Author Archena Posted on February 10, 2023February 10, 2023Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , , , ,

Basic Reasoning 101

No, it’s not the beginning of a logic course. Nor am I going to explain the intricacies of drafting an argument – virtually no one actually needs to know how to argue formally so why bother? There are things we can learn from formal argument like who has the right of way. Seriously, fancy term is the burden of proof. Basically, you state it as fact or conclusion, you own the burden of proving it really is a fact or … Continue reading “Basic Reasoning 101”

Author Archena Posted on February 3, 2023February 3, 2023Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , ,

The World Can’t be America

Which works out just fine – they don’t want to be nor should they. We have this goofy idea that nationalism is inherently a bad thing. Like all isms, it can be taken way too far. Any ideology can be made into a bad thing by taking it to extremes. But BOTH extremes are bad. Do you fix a broken cup? Most of the time the answer is no but what if it belonged to your grandmother and was special … Continue reading “The World Can’t be America”

Author Archena Posted on January 28, 2023January 28, 2023Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , , , ,

Ism Spectrum

We political scientists like to classify things. Put nice labels on it and shove it on the shelf where those things go – very scientific. Makes ’em easier to categorize so we can do statistics! Yeah, it annoys the heck out of the statisticians but what do they know? They were the ones that came up with the whole ‘stick everything in a category’ thing. Add science to politics and sausage making – things no one really wants to know … Continue reading “Ism Spectrum”

Author Archena Posted on January 20, 2023January 18, 2023Categories Current, FridayTags , , ,

Healthy Skepticism and Government

I’m a cranky old lady. I think we’ve covered that before but let’s just get it out in the open. As a cranky old lady, I come with a large dose of cynicism and a cat. The cat doesn’t care about politics but she also doesn’t care about her litterbox so maybe she’s not a great role model, especially not for other cats. I’m not a role model; I’m way too cranky for that. Crankiness tends to breed both cynicism … Continue reading “Healthy Skepticism and Government”

Author Archena Posted on January 13, 2023January 7, 2023Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , , ,

Politics are About People

Politics is just groups of people making decisions. We stink at it which makes the political world hilarious and tragic. It’d be a great sitcom. The problem is that the political world affects real people all the time. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. So the answer to the question of why you should care about those idiots in Washington or on Goat Hill or down at the county courthouse or in city hall or on the school board is … Continue reading “Politics are About People”

Author Archena Posted on January 6, 2023January 3, 2023Categories FridayTags , ,

Enlightened Self Interest – It’s About US, Isn’t It?

The US doesn’t get to sit out much. If you ask the Ukrainians defending their homeland the war is most definitely NOT about the United States. They’re absolutely right, except for the part where it kinda is. Not because we’re sending them support – who isn’t? Not because we are providing intelligence – ours is cooler because satellites but intelligence is a big tent. Not because we’re the US of A and rah, rah, rah – even we have some … Continue reading “Enlightened Self Interest – It’s About US, Isn’t It?”

Author Archena Posted on December 23, 2022December 22, 2022Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , , , ,

It Ain’t About NATO

I know, normally I talk American politics on Friday. Well, that’s what I’m doing. Hang on, you’ll see – but first I need to kill off the stupid elephant in the room. To the best of my knowledge the ‘NATO expansion problem’ theory originates with Mearsheimer . I’ve heard him give one talk about it. It seemed a well reasoned position and he argued it compellingly. Before the invasion, it made a great deal of sense. It just happens to … Continue reading “It Ain’t About NATO”

Author Archena Posted on December 18, 2022December 18, 2022Categories FridayTags , , , , , , , , ,

Seniority in Congress is a Major Problem

Every time Congress commits some new outrage, I mean bigger than their average weekly outrages, the cry goes out far and wide for term limits. This has been going on unsuccessfully for decades. Such movements come and go and rarely gain any momentum. Why? Well, there are a variety of answers. The most common is the incumbent advantage: people tend to stick with a known quantity and so will vote for even a bad incumbent over a total unknown. Incumbents … Continue reading “Seniority in Congress is a Major Problem”

Author Archena Posted on December 10, 2022December 10, 2022Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , ,

The Foolishness of Hopelessness

I like Dr. Steve Turley on YouTube. Of late, I haven’t agreed with him on a lot of things but today I heard him say something that was absolutely right – it ain’t over. He mentioned the Berlin Wall and Roe V Wade as changes no one ever thought would happen, except those fighting for those changes, of course. There are a host of others. The abolition of slavery was fought for from before the beginning of the Revolutionary War … Continue reading “The Foolishness of Hopelessness”

Author Archena Posted on December 3, 2022December 3, 2022Categories Current, FridayTags , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Price of Freedom: Eternal Vigilance

Vigilance is just a fancy word for paying attention and being on the look out. Normally, when you hear this phrase we think of our servicemen and women providing our defense and extending our protection worldwide. But that’s only a part of what it means. Truth is, the US is such a ridiculously difficult military target that conventional invasion may as well be impossible. America has only been invaded once (the British, 1812) unless you want to count the Revolutionary … Continue reading “The Price of Freedom: Eternal Vigilance”