By Barbara Baum Levine, Esq. Dear Geraldine: I hope you are looking down from your well-earned place in Heaven. This November we may actually, and finally, elect a woman as Vice President of the United States! It has certainly been… Read More ›
elections
Promises
By Frank Blechman Several months ago I wrote a column here expressing my concern that expectations for deep system changes were getting so high that elected officials would inevitably fail to meet the advocates’ demands. I worried that candidates and… Read More ›
Veepstakes
With the naming of Sen. Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s vice-presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket, the sweepstakes for the vice presidency are essentially complete. The Libertarian Party nominated its VP candidate, Jeremy “Spike” Cohen, by way of an… Read More ›
Brief Cases
WATER BALLOONS DAMPEN CIVIC DISCUSSION It was all set. Richmond residents, local elected officials, and community organizers gathered on the medians on Monument Avenue to discuss citywide issues, including public safety and criminal justice, mental health and healthcare, housing, and… Read More ›
Moderation: Vice or Virtue?
By Frank Blechman Virginia, despite its radical history (birthplace of African slavery in the British colonies, hotbed of revolution against the mother country, capital of the confederacy, and home of “massive resistance” to racial integration of schools) likes to present… Read More ›
Woolly Bully
In May of 2018, First Lady Melania Trump, over one year into her role as FLOTUS, inaugurated an anti-bullying campaign directed at online behavior that affects youngsters. The White House effort was entitled “Be Best” to help children “avoid negative… Read More ›
The Power of the Vice Presidency
By Frank Blechman This coming week, presumptive Democratic nominee for President Joe Biden will announce his eagerly awaited selection for a running mate. The media and many political watchers will immediately analyze and interpret his pick as an indication of… Read More ›
Demon Seed
Few are likely to recall the statement by Rod Rosenstein, then Deputy Attorney General, in an October 26, 2017, radio interview in which he stated: “I don’t believe they’d [voters] be influenced by ads posted by foreign governments.” Naïve? Perhaps. … Read More ›
SCOTUS Betrayals
At a White House stag dinner in February 1954, while the Brown v. Board case was still under consideration (issued three months later), President Dwight D. Eisenhower took Earl Warren by the arm and asked him to consider the perspective of… Read More ›
Money: A Price of Democracy
By Frank Blechman If you have email, and if you have been involved in any way in electoral politics, you now receive many emails every day (I get 30-50/day, on average) saying something like: “The sky is falling.” “Can you… Read More ›