I just heard the news that yet another progressive voice will be leaving the US media due to lack of financial support: The Norman Goldman Show is ceasing operations as of Feb 22nd. I have been a regular contributor/guest on the show for several years and Norm has been one of my mentors. I’m getting […]
Progressives
Looking back at Nader and Stein
In 2000, starry-eyed Nader supporters rejected ardent environmentalist Al Gore and helped elect George W Bush, the worst (or second worst) president in American history. The Nader supporters thought Gore was the “lesser-of-two-evils.” Similarly, in 2016 starry-eyed Stein supporters refused to vote for centrist Democrat Hillary Clinton. Yes, she was a neocon. But Hillary was […]
Repugs, Dumbs, and Dumbers: a rant
If you have half a brain and half a conscience you know that most Republican politicians promote repugnant policies that increase inequality, bankrupt the economy, destroy the environment, and promote militarism. They lie, distort and resort to racism, xenophobia, dirty tricks and criminal activity. They put children in cages. They antagonize our allies and cozy […]
Socialism, even democratic socialism, is quite different from progressivism
Bernie Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist. So does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently won the Democratic primary in New York’s 14th congressional district, defeating incumbent Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in a major upset victory. The odd thing is: are they really democratic socialists? Do they even know what democratic socialism is? There is evidence […]
Choose your battles wisely
I saw a facebook post that was encouraging overturning of I-200 (the voter-approved initiative which prohibits affirmative action and similar racial preferences). I support over-turning I-200 but that’s not my highest priority. My highest priorities are economic inequality and environmental justice. As I commented on the post, many people think the bill is of mixed […]
Origins and purpose of some progressive advocacy groups
When presidential campaigns have done strong issue advocacy, they have often continued on after the campaigns themselves are over. Pick a few to get involved with now. Rainbow Coalition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow/PUSH The granddaddy of them all, the Rainbow Coalition grew out of the 1984 Jesse Jackson presidential campaign, back when your only organizing tools were direct […]
Review of Martin Nowak's Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed
How can cooperation emerge in a world of selfish individuals ruled by a Darwinian competition for survival? This is the question that Martin Nowak, Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Harvard University, discusses in Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed. Nowak and his collaborators have published a series of […]
The Three Splits on the Left
There are three splits on the left: 1. The Democrats are split from the Socialists, Greens,Anarchists and others on the far left, and (2) Within the Democratic Party, the progressive Dems and Berniecrats are split from the mainstream, corporate Dems, and (3) Within the far left, the various factions rarely agree and often have weird […]
Highly educated people are liberal
Pew Research reports: A Wider Ideological Gap Between More and Less Educated Adults Political polarization update Two years ago, Pew Research Center found that Republicans and Democrats were more divided along ideological lines than at any point in the previous two decades. But growing ideological distance is not confined to partisanship. There are also growing […]