Category: Politics and Government

Use the Power of the Marketplace to Drive Social and Political Change

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Changes People Seek by Politics and Government Can Be Helped by Free Markets

We Know the Big Issues

The case can be made that a good portion of the American public agrees on what we want as a nation, although we may have some differences on the details. This is the case even this far from the election. For example, most Americans want some version of the following:

  • Sensible gun policies. Break the growing randomness of deadly violence in public places. The vast majority want universal background checks and some form of registration.

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With Friends Like Us, Who Needs Enemies?

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Let’s review a few of the specifics.

EUROPE

  • President Trump has trash talked NATO from the beginning. The only time NATO activated its “attack on one is an attack on all” clause was when we are attacked on 9/11. Our allies responded, including with many deployments to Afghanistan at our request. Now our allies wonder if we would answer when called. Border states in Eastern Europe certainly wonder. So too the Russians. We are now the weak link in NATO. That was unthinkable for over 50 years.
  • Trump more than once tried to insert himself into the British elections.

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The Fortune 500 List is Out. You Should Care About That

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Some Really Interesting Trends Merit Our Attention, America

The Times, They Are A-Changing

Every year, Fortune magazine comes out with a list of the world’s top 500 corporations, with accompanying analysis and articles.

I don’t know the detailed history, but I would feel safe in betting that for many, many years, that list was about 90% American companies. More on why that is important later. For now, just note that there is a lot more diversity on the list – and another giant.

It was inevitable that American dominance of that list would decline.

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Immigration, Refugees, & The Human Condition – Who Are “The Others?”

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We have Learned – or Relearned – Some Hard and Important Lessons

First, a Correction

A few days ago, I mentioned three areas in this subject domain that are especially egregious. One of these became known the day I published the blog. This was denying automatic citizenship to children born of US parents serving overseas.

Two days later, the policy was clarified. While still reprehensible and immoral, it is much more narrowly focused than originally thought. Read more about it here: https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/755506286/what-do-new-citizenship-rules-for-kids-of-u-s-military-workers-abroad-mean  

Now, on to today’s discussion.

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It Has Come to This – And They Are Not Done Yet

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If What You Are About to Read Doesn’t Enrage You, Relook Who You Are

Immigration – Big Scale, Human Scale

We will be talking in the coming days about immigration writ large. Not just current issues, but the broader and deeper nature of this part of humanity and how we might think about it. That should be a conversation that is balanced and reflective.

But before we get to that, we need to call out the worst of what is going on now in our name. There is not a lot of room for balance and reason for what we will discuss today.

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Thoughts on the Next Round of Debates

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The Number of Participants is Way Down – Now What?

As of Tuesday morning, August 27, 10 candidates have qualified for the September debate(s). There is one more day to qualify. If no one else qualifies, it looks like all 10 will go on for one night. If one or more are added, there will be a drawing to divide them up into two nights, with 6-7 on each night, Some thoughts about all that:

  • Second night crowds tend to be smaller than first nights, but frankly, I would like to see two nights even with 10 candidates.

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Safe, Secure, Trustworthy Voting – It Is Here for the Taking

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Three States Show Us How It Is Done – Russians Be Damned!

We Know What Works

We have talked before about how Washington and Oregon have responsive, secure, and low-cost voting systems. This happened because Democrats and Republicans decided this was important. They worked together to make it happen. Voter turnout  is unimaginably higher than in other states. Stacey Abrams is continuing that effort in Georgia and nationwide, as are others.

Add to that list of states doing it right, Colorado, a state whose 2018 elections were models of effectiveness in every measurable area.

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And So, the Winnowing Begins in Earnest

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The Lists of Viable Candidates and Key Issues are Coming into Focus.

As expected, the list of those running for president is beginning to thin out. This is about on the timeline one would expect, although many were anxious for it to begin earlier. Most of us are eager for it to accelerate. Until we get a candidate (or a small handful of candidates), the issues and strategy will be ill-defined. So, let’s get on with it.

In recent days, we added a candidate (Steyer) and lost two (Swalwell and Hickenlooper).

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Better Angels Brings An Interesting Challenge: Can We Talk?

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A Group Dedicated to the Proposition That We Should Actually Listen to Each Other


Are You Talking to Me? 

Last weekend I put in half a day or so with a group called Better Angels. This is a national group, although thin in many areas. The program I attended last Saturday was their first in the Western portion of my state.

Before I go any further, note that I will put a link to their website at the end of this post. You can see for yourself who they are and what they aspire to achieve.

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The Power and Peril of People in the Streets

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Recent Events Remind Us of History’s Lessons

 

There is a line in a Mel Brooks movie wherein someone comes in to alert the king, “The peasants are revolting.” To which the king, completely misunderstanding the warning, says “They certainly are.”

Well, the peasants are revolting around the world of late, and “kings” must take note. This is how the Arab Spring started. That movement did not end well, but leaders were toppled.

You may have noticed of late that people are protesting. They often times do so in staggering numbers,

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