Category: Politics and Government

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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Education in America – Part II

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Higher Education: Public, Private, and Community Institutions

 

 

Tell Me Again -Why are We Having This Conversation?

Education is one of those things people tend to get excited about if they have family members engaged in the education system or they hear of some scandal afoot. But otherwise, it fades in the background for many of us. That is a mistake.

Education arguably does more than almost any other element in shaping success or failure for millions of people. It is – or is not- the gateway to opportunity.

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This is Not Your Father’s Infrastructure

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Biden Refines the Term for the 21st Century – Republicans are “Confused”

 

 So Just What is Infrastructure?

Infrastructure, in the simplest use of the term, refers to the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or a specific enterprise. It is the hardware and structures we need to make everything work, effectively and safely.

It also tends to be something often neglected and overlooked. Infrastructure takes maintenance, updates, replacements, and creation in new elements. Fail to do these things, and your country begins to look like a Third World entity.

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Welcome to Table Topics

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A Quick Look at a Mix of Subjects – Have Fun!

 

Table Topics?

What the heck is Table Topics? Glad you asked. Many years ago, I stumbled into a Toastmasters Club. What a lucky day that was! I returned for many an enjoyable meeting – and in so doing, picked up a theme for today’s blog.

For those unfamiliar with them, Toastmasters Clubs exist all over the world, bringing together 3 groups of people: those who enjoy public speaking, those who wish to improve their public speaking abilities,

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Should Washington DC be a State?

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Wait Until You See the Reasons Some Think Not

 

A Short History of the DC Conundrum

There are lots of factors and nuances around the creation of the District of Columbia, but if I may be allowed the short version, the founders thought it important that the national capital be independent of any state, and so created DC.  There was some concern about the risk of an errant governor (Geez, seen any of those lately?) holding the capital hostage in some way.

The founders were, all in all,

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A Little Alphabet Soup

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Two M’s + one N Spell Some Interesting Conclusions

Today We Wander a Bit

Three unconnected thoughts seemed to fill my head over the last few days and so I thought I might share them with you. Let’s talk about Two M’s (Mechanics and Morality) and a single N (Nunes). Here we go.

 M for Mechanics

 Like much of America, I have been interested in the discussion about Senate mechanics, especially but not exclusively the filibuster. It seems pretty clear that throughout our history,

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How About Some Really Good Reading?

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I Have Been Reading Some Great Stuff. Allow Me to Share.

 

The State of Writing in America

I am pleased to report that, at least from my perspective, there is some really fine writing going on in this country. I have a short list of recent work that I have been thoroughly enjoying.

Note I said enjoying, present tense. I find that I tend to slow up when I find exemplary writing. I like to kind of roll around in the luxury of stories well told or facts well analyzed.

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