Category: Politics and Government

January 30, 2024

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Politics, Science, Society – A Look Around Various Corners of America Today

How Many Types of Politicians Are There?

Bottom line, there really are only two basic types of politicians and would-be leaders, with one subset noted.Part of being a political leader is deciding what will be used to motivate people to vote for and support you. In spite of all the complexities and variances of modern life, this choice comes down to two basic approaches.

Types One and Two

Type I is to inspire, to call out our best in each other, to stress the us in USA.

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Good News – Part II

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10 More Observations of People, Institutions, or Things to Celebrate

Continuing Our Relentless Pursuit of Good Stuff

A couple of weeks ago, this blog listed a number of good news stories that seemed to me were not getting enough attention, or at least were getting lost in all the doom and gloom we sometimes generate. I mentioned then there were other good news items that made that list but did not want to make the blog too long.

Today, the rest of that list. Admittedly an arbitrary list, not complete and in no special order.

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JANUARY 16, 2024

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Today, a Little of This, A Little of That To Look Through

What’s Going On?

Lots going on currently, as the election season officially began Monday night. Trump did win over 50% of the Iowa vote and the next two candidates were almost tied, so not a two person contest going forward yet, which is unfortunate. One more candidate, the abrasive business man, ended his campaign last night. Now we will start thinking about New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc. But there is more than politics out there to think about. Let’s take a cruise and see what comes up.

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Good News, Here & Now      

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As Promised Last Week, Signs of Progress and Possibilities

Where We Are

An awful lot of what we read in the media, and what we say to each other, calls out a sense of Doom, with a capital D. The political atmosphere seems permanently charged and forever divided There is, in fact, no shortage of seriously worrisome and frightening news out there, just waiting for us.

But hold on a minute- there is a lot of positive news to celebrate and encourage as well. Let’s remind ourselves of a few of them as we start a new year.

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Hey, Santa! You Missed Some Items on Our List – Part II

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Here are Some More Things We REALLY Wanted to Find Under the Tree

Continuing our Shopping List with Santa

Last week we started a conversation about things we wished we had found under our nation’s political holiday tree. Most people agree on these items, although we may disagree on some specifics.

What follows is Part II of that list. At the end of this posting, I will include a short, summarized list of what was posted last week. Taken together these two lists would make our hearts sing – and our country better off –

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Hey, Santa! You Missed Some Items on Our List – Part I

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Here are a Few Items We REALLY Wanted to Find Under the Tree

A Political Wish List

While one can always find disagreements, there are a handful of political reforms that would do wonders for this country. The funny thing is that to the extent our fellow citizens have thought about these items, they agree by large margins.

Hmm, they did not make it as gifts under our tree. Maybe we try again as New Year’s resolutions? Not to make this too long a read, let’s do this as a two part exercise. Let’s see what we have to work with this week,

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1st Tuesday in November

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Victory Dances, Agony, and Arrogance

Elections Around the Country Carried Valuable Lessons for All

There was quite a variety of elections held all over the country last week, for all types of offices and referenda. As is often the case, there were more than a few surprises, results not really forecast by polls and pundits.Any single election, or even a collection of voting patterns, does not necessarily translate into future electoral results. But at times they do, and I think that is the case with these votes. I noted three consistent outcomes that I expect to see repeated in 2024.

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Today We Focus on the Letter “F”

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No, Not That “F” – Other Things

Odds and Ends

Before we begin, today is Election Day in many places. If that includes where you live, hope you are doing or have done the right thing as a citizen and voted, wisely.

I have a few items in mind to share today. I was amused as I developed the list to find that something could be found in common with a very disparate listing – the letter F.  So, with that thin thread of continuity, here we go.

F is for Ford

Ford led the way in making a contract deal with the UAW.

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Book Banning May Be The Single Worst Idea of All Time

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It’s Wrong to Begin With, and Never Stops with “Just” Book Banning

Better Late Than Never

We were going to talk about this over a week ago, but the Middle East demanded a change of focus. That obscene mess is certainly not over, and we likely will come back to it again, but life does not think much of doing one thing at a time.

So, while we worry about international affairs, let’s not loose focus on key domestic issues. And book banning is pretty darn high on that list that deserves our attention and our action.

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The Middle East – Again

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The History is Ugly, The Future is Doubtful – Is This Really The Best We Can All Do?

This Terrible Situation

In every imaginable way, this is about as bad as it gets – and it will get worse.

Unspeakable violence – pure savagery, unspeakable murders were committed against Israel. Over 1300 died, including babies, handicapped, people asleep in their own beds. Thousands more were wounded. None feel secure, anywhere. Israel, meant to be a home for a people on the very edge of annihilation, suffered the worst attack and intelligence failure since the country was founded.

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