David Matthews Portable Bohemia

Navigating the Wild Stream of Conservative Thought, Part I was published on December 7, 2018. National Review roving correspondent Kevin D. Williamson came to my attention when his colleagues vented their outrage over an unfortunate episode at The Atlantic, where he was hired as an ideas columnist who would offer a conservative perspective only to be fired in breathtakingly short order when it came to light that he had made some improvident remarks that could be construed as

Resist Trump Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Take Action with Indivisible How to Contact Your Elected Representatives At Eternity's Gate is not a feel-good movie. Willem Dafoe portrays Vincent Van Gogh as a man who believes in himself despite public indifference, misunderstanding, and sometimes outright hostility because, well, what else is he going to do. Painting is all he knows how to do, and he paints the only way he is able to paint. I am reasonably familiar with Van Gogh's a

Resist Trump Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Take Action with Indivisible How to Contact Your Elected Representatives George H.W. "41" Bush was remembered and honored with the ceremony and national good will customarily accorded heads of state at their passing. Here and there voices were raised to dispute what they considered unseemly hagiography that ignored flaws and wrongdoing. Well, there are none among us whose legacy at the end will not be mixed. We might all hope to be remem

National Review touts itself as a magazine that has defined the conservative movement since it was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. It might raise some hackles in the editorial offices and among readers of the publication to suggest that it represents the conservative wing of the mainstream media, but it would not be too far out of line. The magazine is treated with due regard and respect as a member of the fraternity by such diligently mainstream institutions as Na

Resist Trump Tuesday, November 27, 2018 Take Action with Indivisible Oregon Yesterday evening I attended an Indivisible Oregon volunteer appreciation event held at the Hollywood Senior Center, a fitting spot for a bunch of old hotheads to gather and socialize. I ate some chicken tacos and Italian meatballs, très multicultural, drank a little wine, chatted with a few wonderful people whose acquaintance I have made along the way, and met a woman who remarked as she walked by th

Resist Trump Tuesday, November 20, 2018 Take Action with Indivisible Oregon Nancy Pelosi has for the moment defused the challenge by a small group of House members from districts more moderate than the average Democratic district who oppose her bid to be speaker of the House in the new Congress. This is in part a testament to Pelosi's political skills and willingness to accommodate other voices and viewpoints in her caucus. The conspicuous absence of so much as a dark-horse a

Among the challenges presented by the Trump regime is the sheer scope of mendacity, venality, bad policy, bad faith, bamboozlement, willful ignorance, and pure meanness in every sense of that word on display day in and day out. Each day brings fresh outrage. Where is one to begin? The activities of resistance groups with which I am associated have in recent months focused on the midterm elections, atrocities committed at the border by order of the president and the attorney g

Resist Trump Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Indivisible Oregon I stand corrected. My first thought on the day after last week's midterm elections was that the Democrats accomplished the bare minimum that we needed from them but precious little more. I have since been swayed by plausible arguments that we did indeed see a blue wave. I quote at length from Stuart Rothenberg, senior editor and analyst at Inside Elections: Yes, I think the narrative didn't change two or three days af

Rally to protect the Mueller investigation Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon #nobodyisabovethelaw Is it hyperbole to suggest that we are facing a full-blown constitutional crisis with the forced resignation of Jeff Sessions and the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general? Each day brings fresh evidence that Whitaker is a political hack who was elevated to this position for reasons we all can guess. What can we do? For a start, we can contact our elected off

Yesterday evening an old college pal commented on Facebook that as he watched the election returns it appeared he would run out of beer and have to switch to vodka. Charles Bukowski's book Shakespeare Never Did This came to mind as I watched yesterday evening's election coverage, or more precisely, as I stepped away from the PBS NewsHour to pour another glass of wine. The book opens with Bukowski and his girlfriend on the plane for the long flight across the Atlantic. It goes

"Whilst men are all for their private profit, the public good is neglected and languisheth." —Cotton Mather Resist Trump Tuesday October 30, 2018 Over the past month or so I have made a modest volunteer contribution to Indivisible Oregon's campaign to get out the vote on behalf of Jamie McLeod-Skinner in Oregon District 2 and Carolyn Long in Washington District 3. I have not been able to bring myself to knock on doors or make phone calls. The one morning I helped out with rem

In Oregon we receive our ballots by mail and return them by mail or delivery to designated drop-off locations. The system seems to work quite well. I filled out my ballot last week and dropped it off at the Belmont Library. For the most part my decisions were easy. Kate Brown for governor and Earl Blumenauer for Congress are no-brainers. Sometimes ballot measures require a bit of study and thought. Not this year (see Stand up for Oregon Values this November). As a comrade wit

My anxiety about the November elections is ramping up. I would like to take heart from today's election update provided by FiveThirtyEight: The topline numbers remain much the same — Democrats are strongly favored but not certain to take control of the House. As of 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 20, Democrats have a 5 in 6 (84 percent) chance of capturing the House and are expected to pick up 39 seats on average. Yes, this is way better than the 16 percent chance it gives Republicans to m

Resist Trump Tuesday, October 2, 2018 Kavanaugh redux. We are pretty much where I anticipated we would be last week when the new FBI investigation "not to exceed one week" was launched. This has to be one of the more miserable episodes in our nation's history. No one has been slain in a duel. No one has been caned in the Senate Chamber. That may be the best that can be said for it. "By and large, what’s new in the revised NAFTA is almost identical to the provisions in the doo

Through many a clime 'tis mine to go, With many a retrospection curst; And all my solace is to know, Whate'er betides, I've known the worst. What is that worst? Nay do not ask— In pity from the search forbear: Smile on—nor venture to unmask Man's heart, and view the Hell that's there. —Lord Byron I did not plan to watch Thursday's hearing. There would be plenty of accounts to read and video highlights to watch afterward. The radio happened to be on because

Resist Trump Tuesday September 18, 2018 For quite a while I have felt at odds with the times. Today I think maybe I outright dislike this age in which we find ourselves. The sheer weirdness of it might prove amusing after a darkly humorous fashion if not for what is at stake. It goes beyond a befouled presidency marked by authoritarian inclinations, crude populism, indifference to truth and facts, and shameless pursuit of naked self-interest. It goes beyond the social-media m

The Brett Kavanaugh nomination saga took another dismal turn yesterday with an anonymous accusation of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh when he was in high school. The letter detailing the misconduct was reportedly leaked by Democrats and the story broke in The New Yorker. Kavanaugh categorically denies the accusation. There are plenty of reasons to oppose the Kavanaugh nomination. An anonymous accusation is not one of them. The charge is serious. I do not know how best to go

Ron DeSantis, Florida's Republican candidate for governor, got raked over the coals for race-baiting after he used the words "articulate" and "monkey this up" in reference to his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, who happens to be black. It was not just the commissars of political correctness who came down on him. Conservative, lyin' New York Times columnist David Brooks also took him to task: I don’t know what’s in DeSantis’ heart, or whether he was trying to invoke racial

There is an overweening fondness for representing this country as scene of liberty, equality, fraternity, union, harmony, and benevolence. But let not your sons or mine deceive themselves. This country, like all others, has been a theatre of parties and feuds fro near two hundred years. —John Adams, 1817 Each week is wilder than the last. Can this continue? In a post on Tuesday, writing about the Kavanaugh hearings, I remarked that these are not ordinary circumstances. Is it

Sixty-two days until the 2018 midterm elections. Would it be hyperbole to suggest that the fate of American democracy hangs in the balance? Okay, let's put it another way. The consequences of allowing the Trump regime to rampage unchecked for two more years will be with us far beyond the end of the Trump era even if the Democrats manage to sweep the presidency and both houses of Congress in 2020. We need to elect a Democratic majority in the House in November—Senate too, but