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Archives for June 2018

Thanks to EU, Turkey Ratifies Erdogan’s Dictatorial Rule

Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 4:52 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

No doubt there was more media hype this time about a potential upset. But Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection was as guaranteed on Sunday as Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s was on Sunday, March 18. Turkey’s long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round… Read more.

Supreme Court Rules Trump Can Ban Muslims…

Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:47 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

But this ruling merely affirms that justices are every bit as tribal as politicians. I pointed out in my June 24 commentary below that there’s nothing new about the tribalism that now defines life in America. I cited many commentaries in which I lamented how this became a defining feature of political debates. But I… Read more.

Tribalism and Dysfunction in American Politics

Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 8:49 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Here in part is how The Economist explained this tribalism and dysfunction in a recent issue (on May 24) under the heading “The primeval tribalism of American Politics.” No longer able to fathom how their partisan rivals can hear, and also see, think and say the things they do, Americans are increasingly liable to consider… Read more.

America’s First Family: Rich Getting Richer

Friday, June 22, 2018 at 6:22 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Donald J. Trump is the richest president in US history. Therefore, it’s ironic that he’s cheapening the presidency more than any other. But that irony is laced with gall. Because this cheapening is directly proportional to the way he’s using the presidency to enrich himself and his family. I have written many commentaries warning it… Read more.

UPDATE: Trump Ends Separations but Continues Internments

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 4:45 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

By Trump’s own admission, it was not common humanity but viral images that finally forced him to do this: President Trump caved to enormous political pressure on Wednesday and signed an executive order that ends the separation of families by indefinitely detaining parents and children together at the border. ‘I didn’t like the sight or… Read more.

Separating Migrant Children from Parents. This Is America … Too!

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 7:51 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

On too many occasions in the course of human events, man’s inhumanity to man provokes commentaries that inflame passions more than shed light. This is one of those occasions. But I hope what follows sheds light more than inflames passions. Since early May, 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the Southern… Read more.

US Open: Tiger Woods Becoming the Hugh Hefner of PGA Players

Monday, June 18, 2018 at 6:53 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

No doubt you recall the media sensation Tiger Woods’s wife caused when she busted his lip, thereby bursting their marital bubble. It happened around Thanksgiving Day in 2009 – when she reacted to breaking news about his cheating by taking one of his irons to his hide, and then to his car. I joined in… Read more.

Firing a Cartoonist…for Trump’s Sake?

Friday, June 15, 2018 at 8:23 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

A media organization should hire Rogers today … for America’s sake. A veteran editorial cartoonist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was fired Thursday after he and the newspaper’s management clashed over some sketches critical of President Donald Trump. (Huffington Post, June 14, 2018) Mind you, management never had a problem when this equal-opportunity critic was submitting… Read more.