Airtime for the Autocrat: Tucker Carlson Sucks Up to Putin

Airtime for the Autocrat: Tucker Carlson Sucks Up to Putin

We have reached a very odd place in our national politics: not long ago, Republicans would consistently  out-gun Democrats on being “tough on communists,” especially Russia –– who can forget President Reagan saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”  The...
Lawyer-speak: Legal, yes, but sometimes… Awful!

Lawyer-speak: Legal, yes, but sometimes… Awful!

It’s a free country right? Especially with regard to free speech, and what lawyers say in a legal brief or in oral argument:  other than insulting the judge and risking a contempt of court order, lawyers can just say the “darndest” things, recalling Art...
Politically Obtuse Plutocrats

Politically Obtuse Plutocrats

by Don Mayer I used to work for a man who truly believed that if you weren’t a multi-millionaire you probably didn’t have much common sense.  “ I can only learn from people who know how to make a lot of money,” he once told me.  J. Baker...
Punishing Dissenting Voices

Punishing Dissenting Voices

In the U.S., we enjoy the protections of the First Amendment, particularly around political speech –– talking or writing about the wrongs that government and its agencies do. In Russia, as in many other autocratic legal/political systems, dissent is punished by the...
Good People Are Leaving the Government

Good People Are Leaving the Government

I’ve long admired Norm Ornstein, a public intellectual who leans conservative and has written several books that illuminate the current political dysfunctions in the United States.  See, for example, It’s Even Worse than it Looks, reviewed here by Robert Kaiser for...