IMPORTANT READS

COUNTER PUNCH-After watching Episodes One and Two of the Burns and Novick Vietnam War series, I am reminded of the old adage asserting a valuable point for students of history: the class that controls the means of material production controls also the means of mental production. Listening to the narrator scroll through the list of financial sponsors cautioned me to lower my expectations that the series would break away from the predictable liberal narrative that has been dominant in discussions about the Vietnam War. 

TRUMP WATCH--No less than authority than Senator Lindsey Graham himself has told us that America is on a "march to single payer."  He said over and over this last week that if his scam of a bill did not pass, which it will not thanks to your voices speaking out, that single payer was inevitable.

THIS IS WHAT I KNOW--When Donald Trump fired off his first missile Friday night at one of his populist rallies in Alabama, he started a war with not only Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors but the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. (Photo above: President railing against the NFL and Puerto Rico hurricane surviver.) 

NEW GEOGRAPHY--When Donald Trump was elected president, much of American Jewish leadership reacted with something close to hysteria. To some, Trump’s presidency reflected the traditional face of the anti-Semitic right — xenophobic, nationalist and culturally conservative.

AMINALS MATTER--If a wrong-headed Assembly proposal passes the state Senate and is signed into law, Californians will surrender the freedom to select the pet of their choice. 

EPPERHART EXPRESS--I’m not a great fan of bumper stickers, license plate frames and other means using one’s vehicle to share. I don’t care who you voted for, how many stick figures are in your family, or what you (heart). But, recently I was struck by a red, white, and blue sticker pasted across the rear window of a car in front of me. It said, “Not a Republican.” 

ANALYSIS--“It was the wrong speech, at the wrong time, to the wrong audience,” Swedish foreign Minister Margot Wallström expressed about what global and U.S. audiences helplessly had to endure during President Donald Trump’s September 19, 2017 address to the United Nations General Assembly. President Trump acted like a bully, but unaware that he showed up at the wrong playground.

GUEST WORDS-“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” This single, sinister question, asked over a sepulchral-sounding musical score, was rhetorical; for after a dramatic pause and a malevolent cackle, the narrator smugly informed the audience: “The Shadow knows.” 

PERSPECTIVE-The current controversy over whether to dismantle statues of some prominent Confederate figures is a battle over whom we admire and consider as heroes. It is also a battle over who has power to shape how we view our history. 

AT LENGTH-I have a long standing, if not ingrained interest in free speech. This fundamental right is essential to the very enterprise of running a newspaper. One might call it enlightened self-interest.

HUDDLED MASSES NO LONGER WELCOME--We do not need President Trump to tell us that he can make America great again. America is already great. The problem is that we are squandering our greatness by pursuing foreign and domestic policies that debase our moral authority and the values that made America great in the first place. 

TRUMP WATCH--Now that Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt, I) has introduced his long anticipated single payer Medicare For All Act in the Senate Wednesday, which has 15 co-sponsors in the Senate, a record level of support. 

THE POOR STAY POOR-We all want to live in a country where all it takes is hard work and some talent for anyone to succeed. We tell ourselves that we do. We even see examples of people who “came from nothing” and ended up rich and famous. 

THE COHEN COLUMN--About 40 years ago (are we dating ourselves here?) there was a margarine commercial on TV with the tag line, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature."

GUEST WORDS--Once again, Hillary Clinton is offering some opinions, and, once again, she is being told to keep quiet. This is a familiar pattern for us, no less for her, so perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising to see it recur. 

But I'd like to push back a bit on this one.

PERSPECTIVE-Equifax suffered one of the most significant data breaches ever, exposing confidential information stored within its network. What’s more, three executives sold a fair slice of their personal shares in the company after the event was discovered and before it was communicated to authorities and the public. Oh, and the sales were not part of a 10b5-1 arrangement through the SEC. The purpose of this arrangement is to minimize the risk of insider training by scheduling sales in advance. 

TRUMP WATCH--Last column, we affirmed our certainty that Donald Trump is going down.  Either Mueller will indict or he won't. And we believe he will. It's not our political problem.

ALT-RIGHT APPROPRIATION-Nazis love Taylor Swift. She is thin, blonde, pale, and rich. She doesn't talk politics much, which might be just a savvy marketing decision, but it also enables wild speculation about her views on Donald Trump, feminism, and whether black lives matter. 

SO, NOW WHAT’S ON THE TABLE?--Calls for restraint and diplomacy emerged on Sunday after North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb capable being placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

LABOR WARS--Continuing his war on workers, President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was slashing the scheduled pay raises for federal workers.

THE COHEN COLUMN--When Trump told America that his tax returns were perpetually under audit as an excuse not to let us see them, unlike every other modern presidential candidate, we easily presumed he was lying about that, just like he lies about everything else.