Sam Smith - Something that gets lost in reporting and talk about Trump's attempted coup is that we have no precedent for it in American history. This is the first time an illegal significant takeover of the American government has been attempted on behalf an individual. Even the Civil War was about succession from the … Continue reading Trump’s attempted coup was unique
Trump
Trump: The beneficiary as well as the creator of evil
Sam Smith – Seventeen years ago I wrote “An Apology to Younger Americans” in which I noted that, “Even members of Confederacy had the grace to secede from the union; my generation has remained within like a deadly virus, subverting it, shaming it, screwing it, stealing from it, and finally strangling it. It will likely … Continue reading Trump: The beneficiary as well as the creator of evil
The New Confederacy
Sam Smith - Elsewhere is published something I wrote back in 2006 about the difference between fascism and Nazism. Although I still see strong connections between both and our own state of affairs, my thinking - in part due to the example of Latin American dictators' different cultures of impunity - has added a new … Continue reading The New Confederacy
The Philly response to Trunp
Sam Smith - Reading the lusty responses of Philadelphia Eagles and their mayor to Trump disinviting the team to the White House, helped me realize why I find it so strange that the president has conned so many Americans. As CBS reported, "Mayor Jim Kenney called President Trump a "tyrant" who "is trying to turn … Continue reading The Philly response to Trunp
Grifter in Chief
Sam Smith - As I was continuing to puzzle over why it was so easy for me to see Donald Trump as a lying con man while millions of Americans still don't understand it, I happened to pick up an old Raymond Chandler novel, Big Sleep, featuring detective Philip Marlowe. As a teenager I had … Continue reading Grifter in Chief
Trump’s new confederacy
Sam Smith - Almost 60 years ago, when I first started covering Washington, it occurred to me that while the South had lost aspects of the Civil War, such as slavery and secession, it continued to exercise stunning power over a nation that had allegedly defeated it. Congress at the time seemed almost a southern … Continue reading Trump’s new confederacy
Trump didn’t just happen
Sam Smith- The Trump disaster has been in the works for a long time. Seldom noted changes in our values and perceptions have made it easier for many to believe such a con artist and his promises. Here are a few examples: Television – With the arrival of television politics changed forever. Instead of careers … Continue reading Trump didn’t just happen
Handling Trump lies
Sam Smith - If I were to tell a reporter that I had built Trump Tower or that 250,000 people had come to my birthday party, before the reporter wrote that story there would be a check of the facts. And if the story ran it would do so only as evidence that I told … Continue reading Handling Trump lies
Trump is only the leader of this disaster
Sam Smith - It is good to keep in mind that Donald Trump is only the leader of this disaster. What he is leading is the most reactionary and prejudiced party since the days of the Dixiecrats. Consider the times that Jeff Sessions has undermined black progress in his state, or Mike Pence has attacked … Continue reading Trump is only the leader of this disaster
How the media helped create Donald Trump
Sam Smith I covered my first Washington story 60 years ago. Which is one reason I’ve had a hard time understanding not why there were some who fell for Donald Trump but why there were enough to elect him president. I was blessed to come of age before the average American was seeing so many … Continue reading How the media helped create Donald Trump