The Latest News

A few tidbits about what's going on now.

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There's a lot going around about whether the Russians were behind the WikiLeaks revelations about the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and its actions in favor of Clinton over Sanders. The charge has been made that the leaks are helpful to Trump and that is the goal of the Russians.

Except for some Sanders supporters, few are discussing the veracity of the contents. In a nation that promotes fair play and “transparency,” little attention is being paid to the efforts of the DNC to sabotage Sanders's candidacy and its campaign to hide their actions. The fact that what happened was revealed is the only honorable part of the story – transparency was restored, and the conspiracy was made public. The story is not that the e-mails were made public, but that the conspiracy existed.

I'm not suggesting that hacking is a legitimate tool, or that the Russian government may not have been involved. I really don't know if Trump is their preference or if he will benefit from the leaks. And I don't care. My view of the two major party candidates parallels Secretary Kissinger's comments in 1980 on the Iran-Iraq war: It's a pity both sides can't lose. (More on that tomorrow.)

But if there had been no conspiracy – if the Democratic Party had acted in a more democratic way – there would have been no messages to hide and none to reveal. And America would have been the better for it.

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There have been reports that Donald Trump, Jr. will be running for the New York City mayor's office. They're based on his speech at the Republican convention last week.

This morning I heard on the radio that Anthony Weiner had a lot to say about this possibility. He would oppose such a move. I'd come out of retirement just to beat him like a rented mule. And, quoting his father, he also said We like to keep all our options open. One wonders what former Representative Weiner would use to beat Trump, and what else might be kept open by him.

But such a discussion is out of character for me (please accept my apology) and I leave it to the late night TV hosts to review the issues.

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Having donned the glass slippers – the ruby slippers as well – former Secretary Clinton declared that the glass ceiling was at last cracked. In fact it was actually broken. That's what happens when you throw stones.

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More is going on, but focusing on the news is depressing. (Whatever the alternatives) I have better things to do.