Archive for 2016
Unforced errors
This election should be a slam dunk for Hillary Clinton. But turnovers are keeping the game too close. She is superbly qualified to be President. She has long fought on the right side of progress. Her opponent is one of the most despised, dreaded and dangerous men ever to run for President. But then (always)…
Read MoreDancing the Two Step with James Buchanan
We think our politics today is more screwed than ever before but here’s a quote from a politician during the age of horse drawn carriages: In 1860, President James Buchanan said, I don’t think states have a right to secede. But, if a state does secede, I don’t think the federal government has a right…
Read MoreJiggering the Districts
Laying in bed reading a short biography of Abraham Lincoln by James McPherson, one of those lost jewels of history popped up: McPherson wrote how before the 1858 election the Illinois politicians redrew state legislative districts to favor Democrats – which made a difference because back in those days United States Senators weren’t elected by…
Read MoreHis Own Character
If Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz had run an ad like this back during the primary Donald Trump might not be the Republican nominee for President. Link to ad. Delegates Unbound (which is one of the Republican ‘Never Trump’ groups) has set out to make the case Donald Trump doesn’t have the…
Read MoreTrump’s cap
When you come back from overseas, you look at American politics with fresh eyes. The first thing that caught my eye was the stupid cap Donald Trump wears. That’s reason enough to disqualify him from the Presidency. He wears the stupid cap, of course, to keep his stupid hairstyle from flying about wildly. Any man who…
Read MoreBaltic Sea sights
Here are a few things I saw and learned on a cruise from London to the Baltic Sea this month. Amsterdam: You can window-shop for sex and buy joints in “coffee houses.” Then, just a few blocks from the red-light district, Ann Frank’s house reminds you where the politics of hate can lead. No Guns:…
Read MoreFamine on the Potomac
Britain’s vote to get out of the EU sent tremors through the financial markets in London and New York – stocks plummeted, banks tottered, billionaires fled to high ground – and, in the meantime, reports of Donald Trump’s flagging fundraising sent a shock wave through the Republican Political Class in our nation’s capital. Summer and…
Read MoreA Clash of Titans
Here’re the highlights of Pat and Roy’s first debate: Pat: I’m against Mental Health addiction. Roy: My mom taught me to love education. Roy again: Pat doesn’t do enough about mental health. Pat: The way Roy ran the crime lab when I was Mayor was a disaster. Pat again: Roy was part of the Good…
Read MoreCricket
A good friend got it right when he called to console me on the death of my sister, Cricket. He said, “The longer I live, the more I see there are two kinds of people in the world. There are the lovers, who love people, care about people and want to lift them up. Then…
Read MoreA Sign
It’s hard these days to tell who’s on top in the Governor’s race: One day one poll has Pat up. A few days later the same poll has Pat down. Then another poll – by Civitas or High Point University or Elon University or PPP – has Pat up again. It’s a muddle. But, sometimes,…
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