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Author: Willy Kessler

Willy Kessler is a retired librarian who a few years ago relocated to St. Louis. She is alternately delighted and horrified by some of the more gothic aspects of Missouri politics as well as fortified by the persistence of progressives in a reddening state.

Everybody knows that it’s all about the votes

February 26, 2015 Willy Kessler Missouri region, States, Voting/Elections Leave a comment

I’ve been amused by the not inconsiderable number of individuals who sanctimoniously point out that if people in places like Ferguson, say, don’t like

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Claire McCaskill’s doomed love affair with Keystone XL

February 2, 2015 Willy Kessler Congress, Energy, Environment, Missouri region, Senate One comment

Today Claire McCaskill did it. She voted with all Senate Republicans and nine Senate Democrats to pass the House’s Keystone XL authorization. Of course,

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The Klan and Ferguson: Who didn’t see this coming?

November 20, 2014 Willy Kessler Crime/Violence, Missouri region, Police, Public safety, Violence Leave a comment

A few day ago many sources reported on the efforts of the Missouri KKK to get in on the Ferguson action. The white-robed bubba

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RIP Democratic Party: The best of the 2014 election post-mortems

November 6, 2014 Willy Kessler 2014 Election, Campaigns, Democrats, Republicans Leave a comment

The average American lost big in the midterm election yesterday when their last, best, if imperfect, hope, the Democratic party, was, in legislative terms

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Racism redux: St. Louis after Ferguson

October 8, 2014 Willy Kessler Activism, Civil Rights, Violence Leave a comment

The Ferguson incident: A young unarmed black man, Michael Brown, was shot several times by a white police officer, Darren Wilson. Several witnesses have

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Guns here, guns there, in Missouri, everywhere a gun

September 16, 2014 Willy Kessler Guns, Missouri region, States One comment

“A Utah elementary school teacher who was carrying a concealed firearm at school was struck by fragments from a bullet and a porcelain toilet

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GOP woman-speak: What are they talking about?

August 14, 2014 Willy Kessler Republicans, Women Leave a comment

We’ve all heard that the GOP’s got a problem with women. A CNN poll taken last February found that 55% of all women –

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Gun culture: Missouri-style

August 4, 2014 Willy Kessler Guns, Missouri region Leave a comment

Numbers tell stories. Based on statistics from 2010, 24/7 Wall St. ranked Missouri eighth for overall gun violence. Missouri had 14 gun injury deaths

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“Right to farm” amendment in MO: The invisible small print

July 30, 2014 Willy Kessler 2014 Election, Business, Corporations, Missouri region, States, Voting/Elections Leave a comment

You’re familiar with the classic situation of somebody who gets hoodwinked because they didn’t read the small print. Well, it looks like we’ve got

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Todd Akin is back, whining and doubling down on “legitimate rape”

July 1, 2014 Willy Kessler People, Republicans, Women Leave a comment

You know how right-wingers really, really want to be viewed as victims? It seems to be a twisted variant on the old adage that

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In case you missed it

  • Old as the Hills
  • What if Guns and Bullets Had Not Been Invented Before the Constitution Was Written?
  • Would President Hillary Clinton have saved Roe? Probably Not
  • War, huh (good God y’all) What is it good for? Absolutely nothing
  • Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Should’ve Been a Celebration
  • How Loose Lips from Obama Hurt America and the World

A new book by Arthur Lieber. Political Introverts: How Empathetic Voters Can Help Save American Politics.  Buy it here.

Gloria Shur Bilchik’s new book, Election Insiders: Behind the scenes with the people who make your vote count. Kindle edition now available at Amazon.

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