Category: Politics and Government

Dunn vs Ray is a Low Mark, Even for This Supreme Court

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Common Compassion and a Modicum of Decency Would Have Gone a Long Way

The Background

There have been a lot of high visibility news stories in recent weeks. Perhaps lost in the din of events, a legal case was settled in a result that is unworthy of us as Americans.

In February of this year, the US Supreme Court ruled on a freedom of religion case, Dunn vs Ray. The issues were narrow as these things go, yet this case should go down as one the court will carry with shame.

To be clear,

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Marley’s Ghost is Coming Now?

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Two BIG Votes Are Coming Up – Are Republicans About to Be Haunted?

Remember that great opening scene in A Christmas Carol? Jacob Marley’s ghost stands before Ebenezer Scrooge. He calls upon him to face the choices he has made and the consequences that followed. Great literature, powerful theater.

Beware, Member of Congress– A Ghost is Looking for You

I find myself wondering how many Republicans in Congress have seen that play or read that book. Their Marley ghost is coming closer to call upon them and to call them out.

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A Clarion Call for The Just Right Candidate

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Give Us Youth, Please –and Experience

Anyone Else Want to Run, or is About 20 Candidates Enough?

We are now into double digits for declared Democratic candidates for president. At least as many may yet make the run. The count could well surpass the 17 that the Republicans fielded last time. You might recall how well that went for everyone.

All things considered, it is natural that so large a group is signing up to be our next leader. To a degree, this is a healthy thing. It is a time to expand our vision and to consider a wide range of options about policies and candidates.

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Thinking 3rd Party, True Believer, or Independent Candidate?

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Don’t. Just don’t.

The 2020 elections are off to an early start. On the Democratic side, the candidate roster is creeping up on double digits already. The calendar mark of “too late to get in the race” is likely to come early this time around. For the Republican, there are scenarios involving Trump’s impeachment or resignation. The hunt is on for viable candidates to challenge Trump in the primaries. If someone like the governor of Maryland takes that leap, the challenge could be substantial. Team Trump is hard at work trying to short circuit challenges in the primaries and at the convention.

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Government Shutdowns: Lessons, Morals, Costs, and Opportunities

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  1. There is a lot of pontificating going on about the government shutdown. What was actually important to learn?

 

Well, the government shutdown is behind us – at least for now

President Trump continues to make growling noises about doing it again in a couple of weeks. With this president, who knows? Still, it seems unlikely at this point.

Shutdowns are not new, although this one had some unique wrinkles, as we will discuss. The uniqueness of any one shutdown notwithstanding, there are lessons for anyone who wants to learn them.

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An American Handicap – Peculiar and Self-Inflicted, But Curable

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Our Size, Timeline in History, and Geography Shaped America -for Good and for Ill

 

A LONG time ago, I sat in a political history class in college. I was contemplating American history and current events. The professor had pointed out that there were some unique factors in America’s formation. These made the country we know possible, in the way it has developed. Today, I can see some problems resulting from those early factors.

Size: The first of these factors was that we had a continent on which to grow. Much of it was wilderness.

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Making Super Tuesday Actually Super

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A Proposal to Make a Most Important Day and the Rest of the Election Cycle Work

 

Before starting this conversation, let’s be clear about something. The national parties do NOT organize primaries (date, open or closed, primary or caucus). States do their own thing, yielding various kinds of chaos and skewed outcomes. The national parties can cajole. They can threaten sanctions at the convention. But they have remarkably little control. More on that later.

A Killer Calendar

Super Tuesday in the 2020 election cycle comes on March 3 this time around.

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YOU are in Cybersecurity Danger – From FOUR Directions – Part I

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The Risks are Far Worse Than Most of Us Think. But There is Hope

This is the first part of a two-part post. Today’s blog lays out the primary dangers we face individually and as a country. Part II looks at ways out of this mess.

We are all aware that a lot seems to be amiss in the world of cybersecurity. What may have gotten lost for some of us is how deep and wide the threats run. There is an overarching framework that makes this all exceptionally dangerous. The attacks come from four different threats,

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Tipping Points: Science, Surprise, and Power

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There is a phenomenon in both the physical sciences and in human interaction known as the tipping point. In common language, such a thing may be referred to as “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a “point of no return,” or “the last straw.”

That such things exist, in nature and in human society, is widely recognized. It is often easy to see exactly where that point was in post event analysis. Ah, but seeing it as it comes over the horizon – that is much harder. Discerning the tipping point is a fascinating process.

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And a Lump of Coal for You, Voter!

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Republicans in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Elsewhere Have Shown What They Think of Voters

Most of us have heard that in Michigan and Wisconsin lame duck sessions are doing evil work. They are building poison pills for the November elections. Let’s be clear about what is going on, what’s the history, and who should stand against such piracy. The answer to that last question may not be what you think.

What is Going On?

The voters in these and other states came out in record numbers and made their choices clear.

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