All of the reporting on Ukraine-gate deliberately discusses the held up military aid in terms of dollars, specifically $391 million – and reports the story in terms of holding up “funds” for Ukraine (or in one misleading example that I read: Ukraine was left “checking to
Over a week ago, there was a pretty remarkable piece of reporting — one (or both) of Rudy Giuliani’s comically guilty looking Ukrainian associates claimed to share “executive privilege” with President Donald Trump with respect to the federal criminal charges brought against them: One of the
Friday was the final day of 1st quarter. It was also the penultimate game for our freshman soccer team. Both of those events are occasions for another reflection on teaching and related. If interested in my observations, which will use those as a starting point
which is the longest I have ever gone silent here since joining this site during the 2004 cycle in December, 2003. Given how visible I have been here, I thought I owed the community some explanation for my silence. Let me start by noting that
Everybody gather near. Dyin’ time is here Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome As all of you know, I have been a frequent commentator, and will continue to be a frequent commentator on the stunning internal collapse of the National Rfle Association. My beef with the
Today’s impeachment hearing featuring Corey Lewandowski was an utter embarrassment for Democrats, and destroyed any notion that the Democratic leadership possesses even the semblance of competence that would be required to impeach President Trump. Believe me, I wish this weren’t true. But as an adult, I have to face
The late columnist and tv personality Charles Krauthammer railed against the Obama administration’s, ‘The Obama Doctrine: leading from behind’ in a column written in 2011 based on an interview of Obama staffers conducted by Ryan Lizza. Krauthammer’s piece was one of many political hit pieces
A few years ago I wrote a post collecting some very well-turned quotations by writers attempting to describe the dysfunction and threat of the Republican Party. I wanted to add a worthy, new entry by Jeet Heer in the Nation, specifically describing White House aide
The Truth Is Out There The X-Files Did anybody here ever see that 1997 movie “Conspiracy Theory?” In short, it’s about a cab driver (Mel Gibson), who believes that basically everything that happens in the world is a part of a vast conspiracy, most
Trump is trying to turn chickenshit into chicken salad with his embrace of the white supremacist label. According to Trump and his allies political logic, Democrats will suffer politically: Rather than balk at the label, however, the Trump campaign is taking it in stride. According
My answer is Yes. Every time Democrats roll out a proposal to reform health insurance, or reduce education debt, or expand access to pre-school, or invest in infrastructure, or fund education, etc., there is an expectation that the Democrats will explain — in the weeds and with
The dumbest argument that I heard in the last Democratic Debate was the notion (and attack on Joe Biden) that fmr. President Obama should have reduced the number of deportations. As the NYT summarized: Other Democrats, siding with Mr. Castro, joined in piling on Mr.
Following the fall of the Nazi regime, and at the Nuremberg trials, certain German defendants — including concentration camp guards and bureaucrats — raised a famous defense: “I was just following orders.” I noticed recently that Trump and Republican have invented a new variant of the defense:
I have to hand it to the reporters at Axios. I can hardly get through one day of Trump’s verbal brain farts without treating myself to an hour long brain bleach shower to prepare for the next day’s assault, but they did a deep dive and
We’ve all seen, heard of, or read about it. A well dressed, well off, PhD who gets skinned down to his skivvies by a 16 y.o. high school dropout with a 3 card monte table on a street corner. And no matter how often we
The “Allred Moment.” That’s what Eugene Robinson called it on MSNBC last night, and I couldn’t have put it better meself. Now I know why the guy has a Pulitzer prize on his wall. But it was more than just a pretty bit of word
A subtle hint for the newest entry into the 2020 Democratic primaries, billionaire Tom Steyer. Go Home! And while you’re at it, take that loopy Oracle of Delphi, Marianne Williamson with you. We’re trying to conduct some serious business here. So Tom Steyer wants to be
* Sigh * Why, of why couldn’t the South Koreans have stopped His Lowness on his way back over that imaginary line for not having a valid passport and visa for entry into South Korea? After more than a couple of quick hours with Trump,
Well, here we are again. Sorry for the time delay, but I was tied up yesterday on personal business. But nothing in the intervening 24 hours has done anything to change my initial perceptions of what we saw Thursday night, especially where the peripheral characters
There’s nothing worse than a blockbuster upcoming movie that spends three months showing nonstop “teaser” ads touting the flick, and then you plunk down $12 only to realize that all of the exciting parts in the teaser ads were the best parts of the whole