And What Have We Done? 49% of us was enough to elect a person with a cult following and little to recommend him, otherwise.
Category: Politics
Kings, Dictators and Oligarchs
Money and Influence
Double Haters?
Looking at consensus presidential polling from FiveThirtyEight , Trump has a one percent lead over Biden, 41.5% vs 40.5%. In other words, the people responding to the polls are not excited about either 2024 presidential candidate. These polls indicate that there is a significant bloc of voters, approaching 20%, who dislike both candidates. The 2024 election somewhat resembles the 2016 contest (when exit polls showed 18% disliked both candidates) more than the 2020 contest. Biden has lost favor because of . . .
Can Politicians Be Leaders?
We are living in an era when many politicians are entertainers rather than leaders. Getting the important things done has become secondary to being bellicose with personal attacks on opponents – flinging talking points without substance. Peter Drucker: “Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things.” Our elected representatives need to recognize what is important and focus on fixing the problems. We have concerns that need their attention: immigration, climate change, war lords, gun control and poverty . . .
History Gaps?
George Santos (R- New York) has created a fabulous personal history out of thin air. His history, as an elite athlete and volleyball star, savvy business tycoon, friend of dogs, grandson of holocaust survivors got him elected. So it worked? When we read history, we tend to accept it as being truthful. It’s written down by maybe a professor from Harvard and contains many facts, most probably true. But, it can’t contain all the facts. What about those missing . . .
Accomplishing Something
Why can’t we get things done collectively? There are many reasons why our personal plans fall short. One common reason is that our plan is not well thought out. A cure for this is to collaborate with someone. “Two heads are better than one”, attributed to John Heywood in his Dialogue of proverbs (1546), is solid folk wisdom. For the bigger challenges of our time such as gun violence, ruining the planet, and chaotic and massive human migration, we need . . .
What Is War?
War has played a major role in human history, whether war is raging or not. During peace-time the military prepares for war, while society absorbs the cost. Some theories consider war to be an integral part of the essence of humankind while others consider war to be the result of specific economic or ecological conditions. Philosophers have wrestled with the concept of being “human” for centuries. Do we have an essence, a nature, which causes us to start wars and . . .
Why Join a Political Party?
An independent can be defined as someone who votes for candidates on issues rather than on the basis of a political ideology or partisanship. Let’s think for ourselves. Why rely on a political party with its lobbyists selecting a position on a list of issues from healthcare, military spending, gun control, income gap, or climate change? What if you love your guns and are also worried about our response to climate change? Why are these issues tied together? Because that is how the . . .
Sanctions: Blunderbuss Diplomacy
Sanctions are penalties applied to countries, organizations and individuals because of economic, political, military and social disagreements. Sanctions typically include trade barriers, tariffs and/or restricted access to money and are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an agency of the US Treasury Department. The effectiveness of sanctions is debatable: In a report to the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights in 2000, Marc Bossuyt suggests “these international economic sanctions are based on the assumption that economic pressure . . .