Articles by Mark Taylor

ALL ARTICLES, Your Brain On Politics September 18, 2017

Daily Dose: Why Are Trump’s Lies So Effective – And Democratic Efforts To Counter Them So Ineffective?

www.frame4future.com By Scott Wittkopf Frame4Future.com (9/12/17) The fact checkers have been all over Donald Trump since before he officially announced his candidacy. The New York Times even has an entire online page that documents every “outright lie” he told since taking the oath of office. According to Politifact, nearly 60% of Trump’s statements fact-checked by the media organization have been some level of false. Contrary to what some media commentators have suggested, Trump does not lie because he thinks people are stupid. He lies because he knows that it will strengthen his message. He also knows that his opponents are currently incapable of providing an effective counter to…

ALL ARTICLES September 18, 2017

Hoo-Ray! National Security Head Issues Bold New Anti-Leak Plan, Which Quickly Leaks

  By Abbey Zimet Common Dreams (9/14/17) Fed up with the “staggering” number of leaks from an uncommonly fractured White House, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has issued a sweeping new call for government-wide training to prevent unauthorized disclosure of both classified and some unclassified information – disclosure, he declared, that “causes harm to our Nation and shakes the confidence of the American people.” With Trump’s White House marked by impressively persistent leaks at every level, McMaster upped the ante by aiming at leakers not just within intelligence agencies but in every department. Requesting “Provision of Training on Unauthorized Disclosures,” he argued,…

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change September 18, 2017

Buzz Kill: Climate Change Threatens Coffee-Pollinating Bees

  By Marlene Cimons Nexus Media (9/11/17) The best coffee grows in the mountains, where it is cool. It needs low temperatures to thrive, which is why growers often put shade trees in their fields. But the mountains are getting hotter. And the higher you go, the less room there is to grow coffee. This is one reason scientists predict coffee will suffer in a changing climate. New research suggests the fate of coffee may be worse than previously thought. Earlier projections underestimated the effects of climate change, specifically in Latin America, and failed to consider the consequences for coffee-pollinating bees, according…

ALL ARTICLES, Media Hits & Misses, Resist! September 18, 2017

The Thankless Task Of Being Michael Moore: Liberals Have Completely Misread Trump By Dismissing Him As An Idiot

By Jessica Pressler Vulture (9/6/17) You’d think that by now They would have stopped giving Michael Moore such a hard time. Everything he portended in Roger & Me, his 1989 film about the impact of the closing of General Motors plants on his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and everything he has been banging on about for 30 years since — outsourcing, automation, corporate hegemony, moral and political corruption, elite apathy and greed, the decimation of the middle class, angry white people, the fear and loathing of the far right — all of it has come home to roost, in the form of a very…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Climate Change September 14, 2017

Chris Hedges: As The Seas Rise, Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls

  By Chris Hedges TruthDig (9/10/17) How many times will we rebuild Florida’s cities, Houston, coastal New Jersey, New Orleans and other population centers ravaged by storms lethally intensified by global warming? At what point, surveying the devastation and knowing more is inevitable, will we walk away, leaving behind vast coastal dead zones? Will we retreat even further into magical thinkingto cope with the fury we have unleashed from the natural world? Or will we respond rationally and radically alter our relationship to this earth that gives us life? Civilizations over the past 6,000 years have unfailingly squandered their futures through…

ALL ARTICLES September 14, 2017

Rallying Behind Bernie’s Health Care Bill, Warren Declares: ‘Everyone Covered, No One Goes Broke’

  By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (9/13/7) Flanked by nurses, doctors, activists, business leaders, and 16 of his Democratic colleagues, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday unveiled the Medicare for All Act of 2017, which proposes a “rational” transition away from the current for-profit system toward a single-payer program that guarantees healthcare to all Americans. In speech after speech during Wednesday’s event, nurses told harrowing stories detailing the massive human costs of providing healthcare only to those patients who can afford it. Melissa Johnson, RN, an oncology nurse with the California Nurses Association, said: “This system is killing too many of my…

ALL ARTICLES, Democrats September 14, 2017

Thomas Frank – Hillary’s Book Has A Clear, Bold Message: Don’t Blame Me!

  By Thomas Frank The Guardian (9/12/17) ow do you lose the presidency to a man like Donald Trump? He was the most unpopular presidential candidate of all time, compounding blunder with blunder and heaping gaffe upon gaffe. Keeping him from the Oval Office should have been the single-minded mission of the Democratic party. And it should have been easy for them. Instead they lost, and now their 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton comes before us to account for this monumental failure, to tell us What Happened. Unfortunately, her new book is less an effort to explain than it is to explain away. No…

ALL ARTICLES, Mike McCabe for Gov September 14, 2017

It’s Official: Veteran Government Watchdog & Reformer Mike McCabe Is Running For Governor

“Now is not the time for same old, same old. I’m running to shake up and transform the political system and get our government working for all of us and not just the wealthy and well-connected.” – Mike McCabe From the Clark County farm where he grew up, veteran government watchdog and democracy reform advocate Mike McCabe  announced Tuesday he is running for governor to shake up and transform Wisconsin’s corrupted political system. “Wisconsin is up to its eyeballs in problems. Same goes for our country as a whole. The problems grow out of political and economic inequality. Our society…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Rethuglicans, Your Brain On Politics September 14, 2017

George Lakoff: Why Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech

  By George Lakoff GeorgeLakoff.com (9/8/17) Freedom in a free society is supposed to be for all. Therefore, freedom rules out imposing on the freedom of others. You are free to walk down the street, but not to keep others from doing so. The imposition on the freedom of others can come in overt, immediate physical form — thugs coming to attack with weapons. Violence may be a kind of expression, but it certainly is not “free speech.” Like violence, hate speech can also be a physical imposition on the freedom of others. That is because language has a psychological…

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change September 14, 2017

Scientists Warn Climate Breakdown May Wipe Out A Third Of World’s Parasites, With Disastrous Ripple Effects

  Democracy Now! (9/11/17) As the United States continues to deal with unprecedented floods and hurricanes, a new study has revealed climate change is also driving the mass extinction of parasites that are critical to natural ecosystems, and could add to the planet’s sixth great mass extinction event that’s currently underway. The report in the journal Science Advances warns that about a third of all parasite species could go extinct by 2070 due to human activity. The loss of species of lice, fleas and worms could have profound ripple effects on the environment and might pave the way for new…

ALL ARTICLES September 14, 2017

Rohingya Genocide Result Of Deadly Combination Of Western Corporatism, Oil Politics & Saudi Wahhabis

  By Chris Kanthan Nation of Change (9/10/17) The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is harrowing, with more than 150,000 Muslims having to flee the country in the recent months. The stories of persecution and ethnic cleansing are very troubling, although sporadic conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar have existed for many decades. While the mainstream media is focusing exclusively on the religious context of this story, they are completely missing – or deliberately avoiding – the potential roles of oil/gas pipelines, geopolitical U.S.-China tug of war, and Saudi Arabia’s subversive influence in that region. Let’s start with the obvious…

ALL ARTICLES September 11, 2017

How To Help Our Fellow Citizens Caught In Hurricane Irma

Fake Logic   By Jenny Marienau 350.org (9/9/17) Texas and Louisiana have barely begun recovering from Harvey. Now Hurricane Irma is whipping through the Caribbean and barreling towards the Florida coast, with Hurricane Jose following closely behind it. Some of you might have loved ones in the path of Hurricane Irma, or know those who have already been hit by the hurricane. Our thoughts are with them. This is a crucial moment to support the people impacted — here are two places where you can donate: Support grassroots organizations in Florida working to help communities recover and rebuild. Or donate…

ALL ARTICLES, Democrats, Economic Injustice, M. Taylor Columns September 11, 2017

VIDEO Interview With Author Thomas Frank: Liberal Elite Doesn’t Care Much About Inequality

  By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (9/11/17) Political observer and author Thomas Frank (What’s The Matter With Kansas? and Listen Liberal) was interviewed recently by Real News anchor Paul Jay for a fascinating look at just what the hell is wrong with the bumbling Democratic party. In his most recent book Listen Liberal Frank documented the party’s long, slippery slide from being the champion of labor and the middle and lower classes to a protector and promoter of Wall Street greed and Silicon Valley entitlement. Frank argues that the slide from relevance of the party to average Americans…

ALL ARTICLES, Your Brain On Politics September 11, 2017

Daily Dose: The Dream Act Is About Our Morals & Beliefs As A Nation & People

www.frame4future.com   By Scott Wittkopf Frame For The Future (9/6/17) It’s time for our representatives in Congress to choose a side – a moral side, not a partisan side. After all, politics are moral. And the outcome of the debate on The Dream Act will say a lot about who we are as a people and society. Progressives and Democrats would do well to make the debate about what we value and believe. It would be a mistake to make the Democratic argument based on statistics, policy that favors one group of people over another, or about “job creation” – because none of…

ALL ARTICLES, Weasel Walker September 11, 2017

Conned: State Republicans Shelled Out $4 Million Of Your Money For Tiny Airport For Republican Mega-Donor’s Golf Course

  By Noor Al-Siai The Raw Story (9/8/17) While the rest of Wisconsin’s road infrastructure “crumbled,” state Republicans quietly approved $4 million in repairs to a tiny airport near a golf course owned by a Republican “mega-donor.” According to the Associated Press, Sand Valley Golf Resort developer Michael Keiser donated $25,000 to the state’s  Republican Party earlier this year. Soon after, the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee approved the $4 million repairs to the golf resort’s diminutive airport. The report also said that the donation came “three weeks after Gov. Scott Walker (R) released his budget without funding for Wisconsin Rapids’ Alexander Field [airport].” “It…

ALL ARTICLES, Russia Monitor September 11, 2017

Russia Monitor: Enough Threads To Knit A Straight Jacket

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (9/13/17) Dear Fellow Readers, Irma is headed to the west coast of Florida and not Miami, my prayers go out to everyone in the Keys and on the west coast. Miami may have dodged another bullet or at least a direct hit. Today (Sunday) is the big day for South Florida so we’ll see. There have always been multiple threads to Trump-Russia. Donnie Jr. and Facebook bring more validation to the main three:  Trump-Russia collusion;  Trump obstruction of justice; and Trump-Russian manipulation of the election. On Thursday Donnie Jr. sat for five hours…

ALL ARTICLES, CIA, Right Wing Religion September 11, 2017

‘Straight Out Of The Handmaid’s Tale’: Insiders Claim CIA Director Pompeo Is Converting Intel Agency Into Christian Hotbed

  By Tom Boggioni The Raw Story (9/10/17) ccording to an investigation by Foreign Policy into changes in the intelligence community under President Donald Trump, the CIA has set aside plans to diversify and has become more white and more Christian under new director Mike Pompeo. Noting the Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas,  is a self-professed evangelical, the report states that the new director once claimed, Islamist terrorists will “continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ is our savior is truly the…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism September 11, 2017

New Yorker Podcast: After Charlottesville, The Limits of Free Speech In America

By David Remnick The New Yorker When is speech no longer just speech? David Remnick speaks with the author of a new and sympathetic book about Antifa, a law professor at University of California, Berkeley, and a legal analyst for Slate, to look at how leftist protests at Berkeley, right-wing violence in Charlottesville, and open-carry laws around the country are testing the traditional liberal consensus on freedom of expression. Also, Jenny Slate reads a story about a magical time of unfettered creativity and zero productivity, before the Internet. What Was It Like Before the Internet? The Antifa Handbook Long a…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE September 11, 2017

How Bad Could Things Get? We Are On The Dark Edge Of Official Violence

By Todd Gitlin Bill Moyers and Company (8/8/17) “This country is going so far to the right you’re not going to recognize it.” Those memorable words were uttered by Richard Nixon’s Attorney General, John Mitchell, who proved to be off by almost 50 years. But he and other Nixon cronies, however premature in their timetables, were establishing precedents for today’s worst case scenarios. We have to ask: Which elements of the state-sponsored violence of the ’60s and early ’70s are ready for revival and renewal? What new wrinkles in constitutional crisis might be in the works? Just how far to the…

ALL ARTICLES September 11, 2017

Toppling A Racist, Lying (Cardboard) Sessions

(Common Dreams) By Abbey Zimet Common Dreams (9/7/17) Tuesday’s news on DACA outraged on so many levels. There was the “disruptive wanton fuckery we can accurately call evil” that was the mindlessly cruel act itself, which rescinded protections for 800,000 law-abiding, hard-working American Dreamers, destroying millions of lives while costing the country an estimated $460 billion. With no rational case to be made, there was Jeff Sessions – called by his cowardly Trumpmaster to perform the dirty deed – spewing nativist lies, racist dog-whistles lurking behind each one: The guy who works for the guy who pardoned Joe Arpaio pontificated about “the…

ALL ARTICLES, Deep State September 7, 2017

As School Year Starts Teachers, Parents & Students Face Full Scale Assault On Public Education

By Phyllis Steele World Socialist Web Site (9/5/17) Nearly 50 million public school students are starting the new school year, along with three million teachers and well over a million librarians, therapists, aides, school bus drivers and other support staff. Like every year, schools open with the hope and expectation that by the end of the year, students will emerge more whole and bettered prepared for the future. There is a general sense of optimism that the dedication and hard work of educators and school employees will contribute to a healthier and more generous society. This conviction, however, repeatedly collides…

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change September 7, 2017

Harvey, Hell, High Water & Hypocrisy

  By John Atcheson Common Dreams (9/4/17) Katrina, Sandy, Harvey. Three record-breaking storms in a dozen years. Harvey is a 1,000 year storm, Sandy had the largest diameter of any hurricane on record to strike the US, and Katrina had the largest storm surge ever recorded. [Add to the total Hurricane Irma, now surging toward Florida. – Ed.] Meanwhile, the fire map for California covers the entire state, and for much of August, British Columbia’s record-breaking wildfire season blanketed the entire northwestern portion of the US and Canada with a dense, impenetrable layer of smoke and haze. Driving through western North Dakota, Montana, Idaho…

ALL ARTICLES, Russia Monitor September 7, 2017

Russia Monitor: All Kinds Of Hurricanes Headed Toward National Disaster Trump

By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (9/7/17) Dear Fellow Readers, From Miami and waiting for Hurricane Irma. Speaking of Irma – which I believe to be real in spite of international meteorological expert Rush Limbaugh’s assurances to the otherwise – is just one of a whole freight train of record breaking storms heading Trump’s way. Hurricane Irma Just Slammed Into Trump’s Caribbean Estate — And Is Headed Toward His Florida Properties I take no pleasure in this but Trump’s property on St. Martin may have taken quite a hit. And Mar-A-Lago, his resort in West Palm Beach, is currently on target…

ALL ARTICLES, Screwing With Your Vote September 7, 2017

Russ Feingold: Trump’s Voter Suppression Must Be Defeated. Here’s One Thing We Can Do

  By Russ Feingold The Guardian (9/5/17) So much news in the US recently has been upsetting, and rarely uplifting; but the champions of voting rights have reasons to be both aghast at recent headlines and encouraged by them. On the one hand, the Trump-Pence “election integrity” commission’s every move continues to underscore concerns that it is driving at 90mph towards national voter suppression. Then there is the sudden decision by Donald Trump and attorney general Jeff Session’s Department of Justice to support purging voter rolls in Ohio. It’s enough to make voters feel like they have a target on their…

ALL ARTICLES, American Socialist Tradition, Democrats, Resist! September 7, 2017

Bernie Releases Blueprint For GOP Demise

    By Scott Galindez Reader Supporter News (9/5/17) “If there was ever a time in history for a generation to be bold and to think big, to stand up and to fight back, now is that time.”  – Bernie Sanders   That statement is on the inside cover of Bernie Sanders’ new book, “Guide to a Political Revolution.” Bernie dedicates the book to the younger generation: “You are in many ways the most progressive generation in the history of our country. You have opposed racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and oligarchy. You understand that greed and the grotesque level of…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America September 7, 2017

Joke Of An AG: CODEPINK Activist Who Laughed During Jeff Sessions’ Hearing To Face New Trial

  By Andrea Germanos Common Dreams (9/2/17) CODEPINK activist Desiree Fairooz, who was arrested after laughing during Attorney General Jeff Sessions‘ confirmation hearing, will face a second trial this fall after she rejected a plea deal on Friday. “I still cannot believe the government refuses to drop this. Vindictive!” she wrote on Twitter, while CODEPINK called it “ridiculous.” As Common Dreams reported, she was convicted in May of disorderly and disruptive conduct during the hearing. While Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) argued that Sessions’ record of “treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented,” Fairooz, who was in the hearing room, laughed. She held up a sign that…

ALL ARTICLES, Police State America September 7, 2017

California Correctional Officers Accused Of Perverted ‘sadistic and terrorizing acts’ Against Prisoners

  By Sam Levine The Guardian (9/5/17) Four California sheriff’s deputies have been accused of “sadistic and terrorizing acts” against inmates, including encouraging prisoners to throw urine and feces at each other, laughing at an assault victim seeking help, strangling an inmate into unconsciousness and intimidating witnesses. The felony assault charges against four Alameda County deputies, accused of victimizing eight prisoners, have provided a window into the violent abuse and misconduct that prisoners’ rights activists say is still commonplace in some jails across the country, including in progressive regions that have pledged reforms. Deputies Justin Linn and Erik McDermott are facing charges of assault, witness intimidation…

ALL ARTICLES, History They Don't Want You To Know September 7, 2017

A Commoner Writes: What Is Really Meant By “Pursuit Of Happiness”

The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”   In my role as a professor at both liberal arts and engineering universities I have held a policy of asking my students the question, ‘’How do you define freedom?” The answer I have received every time, yes every time, is ‘Freedom is about happiness. And that I can do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. THAT…

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change September 7, 2017

A ‘Commoner’ Writes With A Question: Could There Be More To Hurricane Harvey Than Climate Change?

  Dear Commoner Call, Considering that many have investigated geoengineering processes and have shown significant data from many sources, I think it is important to question how it is that a huge storm like Hurricane Harvey could behave as oddly as it did. The questioning of geoengineering and the likelihood that these processes must also be included in weather analysis as opposed to simply assigning ‘climate change’ influence as the explanation to weather anomalies.  This is NOT to say that those investigating geoengineering are climate change deniers.  In fact, it is their concerns about climate change that prompt them to…

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change September 4, 2017

We Have A Moral Duty To Talk About Climate Change

  By Mark Lynas CNN (9/1/17) This is what climate change looks like. Entire metropolitan areas — Houston in the United States and Mumbai in India — submerged in catastrophic floods. Record-breaking rainfall: Harvey’s 50-plus inches of torrential deluge set a new national tropical cyclone rain record for the continental United States. They used to make Hollywood disaster movies about this sort of thing. Now it’s just the news. Officials as senior as Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, have suggested that now — during a natural disaster — is not the time to raise the divisive and highly politicized issue of global warming….

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change September 4, 2017

Santa Fe Aiming For 100% Renewable Energy By 2025

  By Lorraine Chow EcoWatch (8/1/17) New Mexico’s capital has joined the growing movement of U.S. cities committing to 100 percent renewable energy. On Wednesday, Santa Fe’s City Council unanimously adopted Mayor Javier Gonzales’ resolution directing City Manager Brian Snyde to develop a feasibility study on how the city can transition to renewables by 2025. Snyde will report the findings in 90 days. “The City of Santa Fe has historically been a leader in the fight against global warming and has a responsibility to continue to set a positive example for other cities, states and countries to follow,” the resolution states. “Such a transition to…

ALL ARTICLES, Your Brain On Politics September 4, 2017

Bugged: Lefty Icon Cornel West Accidentally Smears Self & Charlottesville Antifascist Protesters

Inattention to framing can hobble, dilute and vaporize the best of political efforts. You can even wind up promoting your opponent’s arguments.   By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (9/4/17) Before I begin, take a moment – and a deep breath – to check your emotional reaction to the following word: cockroaches So now… First off, let me say Cornel West is one of my heroes. The man is one of the sharpest intellects to be found and speaks truth to power with unique moral clarity and courage. Unlike many partisans, West challenges republicans and democrats alike in the name…

ALL ARTICLES, Your Brain On Politics September 4, 2017

Daily Dose: What’s The DNC Thinking…Because It’s Definitely Not About Progressive Values

www.frame4future.com By Scott Wittkopf Frame For The Future (9/1/17) We learned today that the Democratic National Committee reported “abysmal” fundraising numbers: “The $4.7 million it raised in April was the lowest for that particular month since 2009. The $4.3 million raised in May was the worst for that month since 2003. And now the $3.8 million raised in July is the worst for any month since January 2009.” (Washington Post) As we head into a holiday weekend to celebrate labor and the sacrifices progressive people made so that we all can have a better quality of life, I pose the question that…

ALL ARTICLES, Worker Notes by Tom Crofton September 4, 2017

Worker Notes: ‘Commoner Call’ Labor Writer Sends Out A Note Of Thanks To Health Care Workers

  (Editor’s Note: Commoner Call labor columnist Tom Crofton has been dealing with some serious structural re-engineering lately. He sends out a note of thanks to all the wonderful health care workers at the Richland Hospital who made his recent stay as comfortable as possible. While the two major parties don’t do their job of providing affordable health care to all, America’s health care workers act with the compassion and care far too few of our nominal ‘leaders’ display. Time for universal health care for all! – Mark L. Taylor)   By Tom Crofton The Commoner Call (1/4/17) I’d like…

ALL ARTICLES, Trumpenstan September 4, 2017

Trump Explores New Low As He Pimps His #&@!! Dopey Hats During Hurricane Harvey Briefings & Houston Visit

  Hustler Trump Profiting Off Hurricane Tragedy By Using The Presidency To Hawk $40 Hats  By Mark L. Taylor The Daily Call (9/4/17) Even by the ever declining standards of his tacky administration Trump’s wearing of his latest 2020 campaign fundraising baseball cap during Hurricane Harvey briefings and visits to Houston is a new cringe inducing low point. To say – as is so often said about this toxic spill of a presidency – that it is unprecedented doesn’t even come close to describing the slimy moral depravity of Trumpian adolescent arrogance. It’s especially disgusting as we know Trump personally…

ALL ARTICLES, Russia Monitor September 4, 2017

Russia Monitor: Trump’s Russia Problem Goes From Drip, Drip To Deluge

  By Dan Peak The Daily Call (9/4/17) Dear Fellow Readers, Trump-Russia; there are a range of opinions and possible outcomes. Last edition I showed the Slate Trump Impeach-O-Meter and it shows ‘chances’ increasing from 60-62%. The Gallup daily Job Approval poll showing Trump favorability/un-favorability is running at all time lows (34-35% favorability) and consistent highs (holding at 60% un-favorability). Polls in general for Trump are trending slowly and consistently against him. For perspective or reinforcement look no further than The Washington Post. The Bad News About ‘this Russia thing’ Keeps Pouring In For Trump This stands as a pretty…

ALL ARTICLES, Mike McCabe for Gov September 4, 2017

Mike McCabe: The Taproot Of Our Many Problems

By Mike McCabe Blue Jean Nation (8/15/17) Wisconsin is up to its eyeballs in problems. Our state has lost its way. It is becoming a shadow of its former self. Same goes for the country as a whole. The problems vary from place to place. Go to Trempealeau County and you see hills and bluffs disappearing and hear fears expressed over the effects of breathing the fine dust that hangs in the air or drinking water that has turned an amber color. In the Central Sands region you see lakes and streams drying up because a few are being allowed…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America September 4, 2017

Washington Post Guide To Resigned Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s Chest Full Of Fake Medals

So where’s the medal for ‘Baloney’, David? By Phillip Bump The Washington Post (5/26/17) Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke emerged onto the national scene last year with his fervent support of Republican Donald Trump, despite the fact he was a Democrat. Clarke’s embrace of Trump’s politics — and of Trump’s intemperate rhetorical style — earned him a speaking slot at the Republican convention last year. It also overlapped with a great deal of scrutiny about his behavior as sheriff, including a number of deaths at jails under his jurisdiction. Clarke’s political energy and background made him a deeply controversial figure, and the subject…