Archive for the ‘American current affairs’ Category
President Barack Obama reacts to the killings in Orlando
June 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For the 15th time in his occupancy of the White House, President Barack Obama has made a statement on a mass shooting and this time the massacre in Orlando is the worst incident of its kind in US history. What can he say that he hasn’t said before? What can he do that he hasn’t […]
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Elizabeth Warren eviscerates Donald Trump
June 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This contribution to this week’s gathering of the American Constitution Society by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is 30 minutes, but it is worth watching in full as a masterclass in speechmaking – both for what she says and how she says it. It is a devastating analysis of how Republicans and their business allies are […]
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U.S. presidential election (28): Hillary makes history
June 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Say what you like about Hillary Clinton – and she’s had an extraordinary amount of criticism (most of it undeserved) – but that woman has resilience. Eight years after conceding defeat to Barack Obama at the end of one set of Democratic primaries and after a bruising further set of primaries in which Sanders has […]
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U.S. presidential election (27): could Trump really become President?
May 25th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Can Donald Trump really win the White House? All the serious pundits who look at the data, say that he can’t and several come to the same prediction for the Electoral College vote. In this piece for the “Huffington Post”, Richard North Patterson points out: “A look at the electoral college map pretty much tells us […]
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What are the differences between American and British politics?
May 17th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Earlier this week, I spent almost four hours in discussion – much of it recorded – with an American academic visiting London: Professor Gerald Sussman. He is the author of six books and is currently researching for a seventh. As he explained in an introductory e-mail: “I’m a professor of international politics at Portland State […]
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U.S. presidential election (26): what now for Bernie Sanders?
May 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Bernie Sanders continues to do remarkably well in the race for the Democratic nomination winning more states and more delegates, but let’s look at the maths (or, as Americans call it, the math). As this article explains: “… with its relatively small population and a Democratic party system of awarding delegates in proportion to votes […]
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Word of the day: bloviate
May 4th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
To bloviate is to speak pompously. I came across this word for the first time in a recent Facebook posting by the political commentator Robert Reich who described Donald Trump as “a bloviating bigot”. I couldn’t agree more. Let’s hope that American voters understand this in the forthcoming Presidential election.
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U.S. presidential election (25): if it’s really going to be Clinton against Trump, who are going to be their running mates?
April 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Of course, it’s not certain, but it looks increasingly likely that Hillary Clinton will win the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for the Presidency and that her opponent will probably be Donald Trump in the Republican camp. So thoughts are already turning to who might be their running mates for Vice-President on the general […]
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How do you tell the story of black America in one museum?
April 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In November, I’ll be making my ninth visit to the United States. The main reason will be for Vee and me to celebrate Thanksgiving with special American friends Mike and Laura. Thanksgiving is an event we have seen in so many American movies and television programmes but it is something we have never witnessed, so […]
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U.S. presidential election (24): will there be a contested convention?
April 8th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In Wisconsin this week, Ted Cruz soundly beat Donald Trump in the Republican race, while Bernie Sanders stormed to victory over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic contest. But, on 19 April when the New York primary is held, Trump expects to triumph and Clinton is hoping for a decisive win. Meanwhile there is increasing speculation […]
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