It's a relief that Trump received a decisive repudiation, and that it manifested quickly and decisively enough that he can't productively contest it. Democrats will now control both the house and senate with comfortable margins. In addition, they made progress down ballot, winning governor and state legislatures that could have major implications in the years … Continue reading Election 2026
Tag: Politics
Voting 2026
I have to admit I often have trouble summoning the motivation to vote in the midterms. Usually the polling in my state is so lopsided that it seems pointless. However, it turns out that the two senate candidates this year are within five points of each other. Realistically, the MAGA candidate is probably going to … Continue reading Voting 2026
Election 2024
Some thoughts on the US election. First, there's no way to sugarcoat this. It's a Trump win. Not only did he win the electoral college, but it looks like he will win the popular vote this time. However we feel about it, it is a decisive win. Strangely enough, I'm not as shell shocked as … Continue reading Election 2024
Voting 2024
I voted today. As with the last several elections, it was via early voting. My schedule was relatively light today, lighter than it's going to be next week, and probably lighter than election day. Getting it out of the way seemed like a good idea. This time I avoided the mistake I made last time, … Continue reading Voting 2024
The myth of left and right
I've written before that I think the idea of politics as happening between different philosophical schools is misguided. In this interview on The Dissenter podcast, Hyrum Lewis often strikes me as criticizing the left more than the right, but I think his thesis is basically sound. "Left" and "right" as concepts can be misleading when … Continue reading The myth of left and right
An election fit for 2020
Well, that's a relief. Even though there were warnings for weeks and months before the election about a "red mirage" that might happen election night, a result of Trump supporters voting on election day and Biden supporters voting heavily by mail, and the order in which the ballots would be counted, even though many of … Continue reading An election fit for 2020
Voting in the general election, 2020 edition
I voted. I did early voting, although I would have preferred to have voted by mail. However, my state's Republican dominated legislature did everything they could to prevent that. The state only offered mail-in voting after they lost a lawsuit, and then only for relatively narrow cases. To do it, I would have had to … Continue reading Voting in the general election, 2020 edition
The rise of the west and the changing sociopolitical landscape
Aeon this weekend highlighted a 2017 article by Joel Mokyr looking at how Europe became the richest part of the world (or at least one of the richest). Historically, there have been many theories, ranging from racist rationals, cultural ones, to it merely being Europe and the overall west's turn to be on top. That … Continue reading The rise of the west and the changing sociopolitical landscape
Don’t teach Congress about science and technology; teach the voters
M. Anthony Mills has a short piece at Politico advocating the return of the OTA (Office of Technology Assessment), which was defunded in the 1990s as a budget cutting measure. The argument is that congress needs to know more about science and technology, that maybe if they knew more, they'd make better decisions. Except, politics … Continue reading Don’t teach Congress about science and technology; teach the voters
Politics is about self interest
I've read a lot of history, including American history of the 18th and 19th centuries. It's interesting to read about the politics of these periods. From a distance across generations and centuries, you can see the distinction between the self interested stances people took and the rhetoric that was used to justify those stances. An … Continue reading Politics is about self interest
