From the Left
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Olympic Misery
For Americans of my generation, the Olympics have been miserable since the Soviet Union fell apart.
Back there in the land of the rotary phone, all good Americans wanted to see the United States win more medals than the Communists. It was fun, but it was serious. It was prideful. It was James Bond taking on Soviet evil. It was an ancient-...Read more
Trump Goes Full Racist in Attack on Kamala Harris
At least, a few Republicans know better. No sooner had President Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala Harris than Speaker Mike Johnson summoned the Republican Caucus to an urgent session. It was important, Johnson urged his members, to avoid commenting on Harris’ race when criticizing her. No more “DEI identity” charges. “This ...Read more
Because He Can. And He Means It.
"I love you," Donald Trump told an audience of Christian conservatives on Friday. "You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote."
What does that mean?
That there will be no election in four years? That Donald Trump will not leave office in four years? ...Read more
The Torch is Passed: from MAGA Throwbacks to America’s Future
Joe Biden didn’t just pass the torch to another generation. He passed it from white MAGA men to America’s future.
Consider that women now compose remarkably almost 60% of college undergraduates. And that ...Read more
A True Test for Harris: Succession
On the tip of tongues in the Capitol: Vice President Kamala Harris' pick as her running mate in the 2024 presidential stakes. Everyone has a theory. All agree this is a happy problem to solve, a true test of judgment.
Democrats were tearing out their hair before frail President Joe Biden retired from his reelection race. Now the party has ...Read more
Trump and His GOP Sycophants Driven Crazy by Kamala
Suddenly, the presidential election has turned dynamic ... even fun!
The handoff from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris has not only energized Democrats, but it's also driving the Trump Party's top leaders absolutely crazy. Of course, that's a very short ride for most of them.
Take Andy Ogles, a far-right congressional goober from Tennessee who ...Read more
How Donald Trump's Election Lies and Other Anti-Voter Policies Will Continue To Impact Our Democracy
Donald Trump's claim that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him is not only a lie (no widespread voter fraud was detected in that election); it's a lie that breeds public mistrust in our electoral system. Today, he is already casting doubt on the 2024 election, saying he will accept the results "if everything is honest." The implication is ...Read more
Difference-Maker: The Man Who Lifted a City
Some years ago, John Connors Jr. was touring an inner-city Boston school that he had helped fund out of his own pocket. Connors was long legendary for his relentless, titanic philanthropy, always on 24/7 alert for ways to do as much good in as many ways for as many people as possible.
He'd created a major summer camp for underprivileged kids,...Read more
When Others Cheat on Their Taxes, Who Pays Them? You Do
When Republicans took control of the House in January 2023, their first order of business was a bill was to cut additional IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. President Joe Biden fought them off and managed to retain $60 billion of that needed money.
Had Republicans succeeded in keeping the IRS enforcement budget at starvation ...Read more
The Torch is Passed: from MAGA Throwbacks to America’s Future
Joe Biden didn’t just pass the torch to another generation. He passed it from white MAGA men to America’s future.
Consider that women now compose remarkably almost 60% of college undergraduates. And that by 2050, it’s estimated that America will consist mostly of minorities — 30% more Black people than today, 60% more Latinos, and ...Read more
The Republicans Need a New Set of Talking Points
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is right. He called two of the most popular talking points Republicans are using right now "dumb" and "stupid." This is what he said to NBC News:
"Two attacks I've heard Republicans give that are totally stupid and dumb to do is the DEI attack, OK? The other attack that I would not do is saying that the ...Read more
No Sympathy for Biden
Poor Joe. No. Poor us . Poor United States. Poor Democratic Party.
We've been suckered. While we were fearfully obsessing over the ethically challenged former President Donald Trump, a much more talented grifter -- President Joe Biden, along with his hidden passel of coconspirators -- conned the electorate, the news media and most of ...Read more
Why Kamala Harris Laughs at J.D. Vance
With his former vice president sidelined by that near-death experience on Jan. 6, former President Donald Trump had to name a new running mate at the recent Republican National Convention. But his campaign had scarcely announced the selection of J.D. Vance, the very junior senator from Ohio, before they began to feel pangs of regret.
Not only...Read more
Learning To Set Boundaries in the Quest for Work-Life Balance
If I don't schedule downtime as a way to set boundaries and focus on the things that matter to me, then it just doesn't happen, which leaves me feeling burned out and overwhelmed. Let me explain.
I had taken Monday off work and planned to spend it alone. Maybe I'd read a book or catch up on chores around the house and my favorite podcast at ...Read more
Run, Snoop, Run
When the Olympic Games come sprinting into Paris for their most recent sweaty installment, among those carrying the Olympic torch will be Snoop Dogg, American rapper and stoner superieure.
Snoop's leg of the run will take him through the streets of Parisian suburb Saint-Denis. It's a rough neighborhood, the kind of place where someone will ...Read more
Thanks to Biden, America Finally Has Chance to Save Itself
Who says politics isn’t fun? We’ve seldom experienced the thrill of a political roller-coaster like we’ve taken in the last few weeks. For Democrats, especially, it’s been a wild ride.
Democrats went from worry, before the debate; to dismay, after the debate; to despair, after the Trump assassination attempt; to relief, after President ...Read more
Bring Kevin Spacey Back to the Movies
It all started with a claim by Anthony Rapp that while attending a party in the home of Kevin Spacey in 1986, the actor got drunk, threw him on a bed and jumped on top of him. Also an actor, Rapp was 14 at the time, and Spacey was 26. Spacey denied that happened.
In the wake of the charges, Spacey's talent agency and publicist dropped him. ...Read more
The Same Old Don
He can't help himself.
On Thursday night, Donald Trump was supposed to give a unifying address, recounting the assassination attempt that he survived and uniting not only his own party but the country. He was supposed to convince independent and undecided voters that he was not the angry and bitter victim that he displays on social media, but...Read more
Clouds Clear for Harris
After a fierce rainstorm, the light shone on the Capitol dome like a city on a hill.
The House of Representatives was returning at that moment Monday to an utterly changed reality. The day before, an ailing President Joe Biden withdrew from his race for reelection. The old chieftain, 81, was last to know it was time to go after his alarming ...Read more
The Oracle Speaks
Playing the billionaires' news game, mega-investor Warren Buffett once held a portfolio of 31 dailies and 49 weeklies, including such major city papers as the Buffalo News and the Omaha World Herald. He specialized in squeezing out competitors. His scheme was to create monopoly papers and then chop staff and news content, letting him glean ...Read more