Search Results for: So, Where to Now, America

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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Who Knew? “October Surprise” is a Month-Long Event

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Planning and Timing are Taking a Beating – Typical of 2020

October as a Mix of Surprise, Karma, and Unknowns to Come

We expect surprises, ambushes, and breaks of luck in any election October. But, boy did we get a full load this time around. And we are less than a week into it! What fun awaits us between now and the first Tuesday in November? Let’s take a fresh perspective on what we have on our plate so far.

Medical News, Social Responsibility (NOT), & Transparency (None)

The deliberate carelessness of Trump and company is finally catching up with them.

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The First Presidential Debate is Tonight

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What to Look For. What’s at Stake. What’s at Risk

Do Debates Make Any Difference?

Generally, they do not. But there are exceptions. The first one televised, between Kennedy and Nixon, advantaged Kennedy. The impact of that one debate alone, since the election was so close, was large. The Reagan-Mondale debates might be another one that counts for big impact, all in Reagan’s favor.

Vice Presidential debates rarely tip the balance. But I bet those of us who were around at the time still remember Lloyd Bentsen’s devastating comment to Dan Quale. “I knew Jack Kennedy.

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The Number of Key Election Variables is Narrowing

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Anything Could Still Happen, but Probabilities are Narrowing to Three Key Variables

 

 Approaching the Home Stretch

We are now in the lower double digits until Election Day. Many thousands of citizens are already voting via absentee ballots. Millions more will vote well before Election Day. Some estimate that more than 50% of the electorate will vote before NOV 3.

Still, 49 days is forever in politics. October surprises are always possible, this time on both sides. As noted below, there are known variables still at play. The number of wild cards are getting crowded out by time and probabilities.

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Hope, Promise, and Fun from Science and Technology

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It Will be Hard to Avoid Politics for the Next Couple of Months. Let’s Take a Brain Break

Part of our Hey! Look at That! Series

We are in a time of challenge, tension, and reasons to worry. We have been here before in many ways, I note, on this the anniversary of the terrorism of 9/11. Still, even in times of risk and fear, there is also hope and good news. I thought we might take a one day break today to look at some of those things, take a deep breath,

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Joe Biden Was Right All Along

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The First Words from Joe Biden as a Candidate Are at the Heart of This Election

Take Note

 

Political campaigns are full of forgettable phrases. They also can contain words for the ages. As it turns out, Joe Biden uttered two of the latter when he declared his candidacy. They proved to be the defining issues of this campaign and what we will be as a nation going forward.

History rarely puts that large a stamp on a few words, but it did this time. If Biden wins, it will be largely because most Americans came to agree with him.

 

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Talking About My Generation (and Yours, and Theirs)

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Let’s Take a Closer Look at Some Loose Talk About What is Different for Generations.

 

 A Little Perspective, Please

Every generation bears its burdens and has its collective personality. Some try (not a new phenomenon through the ages) to foster intergenerational tension. I thought it might be useful to take a look at some of the specifics and see how things shake out once examined.

Let’s take a look at those now coming of age, Boomers, and to get a broader perspective, back to the turn of the last century.

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A Long View of History

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A Short Break from US Politics to Think about Something a Bit Longer Term.

I seem to have run into a slew of reading and viewing of late about lost civilizations. I have “visited” these places before, but my recent engagements have left me with a new thought line that rather connects them all.

First, Let’s Review the Terrain

  • Peru, where an impressive civilization that left us Machu Pichu, once ruled a powerful empire.
  • Ancient Egypt, the remains of which some estimate we have uncovered only about 5%.
  • Angor Watt was the largest complex ever built at that time of history.

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Hey, How About That Democratic Convention?!

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More Than a Few Surprises, Mostly Good Ones

Anticipation and Apprehension

I suppose we were all more than a little curious as to how this thing might go. We have all been to enough Zoom meetings of late to know the digital, virtual format has some advantages and loads of opportunities for misfires.

So, a lot of people were hoping for the best but feared this could be a sterile, dull event. Turns out, they need not have worried.

A Lot Went Very Right – Here Are My Top 10

Time Limits,

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What Do the Republican Party and Black Lives Matter Have in Common?

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In a Surprising Way, More Than You Might Think

 

Remember When Black Lives Matter (BLM) Started?

Or, do you remember at least when the BLM movement first caught your attention? I remember when I first started paying attention. I bet my reaction was the same as a lot of people. Something along the lines of yes, indeed, we have a sorry racial history in this country, and we are way overdue to address it in so many ways.

But, I thought, white supremacy? That seems a bit overstated,

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