Tag Archives: Trump

The fallacy of “media bias” (Part 2 of 2)

The fallacy of “media bias” is playing a large role in the current national crisis. Newspapers like to claim objectivity (fairness, balance). It serves their interests to be seen as above the fray, the “paper of record.” But clearly, given the wide range of political flavors newspapers and other news sources come in, there are […]

June 11, 2017 – 3:14 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

The Fallacy of “Media bias” (1 of 2)

Widespread confusion about “media bias” is playing a large role in the current national crisis, serving the interests largely of Trump. House Speaker Ryan, explaining why fellow Republicans shouldn’t get too worked up about all the possibly impeachable offenses: “ It is obvious that there are some people out there who want to harm the […]

June 5, 2017 – 12:49 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

THE NORTH KOREA PROBLEM—WHAT’S THE LIBERAL SOLUTION?

A few days ago the New York Times ran a long piece on the North Korea problem ( usually characterized as rogue nation threatens US and world peace). North Korea has apparently been making impressive progress developing nuclear missiles capable of bombing the West Coast of the U.S., (Silicon Valley. Hollywood). According to the story, […]

March 12, 2017 – 2:23 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Trump supporters: explain your complacency.

A month into the Trump p residency, his supporters have remained a mostly silent minority. When they speak it’s often to mock the alarm of crybaby liberals as hysteria, the whining of bad losers, a “perpetual tantrum,” as one local writer put it. Trump won the election, they remind us. Why are his opponents carrying […]

March 3, 2017 – 5:32 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged | Comments (0)

Rendering unto Trump at Christmastime

The last two years I broke with my tradition and didn’t do a holiday season column. Last year I felt I needed to write on the reaction to the Paris terrorist attacks. The year before it was a local racism issue that bumped Christmas from this space. And now, with Trump ruling our attention, my […]

December 22, 2016 – 1:54 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

WHAT WILL HAPPEN? WHAT WILL WE DO?

Has ever a president-elect been held in such contempt by such a large portion of the electorate? These feel like dangerous times. Those signs protesting “F**k Trump” and “Not My President”–suddenly it seems not unreasonable to ask: are we becoming one of the many countries whose violence, instability and inability to govern themselves we’ve always […]

December 7, 2016 – 12:44 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

HURRICANE TRUMP

Yet another revelation of a Trump nastiness. Another debate that in an ordinary election would  doom a candidate as certainly as if he had shown up drunk.  How does Trump shoot himself in the foot? Let us count the ways. Is it the complete lack of substance behind the inane bragging that he’s great, that […]

October 10, 2016 – 1:26 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)

THE HITLER ANALOGY

As Trump has risen to power (insofar as media attention is power) over recent months, one hears a lot the Hitler analogy. The comparison is made seriously and fearfully in these very pages in letters to editors and op-ed columns: Trump is a dangerous demagogue, playing to racism and other fears of disaffected white workers, […]

June 29, 2016 – 12:52 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Say it ain’t so,Tom

I suppose everybody has seen the story: “Tom Brady endorses Trump.” No way. Our Tom Brady? I’m aware that a lot of professional athletes, like other wealthy people, are of the Republican persuasion. But Trump? Seriously? This throws me into moral confusion. I’ve been enjoying this season, with its backstory of the inflategate thing and […]

October 9, 2015 – 6:21 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The meaning of the Trump phenomenon

Along with everyone else, it seems, I’ve been trying to come up with an explanation for the Trump phenomenon. Phenomenon because it’s impossible to imagine that anyone would vote for the man himself. And of course not everyone is mystified; not, for instance, the millions who apparently crave him above all other fellow humans for […]

August 14, 2015 – 1:49 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , , | Comments (0)