From the Left
/Politics
/ArcaMax
Dolly's Dead and the Woods Are On Fire
AI ain't ever gonna use an outhouse, but Dolly Parton used one. That was back in the days when living "off the grid" wasn't a moral decision, but just meant that the grid didn't give a damn about where you were, and you couldn't afford it if it found you.
That was when country singers didn't come from the suburbs of Cleveland, and they didn't...Read more
Few Democratic Socialists Are Blue Collar. Most Everyone Knows It
Classic Labor Day imagery shows men wearing hard hats and tough women in uniforms. These are Americans who did not build their muscles at a wellness club.
By contrast, actual photos of the Democratic Socialists of America show seas of white faces belonging to college graduates. The only work most of them have done with their hands is typing. ...Read more
Prosecutorial Indiscretion
On Aug. 25, the Department of Justice filed its papers defending its decision to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey for posting a picture of seashells arranged to spell out "8647."
That's right. A picture of seashells.
"There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey's post could read it to mean 'Kill President Trump,'" ...Read more
A Tale of Our Town -- and Yours
WASHINGTON -- The city takes a deep breath after the president's IndyCar auto races came and went without crashing a precious Smithsonian artwork, and before Congress returns. Cicadas and tennis balls make background music.
Thank god we didn't lose a Cezanne or Renoir as IndyCar drivers circled the National Mall. Some diplomats were uninvited...Read more
Not All Problems Are Global or National: Think Local
Public leadership doesn't mean that the "leader" has to have all the solutions, but instead must be open to others with problem-solving ideas.
That was one of Franklin Roosevelt's great strengths when he came into the White House. Facing the full-blown crisis of a national depression, he brought his top advisers together with an open mandate ...Read more
Goon Days at the Federal Communications Commission: Trump Tries To Muzzle ABC
It's another not especially beautiful week in the neighborhood, another week in which a spotlight is shone on President Donald Trump's unsubtle use of executive power to retaliate against critics and opponents, and to intimidate into submission those who might criticize or oppose him. Last week's lawsuit by the American Broadcasting Company ...Read more
Insulting Canada Is Sick Economic Policy
Oh good, another war. This time a trade war with Canada and for no other reason than ... what? To give Donald Trump a new stage for big-league bullying? To divert attention from the Jeffrey Epstein files? Who knows. Whatever. Trying to humiliate our closest ally does not serve American interests, ya think?
I say "trying" because Trump's ...Read more
Why an Appeals Court Blocked a Dangerous Censorship Law in Florida's Universities
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order in July that blocked Florida from enforcing the Stop WOKE Act in the state's universities.
Florida is one of 24 states that has passed laws restricting instruction on race and gender in higher education since 2020. Taken together, these laws represent a nationwide backlash to progress in ...Read more
Trump declares war on Canada
Not exactly a war, but a trade war — which will impose huge costs on both American consumers and on Canada.
As I said, Trump is now completely and utterly out of his mind.
The very idea of a trade war with Canada — our neighbor, our ally, our closest friend, a nation that’s peaceful and whose people have a reputation for kindness — is ...Read more
Clarence Page: Who is Natalie Harp? Americans have a right to know
It’s summertime, and the living is uneasy, particularly in Washington newsrooms and bureaus. At this time of year, historically, serious news can be harder to find than the newspeople available to cover it.
The result is what journalists call “the silly season,” when you can never guess what pseudo-story will get elevated to the headlines...Read more
Don't Know Much About Foreign Policy
Sen. Darline Graham, Republican of South Carolina, was appointed to serve out her late brother's term and was endorsed by President Donald Trump in the Republican primary for the full six-year term. Hers is a test in many respects: a test of President Trump's reach, as well as a test of the value (or stigma) voters attach to experience versus ...Read more
Better to Lose as Leftists Than Lose as Corporatists
People who follow the news are familiar by now with the general dynamic of the civil war within the Democratic Party that has been raging with greater intensity since 2016. Most of the party's voters lean progressive, which is to say significantly to the left of its ruling elites, members of the Democratic National Committee, and the most ...Read more
Life Isn't a Race. My Husband's College Degree Reminded Me Why.
My husband graduated with his bachelor's degree this summer at the age of 56. We ordered a cake and celebrated with friends and family. He had earned his associate's degree in accounting literally decades ago and had plans to continue his education, but life detoured him, as it likes to do.
Then, a few years ago, his employer told him there ...Read more
The Song of the Whip
Way back there in the 1700s and the 1800s, the British conquered a big chunk of the world thanks to their navy, which was crewed by whip-scarred, toothless, unwilling sailors with untreated syphilis.
That's who you want to fight your wars. No one fights like mistreated men living on a diet of garbage, the lash and below-decks rape.
That's ...Read more
Bill Press: Does anybody know where Melania is?
We all know where President Trump is, every minute of every day. He’s in the Oval Office. He’s playing golf. He’s in Turkey. He’s playing golf. He’s in California and Nevada. He’s playing golf. He’s in Michigan, Long Island, and Georgia. He’s playing golf.
But, more and more, the big question is: Where is the first l ady? And ...Read more
The Deadly Pursuit of Fame
The tragic deaths of Hayden Panettiere and Jason Arday can be tied to the same phenomenon. It's not new but has accelerated in today's influencer culture: youth's hunger for fame.
Panettiere was an accomplished actress who, buried in depression and addiction, died from an apparent drug overdose at 36. Arday was a serial fabulist who talked ...Read more
The President's Right-Hand Woman
She is the human printer, controlling the flow of paper to the president and transcribing his social media posts. She thinks she owes her life to Donald Trump. She is always by his side. Her name is Natalie Harp. She is this week's troubling news.
On Sunday, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a rising Democratic star, hit Trump hard: The Georgia ...Read more
Summer of Rage and Races
WASHINGTON -- Somebody stop him.
You know who. The conqueror whose voice, face and deeds are inescapable.
Donald Trump had never heard of William the Conqueror when he visited England, but he loved the word and the idea for his presidency. He also has Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar "great man" delusions.
These three had tremendous ...Read more
Big Tech Is the New Feudalism -- Here's How to Fight Back
"If you find that you've dug yourself into a hole, the very first thing to do is quit digging."
That old country saying has a newly urgent relevance to us today, for Big Tech, Big Finance and Big Government are colluding to dig us into the unfathomable hole of artificial intelligence. All across the country, entire communities are in an ...Read more
Trial Time for Trump: The Democrats' Impeachment Imperative
Except for those in districts that are deeply, deeply blue, Democratic Congressional nominees won't be making the impeachment of President Donald Trump a campaign issue this fall. There's no percentage for them in doing so. For Democrats in contested districts, the "I-word", like Voldemort, is the thing that shall not be spoken. All it does is...Read more




















































