I can’t remember where I read it, but someone said that Obama has improved US relations with two countries during his administration: Iran and Cuba. That about says it. But here’s more on Obama’s current Cuban visit: Cuban dissidents have … Continue reading →
Photographer Sally Mann wrote a lengthy article in which she justifies, explains, expounds, and defends some controversial photos she took of her own children. She asserts that, since her children had the final say over every photo and whether it … Continue reading →
But something about it is interesting, I think. It’s a woman transforming herself into a pretty good facsimile of Sophia Loren through the magic of makeup, and doing a pretty nifty job of it. And no, she doesn’t start out … Continue reading →
Here’s an informative article about an issue that’s currently being speculated about—delegates at the RNC and what they are required by the rules to do. How much leeway do they have? It depends on the state, but the basic idea … Continue reading →
I like dogs. So I’ll send you off for the weekend with some dog videos, to get the taste of politics out of your mouths:
Continue reading →From David Brooks’ recent NY Times column: Trump voters are a coalition of the dispossessed. They have suffered lost jobs, lost wages, lost dreams. The American system is not working for them, so naturally they are looking for something else. … Continue reading →
Like “Islamophobia,” the word “xenophobia” is a way to pathologize a logical reaction to a phenomenon and give it a label that makes it appear to be irrational and emotion-based. This whole really loooong article manages to do it in … Continue reading →
I can’t remember any campaign in my lifetime in which any candidate has questioned another candidate’s religious sincerity. I’m old enough to remember that JFK’s Catholicism was an issue for some people, but Nixon certainly never mentioned it. Same of … Continue reading →
Crows are very smart birds, although they’ve long been thought to be harbingers of bad news: A crow’s brain is the size of a human thumb, huge relative to its body, putting their intelligence on par with primates and allowing … Continue reading →
The GOP won control of the Senate in the 2014 election. This meant that the party controlled both houses of Congress for the first time since the earlier years of the Bush administration, when they also had the presidency. But … Continue reading →
I’d like to take up the following comment from “junior”: Obama’s rise to power was already predicted in at least some circles well before he announced his candidacy. Supposedly, even as early as his assumption of his US Senate seat, … Continue reading →
In Belgium, naturally, in the Brussels district known as Molenbeek: Salah Abdeslam was shot in the leg by police commandos following a four-month international manhunt and has been arrested in the district of Molenbeek in the Belgian capital. The country’s … Continue reading →