Men and women, Black and White, gathered in the street outside the Minneapolis courtroom and hugged each other as the verdict was read. National news coverage conveyed a profound sense of relief as well as excitement and celebration in the crowd as white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in the killing of George Floyd.

When asked how she felt, one young woman told an MSNBC reporter, “I can breathe! I have a little bit of relief today.” …

On March 11, as I watched President Joe Biden address the nation on the anniversary of the the World Health Organization announcement that COVID had become a global pandemic, I was reminded of one of Rachel Maddow’s favorite comments: “What a difference a president makes.”

The contrast between Biden and former President Donald Trump was so stark; it made me wonder how we got through the last four years. In fact, many of us didn’t make it. As Biden noted, as of March 11, 527,726 people had died from the virus. How many of those might have been saved if…

Mitch McConnell Votes to Acquit but Agrees that Trump is Guilty

Former President Donald J. Trump’s acquittal in his second impeachment trial by a vote of 57–43 was disappointing but predictable. Seven Republicans voted guilty along with all the Democrats, making this “the most bipartisan impeachment event in the history of this country,” Lead House Manager Jamie Raskin (D-Md) said. Faced with overwhelming evidence that Trump incited a direct assault on US democracy, the remaining Republicans simply turned their backs on justice.

But the most unexpected turn of events came in a speech by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at…

After Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment for inciting insurrection against his own country, then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued to delay the Senate impeachment trial. Apparently, he had one unstated objective in mind. Scheduling the trial to be held after President Joe Biden’s inauguration would ensure that Donald Trump would no longer be in office. The Republicans could then argue that a president no longer in office should not be subject to an impeachment trial.

The Republicans carried out McConnell’s plan Jan. 26, when Sen. Rand Paul took a procedural vote in the Senate on a motion to “declare…

The Inauguration

After four long years of the most divisive presidency in American history, Donald Trump — the first president to skip the inauguration of his successor — retreated to Mar-a-Lago while Joe Biden called for unity and healing in his inaugural address as the 46th president of the United States. And for the first time in recent history, a president used his inaugural address to target systemic racism.

Biden’s call for unity — while optimistic — did not sugarcoat the difficulty of bringing a nation together that is so divided along racial, class, and political lines. …

House Impeaches President a Second Time to “Save America”

Hubris is a dangerous cocktail of overconfidence, overambition, arrogance and pride fueled by power and success. When found alongside contempt for the advice and criticism of others, hubris causes leaders to significantly overreach themselves, taking risky and reckless decisions with harmful, sometimes catastrophic consequences for themselves, their organizations, institutions, and even for society. Eugene Sadler-Smith, Jan. 20, 2017

Hubris. In the end, that is what brought about the downfall of President Donald J. Trump. History will forever judge the Trump presidency as a catastrophe. He will be remembered as the only…

As President Donald J. Trump faces a second impeachment and prepares to leave the White House in disgrace, apparently he wanted to leave something behind — perhaps a consolation prize — for his loyal Cuban-American supporters in Miami. Why not lash out at Cuba, always an easy target for the right-wing?

Accordingly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism…in a last-minute foreign policy stroke that will complicate the incoming Biden administration’s plans to restore friendlier relations with Havana,” the New York Times reported.

The charge is that Cuba supports “international terrorism.” As usual, the Trump…

For those of us who have made the D.C. metro area our home and consider ourselves to be “Washingtonians,” the national news has always dominated the headlines and shaped our perspectives. Political events literally form the backdrop of our lives. As a Washingtonian with a long memory, I’ve observed everything, from the assassinations of political figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the routine murders of Black people by police that prompted the Black Lives Matter movement. Nevertheless, I sat in shock as I watched live coverage of a pro-Trump mob violently forcing its way into the U.S…