US Politics
Shrinks Arguing about Trump
Thirty-five psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers signed a letter to the NY Times yesterday opining that “…the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president.” In a letter to today’s ...
Read MoreA Note on Political Language: “Reactionary”
Regular readers might have noted that I very seldom use the term ”conservative” to refer to Republicans and others who hold sharply right-of-center political views. That’s because I think the term “conservative” in most cases is misleading. I explained this ...
Read MoreShort Takes
Trump and the Court Donald Trump has named a man to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court, but that vacancy should not exist–the slot should already have been occupied by President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, who was blocked by ...
Read MoreMendacity or Delusion?
You already know who this post is about, don’t you? In this blog I have repeatedly pointed to Donald Trump’s habitual, brazen mendacity—an utter disregard for the truth that is surely unprecedented among US presidents. But what if Trump actually ...
Read MoreTrump the Transgressive
There are two broad reasons for being appalled at the Trump presidency. One is that this now appears almost certain to be the most radically reactionary administration in American history. The second is that Donald Trump is a sociopath–psychologically unfit ...
Read MoreObama’s Legacy (I): Domestic Policy and Politics
It’s natural that at this point in his presidency people have started talking about President Obama’s legacy, a topic that takes on particular poignancy in view of the presidential election result. Of course, history may well have a different verdict ...
Read MorePolitical Legitimacy in the Time of Trump
“Not my President!” is what at least one sign read during a recent anti-Trump demonstration. A perfectly understandable sentiment, but problematic. The plain, ugly fact is that Trump will actually be our president. I think it’s wrong, both in principle ...
Read MoreYes, It’s that bad.
It’s been over five weeks since the unthinkable happened, and sadly, there is no reason at this point to think that our worst fears were less than justified. In my first post-election post, I predicted that Trump’s victory would embolden ...
Read MoreInevitable Inequality?
Two good articles in today’s NY Times focus on the increasingly timely topic of economic inequality. One article covers the findings of a team of economists that economic inequality in the United States has burgeoned over the course of the ...
Read MoreThe Latest from our Sociopath in Chief
If you have any doubt that the President-Elect of the United States is a genuine sociopath, you should check out Kevin Drum’s fine exposition and dissection of Donald Trump’s latest Twitter frenzy. After showing how Trump had evidently spent his ...
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