Hello friends, Welcome back to our Saturday Coffee Klatch, where Heather and I consider special counsel Robert K. Hur’s report emphasizing Biden’s age and memory loss. Was it politically motivated? Is Biden really too old to be president? We also examine the Supreme Court’s oral argument on Colorado’s decision to bump Trump from the ballot on the basis of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment; the decision of the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that Trump doesn’t...
Feb 10, 2024•20 min
Hello friends, Welcome back to our Saturday Coffee Klatch. Today is the South Carolina primary, but rather than spend much time on it (Trump will get his party’s nomination), Heather and I consider the remarkably good set of economic reports that emerged this past week and what, if anything, they mean for Biden’s reelection bid — plus why more than 70 percent of Republicans say the economy is terrible. We also look at the U.S. military’s attacks on Iranian forces and the militias Iran is backing...
Feb 04, 2024•18 min
Hello friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch, where today we explore the real story behind Trump’s so-called “wins” in the New Hampshire primary and last week’s Iowa caucuses — and why they’re actually big losses for Trump. After all, he was president between 2017 and 2021, and a former president has a presumed lock on his party’s nomination. What’s extraordinary is how well Nikki Haley did on Tuesday. We also talk with Congressman Ro Khanna — one of the sharpest and most progressiv...
Jan 27, 2024•28 min
Hello friends, Today Heather and I look back three years to Biden’s inauguration and Trump’s no-show, and ahead to next week’s New Hampshire primary and the coming fight over funding for Ukraine — and wonder what happened to the Republican Party. Lots more to talk about today. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and join us. And if you wish, take our poll. A paid or gift subscription will give you the whole package and enable us to do even more. Please consider. This is a public episode. If you'...
Jan 20, 2024•23 min
Hello friends, Today Heather and I look ahead to Monday’s Iowa caucuses — and ask whether Nikki Haley has a chance to become the Republican nominee in 2024. Or are Haley and DeSantis simply laying foundations for their 2028 runs, assuming Trump relinquishes his dictatorship then? Lots to talk about today. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and join us. And if you wish, take our poll. Please consider a gift subscription for someone you care about. They’d receive the whole package. And your gener...
Jan 14, 2024•22 min
Today marks the third year since the attack on the Capitol. The person responsible is now leading the race to become the Republican candidate for president, and, if polls are to be believed, is even leading incumbent President Joe Biden. Heather and I discuss whether Trump will ever be held accountable. We also address the so-called “crisis” at the border and the ouster of Harvard President Claudine Gay, as parts of the Trump-Republican strategy. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and join us. ...
Jan 06, 2024•23 min
[Most of you wanted us back in video, so here we are.] This week, the secretary of state of Maine decided — as did the Colorado Supreme Court last week — that under Article 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, Donald Trump should not appear on the Republican primary ballot. So what will and what should the Supreme Court do? More generally, how are you feeling about 2024? These are among the questions Heather and I discuss on this morning’s klatch. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and ...
Dec 30, 2023•23 min
(We’re in audio only today, as several of you requested — but let us know in the comments if you’d rather we return to video.) This week, the Colorado Supreme Court decided that under Article 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (which bars anyone from holding office if they’ve previously sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and participated in an insurrection against the United States), Donald Trump should not appear on the ballot in Colorado. Maine’s secretary of state is now ponder...
Dec 23, 2023•25 min
Friends, Good morning and welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and join us. Today, Heather and I examine: — The House Republicans’ impeachment of Joe Biden despite zero evidence of any wrongdoing. Why did every single Republican House member vote in favor, even those elected from districts that overwhelmingly voted for Biden in 2020? — Special Counsel Jack Smith went to the Supreme Court, asking it to rule on whether a president is immune from criminal ...
Dec 17, 2023•28 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse. Today we examine: — The Republicans are playing into Putin’s plan to take over Ukraine. Whatever happened to the GOP that was hawkish on Russia? — Israel shifts to bombing southern Gaza. More children have been killed in Gaza since October 7 than all the children killed in every world conflict in 2022. Why isn’t Biden doing more to restrain Netanyahu? — Biden’s confusion about the upcoming election, saying on Tuesday tha...
Dec 09, 2023•17 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse. Today we examine: — George Santos’s demise. What is there about sociopathic liars and the Republican Party? Why were most House Republicans unwilling to oust him? — Henry Kissinger and Sandra Day O’Connor. Was Kissinger a war criminal? Was O’Connor the most powerful woman in America? — Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis. Was their debate on Fox News a preview of what we’ll see in 2028? Whatever happened to reasonable, decent,...
Dec 03, 2023•23 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse. Today we examine: — The temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. What does it really mean? — Black Friday holiday sales. My personal relationship to the day. Consumer spending is up, so why are so many people down on the Biden economy? — Bob’s new Substack series on the reality of American capitalism and whether American capitalism is compatible with the common good. Is it? — The mess at OpenAI and what it means. Ha...
Nov 26, 2023•23 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse. Today we examine: — House Republicans will not kick out George Santos despite his fake resume and mounting evidence of illegal activity. Will the GOP and Santos be held accountable? — Incidents of violence and potential violence in the House and Senate, among lawmakers. Why is this happening? — Trump’s full-throated fascism — describing his opponents as vermin, planning to round up undocumented immigrants and place them ...
Nov 18, 2023•20 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse. Today we examine: — The results of races in Ohio, Kentucky, and elsewhere in “red America” are showing how out of step the GOP’s white Christian nationalism is with the majority of Americans. How much encouragement should Democrats take from this? — Mike Johnson’s utter inability to get anything done , including a continuing resolution to keep the government open after Friday, and aid to Israel and aid to Ukraine. How la...
Nov 12, 2023•22 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us. This week, Heather and I zoom in on: — The war in Gaza. Why not a humanitarian pause? Why is Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House, conditioning aid to Israel on cutting IRS funding? And why is he not moving forward with ...
Nov 04, 2023•22 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us. Today we examine: — The new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Who is he? What does his speakership mean? What does it bode for the future? — The tragedy of Lewiston, Maine. If this can happen in a small Maine city, are any o...
Oct 28, 2023•22 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us. Today we’re adding a new feature so you can watch as well as hear us (should you wish). And we apologize for the technical difficulties this week. Please let us know in the comments if you’d like us to continue this feature (a...
Oct 21, 2023•17 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us. Today, we look at: — The tragedy in Israel and Gaza. Who and what are responsible? Is Israel solving anything by bombing and mounting a ground invasion of Gaza? What’s the likely endgame here? — The dysfunction of House Republ...
Oct 14, 2023•23 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us. This morning we look at: — The life and death of Senator Dianne Feinstein (who was a friend to both of us). What’s her legacy likely to be? — The pending shutdown . Is Kevin McCarthy toast? — This week’s Republican debate . Do...
Sep 30, 2023•24 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. This morning we examine: — Kevin McCarthy’s Republican House mess. Will there be a shutdown? Almost certainly. Who’ll be blamed? Why is Trump pushing for this? — The UAW strike. When will it be resolved? Who’ll be blamed? Why is Trump hoping for a long strike? — Bonus questi...
Sep 23, 2023•21 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. This morning we examine: — The awful polls showing Donald Trump running neck-and-neck with Joe Biden. How is that possible? Should we be concerned? — Biden as much more progressive than Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. Why don’t people see this? Why do young people think Biden ...
Sep 10, 2023•20 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Today we look at: — The “Goldilocks” economy — inflation is coming down, but we’re not heading into a recession. Yesterday’s jobs report showed continuous buoyant growth of jobs. Why? — The Labor Department’s new overtime rule will help millions of workers. (Why Bob wants to...
Sep 03, 2023•19 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Pull up a chair and grab a mug shot. This morning we’re looking at: — Trump’s arraignment in Georgia on Thursday, and his brazen use of imagery and marketing to circumvent rational thought. Is this the tactic of a fascist? — The Republican primary debate Wednesday evening, w...
Aug 27, 2023•20 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. This morning we’re looking at: — Trump’s FOURTH indictment, this one in Georgia, and why it could be the one that sends him to jail. — The upcoming Republican primary debate, and why Trump’s simultaneous “counter-programming” with Tucker Carlson on Elon Musk’s Twitter/X may ...
Aug 20, 2023•19 min
Friends, Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. This morning we’re looking at: — Merrick Garland’s appointment of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden. Will this hurt or help Joe Biden? — Judge Tanya Chutkan’s threat to take “whatever measures are necessary” to stop Trump from intimidating potential witnesses in ...
Aug 13, 2023•26 min
Friends, Good morning and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. This morning we’re looking at: — The Trump arraignment in Washington on Thursday. What was notable? What does it suggest about Trump’s future? — Friday’s jobs report. Are we about to have a “soft landing” — getting inflation down to 2 percent while avoiding a recession? And i...
Aug 06, 2023•24 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch, where Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action, and my former student) and I discuss the highlights and lowlights of the week. Today we share with you our discussion before a live audience at the San Francisco Arts and Lectures series. We focus on: — Parallels between what occurred in the midterm elections of 2022 and the midterms of 1954 (the first election I focused on, when I was eight years old). — How politic...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch, where Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action, and my former student) and I discuss the highlights and lowlights of the week. Today, on our roster: — The pending Trump indictment for his attempted coup. When will it drop? What does it mean? Will it strengthen democracy or drive us farther apart? Where will this end? — The “unitary executive” theory that Trump will likely utilize should he be reelected, along with...
Jul 23, 2023•22 min
Welcome back to another Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, where we examine the lows and even lowers of the previous week. Today on our roster: — The Hollywood strike, and what it really means for the new economy. — The FTC’s setback on its attempt to stop Microsoft from acquiring Activision, and what it means for the new economy. — The good news on inflation, and what it means for Biden (and why the Fed should relax now and stop raising interest rates). — Special Counsel Jack Smith ...
Jul 16, 2023•20 min
Welcome back to another Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, where we examine the lows and lowers of the previous week. Today on our roster: — Jobs, the economy, and Bidenomics. With everything going well, why are Americans so unhappy? — The presidential sweepstakes. Should we worry that Trump is even more outrageous but seemingly physically strong, while Biden is competent but seemingly frail? — The Supreme Court’s continued rightward drift. If it continues to move in a direction coun...
Jul 09, 2023•22 min
