Recovery is slow, Rx uncertain

Critics of my blogs may be delighted to know that my operating system was corrupted, and I have been without a computer for two weeks. It was a most peculiar time to be silenced.  Hallelujah, the tech crisis is over. But the inability to post provided an interesting time for reflection. I have never seen a reaction …

Continue reading Recovery is slow, Rx uncertain

Warning: watching polls may be hazardous to your health

Last Sunday, when the Cubs were down 3-1  to Cleveland, celebrated prognosticator Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight  proclaimed that the Cubs had a smaller chance of winning the World Series than Trump did winning the presidency.  More recently,  he’s been soberly  covering his bases, indicating why more reassuring predictions of a definite Clinton victory could be wrong. The …

Continue reading Warning: watching polls may be hazardous to your health

An open letter to my grandson about the election

Dear Jacob, This is your first Presidential election, and I know you understand the importance of your vote - especially since you're casting your ballot from college in Ohio rather than in Massachusetts. You, as did so many of your Oberlin classmates and other millennials, voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. The Vermont Senator …

Continue reading An open letter to my grandson about the election

Girl Trumps Boy

Call it the big Whew!  After weeks of shrinking polls numbers for Hillary Clinton and small but steady gains in momentum for Donald Trump, voters were finally able to see them one on one. What they saw was a clear case why Donald Trump is not qualified to be President of the United States. More …

Continue reading Girl Trumps Boy

Debating the debate

Monday night’s Clinton/Trump debate won't be Lincoln/Douglas. No Demosthenes or Cicero here. Even if the candidates were inclined to that level of discourse, the American public would probably not be prepared to give it the time or its undivided attention. It won't be a classical debate, scored by nonpartisan judges on technical aspects of the …

Continue reading Debating the debate

Hillary chooses morning over mourning in America

Last night’s historic moment almost seemed anti-climactic. I had shed my tears at the historic milestone when Hillary Clinton had clinched the Democratic nomination. I held my breath for weeks thereafter until Bernie Sanders had endorsed her, making it clear just how high the stakes are in this election. Last night was all about reinforcing that …

Continue reading Hillary chooses morning over mourning in America

Donald Trump a clear and present danger*

Donald Trump's kids shone at the Republican national convention. Poised, articulate, attractive, they'd make any parent proud and certainly reflect well on their parents. Ivanka Trump's call for pay equity and child care support were a welcome contrast to the GOP platform. So, too, was PayPal CEO Peter Thiel's assertion that the party shouldn't let "fake …

Continue reading Donald Trump a clear and present danger*

Republican convention: Red meat turns rancid, mean, and poisonous

Two down, two to go. Days, that is, of the Republican National Convention. I'm not watching gavel to gavel. I have a life. But, as a political junkie, I'm drawn to watch the evening activities, as deplorable as they are. From an organizational perspective, especially for an alleged master of the spectacle, Day One was …

Continue reading Republican convention: Red meat turns rancid, mean, and poisonous

Ruth Bader Ginsburg fumbles

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was way out of line in her scathing criticism of Donald Trump. Three times in the last week, she let it be known she can't imagine this country under a president Trump, She called him "a faker," said he "has no consistency about him," and added that he says whatever comes into …

Continue reading Ruth Bader Ginsburg fumbles

Hillary: a moving milestone

It took more than two centuries for the United States to have its first woman representing a major party as its presumptive presidential nominee. Last night, when it happened, when history was made, it was deeply affecting. To Hillary Clinton's many detractors, I concede her flaws, but I will not let you spoil the significance of …

Continue reading Hillary: a moving milestone