Barb Woolard

On July 9, 2016–after Donald Trump had declared himself a candidate for the presidency but before it became obvious that New York playboy, real estate mogul, and reality TV clown had an ice cube’s chance in h […]

As the weeks turn to months and each new poll shows Donald Trump’s approval ratings descending to a new record low, the realization seems to be dawning: Oh my gosh, this is who he is. There will be no magical m […]

On Sunday, September 10, 2017, I had an orchestra-level seat for what was promised to be the most spectacular show Mother Nature has ever produced in this section of the world. Hurricane Irma—or just Irma in F […]

Both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. have been quoted as saying, “Noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.” I agree. In an essay titled “Three Ways of Meeti […]

The grave danger in a period of rapid change, like the last six months, is that the new look of things may become normal. In Washington Irving’s famous story “Rip Van Winkle,” the quirky protagonist falls aslee […]

For those of us old enough to remember Watergate, Week 20 has been Déjà vu. Experiences such as Watergate and Russiagate are painful and exhausting. They remind us of how precious our democracy is and yet how f […]

New series name; same weekly summary

This week’s tension was broken by a bit of levity as the world laughed, joked, and made memes about the meaning of “covfefe,” from Donald Trump’s late-Tuesday-night tweet, […]

Republican President George H. W. Bush challenged us to create “a kinder, gentler nation.” That was August 18, 1988, when Mr. Bush accepted his party’s nomination as their presidential candidate. Repub […]

The “I” word has been on everyone’s lips this week. I began speaking of impeachment and the need to press for impeachment on the day after the election, as I was attempting to stop the flow of tears and figur […]

As the swamp gets murkier and the atmosphere in our nation’s capital grows more sinister by the day, I was reminded this week of some stirring words written by Thomas Paine during another American c […]

A couple of weeks ago, Rachel Maddow spent a small segment of her show reviewing some early errors and misdeeds of the Trump administration, asking viewers to label each one “stupid” or “nefarious.” Althoug […]

It’s Saturday, April 29, 2017. Today we acknowledge the much-anticipated 100th day since Donald Trump desecrated the office of POTUS. With every acknowledgment of a mile marker come reflection, evaluation, and a […]

Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is a piece I watched and explored with hundreds of students over the span of my teaching career. Recently, a couple of quotes from the play’s protagonist Willy Loman h […]

As Donald Trump nears his 100th day in office, the assessment of this critical period of his presidency is not looking good; and that statement, of course, comes as no surprise to any thinking person. Those of us […]

It’s been another history-making week in our nation’s capital! Lawmakers have succeeded in ending the longest SCOTUS vacancy in history, forever changing some Senate rules, and—oh, yeah—lobbing a few missile […]

The 1960s gave us Camelot; the 2000s have given us Scam-a-Lot! The word “unprecedented” has become the euphemism for “I can’t believe this crazy-ass stuff is happening right here in the USA!!!” A “presiden […]

Swamp News, Week 9

When our grandchildren and great grandchildren read about this week in their history books, we’ll be able to say with a sigh, “I remember it well!” I for one have seen things this week I’ve […]

According to reliable statistics, 81% of white American evangelicals, in the year 2016, used their cherished voting right to help elect Donald Trump to the office of POTUS. I don’t have statistics to show how m […]

Swamp News

Microwaves, budgets, bans, ultimatums, health care, and the ubiquitous lies—it’s been a wild ride through The Swamp this week! FYI, make a note to yourself that some dictionary definitions are und […]

Swamp News, Week 7

Week 7 in The Swamp has been pretty dark and dismal. From the new travel ban to the Republicans’ rollout of their proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act and swift movement toward r […]