Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post
When it became clear how potentially deadly January 6th insurrection might become, Mike Pence was led to an underground parking lot beneath the Capitol, where he stood (there was nowhere to sit), waiting for what might come next. What did happen then was the arrival of a Secret Service car that had come to take him to safety. (more…)
In terms of its politics, California has much in common with the other populous states; it’s a blend of well educated and affluent people who live close to the major cities who tend to vote Democrat, and the folks in the rural regions who are largely Republicans.
Yet where these balance themselves out in swing states, California is dominated by things like communications and information technology, entertainment, life sciences, and fantastically large university systems, that combine to make it impossible for conservative Republicans to succeed.
That’s why it’s so strange to see people running for public office here who have nothing to say other to assert their conservative values.
Here’s how Chuck Smith promotes himself. Sorry. Won’t work. Best take it to Alabama. 
Some people believe that the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump would be so politically heated that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland simply refuses to pull the trigger.
Totally absurd.
Signalling to everyone on Earth that the United States no longer holds wealthy and powerful people accountable for their crimes, and that this country has become the world’s newest banana republic, is not an option.
No one knows what Garland is doing behind the scenes, but cowardice and disgrace are not viable choices.
This guy would have an excellent point….if logic and reason were significant factors in the politics of the working-class Republican vote.
As previously discussed, they don’t expect anything from government, and they don’t choose leaders based on their prospects for wealth. They pick the candidate who promises to inflict the most punishment people they hate: Muslims, LGBTQs, immigrants, environmentalists, and liberals in general.
Let’s all hope that our boycott of the moral hellhole that is Florida becomes fully effective in changing the governor’s outrageous behavior.
I can’t imagine taking an optional trip to a place that is systematically making life as miserable as possible for the LGBTQ community, especially its younger members.
Of course, Donald Trump wasn’t the first to exact revenge against his political opponents. And Nixon, with the infamous “Enemies List” may not have been the first either.
It was, however, Trump who made this a overt, standard practice. And what an effective one it has been.
In fact, the only reason he has any relevance in U.S. politics at all (other than being on his way to become the first U.S. president to go to prison) is that GOP congresspeople are terrified of what Trump will do to them if they do not whole-heartedly support him.
Our society exerts almost no effort to make teaching an attractive option for the people who are best qualified to excel in this profession.
As a result, our classrooms are overcrowded, ensuring that the individual student get as little one-on-one attention as possible.
Only though this method can we systematically reduce our educational standards to the point that our voters are among the most ignorant in the developed world.
While Robert Reich’s point shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, I attribute the 40% of the vote that Le Pen received on her softening some of her positions.
According to something I read, this time her platform wasn’t so much about authoritarianism and hate, but rather about helping the less-affluent French to deal with the high cost of living – an apparent weakness of Macron.
Regarding my recent post Banning Books that Make Us Uncomfortable, I’m with the guy who asks, “Having you ever noticed that the people who ban books are not well regarded by history?”
It really is that simple. If you don’t believe me, try this simple test:
1) Picture in your mind a specific event, like the photo here, that symbolizes the banning of books.
2) Assign a date to it, as to when it may have taken place in world history.
3) Add 20 years to that date.
4) Ask yourself if there is any conceivable scenario in which those people emerged on the right side of whatever issue they were dealing with at the time.
The lady here presents a number of excellent points on the harm that banning books is having on young people.
Her point that the practice erodes the trust young people have for adults is particularly interesting. I’m not sure how much of that actually exists at this point. In my observation, young people are reeling with the idea that we baby-boomers are in the process of leaving them a dying planet, and they’re not too happy about that.
