As June ran out I received this brief text, bolded below, from a politically conservative friend of mine: Best Pride Month Ever, Prayer protected, Filibuster protected, Gun rights protected, Federalism protected, Unborn lives protected --- These are familiar conservative talking points, not that there's anything wrong with that. I thought I'd calmly reflect on these issues, point by point. On the other hand, maybe I'll start a fire. We'll see.

After a sick and sordid 50 year career of cheating, stealing and lying, corruptly conning banks, employees, associates, vendors, and ordinary people out of their money, ruining thousands of lives, running multiple businesses into bankruptcy, and so much more (sexual predation, incitements to mob violence, etc), mob boss wannabe Donald Trump, now buried under a mountain of lawsuits and pending criminal indictments, I believe, is certain to face trial and likely be convicted of serious crimes. Viewer discretion advised.

President Biden can shore up the journalism on which democracy depends. He can cease government threats to journalists and prove he values government transparency. Stopping the prosecution – persecution – of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange accomplishes this. Assange remains imprisoned in London as the US seeks his extradition on specious charges, including actions journalists routinely engage in. The morning of …

Are you mourning this year’s lack of Carnival’s spiritual cleanse, its satirical sorting of society’s woes to give us perspective? I am. And so I retreat now to past frolics. It’s hard to overstate how rotten the past year has been, in so many ways, or the dim prospects it left us, as we await whatever next escapes Pandora’s Box.

Now at least 12 GOP senators are on board with overturning the election, over 100 House Republicans, and Pence has joined the chorus. Analyze each of these Republicans and they fall into 3 distinct and often overlapping categories.

Thomas Neuburger has written political analysis for numerous publications for nearly two decades. You might have come across him as his nom de plume, Gaius Publius. He has long been a professional writer, venturing into fiction, poetry, essays and non-fiction books.

(A guest post by Elliott Negin, with Intro by Skip Kaltenheuser) You might already know Elliott Negin, whose writings I worked into with Dance with the One that Brought You — BERNIE! on NPR’s red-baiting of Bernie, and Scott Pruitt’s Doublespeak Clarifies Him, on yet another disastrous industrial strength Trump appointee hellbent on ransacking the environment. If not, it’s never too late.

John Grisham, meister of legal thrillers, must look at the Dark Money flying about Supreme Court nominees and think, “You stinking thieves, give me my book plots back!”

One thing we know for certain about what weighed on Bernie’s decision to suspend his campaign is that there are things we do not know for certain. Before and after the October 1st medical adventure his heart embarked on, I wrote he’d be ticking like a Timex and coming from behind like Seabiscuit, both prediction and prayer. I acknowledge my disappointment but refrain from judgment on what I believe to be a clean call.

Banks, including on Wall Street, fear no one like they fear Bernie. I’m sure they’re not keen on Elizabeth Warren, but Bernie strikes a unique terror, because banks know anyone taking them on will have to wield the bully pulpit against them like FDR did.