The Not-So-Great Gaetzby
F. Scott Fitzgerald has always been one of my favorite authors and The Great Gatsby a favorite book. It may have been the first Fitzgerald I read (though possibly that was The Diamond Big as the Ritz). Either way, I fell in love with Fitzgerald for his poetic style. The sheer beauty of his choice […]
Republicans Experiencing Electile Dysfunction
Republicans have completely abdicated the ideaosphere in favor of cheating. That’s sad. As with any marketplace, the United States will be best served by at least two viable entities, competing for voters’ “business.” As of March 11, Republicans have this year introduced 253 voter suppression bills in 43 states, according to the Washington Post. Although […]
The Real Reason Trump Lost
Mail-in voting thwarted Donald Trump’s plans to steal the 2020 election like he did in 2016. In that previous cycle I believe Russian hackers did ply their trade to scooch him past the margin. So, while he would certainly have been a sore loser anyway, that it was Coronavirus that ultimately snuffed his chances must be particularly […]
Happy Turkey Day
Okay, it’s Thanksgiving, a day in which turkey features prominently. So I’d like to issue personal thanks to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of the Eastern European nation that shares its name with our beloved bird. President Erdoğan deserves acknowledgement for a brave stance calling for Saudi Arabian accountability in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. To think Khashoggi’s death […]
Toxic Bannon Bane of Eco Policy
I felt a bit guilty about taking a position on the Paris climate accord on social media before fully investigating the positions of both sides. The realization that it’s okay to support, in principle, proactive tactics to protect the planet’s rapidly deteriorating environment and a U.S. leadership role in same didn’t hit me until a […]
Presidents by State
Could the fact that he was born in Queens be a kingmaker for Donald Trump? Or that Hillary lives in Chappaqua boost her chances to reign over the U.S.? While more U.S. presidents have been born in Virginia, at eight (which includes the unelected John Taylor, a veep who served out Millard Fillmore’s term), when […]
The Outlaw Hillary Clinton
I’ve made my peace with Hillary Clinton. Initially, I was outraged over the use of a private email server to conduct government business. But my opinion of her improved in inverse proportion to the revulsion that resulted from continued exposure to Donald Trump. Compared to him, she started looking good, then great, and ultimately heroic. As […]
Smith Would Have Voted for Sanders
He visited Voltaire in Geneva, hung out with Ben Franklin in London, was best buds with fabled Scottish philosopher David Hume and wrote the book known as “the bible of capitalism,” “The Wealth of Nations.” Sounds pretty fancy! But anyone who’s read the feel-good manifesto of the free market knows that Adam Smith was no elitist; nor […]