How Eisenhower thought Supreme Court justices should be chosen
Susan Eisenhower noted on the “Skullduggery” podcast that her grandfather, Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, had appointed a liberal Democrat to the court.
Eric Black Ink
Eric Black Ink is a column by veteran journalist Eric Black covering national and state politics, policy, government and history.
‘Trump’s American Carnage’ looks back at what we just survived
“This is not over. This is an ongoing attack on democracy,” says anti-Trump Republican commentator Charlie Sykes.
Was Trump our worst president ever? This scholar thinks so.
Tim Naftali of New York University reviewed the likeliest candidates and concluded that Trump indeed takes the crown from them all.
Voter turnout in 2020 set a record. Will it continue to be high?
The United States, despite liking to think of itself as the leader of democracy in the world, has long had embarrassingly low voter participation.
Biden hits all the right notes in his inaugural address
He kept his remarks short, nonpartisan, aimed at unity and full of hope and promise, but not full of promises except that “We will get through this together.”
Biden’s life story is well told in ‘Frontline’ documentary
It’s easy to think of Joe Biden as boring. The story of his life is not boring. It’s full of drama, tragedy, ambition, liberalism and a long, slow climb up the slippery pole to his lifelong ambition, the presidency.
U.S. Grant on ‘patriotism and intelligence’ vs. ‘superstition, ambition and ignorance’
A hauntingly prescient statement from the 18th president.
Trump’s approval rating drops sharply
He has been bleeding approvers since Election Day and the pace of the hemorrhage has only accelerated since he encouraged a group of thugs to storm the Capitol.
How Trump might already be precluded from running for president again
Check out Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Joint Chiefs’ memo is welcome under the current circumstances
It is significantly reassuring that the Joint Chiefs have broken with tradition and made the statement they have.
In 7-minute video, Arnold Schwarzenegger offers a voice of reason
The ex-California governor draws parallels between the torment his homeland suffered just before his birth (in 1947) and the American experience of the Trump years.
Resigning now won’t save DeVos’ and Chao’s reputations
CNN commentator Bakari Sellers quipped: “At this point you’re not resigning, you’re just taking the rest of your vacation days.”
‘A Thousand Cuts’ powerfully profiles Filipina journalist Maria Ressa
Ressa stands up constantly against the Philippines’ leader, Rodrigo Duterte.
Remaining on alert till Trump leaves the White House
By the way, I really don’t give a hoot whether Trump participates in the Biden Inauguration ceremonies.
Former defense secretaries state: There’s no military role in election disputes
“Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” they write.
Masha Gessen explores a less-noted hallmark of Trump’s presidency: indifference
A key example was that the Trump administration didn’t take Pfizer up on an offer to reserve hundreds of millions of doses of its COVID vaccine for use by Americans.
Belief in the Constitution seems to be holding us together at a critical time
Myths can have power, including, in the current moment, power to motivate just enough key players to put country over party and flawed democracy over no democracy.
Recalling Gore’s response to the 2000 Supreme Court election ruling
It went like this — which I borrow from the coverage of that day’s events, 20 years ago yesterday — after Gore privately called Bush to concede the night before.
On the bizarre lawsuit out of Texas seeking to overturn other states’ election results
I won’t completely exhale, even if this case is dismissed as promptly and easily as it deserves.
What are we to make of a poll showing 72% of Republicans ‘do not trust’ the election outcome?
I can’t cross-examine those numbers to better understand what “do not trust” might mean to them. But it’s not good. It’s very bad. It’s a breeding ground for hyper-partisan divisions ahead.
