From the Left
/Politics
Does President Trump still want to win? Where’s the mojo?
Well, does President Donald Trump approve of what news media are calling the “white power video,” or doesn’t he?
That burning question arose after the president retweeted a video over the weekend showing a few residents of The Villages, a huge central Florida retirement community, jeering at a parade of Trump supporters in golf carts.
As...Read more
Chicago can ‘partner’ with its police, with their help
Even before Chicago’s carnage-infested Father’s Day weekend was finished, the predictable emails from readers began to flow in.
“Where’s Black Lives Matter now?” they asked in so many words.
The surge was predictable. At least 106 people were shot in Chicago, 14 of them fatally, over the weekend, the highest number of shootings in ...Read more
Father’s Day reminds me of who taught me about fatherhood
Father’s Day has taken on special significance this year.
A national conversation on race has boiled up on screens, on paper and in the streets since George Floyd’s death May 25 beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.
So has a resurgence in the 55-year-old debate about the troubled status of the African American family.
I can ...Read more
Our Civil War never ends. It’s not even intermission
Sometimes I think that maybe the Civil War is over. But then something comes along to remind me how, in many minds, the war never really ended. Once it was fought with swords, now it’s with symbols.
Conflicts break out over flags, movies, statues, stock car races and the names of military bases. The good guys still appear to be winning, as ...Read more
‘Defund the police’ is bold, but it might just bring necessary change
When my youth consultant, aka my son, told me that the Black Lives Matter movement had come up with the slogan #DefundThePolice, I thought sarcastically, “Great, what a terrific gift to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.”
Full disclosure: I said the same thing about the name of Black Lives Matter itself. In both cases, I soon ...Read more
While Trump blames antifa, a menacing far-right ‘boogaloo’ movement rises
In response to nationwide protests over the shameful killing of George Floyd, President Donald Trump promises to go after antifa — as soon as he figures out what it is.
No, that’s not exactly what the president announced. You have to read between the lines of his tweets, and not too deeply at that.
“The United States of America will be ...Read more
Clarence Page: Where do we go from here? Martin Luther King Jr.’s old question endures
As President Donald Trump described himself in the White House Rose Garden as “an ally of all peaceful protesters,” reporters could hear the awful sound of peaceful protesters being cleared from Lafayette Park with tear gas, flash-bangs and rubber bullets.
After a day of peaceful protests Monday, the park directly across the street from the...Read more
Hey, Joe Biden, sometimes it’s best to leave black humor to black people
Joe Biden has been pushing back against the backlash that came after he made racially volatile remarks Friday during a radio interview. That’s what he gets for trying to be funny.
“If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” the former vice president cheerfully declared at the end of a ...Read more
The Ahmaud Arbery shooting: Video should not be required for racial justice
In the case of Ahmaud Arbery, we once again see how nothing changes a crime narrative like a video.
Georgia authorities arrested and charged a white father and son Thursday with murder in the February shooting death of Arbery, a black man they had pursued in a truck after seeing him running through their neighborhood.
The charges of murder and...Read more
'Quarantine fatigue' -- or why my family jumped at the chance to go for a drive
On the seventh weekend of my family's self-isolation in the coronavirus pandemic, my true love said to me, "When are you picking up dinner?"
This Sunday was a special day, our wedding anniversary. Although the virus put a crimp in our usual plans for celebration over dinner at a fancy restaurant, our eatery of choice fortunately offered an ...Read more
Biden's denial of Reade's charges was necessary but not enough
I applaud Joe Biden for responding to his former Senate aide Tara Reade's allegation of sexual assault, but it is by no means enough to put the case to rest.
First, his statement posted on Medium and his brief interview Friday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," added nothing to his denials expressed earlier by his campaign. His key statement ...Read more
Trump unleashes #PresidentLysol scorn -- and upstages allies' efforts to boost Tara Reade story
When I saw #PresidentLysol trending on Twitter, I knew President Donald Trump had a problem.
If President Trump has excelled at anything throughout his brief but spectacular career in politics, it is in the crucially important task of defining his opponents before they can define him.
The former real estate developer and reality TV star ...Read more
Politicizing Nancy Pelosi's ice cream is a fridge too far
Let's be honest about ice cream.
Yes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi let her guard down when she showed off her ice cream collection and well-stocked royalty-class refrigerator on national television.
After all, it's a presidential election year and she holds the most powerful office of any Democrat in Washington. So, faster than you can say "...Read more
Politicizing the coronavirus is hazardous to our national health
One of the most frustrating things about the protests aimed at reopening the economy ... is that we all ultimately want the same thing. We want to resume what used to be business as usual.
The problem is that we all have different ideas about reopening times.
"I'm with everybody," said President Donald Trump when asked about it in a Sunday ...Read more
Democrats might not fall in love with Joe Biden, but they'll need to fall in line
"Special guest" Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, former Vice President Joe Biden, during a livestreamed video conference Monday. But will the Bernie supporters care?
Any hopes that the heartfelt endorsement would end the long-boiling tensions between the party's liberal and moderate wings ...Read more
As COVID-19 cases grow in the African American community, so do some dangerous falsehoods
You might not have heard of Waka Flocka Flame. Neither had I until the 33-year-old black rap artist recently declared that he and other people of color are immune to the coronavirus.
Say what?
"It's fake," Waka Flocka, formerly known as Juaquin James Malphurs, said during an interview in March on Los Angeles' REAL 92.3 radio. "Minorities can't...Read more
Watching 'Tiger King' a bit like a Trump vs. Clinton rematch
Why is "Tiger King" on Netflix the biggest hit so far for the vast audience created by the coronavirus lockdown? For starters, it contains every weird and therefore addicting trope that tabloid TV ever imagined.
It also seems to connect in unexpected ways with the side of America that ever since childhood has wanted to run away and join the ...Read more
Solid science, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, are essential during this pandemic
A few decades ago, I noticed that my aging father, who loathed all jewelry besides his wedding ring, was wearing a copper bracelet.
"It's supposed to be good for aches and pains," he muttered, sounding a bit less than convinced of its alleged powers.
"Y'know that's probably not going to do you any good," I said, seizing this golden opportunity...Read more
Would removing Trump's live coronavirus briefings make him worse?
More than 3,000 Americans had died in the coronavirus pandemic as of Tuesday, but President Donald Trump appeared to have his eyes glued to another set of numbers: his television audience ratings.
"Because the 'Ratings' of my News Conferences etc. are so high, 'Bachelor finale, Monday Night Football type numbers' according to the @nytimes, the ...Read more
Mr. President, don't pit 'the numbers' against our lives
When I heard that President Donald Trump was getting antsy to reopen the economy barely more than a week into national restrictions to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, my mind raced back to early March and a cruise ship called the Grand Princess.
Remember that story? While the cruise ship sat off the coast of San Francisco earlier in ...Read more
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