Politics

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Thank you for your candor, Ms. Harris. Now go away.

September 10, 2025 in Politics by admin | Permalink

As widely reported (for instance, here), Kamala Harris has admitted that she and other Democrats were “reckless[]” in deferring to President Biden about whether he should run for reelection. As she said in her new book, “The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

I couldn’t agree more. The 2024 election was very likely the most consequential election for the future of the United States since the election of 1860 that brought Abraham Lincoln to the White House. And everyone knew it.

Yet Ms. Harris and other Democrats stood aside as Biden, his family, and his staff deluded themselves into thinking that, despite his obvious infirmities, he could win (and that he would be able to govern for another four years). It was not until the disastrous debate (and not even then, actually) that the Democrats realized that the house was on fire and something needed to be done. Even then, they dithered around for a while trying to figure out how to do what needed to be done, and then they landed on Ms. Harris, a weak candidate who was the logical choice because there wasn’t time for a real candidate selection process. Of course, we know the outcome.

Ms. Harris’ display of candor is nice (even though very late and seemingly contrived to sell copies of her book). But although her candor is admirable, it doesn’t offset the fact that she has admitted to grievous recklessness and incompetence in responding to the crisis that was Donald Trump’s 2024 candidacy. Such recklessness and incompetence should be disqualifying for any future electoral office. It’s time for her to go away.

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“I’ve already started to write my Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech”

August 13, 2025 in Humor, Politics by admin | Permalink

In a bid to assure a Nobel Peace Prize, Trump plans to offer Vladimir Putin eastern Ukraine in exchange for Putin’s assurance that Russia will halt its attempts to annex the rest of Ukraine at least until 2029. According to unnamed White House officials, Trump’s advisors also have urged him to consider renouncing the United States’ claim to Alaska if the Russian leader balks at the eastern Ukraine offer. “If that’s what it takes to seal a deal (and win Trump a Nobel Peace Prize), it would be well worth it,” said one advisor. “We think Putin would definitely go for it, especially if he has to cease hostilities only until 2029 (when Trump supposedly will be out of office). And it won’t be hard to persuade Trump to make the offer. He already thinks Alaska is in Russia, so he won’t view it as a concession. The difficulty will be getting Trump to stop talking about White House redecorating plans.”

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Trump’s Takover of DC

August 11, 2025 in Politics by admin | Permalink

This is how it goes: With or without evidence (in this case, without), the dictator declares that escalating crime and disorder threaten public safety in the capital. Such rapidly deteriorating conditions require prompt and decisive action. On this pretext, he federalizes the capital’s local police force, brings in armed troops, and declares that he will take similar actions in other cities and regions, as necessary.

In the guise of preserving public order, he directs local officials to repeal laws that he does not like and to enact stiffer penalties for law breakers. Those local officials who protest or delay are removed from office, and citizens who dissent are dispersed through state-sanctioned violence.

Other institutions of the federal government fall into line, leaving no counterweights to the authority of the dictator and his subordinates. Members of the public are rounded up–initially as potential “illegal” aliens, but later as simply disloyal threats to public order. “Deviants” are identified and punished. Despite so-called constitutional protections, the dictator threatens to expel citizens who are insufficiently loyal.

Soon, the residents of the capital and other cities get used to seeing troops on their street corners, and stop remarking on, or even noticing, the sounds of mysterious low-flying helicopters surveilling their cities at night. Elections are suspended as too perilous in light of the ongoing public emergencies. Protests turn into whispered grumbles, and resignation descends upon the resentful but cowed citizens.

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Don’t set my house on fire and expect me to thank you for handing me a hose

August 5, 2025 in Politics, Uncategorized by admin | Permalink

As has been widely reported, on June 30, 2025, the Trump Administration froze about $6.8 billion in federal education funding that was scheduled to be released the very next day. The move created an immediate crisis for school districts–rural, suburban, and urban, rich and poor–across the country. Critical programs were threatened, including after-school programs, teacher training, migrant-education grants (which are actually not programs for “illegal immigrants”), and STEM programs. As a result of the freeze, schools were forced to plan layoffs and other cuts to compensate for the loss of previously-assured funding. A little less than a month later, the Administration decided to release the money.

The Administration’s decision to release the money, which should not have been withheld in the first place, is not an occasion for expressions of gratitude. Just as we don’t reward an arsonist who starts a fire and then pulls a fire alarm, so we should not applaud the Trump Administration for creating chaos and then restoring order.

As Steven Johnson, Superintendent of the Fort Ransom (N.D.) School District, told The Atlantic’s Toluse Olorunnipa, “After months of being told to ‘wait it out,’ districts are now supposed to pick up the pieces and act like everything’s fine.” Dr. Johnson went on to say, “I’ve got to be honest–this doesn’t sit well out here. You can’t freeze money that was already allocated, leave schools hanging through hiring season and budget planning, and then expect us to just be grateful when it finally shows up. Rural folks don’t like being jerked around.” (Olorunnipa’s article, by the way, is excellent, so if you have access to The Atlantic, it is well worth reading.)

Dr. Johnson’s observation points to a series of broader problems.

First, this Administration not only doesn’t worry about jerking us around but it thinks it has a right to do so if the dear leader enjoys it (which he does). That’s the way authoritarians roll: “I’ll do it because I can. And you’ll accept it because you must.” This means that Trump will keep jerking us around until we make it clear that he can’t get away with it.

Second, the Administration has consistently been hostile to education, which isn’t surprising for an Administration run by a demented sociopath who has contempt for science, reality, facts, and the ability to think.

And third, this Administration thrives on chaos and cruelty. It’s what Trump uses for oxygen.

What should give some of us hope is that people (including people who probably voted for Trump) are starting to push back. As Trump’s incompetence and chaotic management style cause more and more pain across the country, there is a pretty good chance that resistance to the Administration will grow. We’ll see what effects–if any–such resistance has on state and federal Republican office holders. But the gerrymandering efforts in Texas (and that are starting in other Republican strongholds) suggest that the Republicans know that the people are turning against them.

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The Mistrust is the Point

August 4, 2025 in Politics by admin | Permalink

Today, my newsfeed had a Reuters headline “White House defends firing of labor official as critics warn of trust erosion.” The story concerns Trump’s firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics head, Erika McEntarfer, for issuing jobs numbers that Trump didn’t like.

The press has reported this unprecedented reprisal for honestly reporting crappy job numbers as a case of “killing the messenger.” News stories also have included interviews and analyses emphasizing the importance of accurate economic data and the dangers of politicizing government data collection and reporting.

But this isn’t a case of “killing the messenger,” because it isn’t really about trying to censor bad economic news. Instead, Trump is eliminating an impediment (in the person of Ms. McEntarfer) to his political manipulation of government data. We’ll see similar political manipulation of data in government reports about other economic data, such as the impact of tariffs on prices, and in reports about non-economic issues such as vaccine effectiveness, weather, Medicaid enrollment, and global warming. For Trump and company, facts are and always will be a threat.

As for the critics’ “warn[ing] of trust erosion,” Trump and company most likely don’t see that as a threat at all. In fact, the erosion of public trust in government data is the goal of Trump’s actions. Trump’s critics–at least in their public statements–simply have not come to grips with the simple facts that Trump wants to sow chaos and division, and he wants to break things, especially things that have any source of authority that isn’t named “Donald J. Trump.”

So when the press and critics “warn” Trump and his minions that people may start to distrust government statistics, his reaction is likely to be “Good. That’s the goal.”

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