This happened a few hours ago at an art exhibition in Turkey. The assassin, who shouted “Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria!” was shot and killed. UPDATE – The gunman was an off-duty Turkish police officer which would explain how he was able to get so close.
Republicans Will Like Anything As Long As It Helps Republicans
This graph says it all: Republican opinion on Putin seems to have moved not because Trump is pro-Russia or because there’s suddenly an opportunity for better relations with Moscow. It moved because Russia interfered in the election to the Democrats’ detriment, whether that was the core motive or not. That’s the point we’ve reached in partisan polarization, apparently. Want better … Read More
Photo Op
Hey! Look! It’s President-Elect Donald Trump! And who is with him? Why, that’s Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. This was yesterday as they were meeting at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster NJ. I wonder what that was all about. Kris Kobach is a central figure in the nativist movement and the architect of Arizona’s notorious “papers please” law. … Read More
Does Korematsu Provide Precedent For A Muslim Registry?
No. No, it doesn’t. Not even a close call. Let’s just all get on the same page. This is happening: Trump surrogates are already citing Japanese internment camps from WW II as “precedent” for Muslim registry pic.twitter.com/DVnjtom0mc — Brendan Karet (@bad_takes) November 17, 2016 And the obvious question is…. would it be constitutional for the government to require citizens to … Read More
Apologizing For America
We’re watching the downfall of the Trump candidacy in real time, as women are coming from everywhere to contradict Trump’s claim at the last debate that he never ACTUALLY groped women — he only BRAGGED that he groped women. Only seven have come out so far to say “Nope he ACTUALLY groped me”, and I expect there to be more. … Read More
Trumpravda
The topic of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia is a recurring theme in this campaign. Trump has spoken well of Putin. He seems ignorant that Russia invaded the Ukraine. When criticized for being soft on Russia, Trump responds with the simplistic, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the US got along with Russia?” All of the above, I could dismiss … Read More
The Terrorist Capture — Funny Story, Actually
I know, I know. Very little blogging this past week. I just have a lot going on… what can I say? Hopefully my embedded twitter feed let everyone know I was paying attention to events. The big news today was, of course, the arrest of suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, the bomber of a Chelsea neighborhood in NYC this past weekend, … Read More
9/11 – 15 Years Later
It is kind of cool to have a blog for this long — I can go back and look at past reflections of past events. I write about my 9/11 experience here. I had left New York by the time 9/11/2001 happened, but, like everyone else in the country, I experienced that day. For me, I came to lump it … Read More
Trump’s South Of The Border Gambit
All eyes on Trump today. It’s a day when he is set to give his big immigration speech, which should help to clarify his muddled position. He used to be for the wall and mass deportation, but in the past few days, he’s hinted at NOT mass deporting 11 million “illegals” (as he calls them) — which is impossible anyway. … Read More
Two Little Bits of Non-Election Good News
What with Gene Wilder’s death bumming everybody out, and the constant harangue of a senseless election, here’s a couple of political things to brighten your day: (1) Governor LePage of Maine is considering resigning Gov. Paul LePage raised the possibility Tuesday that he may not finish his second term, amid mounting pressure from Democrats and members of his own party … Read More
What Syrian Refugees Are About
CNN’s Kate Bolduan is a reporter who asks tough questions and is often expressive and emphatic when she does it. Today, however, she was expressive in a very different way. While sharing a video of a five-year-old Syrian named Omran Daqneesh sitting in the back of an ambulance with blood and soot all over him, Bolduan was tasked with explaining … Read More
High Level CIA Guy Endorses Clinton In Devastating NYT Op-Ed
Michael J. Morell, long-time CIA professional who was acting director and deputy director of the agency from 2010 to 2013, wrote a NYT op-ed endorsing Clinton. He has served under 3 Republican and 3 Democratic administrations and has voted for both parties. He praises Clinton…. I never saw her bring politics into the Situation Room. In fact, I saw the … Read More
Trump Tries To Bluff His Way Through Foreign Policy
Trump tells @ThisWeekABC the Crimean people appear to want to remain under Russia’s control. https://t.co/1Y4BPPCzUD https://t.co/C2PQQYxCAJ — ABC News (@ABC) August 1, 2016 In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” that aired Sunday, Trump asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not going to invade Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels — and some Russian special forces — have been operating for … Read More
The Case For Trump’s Kremlin Connection
Yeah. It sounds like something out of a movie. Very Manchurian Candidate-ish. But over at Kos, they’ve compiled the facts: [W]ith apparently clear evidence that Russia hacked the DNC and released information designed to harm the Clinton campaign, there’s a question that has to be asked: Why? Why would Russia hack into the emails of one American political party and push out … Read More
Trump’s Non-Convention Fire: His Foreign Policy Interview
Well, we know why Trump doesn’t discuss policy much. Because when he DOES, oooooh my. The New York Times has yet another interview with Donald Trump, foreign policy genius. Let’s listen in: He even called into question whether, as president, he would automatically extend the security guarantees that give the 28 members of NATO the assurance that the full force … Read More