Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
Michelle Obama’s conspicuous absence from Jimmy Carter’s state funeral raised eyebrows. Now Washington is all atwitter over the breaking news that she will not be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration. Speculation abounds: Some reports suggest her abiding contempt for Trump has her avoiding him at all costs because she’s fed up pretending for protocol. Others whisper… Read more.
Politics at the water’s edge Championing good governance and democratic values was long the hallmark of American leadership on the world stage — or so the myth goes. Once, when American diplomats came knocking, nations understood the package deal: aid came with accountability, alliances with expectations. More to the point, American politicians once took pride… Read more.
Naomi’s hypocrisy: from Black pride to White surrogates Naomi Campbell, the legendary supermodel, spent decades as a self-proclaimed champion of Black beauty and African pride. She often repeats the self-aggrandizing claim that she’s Nelson Mandela’s “granddaughter.” Yet, Naomi appears to have betrayed her cultural activism by using White surrogates to produce her kids. Suspicions swirl… Read more.
Coups, natural disasters, and tribal politics are dominating headlines, making America look more like Africa these days. Perhaps that’s why events in Africa are getting even less media attention than usual. I’m not suggesting beleaguered Americans should commiserate with Africans. But from Tangier to Cape Town, a “silk curtain” is descending across the continent. China… Read more.
Ah, yes, because the real tragedy of these wildfires is the loss of celebrity (second) homes. Forget the ordinary people who lost their only homes or the firefighters risking their lives to protect what’s left. They’re just the extras on this Hollywood disaster set, apparently. At least Arnold Schwarzenegger had the decency to reject this… Read more.
President-elect Trump: Scrap your inaugural balls. Instead, redirect the hundreds of millions your billionaire donors gave for this occasion to aid Californians left homeless by wildfires. Then, challenge them to donate 10 times more to relief efforts than they did to your balls. Because nothing says ‘let them eat cake’ quite like Americans dancing in… Read more.
Republican Scott Jennings triggers viral outrage almost daily with his racist or misogynistic comments on CNN. But don’t blame him; blame CNN. Fox News has become a ratings hegemon by pandering to Americans who just want to be enraged or entertained – you know, like Romans before the fall. More to the point, Donald Trump… Read more.
Wildfires: California’s new normal Nothing underscores my take on the wildfires ravaging California more than the title of a commentary I published a few years ago — “Groundhog Day: California’s Burning.” Alas, wildfires scorching wide swathes of the state are the new normal. The Pacific Palisades fire, alongside the Eaton, Hurst, and Woodley fires, has… Read more.
Trump: Everybody wants to be my friend Suddenly, everyone is kissing ass to curry favor with MAGA America, thinking it will help them thrive. That explains billionaire Jeff Bezos greenlighting a propaganda biopic on Melania Trump, sports commentator Stephen A. Smith gushing to MAGA’s chief propagandist Sean Hannity about their friendship, and liberal comedian Bill… Read more.
Faustian bargain coming home to roost for US firms In the chess game of global politics, China just flipped the board. Beijing slapped sanctions on 28 US companies, including defense giants Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. Framed as safeguarding national security, the move underscores China’s growing confidence. It believes America now needs its economy as… Read more.
