Author: By Eric Sondermann
-
The applicability of Hungary’s election to our politics | SONDERMANN
—
by
American conservatives, largely synonymous these days with MAGA save for a few lonely voices of courage and dissent, have plenty to lament. Their domination of the political landscape is waning. Various special elections hither and yon have presented bright, flashing caution signs. A very difficult, perhaps devastating, off-year election beckons. Major fractures have surfaced within…
-
A longshot, upset bid and a few quick takes | SONDERMANN
—
by
It is hard to keep up these days. The flow of news often seems overwhelming. Let’s focus today on an unusual congressional race before moving on to a few quick, supplementary observations. Since its creation 54 years ago, Congressional District 5 has been represented by a grand total of five people – Bill Armstrong, Ken…
-
Kwame Spearman warrants plenty of criticism, not cancellation | SONDERMANN
—
by
All of us are flawed humans, some more so than others. This is the tale of Kwame Spearman who burst onto Denver’s business and political scene a handful of years back. His ride has taken a downhill trajectory. Within the past week, Spearman was shown the door as an undefined executive at the just-opened Denver…
-
The delicate, ever-changing dance between politics and religion | SONDERMANN
—
by
The dance, really a marathon that brings to mind the classic movie “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”, has been going on as long as there have been governments and organized religion. That is to say that this delicate tango has been with us since time immemorial. In ancient times, the state and the state religion…
-
Is Trump a builder or just a latter-day headhunter? | SONDERMANN
—
by
It was well under 100 hours after President Donald Trump’s overly long, overly theatrical State of the Union speech that he unleashed American bombers across Iran. As I write, it is now less than 100 hours since those bombers started releasing their lethal payloads. Who knows what the next 100 hours will bring? It is…
-
A cynical import Colorado doesn’t need | SONDERMANN
—
by
“But mommy, he started it.” Every parent, definitely those with more than one kid, has heard this instinctively defensive reaction to the point of exhaustion. It is the ultimate deflection or shifting of the blame. A similar rationale, often about as juvenile, has overtaken our divisive, dysfunctional politics. All manner of bad behavior is excused…
-
Trump’s critics are not the ones suffering from “derangement” | SONDERMANN
—
by
It appears that 63% of Americans, plus or minus, are deranged. Per recent surveys, that is the percentage of fellow citizens who do not approve of President Trump’s performance a year into his second term. In Trump’s world, almost any criticism of the president is ascribed to TDS, short for Trump Derangement Syndrome. No critique…
-
The governor and the inmate: Trying to make sense of Polis and Peters | Eric Sondermann
—
by
Amidst the excess of news and outrage competing for our attention, much time and oxygen have been expended in trying to make sense of Jared Polis’s angst-ridden consideration of a sentence reduction for Tina Peters, former county clerk and now an ungrateful guest of the Colorado prison system. For any just emerging from some deep…
-
The lie that persists five years later| SONDERMANN
—
by
Some dates require no explanation. September 11. October 7. And to the subject of today’s column, January 6. Mention the calendar number and the images flood to mind, still vivid and raw. The fifth anniversary of that dark, dismal day is now upon us. In some respects, it seems like an eternity has elapsed since…
-
Kent Thiry, please pull your checkbook out again | SONDERMANN
—
by
Business and civic leader Kent Thiry is a complex figure. He built Denver-based DaVita to be a behemoth in the world of kidney care and dialysis. Along the way, he was known for some wild, over-the-top gatherings in the name of team-building. Under his leadership, the company paid major sums to settle claims of fraudulent…