Breaking down the numbers on animal neglect. Sergio Foto/shutterstock.com Laura A. Reese, Michigan State University Volunteering with animal rescue and shelter organizations in Detroit brought me face to face with many manifestations of animal cruelty: dogs left outside and frozen in their yards; dogs with chain link collars embedded in their necks; … [Read more...] about Why abusive husbands kick dogs but angry neighbors poison them
A Constitutional Showdown?
Will we finally get the Constitutional showdown we've been waiting for? It's obvious that Trump believes neither he not any of his underlings should deign to appear before another branch of the US government. Constitutional Republic? Pshaw. It's Unitary Executive Time, Baby! The President gets to decide all by his-damned-self what counts as a "legitimate" investigation and what … [Read more...] about A Constitutional Showdown?
IN A GROVE
History is in this room. We last entered it in 1941 but threw away the key in 1945. This room contains a story that we can’t bear to read. The door has been painted over and over again, and now it’s a bright red, but still we refuse to enter or even look through the keyhole. I think we’re lost “In A Grove”, the story depicted by Akira Kurosawa in his famous film, … [Read more...] about IN A GROVE
Poof! There goes another Infrastructure Week.
WASHINGTON -- As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer sat down with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday to talk about an infrastructure bill, Trump's acting chief of staff explained why they were wasting their time. "Is an infrastructure deal realistic in 2019?" Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo asked Mick Mulvaney onstage at a … [Read more...] about Poof! There goes another Infrastructure Week.
William Barr has shamelessly corrupted the debate over the Mueller report
One of our most colorful legal concepts is the "fruit of the poisonous tree." The phrase was introduced by Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter 80 years ago to hold that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used to convict a defendant. We now know that the entire debate the country has been having over special counsel Robert Mueller's report was fatally infected by the … [Read more...] about William Barr has shamelessly corrupted the debate over the Mueller report
The US white majority will soon disappear forever
The non-Hispanic white population is not growing as quickly as other groups in the U.S. Lightfield Studios/shutterstock.com Dudley Poston, Texas A&M University and Rogelio Sáenz, The University of Texas at San Antonio Since the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and the start of the Colonial period, the U.S. has been predominantly white. But the … [Read more...] about The US white majority will soon disappear forever
BREAKING: Mueller Wrote Barr Letter Saying Four Page Summar Barr Gave Public False Impression of Investigation
It now turns out that Attorney General William Barr did get some feedback from Special Counsel Robert Mueller about Barr's controversial summary of the Mueller report. And Mueller was not happy about Barr's interpretation of what his investigation showed. The Washington Post broke the story: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III wrote a letter in late March complaining to … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Mueller Wrote Barr Letter Saying Four Page Summar Barr Gave Public False Impression of Investigation
A Trump Defeat Is Only the Beginning
In his campaign announcement video, Joe Biden both wistfully and ominously says: I believe history will look back on four years of this president and all he embraces as an aberrant moment in time. But if we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation—who we are—and I cannot stand by and watch that … [Read more...] about A Trump Defeat Is Only the Beginning
Trump’s politics of division fuels deadly hatred
WASHINGTON -- Hatred, resentment, white supremacy and victimhood are deadly political tools. President Trump wields them with no thought to the consequences -- and people die. The latest is Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, shot and killed Saturday at the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego. The shooter, a 19-year-old gunman armed with a military-style assault rifle, wounded three … [Read more...] about Trump’s politics of division fuels deadly hatred
NRA Decay (Cartoon, Column and Video)
For this cartoon, I wanted to reference several attacks against religious institutions. While it focuses on the past week, it’s a reference to Charleston, Pittsburgh, Texas, Christ Church, the synagogue shootings that happened Saturday, and the terrorists attack on the churches in Sri Lanka. Then I thought I might have a problem because guns weren’t involved in Sri Landa and … [Read more...] about NRA Decay (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Biden’s trump cards: Restoration, reassurance and tranquility
WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden's decision to seek the presidency is a clarifying event. It will require those who see Donald Trump's tenure as disastrous to decide whether returning to normal or transforming the country should be the primary task after he leaves office. And Biden's entry gives greater definition to the sprawling contest for the Democratic nomination. The race … [Read more...] about Biden’s trump cards: Restoration, reassurance and tranquility
Thoughts and Prayers (Cartoon)
Shutting down social media does not reduce violence, but rather fuels it
It might seem easy to shut off internet services, but it can be dangerous. Olesya Zhuk/Shutterstock.com Jan Rydzak, Stanford University In the wake of a series of coordinated attacks that claimed more than 250 lives on April 21, the government of Sri Lanka shut off its residents’ access to social media and online messaging systems, including Facebook, … [Read more...] about Shutting down social media does not reduce violence, but rather fuels it
Civil Rights Trail provides an ideal perspective on modern America
WASHINGTON -- My wife and I took our kids on a civil rights tour of the South over spring break, a trip planned before we knew it would be the week Muellermania engulfed Washington. As it turned out, though, the Civil Rights Trail offered an ideal perspective from which to view the mayhem in the capital caused by the special counsel's report. While Washington churned, I … [Read more...] about Civil Rights Trail provides an ideal perspective on modern America
What’s in a Font? A ‘Joe Biden Font,’ that Is.
It used to be -- “in the good old days,” when people still used to “write by hand” -- that handwriting analysts could tell a lot about a person's personality by his or her handwriting. Some still ply their analysis craft, if and when such a “specimen” is available. Juliana LaBianca and Brittany Gibson in “Here’s What Your Handwriting Says About You,” claim, “The way you … [Read more...] about What’s in a Font? A ‘Joe Biden Font,’ that Is.
Ice Age Horse Found Preserved
A horse born during the last Ice Age has been found preserved. From UPI: "An international team of scientists have extracted liquid blood and urine from a 42,000-year-old foal recovered Siberian permafrost. Russian and South Korean researchers hope to use the preserved fluids to clone the ancient horse species. Last summer, scientists at the Mammoth Museum at Northeastern … [Read more...] about Ice Age Horse Found Preserved
Biden might offer a restful break for weary voters
By GEORGE F. WILL Washington Post Writers Group WASHINGTON -- Three days before Joe Biden dove back into the deep end of the political pool, a rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the terrorist who bombed the 2013 Boston Marathon, and everyone else in America's prisons, should be allowed to vote, lest the "chipping away" of voting rights leave America "running down a … [Read more...] about Biden might offer a restful break for weary voters
On Antisemitism, extremism, politics and violence
Antisemitism expresses itself in different ways. For some it's a fixation on the "greedy" or "stingy" Jew. For others it's the Jew as puppeteer who manipulates world leaders. One of the most violent forms of late is the white nationalist variety that argues that Jews are "globalists" who encourage the "invasion" of non-white people to destroy the white race. This is the 'Great … [Read more...] about On Antisemitism, extremism, politics and violence
Jewish Synagogue Shooting: Woman slain, three others wounded at Chabad of Poway, CA (UPDATED)
Victims identified as Lori Gilbert Kaye, z”l; Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein; Along Peretz, and young Noya Dahan; Alleged shooter John P. Earnest taken into custody By Donald H. Harrison Editor, San Diego Jewish World POWAY, California – A white male shooter opened fire during Saturday morning Shabbat services on the last day of Passover, killing one woman at the Altman Family … [Read more...] about Jewish Synagogue Shooting: Woman slain, three others wounded at Chabad of Poway, CA (UPDATED)
“Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds”
In February of 2017, The New Yorker published an article titled "Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds". The article introduces readers to the concept of confirmation bias. It also introduces readers to the concept of accepting alleged "facts" because they are emotionally pleasing and rejecting facts because they aren't emotionally pleasing. Humans tend to favor whatever is … [Read more...] about “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds”