Skeptical Shrink

As reasonable people, we liberals should (and generally do) condemn actions like Kathy Griffin's phony "beheaded Trump" prank and Johnny Depp's comment about "actors assassinating presidents." But let's cut through the self-righteous outrage from the Right. The White House's official statement evokes 1984-style newspeak with its claims that "the president has always and continues to abhor violence in all its forms." I guess they've all forgotten about Trump urging supporters at his rallies to assault protestors, promising them, "I'll pay your legal bills." (Probably the way he paid his contractors - i.e. never.) Or the the time he suggested that, if Hillary were exonerated, there might be a "Second Amendment solution." Fox News, now fuming that "left wing violence must be contained," has conveniently misplaced all its footage of Trump encouraging violence before the election. And what of the Staten Is...

Some progressives have been asking, "If Trump is so unpopular, why do Democrats keep losing?" This is a complex question with no one easy answer. First of all, Trump is still popular among Republicans, particularly in rural areas. Even among traditional conservatives unhappy with Trump, we haven't seen much of a "negative coattail effect" of Trump dragging Republicans down. Secondly, the five special elections that have all gone to the GOP have been in traditionally Republican districts that are also heavily gerrymandered to divide Democratic support. It's also important to note that Democratic and Republican voters are very different. Republicans tend to be whiter, older, and rural or suburban. Democrats tend to be younger, better educated, urban, and ethnically diverse. These are obviously gross over-generalizations with many exceptions, but they are consistent with current demographics. So what happens before they enter the voting booth? Potential...

The Party of Death is about to strike again. There is a political party in this country that likes to call itself "pro-life." They adopt this label despite favoring war over diplomacy. Despite supporting capital punishment. Despite opposing sensible gun regulations that even most gun owners support. Despite their distaste for providing meals for poor schoolchildren. Now they are about to take away access to healthcare from tens of millions of Americans. For what possible reason? Because they can. Because they prize the obliteration of a Democratic president's legacy more than the health and well being of the citizens of this country. Because they prioritize tax breaks for those who need them the least over all else. Make no mistake: with the proposed cuts to Medicaid and the return of exclusions for pre-existing conditions, thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- will die needlessly. And the party that continues to delude itself that it is somehow "pro-life...

85 years after the rise of Nazism in Germany, it's tempting to look back and wonder, "How could so many ordinary Germans -- good people -- look at what was happening and not be alarmed? How could they just shrug and do nothing?" The fact is that, like the proverbial frog in a steadily warming pot of water, people can accommodate to nearly any worsening situation and come to think of it as "normal." Look at the United States today: "Oh, another mass shooting? What can you do?  There are just too many mentally ill people. Besides, it's just the price we pay for freedom." The fact that the rates of mental illness are the same in other countries that are just as free as we are, yet mass shootings are exceedingly rare in those places, never gets discussed by those in power. Or what about our attitudes towards the current administration? "Yeah, I know Trump mocked the disabled and made lewd comments about women, but that's because he's n...