To the Point

With Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic candidates, Republicans are reviving a political dirty word: “socialism.”  Meantime, the Trump campaign has weaponized digital media, assaulting voters with disinformation. Will Democrats respond in kind?

China has locked down an entire city to control the coronavirus, while President Trump has eliminated federal programs to cope with disease epidemics. Meantime, the Iowa caucus disaster means continued disunity for the Democratic party.

John J. Lennon is a confessed killer doing time at Sing Sing Prison. He’s also published in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and Sports Illustrated. He talks about illicit gambling behind bars and “escape” into fantasy football for this week’s Super Bowl.

Did President Trump abuse his power? That’s now up to the Senate. But is that even a crime? Democrats and Republicans agree on the facts, but not on the Constitution. Trump says he can do whatever he wants. At stake is the separation of executive and legislative powers basic to America’s founding document.

While Trump cuts environmental protections, Democrats debate climate change -- when reporters give them a chance. CNN didn’t ask until the second half of the latest debate. We hear what the candidates said. In the meantime, Chief Justice John Roberts will “preside”over the impeachment trial, but he won’t be a judge.

President Trump and Iran’s Ayatollah brushed with armed conflict this week. Did it all begin with the U.S. embassy takeover in 1979 or the violent replacement of Iran’s elected president in 1953? What will killing an Iranian general mean for America’s third president to face impeachment?

In 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis cost hundreds of thousands of American families their homes. A small group of predatory lenders ultimately made billions. They include not just some of Donald Trump’s inner circle but members of his presidential cabinet. Peabody-winning investigative reporter Aaron Glantz says it was probably legal. 

The White House insider who blew the whistle on President Trump remains under federal protection.  But whistle-blowing is a dangerous game. Warren talks with a whistle-blower who did prison time after his identity was revealed. Was he guilty of espionage--or being African-American in the CIA? 

Thinking machines are finally able to think for themselves.  In the US, it’s for money. In China, it’s to enforce state control. Futurist Amy Webb warns about “the steady erosion of humanity” if America’s “tech titans” don’t learn to share values with China’s. 

Conservative leader Boris Johnson won big in the Brexit election. Labor’s Jeremy Corbyn lost disastrously. Is there a lesson for America’s Democrats who are still divided over next year’s presidential nominee? With the failure of the UN Climate Conference in Madrid… are multilateral organizations losing their grip?