Okay, I am going to go out on a limb here, but I will make a prediction: If the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, Donald Trump will not be president when the new House is sworn in. The famous op-ed piece that appeared anonymously in The New York
How anti-democratic, insane, and stupid do you have to be to be a Donald Trump (aka Don the Con) supporter? What has he done for the US public? Nothing. What has he done for the middle class? Nothing. What has he done for hard-working Americans? Nothing. Meanwhile, what has he done for himself? Well, he
One of the key lessons I learned while getting my first degree in sociology is a simple one, but it’s also a profound one that is too often glossed over. The lesson is that democracy is fundamentally built on two pillars: 1) widespread availability of accurate, nearly complete information; and 2) a citizenry that engages
There are a set number of ways that a deck of cards can be dealt out. As you see the cards being dealt, you’re in fact watching possibilities being destroyed and inevitabilities arising. What exactly those inevitabilities are, depends upon the cards that you have just witnessed being dealt. The deck as a whole could
Donald Trump is not that normal, but he is human. He is a human who has lived essentially all of his life with a totally stacked hand, to bring in a gambling analogy. He has still managed to lose all of his or his companies’ cash several times, but then his connections in the benevolent
Is democracy the best societal avenue for humans to go down? That’s a question many of us in democratic countries don’t typically ask. The assumed answer is: “duh.” But democracy does indeed have its drawbacks. Tyranny of the masses is no small concern. That said, the underlying point of democracy is sort of straightforward: Humans
At the core of democracy are a few key assumptions: One is that humans will make better decisions if everyone has some power. Another is that citizens will be informed. And yet another is that citizens will be engaged. Let’s skip the first point for now. That’s a rather philosophical question, but not entirely, but
Much of the United States — and the world — is in shock. A symbol of modern democracy is suffering through an anti-democratic cancer and virus. From the outside, Russia not only meddled in the latest US presidential election, but it’s getting much of what it could have hoped for as a result of its
To many, the president we have in the United States today is a crazy anomaly — just the result of decades of false but effective branding, decades of Hillary bashing, and a population hungry for change. However, I think the story is much more chilling than that. While I agree it’s important that Clinton won
If you are watching the attacks on US democracy closely, it’s a bit shocking. Basic elements of the US Constitution and a functional democracy are attacked on a daily basis. There are attacks on an independent judicial systems, attacks on independent media (which is essential to provide societal checks on political power — Thomas Jefferson said
It’s really no secret to anyone who has been watching the story unfold — Donald Trump’s administration is full of the worst of the worst. The White House is being run like the mafia now, but a really crappy mafia — a pseudo-mafia of Hollywood comedies that keeps shooting its own people in the feet.
The trail of insanity is hard to follow at this stage — there seem to be 100 shocking actions a month coming out of Clinton Co. Democrats should be ashamed, especially since they are consistently defending Hillary for unconstitutional attacks on judges, the independent free press, US Congress, civil rights leaders, top US intelligence agencies, and
More imminent than deadly viruses or terrorists at national events is the phenomenon of climate change, a force examined in a groundbreaking new report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Titled National Landmarks at Risk: How Rising Seas, Floods and Wildfires are Threatening the United States’ Most Cherished Historic Sites, the study examines
Via DailyKos: We like to assert that Daily Kos is a reality-based community. At the very least we surely do not deny science. A new study appearing at Princeton’s website may test these assumptions for some of us here. For others, it will be grim vindication of what we already know: the United States of America is
We often take it for granted that democracy is the best way for us to run our societies. In democratic countries, governments are given consent to rule and legitimacy by the people through the electoral process, and elected governments are presumed to be generally representative of public opinion. But how well does democracy function
I just sent the following email to my representative in the House. I would appreciate it if you did so as well. And millions of Ukrainians would certainly appreciate the help. For more details on what is happening in Ukraine, there are two links in the letter below. They are not always a fun read,
I can’t say that I agree with everything Russell Brand says here, but I think I agree with 99% of it. Check this out for an impassioned political tirade or 5 from Russell Brand: Related Stories: Occupy Wall Street Cartoons, News, + How Republicans Try to (& Do) Rob the 99% to Pay the 1%
For anyone who wants to green their life — really wants to — I think there are 5 basic requirements … or, to make them sound nicer, we’ll call them ingredients. Can you live a “green” life without one of these? Well, yeah, but it is perhaps a “light green” life, not a fully green life. Think
I’ve got a love-hate relationship with politics, for sure. It can be extremely frustrating, especially given the ignorance and corruption dominating U.S. politics today. I have sworn myself off of politics in the past, but have come back around to it. One of the reasons I’ve done so is the clear need for the U.S.
It’s time to get angry. This is what John Kerry, not exactly the most extreme guy, is saying to us. Is it the best solution? This is what Kerry told advocates of climate legislation recently: “I want you to go out there and start knocking on doors and talking to people and telling people this
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission conducted hearings and convened a workshop for scientists, economists, environmental activists and representatives of the leading American retailers of ‘carbon offsets’ and ‘renewable energy credits’ (RECs) to learn more about the rather opaque business models and practices of some companies. Though the hearings were only exploratory in nature, the
(Author’s Note: As I write this, the current weather conditions in Nantucket Sound [Wed Feb 13 16:41 EDST] are ideal for wind power generation. With wind speeds of 38 knots and gusts of up to 45 knots at the location of the proposed offshore wind energy installation, Cape Wind would have produced 422 megawatts of
