B.R. Merrick

B.R. Merrick
B.R. Merrick's picture
User offline. Last seen 41 min 42 sec ago. Offline
Columnist
Joined: 2009-08-30
Columns on STR: 30
Other (email): 

brmerrick@optonline.net

General Information

Sex: 
Male
About me in brief: 

B.R. Merrick writes for "Strike The Root" and "A Voice for Men," lives in the Northeast, is  proud to be a classical music reviewer at Amazon.com and iTunes, and in spite of the poisonous nature of television, God Himself will have to pry his DVDs of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” out of his cold, dead hands, under threat of eternal damnation.

Recent comments by B.R. Merrick

Columns by B.R. Merrick

Coercion Is Death
7.5
B.R. Merrick 2010-07-19 03:00
By B.R. Merrick.   Exclusive to STR     We all hold opinions. That's one of the many, many things that set us apart from the rest of the animal world. There's nothing wrong, in my opinion, with having an opinion. Hell, I've got plenty. Let's just take one opinion as an example:   I believe that the three greatest composers who ever lived are Johann...
The Great White Lie Recommended
9.33333
B.R. Merrick 2010-06-23 03:00
By B.R. Merrick   Exclusive to STR   Like most good anarchists, I read Antiwar.com on a regular basis. They are to be commended for the outstanding work they do, and for the fact that they do it with such consistency. Recently, James Bovard posted an entry in the blog concerning the Obama Administration's refusal to permit discovery in the case of Maher Arar, a man who was...
Free Roman Polanski
8
B.R. Merrick 2010-06-14 03:00
Exclusive to STR   “Rosemary’s Baby” is one of the greatest films of all time, a one-of-a-kind original. The director of this masterpiece, one Roman Polanski, raped a thirteen-year-old back in the ‘70s. Technically, he never admitted this, and the charge of rape was dropped during a plea bargain, the state’s cynical way of making its own version...
Joe Stack and the Incomprehension of Liberty MUST READ
7.6
B.R. Merrick 2010-04-14 03:00
Exclusive to STR Other people have alreadysurmised the essentials of these tragic deaths quite well. I am assuming that the reader doesn’t need a recap of what transpired on February 18. And make no mistake about it: These are tragic deaths, using the original meaning of “tragic.” A tragedy concerns the downfall of a once great individual. “Hamlet...
Wasted Time and Energy
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-11-23 17:00
Exclusive to STR Thus, the lesson: when you choose to be a critical part of a system that has become this corrupt . . . you will not ameliorate or "save" it. The system will necessarily and inevitably corrupt you. ~ Arthur Silber I understand the arguments for getting involved politically. They are multitudinous. Some of them are almost entirely persuasive. (Think Ron Paul.) Some of...
The Heart of America, Part II
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-11-05 17:00
Exclusive to STR We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never...
The Prince of Peace
9
B.R. Merrick 2009-10-12 16:00
Exclusive to STR Three days after swearing an oath to uphold and defend The Constitution, a document that reserves the power to declare war to Congress and not the President, Barack Obama murdered 22 individuals, according to this article in Salon.com. Two hundred fifty-nine days later, he was rewarded for this butchery and the many more that followed when he accepted with great humility a prize...
The Heart of America, Part 1
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-09-21 16:00
Exclusive to STR The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world. ~ Hannah Arendt In Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," the protagonist, Jaguar Paw, is taken captive and brought to a surreal Mayan city. Once there, he witnesses the horror of human sacrifice, and realizes that this will also be his fate. At one point, the...
Post-Modern American Honor
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-08-27 16:00
Exclusive to STR James Bowman is a stereotypical modern-day conservative. The only exception is that he's not only very smart, but his take on mass media and present-day culture is thought-provoking and poignant. I very much enjoy reading his movie reviews. He's definitely a throw-back to a previous era. One of the main ideas with which he is concerned is the loss in today's culture of what...
Separation of Me and State
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-07-26 16:00
Exclusive to STR I listened to Dr. Laura every once in a while years ago, back when I was proudly religious and conservative. She was, and I assume still is, unabashedly conservative. She took a lot of abuse for it, but she stuck with it. (Of course, it did make her a millionaire.) One time when I was listening, a man called in to tell her that a young woman he knew had just had an abortion...
Let Us Awake Now
10
B.R. Merrick 2009-06-04 03:00
Exclusive to STR On May 30, 1962, a modern musical masterpiece premiered in England ’s newest cathedral, built next to the remains of the cathedral that was destroyed when the Nazis bombed Coventry .  Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem" combines two choirs, two orchestras, three vocal soloists, and the Latin religious funeral text with...
Charity Never Faileth
10
B.R. Merrick 2009-05-13 16:00
Exclusive to STR May 14, 2009 The title of this article comes from 1 Corinthians 13:8. I can't call myself a believer anymore, but I do believe quite strongly in the need for each of us to be charitable. I think it's good for us. I know that for me, it helps to remind me of things I tend to forget, when I think of what it is that I lack. There are plenty of people worse off than I am, or...
Put Your Money Where Evil's Mouth Is
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-04-14 16:00
Exclusive to STR I'm not normally into science fiction, but like so many others, I was taken in by "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I had no interest in seeing it at first, but I heard so many good things about it from so many different people, that I eventually did. I have to confess, I was taken in immediately by Cate Blanchette's opening narration: "I feel it in the water....
The Culture of Obedience...Or Else!
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-03-23 17:00
Exclusive to STR March 24, 2009 You remember Wayne Osmond, don't you? I hope I'm writing to people who actually remember The Osmonds, the clean-cut, conservative, Mormon rock sensation that now personifies the '70s; the band of brothers that got women screaming like they hadn't since The Beatles. To most people, Wayne Osmond would seem like someone who had it all: sitting on a pile of money,...
'Til Divorce Do Us Part
0
B.R. Merrick 2009-01-21 17:00
Exclusive to STR January 22, 2009 I am one of the fortunate few. My parents stayed together through it all. They still live in the house where I grew up. I can't tell you what it means to me to be able to go back there for visits, and be surrounded by everything familiar. It will always be my home. It will always be inextricably linked to Mom and Dad. There, in the midst of those thick...
An Anarchist's Carol
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-12-07 17:00
Exclusive to STR December 8, 2008 Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business! ~ Jacob Marley Now, that's a powerful statement; a condemnation, a warning, and perhaps the finest morsel of common sense ever...
Who's Your Daddy?
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-11-10 17:00
Exclusive to STR November 11, 2008 When you see Daddy comin' You're lickin' your lips, Nails bitten down to the quick...   He gives you the keys To a flaming car. Daddy's with you wherever you are.   Daddy's a comfort. Daddy's your best friend. Daddy'll hold your hand right up to the end. -- U2, "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" When I was at the gym on Tuesday...
My Advice for a Safe and Happy Halloween
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-10-30 17:00
Exclusive to STR October 31, 2008 I anticipated it almost as much as Christmas when I was a kid. You probably did, too. The colors are just about off the trees, and the nights are far colder. Just the way I like it. I grew bored with it for a time when I was a teenager, relegating myself to helping my mom decorate the front hall (in as macabre a fashion as she would permit). But I am all...
Signs of Autumn
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-09-30 16:00
Exclusive to STR October 1, 2008 One of the reasons I love living in the Northeast is the change of seasons. I've lived in other areas of the country where there are some rather severe changes between winter and summer (and I love a good snowfall), but they miss the finer points of spring and fall almost entirely. How unfortunate for the millions stuck living in geographically inferior areas,...
Day 2,557
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-09-10 16:00
Exclusive to STR September 11, 2008 Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts. ~ President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 I can be a rather petty individual. I'm far too introspective for my own good, meaning that I can get bogged down in my own problems pretty easily. Tuesday morning September 11, 2001 was just such a day. By...
The Dark "Night"...of Hollywood Misinformation
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-09-02 16:00
Exclusive to STR September 3, 2008 I'm a sucker for great acting. I've sat through films that are sub-par, and films that are greatly disturbing, to watch a great actor earn his paycheck. Therefore, I've been anticipating The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's final complete performance (he will apparently still be featured in another movie), a performance for which he prepared by spending a month in...
The Railroad to Freedom
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-07-30 16:00
Exclusive to STR July 31, 2008 I had one of those near-religious experiences last month, with the weather. It was just a mid-day thunderstorm, one of the things I look forward to in summertime. (They actually freak me out at night. I get all tensed up waiting to be startled by loud thunder. There's probably at least a thousand dollars' worth of psychological counseling to be made there: 'Yes...
No Valid Constitutional Oaths But One
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-06-30 16:00
Exclusive to STR July 1, 2008 I am not a legal scholar. As you can see from my previous articles, I am, in fact, a doofus. Nothing I say will hold water against an 'expert' opinion, nor should my words be construed to mean that I am encouraging you to stop paying income tax, or to refuse your 'God-given right' to vote, due to what I am about to say regarding the Sixteenth and Seventeenth...
God's Bastard Son
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-06-01 16:00
Exclusive to STR June 2, 2008 No, not Jesus. I'm not about to lambaste God Incarnate. Even people who don't believe in His divinity have a hard time going against anything He said when He was here. The Monty Python troupe, when plotting their next film after 'The Holy Grail,' considered a spoof on Jesus's life. After researching the Four Gospels, they came up empty-handed, not because they...
My Day in Court
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-05-04 16:00
Exclusive to STR I walked out of my apartment in a good mood on a Saturday morning in March, to find a parking ticket on my car. I was parked in front of a dumpster. When I moved into this apartment complex years ago, I noticed that other tenants frequently parked in front of the dumpster, so I did, too. I knew full well that I could get ticketed, booted, or even towed, but I took my chances...
Those Damned Mormons!
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-04-21 16:00
Exclusive to STR April 22, 2008 They're at it again, with their crazy religious underwear, their refusal to smoke or drink, and their belief in modern prophets. That Joe Smith sure was an egomaniac, wasn't he? But let's set the record straight on a few things before I utter any more tired anti-Mormon clichés. What happened in Texas this month has less to do with polygamy, the taking of...
Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Public School
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-03-30 16:00
Exclusive to STR March 31, 2008 We don't read about dinosaurs. ' Calvin, from Calvin & Hobbes
EXTRA! Thomas Edison Rolls in Grave
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-03-19 03:00
Exclusive to STR If you're like me, you easily tire of lamenting everything you hate about the world. Here I've barely entered into the beginning of middle age, and I already feel like a curmudgeon when I hear the latest news about the goings-on in any bureaucracy. For my part, I will do my best as a Root Striker to provide helpful tips and a little hope for other would-be cranky old bastards...
An Open Letter to David Horowitz (Although He Doesn't Know It)
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-03-12 03:00
Exclusive to STR The letter below was written in response to yet another mailing from a guy I used to listen to, foolishly believing the rhetoric about 'freedom' and 'liberty.' This guy is one of the worst offenders. I am ashamed of my former warmongering beliefs, and the way I have let 'intellectuals' like this fool me into going along, all of which I shall dive into in later writing. Stay...
The Breakup With My Lover
0
B.R. Merrick 2008-03-04 17:00
Exclusive to STR March 5, 2008
Let Us Awake Now
10
B.R. Merrick 2009-06-04 03:00
Exclusive to STR On May 30, 1962, a modern musical masterpiece premiered in England ’s newest cathedral, built next to the remains of the cathedral that was destroyed when the Nazis bombed Coventry .  Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem" combines two choirs, two orchestras, three vocal soloists, and the Latin religious funeral text with...
Charity Never Faileth
10
B.R. Merrick 2009-05-13 16:00
Exclusive to STR May 14, 2009 The title of this article comes from 1 Corinthians 13:8. I can't call myself a believer anymore, but I do believe quite strongly in the need for each of us to be charitable. I think it's good for us. I know that for me, it helps to remind me of things I tend to forget, when I think of what it is that I lack. There are plenty of people worse off than I am, or...
The Great White Lie Recommended
9.33333
B.R. Merrick 2010-06-23 03:00
By B.R. Merrick   Exclusive to STR   Like most good anarchists, I read Antiwar.com on a regular basis. They are to be commended for the outstanding work they do, and for the fact that they do it with such consistency. Recently, James Bovard posted an entry in the blog concerning the Obama Administration's refusal to permit discovery in the case of Maher Arar, a man who was...
The Prince of Peace
9
B.R. Merrick 2009-10-12 16:00
Exclusive to STR Three days after swearing an oath to uphold and defend The Constitution, a document that reserves the power to declare war to Congress and not the President, Barack Obama murdered 22 individuals, according to this article in Salon.com. Two hundred fifty-nine days later, he was rewarded for this butchery and the many more that followed when he accepted with great humility a prize...
Free Roman Polanski
8
B.R. Merrick 2010-06-14 03:00
Exclusive to STR   “Rosemary’s Baby” is one of the greatest films of all time, a one-of-a-kind original. The director of this masterpiece, one Roman Polanski, raped a thirteen-year-old back in the ‘70s. Technically, he never admitted this, and the charge of rape was dropped during a plea bargain, the state’s cynical way of making its own version...
Joe Stack and the Incomprehension of Liberty MUST READ
7.6
B.R. Merrick 2010-04-14 03:00
Exclusive to STR Other people have alreadysurmised the essentials of these tragic deaths quite well. I am assuming that the reader doesn’t need a recap of what transpired on February 18. And make no mistake about it: These are tragic deaths, using the original meaning of “tragic.” A tragedy concerns the downfall of a once great individual. “Hamlet...
Coercion Is Death
7.5
B.R. Merrick 2010-07-19 03:00
By B.R. Merrick.   Exclusive to STR     We all hold opinions. That's one of the many, many things that set us apart from the rest of the animal world. There's nothing wrong, in my opinion, with having an opinion. Hell, I've got plenty. Let's just take one opinion as an example:   I believe that the three greatest composers who ever lived are Johann...
Joe Stack and the Incomprehension of Liberty MUST READ
7.6
B.R. Merrick 2010-04-14 03:00
Exclusive to STR Other people have alreadysurmised the essentials of these tragic deaths quite well. I am assuming that the reader doesn’t need a recap of what transpired on February 18. And make no mistake about it: These are tragic deaths, using the original meaning of “tragic.” A tragedy concerns the downfall of a once great individual. “Hamlet...
The Great White Lie Recommended
9.33333
B.R. Merrick 2010-06-23 03:00
By B.R. Merrick   Exclusive to STR   Like most good anarchists, I read Antiwar.com on a regular basis. They are to be commended for the outstanding work they do, and for the fact that they do it with such consistency. Recently, James Bovard posted an entry in the blog concerning the Obama Administration's refusal to permit discovery in the case of Maher Arar, a man who was...

 

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