Yeah, yeah, I know. I was the one forecasting a Democrat Party collapse and then there wasn’t really a red wave. Actually, I still think the Democrat Party will collapse but the Republicans may beat them to it. Party system shifts happen that way. Political parties, like nation-states, can be stubbornly resilient little buggers. Government and politics often are glacial in their timeframes – unless they are doing something that you don’t like. They seem to manage to speed up … Continue reading “The Post Russo-Sino World”
Stop Panicking. Democrats Just Can’t Count
The margin will be narrower than I’d thought but it seems very unlikely Republicans won’t take the House. The chances of taking the Senate are still decent. Can we please stop acting like the world is ending? Once the results ACTUALLY come in, we need to take a hard look at what exactly happened here. I’d love to blame the polls but since I wasn’t using them, that would be silly. The results we have so far do cast a … Continue reading “Stop Panicking. Democrats Just Can’t Count”
And the Winner is… Please Stand By
You’re not going to like my take on the midterms right now. It is too early to analyze the results – or lack thereof – correctly. Therefore, I’m not going to offer an analysis at this time. Once the results are in and events shake out over the next three to four days, I’ll have something to work with and do a reasonable analysis. I know, lots and lots of talking heads are telling you all about the disaster or … Continue reading “And the Winner is… Please Stand By”
Poverty with Chinese Characteristics
Xi Xinping is not an idiot. He is also not a capitalist or an opportunist. Not sure if he’s an ideologue, I kinda doubt it. He’s not power mad, or a raving lunatic. Cold blooded SOB is a given since he heads the CCP – it’s a prerequisite. Xi Xinping is not leading China toward greatness. He might or might not know that. He’s not going to be invading Taiwan anytime soon. He’s not a madman. Xi is what you … Continue reading “Poverty with Chinese Characteristics”
Unity Isn’t Agreement: Why Fussing and Fighting Isn’t Polarization
Every Thanksgiving we sit down to a lovely meal, express our gratitude to God for His many blessings and proceed to fight over every little thing. Turkey v, ham, Alabama v Auburn, football v baseball, board games v video games, kids v kids with video games, who Mom likes best and then Uncle Bob ruins the whole thing by bringing up politics. Next year, we repeat the whole thing. Why? Obviously, there’s no one at that table that agrees on … Continue reading “Unity Isn’t Agreement: Why Fussing and Fighting Isn’t Polarization”
Tax Returns and Presidents
The United States Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling. Happens all the time. This particular stay will keep Congress’ greedy mitts off of Trump’s tax returns for at least another ten days. Yay – why do we care? Well, first off, the premise for Congress’ subpoena keeps changing. At present, the idea is that Congress needs the returns to sort out how to handle presidential tax returns in the future. trouble is, they aren’t asking for any returns but … Continue reading “Tax Returns and Presidents”
Russian Disarmament: Doing it the Hard Way
Seriously, Russia, are you nuts? Mutually agreed disarmament with a well thought out peace agreement in place is a wonderful idea. Throwing everything you have including the kitchen sink at a country that clearly isn’t going to give in is idiotic. You know this. It’s time to face facts: you already lost. Nuclear weapons can’t help you. They are great deterrents and terrible battlefield weapons. I don’t mean terrible in terms of their destructive power, as true as that is, … Continue reading “Russian Disarmament: Doing it the Hard Way”
Twelve Days Until the Midterms
From what I’m hearing, all the polls are pointing toward a Republican sweep. More importantly in my opinion, there are no obvious indicators that point elsewhere. My personal favorite is small donations. Most small donations go to candidates that person actually supports and will go out and vote to elect. There’s no reason to ‘lie’ with a small donation. You aren’t really hedging your bet by making small donations to every candidate. Even if you can afford it, few people … Continue reading “Twelve Days Until the Midterms”
Golly, The Polls Might Be Wrong Again?
Gee, how can that be? Okay, okay, less sarcasm, more explanation. There are several major factors and a host of minor ones. We’ll cover the majors. First, most polls aren’t done to actually measure voter preference. This is a feature, not a bug. MSNBC, CNN and FOX just want something to fill the dead space. Polls are quick, cheap and sound like something – without being easily checked. Well, at least most folks don’t know how. Five bajillion percent increase … Continue reading “Golly, The Polls Might Be Wrong Again?”
Recovering Libertarians are Recovering
Ten years ago libertarianism was all the rage in conservative circles. The short version was they didn’t like ‘losing’ the culture war all the time and thought they could just skip all that culture stuff and worry about important things like freedom and not spending ourselves into oblivion. Didn’t actually work so well. Turns out, culture informs politics more than politics informs culture. This little tidbit is what is destroying the Democrats at the moment. While over time politics can … Continue reading “Recovering Libertarians are Recovering”