American reactions to President Trump’s explosive abolition of General Qassem Suleimani has been complicated. On one hand there is a broad consensus among left-lurching Americans that the late leader of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was a “a ruthless and cynical fomenter of lethal violence against western interests,” the “puppet-master […]

Allow me to preface this column with a word of personal advice to all the armed citizens among my readers. Pay attention: if someone starts shooting at you, it’s dangerous to shoot back because you might provoke them to continue shooting at you. I’ve been inspired to offer this word of caution by reactions to […]

Transparency, Wikipedia tells us, describes “operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability.” This definition is not so much definitive as it’s handy so let’s go with it. Keep in mind, however, that in politics “transparency” is a smoke-screen word […]

Elizabeth Warren let me down. Her bungling has jeopardized my reputation as an infallible prophet. Not long ago I prophesied in print that we could expect her to take the lead in the herd of ambitious Democrats eager to take on President Trump in next year’s general election. I reasoned that Warren and Bernie Sanders […]

An open letter signed by over 500 law professors and other academics from American universities, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Michigan tells us that President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to use presidential power to pressure a foreign government. This letter simply reminds […]

Here’s a quote from a recent newspaper editorial: “The flood of private and corporate wealth used to influence our elections has transformed our politics. Big money gives big donors outsize influence and drowns out the voices of regular people in the halls of government.” This opinion is not interesting because of its insight and originality. […]

To the Editor: While November 11 is widely recognized as Veterans Day, many people may not know that the entire month of November is both National Veterans and National Family Caregivers Month.  Both of my parents were veterans. My father served in the Army in World War II and my mother later on served in […]

Seattle’s city council elections early this November sheds some light on the ways money can effect electoral outcomes. Three weeks before elections day a Chamber of Commerce poll showed wide-spread discontent with the weirdo-controlled city council. Although the coalition of businessmen and moderate Democrats had out-spent the weirdo coalition four to one, the Amazon corporation […]

By October Maine’s U.S. senatorial race had attracted thirteen million dollars to support Senator Susan Collins, the Republican, and the Democratic Speaker of the Maine House, Sarah Gideon. That total will grow and grow until October 2020. Most of this money will come “from away.” Mainers have contributed seven percent ($118,000) of the $1.6 million […]

Maine’s senatorial race is attracting millions of dollars. We will hear a lot about which candidate will best serve the interests of Maine and its inhabitants. Voters who take a few minutes to think about it will figure out that this election is not attracting cash tsunamis because people all over the United States are […]