I’m trying to figure out what’s likely to happen in our politics given the pandemic, Trump vs Biden, and African Americans demanding their rightful place in all aspects of American life. The best strategy I can think of, in order to make an informed guess about the future, is to eliminate things that clearly are

Democrats have a choice. Go big, go bold, hit hard and win. Or, be careful, politically correct, don’t offend anyone and lose. Trump has demonstrated the power of hate and the big lie. It gives the base their sugar high. They’re going to need more, much more. Imagine what Trump will be willing to do in

Sure, Iran did that thing in the Gulf of Oman. Why wouldn’t they? They decided its time to demonstrate they didn’t want to get jerked around forever by sanctions designed to strangle their economy. Sanctions for what? For keeping the deal they made with Obama. Yeah, Barack Obama, the guy who could think and talk

One of my mother’s favorite expressions, invariably addressed to me, was “make yourself useful as well as ornamental.” Another helpful bromide, this one of uncertain provenance, is “tell your own story or someone else will tell it for you.” Practical advice for individuals, businesses and governments. How does this relate to Trump as an actor

If it was a boxing match, they’d stop it. Two Jewish octogenarians, Sheldon Adelson and Rupert Murdoch, are beating the jack crap out of decades of American policy and tradition that has had the US pursuing peace as a first option, keeping commitments, and supporting those that have supported us. In its place, Adelson and

Billionaire Casino owner Sheldon Adelson is not wracked by doubt. In Sheldon’s world there is no such thing as the Palestinian People, there was never anything to negotiate with Iran, and Israel’s Capitol is Jerusalem. Sheldon has no trouble keeping things simple and no problem getting to the point. In dealing with the Trump Campaign,

If you can imagine trying to do two complicated math problems simultaneously while a rabid dog gnaws on one ankle and a furry animal pees on the other, you've got a good idea of the task before Secretary of State John Kerry and his team, working with five other countries to get a framework agreement

Each time it’s pretty much the same. We’re an ancient people; we’re always threatened; Iran is bad; the US should attack them; never again. Is the Prime Minister totally unaware of the universal truism: familiarity breeds contempt? Sometimes a new wrinkle finds its way into a Netanyahu speech. At his first address to a Joint

These two were made for each other. Yiddish describes them best. Netanyahu is a schnorrer, the perpetually uninvited guest that always wants more. Boehner is a schnook, the not-so-bright dupe. Skulking around in the shadows for six weeks, Boehner and Netanyahu hit upon a scheme to benefit each other individually and undermine American foreign policy.

Working mostly in secret over a period of many months, Barack Obama and John Kerry have succeeded in putting together a deal on Iran’s nuclear program acceptable to our European allies plus China and Russia, whose closest border is less than 200 miles from Iran. The deal was accomplished with minimal hand-holding of Israeli Prime