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Impressions from the January 6 Committee Prime Time Hearing
Last night we were treated to a rare and welcome display of our elected representatives comporting themselves in a manner befitting the...

David Matthews
Jun 10, 20225 min read
Strategic Interests and the Better Angels of Our Nature
Critics of US support for Ukrainian resistance to Russian hegemony span the ideological spectrum from MAGA right to doctrinaire left....

David Matthews
May 31, 202211 min read
The Right to Procure Means to Annihilate Our Fellow Humans for Whatever Twisted Reason Possesses Us
Within less than a fortnight we have nineteen children and two teachers dead in a Texas school plus the shooter's grandmother, surviving...

David Matthews
May 25, 20223 min read
Preliminary Thoughts and My Own Slanted Perspective on the Leak and the Opinion
The wave of sturm und drang unleashed by the leak of Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade notwithstanding, the...

David Matthews
May 6, 20225 min read
Why I Will Vote for Vadim for City Council
When I came to Portland in 1998 and for well over a decade thereafter the city was celebrated for its vibrant, pedestrian friendly...

David Matthews
Apr 28, 202210 min read
Another Episode in the Ongoing Saga of What Passes for GOP Leadership
Today brought a flurry of colorful reports on another episode in the ongoing saga of what passes for GOP leadership, otherwise known as...

David Matthews
Apr 22, 20224 min read
Republican Shenanigans
The unerring sense of decorum, proper conduct, gravitas for which Republicans are known was on display again Thursday in the Senate...

David Matthews
Apr 9, 20225 min read
Cory Booker: "I'm talking about decency."
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was not alone when she wiped away tears during Cory Booker's impassioned "Nobody's Going to Steal My Joy"...

David Matthews
Mar 26, 20222 min read
Impressions from the Confirmation Hearing
Good grief. I have not followed the hearing gavel to gavel but have caught a fair amount here and there, and as you might expect I have...

David Matthews
Mar 23, 20223 min read
The Best in Us and the Worst in Us
The outpouring of support for Ukraine and for strong sanctions against Russia is heartening. Some of it is performative as people take to...

David Matthews
Mar 4, 20223 min read
Ukraine: Feelings of Horror, Outrage, Futility
Reports from Ukraine are grim. Russia is bombing Kyiv and Russian forces are converging on the capital. According to a Washington Post...

David Matthews
Feb 25, 20224 min read
Cutting Through the Gibberish Around Critical Race Theory
It does not require the second coming of Émile Durkheim to notice that many Americans turn to comedians for information about social and...

David Matthews
Feb 25, 202213 min read
The Anti-vax Brigade: Carrying on an Ignoble Tradition
The good news out of DC on Sunday was that the anti-mandate/anti-vax rally numbered only several thousand, far fewer than the 20,000...

David Matthews
Jan 26, 20225 min read
January 6: Impressions, Deflections, Reflections, and a Tribute
The past week brought a deluge of reporting, analysis, and commentary on the events of January 6, 2021. Much was repetitive. Much was...

David Matthews
Jan 9, 20225 min read
January 6
Video and photos of the events of January 6, 2021, take me back to September 11, 2001. The sense of unreality as the plane flew into the...

David Matthews
Jan 6, 20227 min read
Democrat Follies, Autocrats on the Rise, and Rethinking My Own Follies
There has been some interesting reporting about the use of "Latinx" to describe people in the U.S. who trace their roots to Latin America...

David Matthews
Dec 13, 20216 min read
Arbery Verdict Impressions
One take on the Arbery trial comes down to the glass is half empty and what remains is poisoned. The guilty verdict is downplayed and...

David Matthews
Nov 30, 20213 min read
The Rittenhouse Affair
The outcome of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial was in no way surprising. Nor were reactions from sundry quarters of the political landscape. I...

David Matthews
Nov 21, 20214 min read
Establishment liberal? Quelle horreur!
I stand accused by the Pew Research Center of being an establishment liberal. This calumny cannot pass unremarked. Talk about...

David Matthews
Nov 13, 20214 min read
That Didn't Go Well
Tuesday's election results were disappointing but not surprising. As Charlie Sykes put it, why can't we beat these guys? You know, these...

David Matthews
Nov 6, 20215 min read
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