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”

“The past is never dead.”

May 7, 2017

As William Faulkner famously stated, “The past is never dead.  It’s not even past.”  Anyone doubting the truth of Faulkner’s maxim need only look at the tragic events of the past week.  By now, everyone is familiar with the horrific murder of Jordan Edwards, the cheerful, studious 15 year-old Black boy murdered in cold blood while leaving a party.  Jordan was murdered in front of his brothers, who were then detained for hours by the police after witnessing that murder. Continue reading ““The past is never dead.””