Ezra Klein in the New York Times wrote an article reviewing the work of political consultant and pollster David Shor, who said that the Democrats need to tone down their support for minority (black) rights if they want to win back white voters, whose motivations may or not be based on racism. Klein writes: All […]
Politics
Proposal for solving the conundrum about daylight savings time
We should have super-daylight standard time every morning and super-daylight savings time every evening. In other words, set the clock forwards two hours every afternoon, so that the sun sets later, and set it backwards two hours early every morning so that the sun rises at a reasonable hour. Plus we’d have a four hour […]
Book review: The Smartest Kids in the World
Amanda’s Ripley’s The Smartest Kids in the World is a call for rigor and equity in K-12 education. Ripley follows U.S. exchange students as they visit schools in Finland, South Korea, and Poland — three countries whose students score significantly higher than U.S. students on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) test, especially in […]
On the stupidity of preparing to wage war with China
The U.S. is preparing for war with China; is surrounding China with bases, warships, and missiles; and is promoting the Pacific Defense Initiative to collaborate with other nations in Asia to confront China. Likewise, the U.S. Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Bolster Competitiveness With China. (“When future generations of Americans cast their gaze toward new […]
The Eisenhower Project: documentation of claims
The Eisenhower Project has an animation listing some claims about U.S. militarism. This article documents those claims. “$6.4 trillion wasted since 2001” Brown University’s Costs of War project “Over 810,000 people killed in U.S. wars since 2001” Brown University’s Costs of War project “800 military bases in 70+ countries” Politico: Where in the World Is […]
Worried about anti-Asian violence? The U.S. is preparing for war with China.
Despite losing disastrously in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the U.S. is actively preparing for war with China, a technologically advanced nation with four times our population. And it’s planning to fight it in China’s own backyard: the South China Sea. Donald Trump ramped up the racist rhetoric against China (“Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu”). But […]
Competing bills for universal healthcare in Washington State
Two bills to establish universal health care in Washington State are under consideration by the state senate this session. The Whole Washington’s Health Trust (SB 5204), sponsored by Senators Hasegawa, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Nguyen, Stanford, and Wilson, C., “is fully realized, universal healthcare legislation, complete with specific funding mechanisms and a transition plan. If passed, […]
Stopping war with China
The following youtube video by the U.S. military documents the training exercises of the US and Philippines militaries in preparation for war with China, regarding contested islands claimed by both China and Philippines. The film has rousing martial music, with beating drums. It shows military equipment and soldiers landing on islands — reminiscent of […]
Yes, Nader and his supporters DID cause Gore to lose to Bush
Some progressive writers have claimed that it’s a myth that Ralph Nader caused Al Gore to lose the 2000 presidential election to Bush. They say there were other reasons for the loss: the Supreme Court, bad ballots in Florida, Gore’s losing in his home state, etc. They fail to realize two things. First, events can […]
Notes on 41st LD Town Hall at Bellevue College on 2020-02-22
Rep. Tana Senn said she’d start with a “light” topic: taxes. There was a recent encouraging news: high revenue for the state. Someone in the audience asked if the legislature would return some money to the citizens. Senn said it’s unlikely, because the money won’t be available til next year, it may be a one-time […]