Whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump was elected, the environment is going to suffer. Continue reading
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Author Archives: Walter Brasch
Trump nominee will politicize Dept. of Justice
In his successful run for the presidency, Donald Trump spent a lot of time talking about the Second Amendment and defending gun ownership. He spent very little time talking about the other amendments, other than to say he supported the Constitution. He knew his core support came from those who could effortlessly repeat a phrase, “Donald Trump supports my Second Amendment rights,” without knowing much more than that. Continue reading
Please make it stop
With less than a week until the election, just about every voter in the swing states has received dozens of robocalls, e-mails, letters, postcards, and exposure to almost-uncountable radio, TV, digital, satellite, and social media ads. Most are attack ads, with similar messages. Continue reading
Lies and election rigging
Donald Trump, losing to Hillary Clinton in every major national poll, long ago brilliantly figured out how to continue to rally his base. Instead of dealing with issues, he attacks Clinton, the mass media, and calls the election rigged. Continue reading
Pushing politics to extract payments
My wife, Rosemary, a registered Republican, received a black and white poll in the mail. Plastered across the top of the sheet in bold black letters was the title: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” I wonder who that could be? Continue reading
Readers want news not fluff
The New York Post, a Rupert Murdoch tabloid publication that isn’t likely to win a Pulitzer Prize anytime soon, splashed a full page picture of a smiling Jennifer Anniston on its Sept. 21 front cover. In the upper left-hand space it placed all-capitals text: “BRANGELINA 2004–2016.” Inside the Post were four full consecutive pages, and a half page and part of a column deeper in the newspaper, all devoted to one of the most critical social issues facing the country—Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are getting a divorce. Continue reading
The 24/7 sneeze factor
Hillary Clinton is recovering from a mild case of pneumonia. However, shortly after she collapsed at Ground Zero while part of the 15th annual memorial of 9/11, her campaign staff said she was just exhausted and suffered heat exhaustion. It took a couple of days for her to reveal the extent of her medical issue. Continue reading
Race issues dominate White House race
Part 2 of 2
Donald Trump says he watched the destruction of the World Trade Center, and saw “thousands and thousands of people [who were] cheering as that building was coming down.” Every non-partisan fact-checking site and news medium debunks Trump’s faulty recollection. But 9/11 burnished an image in his mind of terrorism by Muslims. His solution is to issue an unconstitutional moratorium against Muslims who wish to emigrate to the U.S. Continue reading
Race issues dominate White House race
Part 1 of 2
Donald Trump, who is commanding all of 1 percent of Black voters, according to an impartial Quinnipiac poll, says he could get as much as 95 percent of the Black vote in a second term. In June 2011, he had said, “I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.” It’s nothing less than political hyperbole in a campaign for a first term, and meant to get a few thousand more votes in key states. However, Trump’s past actions don’t mitigate whatever future plans he has. Continue reading
The quotable contradictory Donald Trump
The man formerly known as The Donald is entwined in a ball of contradiction. Continue reading
Taking the wind out of Trump’s energy policy
Black letters against a yellow background. Black letters against white. White letters against black. On yard signs. On T-shirts. On baseball caps. All with the same message: “Trump Digs Coal.” Continue reading
Free speech not present at some universities
Like most Jews, Benjamin Aaron Shapiro, a respected journalist, is an advocate for social justice, following the Jewish concept of Tikun Olam, literally translated as “repair of the world.” Unlike most American Jews, Shapiro is a conservative whose views of the nation are closer to those of Ted Cruz than of Bernie Sanders. Continue reading
Division in the nation’s major political parties
Hillary Rodham Clinton limped into the Democratic National Convention with enough pledged delegates to claim the Democrats’ nomination for the presidency and enough hubris that forced her and her senior advisors to spend time and resources dealing with her own party rather than targeting Donald Trump. Continue reading
Lessons from the Trump-a-thon
The four-day Trump-a-thon, sometimes noted as the Republican National Convention, ended last week in Cleveland with the Republican party still divided and Donald Trump’s ego inflated larger than a Macy’s parade balloon. Trump was all over the convention hall, the hotels, and in the media, chatting, arguing, scowling, and boasting. It was Trump’s convention, and he knew it. Continue reading
Bathrooms are the new battlefields for politicians
When I was a junior at San Diego State, I had a sudden urge to need a restroom. The closest one was clearly marked, “Faculty Men Only.” The nearest one for male students was on the other side of the building. Continue reading
Clinton drops baggage; conservatives looking for another scandal
Three weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Hillary Rodham Clinton unloaded heavy baggage. Continue reading
What does the U.S. care about?
Compared to their inaction on other agenda items, the U.S. Senate is brilliant. Continue reading
Memorial Day crocodile tears from those who create wars
A few million Americans may be thinking about it, but won’t be celebrating Memorial Day. For them, there’s not much to celebrate or to remember. Continue reading
History must not repeat itself: How the Democrats could lose the presidency—again
In 1967, the United States was digging itself deeper into the war in Vietnam. Continue reading
The art of the double-dealing megalomaniac
Savannah State University in Georgia will offer a three-credit course this summer, “The Trump Factor in American Politics.” The professor is Dr. Robert Smith, who says the students will read Trump’s policy statements and excerpts from Trump’s books, and then discuss his political philosophies. Continue reading
The slow-learning retired admiral with a Ph.D.
Joe Sestak, a liberal Democrat with a commitment to social and economic justice, is a slow learner. Continue reading
Disenfranchising large segments of Americans
Several hundred thousand American citizens won’t be voting in presidential primary elections—and it’s not their fault. Continue reading
Donald Trump: A problem even for conservatives
The bully of the playground continued to be in the media spotlight and charging ahead to the Republican nomination for president. Continue reading
The Trump Tower of egotistical exaggeration and lies
When the presidential primaries began more than a year ago, the two leading candidates were Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democrats and Jeb Bush for the Republicans. It seemed at that time that there would be another Clinton–Bush race in the general election. Continue reading
Sick of presidential politicians grubbing for votes
Like millions of Americans in the middle of February I have the flu. Continue reading
Marching bands and high school PE
The Millard Public Schools in Omaha, Neb., will not allow its students to substitute marching band for its requirement that students take three semesters of physical education. Continue reading
Major catastrophe: Major media problem
On Oct. 23, Southern California Gas technicians discovered a leak of methane from a failed casing on one of the pipes in its Alisa Canyon storage facility, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Continue reading
Sarah Palin’s quixotic quest for relevance
She’s back and tightly holding Donald Trump’s coattails. Continue reading
Christmas again wins the annual war
The mythical War on Christmas is over and once again Christmas won. Continue reading
Today’s media: Often pandering to bias and ignorance
The Texas board of education didn’t find anything wrong with a world geography textbook that said slaves from Africa were workers, but that immigrants from northern Europe were indentured servants. Continue reading
Downsizing the news staff; downsizing quality and credibility
Part 2 of 2
For more than a decade, advertising, circulation, and news quality in both print and electronic media have been in a downward spiral. That spiral has twin intertwining roots. Continue reading
The Christmas wish
Posted on January 5, 2017 by Walter Brasch
The annual War on Christmas, which began Black Friday, finally ended at New Year’s Day. Continue reading →