(Political Ramblings from a Little Left of Center)
This installment of my 2020 Platform series addresses a very mundane topic. Our national infrastructure may be a critical foundation for our economy, but it is dreadfully boring. Hence, the topic has been starved for oxygen on the various campaign trails. I thought it deserved at least a modicum of attention – even if it’s…
Understatement of the Year: “He’s a different kind of a guy but they say I’m a different kind of a guy, too.” – Donald Trump on Boris Johnson Today, Boris Johnson was elected as the new leader of the Tory party and will thus become Britain’s next Prime Minister. Johnson is a right-wing anti-intellectual who…
I recently came across a video of “I Hope I Get It” from A Chorus Line, sung by a large group of dancers, both young and old, as they audition for a job. Each is under immense pressure to perform on-demand; only a few will survive the cuts; each needs to get noticed but must…
If anyone believes that the Democratic nomination process will select the person most likely to defeat Trump in 2020, please contact me. I own this bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like to discuss with you. We’re still 12 months away from the 2020 Democratic convention and 16 months away from the presidential election. So much…
An open letter to the Democratic Presidential Candidates: Congratulations! Your stellar debate performances were just what the voters needed. You perfectly set the tone for the Democratic primary season. You enlightened the general populace on numerous important issues of our time and reminded everyone why you should be elected in 2020. Your serious preparation for…
As a political junkie who enjoys a good whiskey, perhaps it was inevitable that I’d see a few parallels. Both bourbons and the 2020 Presidential candidates appeal to different people for different reasons and they share some remarkably similar characteristics. The pairings below are mine, but many of the notes paraphrase actual published reviews. Joe…
To impeach or not to impeach. That is the question. Although nothing in the current political environment quite deserves a Shakespearean reference, both Hamlet and the Democrats are thematically contemplating the pros and cons of suicide. Allow me to explain. A good friend of mine recently forwarded a rather strongly worded opinion piece in the…
After blissfully avoiding the news on a recent vacation with friends, my impatiently awaiting newsfeed scanned like a notebook of failed B-movie plotlines. At least 1964’s “Seven Days in May” had a great cast. The 2019 version? Not so much. Within a very brief timespan: Trump explicitly sided with a North Korean dictator, calling a…
Continuing my 2020 Platform series, I thought I’d tackle the federal budget. A difficult topic, you say? No, not really. As Trump likely said to Stormy, no matter what you do, you just can’t make this hard. While no one in Washington appears to have ever balanced a checkbook, the rest of us understand the…
While I’m not often one to shoot from the hip, I’m going to make a way-too-early pick for a 2020 Democratic Presidential ticket. I absolutely reserve the right to change my mind once we have better data. And, of course, things will progress and they’ll progress in unforeseen directions. There are already as many Democrats…