Category: Politics and Government

Capitalism? Socialism? Something Else?

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Our Choice of a Socio-Economic System Determines About Everything

 

Something New for Agents of Reason – A Four Part Series

Well, We Do Pick Easy, Simple Topics Here, Don’t We?

 It’s summertime, so I thought, “What the heck! Let’s pick something easy to deal with. How about choosing a socio-economic system for the US going forward? That shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks.”

 Kidding aside, this is a conversation going on in fits and starts around the country, and its one we need to have.

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Are All Republican Politicians Alike? Nope – There are 3 Types. OK, 3.5 Types

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Two of the Three Merit Disgust and Disdain; One Owes Us Answers; 0.5 are Lonely

 

Beware the Temptation to Stereotype

In a time of national division, it is easy – tempting – to think of those with whom we disagree as all being alike. It will not be a shock to readers of this blog that I am not a fan of what now passes for the Republican party. But that does not mean that I see all Republican officials and office holders as the same. In my mind, they fall into 3,

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Profiles in Courage

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Let’s Acknowledge Political and Physical Courage When We See It

 

Who Rises to the Challenge?

Fate, history if you will, has a way of calling on people at inconvenient times. One day, you are just minding your own business, the next you are thinking about risking everything. Funny how that happens. It is endlessly fascinating to watch how this plays out, as it does, every day, all around the world, in large and small venues. For me, the quote from Dr. King at the start of this blog post says it all.

What separates those who rise from those who fall short is most often the failure to ask the final question in the quote.

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Psst! Hey, Catholic Bishops – Can We Talk?

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I have a Question

 

You May Have Heard What the Bishops are Up to of Late

American Catholic bishops recently took a drastic step. They went on record, by a hefty margin, recommending that local catholic authorities withhold the sacrament of the Eucharist for President Biden. The wording is more general, but everyone recognizes Biden is the target. They will decide in November on doing this or not.

Just to remind, the Eucharist (Communion) is ritual the church believes channels divine grace. It takes inspiration from the Last Supper. Participants consume bread and wine.

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Ever Notice That Guns and Inoculations Have Something in Common?

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No, It’s Not the Word “Shots”

 

Looking for Balance – or Choosing Not to Do So

It should be fairly obvious that questions around gun ownership and vaccinations touch on major issues of personal liberty and community responsibility. Not either – both. And yet, the debate has been so long and so rancorous on one of these (guns), that people tend to move immediately to an all or nothing position. Given the divisions in the nation in the post Trump era, the same thing has quickly come to the arguments about requiring or expecting vaccinations.

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You Say You Love Your Country? OK – Let’s See What That Means

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Love is a Complicated Thing – with a Person or a Country

 

America – Love It or Leave It

Remember that phrase? It was not a new sentiment, but the phrase became part of the national lexicon during the Nixon era. The national divisions over the Vietnam war had developed into a broader national division. Nixon and Agnew fanned the divisions and that phrase got repeated (most often, got yelled) a lot.

The implication, of course, was that any criticism of the country, and by extension of the government, was wrong and was unpatriotic.

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How Bad is This Ransomware Thing? Worse Than You Ever Imagined.

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Fortunately, We Finally Have an Administration Who Gets It

 

Who is Doing This?

It appears three groups are doing the dirty deed.

One is plain old-fashioned criminals, out to make a buck whenever and wherever they can. These groups are truly international now, as well as domestic. The sad reality is that this sort of crime in not all that hard to carry out and it is hard to stop or trace (more on that later). Suffice it to say there is an abundance of low-life types getting into this arena.

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A Grab Bag of News and Views

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There is a Lot Going On. Let’s Poke Around a Bit

A Time of Transitions

We are always in a state of transition, but that seems especially true now. A new administration is settled in, the Middle East is heating up yet again. We have come from the worst pandemic record in the world to one of the best. Exiting and possible game changers are popping up in technology. And more. So, here we go.

The Biden Administration Settles In

This is about as good a start-up phrase I have ever seen. The team Biden selected is stellar and they hit the ground running.

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This Blog Began Because of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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How NOT to Solve a Problem – And Lessons for the Rest of Us

 

Why Comment on This Now?

Goodness knows, everyone has a column about the conflict in recent days, but I felt compelled to add my two cents worth for a number of reasons. This has major moral, political, and security implications for a lot of people, including us. And lessons to be learned, if we will.

I visited Israel and Lebanon some years ago. I came back more depressed and worried than when I arrived. What I saw,

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A Year Ago, We Set Out Benchmarks for a New Administration

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So, How are They Measuring Up on Our To-Do List?

 

Our Hopes in Early 2020

We had no idea in the JAN-MAR 2020 timeframe who would be the US President by this time. We hoped it would be just about anyone except He Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken. With that hope in mind, this blog listed, over a period of the first quarter of 2020, a set of goals that we hoped a new administration would pursue. One list was of legislative goals, the other a list of political reforms.

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