Political Discourse 2020

  Trump’s Summer of Hel   Given the succession of events from Trump’s overhyped meeting with Chairman Kim of June 12 th to the fiasco of his current war against the CIA, FBI, and DOJ, it is difficult to fathom how the president’s approval rating can be over 10%.  Yet, there it sits, hovering between 35-43% of the total population due to the machinations of Fox News, the dissembling antics of Trump’s TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, the gutter speak of the president, the compliant acquiescence of the hypocritical Republican-led congress, and the ever gullible (81%) evangelical sector.  His 80%+ positive ratings among Republicans is a telling reflection in how far the party of Lincoln, TR, Eisenhower, Ford, and Reagan have gone in becoming the servile party of Donald J. Trump, arguably, the most unqualified person ever to have occupied the White House.  His caving to Putin in their July 17 th meeting, as reflected in the accompanying news conference, was particularly t...

  Do not Confuse Socialism with Progressive Democratic Reform within Capitalism  I respect a recent writer's thoughtful letter making the case for Bob Stefanowski’s candidacy in the upcoming CT gubernatorial race “to rebuild Connecticut.”  Mr. Sigga refers to the Republican candidate’s web site for a detailed depiction of Mr. Stefanowski’s five-step economic plan, which he does not discuss in his letter.  That is unfortunate, as specific commentary on the candidate’s plan could help illuminate some of the critical economic issues the state faces.  Such a plan could be compared with Mr. Lamont’s multi-pronged approach for enhancing the state’s economic revitalization in light of the broader array set of issues he identifies on his website.  Both candidates house a substantial issues page on their websites that reflects their respective visions for the future and their governmental philosophies.  Gazette readers would be well served if, over the nex...

  Enough!  It was gratifying to read about the national student gun-violence walk out at three schools in East Harford on March 14 (“Synergy Students Walk Out on Guns,” 3-15-2018).   As reported, at the Synergy Alternative School, Delilah Ortiz and Ezra Rayas provided student leadership in an initiative supported by Principle Dr. Craig Outhouse. A similar student protest, consisting of two hundred eighth graders, took place at the Two Rivers Middle School in East Hartford, supported, in part, by social studies teacher, John Limeburner who prepared his students with a two-week study through research topics and debates on issues related to gun violence and gun safety.   With over 1500 students, along with accompanying staff and administration, East Hartford High School was well represented in the national school walkout protest.   Students in the honors Human Rights class, co-taught by Todd Szwed and Christopher Sparks, led the event.   As part of their pre...

  Guns Kill People, Too It is commonly stated by Second Amendment enthusiasts that guns don’t kill people, people do. This truism has a point in that guns, as inanimate objects, are inert.   As such, guns do not have the capacity to “do” anything—they merely exist. The slogan underlies a related one; that people have the capacity to take human life in many ways—whether through knives, bare hands, or scarves. The fundamental problem with these claims is twofold. One is the failure to distinguish between proximate and ultimate cause. While the killer is the ultimate cause of the crime, the weapon is a proximate one. The other is the significance of scale as exemplified in the most recent mass killings in Las Vegas. This sophistry (guns don’t kill people) only matters in a political climate where the NRA’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is sacrosanct, a position that is based on two propositions.   The first associates the amendment as a constitutional guarantee ...

  The Absurd Obscenity of the Current President of the United States The presidency of Donald J. Trump is simultaneously absurd and obscene in more ways than I could ever recount—absurd in that this reality TV star has become President of the United States by insulting his way into the White House, obscene in his vaunted ignorance of history, culture, and knowledge in any meaningful sense of the term, and in his cruelty, lies, and dangerous narcissistic compulsions. Matt Taibbi, refers to the demagogic Trump as an “insane clown” who has attained the highest office in the land—this man, by temperament, by character, by his vast ignorance, garnered the votes of 62 million citizens based on his ersatz promise to make America great again. Absurdity and obscenity comingle in the very notion of a Trump presidency, while obscenity prevails—the obscenity of his racism, his misogyny, his continuous lying and his need to shape policy by the whims of his fragile ego and compelling need for ...

On Bended Knee I am not a football fan, but my interest was aroused by Trump’s flare-up over the national anthem non-issue amidst a hurricane disaster in Puerto Rico, a more than likely US repudiation of the nuclear agreement of Iran, an intensifying war prospect with North Korea, and a contentious senatorial debate on the latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Prior to Trump’s self-serving outburst, I knew that Colin Kaepernick took to the posture of kneeling in playing of the national anthem in protest of mostly black males unjustly shot and killed by mainly white police officers, with rare exception, without legal consequences. After the president’s, difficult to miss, vulgarly obscene, racially inspired dog whistle in the heartland of Old Dixie, I learned that Kaepernick is a seriously committed Christian who has used his influence and donated his time and money for a variety important causes within the US and abroad, including a $50,000 donation to Meals on...

  Greetings The purpose of this blog is for me to highlight the 30+ editorial letters I have written since 2017 in my hometown newspaper, the East Hartford Gazette focusing issues related to the Trump and Biden presidencies in which I enact the role of the critic. For this, I will often edit the original letter for the sake of greater clarity and/or to highlight key points that I want to emphasize at this time. Given the focus of this blog to culminate in the presidential election of 2024, I will be publishing several pieces per month, starting with the earliest pieces as I can best determine. Stay tuned!