My current News & Advance column

 

My thought for today

 So Trump wants to remove all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. There’s a term for that. It’s called “ethnic cleansing,” and I never thought America would countenance that—much less propose it. —S/f, EFP

 

My thought for today

 My Thought for Today. Has leading sycophant Lindsey Graham finally found his backbone or maybe even a couple lower features of his anatomy?

First, he went on record as disapproving of Trump's blanket pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists. Then he dared to contradict Trump, admitting he knew of no DEI connection to the recent air tragedy in D.C. It's a start. But then again, he is now backing Trump's tariffs, agreeing with Trump that "the pain" will be worth it.

Trump says, "Americans will understand." I'm an American, and I don't understand. I agree with the Wall Street Journal, which has called Trump's tariff war a "dumb" idea.

As far as trade imbalances go, the solution is simple: Make more products people in other countries want. We can't make those people buy American.

Case in point: Just today I heard Trump say, "You don't see Chevys and Buicks in Munich." And we never will. Germans make better cars--more expensive cars, to be sure. But they have good mass transit, and not every German needs or wants a car. Ugly American that he is, Trump doesn't realize that not everyone in the world wants to be like us. --S/f, EFP

My current News & Advance and Kitsap Sun column. --S/f, EFP

 This one appears in both papers. --S/f, EFP

My current News & Advance column --S/f, EFP

 

My thought for today

Pity the poor Republicans! A terrible disease is running rampant throughout their ranks. It’s called whataboutism, and it has become especially acute since Trump pardoned the January 6 rioters.           

            A case in point is Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN). In a recent interview with CCN anchor Jim Acosta, Burchett refused to say whether or not he agreed with Trumps’s decision to grant a blanket pardon to those who assaulted police officers and forced their way into the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Burchett instead took refuge in false equivalencies. He brought up Biden’s pardons and the riots that have plagued our cities in recent years. "Police officers were murdered. Courthouses were burned, over 22 police cars were burned,” he said. “Yet no one went to jail for that." (Jan. 22) 

            The trouble with whataboutism is that it’s intractable. Don’t even try to administer a dose of the truth. As the Acosta-Burchett interview illustrates, those suffering from this affliction are generally incapable of recognizing—a la “Sesame Street”—that “one of these things is not like the other.” A better treatment is to inject this this old adage into the conversation: “Two wrongs don’t make a right!” It’s not a cure, but it will enable you to get away before you succumb to whataboutism.  --S/f, EFP

My current News & Advance column. --S/f, EFP