. . . The problem for the Republican Party is that these divergent positions are irreconcilable. There can be no coalition that includes all of them, which means the party is in deep trouble. It cannot endure as the party of Trump and also the party that repudiates him, or even just wants to move beyond him. . . .
Author: Paul Knight
How Bad Could Things Get By Inauguration Day?
I’ve been exchanging emails with my friend Marty about the current political crisis. One question we’ve discussed is how much more damage Trump and his more militant supporters could do leading up to and including on Inauguration Day. I see two major factors that bear on that, one positive and one negative. . . .
The Cult of Trump
Ever since Donald Trump became president, and increasingly over the last four years as he has proven to be the most malignant, contemptable man to hold that office, I have been stupefied by the ardor and number of his supporters. This does not include everyone who voted for Trump in the last election. At least some of those were simply casting their ballots for someone they believed could be counted on to forward their political agenda, whether that was appointing conservative judges, lowering corporate taxes, or abolishing regulations. But even so, a great many people idolize the man. . . .
Looking Back and Looking Forward
Jennifer and I sat down yesterday to have our end-of-year review and start-of-year planning discussions, which we do every year. Sometimes these are two separate conversations, but this time we had them both in one sitting. We typically have these discussions over dinner at a nice restaurant to create a sense of occasion. In light of the pandemic, though, we just sat in the living room with a fire in the fireplace. . . .
Whose Side Are They On?
One of the unanswered questions about the insurrectionist invasion of the U.S. Capitol is whether Trumpist sympathies within the law enforcement community contributed to the woefully inadequate response by the Capitol Police and the national security establishment. . . .
The Culpability of Trump’s Enablers
Bret Stephens is a conservative opinion columnist for the New York Times. Many of his pieces have struck me as entirely wrong-headed, but he has two saving graces: he is a staunch Never-Trumper, and, even for a professional columnist, he has a hell of a way with words.
His piece in today’s paper is a case in point. . . .
Cutting Back
I published my first blog post on May 25th of last year. The combination of being retired and shut in by the pandemic had left me at loose ends, and I was looking for something to do that was both generative and a self-expression. I settled on blogging because it would provide an opportunity to practice writing. I’ve posted something every day since, 229 entries altogether. . . .
Insurrection
I received an upbeat marketing email this morning from a consultant I’ve done business with. It said,
“Happy New Year, Paul.
I can’t remember ever being as excited about the new year as I am this year! As the dumpster fire that was 2020 recedes in the rearview mirror, 2021 feels ripe for a reset.”
Clearly, that email was written and queued up for sending before yesterday’s events in Washington, DC. It turns out it’s a bit early to assume that all the dumpster fires are in the rearview mirror. . . .
Ted Lasso
. . . Ted Lasso is about an American amateur football coach — played by Jason Sudeikis, formerly of Saturday Night Live — who goes to the UK to manage a struggling professional soccer team. I had seen ads for the show when it debuted last summer but didn’t bother with it because neither Jennifer nor I are into sports. That was a mistake. . . .
Streaming Services à la Carte
There are so many streaming services these days, and they all want you to ante up something every month to access their programming. Many of them have a couple of compelling shows but not nearly enough good content to justify paying month after month. When I learn that a streaming service has a show I want to see, I’ll often subscribe for one month (or sign up for the free trial if there is one), watch the one show and whatever else seems interesting, and then cancel the service before the month is up. In theory I could watch the best offerings of twelve different streaming services over the course of a year for the cost of just one. . . .