Category: Politics and Government

What Happens Next in the UK with Brexit? Should We Care?

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Boris Johnson got perhaps a mandate, certainly the room to maneuver. Now what?

 

What Happened – and Why?

Few called the sweeping win the Conservatives garnered in the UK last week. I certainly did not. A lot of time and calories will be burned figuring out why this. Remember that Brexit is not that popular in the UK. Most analysts say two things were at work. One, people are exhausted of the uncertainty; at least this gets things moving. Two, Labor had terrible leadership and a muddled message. The best thing to come out of all this is a change in leadership.

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Impeachment? Sure. How Many Counts? Ah, Well, Let’s See…

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How Impeachment Goes Depends to Some Degree on the Number of Charges

Where Are We?

Anyone involved in prosecutions – or impeachments – can tell you. A critical decision is determining how many charges to file and for what offenses. There are a lot of factors to consider. It is not simply a question of what offenses have been committed.

I recognize that some people are still undecided about impeaching Donald Trump. Still others are determined that it is God’s Will that he not be impeached, ever, for anything. For the rest of us,

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Three Numbers Will Decide Who Is the Democratic Nominee

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As Democrats Move Toward Presidential Primary Season, Watch These Three Indicators

 

1 – Number of Candidates

Many of us have long said that the large number of candidates is not a bad thing – up to a point. We are approaching that point and still have, by my count, 18 (!!) candidates in the field. The first round of primaries and caucuses will thin that out quite a bit. For the good of all, it would be better if most of these candidates dropped out right about now.

At this point, for many to stay in the race is a waste of effort and a distraction for the electorate.

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It’s a Free-Range Friday!

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An Assortment of Odds and Ends for Your Weekend Reflections

Let’s Rummage Around a Bit

I am calling this post a Free-Range exercise, in part because that sounds better than the Messy Drawer Day. I have several short items for your review today.

Pretty well all of us have “that drawer.” You know, the one that seems to collect everything. For some reason, it seems to be a kitchen drawer most often. It has odds and ends from all over the house. You can never seem to find what you are looking for in that drawer.

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Think Trump Respects the Military? Think Again

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No President in History Has Done So Much to Harm the Military. And Trump is Just Beginning.

 

Our Military

The American military is an amazing institution. It’s ability to adapt, persevere, and win is nothing short of awesome. The people who are the armed forces and their families are among the best our nation has ever been privileged to have protecting us. If you watched the impeachment hearings last week, you got a taste of the ethos. The military and civil servants who testified made us all proud to be Americans.

But a military is always a force at risk.

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Wait! How Many Candidates are Running for President?

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Take a Deep Breath, Democrats. Time to Settle In

Hark! Who Is That Yonder?

Michael Bloomberg and Duvall Patrick find the current Democratic field lacking. But fortunately, they are willing to come to the rescue. I think not, but thanks for the offer. Oh, and former Attorney General Eric Holder is also resurrecting his potential campaign. At least this last one is more rumor than fact – for now. So, no further discussion here of Holder today.

Let me say at the outset that there is a lot to like about both of these other gentlemen.

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The Conversation on Medical Care for All Comes into Focus

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We are Having Both the Right Conversation and the Wrong Conversation

Medical Care Front and Center

Among the more viable Democratic candidates for president, there are few differences on key issues. At least not in terms of priorities and goals. There are differences in how those goals can best be achieved. I start out with that statement to warn Democrats. Intertribal warfare over How should not lead to the What getting lost in the battle. As President Obama recently said, let’s not get too insistent on ideological purity.

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The Death of al-Baghdadi is FULL of Lessons

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Will We Learn Any of Them?

 

The Delta Force mission that ended the life of terrorist leader al-Baghdadi is good news. Credit is due all around for making it happen. Such missions are never easy and always full of risks in every way imaginable. This is one of those moments made for presidential afterglow. Everyone from the president on down can look good, usually justifiably so. Yet, Donald Trump, in his inevitable manner, managed to screw it up. The press conference he held after the mission was cringe-worthy.

His announcement displayed everything wrong with how Donald Trump sees the world.

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Remember the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate? It’s b-a-a-a-ck!

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Some People Are Handling Their Moment in the Spotlight Better Than Others

 

Those of a certain age will remember the ground-breaking comedy show Laugh In from the early 1970’s. It broke new ground on several fronts, including political commentary. And it was funny! It still is. Check out some episodes and extracts found on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Laugh+In

One of the better routines on the show was the periodic awarding of the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate. This “award” was given to people or organizations who did something pretty stupid.

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Do You Hear What I Hear?

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In the Middle of All the Political News This week, I hear a Christmas Carol in My Head

 

The last few days have been dizzying in the speed and complexity of revelations about the Trump administration. To say anything less would be the Mother of All Understatements. It is coming fast and furious now, from all directions. More – much more – to follow, and at an increasing pace, I would wager.

I was trying to sort through the latest batch of all this a couple of days ago. Suddenly, in the back of my head (kind of an echo chamber effect – apparently,

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