democracy

On March the 7th in 2021, on Fox News Sunday, Senator Joe Manchin said “The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful and we’ve made it more comfortable over the years.” On NBC’s Meet the Press, Manchin also said “If you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there … Read more

Inscribed over the doors of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC are the words ‘Equal Justice Under Law.’ Unfortunately, those words have never rung true within the United States. They are now hardly even seen as aspirational by several of the justices currently occupying the high court. Consider, for example, the court’s sociopathic notion of … Read more

In 1960, A.J. Liebling tossed off one of his most memorable lines. In his May 14 column, in the New Yorker, Liebling wrote: “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” Even back then, in the face of corporate takeovers of newspapers and layoffs of hundreds of journalists, he worried that … Read more

And then it dawned on them, the Epiphany would be sullied by the one year anniversary of the racist riot that occurred in Washington on January the 6th in 2021. Like the poo flinging monkeys that breached the nation’s capital on that day, defecating on the floor and smearing feces on the walls in Statuary Hall, … Read more

Imperfect as they were, the authors of the United States Constitution got it exactly right with phrasing that defined our democracy. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, , ,” epitomizes the spirit of constitutional law. Without an understanding of precisely what is meant by these words, … Read more

In 1971, Lewis Powell presented a memo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, In it, he repeatedly refers to an “attack on the enterprise system.” He rages against what he characterizes as “self-interest groups of all kinds” while failing to acknowledge that an American Corporation, especially one controlled by foreign potentates, is also a self-interested … Read more

Once upon a time there were just a few destinations, hotels, and restaurants readily identified as iconic. These descriptions usually flowed from their unique atmospherics, their commitments to superior service, and consistently delivering culinary delights that earned them a truly enviable reputation. In essence as well as substance, iconic enterprises are characterized by fidelity. Faithful patrons … Read more

When members of the Supreme Court attempt to diminish what they describe as their “perception problem,” it may just be because the public’s perception of the court is accurate. Edward Rumely, editor-in-chief and publisher of, the New York Evening Mail, coined the phrase “court-packing plan” way back when Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to add more … Read more

The main difference between bribery and lobbying is that bribery is considered illegal, while lobbying is not. That’s it folks! Bribery has always been about the effort to buy power and paying to guarantee a certain result. And, until recently, lobbying was about influencing power. Today, those distinctions are mostly gone while the money offered … Read more

In the 1990s, I was working as a glorified pack mule. My load consisted of video monitors, trans-pushable computers, laserdisc players and a heavy case of twelve-inch laserdiscs. I would travel between the academies, colleges, and universities to demonstrate what curriculum designers of that day described as “interactive video.” Back then it was seen as … Read more