Month: January 2020

The Not Fake News Update: 30 Jan 2020

Hello again and welcome to yet another The Not Fake News Update! It’s 30 January 2020, and oh my, are you oblivious or what?

Here’s a quick look at what you’ve been missing during the Great Washington Impeachment Show and Extravaganza:

 

– Japan’s investigation into the Ghosn extraction has completed, and they’ve issued arrest warrants for the mercs that got him out. Meanwhile, Ghosn is asking to be tried at home in Lebanon on the theory that Japan’s anti-corruption laws are horrific. Though, of course, he’s not guilty. He says. (more…)

Fear & Loathing 2020: Take The Iowa Challenge

Nate Silver is trying to get us to commit before Iowa.  I’m willing.

The following is a transcript of my live Twitter rant, fresh off the Mojo Wire. It’s edited slightly for format purposes and to remove potentially libelous content about Betsy Warren’s dog, who when all is said and done has done nothing to deserve that sort of treatment.  Besides, I love Bailey; he’s a Good Boy, isn’t he?  Yes he is!  (Follow @FirstDogBailey on Twitter!) (more…)

F&L: Donald Trump and MAGA

One could write volumes about Donald Trump the celebrity, the business mogul, the particularly slimy real estate developer, and so on.  I’m giving that a miss.  As a public person I find him odious and in business I’d resort to extreme measures to avoid him (I haven’t ruled out self-defenestration).  Beyond saying that, it’s entirely immaterial for our purposes.  Our subject is Donald Trump as president: the pros and cons of his tenure, his chance at escaping unscathed from impeachment to run again, and his likelihood of winning in 2020 based on the issues.  That should be enough for one article.

(What:  You didn’t honestly think I would give him a pass just because he’s the Evil One, did you?) (more…)

F&L: Andrew Yang and the Yang Gang

There’s a media blackout in force on the Yang campaign; we don’t notice it because there’s another rather more obvious one around Bernie Sanders and a third working against Tulsi Gabbard.  But Yang is different; he’s no party rebel and doesn’t hang out with third-world dictators.  Instead, he’s a genius — not merely smart, but a genius — who wants us to live our lives more rationally.  And he’s willing to be president in order to make that happen.

You can see why I like him already; I can tell. (more…)

F&L: Bernie Sanders Is A Democrat Now

Former mayor of Burlington, Vermont; avowed Socialist; decades in the House and Senate (usually in a caucus of one); seventy-eight, dogged, determined, and unlikable even by Hillary Clinton’s standards: How does Bernie Sanders even think he’s got a chance?

I’ll give you a hint:  It’s because he does. (more…)

F&L: Elizabeth “No Nickname” Warren

Amy has her Klobucharmy; Bernie has his Bros; Mayor Pete is… well, he’s Mayor Pete.  But Elizabeth Warren doesn’t have a nickname.  Not one that she’d want, anyway; Trump’s invented one or two, and so have some other of her detractors (and I’ll thank you to not use them in the comments).  But not her.  She’s Elizabeth.  She’s not warm and cuddly; she works for a living, and does a damn good job at it.  And sure, she loves dogs and likes a beer now and then, but she’s not Liz or Lizzie; she’s Elizabeth.  Her team?  Team Warren. (more…)

F&L: Joe Biden – Virtuous Veep or Goofy Uncle Joe?

It’s ironic that Joe Biden is both a vocal proponent of identity politics who has supported Affirmative Action and an old white guy running for president in a remarkably non-diverse field.  He’s not just an old white guy but the; he’s the Old Man of Democratic party politics.  He’s seen it all; from Nixon to the present his entire life has been in politics, and despite some horrendous personal setbacks he’s kept fighting for the causes he believes in.

So the natural question here isn’t so much Who is Joe Biden? but Why would anyone oppose him?  I’ll do my best to answer both. (more…)

F&L: Buttigieg — the Saga of Mayor Pete

And what does the mayor of South Bend, Indiana have to offer in his bid for president?  Sure, he’s smart — brilliant, even; Mayor Pete’s a Rhodes Scholar who speaks at least eight languages — but what does the openly gay mayor of a podunk Indiana town really have to offer the country?  Quite a lot, as it happens; read on and I’ll tell you. (more…)

F&L: Tulsi Gabbard and the Spirit of Aloha

If you’re into identity politics, there’s no denying this candidate is the most individually diverse.  She’s Samoan-Asian-Polynesian-European-American (among other things), is Hindu and a vegan, and is running for president as a champion of the Aloha Spirit.  She’s met with Modi and Assad, resigned from office to go to war for her country, opposes regime change wars but believes fervently in hunting down and destroying terrorists wherever they are, and is presently a major in the Hawaii National Guard.

Not your everyday hippie peacenik. (more…)

F&L: Amy Klobuchar and the Klobucharmy

Our second-most-famous Slovenian-American is running for president, and I happen to think she’d do a fine job.  She’s intelligent, witty, thoughtful, and has scads of policy expertise.  She also, and quite famously, does not suffer fools gladly.

Perhaps you can see why I like her. (more…)