Stephen Lyons
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Articles by Stephen Lyons
Questions that nobody among the frightened media herd will ask the Trump Administration
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons For President Dozing Don Trump: 1. Which recently deceased Republican senator from South Carolina once called you a “demagogue” and a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot,” and urged voters to “tell Donald Trump to go to hell”? 2. Which current Republican vice president once called you “Hitler”? 3.
Jackson Park was my playground; Obama's tower disrupts my urban wilderness
As a longtime Democrat, I am required to pluck down the $30 admission fee, buy the overpriced merchandise and pay cultlike homage to the new $850 million Obama Presidential Center, aka Barack’s Rock. I am to praise all the imagined benefits it will provide to Chicago’s South Side. And always to honor what, in comparison to what we suffer at the present, was a fairly successful presidency. But I’m not there yet. Neither are some of the critics.
U.S. Unleashes My Lais from the Sky
On Tuesday, June 16, The Guardian published a story that will probably never make it “above-the-fold” in America’s increasingly timid and understaffed mainstream media. The headline: “Killed walking home from school: why did Somali children become targets of US drone strikes?” Subhead: “Six months ago, at least 12 people, including eight children, died during a US attack.
The Revolution Starts Here
I guess as a long-time Democrat I am required to pluck down the $30 admission fee, buy the over-priced merch, and pay cult-like homage to the new $850 million-dollar Obama Presidential Center, aka Barack’s Rock. To praise all the real (or imagined) benefits it will provide to Chicago’s South Side. And always to honor what in comparison to what we suffer at the present was a fairly successful presidency, albeit as low a bar as you can limbo under. But I’m not there yet. Neither are the critics.
The Revolution Starts Here
[Note: first published in The Satirist https://www.thesatirist.com/] whoismargot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Dear Acting sort of like the worst version of an Attorney General Todd Blanche: Just in case you resurrect the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and I know you will, I am writing you with two requests: First, I feel you owe me $1776M (at least) for damages incurred over the last ten years. These damages include immense pain and suffering at the hands of President Donald J.
My Anti-Weaponization Fund Request
by Stephen J. Lyons Dear Acting like an Attorney General Todd Blanche: Just in case you resurrect the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and I know you will, I am writing you with two requests: First, I feel you owe me $1776M (at least) for damages incurred over the last ten years. These damages include immense pain and suffering at the hands of President Donald J.
The Revolution Starts Here
The best four years of your life are over. Now what? Creative Commons Congratulations Class of 2026! You did it! That hefty contribution to your unsupportable debt load is now securely in the hands of predatory loan agencies and our cash strapped federal government! They urge thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this matter. And congratulations to your sort-of-proud, yet anxious parents, who I would advise not to transform your childhood bedrooms into dens quite yet.
The Revolution Starts Here
A follow-up to last weekend's "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving" 1. I am the LORD, your one and only God, who brought you out of the Swamp, out of the houses of Clinton, Hussein Obama and Biden. YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE OR AFTER ME. And, for a limited time, my SIGNED Bible is now on sale for the reduced price of $59.99 plus postage. 2.
Commencement Address for the Class of 2026
by Stephen J. Lyons Congratulations Class of 2026! You did it! That hefty contribution to your unsupportable debt load is now securely in the hands of predatory loan agencies and our cash strapped federal government! They urge thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this matter. And congratulations to your sort-of-proud, yet anxious parents, who I would advise not to transform your childhood bedrooms into dens quite yet. Maybe in ten years if they are lucky. The good news?
The Revolution Starts Here
Recently, I read an advance copy of “Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran,” by journalists Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin. The book will be released on June 2. You should read it because afterwards you will know more than any of the dopes in the Trump administration about post-1979 revolutionary Iran.
The Revolution Starts Here
Several months before the fateful 2016 election in the U.S. that would plunge us into a decade of chaos led by crackpots and crazies, a cabbie in Toronto asked me if I thought Donald J. Trump had a chance to become president. The cabbie was an African immigrant to Canada. He had learned English from watching American television and had great praise for the diversity of his adopted home. His question to me was a mixture of disbelief and fear.
The Revolution Starts Here
Photo by Phil Roeder While the stylish coiffed and bejeweled insiders hid beneath tables at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this past Saturday during a gunman’s security breach, two veteran police officers were transporting a robbery suspect for medical observation to Chicago’s Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital.
The Revolution Starts Here
Long ago, when I foolishly believed that the goodness of humans would outpace the evil nature of humans, I thought that during a war when the first child is killed that both sides would throw down their weapons of terror and say what in God’s name are we doing?! India, 2016, Photo by Stephen J. Lyons “Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.” —Pope Leo XIV Silly me, right?
The Revolution Starts Here
Walter Gramatté, Funeral Procession, 1917 After a prolonged, ten-year illness, in which its declining mental and moral prowess were on life support, the United States of America passed away fitfully tonight surrounded by only a few friends and no allies. Its last words were, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Cause of death was a toxic combination of avarice, ego and fraud.
The Revolution Starts Here
Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -2:53 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. U.S. Department of the Treasury employee (per [1]), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Trump’s been tearing down the East Wing All the live-long day.
The Revolution Starts Here
This has been an intense, remarkable, and miraculous week. I am the CEO of LEAP, a nonprofit in Goleta, California that serves low-income families with childcare and family support. Many of our families are immigrants, including K’s family who are here with asylum status. K is two years old. Our Community Engagement Specialist, Laura, received a call from the family in detention letting us know what happened. Sadly, there was nothing we could do. K and Mom are bona fide asylum seekers.
The Revolution Starts Here
Photo by Stephen J. Lyons I.An amorphous hootenanny of shallow platitudes I was one of the eight million protestors in the country that turned out last Saturday for the third No Kings March. Surprisingly, the crowd in this central Illinois college town of Urbana was only slightly larger than the march held last fall.
The Revolution Starts Here
No Kings Rally III. Photo by Stephen J. Lyons On the third “No Kings Day” here in central Illinois, while prizes were handed out for the best costumes, the Washington Post reported that the United States dropped land mines from airplanes “across a residential area in southern Iran, in what appears to be the first instance in more than two decades of American forces using the weapons.” Recovered land mines. Cambodia Landmine Museum. March, 2026. Photo by Stephen J.
The Revolution Starts Here
My new piece just dropped in the fearless Globe Post. Please support their efforts.
Cuba Through a Pulse: Intimacy, Poverty, and the Shadow of Revolution
The man without arms stood outside the entrance to the Santísima Cathedral in Trinidad, Cuba. I placed some coins in his shirt pocket and gently tapped his chest. I could feel his pulse and the sweat of the afternoon heat. Our eyes met and he nodded. The sudden intimacy was startling and for the rest of the day, I continued to feel his heartbeat on my fingertips. I slipped inside the sanctuary of the ancient Spanish Catholic church, the Parish Church of the Blessed.
Here We Go Again, Again
This will not end well. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Juan E. Diaz, via Wikimedia Commons “A great satisfaction of growing old—one of many—is assuming the role of witness to the wobbling of the world and seeing irreversible changes.
Turning 70: The Final Stretch
by Stephen J. Lyons I waltzed through my three previous decade markers—40, 50, and 60—without much anxiety regarding aging. Perhaps I was too busy living my life or simply in denial that the sun had begun to set. Besides, I was still younger than my friends and, as I always annoy remind her, my wife. But when I crossed the threshold to 70, I finally noticed that my time among the living was running out.
Trump’s Kent State Original
Yesterday [January 7] an American citizen in Minneapolis was gunned down by her own government. Think about that for a moment. The 37-year-old woman, Renee Nicole Good, was unarmed, trying to turn her car around from the armed and masked agents. Yet the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fired three shots into this innocent victim’s face. A physician tried to assist her at the scene but he was turned away by ICE.
Vladimir Trump and Blood for Oil
Back when the US invaded Iraq the first time at the behest of Kuwait, whose government launched an aggressive public relations campaign to lure us in to the conflict, a popular bumpersticker said “No blood for oil.” The sentiment was repeated the second time after 9/11 when we used that terrorist attack to try our hand at regime change with the false pretext that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction.” As far back as 2016, Donald Trump said we should have taken the oil while we were in Iraq.
The Woman in Seat 13C: Stephen J. Lyons
Opinion Published: Dec. 31, 2025, 5:27 a.m. Helping hands (Shutterstock)Shutterstock Air France Flight 159, from Dallas, Texas to Paris. The elderly French woman seated next to me in Seat 13C is grumpy, and could not, or would not, speak English. Her son and daughter-in-law sit across the aisle from me. She occupied the window seat and I offered to switch so she could sit next to her family, but she refused, crossing her arms, and shaking her head vehemently. Her son shrugged his shoulders.
Cruelties Are US
Benevolence was once an American virtue. Our nation was a shining beacon of hope for the less fortunate of the world. Programs like USAID — established in 1961 — provided immediate emergency assistance of food and medicine, but also served as longer-term soft-power guides to democracy and economic development. The subhead of the USAID website said, “From the American People.” On February 23 of this year of President Trump’s “America First!” transactional foreign policy, USAID was shuttered.
Gym Rats - The Satirist
by Stephen J. Lyons Muscle bros flexing their barbed-wire tattoos circle each other like sumo wrestlers itching for a throw-down. Ear buds in place, they strain and grunt to the hearing-loss beats of gangster rap and conservative podcasts. They pose in front of mirrors. They drink multi-colored concoctions of steroids purchased on the dark web from a former Eastern Bloc nation’s stockpile. They do not wipe down the sweaty, petri-dished weight machines when finished.
Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History
“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” — Milan Kundera “In the 35 years since the crackdown, all discussion of the incident has been heavily censored in China, as authorities have effectively attempted to erase it from history. Public commemoration or mere mention, online or off, of the Tiananmen crackdown is banned.” — Amnesty International regarding China’s obliteration of the Tiananmen Square protests from its history.
More Leaked Texts from Signal
by Stephen Lyons DATELINES: Hawaii, Kremlin, Greenland, Starbuck’s, Chick Fil A, Palm Steakhouse At 11:44 p.m., Hegseth posted in the chat, “NEED DRINKY! ASAP!” The text beneath this began, “TIME NOW 12:11 a.m.: Weather is FAVORABLE here in Hawaii.
If You See Something, Say Nothing
“It seemed revolutionary to admit cruelty, disregard of human values, and general amorality, because this at least destroyed the duplicity upon which the existing society seemed to rest,” —Hannah Arendt, “The Origins of Totalitarianism” As the Trump administration, led ironically by former Obama administrator, and new “border czar” Thomas Homan, sics its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Chicago and other sanctuary cities to carry out perhaps the largest deportation effort in U.S....
And What Are You Wearing?
When I attended bar and bat mitzvahs in high school one of the games we would play was the limbo. Now, I was an awkwardly tall boy with absolutely no flexibility. To bend backward and fit under the bar was almost impossible. So I was out of the game early, but hung around to see which double-jointed classmate would eventually prevail. As a teenager I thought I had an inkling of how low the bar could go. Turned out I had no idea.
“What did you get done this week?”
February 22, 2025 From the desk of DOGE and @elonmusk “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.
Would You Like Some Cheese with Your Whine?
As expected, Trump voters, to quote the querulous-acting Senator Susan Collins, are now “concerned” with the rapid (or rabid) and destructive policy changes by the president and his unmuzzled attack dog (read DOG-E) and chain-saw wielding father of the Unlucky 13, Elon Musk. I’ve been anticipating their buyers’ remorse since, well, this past January 20, when the dictator on day one commenced signing executive orders with his unreadable black signature that resembles an Afib patient’s wonky EKG.
I'll Say What He Says
If the anonymous kids in the Department of Government Efficiency have run out of new ways to eliminate American’s food, air and health safety cut costs, it should look no further than the communications office of president and wannabe king Trump. I would recommend firing whomever writes speeches and lies, misinformation and ad hominem attacks statements for the King of Small Hands and, instead, employ Vladimir Putin’s Presidential Press Secretary, the talented wordsmith Dmitry Peskov.
I'll Say What He Says
If the anonymous kids in the Department of Government Efficiency have run out of new ways to eliminate American’s food, air and health safety cut costs, they should look no further than the communications office of president and wannabe king Trump. I would recommend firing whomever writes speeches and lies, misinformation and ad hominem attacks statements for the King of Small Hands and, instead, employ Vladimir Putin’s Presidential Press Secretary, the talented wordsmith Dmitry Peskov.
How Alexei Navalny’s Memoir Signaled America’s Current Devolution
Time to compare the current obliteration of 250 years of American democracy with that of a more repressive nation, one with an equally out-of-control autocrat destroying decades of peace in Europe, and tossing his critics in prison, that is, if they haven’t yet fallen “accidentally” to their death from a balcony or sipped from a cup of radioactive tea. Yes, I’m talking about Russia, led by President Trump’s mentor and inspiration, Vladimir Putin.
Is This Democracy or Muskocracy?
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Is This Democracy or Muskocracy?
I am trying to get my head around our new reality: a private citizen who happens to be the richest man in the world, who owns half of all the satellites orbiting our beleaguered planet, who controls one of the largest social media platforms in the world, who depends on millions of dollars of largess from the federal government, who is, by the way, a native of South Africa, who paid $300 million to the current president’s campaign, who has never been vetted through the proper governmental...
Jesus is Not All Right with Me
by Stephen J. Lyons The newly elected capo was rightly offended by the Inaugural Day sermon. “She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.” His consiglieri was horribly aggrieved. “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list,” bellowed Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA). Social media accounts buzzed with algorithm outrage.
Dispatch From Central America
PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY, GUATEMALA — The child descendants of the great Mayan Empire line the edges of the world’s longest highway, hoping drivers will stop and gift them the Christmas presents their families cannot afford.
If You See Something, Say Nothing
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If You See Something, Say Nothing
As the Trump administration, led ironically by former Obama administrator, and new “border czar” Thomas Homan, prepares its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to descend on Chicago and other sanctuary cities to carry out perhaps the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, it will need your support. And don’t fret about those past pesky statutes. ICE has got you covered.
To the Arresting Officer
The handcuffs were unnecessary. I was subdued and harmless. Also you were a little too pleased, like a gambler on a lucky streak. You’d pulled me over because I was going too slow on California’s I-5—or so you said. Then you’d run my driver’s license through the computer system, and—presto!—my name popped up with a ticket that had gone to warrant on a car I no longer owned. I’d neglected to repair a broken taillight. My papers were not in order. The republic would not be safe with me roaming free.
Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?
Dear Trump supporters: Congrats, your dreams came true. He’s back, almost like he never left. Will this finally make you happy? Will your constant whining and raging rants about inflation (2 percent) and jobs (unemployment rate of 4.1 percent) end? Will grocery prices now plummet to a level where you can now afford milk, $20 lottery tickets, and a carton of cigs?
Congrats, Trumpers, But What Hath You Wrought?
Dear Trump supporters—Congrats; your dreams came true. He’s back. You must be filled with MAGA pride when you read these recent headlines from The Washington Post: “Trump Team Weighs Pentagon Pick After Sexual Assault Allegation Surfaces;” “Global Health Experts Sound Alarm Over JFK, Jr., Citing Samoa Outbreak.” Oops, I forgot, you don’t read the “fake news.” Facts are just so woke, aren’t they?
Commentary: I miss the time of presidential reverence
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Commentary: I miss the time of presidential reverence
I am old enough to remember a time in our country’s history when a president was someone to respect and emulate. John F. Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage” was an inspired read to this scruffy South Side Chicago kid, who had aspirations of becoming president, or perhaps a lawyer, like my other hero Abraham Lincoln.
I miss the time of presidential reverence
I am old enough to remember a time in our country's history when a president was someone to respect and emulate. John F. Kennedy's book "Profiles in Courage" was an inspired read to this scruffy South Side Chicago kid, who had aspirations of becoming president, or perhaps a lawyer, like my other hero Abraham Lincoln. Equally aspirational was Lyndon Johnson's continuation of Kennedy's "Great Society," a place, Kennedy said, "where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor."
Commentary: I miss the time of presidential reverence
I am old enough to remember a time in our country's history when a president was someone to respect and emulate. John F. Kennedy's book "Profiles in Courage" was an inspired read to this scruffy South Side Chicago kid, who had aspirations of becoming president, or perhaps a lawyer, like my other hero Abraham Lincoln.
When They Go Low I Give Up
by Stephen J. Lyons I’m huffing away on the elliptical at our local gym, reading another depressing commentary about our nation’s state of affairs, when I look across the room at the television to see the scabrous visage of one Steve Bannon. This is “War Room,” his program on Newsmax, a station I didn’t even know was included on this gym’s cable plan.
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