importance of rewarding hard workers rather than searching the globe for cheap labor.
https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/the-elitist-brain-drain-claim?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

Work skills have value

30/06/2022

It's time for some mid-week humor. Rudolf Gable, the comic persona in this new very short feature, is unable to distinguish actors from the characters they play. This week he examines the life of Sally Field in “Whatever happened to Gidget?”
https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/whatever-happened-to-gidget?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

Rudolf Gable’s Reel Hollywood Stories

30/06/2022

With this system, people could have voted for Perot without costing Poppy Bush the '92 election and Nader without costing Gore the 2000 election. Watch this 2-minute video and think about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z2fRPRkWvY

In most parts of the United States, voters select a single candidate for each position on their ballot, and the candidate with the most votes wins. This is k...

29/06/2022

I’ve spent my entire adult life in a dysfunctional national shouting match. Like most families, I have relatives so politically toxic people are afraid to talk to them. Some relatives aren’t speaking anymore or avoid topics that might set the other off. Want to break free from this nonsense. Start by reading “Only honesty can end the Culture War” at the Rural American Gazette.
https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/only-honesty-can-end-the-culture?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

Moving past us versus them

28/06/2022

For most of us who grew up in small towns, there is no going home again. In the inaugural issue of the Rural America Gazette, I write about how the policies of both parties have turned my hometown into a suitcase community for Milwaukee-area workers.https://ruralamericangazette.substack.com/p/like-so-many-my-hometown-has-vanished

The war on rural America

21/06/2022

Looking for workable ideas over divisive politics, check out The Rural American Gazette, coming to Substacks June 27. Features will include the podcast Two Profs and a Keg, Culture War Lunacy Watch, humor, Culture War Refugee, analyses and much more.