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After it came out that, during the 2016 campaign, Facebook had carried pro-Trump and anti-Hillary ads paid for by the GRU Russian intelligence agency, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing with top executives from Google, Twitter, and Facebook. It is against the law for foreigners to contribute to an American political campaign, and creating ads and buying ad space is, of course, considered a campaign contribution. In his opening testimony, Facebook’s general counsel testified that Facebook had not been aware that the Russians had bought ads. When it came my turn to question, I turned my focus on him, … Read More…

This past quarter the American economy fell at an annualized rate of 32.9%, the most precipitous drop in the 75-years that data have been recorded – the single biggest loss in any quarter in the history of the United States. In all, 22 million Americans lost their jobs because of the coronavirus – through no fault of their own. This Friday provisions protecting those Americans from hunger and homelessness expired. Millions of our fellow Americans now live in abject fear of being evicted from their apartments or losing their homes. Millions face the terrifying anxiety of not knowing whether they … Read More…

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Only days ago, after asserting that “slavery was a necessary evil,” Tom Cotton was defending himself against charges of being anti-Semitic.  Now, the Arkansas senator has found himself embroiled in yet another controversy after telling The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that “the Holocaust was also a necessary evil.” Appearing earlier today on the Fox News Channel’s morning show Fox and Friends, Cotton justified his remarks, arguing that “absent the Holocaust, Israel would not be a country today.” Claiming that the editors of the newspaper had “taken my words out of context,” Cotton pointed out that “Israel is the only democracy in the … Read More…

Until the coronavirus hit, Trump had not faced a real crisis in the Oval Office. A global pandemic is a doozy of a crisis. Still, it is inconceivable that anyone could possibly have handled the coronavirus any worse.   The fact is that no matter who was president (Hillary Clinton comes to mind) we still would have faced a pandemic in the United States. What we did not have to do is face a completely out-of-control pandemic.  There were the six weeks to two months that Trump assured us that everything was “totally under control.” That our cases would soon … Read More…

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I’m less sad than moved today. From everything I know, Carl Reiner lived an exemplary life, loved by pretty much everyone who knew him, and was an indisputable giant of comedy who leaves behind an astounding body of work. I first met Carl decades ago when he was spending a lot of time with Steve Martin. Carl, had just directed Steve in The Jerk, giving the hit movie its shape and heart. Steve and Carl had come to see Franken and Davis at the Improv in Hollywood. Tom Davis and I had been a comedy team since high school, and … Read More…

After George Floyd’s horrific murder in my hometown, I was looking for a way to help black- and brown-owned businesses that had sustained damage during the demonstrations that followed. I learned that my friend, Chris Montana, the co-owner of Minneapolis’ Du Nord Craft Spirits, the first black-owned micro-distillery in America, was putting together a fund to do just that Chris thought that a raffle for a virtual cocktail party featuring some of his distilled product and some fun conversation with the two of us might raise some money. “Really?” I asked. “You’re right,” Chris said. “I don’t know if you’re … Read More…

Late last week Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said that outrage at the murder of George Floyd “may be an inflection point.” That’s when I thought to myself, “I hope he’s right. I hope this is an inflection point. But, inexplicably, it never is. It wasn’t after Michael Brown, or after Trayvon Martin, or Philando Castile, or Ahmaud Arbery. Then a few things happened. Demonstrations across the country continued to increase in size and number, showing that an incredibly diverse and growing number of Americans are, yes, angry, but also deadly serious and not going away. Then came the president’s … Read More…

People have been saying I wasn’t myself when I talked with Don Lemon last night on CNN. They are right. George Floyd was needlessly murdered by MPD in what has become a pattern of racist and violent policing in Minneapolis. This comes on the heels of the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, also at the hands of the police. The city I love is being burned by people who are not there to protest Mr. Floyd’s killing but to cause violence and destruction. I, like a lot of people across the country, am grieving, tired and angry–even if not … Read More…

There are people who say that there are people
who say that Joe Scarborough murdered a staffer with whom he was having an affair.

Donald Trump puts children in cages.

There are people who say that there are people
who say that Ted Cruz’s father was a part of the…

Before President Trump offered the insanely stupid (and I do not mean that sarcastically) idea of injecting disinfectants into our bodies to treat Covid-19, a good majority of Americans had already concluded that Trump is not providing the wise, measured leadership of, say, a Lincoln or an FDR. Leadership has come from elsewhere. From governors, medical professionals, and other essential workers on the front lines. But we have no coherent national response to this pandemic. That response really should come from the federal government. There are three branches of our federal government. Donald Trump leads the executive branch and has … Read More…