In a recent surreal interview, ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy blamed the Democrats for the chaos in the House of Representatives. (He wasn't the only GOP official trying to sell that bill of goods.) The public isn't buying it. Let's be clear. McCarthy lost his Speakership because his transactional style of acquiring and maintaining power made …
Continue reading House mess Democrats’ fault? Give me a break!
Did W. B. Yeats have it right? "Turning and turning in the widening gyre, The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold." Such are one's fears today. The United States government is a two-legged stool. Israel is at war, and I haven't been able to reach either of my two …
It started with three sites. Now there are three dozen more places where auto workers have gone on strike, seeking a better contract. They follow by months the many writers and actors striking the entertainment industry for similar reasons. Changing technologies are putting all their jobs and futures at risk. Meanwhile, workers see the executives …
Continue reading Auto workers deserve more, not just in money
Facing 2024 elections, GOP strategists have come to understand the widespread anger spurred by their opposition to letting women control their own bodies. The issue is galvanizing voters, so Republicans want to seek a new name for the pro-life movement. Democrats, if they are wise, won't let them get away with it. A rose by …
He wasn't there in person, but Donald Trump was the big winner at the GOP's 2024 primary debate. In a display of cowardice and moral corruption, six of the eight candidates said that they would vote for Trump even if the former President were convicted of the crimes for which he has been charged. Just …
Continue reading GOP debate: the elephant was in the room and outside too
Trump and his acolytes are whining across media platforms that Tuesday's grand jury indictment of Donald Trump is a violation of his First Amendment rights. The villains, they complain, are the weaponization of the Department of Justice and the criminalization of ordinary political speech. Nothing could be further from the truth. Before anyone joins the …
Continue reading Assigned reading for civics class: Trump Indictment
Reading books year-round is life-enhancing, but reading in summertime seems especially to be savored. Here are some non-fiction selections. The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty by Neal Thompson will fascinate anyone intrigued by the immigrant experience, Irish roots, old-time urban ward bosses and Boston politics in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. …
On this 247th celebration of our country's birth, any American who believes in the progress of civilization must be rattling in the throes of PTSD. Over the last two years, the Supreme Court has managed to wipe out half a century of gains in achieving several foundational promises of our Constitution. We are shocked and …
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against GOP legislators in North Carolina, who had claimed that they should have unreviewable powers to set the rules for their state's federal elections. The six-to-three decision (with Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissenting) affirms our fundamental principle of checks and balances. This decision has implications far beyond …
How can someone be an ostrich, a worm, a sheep, a jackal and a dodo all at the same time? It's no zoological mystery. Trump supporters in Congress - the House particularly - do it every day, even those who criticize him privately. So too do most of the other Republican Presidential candidates, most of …
Continue reading GOP Trump defense: performative art or stupidity?
Marjorie Arons-Barron 