Happy Holidays to You All

by Nomad

On the Question of Indictments

by Nomad

In a poll this week, out of all the choices, the majority of NP readers predicted that Trump would be indicted and removed from office. Nearly half of all respondents said that Trump would either be indicted (and forced to resign or impeached by Congress).
As with most things tainted by politics, it's unfortunately not quite as cut and dry as that.

The Indictment Immunity Debate

The scandal-tortured Trump presidency has brought up a fundamental legal question. Outside of the constitutional process, namely, impeachment, can the president be held legally accountable while he is in office? Can he be indicted for crimes?

Poll: How will the Trump Presidency End?

by Nomad

Time for a test of your prophetic abilities. In the graphic below, you will find a few possible outcomes for President Trump. Click on the button of the scenario which you think most likely.
(Note: One vote per person and choose carefully. There's no way to erase your vote.  )

Sanity Sunday Musical Break - In Memory of Nancy Wilson

by Nomad

This week marked the passing of legendary jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson. She was 81.

With a career that spanned over a half century,  Wilson recorded more than seventy albums and won three Grammy Awards for her recordings.
According to her biography:

She was second only to the Beatles in sales, and her albums outsold those of Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and the Beach Boys.

What a lot of people don't know is that Wilson was also an activist for civil rights in the 1960s. At a time when activism could mean the end of a promising career, Wilson participated in the 1965 Selma march.

Masha Gessen: The Decline of Democratic Values in Russia is a Warning to the World

by Nomad

Never heard of Masha Gessen?

This Russian-American journalist has an important message for liberal democracies around the world.
Examine what happened in Russia and never think it can't happen in your own country.

A Touch of Irony in St. Petersburg

The other day I was reading the headlines in The Moscow Times and I saw an item that seemed to come straight from the days of the Soviet Empire. That was a time when the Kremlin attempted to muzzle writers and suppress their works.

Reportedly, customs officials in St. Petersburg stopped a best-selling book (ordered through Amazon) entry. It would, it was explained, require that the buyer, human rights lawyer Sergei Golubok, provide a written assurance that the material was not extremist in nature.