Joe Biden and Kamala Harris--Despite former Sen. Chris Dodd's relentless war on her in the press, it appears that Sen. Kamala Harris of California is Joe Biden's pick as a running mate for the former vice president's contest against Donald Trump this November. While Harris is the subject of heavy criticism from some corners of the left — — the reality is that Harris makes a lot of sense as a running mate for Biden.Even though she bowed out of the Democratic presidential race relatively early, in December of 2019, that was due more to fundraising woes than bad polling....…Joe Biden and Kamala Harris--Despite former Sen. Chris Dodd's relentless war on her in the press, it appears that Sen. Kamala Harris of California is Joe Biden's pick as a running mate for the former vice president's contest against Donald Trump this November. While Harris is the subject of heavy criticism from some corners of the left — — the reality is that Harris makes a lot of sense as a running mate for Biden.Even though she bowed out of the Democratic presidential race relatively early, in December of 2019, that was due more to fundraising woes than bad polling....WW…

Donald Trump; Wayne LaPierreview in app--August 7, 2020 5:11PM (UTC)On Thursday, seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association, on the grounds that it's functioning as a massive grift and not, as it bills itself, a "civil rights" organization for gun owners. There's no way to know how this will play out — the NRA still wields political power, largely because it's been so useful to Republicans — but the evidence marshaled by James and independent journalists is overwhelming. As James said in her statement, the NRA "went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled...…Donald Trump; Wayne LaPierreview in app--August 7, 2020 5:11PM (UTC)On Thursday, seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association, on the grounds that it's functioning as a massive grift and not, as it bills itself, a "civil rights" organization for gun owners. There's no way to know how this will play out — the NRA still wields political power, largely because it's been so useful to Republicans — but the evidence marshaled by James and independent journalists is overwhelming. As James said in her statement, the NRA "went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled...WW…

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel--The wildest thing about over the competing coronavirus relief packages is how little Republicans seem to care about whether this country plunges into a severe depression, one that might rival the Great Depression of the 1930s. Every move Republicans have made this week suggests total indifference to whether or not the U.S. economy, which is already in deep distress due to the coronavirus pandemic, collapses completely. Their only real concern, it appears, is to make sure that they use this crisis to put the screws even harder to working...…Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel--The wildest thing about over the competing coronavirus relief packages is how little Republicans seem to care about whether this country plunges into a severe depression, one that might rival the Great Depression of the 1930s. Every move Republicans have made this week suggests total indifference to whether or not the U.S. economy, which is already in deep distress due to the coronavirus pandemic, collapses completely. Their only real concern, it appears, is to make sure that they use this crisis to put the screws even harder to working...WW…

Brad Parscale and Donald Trump--On Wednesday night, , the sleazy grifter who has been running his campaign since Trump first filed for re-election, right after his inauguration. Officially, Trump has demoted Parscale rather than firing him, replacing him as campaign manager with former White House political director Bill Stepien. But that language fails to capture the extent of the public humiliation for Parscale, a braggart who spends almost as much time hyping himself as he does hyping the candidate. Parscale, true to Trumpian form, pursued a...…Brad Parscale and Donald Trump--On Wednesday night, , the sleazy grifter who has been running his campaign since Trump first filed for re-election, right after his inauguration. Officially, Trump has demoted Parscale rather than firing him, replacing him as campaign manager with former White House political director Bill Stepien. But that language fails to capture the extent of the public humiliation for Parscale, a braggart who spends almost as much time hyping himself as he does hyping the candidate. Parscale, true to Trumpian form, pursued a...WW…

Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 McDonald's Chevrolet, wears a "I Can't Breathe - Black Lives Matter" T-shirt under his fire suit in solidarity with protesters around the world taking to the streets after the death of George Floyd while in police custody.--Of the many images that flowed out of Ferguson, Missouri, during the 2014 Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in response to the police shooting Michael Brown, by far the most iconic is Robert Cohen's photo of Edward Crawford throwing a tear gas canister. The police had fired the canister at the protesters: In a , Cohen captured...…Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 McDonald's Chevrolet, wears a "I Can't Breathe - Black Lives Matter" T-shirt under his fire suit in solidarity with protesters around the world taking to the streets after the death of George Floyd while in police custody.--Of the many images that flowed out of Ferguson, Missouri, during the 2014 Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in response to the police shooting Michael Brown, by far the most iconic is Robert Cohen's photo of Edward Crawford throwing a tear gas canister. The police had fired the canister at the protesters: In a , Cohen captured...WW…

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, to lay a ceremonial wreath and observe a moment of remembrance under the Statue of Saint John Paul II on June 2, 2020 in Washington,DC.view in app--June 4, 2020 5:02PM (UTC)Whatever , from the moment protesters started to hit the streets to denounce police brutality, one thing was certain: would direct his energies away from doing anything useful and toward the task of managing his ego, relying on the reality TV tricks he mistakes for the real work of presidenting.And so, and...…US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, to lay a ceremonial wreath and observe a moment of remembrance under the Statue of Saint John Paul II on June 2, 2020 in Washington,DC.view in app--June 4, 2020 5:02PM (UTC)Whatever , from the moment protesters started to hit the streets to denounce police brutality, one thing was certain: would direct his energies away from doing anything useful and toward the task of managing his ego, relying on the reality TV tricks he mistakes for the real work of presidenting.And so, and...WW…

Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders--Flipping on Facebook Monday, I was disappointed to see friends who are voting this Tuesday in the Democratic primary — designated "Super Tuesday" because  — focusing on "strategic" voting, rather than simply voting for whoever they think is the best candidate. They were in a panic, reacting to the results from the first four relatively small states that have already voted and recent dropouts by Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg. People are starting to buy...…Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders--Flipping on Facebook Monday, I was disappointed to see friends who are voting this Tuesday in the Democratic primary — designated "Super Tuesday" because  — focusing on "strategic" voting, rather than simply voting for whoever they think is the best candidate. They were in a panic, reacting to the results from the first four relatively small states that have already voted and recent dropouts by Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg. People are starting to buy...WW…

Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and Sean Hannity--Donald Trump and the massive propaganda apparatus around him — call them "TrumpLand" — cannot decide what lie to tell about the new coronavirus, COVID-19, that is now exploding into a global pandemic. Simply not lying is of course not an acceptable option. The unofficial motto of the Trump administration is quite clearly "Lie about everything, all the time, even for no apparent reason." In this case, Trump is facing a very real PR crisis, and the first instinct of this president and his...…Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and Sean Hannity--Donald Trump and the massive propaganda apparatus around him — call them "TrumpLand" — cannot decide what lie to tell about the new coronavirus, COVID-19, that is now exploding into a global pandemic. Simply not lying is of course not an acceptable option. The unofficial motto of the Trump administration is quite clearly "Lie about everything, all the time, even for no apparent reason." In this case, Trump is facing a very real PR crisis, and the first instinct of this president and his...WW…

Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greet one another before they participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020.--When Sen. Bernie Sanders indicated last week that he was staying in the Democratic presidential primary, even though former Vice President Joe Biden has a delegate lead that is almost certainly insurmountable, lots of people got angry with him."The Best Thing Bernie Sanders Can Do Is Drop Out," at the Atlantic. that Sanders "might want to drop out before...…Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greet one another before they participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020.--When Sen. Bernie Sanders indicated last week that he was staying in the Democratic presidential primary, even though former Vice President Joe Biden has a delegate lead that is almost certainly insurmountable, lots of people got angry with him."The Best Thing Bernie Sanders Can Do Is Drop Out," at the Atlantic. that Sanders "might want to drop out before...WW…

--Thursday night, the access journalism team at the Washington Post to "reopen much of the U.S." in May. "The Trump administration is pushing to reopen much of the country next month," Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, Jose A. Del Real and William Wan report, noting that Trump, behind "closed doors," has "sought a strategy for resuming business activity by May 1."This is, needless to say, scary as hell. We're nowhere near conquering the coronavirus epidemic and, thanks to Trump's deliberate negligence — born from his desire to conceal the spread of the virus — we have nothing...…--Thursday night, the access journalism team at the Washington Post to "reopen much of the U.S." in May. "The Trump administration is pushing to reopen much of the country next month," Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, Jose A. Del Real and William Wan report, noting that Trump, behind "closed doors," has "sought a strategy for resuming business activity by May 1."This is, needless to say, scary as hell. We're nowhere near conquering the coronavirus epidemic and, thanks to Trump's deliberate negligence — born from his desire to conceal the spread of the virus — we have nothing...WW…