"We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated," said the Republican presidential front-runner about a month ago after a decisive win in the Nevada caucuses. Certainly Donald Trump has a special way of saying stupid things, even if what he really meant contains a kernel of truth. So many of us … [Read more...] about Why the Poorly Educated Love Trump
Why Trump Won’t Kill the GOP
Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson offer a contrarian take on the alleged GOP death spiral in The New York Times. Everywhere you look, in the year of Donald J. Trump, observers are talking about a national party realignment or a Republican death spiral. Our two-party system has not undergone a major realignment since the South became solidly Republican. There has not been a … [Read more...] about Why Trump Won’t Kill the GOP
What just happened in Nevada? Did Sanders suddenly beat Clinton?
Bernie Sanders scored a "surprise victory" over Hillary Clinton in Nevada on Saturday, taking 55% of the state delegates allocated on Saturday. With this win, at the June state convention the Sanders campaign has seats for 2,124 delegates and the Clinton campaign, 1,722. Saturday marked stage two in Nevada's Democratic Party caucus system, with precinct delegates attending … [Read more...] about What just happened in Nevada? Did Sanders suddenly beat Clinton?
Trump’s Just Winging It, and That Should Scare Everyone
Trump's Just Winging It, and That Should Scare Everyone By Dick Polman What's important to remember about Donald Trump is that our aspiring tinpot despot is wildly winging his presidential campaign. It's like he's the star of his own improv show. The problem is that every time Trump flaps his infamous yap, he loses audience share. A recent national poll says that he's … [Read more...] about Trump’s Just Winging It, and That Should Scare Everyone
A place called “Nowhere” (Poetic commentary)
“Today we live in places where the modern wars and terror have happened, is happening or at risk of happening and hence.” A place called "Nowhere" Our minds clueless and hearts of stone With eyes wide shut We shoot at each other in the dark Hoping to come close and bridge the gap For every two steps forward We take three back Stuck in this fool’s paradise And … [Read more...] about A place called “Nowhere” (Poetic commentary)
Nate Silver: Trump on the First Ballot or He’s (Probably) Toast
Nate Silver as well as Kyle Cheney and Ben Schreckinger at Politico made basically the same argument this past week that Donald Trump is so unpopular with the Republican Party establishment that he needs to win the nomination on the first ballot or will lose on a subsequent ballot when state-level rules allow delegates to vote for whomever they like. As Silver puts it, … [Read more...] about Nate Silver: Trump on the First Ballot or He’s (Probably) Toast
Marvel superheroes take over Hollywood
On April 14, 2008, Hollywood's gravitational pull got turned up a notch. That day, audiences for Iron Man were getting their first taste of the Marvel post-credits scene: "You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet." Samuel L Jackson was… … [Read more...] about Marvel superheroes take over Hollywood
Trump loses?
Trump belongs to the media, not America. America and its corporate, largely right wing, media have been at war for so long that many of us believed America to be all over but for the shouting. The latest Washington Post/AP poll shows America reviving and the media catching all hell. It's about time. It took the dubious candidacy of Donald Trump to wake us up. There … [Read more...] about Trump loses?
Daryl Cagle Cartoon: Trump and the Media Circus
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Daryl Cagle Cartoon: Trump and the Media Circus
White City: The New Urban Blight Is Rich People
Have you heard that Pittsburgh is the new Austin? San Antonio, they’re saying, is the new Queens, while Staten Island is the new Brooklyn. Oakland? Totally over—the action is now all in Modesto. Seattle is done, Yuppie Central—better buy in Walla Walla while there’s still time. Portland? Really? That’s so...2011. Edmonton, man, you should check out… … [Read more...] about White City: The New Urban Blight Is Rich People
Cartoons: Trump the Caveman
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoons: Trump the Caveman
Coming GOP Free for All
Josh Marshall on the coming GOP free-for-all (aka Convention) in Cleveland on Talking Points Memo. In a sense we've seen this before. And quite recently. The 2000 election exposed a series of potentially catastrophic flaws in the presidential election system that just needed a special set of circumstances to be brought to light. All of this is why this is bounding toward a … [Read more...] about Coming GOP Free for All
Military Weekend Returns
Fortunately, while one of our commander-in-chief wannabes -- who never served a day in the military -- was spouting off sheer nonsense about NATO, about nuclear weapons, about deserting our military allies and on how to supposedly defeat ISIS, our men and women in uniform continued to do their jobs quietly and effectively... Whether in Afghanistan in their … [Read more...] about Military Weekend Returns
(April Fools Review): Ben Stein’s Forgotten ‘Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed’ Is A Brilliant, Thunderous Wakeup Call
5/5 “Keep your hate, clipped and distant Keep your luck, a two-headed cow” – Michael Stipe What a brave and enlightening picture this turned out to be. As I sat down to revisit Expelled, the critically torched documentary by Ben Stein, I was numb to its message right out of the gate, cloistered in the kind of self-affirming skepticism that has made boisterous tools out … [Read more...] about (April Fools Review): Ben Stein’s Forgotten ‘Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed’ Is A Brilliant, Thunderous Wakeup Call
Cheering On a Terrible Choice for President
One would hope the American people have the good judgement to avoid choosing a president they characterize as “terrible.” It doesn’t seem a lot to ask. Lucky for us the Pew Research Center from time to time puts that very question to registered voters, specifically polling “the percentage of voters who say each candidate would make a terrible president.” No kidding. I know … [Read more...] about Cheering On a Terrible Choice for President
Sweet Ted Outshines Obnoxious Donald
Ted Cruz is expected to win Tuesday’s primary in Wisconsin. Not because of his position on the issues. Not because he supposedly wants to make America “Greater” than Donald Trump does. Cruz is favored to win because he is now less despised than Donald Trump. Cruz is now respected more than Trump because Cruz came out as the clear winner in the “spat” over the … [Read more...] about Sweet Ted Outshines Obnoxious Donald
Interview with Donald Trump
Donald J. Trump is well known as a New York based real estate developer, casino operator and media and reality television personality, and is presently the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. On April 1, 2016, I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Trump in between appearances. The Talking Dog: Where were you on September 11, 2001? Donald Trump: I … [Read more...] about Interview with Donald Trump
Sooner Or Later ‘Star Wars’ Has To Get Bad
Folks at home, I’ve got some bad news. This is going to be hard to hear, but it’s true: Sooner or later, the reborn Star Wars series is going to get bad. It is, simply speaking, an inevitability. Disney has incredible plans for the Star Wars series, including a new movie every year from now until… … [Read more...] about Sooner Or Later ‘Star Wars’ Has To Get Bad
Juan Cole on Trump’s Fascism
Juan Cole details what makes Donald Trump a fascist on his excellent blog Informed Comment. Anderson Cooper’s interview with Donald Trump on Tuesday evening had the advantage of allowing come-backs and close questioning. At one point Cooper pointed out to Trump that he sometimes behaved like a 5-year-old, as with his attacks on Heidi Cruz. At another, he wondered why Trump … [Read more...] about Juan Cole on Trump’s Fascism
Donald Trump has finally gone too far.
Donald Trump's supporters need to explain to the rest of America why they continue to support a presidential candidate who constantly makes personal attacks against other presidential candidates. Sure, Trump is expected to go for the jugular of his primary opponents, but now he has aimed his bombastic remarks at the one independent presidential candidate who is best able to … [Read more...] about Donald Trump has finally gone too far.