What amazes me about outbreaks of bribery among high government officials is not just the level of greed involved, but that the take is often so cheesy. For example, there seems to be no end to the ongoing saga of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas peddling his position and prestige to right-wing corporate titans for […]

Having bounced poor Kevin McCarthy out of office – a moment that might have been painful if the former speaker possessed a spine – House Republicans now face the difficult prospect of choosing a replacement. Perhaps we can look forward to another clownish spectacle like the 15 rounds of voting and haggling that produced Speaker […]

Beginning last fall, Donald Trump’s campaign has been embarked on an effort to change the rules of the delegate selection process to make it easier – and faster – for the front-runner to lock up the nomination. Never has this been more critical, as the former president faces 91 counts in four different states and […]

This month marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most dreadful pieces of legislation in American history. It was the Community Mental Health Act, signed by President John F. Kennedy on Halloween, Oct. 31, 1963. The plan was to replace giant state psychiatric hospitals with 1,500 community clinics. As miracle drugs emerged to treat […]

In the mid-1800s, a new political party flared up in American politics, posing as an alternative to both the Democratic and Republican parties. Xenophobic and nativist, it was extremely secretive with outsiders about its specific structure, motive and agenda. Indeed, members were instructed to say, “I know nothing” when asked about details – thus it […]