Columnists

Months from now, as we look back at the 2016 presidential election, we'll argue about several possible tipping points that moved voters towards Hillary Clinton. Was it when she survived FBI Director Comey's speech about her emails? Was it when Hillary decisively defeated Donald Trump in the first presidential debate? Was it one of Trump's tweet-storm fugues? It was Michelle Obama's speech on October 13th. -more-

With less than a month before the November 8th election, the tone of the presidential race is so acrimonious that many voters are turned off. Nonetheless, everyone who is serious about US democracy should pay attention because there are daily revelations, mostly about Donald Trump.

On October 1st, the New York Times revealed that it had received the first few pages of Trump's 1995 tax returns. They revealed that Trump had taken a $916 million write off -- which likely allowed him to not pay taxes for twenty years. Then, on October 7th, the Washington Post revealed the existence of a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape where Trump made lewd comments about women.

Meanwhile, also on October 7th, Wikileaks revealed thousands of emails hacked from the account of Hillary Clinton campaign chair, John Podesta.

Many observers believe that between now and election day there will be dueling revelations: details of Donald Trump's behavior with women -- Trump has the profile of a sexual predator -- and emails from Podesta and other Clinton campaign insiders. Nonetheless, the ultimate "October Surprise" is likely to be the details of Trump's relationship with Russia.

In August, I wrote a column predicting that before the election Trump's tax returns would be hacked: "They’ll likely show zero taxes paid, no charitable contributions, and scary ties to Russian oligarchs." Today we know that Trump paid no taxes and has next to zero charitable contributions. But we still don't understand his ties to Russian oligarchs. That shoe is about to fall. -more-

We cast our absentee ballots for Hillary Clinton for president and here's why:

Hillary Clinton is the most qualified. She had eight years experience in the U.S. Senate; four years experience as the nation's Secretary of State; and eight years as First Lady. Clinton has laid out in detail her positions on the issues. All we have heard from Trump on the issues is that he is going to make America great again, which we take to mean sending the country backward to a time when discrimination and hate were not only accepted but celebrated. -more-

Being mentally ill, aside from the fact that many people treat you like a scapegoat due to their bigotry, aside from living with a disability that, for some of us, prevents working (and this causes poverty), and aside from us having a shorter lifespan in comparison to non-afflicted people, comprises a hard condition to live with. Simply living with the symptoms of a mental illness and the side effects of medication is difficult. -more-