A Way Of Looking At Things
February 29, 2020
That was the title of Bret Stephens’ opinion column today. Why does Bernie scare Bret? I’ll hazard a guess. It’s because Bret is a so-called “conservative.”
Conservatives, pretty much by definition, are scared of things. All sorts of things. Change, of course, but especially the future.
Conservative ! Scaredy cat !
MOE
M.I.C.H. – Modernity, Intelligence, Complexity, Humanity
February 10, 2020
Before trains, cars and airplanes, a trip to Washington was a long slog on horseback. So selecting delegates to vote for you – whether for the nominating convention or for the general election, via the Electoral College – was a big deal.
In 2020, why on Earth would a party as large as the Democrats not simply use ranked voting in the largest states, on paper ballots, to select its candidate?
The results of a ranked vote (first choice, second choice, etc) in the half dozen most populous states would clearly identify the most viable candidate.
Those half dozen states contain about 256 million people, or roughly77% of the nation’s population. I consider this a significant cross-section.
Given the Democrats’ advantage in registered voters nationwide, a candidate selected that way ought to win almost every time against the out-numbered GOP. Barring cheating in the count, of course.
MOE
M.I.C.H. – Modernity, Intelligence, Complexity, Humanity
February 7, 2020
Sanders because he motivates the base. But his age suggests one term.
Warren because she’s the smartest. And this country is more likely to have a woman president after it’s grown accustomed to a woman vice president. Hate to say it, especially because HRC actually won in 2016, but it’s likely so.
Both because a new kind of oligarchy is forming and these two are the best heads to confront it. This might give us three to four terms, at least, to stop the cycle of Republican economic damage followed by Democrat economic repair.
The fact that they don’t necessarily get along well makes it all the better.
MOE
M.I.C.H. – Modernity, Intelligence, Complexity, Humanity
February 1, 2020
So now the process of England (and maybe Wales, too, but probably not Scotland or Northern Ireland) becoming great again begins. Now they can negotiate with their neighbors once again from a position of strength.
Remind me, because I forget. What specifically is their negotiating advantage? That they drive on the wrong side of the road and therefore need their own kind of cars, or that they don’t use the same money as everybody else?
MOE
M.I.C.H. – Modernity, Intelligence, Complexity, Humanity
February 1, 2020
It’s been clear for some time that the central powers at the RNC have something on every last Republican in both the House and the Senate. Yesterday’s vote not to allow additional witnessess – in the face of an important one jumping up and down and screaming he’d like to testify – seals it. The look on Moscow Mitch’s face (“Damn, it worked again!” ) – seals it. The question is: What is it?
Is it money? A promise of a windfall from oligarchs at the end of their respective terms in office? So long as they go along with the program. Maybe. But some of these people, like Mitt Romney, are already rich as Croesus.
Is it the promise of little boys or girls, such as Jeff Epstein might have made? Or the promise to reveal that the promise has already been kept? Dennis Hastert might have been in a better position to say.
Is it the judges and Roe v. Wade thing? Arguably. We’ve seen many a conservative sell his or her soul for that. But all of them, and to avoid Mike Pence, who would only be more that way?
My guess is that it’s the voting machines. Probably each and every Republican member of Congress has been informed – and kept silent about – the probability that they were elected by cheating and therefore hold their offices illegitimately.
MOE
M.I.C.H – Modernity, Intelligence, Complexity, Humanity