“Let us always remember: That those who thought the world could be ruled by hate and fear were wrong. Our country did not let that dark vision of humanity stand. That vigilance is still required to protect and secure us. That we are one people—drawn from different religious, ethnic and national origins—but that we have been forged into an extraordinary whole. We are American.” *** The words above are from former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice’s concluding remarks to attendees at a 9/11 memorial observance at the Pentagon on Friday, where she shared the lectern and…
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Did you know that there’s a “Congressional Baking Caucus?” Two members, a Republican from Pennsylvania and a Democrat from North Carolina. Both male, in case you were wondering, projecting a vision of getting together now and again to advance the cause of bi-partisan scone-baking across our great land. There’s also a “Congressional Bourbon Caucus,” a “Congressional Bus Caucus,” a “Congressional Caucus on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Technologies,” a “Bipartisan Ski and Snowboard Caucus” (think Colorado, Utah and California!), a “Congressional Algae Caucus,” a “Congressional Ferry Caucus” (what, no equal time for a “Fairy Caucus?”), a “Congressional Chicken Caucus” (I’m…
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(First, a note on language. I use the term “beggar” in this post, rather than the more modern and commonly used “panhandler,” with specific intention. “Panhandler” is regarded as more value-neutral than “beggar,” which supposedly carries with it a degree of moralism and judgment. In my view, however, “panhandler” minimizes and thus devalues the actual desperation of these people who live in such drastically reduced circumstances, which calls out for a fully human response not reflected in a word that more suggests a job title than it does the pathos we all know is the actual case. I feel the…
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On January 13, 2019, nearly 10 months before what would become the first violent attempt in American history to overthrow the results of a presidential election with the full blessing of the incumbent president who refused to accept his defeat, I wrote in this space the following while awaiting the outcome of the Robert Mueller investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 election: “So what will they do, these Republicans, if Mr. Mueller presents conclusive evidence…that the president of the United States willfully and repeatedly sought the assistance of and, in return, provided succor to, a longtime nemesis of his…
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We interrupt the previously scheduled post in this space on a splendid new television series to present an astonishing torrent—even by the President Trumpian standards we have gotten “used to” at our peril—of 55 Truth Social posts the president shared from late night Monday into the early morning hours Tuesday. The posts have since been verified and summarized by the fact-checking site Snopes, the first five of which all happened within a minute of each other. Trump did indeed go on a posting spree from around 10:14 p.m. May 11 until 1:12 a.m. May 12, so we’ve rated the claim…