WARNING: Philip K. Dick spoilers. If you don't want to read them, you probably ought to stop reading here. You may have noticed that I have not been present much of late on Facebook. Facebook Enforcing Our Community Standards — We believe in giving people a voice, but we also want everyone using Facebook to feel safe. It's why we have Community Standards and remove … [Read more...] about Two Months in the Facebook Hellhole
LeBron Meets LeCon (Cartoon and Column)
If you donate to LeBron James’ charity, The LeBron James Family Foundation, you will help educate a child and provide university scholarships. If you donate to the Trump Foundation, you will help Donald Trump purchase a portrait of himself, or maybe some sports memorabilia, or perhaps pay off fines for his businesses and pay off politicians. James just donated $50 million to … [Read more...] about LeBron Meets LeCon (Cartoon and Column)
Vladimir Putin’s lying game
Keith Brown, Arizona State University At the now infamous Helsinki press conference held after the summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin, Trump indicated he was impressed with Putin’s denial of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. “I have great confidence in my intelligence people,” Trump said, “but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin’s lying game
Will reform be the silver lining in a cloud of scandal?
WASHINGTON -- Politics is regularly described in terms of "left" vs. "right." But other binaries can be more relevant. "Forward" vs. "backward" often define a choice facing an electorate better than the standard ideological categories. And the most powerful face-off of all may be "reform" vs. "corruption." Much commentary on the 2018 midterm campaign has focused on a drift … [Read more...] about Will reform be the silver lining in a cloud of scandal?
(UPDATES) North Korea Returns 55 War Remains
UPDATE II: The Military Times reports the lone military “dog tag” provided by North Korea belonged to Master Sgt. Charles H. McDaniel, an Army medic from Indiana who was killed in the opening months of the Korean War. The Army on Wednesday handed McDaniel’s slightly corroded dog tag to his sons, Charles Jr. and Larry, who were so young when their father perished … [Read more...] about (UPDATES) North Korea Returns 55 War Remains
Great Music Chapter 27
This week brings something entirely new to the TMV music roundup. Many of you probably thought all I cared about was piano music but the truth is I like all kinds of music. In Chapter 25 we listen to one of my favorite chorale pieces, the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel. This week we are going to listen to a couple of Master Guitarists, Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges. First Leo … [Read more...] about Great Music Chapter 27
Cities, States Support Rising Fuel-Efficiency Standards
NEW YORK – City officials and environmentalists say the EPA's plan to freeze the fuel-efficiency standard is bad for public health, the environment and consumers. After months of wrangling, the EPA on Thursday released its plan to freeze the fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks for six years. It was set to increase to an average of 54 mpg by 2025 but will … [Read more...] about Cities, States Support Rising Fuel-Efficiency Standards
With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit
pimchawee Jean Twenge, San Diego State University Around 2012, something started going wrong in the lives of teens. In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent. Even more … [Read more...] about With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit
Christopher Robin (2018)
Disney's newest adaptation of Winnie the Pooh could have been a disaster. It could have come off as corny or over the top. Christopher Robin, however, successfully charms, displays affection and invokes a sense of nostalgia when Winnie the Pooh and his friends are onscreen. Christopher Robin is the simple tale of, you guessed it, Christopher Robin. Except, now he has grown … [Read more...] about Christopher Robin (2018)
Two Presidents Forty-Four Years Apart In Time But Very Close in Modus Operandi
August 5, 1974 was a significant day in modern American history. The New Yorker explains: [It was] the day the Nixon Presidency ended. On that day, Nixon heeded a Supreme Court ruling and released the so-called smoking-gun tape, a recording of a meeting, held two years earlier, with his chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman. Precisely 44 years later, August 5, 2018, another … [Read more...] about Two Presidents Forty-Four Years Apart In Time But Very Close in Modus Operandi
Democrats Aren’t All Bad (Really!)
Democrats aren't all bad. Granted, that should go without saying, but some Republicans have trouble believing it. It is a mistake for Republicans to pretend that they are holier-than or more-righteous-than Democrats because the former aren't. No, one doesn't have to be a liberal or a Democrat to offer a defense of Democrats. This blogger has never been a Democrat and has … [Read more...] about Democrats Aren’t All Bad (Really!)
Donald Trump and ‘The Death of Truth’
The lies rain down on us so relentlessly that we're often benumbed. Shortly after Donald Trump tweeted last week that the Russians would help the Democrats win the midterms, we learned that the Russians have tried to hack the 2018 campaign of Sen. Claire McCaskill - a Democrat. And minutes after Donald Jr. tweeted that President Obama's economy never posted two percent GDP … [Read more...] about Donald Trump and ‘The Death of Truth’
Journalists are playing into Trump’s hand
WASHINGTON -- A question to my colleagues in the media: Why do we play President Trump's foil? The scene in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, last Thursday night was familiar: journalists on an elevated platform in the middle of the arena, penned in, filming the proceedings and typing on their laptops while the president of the United States points at them and provokes thousands … [Read more...] about Journalists are playing into Trump’s hand
A Nixonian Approach to North Korea
The three Kims, grandfather, father, and now grandson, have dictatorially ruled North Korea since its founding in 1948. Over the past 70 years the Kims have created a brutally sophisticated dictatorship. They have perfected all the necessary elements: massive propaganda and scapegoating (all problems are caused by Americans and their puppets, the South Koreans), informants and … [Read more...] about A Nixonian Approach to North Korea
About That Fat Man In The Corner: When Telling The Truth Is As Incriminating As Lying
First Donald Trump's handlers said there were no meetings between his campaign and Russians. None whatsoever. Then they admitted there were low-level meetings. Then they admitted there were lots of them. Then they admitted there were high-level meetings. Lots of them, too. But they were about adoptions. Then they admitted that those lots of high-level meetings were not … [Read more...] about About That Fat Man In The Corner: When Telling The Truth Is As Incriminating As Lying
What Makes a Good Poem?
I am not a poet, but I do enjoy poetry. “Recently,” that is during the past two years, I have sought out, posted and written about a type of poetry that has gone viral in the aftermath of the 2016 election, “(Political) Poetry in the Time of Trump.” But powerful and politically effective as it may or may not be, political poems will never compare to good, traditional … [Read more...] about What Makes a Good Poem?
Trump The Worst President Ever?
Is Donald Trump the worst President ever? Will he end up being a one-term President? It would be foolish to proclaim with any certainty what will happen during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Prior to the 2004 election, Left-wing syndicated columnist Richard Reeves boldly proclaimed that George W. Bush would be a one-term POTUS. Reeves is still scraping the egg off his … [Read more...] about Trump The Worst President Ever?
Mayhem Is Our President
A manchild at the wheel, a raccoon gnawing at the nation’s wires, a walking calamity that lurks around every corner. by Michael Winship know that some find it odious to compare Donald Trump to Adolph Hitler, that doing so violates what’s known as Godwin’s Law. That’s the idea first put forward in 1990 by author Mike Godwin that morphed into the notion that in an … [Read more...] about Mayhem Is Our President
Media Accosted (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Donald Trump took his traveling freak show to Tampa Tuesday night and it was a coming out party for the worst of us. He continued his war against the media, where he’s labeled them in the past as scum, dishonest, terrible people, bad actors, liars, fake news, and even the enemy of the American people. During the presidential campaign, he would single out MSNBC’s Katy Tur at … [Read more...] about Media Accosted (Cartoon, Column and Video)
The deep cynicism of Bernie Sanders’ chief strategist
ASHINGTON -- Tad Devine, during his run as chief strategist for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, railed against the corrupting influence of money in politics. He repeatedly echoed the Sanders message that "our economy is rigged," that "special interests" buy politicians, that "all of the new wealth is going to the top of America," that there is a "corrupt system of … [Read more...] about The deep cynicism of Bernie Sanders’ chief strategist