IMPORTANT READS

2020-A LOOK BACK--People who work for President Donald Trump typically meet one of two fates.

THE RELIGION GAP-Here’s a dramatic example of the growing power of Americans who say their religion is “none”:

POVERTY POLITICS--In the wake of Sunday night's agreement on a roughly $900 billion Covid-19 relief package that is far smaller than economists say is necessary,

GUEST COMMENTARY--With Pfizer's welcome COVID-19 vaccine here, so are America's unwelcome rich and privileged, clamoring for their entitled spot at the head of the line.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES-The Eye of Providence on the back of the $1 bill has become symbolic of secret societies and conspiracy theories more generally. 

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM-Here’s a tiny fact. 300,000 Americans are dead of a preventable lethal illness.

VIEW FROM HERE-While President Trump pouts and plots, and President-elect Biden anticipates and appoints, there is an October news clipping from Sonia Perez of the Associated Press that I have not been able to get out of my head.

POLITICS-After opposing another round of stimulus checks for months in the face of deteriorating economic conditions and widespread suffering, Republican congressional leaders have finally agreed to include direct payments in a coronavirus relief package that could be approved by the end of the week.

ELECTION EXPOSED---Following is an excerpt from the diary of outgoing President Donald Trump, apparently written in early December 2020.  The excerpt has been edited for clarity, spelling, grammar, and context.

TRUMP’S UNKEPT PROMISES-Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie showed “a lack of genuine commitment” to addressing a high-profile sexual assault allegation in a VA hospital and focused instead on denigrating the veteran who made the complaint, according to an investigation by the department’s internal watchdog. 

PERSPECTIVE--If you’re American, take a moment to congratulate yourself. You’ve just survived the tenure of the worst President in American history.

OTHER WORDS-As the semester ends, I fear many of my students will fail my class.

PERSPECTIVE--Our post-election hope couldn’t be more fragile. 

OTHER WORDS--America certainly has an abundance of food, even though many Americans do not.

PERSPECTIVE--Firing by the defeated President of the federal cybersecurity director who stated the Nov. 3 election was “the most secure in American history” points to a pair of hard truths about this Presidency. 

THE REAL REASON BIDEN WON-Americans who say their religion is “none” delivered the White House to the Biden-Harris Democratic ticket in the 2020 election. 

POLITICS-There is no doubting at this point that the Republican Party as it was known, is no more.

OTHER WORDS-A few years ago, massive protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock changed the popular narrative about what climate activism looked like.

WORLD WATCH-Recently I had an opportunity to brief a group of European diplomats and journalists on a variety of conflicts, with a focus on the Middle East.

MY TURN--From a political perspective, Donald Trump's behavior is utterly nonsensical.

GUEST WORDS--Covid in America is so bad that more than 250,000 people are dead.