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 […]
Politics
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 […]
Conversion story
A former colleague wrote about his conversion from Mormon to atheist and from Republican to Democrat. I realized a few years back that my religion was a bunch of made-up nonsense, and my wife and I left the Mormon church in 2016. I’m an atheist now and happier than before I think, but I do […]
Visualization of U.S. Military Bases (Version 2)
This is a 3d visualization of U.S. military bases worldwide. The data is approximate and does not cover all bases. Source of data: https://public.opendatasoft.com/explore/dataset/military-bases/export/ https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/basesabroad.xlsx https://worldbeyondwar.org/bases/ Suggestions for improvements?
A Warning, by Anonymous: a summary
Anonymous, a self-styled “senior Trump administration official,” has written a book A Warning (Hachette Book Groups, Inc., 2019) as a follow-up to his (or her) September, 2018 op-ed in the New York Times, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” Anonymous describes himself as a committed Republican and not a never-Trumper. He […]
The Scale of the Universe of Money
Military budget of the United States Tuition-Free College Could Cost Less Than You Think Fortune 500 Companies Hold a Record $2.6 Trillion Offshore ‘Eye-Popping’: Analysis Shows Top 1% Gained $21 Trillion in Wealth Since 1989 While Bottom Half Lost $900 Billion The Cost to End World Hunger America’s Defense Budget Is Bigger Than You Think
On the Bolivian Coup
What do you think of a country obsessed with hearings to impeach a dishonest president for using his office for his own political (and monetary) gain and for blackmailing another country’s leaders to enable this? Makes sense to me. But what doesn’t make sense is that the political leaders, from both parties, of this same […]
How Repubs and evangelicals are smarter than Dems and progressives
Progressives and Democrats like to look down on conservatives, including evangelicals. But the facts suggest that it’s the progressives and Democrats who aren’t so smart. Trump campaigned strenuously in the swing states, unlike Hillary, who apparently thought she had a strong enough lead that she needn’t bother. But Hillary raised far more money than Trump […]
Book review of Senator Ben Sasse’s Them: Why we hate each other and how to heal
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska is considered a moderate Republican. He opposed Trump’s nomination and has continued to criticize the President, calling him “a megalomaniac strongman.” Sasse’s opposition to Trump has led to harsh criticism of Sasse from conservative media personalities, politicians and grassroots citizens. Likewise, Sasse took heat from Republicans for opposing the […]