Category: National Politics
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The Journalism of Artificial Panic
Last year featured a large sample of breathless reporting and bad takes regarding the economy, crime, and the mid-term elections. I’m calling this, the journalism of artificial panic. For most of the summer and early fall, mainstream media concern trolled all three topics relentlessly. That’s not to say these weren’t real, and important stories. In…
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Whiny Assholes Not Content Being Rich, White
Times are tough for Melvin Smythe III. The fourth generation business owner says inflation and labor costs are eating into the 90% of profits he and his family take out of the business annually. “We’re having to pay twice the minimum wage now”, said Melvin, “that means I’ll have to keep my 2022 Range Rover…
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The GOP ‘Defund’ Moment
For decades, the GOP has presented itself as the “law and order” party. “Tough on crime” has been its calling card. At the same time, the GOP has worked to tie the hands of financial regulators and investigators who would hold the wealthy to account for their crimes. In the mind of the GOP, those…
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No Absolution for Liz Cheney
Tuesday, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney lost her primary bid to be the GOP nominee in November. Her loss is a testimony to what today’s GOP has become…a full fledged cult of personality for Donald Trump. Cheney has been hailed for her about face on the Cult of Trump. Since the January 6th insurrection, Cheney has…
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A Republic, If you can keep it…
There’s a story about Benjamin Franklin. Its said, just after the signing of the Constitution by the Convention delegates, he was asked what kind of government had been decided. “A Republic, if you can keep it”, he replied. The Library of Congress says this is a real quote, so I’m going with it, but either…
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When Forgiveness Is Not An Option
Since the election was called, I’ve heard a ton of people talk about forgiveness. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Its something that allows society to function through the bumps and bruises we cause each other day in and day out. But forgiveness is also tricky. If the person forgiven doesn’t do real work to change…