The marked distinction between Trump and other public officials who would attend a presidential funeral is, they will go. Not for Trump or themselves, but for the office, the institution, and the tradition. All are more important than the current occupant of the people’s house - by far, or any other occupant. It…

Please do kick those asses and take those names when you get there, ladies!

Thank you for the time and thought you put into that. I agree with a lot of what you said, especially the distinction between moderate and centrist. That is good thinking - either of those positions can become self-defeating or an intellectual trap. I think my comments completely missed the moderate / centrist…

Not sure that’s too accurate. He was perfectly happy to hew to the standard Republican tropes - dishonest, lazy welfare queens, soft on crime liberals, pointy-headed indoctrination of our children by America’s academia, labor unions and regulation destroying freedom, and all the rest. He said it all real pretty like,…

That might be the exact right phrase. He’s all Self and no Awareness.

The only possible reply? ... LOL!

I see that absolutist attitude on the left here and there as well. But at least they seem to be willing to lose at the ballot box while taking their impossible stands. Absolutists always detest the moderates - especially in their own party. But moderates actually allow progress. Imperfect progress, but progress nonethe…

If you’re pissing off everyone, you’re probably doing it right.

Isn’t that what lying is for?

I’m sure these nitwits are ‘lite’ on the details. But they sure as hell get the basic idea - So long as there are people we can abuse, kill and maim with impunity we don’t really care how far down in the shit soup we have to live. This is not a failure to reason properly. They found their ‘reasons’ long ago.

God bless that man and all he did, and all those who fought the good fight by his side. The passage across the bridge brought me and my wife to tears. By God we need a thousand more just like him.

The part I don’t get about Cotton is that in the interview that kicked off this whole shit storm, he says, we must study this country’s history of slavery, that America can’t be understood without learning it. Then says, no funding for the 1619 project. Which is meant to explore and teach the foundations of slavery in…

In some quarters Italian-Americans are still considered ‘less than desirable.’ I remember my step father, dead since this past Spring, saying the nastiest things about Italians practically from the day I met him at age 7. And it was often focused on skin color. “Olive-skinned” was not a compliment if the words were in…

Best lead ever about a Supreme Court Justice, Rebecca! Bravo!!

That is in fact the process when you work with Trump. You begin in earnest. You do the professional equivalent of ‘buying the guy a beer.’ Because you figure we’re all human, all just trying to get the work done and you want to move on to being productive. But then Trump does or says a stupid thing and looks bad. And…

Remember when we had presidents who were faced with the choice to: A. Do the right thing. B. Do the wrong thing but get re-elected. And they chose A? Anyone remember that? Carter faced that challenge. He knew the offer from the Iranians to release the hostages was a poison pill. Agreeing to their terms would have been…

Nice analysis of the language.  Their tone is patronizing and diminishing but it sounds so placid and analytical.

I hope she travels to another country. And receives exactly the same attitude in return for the entire duration of her stay. Every interaction she has. Wonder if the light would go on for her, if she’d connect the dots and actually learn that she was the jackass? But I’d bet on no. And I’m sure she’d post all about how…

That’s always the difficult part isn’t it? The heroes are not simply the historical figures who are depicted. The ideals they fought and died for - in the midst of their own constant failings and self-serving justifications of evil deeds - are also characters here. The ideals are established early, and anyone remotely…

Over the years I’ve asked my kids the classic, “What would you do if you won a billion dollar lottery?” question, but with a follow up. “Okay, so you’ve done all the fun stuff, traveled, bought nice things, a pretty house, had big parties, and all the rest. Now you have 50-60 years of life left. What do you do with…