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Columns

Exposing our ‘populist’ president as naked plutocrat

Why does Donald Trump constantly preface his outlandish lies with such phrases as: “To be honest with you,” “To tell the truth” and “Believe me”? Because even he knows that as a lifelong con-man, his voice takes on the tone of a snake-oil salesman when he starts exaggerating and ...

Understanding last thing they want

What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Except it’s not really failure. It’s actually unwillingness to communicate, fear of what communication might mean. After all, if you communicate, you might understand some painful truths — and then where would you be? That’s why ...

Nunes memo starts rebellion in party of law and order

WASHINGTON — The Republican Party once was acclaimed as the staunch defender of law and order by the likes of Richard Nixon, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. But now it finds itself engaged in a civil war over Donald Trump’s Justice Department and the FBI. The dichotomy is demonstrated ...

Greetings From ‘Obsessed Banshee’

Thanks to recent national coverage of Missouri Senate candidate Courtland Sykes and his self-declared expertise on “nail-biting manophobic hell-bent feminist she devils,” we’re all getting a glimpse into the darker recesses of his mind. It’s as if he threw open the doors to his ...

Memo reinforces partisan beliefs at both extremes

Partisans tend to read, watch and listen only, or mostly, to information and opinions that reinforce their beliefs. If information surfaces that counters those beliefs, it is usually disparaged, excused or ignored. That’s human nature. Such is the case with the “memo” released last ...

Policy earthquakes shifting ground

One of the more annoying things about politics is that you can swing from left to right, or vice versa, without ever changing positions. For instance, in 2002, I came out in favor of same-sex domestic partnerships, or “civil unions.” This was widely seen as a compromise between advocates ...