the bastards' last stand

Starting immediately after Donald Trump's second win for the presidency, I saw Facebook post after post asking, "Why is this happening?" Because the answer is so obvious to me, I offered it. Several of the women asking the question blocked me, which has made clear the question isn't genuine. It should be. The actual question is, "Why was Trump's resounding win so surprising?" Through polling we knew the issues most important to the electorate. Agree or disagree with his solutions, Trump spoke about addressing those issues. Kamala employed Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy, she focused on Trump. One strategy spoke directly to voters. The other spoke directly to the legacy media, which ignored the issues most important to voters. For that reason, Kamala supporters, which includes those who have the highest trust in legacy media, especially those working in the industry, were the most surprised by the outcome. The short answer to why Trump won is that...

The most memorable moment of the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was his assertion that in Springfield, OH "they are eating the dogs, the people that came in, they are eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there." The quote has inspired several surprisingly catchy songs and accusations of racism and xenophobia. The statement is based on assertions by residents of Springfield. It has supposedly been debunked because the city manager said he has no credible evidence of pets being taken, despite residents of the town continuing to suggest it is happening. Either they are lying because they hate Haitians or they are accurately describing their experience of the Haitian influx to their town. Are the descriptions xenophobic only if they are false or because they are shared publicly at all? Accusations of racism or xenophobia are reflexive responses to any possibly negative assertion about black or migrant subjects. It does not mat...

In early September, Megyn Kelly interviewed four Minnesota veterans of the Iraq War. One of the veterans, Paul Herr, offered a memorable quote. "Fear is a reaction, bravery is a choice." Although he was talking about vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz and his decision to retire from the National Guard before fulfilling his commitment, it could easily apply to Kamala Harris and her campaign strategy. For anyone not paying attention due to the recent end of a coma, her strategy has been to avoid unscripted engagement with the press. In the time since becoming the nominee she has done only one interview. It was an hour or more edited to 16 minutes, she was accompanied by Tim Walz, and it featured very little follow up questioning. A growing chorus of political commentators are suggesting that she needs to talk more to the press to let the American people know who she is. The changing polling suggests that there is a growing awareness of her character and who she is from her cont...

On September 11, 2001, I awoke early to look at apartments across New York City. After visiting an apartment in Brooklyn I planned to never step into again, I stopped at a bodega for a coffee. On the small television behind the counter, the clerk was watching the news of a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers.  Without listening closely, I assumed that it must have been a small craft and pilot error. In the moment, I could not conceive of it being deliberate. After hopping on the subway and reaching midtown, I heard about the second crash and hearsay of others near DC. From my vantage near the library I could see the columns of smoke rising from the towers, and watched them both eventually collapse. In the days and weeks that followed grew a sense of unity that was unique in my lifetime, a collective hurt stronger than our many differences. Much of the world offered its heartfelt support, despite our status as a fading superpower. That support faded over the yea...

In the 2020 Democrat primary, Julian Castro attempted to distinguish himself from the crowded field by highlighting concerns that Joe Biden was hampered by his age. His strategy culminated in an exchange during the third debate accusing Biden of forgetting what he had said two minutes prior. It was a powerful debate moment that essentially ended Castro's campaign for being too mean.  The irony is that his strategy reflected the concerns of other Democrats . During his presidency, Biden's diminishing capacity has been continuously on display, even with Biden avoiding challenging press conferences. He repeatedly has seemed to forget that his son died of cancer and not in combat in Afghanistan. He has made numerous verbal gaffes dating back to that primary, including reading stage direction from his teleprompter. This is all to say that there should have been no surprise with how disastrous his debate performance against Trump was in their rematch. Yet, many pundits and democrat o...