Category: Society

While We Wait for Reality to Set In for Some People, A Few Thoughts

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In an Odd Period of Transition, Trump Makes It Even Odder

About Presidential Transitions

These transitions every four or eight years are fascinating, full of potential and danger. Most of the time, they go pretty smoothly. All parties seem to see the value in a smooth and graceful transition. I remember the Clinton team speaking with appreciation and admiration of the Bush team ensuring the best possible transition.

It is, nevertheless, a time of risk for the nation. If anyone is looking for an opportunity for foreign misadventure, this would be the time to spring it on us.

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Let Us Reflect Upon Snakes and Heroes, Progress and Challenge

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In So Many Ways, This Felt Like an Election Suitable for 2020. What Next?

 

Are We Having Fun Yet? Is It Over Yet?

One may be forgiven for asking either or both of these questions about the 2020 elections. At various times in recent weeks, the answer to the first question for many of us has been “Not YET!”, followed by “Yeah! – Sort Of!” For the second question, mercifully, it seems about over. But Trump has over 70 days of potential mischief to play around with and some races are close, so don’t relax yet.

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Welcome to the Shortest Blog You Likely Will Ever Receive from Agents of Reason

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It All Comes Down to Today

 

Today is Election Day. Millions and millions of votes have already been cast. The last of them will be done early tonight. Then begins the count, the worries, the hopes. There is not much more to say at this point. Now we see what happens. More talk is wasted breath today.

Like you, I worry a lot about the machinations of the Trumpsters and their supporters. Between intimidation and administrative power or friendly judges, there are people intent on stealing this election. By this point, I expect most of them think they cannot win a fair election.

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When It Counts, The People Show Us the Way

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Vignettes from the Current Election Give Reason to Hope

 This is a Tough Year to Vote

We all know the stories. One drop-off box per county in Texas. Slowdowns in mail delivery around the country. Not enough polling sites, especially in poor and rural areas. Intimidating demonstrators close to polling places. Changing rules, sometimes weekly, as different courts weigh in on one issue or another.

Some local and state officials clearly determined to minimize opportunities to vote. Threats of legal hurdles after the votes are in. In person voting carries a risk to health and life for many.

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Storytelling Vs Speechifying; The Difference is Important

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How Someone Chooses to Communicate Tells a Lot. We See It in This Election

 

Reflections from the Last (Thankfully) Presidential Debate

More than enough has been written about the last Biden-Trump debate (including by me). That is NOT the focus of this little posting. But there is a bit of a connection, and a larger connection to the campaigns at large.

Like most people, I felt Biden had won that debate. I felt better about what he said, and remembered more of what he said. Why was that? I support the guy,

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Taking on the Problems with Courts

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A Biden Administration Should Go Big and Go Long

 

By the time you read this, the Barret hearings will history. As if we needed reminders, the way we choose Supreme Court justices and most other judges is a mess. We can do better. We have discussed a couple of these concerns before, but this is a good time to take inventory.

What are the Issues?

There are many, not all of them obvious. I will note the main ones here. For a fuller discussion, I recommend a recent posting in the blog The Weekly Sift.

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At the Intersection of Domestic Terrorism and Voter Intimidation

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The Next Three Weeks Could Get Ugly – Don’t Flinch

 

An Introductory Note About “Militias”

These groups that call themselves militia are not a new phenomenon. Legitimate groups existed in our earliest history. They evolved into state organizations, then into the National Guard.

What we see running around now is something very different. There was an explosion of such groups following President Obama’s inauguration. Gee, that must have been a coincidence…. They began growing again and got more visible with the encouragement of Donald Trump.

For an excellent look into militias,

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It was an Awful Debate – But It’s Not All Bad News

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There are Silver Linings to this Mess

I said earlier that these debates rarely make a difference, but there are exceptions. This may be one of those exceptions. Let’s look at why that may be so.

Was It That Bad?

Yep, it was. By all accounts, this was the worst such debate in history. Even Moderator Wallace agrees. This was even worse than those awful Republican primary debates in 2016. Whatever standing we had left as a leading country and an exemplary democracy took a merciless beating. The international media coverage and comments from people all over the world were brutal – and deserved.

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An Open Call to the American Courts

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The Courts Are About to Be Challenged as Never Before

Remember 2000? That One Was Childs Play

The last time our courts were challenged by a national election was the 2000 Bush-Gore election. Hard to believe that was 20 years ago. It was, in so many ways, a mess. One would have thought we had learned a lot from that thing. Not so much.

The courts were wresting with this one, but all in all, not doing too terribly. Then the Supreme Court entered the fray. Badly, in two ways. One, they chose to intervene one step too soon.

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3 Quick Observations on 3 Remarkably Important Parts of America

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Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the US Senate, and The Courts

Ruth Bader Ginsberg

It has always been my policy to use the term “personal hero” very, very sparingly. Were you to assemble those I think of in this term, you would have room left over in a mid- sized van. Notorious RBG makes the cut.

What a remarkable person, woman, jurist, human being. Few people bring such passion, such perseverance, such intellect to her life and her work. Her personal life was a love story for the ages. Her vision and focus on what to do and how to get it done were unmatched.

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