politics
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Iran’s New Strength, Trump’s Weakness: “Please, Please. It’s Too Much Winning. We Can’t Take It Anymore”
My first favorite author was Allen Drury, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Advise and Consent. As a teenager, I ate his books up, thrilled by their political and international stories with a continuous batch of colorful characters. But nothing…I mean nothing…that Drury could make up in his brilliant writing comes close to a plot line… Continue reading
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Jacqueline Kennedy’s Pink Chanel Suit Back In The News
Historical trivia relating to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy was reported in late March. Letizia Mowinckel, an American diplomat’s wife who served as her friend Jacqueline Kennedy’s fashion scout in Paris and who procured the pink Chanel suit that came to symbolize the first lady’s resolve in the wake of her husband’s… Continue reading
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The Weight Of A President’s Words
Not for the first time, I strongly criticize the coarse language coming from Donald Trump, who sits in the Oval Office. Over the years, I have repeatedly stated there is an entire dictionary of words to use rather than the F word and other foul choices. In a deranged social media post on Easter Sunday… Continue reading
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Diversity Champions Hate Speech This Holiday Weekend
This holiday weekend, with Easter and Passover being celebrated and observed, I suspect most people are in an uplifting mood. In line with that thinking, a Chicago Tribune story caught my attention. After Assyrian families in Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove and Lincolnwood spent nearly a decade advocating for an Assyrian language program at Niles Township High School… Continue reading
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Pam Bondi Has Same Stench As John Mitchell
Being a decades-long Richard Nixon history buff allows me, at times, to put current political events in the context of what our nation endured in the 1970s. As news gleefully spread that Pam Bondi was removed as the attorney general today, it was a natural connection for me to think about John Mitchell, the attorney general during… Continue reading
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Donald Trump At Supreme Court vs. America
It was perhaps the ugliest scene yet from the second term of the Donald Trump administration. As the Supreme Court prepared to hear oral arguments in one of the most unconstitutional cases in many terms, the originator of the undermining of the 14th Amendment left the White House and sat in a front row seat,… Continue reading
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Wisconsin Journalist Shelly Kittleson: Truth Tellers Must Not Be Silenced
The news of Wisconsin journalist Shelly Kittleson being kidnapped in Iraq is unacceptable. News reports place her hometown as Monticello, Wisconsin. Her work as a journalist specialising in the Middle East and Afghanistan is published in international, US, and Italian outlets. Iraq’s Ministry of Interior said that security forces have launched an operation to track… Continue reading
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Sordid Money Dealings, Unchecked Narcissism, Outright Lies, Abusing Military Assets, Just Another Day In Donald Trump’s Absurdity
Just another Tuesday afternoon in Donald Trump’s world of absurdities. I jotted down a few notes as I meandered my way through the news today. It feels like norms, adherence to rules, and common sense have departed from a huge swath of the Trump White House and this administration. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broker at… Continue reading
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Republicans Are In A Pickle, A Very Sour One
One fact struck me this weekend as the No Kings rallies garnered huge turnouts nationwide. Not only were the rallies aimed at underscoring the need to strengthen democratic institutions, rejecting authoritarianism, and denouncing the Iran War, but they happened everywhere. They were held in all 50 states. They were held in every congressional district, including… Continue reading
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Book Journey Through History
Every summer, since the mid-1990s, I have selected a topic to read and explore. One year, it was Catherine the Great, then Russian history, and another year, Mao Zedong consumed my attention. This year, I am not sure which direction to head. So, over the past couple of weeks, I have spent time on the… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 