Category: Politics

NOVEMBER 8, 2019 – As to all things Ukraine . . . the country fractures thusly: One-third (“First Estate”), knows facts and truth, panics; One-third (“Second Estate”) knows better, denies; One-third (“Third Estate”) knows nothing, cares little. However likely impeachment, conviction is equally unlikely. It will be Trump vs. [Democrat] in 2020.  As it turns …

NOVEMBER 6, 2019 – Each of us is born with a hard-wired power unit that lights up ambition and aspiration and powers all plans and actions. The power runs constantly, fueled by will, wind, or whim, depending on individual disposition, experience, and circumstance. Evolution gave us the power unit for survival. In most of us, …

NOVEMBER 1, 2019 – Yesterday, in his column, The Point, CNN commentator Chris Cillizza explained Trump’s support. Cillizza boiled it down to the attitude, “I’m fed up with the [corrupt, do-nothing but ignore me] government and won’t take it anymore!” Trump played on that in 2016 and will hammer at it for re-election.  Cillizza cited …

OCTOBER 31, 2019 – Every legal case has two parts—facts and law. Sometimes the facts are in the bag: the other side is blind, deaf, and dumb regarding the facts OR both sides stipulate to the facts. The case then turns on the law—given irrefutable or stipulated facts, how should the law be applied? From …

OCTOBER 29, 2019 – ME: I propose a ground rule: I won’t use the word “ass”; you won’t use the words, “sham” and “witch hunt.”  Deal? REPUBLICAN: Deal. You go first. ME: Impeachment contemplated by the Constitution is an extraordinary remedy to be applied only when the president has committed a seriously wrong act—a high …

OCTOBER 27, 2019 – An acquaintance running for mayor of his town recently told me he’d been labeled “racist” in a hard-fought campaign. “Being called ‘racist,’” he told me, “is the next worst thing to being called a pedophile.” He, of course, denies being racist. According to Merriam-Webster’s, “racism is a belief that race is the …

OCTOBER 25, 2019 – When it comes to impeachment, the Democrats worry me.  So do the Republicans.  But more precisely, “we the people” worry me. Why? Because “we the people” are no longer “we.” One could fairly argue that we’ve never been “we.” Exhibit A: the institution of slavery, which pre-dated by over 150 years, …

OCTOBER 24, 2019 – Yesterday I went to the doctor for my flu/pneumonia shots and annual physical. Because I’m now 65, the sign-in questionnaire was quite different from the form used on younger adults.  The “old folks” form includes such questions as, “How many times did you fall last year?” with a choice between “0-1” …

OCTOBER 23, 2019 – A Republican Facebook friend of mine recently asked me three questions about the  Democratic candidates for president in 2020.  I’ve elected to post the questions—and my responses—here. QUESTION #1: Which Democratic candidate for president would you support in 2020? The short answer is, I’d support any of them ahead of Trump.  …

OCTOBER 17, 2019 – I watched snippets of Tuesday evening’s “debate” among 12 Democrats running for their party’s nomination for president. Snippets were all I could handle.  Here’s why: For many election cycles, presidential “debates” have been a platform for policy billboards pushing non-existent products.  Moderators, commentators, and we the people have become swept up …

OCTOBER 16, 2019 – Anyone who was awake for The Great Recession is familiar with the Michael Lewis book entitled, The Big Short. The movie version followed. “Short,” of course, referred to selling borrowed mortgage-backed securities on the bet that the securities would drop in value.  We all know how the bet played out. More …

OCTOBER 1, 2019 – Today’s post features an experiment. Quick quiz (with no “correct” answer): How would you prioritize the issues listed below? Impeachment (Or, “Democrats’ war against the president” (if you’re a Republican)/”The need to halt foreign interference in our elections” (if you’re a Democrat)); Responding to climate change; Keeping out hordes and rounding …

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 – I’ve devised an impeachment quiz for supporters of the president: 1. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land: ____ Yes; see next question. ____ No; we’re done. 2. Have you read the background to Article II, Section 4 (impeachment) of the Constitution? ____ Yes; see next question. ____ No; …

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 – Like you, I trust, I’m scandalized by the incessant gush of the president’s corruptionfecklessnesserraticismselfdealingnepotismvindictive behaviorsupportfordictatorscontemptforalliesscornforsciencedisregardfortheruleoflawinhumanetreatmentofdesperatehumanbeingspersonalderisionofothersetceteraadnausem. Now the latest serious infraction: Ukraine-Bidengate, a much simpler case of wrong than the Byzantine record of prior offenses.  Finally, Pelosi says enough is enough. Yet some Democrats still oppose impeachment on grounds the process would …

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 – I’ve now started the “War Years” portion of Carl Sandburg’s two-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. If you want to know “polarization,” read this work.  But here’s the thing: the fracturing didn’t happen overnight.  The seeds had been sown when slaves were introduced to Jamestown in 1619; when 13 independent colonies debated …