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Trump is Talking About Himself

Trump is Talking About Himself

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Trump can’t shut up about ‘collusion’. First it was “no collusion” and now he insists “collusion is not a crime.” I’ll bet he uses the word ‘collusion’ several dozen times a day in both public forums and private conversations. That’s not normal. Trump and his ever more unhinged lawyer Rudy Giuliani are correct: collusion is not a crime. It is, however, the perfect means to commit a number of crimes. People with actual legal expertise have enumerated the many, many…

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The Grand Old (Russian) Party

The Grand Old (Russian) Party

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Donald Trump would never have been elected president without the influence of Russia. The Russians may not have changed votes at the ballot box, but they definitely changed voters’ minds. They engaged in a campaign to dupe Americans (and, boy, are we dupable!) into believing that a man with no experience, numerous business failures, and an inability to string together a coherent sentence was a better choice for the Republican nomination than all the other more mainstream candidates. Then, of…

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All the World’s a Stage

All the World’s a Stage

Did you see the president’s press conference on Tuesday? The one where he tried to convince us that he isn’t treasonous, but only careless with language? It was an absurd piece of political theater and it was punctuated by a dramatic, mid-monologue plunge into darkness. I don’t know who’s directing this show, but he or she has a wicked sense of humor. Look at cast member Maria Butina, indicted this week on suspicion of being a Russian spy. Butina charmed…

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The Mansplainer in Chief is Throwing a Tantrum

The Mansplainer in Chief is Throwing a Tantrum

Why aren’t these women doing anything about it? Poor Theresa May. Apparently Donald Trump told her how to do Brexit, but she didn’t listen. If only she’d taken his advice England would be peeling away from the European Union like a week-old sunburn. No fuss. No muss. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel keeps agitating Trump by running her country without consulting him. She’s all pro-immigration and anti-trade war, which is exactly the opposite of what Trump would recommend. But she…

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Running While Fuming

Running While Fuming

I like to listen to podcasts when I run. The stories give my brain something to work on while my legs turn, though sometimes the stories make me angry. For example, recently I listened to the second season of “In the Dark” from American Public Media. It explores the case of Curtis Flowers, a man who has now spent more than 20 years behind bars for the 1996 murder of four people at a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi. The…

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Twenty Men Who Should Never Have Guns

Twenty Men Who Should Never Have Guns

Any man who has ever hit a woman or romantic partner. Any man who has ever threatened to hit a woman or romantic partner. Any man who has ever continued to pursue a woman after being told she wasn’t interested. Any man who has ever called a woman “a stupid bitch” or some equivalent insult. Any man who has ever said to a woman, “you’d be pretty if you’d just smile/lose weight/wear makeup/wear a dress.” Any man who considers the…

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Civility is Not the Goal

Civility is Not the Goal

We’re currently seeing numerous calls for civility in dealing with people on the opposite side of the political divide. These calls come from both Democrats and Republicans, though rarely in response to the same things. What passes for civility among friends is considered a grave insult when delivered by your enemy. Civility is an admirable goal. An uncivil society, in which citizens turn against one another instead of working together, will likely fall into chaos. But let’s stop equating civility…

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Let Them Eat Crow

Let Them Eat Crow

I don’t know what all the fuss is about. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant because the owner and the staff of the restaurant didn’t want to serve her. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson was heckled by fellow diners when she visited a Mexican restaurant. White House advisor Stephen Miller was heckled in a different D.C.-based Mexican restaurant, but you have to figure Miller gets heckled on a daily basis. It probably didn’t…

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Give us your tired, your poor…(just joking! lol)

Give us your tired, your poor…(just joking! lol)

I have nothing new or noteworthy to add to the reports of children being separated from their parents at our nation’s southern border. Outrage from all sides of the political spectrum is at a fever pitch, as it should be. But I’m confounded by the gleeful cruelty displayed by the people supporting this policy. From the president’s word choices (infest?) to Jeff Sessions highly selective Bible-thumping to former campaign chair Corey Lewandowski’s mocking of a child with Down syndrome to the…

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The Joy of Rediscovering Shirley Jackson

The Joy of Rediscovering Shirley Jackson

In preparing for a class on gothic elements in fiction, I pulled an old book from my shelves. I’d gone searching for Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, but I found myself drawn to We Have Always Lived in the Castle instead. Have you read this book? I don’t think I’ve read it in more than thirty years, but once I flipped it open I couldn’t put it down. Lordy, it’s amazing. It’s a slim book. My paperback copy comes in…

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