We are taking a brief vacation and no doubt a number of interesting things, scheduled and unscheduled, will occur before my return to these pages… Read More »Blog No. 228. Plans for Departure, Return and In Between
Wring Out the Old Many, perhaps most, readers may prefer to think of 2018 as eminently forgettable and have little wish to revisit its high… Read More »Blog No. 201 Wring out the Old, Ring in the New
John Broesamle is Emeritus Professor of History at California State University, Northridge. His books on American politics and society include Reform and Reaction in Twentieth Century… Read More »How the History of American Immigration Policy Led to Washington’s Impasse Now. A Guest Blog by John Broesamle.
As nearly everyone on the planet knows by now, when President Trump met with legislative leaders last Thursday to discuss immigration, he referred to immigrants… Read More »Blog No. 167. Donald Trump and The Silence of the Lambs
Asked on April 21 by the Associated Press whether he would sign a bill without border funding, Trump replied: “I don’t know yet. People want… Read More »Blog No. 139. The Border Wall: The Death of a Symbol?
Last weekend, beginning on Friday, provided ample opportunity for Trump watching. For many, however, Trump’s demagoguery, insufferable self-absorption and indifference to the truth made it… Read More »Blog No. 126 Trump: Down the Rabbit Hole With Humpty Trumpty
There has been an avalanche of commentary on the debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump reflecting a range of differing views. Hence, there seems to be little need for extensive analysis here, but we cannot resist making a few observations. In general, we agree with the media consensus: that Clinton outpointed Trump, in substance and demeanor, but failed to land any “knockout” punches. Indeed, it is hard to imagine what it would take, given the peculiar support Trump enjoys, to constitute a knockout.Read More »Blog No. 115. The Debate: Odds and Ends (What the Moderator and the Pundits Missed)
If anyone here remembers the Fourth GOP Debate with Fox Business News on November 10, please raise your hand. Ah, that’s what we thought.
Given the passage of time, the intervening events of Islamic terrorism in Paris and Mali, the debate over refugees and the almost daily embarrassments from Donald Trump, it was inevitable the Fourth Debate would not have a lengthy shelf-life. Nevertheless, the issues raised at the debate, and the candidates’ approaches to them will continue to hover over the campaign. So perhaps it is useful to refresh some recollections to better appreciate the next debate (scheduled for December 15 in Las Vegas and to be sponsored by CNN and Salem Radio).Read More »Blog No. 85 After Paris and Between Debates: Whither the GOP?
In our last blog, we were critical of the format and the performance of the moderators at the debate conducted by CNBC. Since that time there has been extensive discussion and “debate about the debate.” While numerous suggestions have been made by the candidates and various observers, most of them have been little more than tweaking. We have something a bit more radical (or “modest” in the Swiftian sense).Read More »Special Bulletin. Can a Future GOP Debate Be More Informative and Entertaining? A Modest Proposal.
In a previous Special Bulletin, we briefly addressed the proposal made by Donald Trump (and supported in varying degrees by some other Republican candidates) to eliminate “birthright citizenship.” Birthright citizenship, as everyone must know by now refers to citizenship conferred on anyone who is born in this country without regard to the citizenship or status of his or her parents.
In our Special Bulletin posted on August 18, we wrote:Read More »Special Bulletin. Birthright Citizenship.