Author: opinionstogo

* “(MAGA Republicans) promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.”–President Joe Biden.

* If nothing else, here’s hoping that an electoral college reform act gets passed before the House reverts to GOPster-majority priorities.

* Democracies require consensus. That’s the reality. It’s also sobering.

* Thankfully, the demographically-challenged, quirky caucus state of Iowa will no longer be first in line for Democratic presidential primary nominations—starting with the next cycle. It’s been long overdue. Whoever wins the white silo “vote” in a non-representative state should not have skewed, out-of-the-blocks momentum. But, no, the GOP won’t be changing its primary order in a diversity-challenged state that used to be more blue than red.

* “Biden’s political advisers were so petrified of Cuban-American and Venezuelan-American voters in South Florida that for two years they left in place Donald Trump’s failed policy of regime change toward Cuba and Venezuela.”–William LeoGrande, Latin American political specialist at American University.

* Signs remain manifest that Donald Trump is still the GOP candidate of choice for evangelicals. Apparently, hypocrisy is still not a sin.

* “The Electoral College. Didn’t they used to have a football team?”–Donald Trump.

* “Angertainment”: Term used for viral Republican personas who appeal to the Trump base.

* A number of influential, equivocating GOPsters–including some who could be considered for a Trump-ticket–are considering presidential candidates not named Trump. Good luck in convincing Trump not to double down for a 2024 grievance-and-revenge tour. So, head’s up for a Trump-Greene, Trump-Gaetz, Trump-Ye or Trump-Walker ticket. Mike Pence will never have looked so good.

* “Stop The Steal”? Richard Nixon (John F. Kennedy) and Al Gore (George W. Bush) had better voter-count arguments in 1960 and 2000.

* A twice-impeached president who never received a majority of the popular vote and seditiously helped inspire and instigate an unconscionable insurrection will run for president yet again. Sounds like something that would happen in a sh*thole country.

* We’re all too familiar with the refrain that a healthy democracy requires both political parties to be fully committed to the rule of law. Remember when that didn’t need to be said?

* Four new congressional members of the GOP House are from Florida. Sunshine State voters sent 20 Republicans to the House—up from 16. I miss purple Florida.

* One of the myriad signs of political ambition is having a well-timed book out. Ron DeSantis has now checked that box with his disingenuous, Orwellian double-speak autobiography “The Courage To Be Free.” But, no, he won’t be “resigning to run.” A compliant legislature will take care of that.

* Ron DeSantis would be a “sensible and centrist choice” as a presidential candidate, says the less-than-sensibly centrist Elon Musk.

* Since 2000, U.S. newspaper circulation has dropped by half.

* Imagine how much more enjoyable watching football on TV would be without annoying Aflac and Progressive commercials.

* Go out a winner and quit when you’re on top. Tom Brady ignored the memo. Bruce Arians didn’t.

* I’m not a soccer fan. And that won’t change until there’s a prominent working clock that periodically stops for injuries, fake injuries and referee-call challenges and eliminates the need for the approximating “stoppage time” add-on. But I liked that the U.S. delayed its World Cup elimination with that 1-0 win over Iran, and I watched all of it.

It made me recall the early ‘70s days of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League. Tampa Bay finally had a pro team (1975), and I attended some games at Tampa Stadium and got to know one of the players, Farrukh Quraishi, a native of Iran. I asked him during the Iran-hostage crisis if he were getting any pushback because of his Iranian birth. Not really a problem, he said. When asked, he replied that he was Persian. They had no idea. Next question.

* Liberty University Athletics Director Ian McCaw said he was looking for a football coach willing to “train champions for Christ.” What would Jesus say? Probably not: “Go, Liberty. Kick some infidel ass.”

* The ever-evolving NFL: It now has, in David Highhill, a vice president/general manager of sports betting. The NFL, says Highhill, is focused on “responsible gambling,” which sounds like an oxymoron.

* If we could remove one word from the football lexicon, it should be “swagger.” It’s a euphemism for boorishness and punk attitudes. Expressing enthusiasm and celebrating are part of the game; look-at-me arrogance shouldn’t be. But it’s what happens when a sport of elite athletes morphs into a media-enabled lounge act.

* “It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against the other, foments occasional riot and insurrection.”–That was George Washington in his Farewell Address cautioning against the establishment of political parties.

* “Cuba is under the worst economic crisis since 1959, generated by the sheer incompetence of the regime and its reluctance to engage in meaningful reforms, economic or otherwise. The repression unleashed after the massive public demonstrations in July 2021 is a major contributor to the desperation.”–Sebastian Arcos, associate director of Florida International University’s Cuban Research Institute.

* “There is no good reason not to normalize relations with Havana and lift the terrorism designation.”–Max Boot, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow.

* “It will be even harder to pass any new gun control laws next year because Republicans will then control the House.”–Abby Vesoulis, Mother Jones.

* “The House has become a parliament of pundits, where many members care more about being on TV than governing.”–Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch.

* “When influential, mainstream cultural, political and even sports icons normalize hate speech, everyone needs to be very concerned.”–Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.

A coup doesn’t have to follow a “Seven Days in May” script or a bloody banana republic model. The one attempted at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was a conspiratorial amalgam of Trump allies—from Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to Congressional lackeys and an inebriated Rudy Giuliani—to violently subvert the 2020 election and overturn the constitutional order. Former Attorney General William Barr labeled Trump claims of voter fraud “bullsh*t.” Periodic encouragement from Trump—whether via text, Ellipse exhortation or insufferable indifference during the deadly siege—underscored his demander-in-chief status and lit the fuse. This was no spontaneous “riot;” violence was no accident.

This was a brutal and deadly insurrection—in many ways worst than what the Brits did in Washington in 1814. That’s because the enemy–inspired by a false-narrative-promoting Trump to stop the peaceful, constitutional transfer of power–was seditiously within.

While we focus as a country and a democracy on the implications of the Capitol insurrection, there’s a critically important institution going through a credibility crisis at the same time: the Supreme Court of the U.S. A third of the Court is Trump appointed, there was a mole who released Samuel Alito’s opinion draft of Roe v. Wade, and the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, Ginni Thomas, has been a high-profile advocate and activist for overturning the 2020 election. Where’s John Roberts?

We know the Founding Fathers did their best under trying circumstances that reflected democratic ideals as well as societal inequities. Context matters—as we keep being reminded by those who lionize the Second Amendment in the 21^st century world of AR-15 retail sales.

But one 18^th century outlook, a holdover from colonial rule, still makes sense today—especially when it involves the purchase of firearms. The legal age of adulthood was 21 for several centuries.

* The U.S. made sure Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not invited to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. As a result, the leaders of Mexico, Guatamala, El Salvador and Honduras opted out. If the United Nations can include blatant non-democracies, so can the Summit of the Americas. That’s because, when possible, you should talk to your adversaries. Especially when they’re in your own hemisphere. Especially when it’s in the enlightened self-interest of the U.S. to gather all the regional players variously impacted by migration and humanitarian crises.

* Neither President Biden nor ex-President Trump seem likely to announce candidacies for 2024 until after the mid-terms. Most Dems don’t expect the octogenarian incumbent to run again, but saying it now only formalizes his lame-duck status earlier than necessary. A number of Republican donors feel a Trump announcement to run could help Democrats in November.

* “I will not pressure the Ukrainian government—in private or public—to make any territorial concessions.”–President Joe Biden. Begged question: What’s meant by “pressure”?

* Inflation rate in May: 8.6 percent; in April: 8.3 percent.

* “Biden doesn’t get the credit he deserves for steering the country through the worst of the pandemic, passing historic legislation, pulling the NATO alliance together against Russian aggression and restoring decency and decorum to the White House. And part of the reason he doesn’t is performative. He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of the camera as he once was, and this had fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality.”–Democratic strategist David Axelrod.