Disillusionment with traditional heroes is everywhere. Public figures like priests, teachers, and athletes once embodied virtue. But they’re revealing flaws every day that shatter our faith. Even genteel sports aren’t immune, with doping scandals tainting cycling, tennis, and swimming. Is it any wonder, then, that anti-heroes have captured our imagination? From Tony Soprano to Walter… Read more.
Archives for 2024
Trump Uses Arlington Cemetery for Campaign Photo-Op
Trump has ridiculed US soldiers killed in action as “losers and suckers.” That alone should be disqualifying for any presidential campaign. Yet, this draft-dodging, narcissistic insurrectionist is now trampling the burial ground of those dead soldiers for a cheap political stunt. Everyone knows he visited Arlington Cemetery yesterday just to score political points. Why didn’t… Read more.
The Rohingyas: Seven Years of Internment in Bangladesh
Seven years ago, tens of thousands of Rohingyas, a Muslim minority, fled Myanmar to escape religious cleansing by Buddhist extremists. Since then, they’ve been stuck in a “sprawling refugee camp” in neighboring Bangladesh. And yes, comparisons with the Japanese-Americans who endured three years of internment in the United States are apt. The Rohingyas rallied in… Read more.
Ukraine’s Invasion of Russia Shows Putin’s Red Lines Are Written in Vanishing Ink
Putin threatened “escalation” if US-supplied weapons enabled Ukraine to kill any of his invading Russians. More ominously, he warned he would use all means at his disposal if Ukraine even threatened Russia’s territorial integrity, implying a willingness to use nuclear weapons. He insisted this was a red line, claiming “it’s not a bluff”—as if Russia… Read more.
DNC Trumps RNC in TV Ratings
TV ratings for the RNC and DNC are in. And, if they’re any indication, the presidential election results might not be as close as polls suggest. The DNC’s four-day jamboree for Kamala Harris averaged 21.8 million viewers — 14 percent more than the RNC’s for Donald Trump. A few days ago, I asserted that TV… Read more.
Hail, Kamala! The Democratic Nominee for President of the United States!
Just imagine the best of LBJ, Reagan, and Obama. Because that will give you a sense of the substance, theme, and style of the speech Kamala delivered to close last night’s DNC. Frankly, it’s a national embarrassment that the RNC nominated “an unserious man” like Trump to challenge her for the presidency. Trump is toast!… Read more.
Trump Bribing RFK Jr. to Boost Flailing Presidential Campaign
Donald Trump’s obsession with crowd size is certifiably weird. Yet it is surpassed in its weirdness his obsession with TV ratings. Watching the Democratic National Convention play out this week is only worsening his public nervous breakdown. This breakdown was triggered when Joe Biden passed the torch to Kamala Harris. Of course, the Obamas trigger… Read more.
MAGA Republicans Are Selling Out Democracy for Cheaper Bread
Donald Trump is a twice-impeached, four-times-indicted, convicted felon and adjudged rapist. He’s also a pathological liar who incited an insurrection. Yet listen carefully, and you’ll hear MAGA Republicans saying they’re voting for him anyway just to avoid 3% inflation. They blithely overlook his threats to turn American democracy into a Russian-style autocracy, as if that’s… Read more.
Harris-Walz, Don’t Bank on Enthusiasm — Use It to Bank Votes, ASAP!
The Harris-Walz campaign is riding a wave of rock-star rallies. And this week’s Democratic National Convention is set to play out like a rock concert. That’s why Donald Trump is so green with envy that he’s throwing temper tantrums on live TV. But once early voting starts in September, the Harris-Walz campaign should make banking… Read more.
UAW Sues Musk and Trump for Worker (and Voter) Intimidation
Elon Musk’s interview with Donald Trump on X last week turned out to be as ill-fated as it was overhyped. It was marred by the same technical glitches that dogged their first interview. And that’s because Musk took foolish pride in gutting his platform of many engineers. But this time, the United Auto Workers union… Read more.