Watching the Rosenstein/Brand Hearing
(more…)
Trump Runs Away
Seriously? Why does anyone listen to that guy? Trump was so desperate to distract us from his Russian connections, he accused former President Obama of using the powers of the government to cheat on the election. Look, the power arrangement is simple: if you make an accusation, it’s you job...
Foreign Entanglements
Did Trump Violate the Corrupt Foreign Practices Act? The New Yorker has been publishing really groundbreaking reports on Trump’s business dealings with Russian oligarchs. Rachael Maddow featured the recent Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War in a recent episode, and for what it’s worth after that, I recommend it,...
Republican Beliefs
Home of the brave I still get confused about what it means to be a Republican. I’ve been looking for the Republican Party’s core beliefs, but they’re hard to find. I tried the 60-page Republican Platform 2016 first, but it was unreadable. Vague platitudes and a string of contradictory positions...
Holding Their Noses
Is Trump, on balance, a good choice? Trump Republicans have objected to the idea that voting for Trump meant they agreed with all his positions. Many complained they didn’t condone, say, Trump’s sexual predation, or his clear racism. They voted tor Trump because they felt he was a change agent,...
Rachael Maddow Shoutout
Rachel Maddow: my new hero. Ms Maddow is on MSNBC five days a week. I recommend her show, and her blog: MaddowBlog. She’s been following the money for a while now, tracing the hidden channels that the Russian oligarchs (presumably with Putin’s knowledge) have been using to funnel money...
Trump Tries to Distract Us Again
Look over there! Shiny!! Many, many ages ago in Trump years — might be four weeks — I wrote an article Today’s Distraction , wondering what kind of distraction Trump would throw in front of us to distract us from the Michael Flynn Russian scandal. And as the press uncovers...
Costs and Excuses
Unnecessary Cruelty Like most people, I usually have a mix of reasons for stuff I do. Sometimes they’re all true, and sometimes the reason I hold up is just a front for another, less defensible idea. Watching Trump’s horrible immigration crackdown in action, I can talk about the impossibility of...
Schooled by Pope Francis
Damn. I hate changing my mind. The New York Times has an editorial today: The Pope on Panhandling: Give Without Worry. I know I do that judgemental thing. “They’re just scamming me. How do I know they really need the money? What if they spend it on drugs? Why should...
States’ Rights
Principles Denied Scott Walker has an Op-Ed in today’s New York Times: Against Protests, Republicans Must Stand Strong. First issue. No idea, have I, why the Times, the word order mangles. Are they closet Star Wars geeks? Second, I have no idea why Republicans lie so casually. Maybe they think...
What Trump Wants
NYTimes Asks the Big Election Question I think a New York Times opinion piece by Tim Wu today is on to something. In How Donald Trump Wins by Losing Tim Wu suggested that the chaos and constant spectacle Trump spins off every day isn’t from him trying to do stuff....
Pence AOL Email Won’t Matter
It Won’t Change Anything. I know it sounds dour, but it’s true. We now know that Pence did something almost like Hillary’s email mistake. But he did it using terrible, terrible security. He did used AOL for what may be criminal goals, and certainly to hide what he was doing...
Pence Used Private Email, and Got Hacked
Irony-Free Zone? I know we’ve become inured to hypocrisy, but here we go anyway. According to the IndyStar, then-Governor of Indiana Michael Pence used an AOL account for some government business. He sometimes discussed sensitive government actions, including Homeland Security issues. This isn’t exactly the sin that Pence excoriated Hillary...
Breaking News: Kushner Also Met Russians
The Wall Street Journal reports that Jared Kushner also met with Russian representatives before the election. This was in a meeting with Michael Flynn. The administration didn’t release this. Flynn didn’t say so out loud. Kushner didn’t tell anyone. The FBI, which obviously knew this, didn’t say anything, even when...
Where Was the FBI?
FBI Becomes Part of the Scandal Jeff Sessions lied during his confirmation hearing. He did talk to the Russian Ambassador several times. The FBI monitors the Russian Ambassador 24 hours a day, including his phone calls and everyone he talks to. The US Attorney General knows this. So why on...
Timid Democrats
I was thinking about a few of the fantastically boring candidates the Democratic party puts for President. Let’s go down the recent list of losers: Hillary Clinton John Kerry Al Gore Michael Dukakis Walter Mondale Really, really boring. (more…)
Active Fantasy Life
Might be good ‘shrooms. I remember, listening to Trump’s speech, wondering if he was living in some cocaine-fueled delusion: Dying industries will come roaring back to life, heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need. Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve....
American Ideals
Can You Be Both Pro-Trump and American? And here’s a quote from Trump’s speech to Congress: It is a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially. Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources...