The Playground Lessons When I was a kid the grown ups let me know when I behaved improperly and the messages were always very clear and compelling. That didn’t mean that I never did whatever-it-was again, but it did mean that I knew the rules and did whatever-it-was less and less often. I saw other… [read more]
Carrots, Sticks and George Washington
George Washington’s Farewell Address was delivered to Congress in 1796. He offered profound wisdom to our young nation and his words have value that is undiminished by time. Indeed, it reads as though Washington had a telescope to see into the 21st century and address our challenges of today. His address is wordy in its… [read more]
E Pluribus Unum
Perhaps you heard that in the face of the Texas winter nightmare Republican Governor Greg Abbott blamed the breakdowns and suffering on the Green New Deal. Of course, the GND is only an idea; nothing has been done to create its physical reality, so Abbott’s pronouncements were most perplexing. Besides, the wind and solar renewables… [read more]
You Have The Power
Arguably, even in the presence of moral outrages, assaults on democracy, compromise of our national security and even more, our most grievous shame of the past four years is our refusing fair treatment of people fleeing terrorism and the imprisonment of innocent children. Literally ripping babies – infants – from their mothers’ arms. We did… [read more]
Lessons From a Senate Committee Hearing
The Merrick Garland confirmation hearing yielded a couple of unanticipated lessons, one of which we might have expected, but it arrived in a surprisingly moving and impactful way. The other was a fresh take on what happened on January 6. Judge Garland responded to a question from Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) about why he wanted… [read more]
Trump’s Future, Dead Politician and Curmudgeon Corner
The Future of Trump Memo to DC, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, New York State, New York City, SDNY, the Justice Department and all the women he raped: Indict the crook for inciting a riot, election interference, bank fraud, wire fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud, money laundering, incitement to insurrection and sedition, bribery and the rest…. [read more]
Imagine That Little Chat
No Surprise It was a shock, but no surprise. We have been cultivating Rule by Mob for decades. Incrementally, the extremists, the angry, hateful ones, have infiltrated our society and our government, first with a toe hold of buffoons in Congress, then with more zealots spouting patriotic sounding phrases, the true meanings of which are… [read more]
Pop Quiz For Republican Senators
Answers are required for all questions. Hints for conservatives are provided. Easy questions come first. Impeachment – Second Chance to Get This Right Since the beginning of his candidacy in 2015 the disgraced former president stoked violence against those who opposed him, including a continuation of his cavorting in the swamp of racism. He urged… [read more]
White Privilege
The trial in the Senate of the Disgraced Awful Former Terrible President (“DAFT-P”) is underway and the attorneys for the DAFT-P have done a fine snow job to this point. They had to do that, because neither the law nor the facts are on their side. All they had were a distraction dance and a… [read more]
How It Works
In the first Star Wars movie there is a scene with Darth Vader and the officers of the Imperial star ship. The commander says, “The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the… [read more]
