For actor/activist James Cromwell and other ecologists, December 7, 2017 is another date that will live in infamy, as a Pearl Harbor Day for bald eagles, the symbol of America. As part of his ongoing struggle against fracking, Cromwell was back in court this week observing a hearing regarding the fate of the controversial Competitive Power Ventures power plant in Orange County, N.Y. Although there is currently a moratorium on fracking in N.Y. State, the disputed process is allowed just across the border. According to Cromwell, methane gas is drilled out of the shale fields in eastern Pennsylvania for transport via pipeline across State lines to Wawayanda, N.Y. Activists are anxious about the possibility of leaks, as well as fracking’s role in climate change.

Donald Trump is tweeting about a particular spot in Hawaii. He visited it recently on his way to threaten war in Asia. It’s a big feature this week in lots of U.S. magazines and newspapers. It has a lovely name that sounds like murder and blood because Japanese airplanes engaged in large-scale murder there in 1941: Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor Day today is like Columbus Day 50 years ago. That is to say: most people still believe the hype. The myths are still maintained in their blissful unquestioned state. “New Pearl Harbors” are longed for by war makers, claimed, and exploited. Yet the original Pearl Harbor remains the most popular U.S. argument for all things military, including the long-delayed remilitarization of Japan — not to mention the WWII internment of Japanese Americans as a model for targeting other groups today. Believers in Pearl Harbor imagine for their mythical event, in contrast to today, a greater U.S. innocence, a purer victimhood, a higher contrast of good and evil, and a total necessity of defensive war making.

We finished at most 25 percent, or hopefully 50 percent, of suffering through a horrible new presidency. 2018 will emerge as a chance for state and congressional changes – albeit one where money, gerrymandering and racism will try to destroy our democracy. Reminder: Putin was an unpopular figure in his country who has used a sex scandal and terrorist attacks to gain power, which let him do many things including decriminalize domestic violence and end term limits.

The Obama administration toppled Gaddafi in Libya. Look at the mess there. Imagine a foreign power like Putin working with the “Lewis Powell Manifesto.”  Will Oligarchy Tax Empowerment and student debt create indentured servitude here?

My point: in 2018 please use critical thinking: no matter what distractions present themselves. Putin and our carpet-bagging President will not create a utopia.

Albums of the Year

1. Kendrick Lamar - Damn

2. Jay-Z- 444

3. Tyler, the Creator - Flowerboy

4. Joey Badass - All-American Badass

5. Renée Dion- Haven

Local Album of the Year: Renee Dion - Haven

Do you use the internet? Like, at all? On your phone, on your laptop, on a big glowing gaming rig or a desktop held together with chewing gum and good thoughts? Then you should know we’re on the cusp of something that could destroy the internet as we know it: the end of government-enforced net neutrality.

Back in our June 2017 issue, I wrote about what net neutrality is and why it matters. But so much has been happening that it feels like years since then, so I’ll give you a refresher: “Net neutrality” is the policy that all internet traffic should be treated the same regardless of its source. Service providers aren’t allowed to throttle, for example, Netflix, which they might want to do to make their own streaming service look more appealing or so they can charge an extra fee to get it at full speed. Or they might just do it because they think it’s too much of a burden on their networks – they’ve done it before.

While the Netflix example is the most likely to spur your average citizen into action, it’s also vital to anyone whose politics fall left of center to keep the internet free from corporate control and censorship.