Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

I think Kaine will be fine. [UPDATE: I’m no longer so sure.]

When I posted this earlier today it was because I had just read an article about these letters Kaine had joined other members of Congress in signing last week.  The article wasn’t the one I just linked to; I can’t find the one I read.  But I misunderstood it in two respects: I thought the […]

The New World ORDER

Paul Krugman has a terrific column today titled “Donald Trump, the Siberian Candidate,” but really he suggests that Trump is the Manchurian candidate. Krugman suggests that Trump is actually fronting for Putin on the world stage. I think he’s right. The only difference between the Manchurian candidate in the movie and Donald Trump is that […]

Am I the only one who thinks Trump’s New York Times interview probably ends his competitiveness in most of the Rust Belt? Just wonderin’.

CLEVELAND — Donald J. Trump, on the eve of accepting the Republican nomination for president, explicitly raised new questions on Wednesday about his commitment to automatically defending NATO allies if they are attacked, saying he would first look at their contributions to the alliance. Asked about Russia’s threatening activities, which have unnerved the small Baltic […]

A Key Reason America is No Longer Great: The privatization of state and (especially) local governments, in both the services they provide and in the way these governments (especially the local ones) are funded. [UPDATED.]

Coberly/ July 21, 2016 10:26 am mike instead of begging to differ, why don’t you try to explain your case better? it sounds to me like you are arguing that ignoring traffic violations in black neighborhoods will result in more black on black crime including homicide. that could well be the case, but i don’t think […]

Operation Save Marley

I just signed this Change.org petition, and included this comment: What is the point of having this dog euthanized?  Why is this system so mechanical that it can’t or won’t distinguish between a dog who’s a threat and a dog who unsurprisingly under the circumstances thought someone was being harmed and tried to protect him?  […]

Lock WHO Up?

I’ve been waiting for the Clinton campaign to respond to Trump’s “Crooked Hillary” meme by pointing out that fraud, including bank fraud, is generally considered crooked—i.e., illegal.  To no avail, of course; that would require some guts and going off-script. But in light of Christie’s speech last night, might the Clinton campaign consider featuring at […]

Okay, so Hillary Clinton thinks the election outcome will be determined by whether or not her running mate has a national security background, because Donald Trump has pronounced this a law-and-order election. Seriously.

Facing a fall contest against a Republican opponent focused on law and order, Hillary Clinton has narrowed her search for a vice­-presidential candidate, telling several potential running mates that she needs a No. 2 who would bring national security experience to the Democratic ticket. Mrs. Clinton’s shortlist includes James G. Stavridis, a retired four-­star Navy […]

Imagine a Dem VP nominee who can speak with clarity about antitrust legislation to limit the market power of Big Ag (and other such things)

I don’t want to compare myself to other people [in contention for the job], but I will tell you I’ve spoken with so many groups and I’ve represented those folks as a small-town lawyer, as a small-town mayor, as a state senator, then representing the state. I understand those folks and their struggles,” [Agriculture Secretary […]