Tag archives: Trump

It’s Kamala!
By Jeff Harding   |   July 30, 2024

In my last article two weeks ago (“The Thing You Can’t Unsee”) I said that Biden would go and he did. Biden immediately endorsed Kamala Harris. Most Democratic leaders and potential rivals quickly capitulated to Ms. Harris. She’s the Democratic presidential candidate. I also said that based on polls, middle-roaders, about 70% of the electorate, […]

Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump
By Montecito Journal   |   July 23, 2024

On July 13, 2024, former president of the United States Donald Trump and currently the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential election, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, age 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect – who fired eight […]

The Thing You Can’t Unsee
By Jeff Harding   |   July 16, 2024

It would be remiss of me to ignore our current political turmoil.  One thing is obvious: You can’t unsee what happened to Biden in the first presidential debate. No matter what he does from that moment on, that performance will be forefront in the minds of voters.  Another obvious thing: Trump isn’t going away. Republicans […]

Tribalism: Good, Bad, Ugly?
By Robert Bernstein   |   June 18, 2024

I recently had lunch with a former coworker friend. He doesn’t like talking politics, but I had to know if he was still a Republican after Trump. He agreed with most of my positions on most issues. And he agreed that Trump was not a good president. But he could not ever imagine voting for […]

The Argentinization of America
By Jeff Harding   |   May 7, 2024

Argentina is what happens to a country when the people running it have no idea what they are doing. They think they know what they are doing and are undeterred when things don’t turn out so well. Socialist countries suffer this fate. Ditto most government-run economies. I call this process “Argentinization.” I mention Argentina because […]

I’m a WhatWorksocrat
By Jeff Harding   |   April 9, 2024

With elections on the horizon I’m often asked who I’m voting for, Trump or Biden? My answer is that I can’t stomach either candidate. I don’t think I’m unique. Biden may or may not be cognitively challenged, but what he definitely is, is a Progressive. You will recall that in his inaugural speech he said […]

Bravo, Brutoco
By Montecito Journal   |   August 30, 2022

Bravo (yet again) to Rinaldo Brutoco’s August 11 column. He always comes up with the best adjectives when clashing up against “Big Power” greed: “Preposterous shibboleth” … Makes me laugh every time I look at it! In throwing big shade last week at the PG&E & Edison monopolies, he calls back to his group’s white […]

Ivana Trump Remembered
By Richard Mineards   |   July 26, 2022

On a personal note, I remember Ivana Trump, a friend of many years and a former Upper Eastside neighbor, when I lived in Manhattan. Ivana, who died at her East 64th Street townhouse, opposite the home of the late Italian designer Gianni Versace, at the age of 73 was a partner at many social events, […]

Going Way Beyond 1973 Washington Warned Us
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   June 28, 2022

1972 was a very bad year for everyone in the USA. Richard Nixon defeated the unshakably honest son of a preacher, Senator George McGovern. McGovern ran, and lost, on a platform of peace, determined to end the Vietnam War. Nixon promised to stay the course. Upon winning, Nixon nevertheless signed the Paris Peace Accords just […]

Are We Becoming a Gerontocracy?
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   October 29, 2020

Think about it. In 2017, Donald Trump was inaugurated at the age of 70, making him the oldest person to assume the presidency. He is running this year against Joe Biden, who will be 78 if inaugurated in 2021, while Trump will be 74. In a campaign where there are massive differences between “the Donald” […]

Pop Notes: Rock and Wheels
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 29, 2020

The Beach Boys, straight off a controversial performance at President Trump’s fundraising concert in Orange County last weekend that had founders Brian Wilson and Al Jardine disavowing the appearance by the touring outfit led by former Santa Barbara resident Mike Love, return to a favorite stomping ground at the Ventura Fairgrounds on Friday, October 23. […]

The Great Barrington Declaration
By James Buckley   |   October 29, 2020

If any sentient being has been in doubt as to which side virtually all the major media and social media companies are on, non-coverage of both the Hunter Biden laptop e-mails and the Great Barrington Declaration should be proof positive of which side they’ve taken. When presidential candidate Joe Biden tells the debate moderator (in […]

Feeling Rakish This Fall?
By Ernie Witham   |   October 21, 2020

Many people laughed when President Trump suggested that the way to stop wildfires in California was to rake the forests. I had a different reaction. My hands instantly got blisters, my lower back felt strained, and my butt hurt like hell. I grew up in the heart of the fall foliage spectacle. Every year the […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   October 21, 2020

Full STEAM Ahead There has been much discussion about how the upcoming Cold Spring School bond measure will impact the members of the school community, but it is worth pausing to consider how this measure will impact the current and future students. Cold Spring School has a strong culture of providing students with an enriching […]

Is the Post Office Going Broke?
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   October 13, 2020

Exploring the glue that holds our nation together – Part 3 For years, politicians have been accusing the Post Office of being a profligate appendix to the U.S. Federal budget that will continuously require financial support to stay in business. Nothing could be further from the truth. My suspicion is that the real objection to […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   October 13, 2020

A Wish List, Not a Plan We have lived on Chelham Way since 1972, and our two children attended Cold Spring School in the 1970s. Until now, we voted for every proposed bond measure for the school and have donated to the CSS Foundation. Although our children now have families of their own and live […]

COVID-19 As Metaphor — A Russian Master Strategist Weighs In — And Our Pick For President
By Gwyn Lurie   |   October 13, 2020

Four years ago this newspaper was one of a handful of publications nationally to announce its support for Donald Trump for president. It did so largely because of Trump’s positions on deregulation and renegotiating many of our trade agreements. In his 2016 endorsement, my predecessor wrote, “We do hope Trump lives up to his promises […]

On My Soapbox: To Agree or Not?
By Leslie Westbrook   |   October 1, 2020

This week I’m taking the opportunity to sound off from my soapbox, since the lead item on the Summerland’s popularity vote “yea” or “nay” for a cannabis dispensary in town, which ran a few weeks ago, created quite a little stir that resulted in three letters to the editor printed over three issues. First, I […]

Andy Caldwell
By James Buckley   |   October 1, 2020

Andy Caldwell’s mother was an immigrant from Austria and his father was a Bataan Death March survivor. Andy was born on an Air Force base in Jacksonville, Arkansas. After his father got out of the Air Force, they moved to Kingsburg, California, just south of Fresno. His dad passed away when Andy was nine years […]

Cards and Letters
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   October 1, 2020

Exploring the glue that holds our nation together – Part 2 “Keep those cards and letters coming.” Really now, is buying stamps all we can do to save the Post Office? Is delivering cards and letters all we should expect of the Post Office because there is more of a “personal touch” with them than […]