Lies, Hyper-Partisanship, Double Standards, and Hypocrisy: Trump’s Hush-Money Trial

My Substack e-newsletter is on Donald Trump's hush-money trial, placed in historical context. Some of the same players were involved in the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the 1990s and the hush-money trial of Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), who ran for president in 2007 and early 2008. Except this time, they seem to be advocating …

While Immigration Is Up, Crime Is Down

"It's funny how immigration and crime are trending in opposite directions," writes David Drezner on Substack He also cited a Brookings Institution study that noted "faster population and labor force growth has meant that employment could grow more quickly than previously believed without adding to inflationary pressures."  

Do Migrants Smuggle Fentanyl Across the Border?

LATimes: "Two unrelated facts combined with a lie form a powerful and dangerous piece of misinformation that is spreading virally. The facts are that a drug overdose epidemic is killing more than 100,000 Americans a year and that far more migrants are crossing the country’s southern border than ever before. The lie is that the migrants are …

First President With A Criminal Indictment Mugshot. Cable TV Debate Over GA Case

"For the fourth time this year, Donald Trump turned himself into authorities after being indicted on criminal charges — but it was the first time the former president was required to pose for a mug shot. Fulton County authorities publicly released Trump’s booking photo Thursday night after Trump voluntarily surrendered at an Atlanta jail Thursday on charges he …

The Riddle of Labor Leader, Mob-Connected Jimmy Hoffa

James Riddle Hoffa (1913-1982) "was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957 until 1971. From an early age, Hoffa was a union activist, and he became an important regional figure with the IBT by his mid-twenties." Wikipedia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNfUo9AZxww 48 years later, Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance remains …

Reaction to Donald Trump’s 3rd Indictment

"Trump is not in big trouble," I declare on Substack. "Things are going according to plan." If there's a third party presidential candidate in 2024, he can win with 34 percent of the vote, and then pardon himself. By running for president, he has already raised $40 million for his legal defense and stands to …

The Secret History of Gun Rights

The New York Times: "How Lawmakers Armed the National Rifle Association. They served in Congress and on the N.R.A.’s board at the same time. Over decades, a small group of legislators led by a prominent Democrat pushed the gun lobby to help transform the law, the courts, and views on the Second Amendment." "Over decades, …

Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, AG, VP, and Chief of Staff Castigate Him

John Bolton, National Security Advisor to Donald Trump, on the legal case against him: "“This is material that in the hands of America’s adversaries would do incalculable damage to the United States. This is a very serious case and it’s not financial fraud, it’s not hush money to porn stars, this is the national security …

Donald Trump Is Indicted On 37 Counts In Classified Documents Probe

For the first time in U.S. history, a president or former president faces federal charges from a grand jury summoned by the U.S. Department of Justice. Violation of the Espionage Act, willful retention of classified documents, conspiracy to obstruct the government's efforts to retrieve them, and making false statements to law enforcement are among the …

‘The Codebreaker’: Heroic Woman Who Sent Gangsters to Prison and Broke Nazi Spy Ring in WWII

Elizebeth Smith Friedman "was an American cryptanalyst and author who deciphered enemy codes in both World Wars and helped to solve international smuggling cases during Prohibition. Over the course of her career, she worked for the United States Treasury, Coast Guard, Navy and Army, and the International Monetary Fund. Wikipedia" PBS American Experience broadcast a documentary …