Category: Political Satire

UP FOR DEBATE: THE “DEBATE”

JUNE 25, 2024 – At my old law firm, the lawyer in the office next to mine was several years ahead of me and a rising star. Clearly, he was a smart cookie and I often slipped into his office for advice and guidance. Occasionally we went on a noontime run together out of the …

VOTING FOR CAPTAIN ABOARD A LIFEBOAT ADRIFT

JUNE 3, 2024 – Voter dissatisfaction with each of the two major candidates in a presidential election has long been a feature of the American political landscape. This phenomenon persists in the current round, but not voting or voting for a third-party candidate is no more likely to produce a “happy result” than these maverick …

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY (BeepBeep!)

APRIL 20, 2023 – Every month or so for many months running, a good college friend calls me and opens the conversation with, “So, when are this Jack Smith character and Merrick Garland gonna come outta their comas and announce the indictment of your favorite ex-president? Last month you told me it was gonna be …

TERMINATING TOXIC TERMS

MARCH 22, 2023 – During my years working inside a large financial institution, we were subjected to a regular onslaught of new and improved terms that people slung around mostly to gain acceptance among other people doing likewise. When I encountered the latest lingo in management meetings I wanted to stand up and scream, “Can’t …

POLITICS AS A HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA

DECEMBER 9, 2022 – By way of background, I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the nation’s high school orchestras. Readers “in the know” already know that that statement relates to “standards.” Readers not “in the know” will have to bear with me for a bit of explanation. Whereas “bands” comprise winds, brass, and percussion …

“DON’T LOOK UP!”

NOVEMBER 13, 2022 – Yesterday, heading out on my walk, I encountered our neighbors Kate and Dave across the alley. We hadn’t chatted in a while, so I stopped to talk. They’re smart, bright, articulate, well-informed and invariably have something worthwhile to hear. Among yesterday’s takes-away was a film recommendation: Don’t Look Up, on Netflix. …

IF I GOT THE CALL (PART IX – “LOOSE LIPS”)

OCTOBER 22, 2022 – (Cont.) “Okay. What are your recommendations?” The mad dog Don now looked scared, if the orange sweat dripping over the edge of his collar was an accurate indicator. “Simple,” I said. “You keep quiet until I get your neck out of the noose.” “But my people wanted to hang Mike Pence …

IF I GOT THE CALL (PART VIII – “MAD DOG”)

OCTOBER 21, 2022 – (Cont.) I also recalled our family’s “rescue dog”—so flawed, crazy, untrainable and destructive, we had to rescue our neighborhood by returning the dog to the rescue center. Perhaps, I thought, in the case of the mad dog now seated in front of me, I could rescue the nation by . . …

IF I GOT THE CALL (PART VII – “BETTER CALL ST. PAUL”)

OCTOBER 20, 2022 – (Cont.) “Not to denigrate your legal teams,” I said, “but ever since Michael Cohen, you’ve been working with the wrong crew. They’re third- and fourth-stringers. Losers, especially Powell and Giuliani. To be brutally honest, sir, they all did you a massive disservice—worst lawyers ever. Weak. Every single one of them. I’m …

IF I GOT THE CALL (PART VI – BACK ON TRACK)

OCTOBER 19, 2022 – (Cont.) The rest of the flight to Fort Lauderdale put me to sleep. In a dream, the Don was wearing a cheap, plastic, Halloween mask of Mike. The first thing the Don-disguised-as-Mike asked me was, “How many barroom brawls have you been in?” I woke with a start, shortly before our …

IF I GOT THE CALL (PART II)

OCTOBER 15, 2022 – (Cont.) “What’s your rate and retainer?” “Nine ninety-five an hour plus expenses. I’ll need 250,000 to get started.” “Two fifty?” asked Snipperskapper, his voice dropping off. “That’s pretty rich.” “So is your boss,” I said. “Or at least that’s what he’d have us believe.” “I’m not sure 250’s gonna work.” “Sure …

IF I GOT THE CALL (PART I)

OCTOBER 14, 2022 – Ever since I was a young kid, I’ve lived half my waking hours in imagined reality, as oxymoronic as that might seem. Today, I easily stepped into my “pretend world.” The prompt was pundit chatter over yesterday’s screening of The Godfather—and the Don’s rambling, unedited, 14-page rant-critique of the show. In …

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

JULY 17, 2022 – Here in the Northwoods, life used to be far more primitive at our family’s summer cabin. There was no phone, and our grandmother cooked up a storm on a wood-burning stove. A hand-pump outside the cabin provided water for drinking, cooking, and washing. With a bar of soap, you bathed in …

“CANCEL CULTURE” CANCELLATION

DECEMBER 15, 2021 – No “unified theory” exists for explaining the contradictions that define humanity. And yet . . . maybe a central truth resides within our species. I’ve always been a true believer in Santa Claus, and I’m scandalized by people who would punch him in the face.  Today’s issue of The New York …

UNITED WE STOOD

DECEMBER 7, 2021 – Veterans Day was originally “Armistice Day,” marking the end of the “Great War for Civilization” (I kid you not—that’s what the victors dubbed it, despite the four years of criminal slaughter—all sides—of the men of a whole generation)—at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. …

F-BOMBING

OCTOBER 13, 2021 – While driving across rural Wisconsin Monday, I saw an enormous sign that screamed, “F_ _ _ BIDEN.” The blue background, white lettering, and big white stars on the sides mimicked “[YOU-KNOW-WHO]/PENCE” and “YOU-KNOW-WHO]/2020” signs on display during last year’s presidential campaign and “YOU-KNOW-WHO]/2024” signs during this year’s “stop the steal” effort. …

ROAD RAGE

AUGUST 16, 2021 – Now that we’ve arrived home safely from a 2,900-mile road trip, I can write about silent road rage: hyper-speed. I’ve driven and ridden on enough byways the world over to know that America has no monopoly on crazy driving. No one who survives a bus or taxi ride in Egypt or …