Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The most striking characteristic of the tyrant is pettiness. Trump as president is dangerous. He is volatile. He shouts that he wants people killed, and apparently in large numbers sometimes (“kill them all,” he appears to have said about the Syrian government, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis just ignored […]
Masses around Globe Rally against Climate Crisis & Gov’t Inaction, Defying Trump
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Environmental activists protested Saturday in 90 countries and 800 cities across the globe and the United States against inaction on the Climate Crisis in the run-up to a major climate conference in San Francisco organized by Gov. Jerry Brown for Wednesday in the wake of Trump’s violation of the Paris […]
Obama shifts Left, Embraces Medicare for All, in Hopes of Galvanizing Democrats
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Barack Obama came out of retirement Friday to give a stump speech at the University of Illinois, in hopes of whipping up the enthusiasm of Democrats to vote in November. As I pointed out yesterday, Dems have an uphill battle to take either House of Congress, because of Republican gerrymandering, […]
Why the Midterm Elections can’t be Counted on to end our Constitutional Crisis
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The country is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Asked about its resolution, former Secretary of State John Kerry urged that the solution is to elect a Democratic Congress, and if possible, senate–the solution is for voters to vote. It is true that US voter participation rates are extremely […]
Trump’s Enablers boast of Saving Nation but Reveal they’re Looting the Nation
The anonymous op-ed in the New York Times Wednesday that described a White House in meltdown was not an act of courage. It was a piece of moral cowardice of the worst sort. The writer wanted to assure us that there are “adults in the room” around Trump who are reining in his worst plans […]
Crazytown Abroad: Trump’s Dreams of Preemptive War, Assassination and Withdrawal
Trump on Bashar al-Assad: “Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them.”
Trump Gingerly, Politely begs Russia not to Do Syria Idlib Campaign, Pretty Please
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AFP reports that President Trump is cautioning the Syrian regime against launching an all-out assault on the last remaining rebel stronghold of Idlib Province. He also said that Russia and Iran would be making “a grave humanitarian mistake” to take part. It is hard to take the humanitarian part too […]
On Labor Day, American Workers are Poor because they Aren’t Socialists
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The emergence of the Democratic Socialists of America caucus in the Democratic Party and its stars such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York City and Rashida Tlaib in Detroit is a signal of profound disappointment among working Americans with the current social deal they are being offered by management. The […]
McCain Funeral: TV makes it all about Personalities, elides Oil Drilling, War, Tax Cuts
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Cable television news shows and perhaps social media as well are misleading us by concentrating on personalities instead of issues, and the funeral of Sen. John McCain was more of the same. I was once in the same room with John McCain at a DC think tank meeting, and on […]