Airtime for the Autocrat: Tucker Carlson Sucks Up to Putin

Airtime for the Autocrat: Tucker Carlson Sucks Up to Putin

We have reached a very odd place in our national politics: not long ago, Republicans would consistently  out-gun Democrats on being “tough on communists,” especially Russia –– who can forget President Reagan saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”  The...

Zuck’s Bafflegab Up on the Hill

Headlines on January 31st claimed that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, had apologized at a U.S. Senate hearing to parents whose children had died as a result of suicide from cyberbullying, asphyxiation from participating in the “blackout challenge,” body-image...
Lawyer-speak: Legal, yes, but sometimes… Awful!

Lawyer-speak: Legal, yes, but sometimes… Awful!

It’s a free country right? Especially with regard to free speech, and what lawyers say in a legal brief or in oral argument:  other than insulting the judge and risking a contempt of court order, lawyers can just say the “darndest” things, recalling Art...
Politically Obtuse Plutocrats

Politically Obtuse Plutocrats

by Don Mayer I used to work for a man who truly believed that if you weren’t a multi-millionaire you probably didn’t have much common sense.  “ I can only learn from people who know how to make a lot of money,” he once told me.  J. Baker...
Punishing Dissenting Voices

Punishing Dissenting Voices

In the U.S., we enjoy the protections of the First Amendment, particularly around political speech –– talking or writing about the wrongs that government and its agencies do. In Russia, as in many other autocratic legal/political systems, dissent is punished by the...