A constituent appeals to Republicans: Do you really agree with everything Trump has done?

Arnold "Skip" Isaacs, veteran journalist formerly of The Baltimore Sun, watched the Trump-Musk sabotage of government unfold in Washington, then decided to write to Republicans to ask if they agreed with Trump's draconian executive orders and Musk's unprecedented access to government data. I post this here today because I admired Skip's approach -- indeed, his … Continue reading A constituent appeals to Republicans: Do you really agree with everything Trump has done?

Who’s the most dangerous man in Washington?

Update from The New York Times: Employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were instructed to cease “all supervision and examination activity” and “all stakeholder engagement,” effectively stopping the agency’s operations, in an email from the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, on Saturday evening. Who's the most dangerous man in … Continue reading Who’s the most dangerous man in Washington?

Trump gang wants to erase the spirit of John McCain, destroy public service

A purge at the FBI, the firing of 30 Jan. 6 prosecutors by the U.S. Attorney in D.C., the sleazy effort by Elon Musk to reduce the federal workforce — all of this comes from the authoritarian handbook: Get rid of honest public servants and replace them with loyalists who will let you get away … Continue reading Trump gang wants to erase the spirit of John McCain, destroy public service

Baltimore history: The Mayor of the 1960s meets the Mayor of the 1990s

Special thanks go to Richard Milner of Baltimore for a photograph for the ages: Mayor Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin meeting in City Hall nearly 60 years ago with a future mayor of Baltimore, Kurt L. Schmoke. Mr. Milner, a City College graduate, took this photo for the high school yearbook. "It was Thanksgiving 1966," he says, … Continue reading Baltimore history: The Mayor of the 1960s meets the Mayor of the 1990s

Head Case: Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 attackers is pure projection, and exactly what a dictator would do

On his first day in office, President Again issued a sweeping pardon of the January 6 rioters who brought terror to the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to keep Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Psychology professors seeking a case of projection can now use Trump’s pardons as a classic … Continue reading Head Case: Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 attackers is pure projection, and exactly what a dictator would do

Mitch McConnell, the greatest enabler in U.S. history, kept Trump out of prison

I'll employ a legal metaphor -- "fruit of a poisonous tree" -- to trace the path of one of the worst failures in U.S. history: The failure to hold Trump criminally responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Congress, a failure that kept Trump eligible to run for president a third time. … Continue reading Mitch McConnell, the greatest enabler in U.S. history, kept Trump out of prison

Among Maryland’s great citizens: Will Schwarz

I would nominate Will Schwarz for Marylander of the Year, and not because he's a friend of mine -- and producer of my 1990's TV show and director of my play, "Baltimore, You Have No Idea." But because of what he did to enlighten his fellow Marylanders and stir our collective conscience. Will, who had … Continue reading Among Maryland’s great citizens: Will Schwarz

The end of shock

Apologies to my good friends at Tuesday lunch, but there's no "shock" in the arrest of the Gilman graduate accused of killing a CEO. I'll concede there's something unique about it -- the apparent targeting of a corporate executive in what looks like some kind of deranged payback murder -- but none who've been paying … Continue reading The end of shock

Why Congressional Republicans do not deserve your vote

Here we have the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Trump stooge, saying that, if Republicans get control of Congress again, they will try to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act, a widely-popular law pushed by the Biden administration to give the nation’s chip manufacturing and semiconductor industries a boost. It’s one of the … Continue reading Why Congressional Republicans do not deserve your vote

Trump, the laziest president ever, calls Harris lazy; that takes nerve, and the usual racism

News report from the Associated Press, Oct. 23: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump unleashed a series of personal attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her “lazy” — a word long used to demean Black people in racist terms — and repeatedly questioning her intelligence and stamina. GUEST COMMENTARY FROM BUSH HOG JAMES, from Arizona: … Continue reading Trump, the laziest president ever, calls Harris lazy; that takes nerve, and the usual racism