Background Briefing: March 18, 2019
Is Trump Losing It as Mueller Closes In? We begin with the desperate flurry of tweets from Trump over the weekend which have led many to wonder whether the president is losing it, an observation made by the husband of Trump’s close advisor Kelly Ann Conway who...
Background Briefing: March 17, 2019
Why Trump Won't Condemn White Nationalism We begin with the terrorist attack on worshipers at two mosques in Christchurch which left 50 dead and as many wounded and has shocked the peaceful citizens of New Zealand as well as the world since the Australian...
Background Briefing: March 14, 2019
Beto O'Rourke's Entry into the Presidential Race We begin with the entry today into the Democratic presidential primaries by former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke who is campaigning in Iowa and, given his high profile in social media and enormous fundraising...
Background Briefing: March 13, 2019
Trump Appears Poised to Pardon Manafort We begin with today’s sentencing of Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort who, after being sentenced to 47 months last week, is now facing seven and a half years in prison unless he is pardoned which is increasingly...
Background Briefing: March 12, 2019
The Brexit Zombie Has the UK Heading for a Cliff We begin with the 391 to 242 vote in the U.K. parliament rejecting Prime Minister’s May’s best and last attempt at a Brexit deal and assess what might follow as the March 29 deadline to crash out of the E.U. fast...
Background Briefing: March 11, 2019
Did Software in Conflict with Human Control Cause the 737 MAX 8 Crashes? We begin with the second crash of the new Boeing 737 Max 8 which has advanced software know as MACS – Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, an anti-stall protection where...
Background Briefing: March 10, 2019
The Outrageous Disparity in US Sentencing We begin with the unusually light sentence handed down last Thursday by a Federal judge who, in sentencing Paul Manafort to 47 months, said he has led an otherwise blameless life. Rachel Barkow, a former member of the...
Background Briefing: March 7, 2019
Are Talented Democratic Candidates Discouraged By the Crowded Field? We begin with Ohio’s Senator Sherrod Brown deciding not to run in the crowded field of potential Democratic presidential candidates, joining a growing number of hopefuls who have dropped out,...
Background Briefing: March 6, 2019
Hypocrisy and a Double Standard Roiling the House We begin with the rampant hypocrisy in display on Capitol Hill as House Republicans and some Democrats fulminate with indignation against one of only three Muslim members of the House accusing Representative...
Background Briefing: March 5, 2019
The Culture of Celebrity is Colliding with the Culture of Scandal We begin with the dire results of our culture of celebrity colliding with the culture of scandal with an exemplar of both, the occupant in the White House who is a product of a discount version...