Neo-fascism in the U.S., under Trump, has produced one kind of political deadlock, in which Congress is often stalemated, unwilling to address real problems, and occasionally the right simply steamrolls the opposition, as in the case of the emerging tax bill. In Europe, the rise of the far right produces a different sort of deadlock—governing […]
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McCain Supports Tax Bill
With John McCain’s announcement this afternoon that he will support the grotesque tax bill now before the Senate, the odds that the bill will pass have improved significantly. In its (and McCain’s) defense, the bill does address one glaring deficiency under which the United States suffers: insufficient inequality. Today, our country still lags behind Mexico, […]
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What the Tax Bill Says About Mainstream Republicans
Among the many awful things about the tax bill now greased for passage is what it tells us about allegedly mainstream Republicans. Despite their supposed contempt for Trump, one by one they are falling in line—being bought off by last-minute revisions in the bill, most of which will make it even worse, like more tax […]
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Betsy DeVos Silent on Tax Cut
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has never shown herself to be a shrinking violet, but her silence as the Republican tax cut bill slithers its way through Congress is worth noting. Consider all the bill does for—or more precisely, against—both students and teachers: It ends schoolteachers’ ability to deduct up to $250 for their expenses incurred […]
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GOP Secret Weapon—Wavering Democrats
The press coverage has played the tax bill as a steep climb for the Republicans, but we should also pay attention to a possible GOP secret weapon—wavering Democrats. Three Democrats facing re-election in states that Trump carried by large margins have yet to commit firmly against the bill. They would be Joe Manchin of West […]
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“Hey, Turkey!”
How did “turkey” become a derogatory term? The turkey, after all, is not the most ungainly of God’s creatures, not if you contemplate anteaters or right-wing talk show hosts. The answer, as is the case for many such American slang usages, lies buried in those library stacks that host a collection of the back issues […]
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Better a child molester than a Democrat. So says our president.
Furthermore, Trump declares, “He totally denies it.” Well, that should settle it. Just like Putin. Just like Trump himself, when it comes to sexually assaulting women, or any other convenient lie he cares to tell. There is a poetic justice in the way Trump has recklessly inserted himself into the Alabama Senate election and the […]
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Rupert Murdoch: Troublesome Aussie
Right-wingers occasionally ask people on the left if there are any immigrants who’ve done such terrible things that they should be deported. To which I think we lefties are obliged to reply: Of course there are. I can think of one immigrant who has devoted himself with a single-minded fury to eroding democratic processes, stoking […]
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How Else Might We Use $1.5 Trillion?
The Republicans plan to spend about $1.5 trillion over ten years to finance their tax cuts, mostly for corporations and the rich. How else might we use $1.5 trillion? Here are three ways: First, provide debt forgiveness for most college loans after ten years of repayment, and less for people who are working in a […]
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The Groper in Chief Reigns Undisturbed
With Al Franken added to the list of gropers and Bill Clinton’s sins being revisited, this overdue reckoning for millennia of male sexual predation rings hollow as long as the Groper in Chief reigns undisturbed. Imagine: one case after another being subjected to intense public scrutiny and shaming, while Donald Trump careens on, unmolested so […]