So, Donald Trump will take the oath of office today, and will be the 45th president of the United States. Out of good sportsmanship, respect for the office of the presidency and believing that Donald Trump legitimately won the election in November, I will hold my tongue this week and offer my sincere congratulations to […]
Matt Talbot: The verdicts of history
“Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from […]
Matt Talbot: A great album and a great era
I’ve mentioned before that I drive for one of the car sharing services. Depending on when I drive, I sometimes have considerable time between passengers, and I often pass the time by listening to music. I have lately been listening to the Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue,” recorded in March and April of […]
Matt Talbot: Concluding thoughts on the Democrats and 2016
This is part 4 of my series discussing the progressive electoral failure of the Democratic Party over the last six years. There’s other stuff I’d like to talk about, so I think I’ll wrap this discussion up (for the time being) in today’s column. I’ve said before in this space that the most defining characteristic […]
Matt Talbot: Yet more about the 2016 election
In this series, I’m attempting to analyze the source of the decline of the Democratic Party — and not just Hillary Clinton’s defeat last month, but the broader and more comprehensive decline experienced by the Democratic Party that began in 2010 and that has gotten steadily worse since then – and lay out a roadmap […]
Matt Talbot: More thoughts on the 2016 election
In last week’s column, I said that the Democratic Party has been losing elections because it is not doing enough for working class voters: “Notice I didn’t say, white working class. I said working class, period – of every ethnicity. Let me define what I mean by working class: ‘people living the usual situation of […]
Matt Talbot: Some thoughts on the 2016 election
Before I get to this week’s column, dear readers, I’d like to apologize for my absence the last few weeks. I had several urgent life events that needed my full attention (John Lennon once famously quipped that “life is what happens while you’re making your plans”), but I am now back and ready for further […]
Matt Talbot: Some thoughts on our civic duty
I concluded last week’s column with the following: “I actually expect that (if elected, Hillary Clinton) will be a reasonably competent chief executive. Putting aside her lack of charisma, she is actually whip smart, and the level of organizational competence in her campaign is quite impressive. “She’ll be a very competent administrator; unfortunately, what the […]
Matt Talbot: Some thoughts on the 2016 election following the first debate
The general consensus among pundits, and confirmed by scientific polling since, is that Hillary Clinton won the presidential debate on Monday night. I would agree with that consensus, but I still think she is a weak candidate. She reminds me in many ways of the last candidate who ran to succeed a two-term Democrat: Al […]
Matt Talbot: memories of autumn
Can it be autumn already? The Autumnal equinox happened this Wednesday the 21st, and I am once again reflecting on why I love this season so much. If spring is the season of young men’s fancies, autumn is the season of older men’s bittersweet memories. Decades ago, I first fell in love in this season. […]