On Friday, we once again received alarming news of the latest victims of white supremacist rage in a seemingly unexpected place. Army veteran Ricky Best and recent Reed College alumni, Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche were stabbed to death in Portland, Oregon because they interceded to stop Jeremy Christian’s racist harangue of two Muslim women on a rush hour commuter train. A third Good Samaritan, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, was also stabbed, but narrowly survived. Continue reading “Memorial Day”
A Criminal Enterprise
An honest examination of the events of this past week leads inexorably to the conclusion that the Republican Party, from top to bottom, is nothing more than a criminal enterprise. They are unabashed in their naked pursuit of power and pecuniary gain at any cost, no longer bothering with the pretense of fealty to the Constitution or any vaunted patriotic ideals. This may sound hyperbolic, but not if we look at the evidence. This week alone, we’ve seen a now victorious Republican Congressional candidate respond to a reporter’s legitimate question on his position on the AHCA in light of the CBO score by violently assaulting the reporter. Even more disturbing than Gianforte’s assault was the number of Republican politicians and commentators who excused it or mocked Ben Jacobs’ decision to press charges. From Governor Greg Abbott joking about shooting reporters to Laura Ingraham jokingly comparing Jacobs to the victim of high school bullying, the layers of wrong are almost too numerous to unpack. The common thread is that Republicans are endorsing violence as an appropriate response to inconvenient policy questions from members of the press. Continue reading “A Criminal Enterprise”
Groundhog Day
In the kakistocracy where we now reside, every day is like a dystopic, “Groundhog Day.” The details may vary, but the themes remain depressingly consistent: widening evidence of treasonous corruption from everyone in the Trump administration; fresh assaults on our basic human rights; and policy decisions driven by the idea that the desires of the ultra-wealthy trump the needs of everyone else. Continue reading “Groundhog Day”
Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight
On Saturday night, Second Lieutenant Richard Collins III was murdered by a white supremacist student on the campus of University of Maryland, College Park. Lt.. Collins, who had taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution” was murdered by a terrorist who belonged to a white supremacist Neo Nazi Facebook group.
Lt. Collins’ murder, though shocking, did not happen in a vacuum. Throughout this year, the University of Maryland, along with other campuses around the country, has seen a spike in racist incidents. On four separate occasions, white supremacist flyers were posted on campus. Continue reading “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight”
Work to Do
We all breathed a sigh of relief when Ron Rosenstein decide to repair his shredded reputation and appoint former FBI Director, Robert Mueller as Special Counsel, charged with investigating the extent of Russian interference with our elections and the Trump campaign’s collusion with those efforts. Mueller, given his reputation for being exacting, honest and apolitical, is precisely the right person for the job. Mueller’s appointment ensures that his results will be widely seen as credible and free from any partisan bias. Continue reading “Work to Do”
We had better be loud
The events of the last two days have left us white knuckled in fear and horror. We wonder aloud if there is no depth to which the Batman villain in The White House will not sink. On Monday, The Washington Post broke the story that during his jovial meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister and Russian Ambassador, Trump revealed top secret, code word classified information that we obtained from an ally. The Post reported that Trump disclosed the fact and location of an ISIS plot – enough information to allow Russia to determine the source of that intelligence. This disclosure was in direct contravention of our reciprocal agreements with allies, which provide that the United States and certain countries share intelligence with one another on the express condition that it not be shared with third parties without that country’s express prior permission. Continue reading “We had better be loud”
The danger of Schadenfreude
It is tempting to indulge in schadenfreude at the escalating chaos surrounding Trump in the wake of last week’s events. Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director Comey, followed by a fusillade of lies from his spokespeople about his rationale, and culminating in Trump’s admission to Lester Holt that he fired Comey because of the “Russia thing,” may mark a turning point in his presidency. If polls are to be believed, many of his supporters now support an independent investigation into possible collusion of the Trump campaign with Russian interference in our elections. Republican lawmakers are gingerly beginning to step away from the train wreck in the Oval Office. We should be clear that this does not represent a sudden outbreak of courage, but rather a recognition that Trump’s volatile and irrational behavior threatens the Republican legislative agenda. Continue reading “The danger of Schadenfreude”
The path to American autocracy runs through the Justice Department
The path to American autocracy runs through the Justice Department. As Conor Friedersdorf and Ben Wittes detail in a frightening article in The Atlantic, while we are rightly concerned with the erosion of our civil liberties by our national security apparatus, the investigatory and criminal justice powers wielded by the Justice Department pose a far greater threat to the majority of Americans. Continue reading “The path to American autocracy runs through the Justice Department”
It just got real
Make no mistake, it just got real. With Comey’s firing, the United States is plunged into a Constitutional crisis that makes Watergate look like the equivalent of high school kids pulling the fire alarm on the day of final exams. Trump fired the FBI director currently examining the extent of Russia’s with our elections. From Sally Yates’ testimony on Monday, we already know the incontrovertible fact that Trump kept Michael Flynn, a corrupt, compromised liar, on as National Security Advisor for eighteen days after Yates alerted White House counsel, Donald McGahn, that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by a hostile foreign power. Continue reading “It just got real”
100 Days In
April 27, 2017
As we reach the 100th day of Trump’s presidency, we awake each morning feeling like strangers in a strange land. Efforts to analyze Trump’s tenure thought the conventional lens applied to the 44 preceding presidents are futile. Although political commentators delighted in their takedown of The White House press release riddled with inaccuracies, laughing at the absurdity of a comparison between Trump and FDR; viewed another way, Trump’s impact has indeed been consequential. In 100 days, Trump has radically altered our country’s place in the world and shattered its compact with its citizens. Trump has derided decades’ long alliances with Western Europe, casting grave doubt on our commitment to NATO and emboldening Putin’s dream of reasserting Russia’s place as a global superpower. Trump has cozied up to authoritarians like Erdogan and el-Sisi, played footsie with wannabe Nazis like LePen, while shunning centrist democratic leaders like Angela Merkel. Continue reading “100 Days In”