Columnists

When I learned that Senate Republicans had blocked witness testimony for the Impeachment Trial, I was reminded of the concluding line from T.S. Eliot's 1925 poem, "The Hollow Men:" "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper." I wasn't surprised that Republicans voted to let Trump off the hook; I was surprised that their coverup was so brazen.

Throughout the Impeachment Trial, I have been hoping that some Republican would take the moral high ground and recognize Donald Trump's perfidy. It's not like Trump was accused of a sexual indiscretion, and then lying about it; Trump was accused of jeopardizing national security for political gain, and then obstructing the investigation. This is a big deal, a clear impeachable offense, and it's depressing that Republicans do not acknowledge this.

In the end there were 49 votes to allow additional testimony, and 51 votes against. Two crucial Republican "swing" votes, Lamar Alexander and Lisa Murkowski, voted with the majority. They both grabbed onto political "escape outlets" that had been proffered by the Trump's legal team. -more-

Not everyone is interested in having employment. If you are mentally ill and disabled and aren't interested in that, there is nothing wrong with that. Yet, this week's column is intended for readers who have thought about working, and who wonder if they would want to try that. -more-

During the Senate trial, President Trump’s defense defense attorney Alan Dershowitz's claimed that even if the president did what people accuse him of doing, without a criminal element, the conduct didn't rise to the level of impeachable. However, this argument is, as one author put it, just “Constitutional crabgrass.” -more-

TIME Out

The February 3 edition of TIME Magazine is devoted to a celebration of youth activism around the planet. But while the editorial coverage — enhanced with photos of and essays by scores of young activists — is positive and inspiring, there are two editorial lapses that stand out as mind-bogglingly misappropriate.

First: TIME's special "Youthquake" section begins with a two-page photo collage depicting young activists holding signs in support of leading progressive campaigns. The signs read (from left to right): Save Our Children, Free Speech 4 Students, Protect Our Kids/Not Your Guns, DACA Now, Healthcare for America, System Change/Not Climate Change and #Not My President.

But the last sign on the right (shown being saluted by a trio of beefy, whiskered thirty-somethings) reads: "Protect Our Guns."

(Who knew the right to bear AK-47s was a leading Youth Culture issue?)

The second flub is even worse.
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