Tag: Democracy
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine proves land wars are so 20th century and democracies are valuable
A week ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine, I remember going to bed feeling upset and morose. I didn’t sleep well. It was a strange reaction to events half a world away, but it’s good to know I was not alone. Lots of Americans are feeling the same way. The invasion of Ukraine has permeated American…
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Stay calm and stop doing stupid stuff
Was my last post too alarming? I actually hope it was. But I’m hardly alone thinking the end is nigh for democracy in our country. Thanks to gerrymandering, the number of competitive House districts is now nearly nonexistent. An institute that monitors the health of democracies listed the United States as a backsliding democracy. It’s…
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Tomorrow’s unfortunate news today
I can see the future! Obviously I’ve made lots of predictions over the years and many of them turned out wrong. And while I can’t say exactly when and how things will happen in the future, I can see the future of the United States easily enough over the next decade or so. Most likely,…
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A real constitutional crisis is well underway
I was hoping Trump’s defeat would lead to the death of the Republican Party. Obviously that didn’t happen. It is fair to say that the Republican Party is basically the Trump Party now, so in that sense it is dead. Ronald Reagan, for example, would not recognize the party, although he did much to put…
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Now Republicans no longer believe in republicanism
I can understand if Republicans have an issue with the democracy thing. True democracy is direct rule by the people, which you can still find here in many towns here in New England. Those who show up at the town meeting get to vote on pressing local issues, which around here include weighty matters like…
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Republicans are inadvertently voting themselves off the island
Last I heard, today was revolution day, take two. The insurrection of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 failed but at the cost of a half dozen deaths. Today is the day Trump is finally supposed to become president again somehow, or maybe it’s king. This appear to be the latest conspiracy theory going around…
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Hold onto your hats on January 6th
It sure would be nice if it were January 20th already. Unfortunately, we still have more than two weeks to go. To no one’s surprise, Trump isn’t going quietly. In the interim he plans to make things as dangerous as possible for our country. It’s also likely that once out of office he’ll spend most…
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Opening Pandora’s box
The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. After the constitutional convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked what sort of government we were going to get. He famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Next Wednesday may be the end of our republic. That’s when the U.S. Senate is likely to acquit Donald Trump. The…
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Trump is impeached. So now what?
So yea, I got my wish: Donald Trump is impeached, and he’s become the first Republican president to earn the dubious distinction. (Richard Nixon was wise enough to resign before the House voted.) I should be dancing for joy except I don’t dance and this momentous event is really just one strategic chess move in…
Occam's Razor 