After the bizarre, ranting spectacle of the GOP convention, the Democrats’ gathering in Philadelphia was a breath of fresh air. Their celebrities were actual celebrities. Their business and political leaders were actual leadership figures in the real world, not just…
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil Like many disasters, it began with a great promotional idea. Britain’s leading environmental science institute was about to…
Something important happened this week. No, not that other thing. Jonathan Rauch at The Atlantic published an extraordinary essay on the disintegration of our political system. This may be the first instance in which a first-tier commentator has addressed the…
Republican voters support extending federal background checks for gun purchasers to gun shows and creating a federal database of gun owners. That news may come as a surprise given the positions taken by major Republican candidates. That’s just the beginning.…
Imagine for a moment that by next summer, through some miracle of capitalism, every product you purchase cost half as much as its price today. Every tire, every banana, every patio chair, every sheet of paper, the cost of all…
Awkwardly posed and absurdly oversized, it’s a monument you’d expect to find on a journey through some decaying, post-Soviet kleptocracy. Flint’s former mayor finally posted this bronze statue of himself at the entrance to his grand estate after the city…
The people have spoken and paper still rules. The Politics of Crazy is now available in a paperback format at this link. For those who haven’t read it, here are a few older posts that touch on some of the…
One of Newt Gingrich’s first moves after gaining control of the House in 1994 was to cut off funding for Congressional caucuses or “Legislative Service Organizations” (LSO’s). News reports at the time focused on the impact this would have on…
The GOP’s leading candidate for the White House has staked out a position that ties autism to vaccines. None of the candidates have firmly supported action in response to climate change and almost all of them express doubt that it’s…
GOPLifer 