ëƵ

close

Columnists

Donald Trump by the numbers

ItëƵs day 375 of Donald TrumpëƵs presidency. (It seems two or three times longer than that.)Even for his most ardent supporters, it hasnëƵt exactly been a joyride.But is the tale-of-the-tape for Mr. TrumpëƵs first 365 days in office.48,000,000: ThatëƵs the number of Americans who tuned ...

Coal and Iron Police rode roughshod over miners

Some time back, your columnist proposed the creation of a museum celebrating blue collar working life in these United States ëƵ the National Lunch Bucket and Thermos Museum, for want of a better name.If that were ever to come about, one nook or cranny of the place might be devoted to the ...

Running interference for Trump

Whenever our current president makes a foul statement, it only takes minutes for one of his loyal followers to appear on TV and proclaim, ëƵHe says exactly whatëƵs on his mind. ThatëƵs why he got elected.ëƵTo them, delivering a verbal low blow, rather than displaying the cautions of ...

The continued mix of politics and comedy

It was a night the moguls of cinema swore they would never forget, until they did.The year was 1939. The topic was the upcoming release of ëƵGone With The Wind.ëƵ The filmëƵs stars, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, were on hand for a public discussion of the movie. The interviewer was radioëƵs ...

Dousing the fire, erasing the fury

<em>ëƵI was a good student. I understand things. I comprehend very well. OK. Better than, I think, almost anybody.ëƵ</em>President Donald J. Trump, during a speech on Feb. 8, 2017The president needed to make a point.HeëƵd known for a couple of days that a newly ...

Even Trump thinks earmarks have a place

President Trump finally got one right: by all means Congress should bring back earmarks.For those of you unfamiliar with the term, earmarks are those little nuggets of Congressional appropriations slipped into the federal spending stream by members of Congress which typically pay for purely ...