Update: Just hours after his “tweeter firing,” a somber Secretary of State addressed State Department personnel to “tell his side of the story.” In the only reference to the man who had just fired him, Tillerson said he had received a call from Trump shortly after noon from Air Force One. Sounding emotional and exhausted after just returning from a five-country trip to … [Read more...] about Trump Fires the Man Who Dared Speak Truth to Power (UPDATED)
Trump’s craven surrender to the NRA
WASHINGTON -- Once again, President Trump has made a cowardly, cynical and monumentally stupid retreat on the issue of guns. No one should have expected otherwise. Forget everything he said in the wake of the Parkland shooting about the urgent need for meaningful action. Trump now takes a position that will almost surely guarantee more gun violence in schools, not less. It … [Read more...] about Trump’s craven surrender to the NRA
Trump, Democrats Face Major Test in Today’s Election
Voters in Pennsylvania head to the polls Tuesday in a special congressional election with national implications for President Donald Trump and opposition Democrats. The election is taking place in a congressional district that Trump won by 19 points in 2016, but where Democrats now hope for an upset that could be a preview of the midterm… … [Read more...] about Trump, Democrats Face Major Test in Today’s Election
Cartoon: Pennsylvania Special Congressional Election
Putin on a Happy Face: House Republicans Declare No Evidence of Collusion
Country over party. How 20th century. Putin Putting yet another step in the Republican Party's brand transformation from the party of Ronald Reagan -- which trusted American intelligence agencies, held them in high regard and didn't trust the Soviet Union -- to the Trumpublican Party, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have declared no evidence of Russian … [Read more...] about Putin on a Happy Face: House Republicans Declare No Evidence of Collusion
Townhall Columnist hilariously suggests that GOPs will win next Civil War
Some might recall that my last column partially dealt with my suggestion that GOP hatespeak was leading us to a new civil war (2007) and Sean Hannity, Brent Bozell and Ted Nugent's on-air freakout about it. Today, (or toady) Town Hall columnist Kurt Schlicter cooks up this meadow-muffin of a column: Why Democrats Would Lose the Second Civil War, Too It’s obvious that the … [Read more...] about Townhall Columnist hilariously suggests that GOPs will win next Civil War
The Thick Plottens: They Call It Stormy Daniels, But Tuesday’s Just The Same
Its utter tawdriness aside, what is so mind blowingly delicious about the Stormy Daniels saga is that unlike the many other scandals swirling around the presidency of a profoundly unqualified and very sick man, this one is sticking, and a porn star may end up doing to Donald Trump what no one else has done -- seizing and keeping control of the narrative, something Trump has … [Read more...] about The Thick Plottens: They Call It Stormy Daniels, But Tuesday’s Just The Same
SCOTUS Defends DACA for Now, but Can America Afford to Dismiss Dreamers?
For more than 700,000 people living legally in the United States thanks to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Act, the emotional rollercoaster that began when Donald Trump took office continues to twist and turn. Trump promised to end the program shortly after taking office. To the GOP base that got Trump elected, the “dreamers” protected by DACA are getting a … [Read more...] about SCOTUS Defends DACA for Now, but Can America Afford to Dismiss Dreamers?
Teaching students how to dissent is part of democracy
By Sarah Stitzlein, Professor of Education and Affiliate Faculty in Philosophy, University of Cincinnati . Hundreds of students protesting gun violence marched to the Minnesota State Capitol on March 7, 2018. Jim Mone/AP In scenes unprecedented in previous school shootings, the past few weeks have been marked by students taking to the streets, to the media,… … [Read more...] about Teaching students how to dissent is part of democracy
Blackmail (Cartoon and Column)
lyssa Mastromonaco, former deputy chief of staff for operations in the Obama administration recently wrote, “When you go to work in the White House, you divest yourself of your secrets for the same reason you divest yourself of your financial holdings: so people can’t blackmail you.” Jared and Ivanka Trump both lied about their debt while filing their disclosure forms with … [Read more...] about Blackmail (Cartoon and Column)
Putin: Russia’s post-Soviet tsar
Vladimir Putin, who is set to extend his long rule to 2024 in Russia's presidential election on Sunday, has stamped his total authority in Russia, silencing opposition and reasserting Moscow's lost might abroad. The 65-year-old former KGB officer has reimposed the Kremlin's grip over society since taking power 18 years ago after a lawless but relatively… … [Read more...] about Putin: Russia’s post-Soviet tsar
The Willy Loman presidency
WASHINGTON -- One of President Trump's favorite words is "strong." His obsession with strength leads him to a love for unilateral announcements, denunciations of staff members by way of showing who is in charge, and Twitter wars designed to prove that he will not back down from any fight. Yet Trump is also a pleaser who likes to make those in his immediate company happy by … [Read more...] about The Willy Loman presidency
(Movie Review): GRINGO Isn’t Masterful, But It Delights All the Same
SCORE: 3/5 The most compelling characters in movies are always the ones embodying thankless virtues. In a medium that mythologizes villains and sociopaths, even modest heroes shimmer in the dark. This is the appeal of Harold, played by David Oyelowo. He is a peed-upon employee working a soul-sucking job at Cannabax, a pharmaceutical company on the forefront of cannabis … [Read more...] about (Movie Review): GRINGO Isn’t Masterful, But It Delights All the Same
(UPDATED) West Meets East: Stormy & Vlad Make It Clear That It’s About Sex & Blackmail
What do Stormy Daniels and Vladimir Putin have in common? More than you might think. This is because when you strip away the layers of sleaze around Donald Trump's now well-documented affair with the pornographic film star and the layers of deceit around his now well-documented relationship with Russians, you end up with a president profoundly susceptible to blackmail over … [Read more...] about (UPDATED) West Meets East: Stormy & Vlad Make It Clear That It’s About Sex & Blackmail
California Shaming (Cartoon, Column and Video)
If you don’t know what song I’m spoofing here, get off my blog. Jeff Sessions went to California, held a press conference and said, “California, we have a problem.” The Attorney General and Justice Department are suing the state of California over so-called sanctuary cities. This is a lawsuit with an audience of one, Donald Trump. Sessions has been on Trump’s hit list of … [Read more...] about California Shaming (Cartoon, Column and Video)
I covered steel decades ago. Imposing tariffs has only gotten dumber.
WASHINGTON -- The steel industry, shedding workers, shutting plants and bleeding red ink, pleaded with the federal government for tariffs on imports. As the government obliged, a young reporter on the steel beat for the Wall Street Journal cautioned that tariffs could "ultimately do the industry more harm than good" because the real threat to big steel wasn't foreign … [Read more...] about I covered steel decades ago. Imposing tariffs has only gotten dumber.
Indian doctors suspended after severed leg used as pillow
Indian authorities have suspended two doctors and launched an investigation after a patient's severed leg was used as a pillow to prop up his head, a hospital official said Sunday. Administrators at the government-run hospital in Uttar Pradesh state vowed "strict action" after images emerged showing the patient on a stretcher with the amputated limb being… … [Read more...] about Indian doctors suspended after severed leg used as pillow
Cartoon: Aging Dems
Putin Says ‘Jews’ May be Behind U.S. Election Meddling
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Jews may be behind alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential election. In an interview broadcast late Friday, Putin was asked by NBC's Megyn Kelly whether he condoned the electoral interference by 13 Russians named in an indictment by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. “Maybe they are not even Russians but Ukrainians,… … [Read more...] about Putin Says ‘Jews’ May be Behind U.S. Election Meddling
How Stormy’s Lover Saved The Olympics
Has anyone noticed how Stormy Daniels’ former sex partner is wandering the American landscape claiming that he, and only he, saved the Winter Olympics? Who knew they even needed saving before his third person self-congratulatory oratory? His claim is apparently based on the theory that his lingering fantasies about the Daniels’ affair led him to conclude that he should not nuke … [Read more...] about How Stormy’s Lover Saved The Olympics