I just finished reading “Trump, Putin, and The New Cold War” that appeared in the May 6 issue of The New Yorker (the online title is different in the magazine).

Written by Evan Osnos, David Remnick, and Joshua Yaffa, it is likely the longest article I have ever read in the magazine -- which I’ve been reading for many years. I note this to underscore my judgment as to the article’s importance.

Remember all that talk about infrastructure during the 2016 presidential campaign?

America needs massive new investments in infrastructure: safer bridges; modern sewers; a more efficient electricity grid; better transportation options; an upgraded air traffic control system; and so on.

Building infrastructure would create jobs in the short run. More important, it would make us richer and more productive as a nation in the long run.

The Republican Party needs to be saved, according to a handful of budding politicians in New Jersey, who label themselves FIRE Republicans. They aim to pull the party away from entrenched candidates and extremism, and back to the people's party of Lincoln and Roosevelt.

"If a house is on fire, and you run away from it, it burns down the whole neighborhood," said founder, Dana Wefer. "Republicans are on fire, and we need to put it out so it doesn't take down our whole democracy. We need to run toward the fire."

Statistics are pointing to a another steep rise in opioid deaths within the next 10 years. To illustrate the point of just how critical the crisis has become, in the state of Massachusetts, 90% of all drug overdoses are attributed to opioids. In Connecticut, the figure stands at 86%.

Days after his administration said it wasn't ready to declare it an emergency, President Trump said he’s drafting paperwork to declare the opioid crisis a "national emergency."

It probably comes as no surprise to many that Congress' approval among US adults is 16 percent, according to Gallup.

One would expect the approval rating among Democrats to be down, as Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Independents also have a low approval of Congress -- at around 16 percent.

But what is driving down Congress' approval rating more than anything is a huge drop among Republicans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btItLAjT5zg&t=4s

"Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it." - Rick Bragg

The challenge in solving the homelessness problem in this country is that it takes heart, consistency, and courage. And in our fast-paced, gotta-have-it-yesterday world, far too few politicians possess all three qualities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y

We've all seen it: a news network will convene a panel of pundits from opposing political parties to discuss an issue.

Five minutes later, the entire conversation has devolved into the pundits yelling over each other, with arguments deteriorating into such intellectually-devoid statements as “yes they did!” and “no they didn’t!”

We’ve also seen the two political parties change their stances on several topics.

The Federal Election Commission has argued that since Level the Playing Field is not a political party and gives no guarantee that it will run or back a candidate in 2020, it has no “competitor standing” to challenge the commission’s policymaking.

Commission on Presidential Debates Update:

The Court has issued filing deadlines for the Commission on Presidential Debates Complaint:

• Level the Playing Field's motion for Summary Judgment is due by 9/15/2017

LPF’s mission is to promote greater competition and choices in elections for federal office, particularly for the Presidency and Vice Presidency. Currently, the system is weighted to favor the duopoly.

The rest of the filing schedule is the following:

Few people in the world don't know who Elon Musk is, and that's exactly the way the billionaire entrepreneur wants it. Musk's cult of personality is largely responsible for powering his clean energy cars and fueling his SpaceX rockets.

His handlers court Hollywood. He's appeared in Iron Man, dated actresses, and has his own rocket company. Musk has cornered cool, and his clean energy empire has been built on that image.