Tag Archives: Trump

The Cape Cod National Seashore and our no-frills president

“National parks struggle to stay open,” went the headline of a recent story about effects of the federal government shutdown, which at this writing is close to the end of its third week. Trump has said that for all he cares, the shutdown can go o n for months, even years. Become the new normal, […]

January 16, 2019 – 3:27 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

If it can’t happen here, why not?

“It can’t happen here.” Since Trump was elected, we’ve heard this phrase a lot, with its ironic message of Oh yes it can. In fact it might be happening even as we speak. (And we, frogs in slowly heated water, have just gotten used to it.) So what’s the “it” that we’d like to think […]

December 6, 2018 – 1:05 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged | Comments (0)

Discriminating between two forms of democracy.

As an English major I’ve been confused by the term “populism” being bruited about recently. It has the sound of democracy, of which I have always been a fan. So why are so many liberals associating it with the drift toward fascism? Turning dutifully to my wikipedia, I discovered that the confusion is not just […]

August 20, 2018 – 1:25 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

The fight is on. Which side are you on?

Something’s wrong with our political system when the most unpopular and, in the opinion of most, morally dubious president ever will, via Supreme Court nominees, have one of the greatest influences on American life in coming decades. No doubt Trump idolators are chortling at the irony. Checks and balances? None of the three branches of […]

July 21, 2018 – 7:29 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

THE “SHITHOLE” SOURCE CONUNDRUM

Was Democrat Senator Durbin the only source of the story that Trump referred to African nations as “shithole” countries? Did the “Washington Post” and “New York Times” take the word of an interested party over the denials of the Republicans present and of the president himself? This New York Times story of 20 January is […]

January 23, 2018 – 3:32 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The arrow of history: where are we headed?

As we proceed from the old year to the new, it would seem that most of us are experiencing the world as going backwards. According to an October 7th AP story reporting on an AP-NORC poll, “Few say US going in right direction.” “Only 24 percent of Americans are confident about the future of the […]

January 5, 2018 – 3:00 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Charlottesville: which side are you on?

One good thing to come out of Charlottesville and Trump’s reaction to it is some consciousness-raising (to use that old 60s phrase) about violence. As someone posted on facebook : “Violence in behalf of white supremacy. Violence against white supremacy. Get the difference?” There’s a bit of hypocrisy in the huge outcry against Trump. His […]

September 1, 2017 – 10:18 am | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Looking for a Trump scorecard (A DOW for the rest of us)

I’m wondering what you Trump supporters are thinking about GOP attempts to replace Obamacare. Polls and several special elections have shown that through all of what look (to a lot of us) like insurmountable troubles Trump remains teflon to much of his base. Shortly after the Comey firing I emailed a local Trump supporter with […]

August 4, 2017 – 2:54 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged | Comments (0)

Trump as capitalist-in-chief

Opponents often see what they consider Trump’s ill fit for the presidency in terms of psychological sickness. Some imagine that, suffering from such dire-sounding conditions as “narcissistic personality disorder” or “attention deficit disorder” or maybe a version of Asbergers, (and what about those symptoms of dictator envy), he may not last long in the job. […]

July 4, 2017 – 3:22 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The Ptown scene in the time of Trump

Fine late afternoon and evening in Ptown this past Saturday, reminding us that one of the great things about Wellfleet is having Ptown so close. The morning’s rain blown away, it is (at last) glorious summahtime, warm and humid, as we meander west on Commercial, checking out the scene and immersing in it at the […]

June 27, 2017 – 6:48 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)