Inauguration to Avoid

Commentary by Hugh Hansen

I salute Ms Obama and Ms Pelosi for following my lead and not attending.

I was sorry to end my Washington Post subscription, as prior to owner Jeff Bezos's capitulation I kind of preferred it to The New York Times.

Donald John’s verbal pronouncements seem so, so, so randomly connected to his next-day pronouncements that I haven’t the heart for tea leaf reading them anymore.

Wait until it’s on some sort of document necessarily shared with Congress, or particular federal bureaus/departments, then vomit, then fight or ameliorate it.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line, so that we may place your comments in the proper column.

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TUESDAY 1/21/25

A Peaceful Transfer, This Time

President Trump after his inauguration Monday pardoned 1,500 defendants of the January 6^th attack of the US capitol, including rioters who attacked police. This included members of Oath Keepers and of Proud Boys, among them former national chair Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years for helping plot the insurrection, the AP reports.

By Todd Lassa

Donald J. Trump’s second official inauguration speech seemed a slight bit less-dark than it was eight years earlier, perhaps because it was held inside the Capitol Rotunda and thus no outdoor crowd for the new president to point to and declare the biggest ever in the history of inaugurations. Perhaps like the youngest of voters who have known little more than of Trump as the central political figure in their lives, we’re becoming accustomed to his style. Perhaps it was because Hilary Clinton laughed visibly when Trump declared he is renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

No mention so far of Greenland.

“The Golden Age of America begins right now,” Trump said, adding that the United States will “flourish and be respected all over the world. … I will, simply put, put America first.”

The US, he said, “will be far more exceptional than ever before.”

The new president said he would immediately remove the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change and end the “EV mandate” and allow you to buy whatever car you want to buy – including the internal combustion-powered ones that accounted for about 92% of the US market last year.

Like former Secretary of State Clinton, President Joe Biden stood behind Trump during the inauguration. He appeared alternately tired and bemused as Trump took the opportunity to paint the last four years under Biden’s leadership as having fallen so far it can’t get up – if not for its new, resurgent savior.

“From this moment on, America’s decline is over,” Trump said.

And there was the airing of grievances, as Trump claimed that “Over the past eight years, I’ve been tested and challenged more than any other president in history.”

Adding “They tried to take my freedom and my life,” Trump concluded that the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania,* pretty much assured his victory last November.

“I was saved by God to make America great again.”

In the closest Trump could come to JFK’s promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, he said the nation would strive to “plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars …” a nod to his biggest benefactor, SpaceX/Tesla/Starlink CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk’s favorite cause.

After Joe and Jill Biden copter’d out, Trump visited the Capitol Visitor Center where he addressed the citizens who could not watch his inauguration from outside – this included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), on whom the president spent an inordinate amount of his 36 minutes there talking about plans for completing The Wall.

The border is Trump’s number one issue, he said, not inflation.

“How many times can you say the price of an apple has doubled?”

Though in later appearances Trump reiterated his promise to bring down prices, this seemed like another admission that slowing the rise of inflation, let alone reversing it, despite arguably being the major reason for his November victory, is a very difficult task best left to the Federal Reserve.

The border will not be quite so problematic. Minutes after his inauguration, Trump’s officials shut down the mobile app CPB One that had allowed migrants to make appointments in order to enter the US through legal points of entry, The Hill reports.

*CORRECTION: This article initially misidentified the Pennsylvania town where there was an assassination attempt on Trump at one of his campaign rallies.

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TUESDAY 1/21/25

The Return of the Gilded Age?

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Management consultant Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence, is credited with a phrase that is important in all walks of life:

“Under promise and over deliver.”

The book was published in 1989. It was, and is, one of the most influential business books of all time.

Consequently, it is a bit surprising that legendary business maven, and now president, Donald Trump seems to have missed it.

Or maybe he doesn’t believe it.

He opened his inaugural address:

“The Golden Age of America begins right now.”

Now maybe he is simply stating that he is going to bring back the Gilded Age, a period in the late 19^th century that generated great wealth — for industrialists and entrepreneurs, like many of the tech bros that surrounded him on inauguration day.

There was, it should go without saying, rife corruption during the Gilded Age.

The poster boy was Boss Tweed, a political operative (and a Democrat) who was convicted to stealing millions of dollars from the people of New York City, who could ill afford it.

And there were abuses in terms of patronage. This means that government jobs

weren’t given to those most qualified to hold them (i.e., people who could actually do the work), but to political supporters and friends. Sound familiar?

But there was another characteristic of the Gilded Age: Regular people didn’t prosper.

It is largely thought that there were two key issues that led to Trump’s election:

The economy
The southern border

The latter is being addressed — at least visually — pronto.

But the former is the tricky bit.

People voted because they think he can bring down prices of everyday items like eggs.

People as in the “regular people.”

The MAGA base.

I recently went to a local diner for breakfast. There was a sticker on the front of the menu stating that the price for all egg dishes are increased by $1 due to the hike of the price of eggs. And that wasn’t a trivial hike because that place had offered a $3 breakfast special.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs has increased by 38% over the last 12 months.

And here is a bit of irony: a major cause was a pandemic. Bird flu.

Can we have much in the way of confidence that there will be a concerted effort to wipe out bird flu, or will it “just go away”?

One thing that Trump said that may come back to bite him was his description of the fires in California:

“Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.

“They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting, but we can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.”

Anybody who has watched the fires on a newscast has seen nothing but women and men busting their asses, spraying and digging and doing all possible activities to put out the horrendous fires.

“Without even a token of defense”? “Everyone is unable to do anything about it”? What about those brave first responders? Are they doing nothing?

People know that’s not the case. They probably have friends or relatives who put their lives on the line every day just like the fire service personnel in California.

And the comment about “some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country. . . .don’t have a home any longer.”

What about the regular people who have had their insurance canceled?

Why doesn’t he care about them? Because they didn’t donate millions to him?

If the price of eggs doesn’t go down, if there are tariffs applied across the board that raise prices at everywhere from the Home Depot to Kroger, if mom starts having trouble getting heath care coverage, if. . . .

Well, those regular folks helped put him on that podium, and he’s not going to leave.

But unless he does something to address their day-to-day existence, he’s going to find the love he basks in gone.

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TUESDAY 1/21/25

About That Entertainment

Contributor Comment

He really lined them up this time. In wheelchairs, maybe? Bleah!

--Kate McLeod

(McLeod is a contributor to The Hustings’s left column. Her reaction to Stephen Macaulay’s right-column commentary first appeared in Substack on The Hustings.)

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Scroll down with the trackbar on the far right to read more Comments on Monday’s inauguration of Donald J. Trump as 47^thpresident of the US.

Let this inspire you to voice your opinions on Trump’s inauguration and/or other current news and issues. Whether you are moderate left, hard-progressive, MAGA populist-conservative or never-Trump conservative, we want to hear from you. Email your civilly stated comments to editors@thehustings.news and please indicated your political leanings in the subject line.

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MLK DAY 2025

Trump Inauguration Moves Indoors

By Todd Lassa

Welcome to a new America, something like the old America of 2017-21, itself a Make-America-the-‘50s again. Whether this makes you think of the1950s or the 1850s maybe depends on whether you’re celebrating this Monday as inauguration day or as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The 45^th president, Donald J. Trump, will be sworn in as the 47^th president inside the Capitol Rotunda rather than outside on the Capitol steps, because of dangerously low temperatures expected for Monday. The move is a sort of make-America 1985 again. The last time the inauguration had to move indoors for weather was for President Ronald Reagan’s second one.

The new administration will begin quickly, as promised.

Incoming border czar (a non-cabinet level title the Trump campaign successfully tied to Vice President Kamala Harris) Tom Homan told Fox News’ Jesse Watters Friday that arrests and deportation of undocumented-/illegal (there’s that anti- vs. pro-MAGA yin/yang again) immigrants begin Tuesday.

Citing “four people familiar with the plan,” The Wall Street Journal reports that US Immigrations and Customs enforcement under the Trump administration will stage a large-scale immigration raid with 100 to 200 of its officers in Chicago after the new president begins his first full day. Trump has had a high-profile feud with Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration will quickly start slashing regulations across government “in a bonfire of red tape,” according to the WSJ, in a separate story. Congressional Republicans and DOGE want to cut 10 extant regulations for every new one.

--Monday 1/20/25

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MLK DAY 2025

That’s Entertainment?

Who cares who performs at or adjacent to the swearing in?

By Stephen Macaulay

What is curious about the forthcoming Trump inauguration is that people are, preemptively, talking about the forthcoming Trump inauguration.

A big concern — someone might call it “HUGE — everyone says so” — is the donations, personal and corporate out of Silicon Valley.

According to The Hill, Elon Musk contributed some $250 million to get Trump elected, so those $1-million inauguration donations from Cook, Zuckerberg, etc. seem like the kind of money found in a couch in the lounge at Mar-a-Lago on a slow night.

Even Peter Thiel’s reported $35 million seems somewhat small.

But let’s face it: Musk, Thiel and other tech bros contributed to Trump for ideological and/or economic (i.e., “good for business”) reasons.

It is important to them so they did, whether others agree with it or not.

But this donating to the inauguration seems odd, although it is probably more along the lines of “donating to one of the multitudinous parties that will be held in relation to the inauguration.” It’s not like the US government isn’t shelling out enough for the ceremony itself.

And let’s face it: the swearing in isn’t all that interesting unless something goes wrong (e.g., a strong gust of wind musses his elaborate coif) or if he uses a copy of his God Bless the USA Bible: Inauguration Day Edition, which you, too, can buy).

A more recent concern is with some of the entertainers who are going to perform.

No, not with Lee Greenwood of God Bless the U.S.A. fame. After all, Greenwood, 82, released that song in the spring of 1984, so the man isn’t likely to be having a whole lot more hits, and that single only reached number-seven on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in ’84. He probably needs all of the visibility he can get. (Like the inclusion of the lyrics of God Bless the U.S.A. in the aforementioned God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, $69.99.)

Similarly, Y.M.C.A. by the Village People was released in 1978, and disco anthem or not, there isn’t a whole lot in the way of revenue being generated. It is probably just as well that there is only one original member of the band remaining, Victor Willis, who is the policeman. Willis is 73. So he can probably dance more lithely to the song than

Trump, but still. . . .

But then there’s Carrie Underwood. This one seems highly controversial.

Underwood became known after she won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.

Who won American Idol in the third and fifth seasons?

Fantasia Barrino and Taylor Hicks.

Underwood probably knows that many of you didn’t know the answer to that question and so if she’s going to get some attention for playing at the Trump inauguration, as long as the reporting spells her name right that’s useful.

If we go back four years to the last inauguration, there were Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks, among other performers for Biden.

All of these performers’ careers survived, as did Biden survive his 2020 debate answer that included the recommendation that parents, for their children, should “play the radio, make sure the television — excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night.” And that was just one “excuse me” away from “Victrola.”

But who knows? Maybe after the swearing in, people who aren’t at the events may open their Bibles — God Bless the U.S.A. Bible — either edition — read some of the Book of Exodus (the one that contains that list of 10 things) and realize that things like lying, slandering other people, and committing adultery are really quite bad, not things to be accepted or otherwise overlooked.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large. This commentary first appeared at Substack on The Hustings.

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MLK DAY 2025

What’s Left

Comment: Twisted Logic

As we approach the presidential inauguration of a convicted felon, I find it absolutely mind-boggling that some politicians and potential candidates who have criminal histories are, in some cases, held to higher standards and are forbidden from holding office.

For instance, in 2022, Columbia Borough Council in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County voted to appoint a resident to fill a vacant seat. He was never sworn in because council discovered that he was a convicted felon who had served time in prison for mail fraud. The conviction rendered him ineligible to hold public office for 10 years.

Another recent example, Mayor Sal Bonaccorso of Clark, New Jersey, resigned over charges of criminal activity. Bonaccorso is permanently barred from holding any future public office or public employment.

Rightly so, we don't trust those with felony convictions to run our local governments, but we're okay with allowing one to run the entire country? Twisted logic.

--Sharon Lintner

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Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes left the newspaper when an editor refused to run her cartoon calling out WaPo owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other tech billionaires for visiting incoming President Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, on bended knee.

In the left column below, guest pundit Chris Bidlack argues that Telnaes was standing up for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in leaving the Post when it would not publish her cartoon.

Scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far-right to read Bidlack’s commentary in this column.

Detail on Telnaes’ cartoon and departure is in the center column news/analysis.

While you’re there, please be sure to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s counterpoint to Bidlack’s commentary, in which he argues that Bezos has the right not to be made fun of in his own newspaper.

As always, you are encouraged to submit your own comments on this, and other issues covered in The Hustings. For that matter, we are happy to hear from you about issues we haven’t been covering that you believe we should.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line so that we post your comments in the appropriate column.

And don’t miss Substack on The Hustings.

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MONDAY 1/13/25

…meanwhile…

JACK SMITH DROPS MIC -- Special counsel Jack Smith reports he has the evidence to convict Donald J. Trump for election interference if not for Trump’s win in last November’s presidential election. Scroll down this column for details.

FRIDAY 1/17/25

TikTok Ban Upheld – The US Supreme Court Friday upheld Congress’ ban of social media site TikTok (per SCOTUSblog). Under the law passed last year, TikTok is to shut down on Sunday short of divestiture of its US operations by Chinese owner ByteDance. However, a US official told The Associated Press that President Biden will not enforce the ban before he leaves office Monday.

In its per curiam ruling Friday (not assigned to a specific justice) on TikTok v. Merrick B. Garland, SCOTUS noted that “for 170 million Americans TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

Justices Sonya Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch issued separate opinions in support.

Upshot … What happens on the TikTok ban after President-elect Trump is inaugurated Monday? Though Trump signed an executive order, not implemented, to ban TikTok in the US near the end of his first term, he has apparently has made a u-turn on the issue and thus, like Biden, is not likely to enforce.

•••

Ceasefire Unceased – Israel’s security cabinet approved the Gaza ceasefire deal Friday after a delay by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, NPR reports, with his full cabinet expected to meet later in the day for full passage. Under the agreement scheduled to begin with Phase I Sunday, Hamas is to release three Israeli hostages, with another four to be released on day seven. The Israeli Defense Force is not expected to withdraw from Gaza until all hostages are released, according to Haaretz, but will allow residents north of the strip.

•••

Anti-Russia Hawk Down – A hawkish supporter of US aid and military support to Ukraine for its defense against Russia, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, is out as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) replaced Turner Thursday in a controversial move with MAGA Republican Rick Crawford, of Arkansas, Politico reports. Johnson also added to the committee five more Trump supporters who have been averse to continued aid to Ukraine; Ben Kline of Virginia, Pat Fall of Texas, Greg Steube of Florida, Claudia Tenney of New York and Ann Wagner of Missouri.

Meanwhile … UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made an unannounced visit with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to sign a “wide-ranging 100-year partnership” treaty, entailing defense, energy and trade, The Kyiv Independent reports. Kind of an in-your-face-Putin treaty short of full NATO membership for Ukraine.

•••

Treasury Secretary Hearings – Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is said to be a shoe-in for as President-elect Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, with potential support even from some Democrats. Bessent’s top priority is to extend the Trump 45 tax cuts set to expire later this year, while conversely he could gently push back on Trump tariff threats.

In his opening statement before the Senate Finance Committee, Bessent said Trump’s economic policy presents a “generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans.” (Per The New York Times.)

But ranking committee Democrat Ron Wyden, of Oregon, considers such a “golden age” more of a “gilded age.”

“Trump’s going to be waging this class war instead of fixing what’s broken about our tax system, which is that there’s a special set of rules that only applies to the ultra-wealthy,” Wyden said. “Mr. Bessent is a case in point.”

--TL

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Ceasefire in Trouble Already – Claiming that Hamas has “reneged on parts of the agreement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday cancelled a cabinet meeting to vote on approval of the ceasefire agreement that would stop fighting on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. It seems unlikely that Phase I of the deal, which pretty much matches the proposal the Biden administration put out four months ago, but reportedly was pushed over the line by negotiators for the incoming Trump administration, will happen before President Biden officially leaves the White House.

The way Haaretz puts it, President-elect Trump “scared” Netanyahu into agreeing to the deal with Hamas.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri refuted Netanyahu’s claim that Hamas had tried to make last-minute changes, according to Al-Arabi TV (per NPR).

Two Israeli cabinet members have been very vocal in their opposition to the deal and have threatened to resign, thus collapsing Netanyahu’s government, according to the Morning Edition report. This raises the question of whether Netanyahu will scuttle the agreement to save his political career.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reported 81 killed and 188 wounded in Gaza between announcement of the agreement and the Israeli cabinet’s delay, Haaretz reports.

•••

Biden’s Farewell – President Biden touted the Gaza ceasefire agreement from the Oval Office in his farewell address to the American people Wednesday evening.

“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team,” Biden said, “and it will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed. Because that’s how it should be: Working together as Americans.”

The 46^th president called out what he says are his administration’s successes, including strengthening NATO, keeping Ukraine free and pulling “ahead in our competition with China.

“I’m so proud of how much we’ve accomplished together for the American people, and I wish the incoming administration success. Because I want America to succeed.”

Then he warned about “the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultrawealthy people” without specifically naming Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg or any other tech billionaires.

“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 1/15/25

Israel, Hamas Agree to Ceasefire -- Negotiators for Israel, Arab countries and the US -- including from the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration -- have agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in an expected three-phase deal. In the first phase, Hamas will exchange some hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing Arab officials helping mediate the talks. The three parties met midday Wednesday local time in Doha, Qatar, to finalize the draft.

•••

Hegseth is Next Defense Secretary – Stop us if you’ve heard this sort of thing before. President-elect Trump will get what he wants with full (or nearly full) support of the Republican Party after some skepticism among a couple of moderates and/or dissidents.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was a potential block to Trump’s choice of ex-Fox News host Pete Hegseth to become the next Defense secretary. After a lengthy Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, Ernst, a former US Army lieutenant colonel who served in Kuwait and was concerned about Hegseth’s pre-nomination comments opposing women in combat, told Simon Conway of Des Moines’ Newsradio 1040; “Yes, I will be supporting President Trump’s pick for secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth,” The Hill reports.

Committee Democrats attacked Hegseth for his lack of experience, infidelity and allegations of sexual and financial misconduct. Hegseth also faced questioning about his Jerusalem Cross tattoo, a symbol of the Christian far-right.

“In fact, interestingly, recently I attended briefly the memorial ceremony of former President Jimmy Carter, on the floor of our National Cathedral,” Hegseth replied, according to Newsweek. “On the front page of the program was the very same Jerusalem Cross.”

That does not mean Hegseth is not a devotee of Christian Nationalism. USA Today has reported that Hegseth is a follower of Idaho pastor Doug Wilson’s Communion of Reformed Evangelical Church, which has been strengthening ties with Hegseth’s Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship in Nashville.

Such key players in the Christian Nationalism movement led a concerted effort to assure that Hegseth would have strong Republican support in the Senate (where he needs only a majority to be confirmed) leading up to the committee hearing.

Upshot… After just one nominee, ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) had to withdraw his nomination, GOP support for Hegseth is a good indication Trump will get his way with the rest of his nominees, though there’s still the question of confirming Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) for National Intelligence director and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as national health secretary.

Wednesday… Committee hearings are to be held for Pam Bondi, replacement nominee for Gaetz as Trump administration attorney general, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be secretary of state. Rubio, of all nominees, is considered the easiest shoo-in with likely support even from some Democratic senators.

--TL

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Enough to Convict – Former special counsel Jack Smith says he has the evidence to convict former President Donald J. Trump for interference in the 2020 election results, if not for Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, according to his 137-page final report released by the Department of Justice early Tuesday.

Trump “engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election in order to retain power,” Smith says in his report's conclusion.

Smith resigned as special counsel before Trump could fire him after next Monday’s presidential inauguration. But Smith and his team of investigators now face investigation themselves by the Republican-majority 119^th Congress in the coming months, likely to be led by the incoming president’s close allys.

“While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters,” Smith writes in the introduction. “I believe the example our team set for others to fight for justice without regard for the personal cost matters. The facts, as we uncovered them in our investigation and as set forth in my Report, matter. Experienced prosecutors know that you cannot control outcomes, you can only do your job the right way for the right reasons. I conclude our work confident that we have done so, and that we have met fully our obligations to the Department and to our country.”

But not the other report … Judge Aileen Cannon – yes, the federal district judge in Florida appointed by Trump 45 – issued the five-page order Monday allowing the Justice Department to release the elections interference report but not the report from Smith’s investigation of Trump’s alleged refusal to return classified documents after he left office – the case she oversaw -- according to The New York Times.

That investigation led to the FBI’s seizure of classified government documents at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022.

Cannon ordered prosecutors and Trump defense attorneys to appear before her on Friday to argue whether Smith’s report on the classified documents case should be released to Congress.

Reaction ... Insert standard Trump insults of Smith and his investigators here.

--Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 1/13/25

This Week – The House and Senate are in session Monday through Thursday, and the Senate only is in session Friday. Monday is the fourth anniversary of President-elect Trump’s second impeachment, for incitement of the January 6^th attack on Capitol Hill. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.

Welcome – Readers of Columbia Spy.

Confirmation Week I – Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, Pam Bondi for US attorney general and Marco Rubio for secretary of state are key Senate confirmation hearings beginning Tuesday, Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition.

As the most controversial Trump nominee now that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has withdrawn his nomination to be AG, former Fox News host Hegseth will face the toughest questioning beginning Tuesday.

Senate committees also will question Interior Department secretary nominee Doug Burgum and Veterans Affairs nominee Doug Collins on Tuesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to take Wednesday and Thursday for its hearing on Bondi’s nomination to head the Justice Department, CQ Roll Call reports. Wednesday also is the day for Rubio to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations committee. John L. Ratcliffe, nominee for CIA director will appear before the Intelligence committee. Nominee for Homeland Security secretary, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and nominee for Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought will appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee on Wednesday.

A confirmation hearing for former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to be director of national intelligence appears to be delayed for a week, but not for the reasons you might expect – Gabbard is considered an ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and years ago met with now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. But Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) described Gabbard’s delay as a “paperwork problem.”

“She now has a top-level security clearance,” Barrasso told CBS News’ Face the Nation Sunday. “She is the right person to keep America secure and safe.”

Others, this week … Chris Wright for Energy secretary, Scott Turner for Housing and Urban Development secretary, Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary, Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency director are also scheduled for committee hearings this week.

•••

Are You Ready for Some Trump Tariffs? – After decades of catching up with Western Europe, Japan and the United States with its odd mixture of communist authoritarianism and state-supported capitalism, China has reached nearly $1 trillion in trade surplus for 2024, according to the nation’s General Administration of Customs. Even adjusted for inflation, China’s $990-billion trade surplus last year “far exceeded” any in the world in the last century, according to The New York Times, including the US after World War II.

Automakers in the European Union are battling stiff competition from Chinese makers of affordable electric vehicles, while in the US, President-elect Trump has threatened a tariff on all Chinese goods of up to 60%.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 1/13/25

What’s Right

Comment: Let’s Start With a Clean Slate

For those raising alarm about alleged threats to "democracy" while ignoring the blatant overreach of unelected bureaucrats and activist judges against President-Elect Donald J. Trump, it’s clear you’ve succumbed to a narrative driven by Democrats and the biased media. The weaponization of government institutions by partisan actors has exposed just how fragile our republic has become under the influence of radical leftist ideology.

For years, Democrats have leveraged every tool in their arsenal — be it impeachment attempts, endless investigations, or politically motivated indictments — to undermine those who challenge their grip on power. This lawfare isn’t about justice; it’s about silencing dissent and punishing anyone who dares stand in their way.

The Constitution and rule of law are meant to serve as safeguards against tyranny, yet they are being bent and twisted to suit the whims of a political elite that cannot abide opposition. Conservatives and independent thinkers should take heed: today’s targeted leader could be tomorrow’s silenced citizen.

As Americans, we must demand accountability, transparency, and an end to the misuse of power for partisan ends. Without these, the freedoms that define this nation risk becoming relics of a bygone era, sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. Let's start with a clean slate next week and give President Trump an opportunity to prove his competence and ability to lead America and all our citizens towards a brighter tomorrow.

--Rich Corbett

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Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It does not guarantee the right to criticize a newspaper owner via editorial cartoon by a staffer for that newspaper, Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay argues in his right-column commentary below.

Scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far-right to read Macaulay’s commentary on Ann Telnaes’ editorial cartoon for The Washington Post criticizing the newspaper’s owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (along with other tech billionaires) for taking an “obsequious position” toward incoming President Donald J. Trump.

Detail on Telnaes’ cartoon and departure is in the center column news/analysis.

While you’ve scrolled down, do not miss guest pundit Chris Bidlack’s defense of Telnaes’ cartoon and her resignation from the WaPo after an editor rejected the cartoon.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line so that we post your comments in the appropriate column.

And don’t miss Substack on The Hustings.

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MONDAY 1/13/25

The Hill to Die On

Ann Telnaes’ resignation and the role of political satire in democracy

Guest Commentary by Chris Bidlack

On January 3^rd, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish her satirical cartoon depicting billionaires like Jeff Bezos offering money to Donald Trump. This was the first time in her 17-year career at the Post that a cartoon was rejected due to its subject matter. The newspaper claimed the decision was not politically motivated, but Telnaes saw it as censorship.

While editorial decisions vary across different journalistic domains, political cartooning occupies a unique and crucial position in the media landscape. Unlike reporters covering sports, automotive, or lifestyle news for example, political journalists and cartoonists serve as chroniclers and visual commentators on pressing societal issues. Their work often challenges power structures and provokes critical thinking among readers, listeners, and viewers.

Political news reporting and commentary stand in a category of their own, carrying far greater significance due to their impact on public discourse and democratic processes, compared to other types of publications.

While specialized publications serve important roles in their respective fields, the core mission of our nation's newspapers and news media extends beyond mere reporting. Their ultimate charge is to safeguard democracy through coverage and analysis of our elected representatives' actions, court decisions, and the functioning of our government. As Thomas Jefferson put it, "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press."

Of course editors and owners of news publications always have the final say. And while some may not see the Telnaes resignation as the hill worth dying on, a strong argument can and should be made that her decision is exactly the hill on which to resign.

The editorial autonomy of news publications is undeniable. However, a crucial distinction exists between journalists covering non-political domains and those reporting on national news and politics. The latter field holds such importance to our democracy that it's the only non-governmental entity explicitly protected in the Constitution. This underscores the weighty responsibility borne by political journalists and commentators in safeguarding press freedom and public discourse.

Those who argue that Ann Telnaes was foolish to give up her job when she always knew that her bosses had every right to quash any of her creations as they saw fit, are short-sighted. There are times when some journalists and commentators have an obligation to speak out when censorship precludes a significant idea from reaching the people.

If I created cartoons for, say, an astronomy magazine, and my editor rejected my illustration of two scientists at a chalkboard where one is saying, "85% of the universe: no clue, but it's big," because it wasn't gettable, should I resign? No. No one would be deprived of an important idea if that cartoon didn’t appear. But conversely, if my editor demanded I create a cartoon mocking science and seriously portraying the Earth as only 6,000 years old, there’d be a strong case for me to quit. Similarly, Telnaes' cartoon addressed a critical issue of political influence and corruption, making its suppression a matter of significant public interest and a justifiable reason for her resignation.

Ann Telnaes saw the suppressing of her editorial idea for what it was: Abridging her Freedom of Speech, and with some irony, Abridging the Freedom of the Press, as the Constitution puts it. She knew that this was one of those moments. We should all applaud her courageous decision.

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FRIDAY 1/10/25

Bezos v. Telnaes’ Cartoon

By Todd Lassa

Journalism in general and daily newspapers in particular faced existential peril long before Donald J. Trump won last November 5^th’s presidential election. Big-town newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun are in the process of being stripped for parts by hedge fund managers. Gannett has been selling off many of its less-profitable papers, creating more “news deserts” across the country as it cuts staff from the newspapers it has kept.

This made Amazon founder Jeff Bezos something of a journalism anti-hero when he purchased The Washington Post from the Graham family in 2018. Democracy might not die in darkness, after all.

When Donald Graham, son of “legendary” WaPo Publisher Katherine Graham approached Bezos about buying the paper, according to a September 20, 2018 article in Forbes, Bezos said he had no interest in it because he knew nothing about newspapers. Donald Graham replied that the WaPo didn’t need an owner who understood journalism; it needed an owner who understood the Internet.

We do not know whether Jeff Bezos has learned anything about the newspaper business in the last six years. We do know that he understands the incoming president, Donald J. Trump, has strong opinions about Big Tech and how social media outlets on the Internet treat him and his staunchest supporters. And that Trump does not like how he has been covered by the WaPo.

Inspired by Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink/Neuralink CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk’s tight embrace of MAGA and Trumpism nearly a year ago, leaders of some of the biggest tech companies in the world flocked to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the president-elect between November 6 and Thanksgiving, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Open AI CEO Sam Altman. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, too, although according to U.S. News & World Report Google declined to confirm the meeting.

Ann Telnaes’ cartoon in question for The Washington Post depicts her then-boss Bezos with Zuckerberg, Altman, Los Angeles Times (which like the WaPo declined to endorse a presidential candidate last November) Publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mickey Mouse -- representing Disney’s ABC News, which settled a defamation lawsuit for $15 million, filed by Trump in December that it easily could have had dismissed -- genuflecting before Trump.

The president-elect’s inauguration committee has made out far better than Trump himself from ABC News’ Mickey Mouse settlement. It has collected $170 million for the January 20 festivities, a good portion of it from the tech industry.

Zuckerberg contributed $1 million, the legal limit for each individual contribution. No doubt he’s saved at least that much by sacking Facebook’s fact-checking staff. Bezos easily saved his million-dollar contribution from a few of the recently announced layoffs of among 100 sacked WaPo staff.

In this, our latest Debate on The Hustings, guest pundit Chris Bidlack (left column) and Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay (right column) discuss the implications of Telnaes’ departure from Bezos’ Washington Post.

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FRIDAY 1/10/25

Much Ado About. . .

Anyone in business knows the old saw: “The customer is always right.”

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

The customer, of course, may not be right, but given that any business depends on customers, it is a good rule to keep the customers at the very least satisfied.

There is another rule that isn’t often stated but is arguably truer.

This is for the employees who work at a business: “Don’t piss off the boss.”

That can be job ending.

There is no one who has ever worked for someone else (i.e., most of us) who hasn’t come to the conclusion, perhaps on a regular basis, the that boss is a jackass.

This leads to two choices: (1) Suck it up and continue. (2) Quit.

(Some might suggest there is a third: Get fired. But that isn’t a choice; that’s a consequence.)

Which brings us to Ann Telanes, who had worked at The Washington Post until last Friday, when she quit.

Telanes quit because she submitted an editorial cartoon that showed, among other people, Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post’s owner, in an obsequious position vis-à-vis Donald Trump.

Telnaes told NPR, “I’ve never ever, since I’ve worked for the Post in 2008, been not allowed to comment on certain topics by having cartoons being killed.”

Washington Post opinions editor David Shipley, presumably her boss, told The New York Times that the reason the cartoon was rejected was because “we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition.”

Reporting about the incident often includes “Pulitzer Prize-winning” to modify Telanes’s name, as though this elevates the contretemps to Major National Issue status.

The Pulitzer Prizes were established through an endowment in Joseph Pulitzer’s will; they are meant to honor excellence in journalism.

Which is somewhat — no, fully — ironic inasmuch as Pulitzer made his fortune through yellow journalism. Yellow journalism opts for the “wow!” at the expense of the true.

Truth, justice and the American way? Phooey!

Clearly Telanes has skills.

But there are a couple things about this that need to be considered.

While she may be a highly talented cartoonist, anyone who is in the creative space knows that getting things killed by someone who has responsibility for it — either a boss or a client — is a fairly common thing. That she hasn’t had anything killed for 17 years is astonishing.
That she has been honored with a Pulitzer and that her award is called out by some outlets makes this seem all the more extreme. It isn’t. A friend of mine has a Pulitzer. While he is an immensely talented writer and reporter, not everything he does is worthy of being chiseled in granite.

Let’s posit that Shipley is not being entirely forthcoming about the reason why he killed the cartoon. (I actually think that his explanation is the case, but that’s not so titillating.)

Let’s say that he killed it because it makes Bezos look bad.

While there are levels upon levels between the two, Bezos is ultimately Shipley’s boss. Shipley doesn’t want to piss off the boss. Period.

Is this an attack on the First Amendment?

Well, this gets to the point that Bezos owns it. This isn’t some sort of public-interest operation that is independent from all considerations other than abiding by the law.

He bought it for purposes of ROI.

Simply consider this: Why would Bezos want something he owns to make fun of him?

I’ve never had a boss that paid me to publicly humiliate him or her.

Is it a bad thing that Bezos owns The Washington Post?

Some might argue that it is, if the newspaper is going to “cave” to the Trump administration. But is it better that he does and that it exists than if he didn’t and it ceased to exist?

While Bezos is the owner, in a sense he is also the customer for what Shipley and (formerly) Telanes produce: he buys work from them.

Even if Bezos had no idea of the cartoon and subsequent controversy, Shipley probably knows what lines can or cannot be crossed before the customer becomes concerned.

Meta’s (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) Mark Zuckerburg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and other executives have all ponied up cash for the Trump inauguration. This is a business decision they are making. Bezos contributed, too. Again, probably because it is a business decision. Will they all have better chances of making more money with Trump at least not feeling completely negative toward them (although this is undoubtedly a fool’s errand as his feelings about people lack any consistency: just think of all of the people who were in his first administration who went from being the best people to being losers)? Maybe.

The cartoon was spiked.

While some would like to clutch their proverbial pearls and think this is tantamount to a constitutional crisis, it is really about business.

Whether it is what Shipley said about avoiding repetitiveness or as speculated here it is about not pissing off the boss, it is all the concern of a product in the capitalist market, which The Washington Post is, not more than that.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large.

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FRIDAY 1/10/25

Civil Media for the Right and Left

Welcome to The Hustings, a post-social media political news/aggregate/analysis website free of echo chambers. We reject false equivalencies in favor of facts and context in the center column, with civil, respectful and thought-provoking opinions in the left and right columns.

If you’re new to the site, be sure to check out some of our recent debates. Go to Page 3 for discussions over the implications of Donald J. Trump’s November 5 win, with contributing pundits Ken Zino, Jim McCraw and Hugh Hansen in the left column, and Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay in the right column.

Our coverage and commentary on last October’s debate among vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz (remember him?) from Page 6 features commentary by contributing pundit Rich Corbett in the right column, whose pro-MAGA opinions push Pundit-at-Large Macaulay into the left column.

Why not join our civil discourse? Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you lean right or left in the subject line, so we can post your opinions in the appropriate column.

Also be sure to read our free Substack page.

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MONDAY 1/6/25

…meanwhile…

President Biden gives a eulogy for long-time friend and ally Jimmy Carter, and all surviving US presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump will attend his funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks sing Carter’s favorite song, John Lennon’s Imagine. Carter will be buried Thursday afternoon alongside his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn, in Plains, Georgia.

THURSDAY 1/9/25

One Bill, Two Bills – Red bill, redder bill. Senate Republicans and House Republicans are struggling to come up with a legislative process to expedite President-elect Trump’s agenda (per the AP). House Republicans want a single reconciliation bill to prevent the Trump 45 administration tax cuts from expiring, to strengthen border security and fund deportation of immigrants and to boost oil and gas production. Senate Republicans figure two bills would get the tax cuts secured by avoiding a filibuster – reconciliation allows for a straight 51-vote majority.

Visiting Capitol Hill for the first time since his election victory, Trump at first told reporters he was looking for “one big, beautiful bill for everything.” But after a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans, Trump said; “Whether it’s one bill or two bills, it’s going to get done.” (Per NPR’s Morning Edition.)

•••

Calling Justice Alito – Donald J. Trump spoke with US Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito just before the president-elect’s attorneys asked the court to quickly intervene to delay Trump’s Friday sentencing for his hush money/falsified business records conviction in New York, per The New York Times. Alito says Trump called for a routine job reference for a former law clerk who seeks a job in the incoming administration.

It's not clear why, the NYT asserts, such a routine call would not come from an aide for the president-elect.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has said he will not sentence Trump to jail or probation, but he does want the president-elect to appear in his court Friday. It would be an easy trip for Trump from President Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C., Thursday. He could take Amtrak’s Acela.

•••

Welcome readers of Columbia Spy.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 1/8/25

Trump Appeals to SCOTUS – President-elect Trump wants the US Supreme Court to quickly intervene and delay sentencing scheduled for Friday on his conviction last summer for falsifying business records in his hush money case, The Washington Post reports. New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan already has said he will not sentence Trump to jail time or probation, but the president-elect’s attorneys argue Trump is immune from criminal proceeding and have called for the postponement to “prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operation of the federal government.”

Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election is a New York State case, and therefore impervious to presidential pardon.

•••

This Means Potential Full-Blown Diplomatic Crisis – Donald J. Trump ran for re-election last year on a pro-peace, isolationist platform, in particular promising he will end the war in Ukraine possibly even before his January 20 inauguration. But his refusal as president-elect at a Mar-a-Lago press conference Tuesday to rule out a military invasion of Greenland (as Donald Trump Jr. was visiting its capital, Nuuk) and Panama came off as rather bellicose. (Trump also declared at his presser that the Gulf of Mexico is hereby renamed the Gulf of America.)

That’s how French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot interpreted Trump’s words in comments to Newsweek via email. Barrot replied that Trump’s renewed interest in taking over Greenland, an autonomous territory of European Union and NATO member Denmark could “escalate” into a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

Barrot added that he does not believe Trump will use military force to take over Greenland, but said he believes the current global climate feels like “survival of the fittest.”

--TL

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TUESDAY 1/7/25

MPCUSA and Buy Greenland – Whither MAGA isolationist nationalism? President-elect Trump wants to Make the Panama Canal the US Again. In yet another “rambling” hour-long news conference at Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Trump “refused to rule out” using military force to take back the Panama Canal – returned to Panama in a treaty signed by President Carter – and suggested he would force Denmark to sell Greenland to the US, The New York Times reports. Trump insists Greenland is critical to US national security, while Greenland, a country of just 56,000 people, insists it is not for sale and only wants to go independent from Denmark.

Elsewhere in Florida … Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, whom you will remember as a Trump appointee, has temporarily banned special counsel Jack Smith from releasing his final report on the January 6 Capitol attack investigation to the public. Smith was to have released the report on Friday.

•••

Social’s ‘Truth’ – Social media oligopoly Meta is ending its practice of fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a video posted by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In his “free speech” pitch, Zuckerberg, who on figurative bended knee dined with President-elect Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago the day before Thanksgiving, said “we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the US.”

Meta has since donated the max-allowed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.

•••

Canada’s PM Steps Down – Justin Trudeau announced Monday he will step down as Canada’s prime minister as soon as his Liberal Party names a successor. Trudeau has faced several months of pressure from allies and opponents to resign as Canada faces high post-pandemic inflation and rising housing costs, according to NPR’s All Things Considered.

“It has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau said, referring to federal elections for the 45^th Canadian Parliament, which are to be held on or before October 20.

He became leader of the Liberal Party in 2013 and was first elected prime minister in 2015, promising a more open immigration policy, greater taxes on the wealthy and more action to protect the environment. But Trudeau’s tenure was marked by a series of scandals early on, while critics say his open immigration policy went too far.

Trudeau, 53, is the son of Canada’s charismatic 15^th prime minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who served from 1968 to 1979 and 1980 to 1984.

--TL

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MONDAY 1/6/25

It's Still Mike – Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has pulled victory from the jaws of defeat to retain his gavel for the beginning of the 119^th Congress. Because of the GOP’s wafer-thin majority, Johnson could afford to lose just one vote and remain speaker. Johnson had already lost that single vote, as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had committed to voting for third-ranked House Republican Tom Emmer, of Minnesota.

During the first round of voting, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) … but there was no second round. House Republicans suspended the vote, then huddled, and got Norman and Self to flip for Johnson, thus giving the incumbent speaker the 218 votes he needed, according to CQ Roll Call.

Johnson said afterward that he had promised “nothing” to Norman and Self for their flips.

Will the GOP’s thin House majority be a problem for the incoming administration? President-elect Trump mounted a heavy-duty phone call campaign to push for Johnson, and Roll Call figures it should have been easier. But in reality, it doesn’t look to be too tough a ride for Trump’s agenda, as the friction is coming from MAGA GOP’s right-flank.

As Self put it in comments to reporters; “We had a talk about how we admire the Trump agenda. That’s what this was about. I’ll say it a dozen more times, but this is how we support President Trump as a House with a very narrow majority. How’s that gonna happen?”

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 1/6/25

‘Everybody’s Cryin’ Justice. . .’

By Stephen Macaulay

In the opening to his “2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary” Chief Justice John Roberts writes:

“In December 1761, a little more than one year into what would be a fifty-nine year reign, King George III decreed that from that date forward, colonial judges were to serve ‘at the pleasure of the Crown.’ This royal edict departed from the long-standing practice in England, enshrined by Parliament in the 1701 Act of Settlement, of allowing judges to retain their offices ‘during good behavior.’ The King’s order was not well received.”

Roberts goes on to point out:

“the ninth of twenty-seven grievances enumerated in the Declaration of Independence charged that George III ‘has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.’”

And here he brings it home:

“Before the American founding, no other country had found a way to ensure that the people and their government respect the law.”

Which is supplemented by this:

“At the end of the day, judges perform a critical function in our democracy. Since the beginning of the Republic, the rulings of judges have shaped the Nation’s development and checked the excesses of the other branches.”

Roberts spends much time wallowing in the past, citing people including his predecessor William Renquist and Alexander Hamilton, whose work was instrumental in the creation of the Federal judiciary.

And when he writes about the contemporary, it is to point out that the independence of judges is threatened by violence, intimidation, disinformation and “threats to defy lawfully entered judgments.”

Perhaps he is being somewhat coy. Doesn’t that reference to serving “at the pleasure of the Crown” sound suspiciously like the rhetoric we are hearing about the role of the Department of Justice in the forthcoming Trump administration?

Were Trump a younger man, would it surprise anyone if he did his damnedest to hold office for 59 years?

Isn’t there something of an analogue of “Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices” with Trump during his first administration repeatedly referring to the Supreme Court justices as “my judges”?

When Roberts emphasizes the word “and” in his line about ensuring “the people and their government respect the law” is he intimating that government officials — past, present and, yes, future — didn’t, aren’t or won’t respect the law?

Gallup research has found Americans’ confidence in the judicial system hit a new low in 2024, at 35%.

In another survey that specifically included Supreme Court Job Approval, 51% of Americans disapprove of the job it is doing and only 44% approve.

That is better than the 58% disapproval of September 2023. But when Gallup started tracking this metric in September 2000, the disapproval was 29% and approval 62%, a long way from where it has gotten to.

While much of this can be ascribed to the current hyper partisanship that exists in the country, isn’t a measure of it the result of the behaviors of some of the justices, whether it is those who have hung on too long or those who think that they are deserving of special benefits because their positions?

Roberts writes in his review of how the Federal judiciary came to be that Hamilton argued that because the judiciary would have “neither the sword nor the purse” — the powers of the Executive and Legislature — lifetime appointment would be the means through which the judges could maintain impartiality.

Clearly that is no longer the case — assuming that it ever was.

Judges put on their robes one arm at a time like the rest of us would. But we would like to think that once they have those robes on they have measures of probity and honesty that transcends what the rest of us generally have.

In the next few years we are going to see how well the members of the Supreme Court perform to the standard of independence from the other branches of government that Hamilton set forth in Federalist No. 78.

What are the odds that the Court’s Gallup numbers will rise any time soon?

Not good, I think.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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MONDAY 1/6/25