Well, the “F-word” of American politics is finally being brandished by both sides in a classic game of rubber v. glue. But there is danger in simply writing the battle off as a food fight, in objecting “BZL2 !” (as I might) or saying “a pox on both your houses” (as William Shakespeare might). When …
Whatever you think about Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in Dobbs v. Mississippi, one thing should be clear – no judge who signed that opinion should be called “conservative.” Radical perhaps. Or regressive. Even authoritarian. But if you want to use words precisely, as Supreme Court Justices should, don’t call them conservative. We know what …
CONSERVATIVE, adj.: radical, regressive, authoritarian Read More »
With the war in Ukraine dragging on (six months so far for us, and seven years for them, it might be time to reflect on how this war is different, and what we can do about it. First, how is it different? Why are we so engaged in this war, when we were largely indifferent …
When I was growing up, dinner was a time for our family to talk about what was going on in our lives, and in the world. Very often, when a question would come up, for example about the electoral college, my father would intone “Hand me please the Es”, and one of us would dutifully …
Is it just me, or does the current furor over “mask mandates” seem trumped up? For as long as I can remember, Americans have been able to accept both that: 1) I have a right to wear or not wear whatever articles of clothing I like; and, at the same time, 2) a business owner …
In the first part of this argument, I tried to persuade you that conflict is a normal part human interaction, and that it can be good for us if done in a constructive way. I distinguished a constructive form of conflict, which I called “arguing”, from a destructive form, which I called “fighting.” I then …
What This Country Needs is a Good Argument! – Part Two Read More »
The conventional wisdom is that nothing gets done in this country because we are constantly arguing with each other. In particular, nothing gets done in Congress because our elected representatives argue too much. To the contrary, I claim that we don’t argue enough, and especially that Congress does not argue nearly enough. I believe that …
It begins with a lie. An annual lie, repeated year after year, by President after President, whether Republican or Democrat. The President stands before a joint session of Congress and begins the State of the Union emphatically: “The state of our union is strong!” We know that the President is lying, but we feel …
Before we look at issues peculiar to the impeachment for inciting an insurrection, let’s remember some key ideas from the first impeachment. Impeachment is a political proceeding, not a criminal or civil proceeding. What must be proved is not a crime, as defined by criminal statutes, but a “high crime or misdemeanor” – basically, an …
A Primer on Legal Issues in Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Read More »
Recently, the word “unity” is being brandished by Republicans in the wake of the January 6th riot in the Capitol to ask the country to look past what happened and why it happened. But real unity requires agreement, agreement on basic principles and agreement on basic facts. Republicans offer neither and, in fact, turn their …
Everywhere people express frustration at how long it is taking for us to get back to normal in the face of the COVID pandemic. To which I say – not so fast. Normal is, in many ways, what made us so vulnerable to COVID, more than any other developed nation. For people in the United …
One thing has become abundantly clear over the past year – there is, in fact a Deep State. Government employees who are not elected by anyone are limiting the ability of our elected officials to control our elections, our pandemic response, and even our military. Thank God. I am not talking about the distorted view …
If you are a Trump supporter, you know that the President won re-election in a landslide, and that it is only massive voter fraud that keeps him from being declared the winner. What may not be so clear is why his lawsuits challenging the election results keep getting dismissed, and why his lawyers allege fraud …
Fraud and Evidence: What is Wrong with the president’s lawyers? Read More »
That is what we can expect Republicans to offer as an explanation as to why a COVID relief package cannot be more robust, at a time when record numbers of Americans are flocking to food pantries, not just for Thanksgiving dinner, but for survival. To put things in context, we might look to some of …
This Thanksgiving all Americans should join together in being thankful for the presidency of Donald John Trump. Trump supporters can be thankful that the wall has been built and the immigrant threat thereby averted, that the economy has reached new heights, and that the swamp has been drained. And for Trump supporters who don’t live …
The President clearly has a problem with premature elation, as shown by his inability to control his unwarranted triumphal twittering. It started on the first day after his inauguration when he tweeted that his crowd size was bigger than Obama’s. As if. It became more serious when we went overnight from “the slowest economic recovery …
What a year it has been. Fires, flood, and pestilence throughout the land. As I write this, the 27th hurricane of the season is in the Gulf of Mexico, bearing down on US cities. Many people have used the word “Biblical” to describe what is happening, but most people do not take seriously the idea …
The abiding touchstone for conservative voters has been to elect the candidate who better embodies conservative beliefs and values. Because the term “conservative” has varied meanings, it would not be appropriate to call a belief “conservative” because a few self-described conservatives believe it. So, for example, the QAnon conspiracy theory does not represent conservative values …
There is a pandemic raging in the United States. No, not that one. I’m talking about a pandemic of pointless political argument – argument that does not lead to resolution or action, but only divides people, and thereby makes effective action to deal with problems less likely. When those arguments occur within families or among …
Donald Trump to Teresa May: “I would rather follow than lead” Many business books advocate “leading from behind” or “leading from the sidelines”. But, for those who want credit without accepting any responsibility or blame, nothing beats “following from the front.” The big advantage to being in front is that you automatically get the …
Donald Trump claims to be concerned about anarchists; someone needs to warn him that the call is coming from inside the house. Recently we have been hearing a term that has fallen out of favor over the past forty years or so – “anarchists.” The term has been so loosely applied that is often little …
With the Republican convention starting this week, we can expect to hear lots about the terrible economy that Donald Trump inherited and the tremendous job he has done creating jobs and growth. For the most part, the Republican argument will depend on lying about the state of the economy when Trump took office, and on …
What to Make of the Mueller Report: A Primer on Facts, Evidence and Proof Testimony of Attorney General Barr before the House Judiciary Committee has revived assertions about the “Russia hoax” and statements that “there was no evidence of collusion.” If Lindsay Graham follows through on his threat to have Robert Mueller before the Senate …
Does Donald Trump look about as comfortable holding a Bible as Mike Dukakis did riding in a tank?
The argument has been made, most notably by Sen. Lamar Alexander, that while President Trump did the things that the House of Representatives accused him of, he should not be removed from office because the people, not the Senate should be the judges of his conduct, and what the consequences should be. The …