Wait a minute. I thought the point of the conservative movement was to shrink the federal government down to the size where it would “drown in the bathtub.” Why are the Republicans so worried about keeping the government open and fear the public’s backlash? Perhaps because, despite their disdain for government services and their blatant disregard for… Continue reading Shutdown Follies: Business As Usual
Author: Robert I. Grundfest
I am a teacher, writer, voice-over artist and rationally opinionated observer of American and international society. While my job is to entertain and engage, my purpose is always to start a conversation.
The Race to the Bottom on Race
At this point, Dr. Martin Luther King’s spinning in his grave could be used as wind power to light up the western hemisphere. President Trump’s comments at a meeting with Congressional leaders about immigration on Friday smashed through the moral floor that this administration has set ten stories below the White House and established yet… Continue reading The Race to the Bottom on Race
Secretariat Was a Stable Genius Too
Can someone please tell me what the fuss is all about? Didn’t we know that a minority of people didn’t elect a statesman or someone with a deep and abiding knowledge of public affairs? Wasn’t it clear that Donald Trump was just a real estate guy with a TV show that glorified…himself and…his accomplishments based… Continue reading Secretariat Was a Stable Genius Too
Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Forty Years Ago?
I keep coming back to something that Rutgers University Professor W. Carey McWilliams said once at a meeting I attended at the Eagleton Institute of Politics in the 1980s. He quoted Ronald Reagan’s famous campaign line from 1980 and 1984: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Of course, in 1980, after Jimmy… Continue reading Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Forty Years Ago?
Trump’s Immigration Policy Based on Ignorance and Hate
I was actually looking for an uplifting article to post close to the holiday that might provide some confidence and hope. Then I came upon this posting that discussed the president’s thinking on immigration policy and how he reacted to court rulings that postponed the travel restrictions and immigration bans he tried to implement this year. Appalling… Continue reading Trump’s Immigration Policy Based on Ignorance and Hate
Define Your Own Reality: The New Seven Dirty Words
What began earlier this year as an assault on climate science continues this week with a directive by the Trump Administration to ban seven words, which clearly rankle conservatives even more than George Carlin’s famously dirty seven words. From the Centers for Disease Control website as reported in this article in the Washington Post, Policy analysts at the Centers for… Continue reading Define Your Own Reality: The New Seven Dirty Words
Do Not Let Us Fall Into Temptation
Usually I skip over stories that have to do with the Pope, but I’ve been reading more of them since Francis took the rather large yarmulke a few years ago because he seems to get the part about treating people like humans. He still has work to do with women and the Rohingya, but his proposed new… Continue reading Do Not Let Us Fall Into Temptation
The Education Money Trap
And you thought I might have something scathing, sarcastic and scary to say about the terrible tax bill that the party of the deficit (which they now own) passed Friday evening. But since the horrible House tax bill will need to be reconciled with the even more horribler Senate bill, I figured I would wait… Continue reading The Education Money Trap
Making a Losing Wager on Wages
I think the first paragraph of this story pretty much says it all about the Republican tax plan. Corporate executives love the plan because they will make gazillions. But they don’t expect wages to rise. Which I think is a funny way of expressing that idea since it’s the corporate executives who are the ones in charge… Continue reading Making a Losing Wager on Wages
The Immoral Minority
Why couldn’t we have this as our president? Yes, I know her views on Israel would not be popular, but at this moment in time, don’t we need someone who has some, say, morals? As far as I’m concerned, all the men who’ve been caught, have admitted, or have been credibly accused of inappropriate and/or criminal sexual… Continue reading The Immoral Minority
The Real Rankings: Trump, Putin, Xi. Then America.
It’s tough having a president who’s ready, at the drop of a hat, to throw the country under the bus. President Trump likes to say that he will put America first, but he has a strange way of showing it. For decades, the United States lead the world economically, militarily and morally. Sometimes we did… Continue reading The Real Rankings: Trump, Putin, Xi. Then America.
Tired of Russia and Taxes? Here’s The New Jersey Election Special!
For the moment, I’m going to put aside the frenzy over the Mueller investigation and how the Russian hacking and fake Facebook posts were all Hillary’s fault even though GOP campaign operatives lied through their collective teeth about their contacts with said Russians, and I’m going to postpone any comments on the new GOP Let’s… Continue reading Tired of Russia and Taxes? Here’s The New Jersey Election Special!