a Trump surrogate on CNN recently said: “There’s no such thing, unfortunately, anymore as facts.” And our President-elect lies and misinforms the public without compunction. Reality has a way of asserting itself, whether one believes in it or not. Science still recognizes facts. The question is how much damage will be done by people in … Continue reading Facts still exist.

My vilification of Jill Stein and Green Party voters has nothing to do with thinking the Democratic Party has any claim to Green Party voters (something these voters often say to me). It is about the lack of effective leadership in accomplishing their platform. I just read through https://www.greenparty.org/Platform.php There are about 100 bullet points in … Continue reading Green Party leadership works against their own platform

Republicans often try to convince us that economic concerns force them to kill Medicare, but there is little evidence for this. It is more efficient than private insurance (which has to make a large profit) and since Obamacare, Medicare outlays per beneficiary have risen only 1.4 percent a year [Krugman, NYT]. Paul Ryan has repeatedly … Continue reading Will the media serve us better when the Republicans try to kill Medicare?

Trump's so-called "mandate" stems from coming in second to Hillary in the vote total, but getting more rural votes, which our constitution values more highly than votes from large states. Specifically, using Wikipedia population data: California has more population than our 21 least populous states. California's 39M people get 55 electoral votes, the 36M in … Continue reading Vestiges of slavery elevate Trump

Jill Stein and Gary Johnson likely (cannot say with certainty of course, but what if they had campaigned for Hillary?) gave Trump the boost he needed to overcome Hillary, following in Ralph Nader's tradition of helping to elect Republicans. if 10% of Gary Johnson voters in Michigan had voted for Hillary, she would have won … Continue reading Gary Johnson and Jill Stein carry on Nader’s tradition

I'll name 2 of the reasons, ignoring things like Trump not respecting the rule of law. (1) Sadly for democracy, it has become standard practice in GOP-controlled states to do everything possible (until the courts order them to stop) to deprive targeted people of their constitutional right to vote (e.g., by purging them from the … Continue reading Democracy itself is on the ballot.

Many articles (starting Labor Day) have appeared on the crises of men not having jobs (Wall St Journal, NYT, NPR ...) and they all agree on the stats and make the same points. In 2015, only 85% (WSJ) to 88% (NPR) of men (in their prime working ages of 25-54) have jobs compared to the … Continue reading Why aren’t men working?

Instead of investigating Russian hacking and attempts to influence our election, Comey decided to join them in trying to tip the balance for Trump, without any evidence of wrongdoing. Why doesn't he hold a press conference and describe how the FBI is investigated Trump's former campaign manager's ties to the Ukraine and Putin? Surprise, surprise … Continue reading FBI Director v. Hillary

My primary interest is in leading an ethical life. The first step is too think deeply about what you want. A good life is a good life among other human beings. I must see and respect the humanity in others if I want them to treat me as human. (inspired by Fernando Savater)