Reading time – 3:44; Viewing time – 5:17 . . . The most recent policy issue – in contrast to the daily dump of Trumpian crazy – was healthcare. That issue deserves one last piece of clarity. Conservatives believe that small government is best. They like minimum taxes, which obviously means that in their view… [read more]
With Liberty and Justice For All
Reading time – 2:57; Viewing time – 4:24 . . . There are quite practical and important reasons to see beyond our justifiable anger and desire for retribution for the crimes of Trump. I refer not to his total and horrifying moral failings, but to actual crimes he may have committed. It matters to our… [read more]
A Modest Proposal – v3.0
Reading time – 1:46; Viewing time – 3:07 . . . In the wake of the Charlottesville tragedy, many in the white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and KKK hate clubs are calling for an all-white North America. They offer little clarity about what they would do with the hundreds of millions of non-whites and non-Christian whites now… [read more]
Placating the Haters
Reading time – 1:38 seconds; Viewing time – 2:19 . . . The recent massacre in Charlottesville, Virginia brought out the worst of Donald Trump – again. Here’s coverage from CNN quoting Trump’s speech: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,”… [read more]
Figure It Out
Reading time – 3:57; Viewing time – 6:38 . . . We have yet another edition of the interpretation game, “I think what the President meant was . . .” His “fire and fury” ad lib has spawned no end of pols, politicians and pundits pretending they can get into the President’s very unusual brain… [read more]
Tariffs, Afghanistan and Republicans
Reading time – 3:45; Viewing time – 5:00 . . . Frequent reader, insightful commenter and friend John Calia directed me to a blog by John Mauldin discussing the issue of tariffs and trade wars. Mauldin is comprehensive and clear in his work and I urge you to link through and read his offering. I… [read more]
Plumbing
Reading time – 1:34; Viewing time – 2:23 . . . During a recent visit to my dentist I stopped in the men’s room and found a – let’s call it “interesting” – wall sign. Honestly, I have never heard of sensitive plumbing. I mean, isn’t it just a bunch of sturdy pipes? Does the… [read more]
Thomas Paine Today
Reading time – 4:27; Viewing time – 6:36 . . . Throughout his candidacy President Trump promised to “drain the swamp,” the fetid, stinking hole of Washington DC that had betrayed ordinary Americans. He railed against insiders, the people who made DC worthy of disdain. Then he populated his cabinet with Goldman Sachs banksters. You… [read more]
Harry Potter and What We Are
Reading time – 2:40; Viewing time – 3:44 . . . “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” J.K. Rowling, from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. Let’s imagine that Rowling has offered a valuable insight – that it’s our choices that show who we… [read more]
Separation Anxiety
Reading time – 3:29; Viewing time – 4:50 . . . We long ago decided that the First Amendment limitation declaring clearly that, “Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” no longer meant “separation of church and state.” Back in 1956 our enemy was the godless… [read more]
