“A democracy cannot survive merely by being well informed, it must also be contemplative, and wise.” – E.B. White John and Jeremy Zogby are part of the team at Zogby Strategies whose mission is to examine Americans’ thinking to keep us better informed, and hopefully, more “contemplative and wise.” Before Tuesday’s election, both correctly recognized that the race between Trump...

Cartoonist Dan Piraro has a skillful way of approaching the day’s issues through the backdoor. A recent panel uses Samuel Beckett’s classic play, Waiting for Godot, to underscore CDC coronavirus guidelines. While Godot offers no reason for canceling his meeting with the story’s two central characters who spend the length of the play waiting, Piraro provides a witty spin even...

Dear Undecided Voter, I’m hoping to aid your decision-making and help clarify what’s at stake in tomorrow’s election. Here’s what we know: According to Washington Post fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, since his time in office, Donald Trump as made a total of 22,247 false or misleading statements since assuming office. FactCheck.org and Politifact.com offer similar lists. Absent any evidence,  » Read more...

In 2006, I completed a survey entitled, Honesty and Trust in America. While the study took place 14 years ago, the solutions from more than 8,000 Americans are more relevant than ever. “When it comes to grading the level of trustworthiness of various groups that determine the course of the nation,” I began, “congress received the lowest levels of trustworthiness...

During the Trump presidency, 35 to 40 percent of Americans have been consumed by a fever of fear: fear of immigrants; fear of black and brown Americans; fear of election security. (The only thing Trump has told supporters not to fear is the coronavirus.) However, Trump’s greatest abuse is sowing doubt and distrust; doubt climate science; distrust our intelligence communities...

In 1976, the Senate named an office building for Michigan Senator Philip Hart. Above the entrance to that building are words written by his colleagues who praised Hart for being… “A man of incorruptible integrity and personal courage strengthened by inner grace and outer gentleness. …He advanced the cause of human justice, promoted the welfare of the common man and...

Sadly, every day brings a new low from the man who sits in the White House. Sadder still are republican Senators who lack the courage to publicly hold him accountable. After Trump’s mockery of a debate – his lies, his indecency in attacking his opponent’s dead son and allegedly World War II soldiers buried in France – he consistently demonstrates...

We are, all of us, standing at a crossroads. How we respond will determine whether we continue with a constitutional form of government with three co-equal branches, or a neo-fascist regime administered by an authoritarian, aided by a rogue attorney general, a self-assured Senate majority leader, a majority of silent Republicans, and a transparently dishonest cable opinion network that acts...

“… And you could use my words against me and you’d be absolutely right.” – Sen. Lindsey Graham, in remarks to Senate colleagues shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Here’s what the “principled” Senator repeated to The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, at the magazine’s sponsored conference just two years ago: “If an opening comes in the last year...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice who was a fierce advocate for gender equality, died last Friday. In a statement released by the nation’s highest court, read, “Our nation has lost a justice of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations...