by Elwood Watson Darializa Avila Chevalier, Ph.D. candidate and political novice, ran against and defeated Adriano Espaillat, a five-term member of Congress and leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Espaillat had developed a political operation known as the “squadriano” in New York’s 13th District, which includes Washington Heights, Harlem, and parts of the Bronx. … [Read more...] about A tea party for the left
It’s official, forevermore: Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll.
It’s been a long and winding road for E. Jean Carroll, the magazine writer (now 82 years old) who publicly revealed Donald Trump, during his previous life as a real estate hustler, banged her head against a wall and forcibly penetrated her vagina with his fingers in a department store dressing room. But now, after braving Trump’s rhetorical attacks for the past seven years, … [Read more...] about It’s official, forevermore: Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll.
Grift Force One
Donald Trump will go down as the most corrupt president in American history Donald Trump brags about donating his $400,000 annual salary and lies that he's the only president who's ever done so. For the record, Hoover and JFK both donated their salaries, and Donald Trump hasn't donated his entire salary. But even if he did donate his entire salary, it pales in comparison to … [Read more...] about Grift Force One
Military voters were at the heart of the Supreme Court’s mail-in ballot decision
A service member fills out an absentee ballot in Afghanistan in 2008. Overseas voters often rely on mail-in ballots. AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool Jamie Rowen, UMass Amherst In Watson v. RNC, decided June 29, 2026, liberal and conservative Supreme Court justices joined a noteworthy cross-ideological majority to uphold state grace periods for … [Read more...] about Military voters were at the heart of the Supreme Court’s mail-in ballot decision
The vetting process can’t save us
A Chinese Exclusion-era fiction, buried by the Supreme Court in 1898, has resurfaced 128 years later and came within one vote of winning this week in Barbara v. Trump. For anyone who wishes we could impeach the four horsemen of the Fourteenth Amendment debacle (raises hand), we must put that response to rest: none of the Justices perjured themselves during confirmation … [Read more...] about The vetting process can’t save us
WHAT’S NEXT AFTER SUPREME COURT NIXES TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ELIMINATION ATTEMPT
In a major defeat for President Donald Trump and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to reaffirm more than 100 years of legal precedent and national tradition that babies born on American soil are automatically American citizens. The 6-3 decision is a blow to Trump, who had lobbied the court to uphold … [Read more...] about WHAT’S NEXT AFTER SUPREME COURT NIXES TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ELIMINATION ATTEMPT
Texas Does It Again
After nominating a senatorial candidate in the Republican primary who had cheated on his wife and was indicted for a number of crimes but was backed by Trump, against a fairly clean conservative who Trump didn’t like, the Texas Board of Education approved the reading of Bible stories to bring Christian teachings into Texas classrooms. They didn’t care about the First Amendment … [Read more...] about Texas Does It Again
Cassidy bluntly says RFK, Jr. lied to him during confirmation hearings
Senator Bill Cassidy has buyer's remorse: he realizes that Robert Kennedy, Jr. is the modern incarnation of Pinocchio. Promises RFK, Jr. steadfastly made to the now-outgoing Senator were broken. Sen. Bill Cassidy strongly criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine skepticism and handling of the nation's public health, despite … [Read more...] about Cassidy bluntly says RFK, Jr. lied to him during confirmation hearings
THE IRAN WAR — REFRAMED
There are many critics of our war against Iran, particularly on the left. My jaunty riposte to them is in the form of a Rolling Stones/Mick Jagger quote: You can't always get what you want, but you just might find you get what you need. Or at least a lot of it. Part of the opposition to this broadly unpopular war is our now generational American exhaustion from the forever … [Read more...] about THE IRAN WAR — REFRAMED
URGENT FUNDRAISING GOAL MET: THANK YOU
The Moderate Voice's urgent fundraiser is over: we now have more than enough in the TMV account now to pay the last two installments of the required fee. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who contributed. All of us here at TVM are enormously grateful. On fundraisers in general, once or twice a year TMV has to do a fundraiser but they're kept at a minimum. We get a very modest … [Read more...] about URGENT FUNDRAISING GOAL MET: THANK YOU
The enduring resilience of Michelle Obama
by Elwood Watson The abhorrent comments directed at former First Lady Michelle Obama by UFC fighter Josh Hokit are part of a troubling pattern endured by Black women in America for generations. The disgusting comments made by Hokit were not simply about politics. They reflected a long-standing pattern in which accomplished Black women are denounced as less feminine, less … [Read more...] about The enduring resilience of Michelle Obama
Donald Trump’s green new deal
An inevitable press briefing a few days from now: (Trump is hydraulically lowered into his seat.) “Mr. President, are you planning to drain the Reflecting Pool and start over? There are reports – ” “Quiet, Piggy! I know you’ve been down there stealing patriotic paint chips. Maybe we oughta cuff you. And gimme a smile for a change. You’re a terrible reporter by the way, … [Read more...] about Donald Trump’s green new deal
Pride Month
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Pride Month commemorates years of struggle for civil rights and the ongoing pursuit of equal justice under the law for the LGBTQ community. Someone else explained Pride Month this way: Pride isn't about turning straight kids into queer kids. Pride is about not turning queer kids into dead kids. Although I am not a member of the LGBTQ … [Read more...] about Pride Month
Congressman Dan Goldman: More Than One District at Stake
Congressman Dan Goldman represents New York's 10th Congressional District, a district uniquely shaped by the legacy of September 11. Few congressional districts were more directly affected by the attacks, and Goldman has played an important role in supporting constituents who continue to live with their aftermath.Goldman has been a leading advocate for securing permanent … [Read more...] about Congressman Dan Goldman: More Than One District at Stake
Keir Starmer resigns: can anyone survive as prime minister in today’s Britain?
Nicholas Dickinson, University of Exeter Keir Starmer has resigned as leader of the Labour party, and so in time as the UK’s prime minister. In the end, despite his numerous assurances that he would fight on, after Andy Burnham’s resounding win in the Makerfield byelection, the pressure on Starmer became too great to withstand. It makes him the sixth British PM in a decade … [Read more...] about Keir Starmer resigns: can anyone survive as prime minister in today’s Britain?
How Washington deterred the world from visiting
A defunded marketing agency and a stack of new visa rules have turned America's World Cup into everyone else's windfall. Would you excise something from your portfolio that was earning $24 for every dollar you had invested? Neither would I, but that’s what the GOP did the summer of 2025 when they slashed the Brand America matching funds by 80%. The budget cut was part … [Read more...] about How Washington deterred the world from visiting
A nuanced assessment of Graham Platner
At the risk of getting canceled by readers who passionately love or hate Graham Platner – the Democratic macho bro running for the Senate in pivotal Maine – I’ll try here to assess him with a wee bit of nuance on a wee patch of middle ground. This is risky because our polarized political climate does not abide shades of gray. Since the long road to a 2027 Democratic Senate … [Read more...] about A nuanced assessment of Graham Platner
THE LEGACIES OF TWO PRESIDENTS
The Social Security trust fund will run dry in 2032 — what that means for retirees and workers who hope to retire
Social Security has lasted as long as it has thanks to the bipartisan deal that President Ronald Reagan and congressional leaders hammered out in 1983. AP Photo/Ed Reinke John W. Diamond, Rice University Every year, the panel overseeing the trust fund for Social Security and Medicare publishes its annual financial report. And every year, its … [Read more...] about The Social Security trust fund will run dry in 2032 — what that means for retirees and workers who hope to retire
Trump and Vance have rebuked Israel but it has another friend.
Vice-President J. D. Vance delivered a slap to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day after President Donald Trump signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran in France’s glamorous Versailles Palace. Speaking to White House reporters, Vance declared: “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel … [Read more...] about Trump and Vance have rebuked Israel but it has another friend.