Author: Dick Goodson

It is obvious that the past two weeks have generated some very trying times in our political discourse as we moved from political differences into partisan tribalism. That said, we now have a new Supreme Court Justice who has been confirmed, but still has a cloud over his head. As the saying goes, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” and this controversy is far from over. It is assumed that the Democrats will take the House of Representatives in the upcoming election and that an investigation into what the FBI was allowed to do, or not do, in Kavanaugh’s most […]

Thursday, September 27 saw one of the most contentious committee hearings in many years in Congress. Luckily, it was followed by a day in which a semblance of bipartisanship showed it’s beautiful head. It was the work of Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and his friend on the other side of the aisle Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. Both senators have been concerned for some time about the partisan bickering over the process to confirm a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although both Senators are diametrically on different sides and have different philosophies, the thing […]

Many years ago, I believe it was Marv Selden, the comptroller under Governor Bob Ray, who said it first (although many others have said it since), the cover up of a bad event is always worse than the event itself. A woman has come forward toward the end of Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is accusing Judge Kavnaugh, who is seeking a seat on United States Supreme Court, of improper sexual conduct while attending a private high school. Let’s assume for a minute that the circumstances described by Dr. Ford, 30 plus years ago, was […]

For some time my spouse has attempted to convince me that the President’s crazy positions, comments, tweets and other irrational behaviors are, in large part, based upon a form of dementia. A little context is needed as to why I believe her. In 2014, a Mayo Clinic Neurologist in Rochester Minnesota, diagnosed me with Vascular Dementia. A few years later, another Neurologist mentioned  “Mild Cognitive Impairment” and finally a third confirmed Alzheimer’s. My spouse has been living with my disease as well and has followed the impact it has had on my life. Until a few years ago I was […]

I’m certain we could all make a list about the policies, programs and most of all, tweets, that we think are the most damaging thing the President has done since the election. As I think about the havoc created to our relations with our long-term allies, as I look at our mean spirited immigration policy, to tax cuts which are piling up mountains of debt for our grandchildren, to the incessant lying about everything, to the inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars by dozens of appointed officials, I come down to two things that are the most critical in my mind. […]

Well, here we are, with a looming constitutional crisis before us. I have to revert back to my undergraduate degree in American History to confirm that while we have been in some interesting crises over the past two hundred year span of American democracy, we have never been in a position where the President has sided with a foreign power who is not our friend, by any stretch of imagination, as opposed to our country’s interests. Over the past year I have thought, even as others have called for Trump’s impeachment, that nothing he has done, warranted that heavy hand, […]

When looking at the 2018 election, the first obvious statement that needs to be made is that “all politics is local.” Another one I like from the Clinton years by James Carville is “it’s the economy, stupid.” I believe five different constituent groups exist, each requiring a slightly different approach. The first is the loyal Democratic base. The Democratic Party already has them philosophically, so it’s all about enthusiasm and turnout. Efforts need to be directed at turning out every single registered Democrat and getting the non-registered Democrats signed up. They will not all vote for you but 90 percent […]

As everyone who lives in the U.S. plus many folks abroad also know, this country is going through a trying time. Some believe we are in great shape, the economy is good (for some–not all), and according to the President we are rearranging our relationships with our friends and our enemies to our benefit. According to many other Americans we are destroying our relationships with our allies and creating strange and sometimes irrational relationships with our enemies. We are also going through what many call our tribal era as we divide up into various social and political camps. We have […]

Thirty years ago a good friend of mine said the most important reason to get the right president elected is the power to recommend a replacement on the US Supreme Court to the Senate. On June 27, I got a bad birthday surprise (on the 28th I turned 75) and that was that Justice Kennedy announced his resignation. Kennedy was appointed by Reagan and was supposed to be a conservative, but it turned out he was very pragmatic in his views and half the time was the deciding vote for the more liberal members and half of the time voted […]

The Trump administration would have you believe that the folks that slip over the boarder are murders, rapists and generally bad people. What statistics really show is that only a few meet that criteria, and by percentage, dramatically less then our own citizenry. A very large number are families with children who are looking for a better life and are afraid of the violent gangs in their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, known as the Northern Triangle. A program started under President Obama called the Alliance for Prosperity was designed to improve the economy of the region […]