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 …
Tag: Donald Trump
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 …
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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 …
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 …
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 …
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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 …
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 …
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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 …
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 …