The approval rating for Vice President Kamala Harris, which shows that barely one in four (28%) approve of her performance, is abysmally low. This spells trouble for Ms. Harris and for the overall Democratic party. It is incumbent upon President Biden to give Ms. Harris more opportunities to break through the sexist and racist stereotypes some associate with being a woman of color.
Grow or stagnate
I maintain that Swarthmore needs to be economically vibrant to thrive, and this complex will help us to sustain this and avoid stagnation. Others may disagree, but, I say, bravo, bring it on!
The Covid Pandemic continues
The anti-vaxxers powerfully affirm the words of the philosopher who said: “Most people never cease to exercise their right to disbelieve something that is so obvious, or to believe something that is ridiculous.” In 2021, we have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the validity of this statement.
Can American billionaires get us to herd immunity?
Fabulously wealthy individuals have a chance to alter history in real time by simply opening their wallets and, in effect, writing a check to the American people.
Has evidence of climate change become undeniable?
We have a chance to bend the curve and potentially avert irreversible disastrous consequences, through changes in our individual behavior and a coordinated worldwide governmental response. We must seize this chance, for the good of all life on planet Earth.
Flashing-light crosswalks unsafe
I have railed about this before to no avail. Crossing the street at the crosswalks with flashing lights at the intersections of Harvard and Chester roads, and elsewhere in Swarthmore, is akin to a suicide mission. Where in this universe does a flashing yellow light connote “stop” and not merely “slow down”?
President Joe Biden: caretaker or crusader?
Would it not be supremely ironic if President Joe Biden, in his 78th year of life, and after 50 years in government, turned out to be not presiding over a caretaker presidency — not just being a bridge from the past to a new, much more progressive, future — but instead ushering in a new governmental paradigm and becoming a crusader for progressive values and governance?
Where are you, Governor Wolf?
I voted for you twice, Mr. Governor, and I am a lifelong Democrat, but I am deeply disappointed in your lack of leadership. Tom Wolf: It is time for you to step up and seize the moment. You are failing us in this crisis.
If not for Black support in the Democratic primaries, Joe Biden would not have won his party’s nomination. And, if not for overwhelming Black support in several key swing states during the presidential election, Donald Trump would have been sworn in for his second term, and Joe Biden would not be our new president. All Americans owe Black voters a debt of gratitude. It’s time to start repaying that debt.
The anti-science president’s legacy may be saved by science
We cannot say that a compassionate concern for the well-being and health and safety of ordinary Americans is what drove President Trump toward helping to facilitate the vaccine development process. He has always demonstrated that he is driven almost exclusively by advancing his own perceived self-interest. But these vaccines promise to end this pandemic far more quickly than might have been expected, and for this we should all be thankful and grateful.
The reason I’ll miss Donnie
Trump was a once-in-a-lifetime gift to us letter writers.
Justices are human, too
Neither everyday humans nor Supreme Court justices have the Vulcan-like ability (like Mr. Spock on “Star Trek”) to be free of emotional bias in their decision-making. Let’s set aside this canard and face reality. Amy Coney Barrett, if confirmed, like all the justices past and present, will bring with her to the court all of the implicit cognitive biases that are part of her being.
Election night: buckle up
When the mail-in ballot count, powered by Democratic voters, shows a reversal of the preliminary election night outcome, all hell will break loose. Buckle up, America, you ain’t never seen anything like it before.
Future generations will curse us
The world is in the midst of an existential health crisis from the COVID-19 virus that threatens our health, safety, and even our lives. It is understandable that this crisis is absorbing our time, our attention, and our resources. Yet, simultaneously, the Earth is headed toward a longer-term challenge that threatens to change the habitability of the planet and cause misery and suffering, even death, to many millions of the world’s inhabitants. Global climate change is unfolding. While its effects sometimes seem to advance at a glacial pace, they are actually accelerating.
Denying reality kills people
Donald Trump’s character failings will likely extinguish his chance to be re-elected. But those failings have extinguished the lives of thousands of Americans.
Biden’s poll numbers rise as Trump keeps talking
Donald Trump’s win in 2016 and his tenure as our president turned the political world upside down. Now the COVID-19 crisis has made things worse still. Wouldn’t it be amazing if President Trump, who cannot stop talking and lying, was defeated by an opponent who talked very little but always told the truth?
Defending our right to vote
The right to vote is absolutely fundamental to the effective functioning of a democracy. It is the most cherished right of every American citizen. Now, even the President of the United States has joined this not-so-subtle attempt to disenfranchise some citizens.
Putting coronavirus in perspective
Let’s try to put the coronavirus in some perspective. Eminent American physician and health expert Dr. David Katz posted a statistical comparison of the coronavirus versus the influenza virus. It is eye-opening.
In the United States in 2020, and for much of the past three years, “performance art” has taken the main stage and dominated our political lives and much of our daily lives as well. The impresario, the “star” of this “theater of the absurd,” is none other than our president, Donald Trump. He is simply a master at pulling the strings and making us, the American people, the entire Republican party — and the media — his puppets.