Why is Trump surprised at the protests?

He asked for them. I wrote this for The Hill.

ICYMI: What started here became a Courant column

I wrote this for Sunday’s Mother Courant, about protesters and social media and Caucasians.

Officers in Freddie Gray’s case will be tried separately

A judge has refused to dismiss charges against officers in the death of Freddie Gray [pictured]. In addition, the judge ruled that the six officers will be tried separately. Here’s more on the protests in Baltimore over the hearing. May there be peace and justice in this case — though neither will bring back  Mr. …

Why all the social unrest?

Because we, through very bad public policy and a slavish devotion to create low-resource neighborhoods, made it so. Read this from Paul A. Jawgorsky, professor of public policy at Rutgers University. Boiled down The number of people living in high-poverty ghettos, barrios, and slums has nearly doubled since 2000, rising from 7.2 million to 13.8 …

I wish the Americans had fought against austerity, as the Europeans are now

I wrote this for The Guardian’s Comment Is Free. We aren’t following the protests much, but Europeans are fighting to keep their safety nets. We should have, as well, but we let the damnable notion of the American Dream convince us that a net isn’t necessary, that You Can Make It Here. Onward.

I wrote this for Mother Courant on Sunday

After talking to Bishop John Selders, of Kinloch, Missouri, and pastor at Hartford’s Amistad Congregational Church, I realized he was making some excellent points: People who express surprise or dismay about the protests surrounding the mysterious death of African American men at the hand of some police officers really should read their Declaration of Independence. …

Today, Hartford’s protesters who were arrested last Thursday are going to court

They’re due in community court at 9 a.m. and I’m going because I love to watch democracy (and our court system) in action. Onward!

The Occupy movement outside the camps

A few hours after police cleared out the vanguard encampment of the Occupy movement in New York, the scene at Occupy Hartford was quiet. But Occupiers are there – or, if not physically in the tents at Farmington and Broad, they’re participating in the movement for economic justice. That’s Ron Paul liberatarians, Obama Democrats, Reagan …