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Special Bulletin. The Cubs Win and the Election Looms

Well, they finally did it!

As every reader must know by now, The Chicago Cubs ended 108 years of frustration by winning the World Series on Wednesday night. They defeated the Cleveland Indians in a 10-inning struggle that has been called epic but could also be described as a bit goofy. The game and the Series have been widely covered, so I will add only a few personal comments.Read More »Special Bulletin. The Cubs Win and the Election Looms

Guest Blog. The Donald J. Trump Foundation: Why Should We Care?

One of the collateral effects of the focus on Donald Trump’s treatment of women has been to distract attention from several other problematic aspects of his candidacy, including the Trump Foundation. Shortly before the disclosure of the 2005 Trump video tape, we had asked a friend of long standing, Suzanne Garment, to write a guest blog on the subject of the Trump Foundation, a subject that we believe deserves renewed consideration. (The Clinton Foundation has raised serious issues, but rather different ones, which we hope to address in a separate blog).

Suzanne Garment is a tax lawyer who has specialized in foundation work in recent years. She is also the author of Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics, and for several years wrote a weekly column, “Capitol Chronicle” in the Wall Street Journal.

Read More »Guest Blog. The Donald J. Trump Foundation: Why Should We Care?

Blog No. 116. Standing With Paul Ryan and the Way Forward

On Monday, Speaker Paul Ryan told House members that he would not defend Donald Trump or campaign with him, and that members should act in their own best interests in their individual districts. Ryan did not withdraw his previous endorsement of Trump, but to many that seemed more a matter of form than substance. Ryan’s statements produced an angry reaction from hardliners in the House and, inevitably, a farrago of pre-dawn cyberbabble from the would be Tweeter-in-Chief:Read More »Blog No. 116. Standing With Paul Ryan and the Way Forward

An Afternote to Blog 115: Donald Trump’s Tax Returns

In Blog No. 115 we suggested that, even if Donald Trump persisted in his refusal to disclose his tax returns, he should be pressed to disclose key information from the returns. An excellent column in Friday’s New York Times by James Stewart makes just that point: “Keep the Returns, Trump; Just Give Us a Few Figures.” As Stewart put it:

So just give us this: your adjusted gross income and actual federal taxes paid for the last five years, certified by your accountants. That’s a total of 10 numbers, which would fit on a single page.

Those are numbers any taxpayer can understand. They wouldn’t tell the I.R.S. anything it doesn’t already know.

And while they wouldn’t answer many of the questions that have swirled around your finances, they would lay to rest once and for all the most basic question: How much, if anything, do you pay in federal taxes?

Read More »An Afternote to Blog 115: Donald Trump’s Tax Returns

Blog No. 115. The Debate: Odds and Ends (What the Moderator and the Pundits Missed)

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)

Blog No. 113. Clinton’s Bad Week and The Attempt to Normalize Trump.

As readers will be aware, Hillary Clinton recently experienced a very difficult few days.  At the same time, the Trump campaign was working strenuously to normalize their candidate with a view to getting voters to ignore his more outlandish pronouncements and to focus on the failings of Secretary Clinton. There has in fact been a shift in the [national?] polls leaving Clinton only slightly ahead of Trump, or in a virtual tie with him. It is a matter of speculation as to whether, or to what extent, the polling reflects the candidates’ recent maneuvers and missteps or is more of a coincidence. Either way, however, it is a cause for anxiety for those of us who regard the possible election of Trump as a catastrophe in the making.Read More »Blog No. 113. Clinton’s Bad Week and The Attempt to Normalize Trump.