Category Archives: Essays

Jimbo Watches a Debate: We are So Screwed Edition

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Bucking up my courage, mescal with a red beer chaser and the Nationals game on my iPad, I committed to watch all 2 hours (though I am sure I fell into a worm hole) of the Democratic Debate. Unable to … Continue reading →

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When a Poison Idea is No Longer Lethal

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

In downtown Portland, around midnight, at the corner of 3rd and Burnside, the apocalypse is upon us.  OK, not all of us, but maybe for a few hundred souls wearing all manner of inscribed black t-shirts. In my new book, I tell … Continue reading →

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Meet the New Climate Change Celebrity — Greta Thunberg

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

I got into a fun little Twitter beef with a Silicon Valley type who was extolling the virtues of Greta Thunberg the teenager heartthrob of the new climate change generation. He loved that she took a sailboat to New York.  … Continue reading →

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If It Isn’t On MY Phone . . . It Didn’t Happen

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

I have become a true aficionado of Portland street violence. No really, I savor every riot, every confrontation and each unpermitted march like a vintage of fine wine.  Each clash is an expression of the Portland terroir.  I won’t critique the street … Continue reading →

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How Right Wing Talk Radio Works — A Challenge

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

It occurs to me that few people I know understand how right-wing radio really works because our information bubbles are close to hermetically sealed. I hear people say, “How can those Trump supporters think that?” Let’s see how it works. The … Continue reading →

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Talk Radio. It’s All the Same Show

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Button number 1 on by car radio is Oregon Public Broadcast (OPB).  Button number 4 is KXL Talk Radio. When I am driving in the Portland area, I compulsively bounce from one station to the other. In the noon hour … Continue reading →

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