In hindsight, it seems amazing that during a period of roaring, robust capitalism, President Theodore Roosevelt was able to muster the political backbone to bring antitrust lawsuits against 44 major…
Handicapping the Republican Presidential Candidates
As the Spirited Reasoner writes this post, there are now a total of six candidates who have announced their bids for the Republican Presidential nomination. They are as follows: Donald…
The Awful Toll of Brinksmanship
As the Spirited Reasoner (aka “Raging Centrist”) posts this weekly message, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy are still haggling over a debt ceiling settlement. This despite the fact that Treasury…
The Root of All Evil
A key dividing line between right-wing and left-wing politics comes in the positioning of public versus private money. Those on the right believe almost everything should be entrusted to the…
It’s Not Trump, It’s the Trumpists
Spirited Reasoners understand the occasional fad politician. You know. The guy who runs as a joke, perhaps to send a pointed message to the political establishment. Think Pat Paulsen, the…
Republican Values
If you had asked me thirty years ago to define the values of the Republican Party (aka Grand Old Party or GOP), I have listed the following: lower taxes, stronger…
The Case for Biden in 2024
Spirited Reasoners have never understood the degree of venom often spewed by right-wing demagogues at the four most recent Democratic Presidents: Carter, Clinton, Obama, and Biden. We would understand their…
Lies, Fear, and Death: The Legacy of Fox News
We learned this past week that Fox News and its parent, Fox Corp., agreed to settle the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. See, https://www.npr.org/2023/04/18/1170339114/fox-news-settles-blockbuster-defamation-lawsuit-with-dominion-voting-systems Although pundits opined prior…
Top Secret (Not)
This past week, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested for the unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified defense information. See, https://www.npr.org/2023/04/14/1169952771/jack-teixeira-background-pentagon-document-leak What intrigues Spirited…
Tennessee’s Brand of Democracy
Let’s begin this week’s blog post by (shockingly) agreeing with Tennessee Republicans on one narrow issue; namely, that it’s not okay for legislators to disrupt proceedings for over an hour…