Category: Politics

JANUARY 8, 2021 – Trump was absolutely right about something: If I voted for Democrats, there’d be a breakdown of law and order—inside the Capitol Building, no less. In part I find relief in seeing that the mob was as motley as they were.  Put less charitably but more precisely, I’m relieved that they were …

JANUARY 7, 2021 – When poop hit the fan yesterday, I was in the dentist’s chair, looking at the TV screen affixed to the ceiling. The hygienist—in full riot gear—peered down at my gaping mouth.  CNN played above. Five minutes into my appointment all hell broke loose . . . on the TV screen. “Uh!” …

JANUARY 6, 2020 – To function successfully, a democracy requires a foundation of many supporting stones—a well- informed public, established rule of law, majority rule, minority rights . . . for starters.  But the cornerstones of democracy are (1) free and fair elections; and (2) losers respecting results. Since November, the Naked Emperor has been …

JANUARY 5, 2021 – Our five-year-old granddaughter loves doing puzzles when she visits. She also likes Northwoods nature. There’ll come a day, I’m sure, a decade from now, when I’ll find Illiana sitting on the bench swing up at the lake, admiring the panoramic view. More accurately, I’ll assume she’s admiring the scenery as I …

JANUARY 4, 2021 – Four days into 2021 and the craziness continues: Naked Emperor twisting the arms off democracy to a groundswell of Republican cheers. This assault is nothing new for the Party of Trump, for which raw power is the sole objective. On one hand, I’m as disgusted as any democrat and every Democrat. …

DECEMBER 18, 2020 – Trump’s presidency revealed that “expertise” is essential.  This doesn’t mean that experts are infallible. They err and fail, as when a plane—or market—crashes. But modern society and all hope of advancement would soon collapse altogether without experts. Given the impact of governmental policy, both political and topical expertise are essential in …

DECEMBER 17, 2020 – Those of us who believe in American democracy have long been outraged at Senate Republicans. How could they line up so shamelessly behind the Con Man who stole, then trashed their party and (former) ideals? Harangue, harangue!  Here’s the good news: American democracy is alive and well. And here’s the bad …

DECEMBER 11, 2020 – After a week of solitude and natural beauty that surround me in the Northwoods, I’m about to relinquish occupancy of the Red Cabin to our son and daughter-in-law who arrive later this weekend from New York.  They’ll quarantine here until Christmas so that our family can celebrate together safely. I’ve hung …

DECEMBER 4, 2020 – Yesterday evening I listened to CNN’s Jake Tapper interview Biden and Harris.  Their joint appearance revealed how their remarkable partnership is developing—for the good of the country. I must confess that in early Democratic debates, Biden didn’t form a positive impression with me.  He looked “over the hill,” a bit of …

NOVEMBER 27, 2020 – Just as a professor aspiring to tenure must worry as much about politics as about the quality of her/his scholarship, so must Biden/Harris, desirous of re-election and relevance, worry as much about politics as about policy success—otherwise, they will be remembered more for their contributions to Habitat for Humanity after leaving …

NOVEMBER 25, 2020 – Yesterday I watched Biden’s live, televised introduction of his foreign policy and national security team and the individual presentations that followed: Antony Blinken, Secretary of State; Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence; Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security; Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Ambassador to the UN; Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor; John Kerry, …

NOVEMBER 24, 2020 – Among the 79 million who voted for Biden/Harris, many of us are concerned about the long-term damage that the Trump has done to our democracy by his baseless claim of voter fraud and other electoral irregularities.  His rantings and ravings about a “stolen” election would have little impact if a big …

NOVEMBER 23, 2020 – Recently I read the opinion tweeted by actor Edward Norton: there’s a method to Trump’s post-election madness. According to Norton, who’s no “hulking” slouch, Trump’s refusal to concede and his attempts to disrupt and destroy are designed for negotiating leverage against the certainty of prosecution and probability of prison. I’m not …

NOVEMBER 15, 2020 – My parents worried about “liberals.” Liberals favored consolidation of school districts and public libraries; they usurped  local municipal authority by passing legislation that created a metropolitan-wide “council.” And of course liberals raised taxes to pay for “government programs” that my parents viewed as wasteful and ineffectual. At the national level, my …

NOVEMBER 11, 2020 – My dear mother-in-law, Cleo Boger, would’ve turned 100 today. She died six weeks after she’d voted for the first woman to win the popular vote for president. Imagine that—Cleo, a life-long Republican, voting for a Democrat instead of . . . a red wrecking ball! And here we are four years …

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 – Whenever I was with my dad up at the cabin on a warm day in late autumn, he’d mention the “Armistice Day Blizzard” (now, “Veterans Day”) of 1940.  The day before had been unseasonably warm, pleasant, filled with sunshine.  It was duck-hunting season and many hunters had blithely taken the day …

NOVEMBER 8, 2020 – The German surrender in WW II took effect on May 8, 1945, which became known in the UK and the US as “VE Day”—“Victory in Europe Day.”  The Japanese surrender date, August 15, 1945, was called “VJ”—“Victory over Japan Day.”  Yesterday we got a taste for how those victories—after so much …

NOVEMBER 6, 2020 – For four interminable years the Trumps—Don, Goofball Sons, Barbie, “Ken-in-law”—have most definitely been our “First Family”—first in corruption, first in crassness, first in crudity, first in every quality that would qualify any of them to be in charge of much of anything, let alone be president or a presidential advisor. (Trophy …