Category: Uncategorized

We know that Trump will claim that the upcoming election is “rigged” against him, because that’s what he always does. But with the end of special pandemic voting rules and the adoption of plenty of new restrictive state election laws, this argument will make less sense. How, then, will he say the “rigging” is taking place?

Trump and his followers will insist that local election officials in large cities are throwing his ballots into creeks and bringing fake Biden ballots to polling places in suitcases. What they really mean by this is that black Americans in urban areas aren’t real Americans, so they shouldn’t be allowed to vote. The allegedly corrupt urban polling place is a dog whistle for an unsavory morsel of racist ideology.

The Israeli Army’s chief of staff apparently noted this morning that Israel was at war with Hamas, not the people of Gaza. He is exactly right; Hamas didn’t mobilize the people of Gaza for war, it hid underneath them. That’s the reason, as I have noted previously, that the World War II analogy used by some Israelis doesn’t apply here.

But the war Israel is actually fighting doesn’t match the guy’s words. The Israelis are making little effort to separate the fighters from the civilian population. Instead of enthusiastically protecting civilians in an effort to isolate the militants, they do as little as possible to meet the needs of non-combatants and complain bitterly when the rest of the world prods them to do so.

Will this latest mistake cause the government to change course? Don’t hold your breath, because there are several members of the Israeli cabinet who view the enemy as the entire Palestinian population, not just Hamas, and Bibi needs their votes to stay in power.

A right to privacy was added to the Florida Constitution in 1980 by popular vote. As a result of the decision in Roe, it was commonly understood that the concept of privacy included abortion at the time of the vote. In light of that, and the reasoning in Roe, the Florida Supreme Court found that the Florida Constitution provided protections for abortion above and beyond what could be found in the US Constitution and case law.

But a new Florida Supreme Court, packed with DeSantis supporters, decided that all of the evidence of the public’s understanding of the amendment was unconvincing and overturned the previous decision on Monday. It was an unscrupulous act of raw judicial power. Thomas and Scalia would be proud.

The Florida court probably thinks it immunized itself from criticism by permitting, by the narrowest of margins, the 2024 ballot referendum on abortion rights to go forward. In the press, yes; in my eyes, no.

Bibi uncharacteristically apologized for the deaths of aid workers at the hands of Israeli soldiers, but he also added, “It happens.” He’s right; soldiers rarely have perfect information, and they’re bound to make mistakes at times. But it is far more likely that they will kill innocent aid workers if your country’s leadership openly puts a much higher priority on killing terrorists than on providing food for desperate civilians. This was bound to happen sooner or later.

At some point, if only for his own political survival, Biden is going to have to make it clear in public that America will no longer provide weapons or diplomatic support if the Israelis continue to ignore our advice. Could this episode be the turning point? It’s possible; even the Israelis acknowledge they were in the wrong this time.

We, the real people of America, in order to destroy wokeness, promote the interest of white Christians, encourage the use of fossil fuels, suck up to foreign dictators, and eliminate expertise in our government, do hereby appoint Donald J. Trump as the ruler of our country, with unlimited and perpetual power to do whatever he pleases.

I hold these truths to be self-evident: that all real Americans are created equal, except me; that I was appointed by God, if there is anyone greater than me, to rule over America; that it is therefore the obligation of all true Americans to suck up to me; and that the purpose of government is to give me unlimited power to abuse and make miserable anyone claiming to be an American who doesn’t fall into line.

Beyonce doesn’t make albums; she makes statements. She doesn’t try to persuade you; she demands your allegiance. She can do that, too. She has an internet army to back her up.

And so, the question was whether she could make the country music establishment bend the knee to her by releasing a record with several country songs. So far, the answer is no. While her record, as usual, has been received ecstatically by her fans and the critics, country radio won’t play it.

But this should be fun, if you’re a member of the blue team. First of all, some hapless country music establishment figure is bound to put his foot in it, and the Beyhive will respond with all of its fury. There are times when it feels like only the red team is fighting the culture war, so this will provide some reassurance to the rest of us. In addition, it would be amusing to see Beyonce, Jay-Z, and family performing at the Grand Old Opry as the Carter Family.

The problem with being an insurgent populist is, if you win, where do you go next? It’s all well and good to run against the liberal establishment where there is one, but if the red team has complete control of your state’s politics, what do you do?

Start a race to the bottom. Pretend that the band of populists that is in power is actually the liberal establishment. Be as irresponsible as possible and take pride in it. Never let anyone be more outrageous than you are.

Which is why Matt Gaetz, in spite of his many issues, has a good chance of being Florida’s next governor if he decides to run.

The thing you need to understand about Jesus is that he wasn’t from the big city. He wasn’t some illegal immigrant or coastal elite guy. He was one of us. He was a red person. He loved country music and NASCAR, not hip-hop and the NBA.

But the day came when he had to go to the city to bring his message to the blue people. And so, he packed up his big black SUV–Jesus was a huge fan of fossil fuels–and headed for Jerusalem. He had a big rally when he got there. The crowds were enormous–the biggest ever, of course.

He went directly to the home of woke capitalism after the rally to set the people straight. When he told off the woke bosses, the deep state retaliated. They weren’t going to let him get away with it. Something had to be done.

A lesser man would have just accepted his fate, but not our Jesus. He had an arsenal of AR-15s in his SUV–like us, he always packed heat–and he wasn’t going down without a fight. He and his disciples took over the temple and shot it out with the Romans and the Jews. It looked like something out of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

In the end, the temple was destroyed, and Jesus was killed–just like in Waco. But he was resurrected and then reincarnated as the GOP nominee for president. Why do you think we love him so much?

For purposes of moving absolutely essential legislation, the House is effectively being run by a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans. For all other purposes, it’s Romper Room. Johnson is giving the right-wing extremists the keys to the asylum to do anything they want in an effort to keep them on side.

It’s a very strange arrangement. Both sides tolerate it for now because they know the alternative could be worse, and the election is coming.

The acid test for the coalition is whether Johnson ever permits a vote on aid to Ukraine. If he does, the right may try to dump him; if he doesn’t, the Democrats will have to take action. They have to get something in exchange for their tacit support.

The three words I would use to describe liberalism are humility, tolerance, and optimism. Humility, because liberals believe that no single person has all of the answers; tolerance, for the same reason; and optimism, because the free flow of ideas will ultimately result in the discovery and common embrace of the truth. As a result, freedom of speech is an essential component of liberal democracy.

Historically, however, the negative impacts of free speech have been mitigated by the presence of gatekeepers and by time; if you wanted to say something false and inflammatory in public, you had to take the time to reflect and compose a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, who would probably refuse to print it. Social media eliminate both of those mitigating factors. Dangerous lies can spread around the world faster than the truth can catch up. What becomes of liberalism then?

Without at least some sort of limited consensus on what is acceptable and unacceptable speech, liberals are struggling mightily to find an answer to that question. For reactionaries and progressives, however, there is no difficulty; if you don’t like a particular kind of speech, you just ban it. The simplicity of that approach gives them an advantage, but it is a danger to our political system.

Florida is far from alone. Alabama has just followed it by approving sweeping anti-DEI legislation. For good measure, the new law also includes requirements that history be taught in a way that is not divisive; no current student should be made to feel guilty about anything done by his ancestors, and blame should not be attached to any racial group.

So what exactly are they going to teach high school students about Alabama in the 1960s? What are they going to say about Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma? How will they treat George Wallace and Bull Connor? This isn’t the Civil War we’re talking about here; some of the people involved in the racist crimes are still alive, and are related to the students who will be learning about them.

Say a prayer for high school history teachers in Alabama. They’re going to need all the help they can get.

You can understand NBC’s reasoning. The network wants to speak to all Americans, not just the blue team. To do that, it needs commentators with insider insight into Trumpism, not just Haley supporters. Why not McDaniel?

The problem here is that Trump’s political identity, at this point, is largely defined by his actions on January 6 and his continuing argument that the 2020 election was “rigged.” To be a real Trumpist, therefore, means openly accepting a position that is antithetical to the truth and American liberal democracy. To put a Trumpist on the air consequently means providing a forum and a source of legitimacy for these false and obnoxious views.

McDaniel admitted on the air that Biden had won the election, but her previous defense of Trump on this issue was a bridge too far for most of the talent at NBC. Is there anyone else out there who can square the circle of being a genuine and passionate Trump supporter who rejects his opinions about the 2020 election and January 6? I doubt it.

Suddenly, sports gambling is everywhere. Professional sports franchises have relocated to Las Vegas. Commercials for sports betting companies are ubiquitous. Right-wing Christians used to lead the fight against gambling; today, you don’t hear a peep out of them. What is going on here?

This is just more evidence that real Christians currently represent a small minority of the GOP. The head of the Republican Party used to own casinos. The party doesn’t really promote Christian positions; it fights for the economic, social, and political supremacy of people who call themselves Christians, but frequently have no regard for Christian ethics..

I have no opinion as to the legal merits of the decision of the New York appellate court to decrease Trump’s bond, but I would say it was politically astute. It left the bond at a number high enough to cause pain, while making it more difficult for the man on golf cart to argue that he is being crucified by a partisan judicial system. There will be no images of a fire sale sign on Trump Tower to use for a fundraising campaign.

The decision by the trial judge to keep the April 15 date is a clear blow to Trump. I can’t help observing again that if Trump really believed in his innocence, he would be demanding a speedy trial, not trying to push it back to a date after the election.

From all outward appearances, the Supreme Court is going to find that the plaintiffs in the abortion pill case don’t have standing, because their alleged injury is way too speculative. That decision would be the correct one. The student debt case should have gone the same way.