Donald Trump’s ascension to the Republican presidential nomination has created an enormous rift between the Republican elites and the rank and file. This process is a welcome development that could lead to the end of that party. Continue reading
A provocative, lengthy essay about Donald Trump in New York magazine by writer, former New Republic editor and blogger Andrew Sullivan has sparked discussion and debate around the country. Continue reading
Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, we are likely to get all sorts of mainstream media analysis about how his narrow pathway to Election Day victory runs through white working-class America, the way Ronald Reagan’s did, while the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, must corral young people, minorities and the well-educated. Continue reading
For decades I and many of my fellow Americans were forced, every 4 years, to hold our noses and vote for the “lesser” evil. Of course we recognized that the “lesser” was still evil but we had no other option. After all, we have a “democratic” two party system where both candidates genuflect to the ruling elite. Continue reading
Do you remember all the hopes Americans had for Obama when we elected him to his first term? Painful memories. He betrayed the voters on every one of his promises. There was no change, except for the worse as Obama went on to become one of the most vicious war criminals in world history. Despite his horrific record, we re-elected him, only to have US economic policy turn against the people in order to bail out at our expense the mega-banks and the One Percent. Continue reading
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed half of US voters believe “the system US political parties use to pick their candidates for the White House is ‘rigged,’” the news agency reported. Continue reading
On April 27th Ted Cruz tapped Carly Fiorina as his running mate. On May 1st Fiorina fell off the stage at a campaign rally. On May 3rd Cruz announced he was dropping out of the race. Continue reading
This just has to be the worst line-up for the presidency in living history. The race for the White House has evolved into an undignified slanging match especially within the Republican camp. Trump refers to the Democratic front-runner as “Crooked Clinton” and his closest rival Ted Cruz “Canada Ted,” “an anchor baby” and “a liar.” Yet when compared to former House Speaker John Boehner’s description of Cruz as “Lucifer in the flesh,” Trump’s insults sound mild. Continue reading
Forget about the number of super delegates; or the several undemocratic manipulations by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The reality that stands out loud and clear at the end of April, with almost two-thirds of the primary-caucus vote having been cast, is that Hillary Clinton is commandingly leading Bernie Sanders in the democratically-chosen delegate count by a tally of 55 percent against 45 for the senator. Continue reading
Joe Sestak, a liberal Democrat with a commitment to social and economic justice, is a slow learner. Continue reading
At this delicate moment in the primary season, we all need to take a deep breath and evaluate what comes next. Continue reading
The world has always been somewhat crazy. Each century has had its share of violence, greed, exploitation, etc. Yet, as most philosophers and spiritual thinkers tell us, the more we proceed into the future, the more we should evolve and progress, not regress. Well, the 20th century sure killed that theory, didn’t it? Two major world wars, with the disgraceful phenomenon of a Nazi regime in one of the most industrialized nations sure upset that apple cart. Then, a Cold War between the two major 20th century powers held the entire planet back from real and fruitful progress. Alas, this new century, only a mere 16 years old, seems to be regressing upon that same terrible path. Continue reading
By now I must be at least the millionth commentator to observe that Donald Trump is the candidate for whom social media have longed. What FDR was to radio and JFK to television, Trump is to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, et al. Continue reading
Sunday’s announced Cruz-Kasich alliance to stay out of each other’s way in upcoming primaries as a way of challenging Trump faltered straightaway—Kasich urging supporters to stick with him. Continue reading
It was expected to happen and, true to course, it did. On Tuesday, April 26, presidential primaries in five northeastern states hermetically, and silently, sealed the fate of how the US will be dealing with the rest of the world on all issues, geopolitical or economic, for another four, perhaps eight years. Continue reading
Will Bernie Sanders’s supporters rally behind Hillary Clinton if she gets the nomination? Likewise, if Donald Trump is denied the Republican nomination, will his supporters back whoever gets the Republican nod? Continue reading
Several hundred thousand American citizens won’t be voting in presidential primary elections—and it’s not their fault. Continue reading
Trump remains overwhelmingly popular among GOP voters, way outdistancing his rivals. Cruz and Kasich alone remain—allying in a desperate bid to stop him. Continue reading
Have you noticed that it is not only the presstitute media and the two establishment political parties that are beating up on Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump but also the progressive left? Sometimes the messages overlap so much that the progressive left sounds like the One Percent. But mainly the progressive left is down on Sanders because he is “not pure,” and they don’t like Trump because he hurts people’s feelings and doesn’t apologize. Continue reading
The Times of Israel explained earlier this week “How Bernie Sanders just became the rabbi of the Jewish left.” Continue reading
America resembles a banana republic. Its sham political process has no legitimacy, democracy in name only, voters with no say whatever. Continue reading
“Only Bernie Sanders can break the power of capitalism in the U.S.” So read a bizarre headline in an online edition of the Guardian. It is just one example of the drivel, magical thinking, misplaced concerns and out and out lies produced by liberal love for Bernie Sanders. Continue reading
On the day before Easter, PEZ Candy USA had to cancel its annual egg hunt in Orange, Connecticut. Adults rushed the fields where the eggs and candy had been put out, pushing aside and trampling the little ones in a mad scramble to grab the goodies for their own children. Noses bled, tears were shed and next time—if there is one—PEZ will have to have lots of security guards on hand to keep the grown-ups from behaving like idiots. Continue reading
So-called elections in America are farcical by any standard, mocking real democracy—Tuesday’s NY primary the latest example, a travesty of electoral legitimacy for Democrat Party voters. Continue reading
There are two things we all need to know about the upcoming 2016 election . . . Continue reading
According to Counterpunch (November 16, 2007) editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair: “The desire for secrecy is one of Mrs. Clinton’s enduring and damaging traits . . . Befitting a Midwestern Methodist with a bullying father, repression has always been one of Mrs. Clinton’s most prominent characteristics. Hers has been the instinct to conceal, to deny, to refuse to admit any mistake. Mickey Kantor, the Los Angeles lawyer who worked on the 1992 [presidential] campaign, said that Hillary adamantly refused to admit to any mistakes. Since Vietnam, there’s never been a war that Mrs. Clinton didn’t like. She argued passionately in the White House for the NATO bombing of Belgrade. Five days after September 11, 2001, she was calling for a broad war on terror . . .”I’ll stand behind [George W.] Bush for a long time to come,” Senator Clinton promised, and she was as good as her word, voting for the Patriot Act and the wide-ranging authorization to use military force against Afghanistan . . . Of course she supported without reservation the attack on Afghanistan and, as the propaganda buildup toward the onslaught on Iraq got underway, she didn’t even bother to walk down the hall to read the national intelligence estimate on Iraq before the war.” Continue reading
Today (April 14), Syria held parliamentary elections at 7,000 polling stations, keeping the voting open an extra five hours to accommodate the massive turnout. All were allowed to vote, even displaced Syrians from the two provinces still terrorized by Washington and Israeli backed ISIS. Continue reading
Polls indicate that most of the 2016 U.S. presidential candidates, with a few exceptions, have more than 50 % negative ratings. Also, poll after poll, after poll show that most Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are, and some are even outspokenly “angry” at the current situation. The polls also indicate a high degree of polarization. Continue reading
If Florida Republican congressman David Jolly has his way, he will become the first Scientologist U.S. senator. Jolly, who represents the city of Clearwater, the international headquarters for Scientology, is running for senator to replace Marco Rubio, who is not running for re-election. Continue reading
Okay, I paraphrased George W. Bush’s awful grammar in this surrealistic electoral season of the Republican clown car and the Hillary & Bernie fracas. Continue reading
Bernie Sanders calls his candidacy a “political revolution;” hundreds of people get arrested while demonstrating in Washington, DC, to get the money out of the electoral system and to make the election process more democratic. Continue reading
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How the Electoral College could make Paul Ryan president in 2016
Posted on May 13, 2016 by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
Just when you thought you’d heard everything about this year’s chaotic race for the presidency, you might want to go back and look at the 12th Amendment. It could, among other things, make Paul Ryan president. Continue reading →