The news is full of it – literally and figuratively: Trump is surging in the polls, especially in so-called battleground states. Is it time to worry?

Indeed, it is, but not about Trump. The Donald has been headed for defeat from the moment he started trouncing his rivals in the Republican primaries and caucuses. No matter that the polls are now detecting a Trump surge (more like a trickle, actually) or that the know-it-alls -- left, right and center -- now think otherwise. Nothing has changed; he still is. More

People seem excited about the debates on Monday. I find the anticipation inexplicable. The much-hyped standoff at Hofstra shows all the hallmarks of being a great dud on the order of the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight/tap dance. Trump will endeavor, perhaps with the aid an ample dosing of Prozac administered by the amicable Dr. Bornstein, to be on his best behavior and Hillary, her head stuffed to the brim with briefing books, will come off as a prolix Ph.D. student defending her dissertation on the role of milkmaids in the novels of Thomas Hardy. A defanged Trump isn't worth watching. And no one needs to endure another pedantic lecture on Smart-Pants Power from Hillary Clinton. More

If black athletes in the NFL honestly think that African Americans who live under Old Glory are as 'equally protected 'as whites, then they should stand up during the national anthem and sing-along. But if they know that blacks aren't getting a square deal, and that blacks can be gunned down at any time by trigger-happy cops who never face the consequences, then they owe it to themselves and their country to demand change by remaining seated.

I'm sorry that football players have to go through this. I'm sorry they find themselves in a situation where they're forced to make a political statement. After all, they're not politicians and they don't want to be. They're private citizens like the rest of us who just want to do their jobs, make some money, and be left the hell alone. More