This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMaybe the debates will help, but for now, Karen and Marlin Boltz remain genuinely stymied. The couple voted for Donald Trump four years ago, but they can’t stand how he’s divided the country and emboldened white supremacists. They like Joe Biden, but recoil at the idea of higher taxes and bigger spending.The Boltzes, who live in a rural area half an hour outside Pittsburgh, find themselves squarely between their children. Their son who lives next door is more conservative than they are and supports Trump. Their daughter...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMaybe the debates will help, but for now, Karen and Marlin Boltz remain genuinely stymied. The couple voted for Donald Trump four years ago, but they can’t stand how he’s divided the country and emboldened white supremacists. They like Joe Biden, but recoil at the idea of higher taxes and bigger spending.The Boltzes, who live in a rural area half an hour outside Pittsburgh, find themselves squarely between their children. Their son who lives next door is more conservative than they are and supports Trump. Their daughter...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThey were two larger-than-life wealthy businessmen — one trying to break into the New York scene, the other a symbol of the city’s brash excess.So it was natural that when British media mogul Robert Maxwell threw a party in New York on the deck of his luxury yacht the Lady Ghislaine — named for his youngest daughter — he would invite Donald Trump, the city’s tabloid-friendly developer.As guests mingled and drank during the 1989 bash, Maxwell greeted Trump privately in the wheelhouse and gave him a tour of the craft,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThey were two larger-than-life wealthy businessmen — one trying to break into the New York scene, the other a symbol of the city’s brash excess.So it was natural that when British media mogul Robert Maxwell threw a party in New York on the deck of his luxury yacht the Lady Ghislaine — named for his youngest daughter — he would invite Donald Trump, the city’s tabloid-friendly developer.As guests mingled and drank during the 1989 bash, Maxwell greeted Trump privately in the wheelhouse and gave him a tour of the craft,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThree presidents spoke in poetry, paying tribute to a fallen hero who believed — often against evidence to the contrary, including the cracking of his skull by state troopers — that America was good, its people driven by love to do right by one another.One president, the current commander in chief, did not attend the funeral of Rep. John Lewis but instead spoke of dark forces in the country and suggested that the United States not hold its next presidential election on time. In a country cleaved by political differences,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThree presidents spoke in poetry, paying tribute to a fallen hero who believed — often against evidence to the contrary, including the cracking of his skull by state troopers — that America was good, its people driven by love to do right by one another.One president, the current commander in chief, did not attend the funeral of Rep. John Lewis but instead spoke of dark forces in the country and suggested that the United States not hold its next presidential election on time. In a country cleaved by political differences,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareKevin Krannawitter won’t wear a mask because he just doesn’t think it’s necessary, whatever the scientists say. Marilyn Singleton won’t wear one either — and she’s a physician — because she says it’s un-American for the government to force people to cover their faces. You won’t see Ricardo Thornton in a mask because it reminds him of a time when he wasn’t free to make his own decisions about his life.Even as governors, mayors andor require Americans to wear masks in stores, transit systems and other public spaces to...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareKevin Krannawitter won’t wear a mask because he just doesn’t think it’s necessary, whatever the scientists say. Marilyn Singleton won’t wear one either — and she’s a physician — because she says it’s un-American for the government to force people to cover their faces. You won’t see Ricardo Thornton in a mask because it reminds him of a time when he wasn’t free to make his own decisions about his life.Even as governors, mayors andor require Americans to wear masks in stores, transit systems and other public spaces to...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe teardowns get all the attention, Walter “Donnie” Kennedy grumbles.Every time a local government votes to remove a century-old Confederate war monument, every time activists swing ropes around statues and yank them to the ground, “our enemies claim victory again,” said Kennedy, the chief of heritage operations for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “We know America doesn’t agree with us — heck, they fought a war against us — but we’re going to tell our story.”Their membership might be dwindling, and their popular...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe teardowns get all the attention, Walter “Donnie” Kennedy grumbles.Every time a local government votes to remove a century-old Confederate war monument, every time activists swing ropes around statues and yank them to the ground, “our enemies claim victory again,” said Kennedy, the chief of heritage operations for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “We know America doesn’t agree with us — heck, they fought a war against us — but we’re going to tell our story.”Their membership might be dwindling, and their popular...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAdam Crigler used to feed his YouTube following a politics-free diet of chatter about aliens, movies, skateboarding and video games. Then came the pandemic. Now, he devotes much of his talk show to his assertion that mask mandates are an assault on personal freedom and that Democrats somehow stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Result: a much bigger audience.“The pandemic has made more people want to blame someone else because they’ve lost their jobs or they’re lonely,” Crigler said.Ian Bayne, for years a campaign...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAdam Crigler used to feed his YouTube following a politics-free diet of chatter about aliens, movies, skateboarding and video games. Then came the pandemic. Now, he devotes much of his talk show to his assertion that mask mandates are an assault on personal freedom and that Democrats somehow stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Result: a much bigger audience.“The pandemic has made more people want to blame someone else because they’ve lost their jobs or they’re lonely,” Crigler said.Ian Bayne, for years a campaign...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharecorrectionAn earlier version of this story incorrectly implied that leftists in Portland would have firearms when they protested against armed right-wing groups during Tuesday's election. Olivia Katbi Smith, a co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America in Portland, said Sunday that her group plans to respond to right-wing extremists with street protests, but will not be at election sites and will not be armed.This weekend, several dozen people will arrive at secret locations in West Virginia and Colorado to ride out...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharecorrectionAn earlier version of this story incorrectly implied that leftists in Portland would have firearms when they protested against armed right-wing groups during Tuesday's election. Olivia Katbi Smith, a co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America in Portland, said Sunday that her group plans to respond to right-wing extremists with street protests, but will not be at election sites and will not be armed.This weekend, several dozen people will arrive at secret locations in West Virginia and Colorado to ride out...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA psychiatrist examining what has happened to America’s soul chooses for his book cover an iconic image from “Planet of the Apes” — a charred, half-buried wreck of the Statue of Liberty.A minister who believes the United States is God’s chosen nation decides that a Joe Biden presidential victory would mean doom, a crushing of the nation’s essence.And a filmmaker whose work has celebrated the raucous mess of U.S. politics concludes that the reelection of President Trump would be “the end of democracy.”One week before...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA psychiatrist examining what has happened to America’s soul chooses for his book cover an iconic image from “Planet of the Apes” — a charred, half-buried wreck of the Statue of Liberty.A minister who believes the United States is God’s chosen nation decides that a Joe Biden presidential victory would mean doom, a crushing of the nation’s essence.And a filmmaker whose work has celebrated the raucous mess of U.S. politics concludes that the reelection of President Trump would be “the end of democracy.”One week before...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn Erie County, Pa., either Joe Biden or President Trump is showing up every week now, and the anxiety level is through the roof.There’s fear of neighbors: On Election Day, self-appointed guardians armed with assault weapons plan to take up positions outside local polling places. There’s fear of outsiders: A Ku Klux Klan group from out of state recently dropped racist fliers on the driveways of some homes with Biden signs on the lawns. And there’s fear of what’s coming Nov. 3: The county sheriff doesn’t have nearly enough...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn Erie County, Pa., either Joe Biden or President Trump is showing up every week now, and the anxiety level is through the roof.There’s fear of neighbors: On Election Day, self-appointed guardians armed with assault weapons plan to take up positions outside local polling places. There’s fear of outsiders: A Ku Klux Klan group from out of state recently dropped racist fliers on the driveways of some homes with Biden signs on the lawns. And there’s fear of what’s coming Nov. 3: The county sheriff doesn’t have nearly enough...WW…