In an essay Are We Doomed? from The Atlantic in January of 2022, George Packer warned of the dangers to our democracy from Republican extremism, in particular with regards to elections. His prescription for stopping Republican extremism is that a coalition of Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans should overlook minor areas of disagreement. He says […]
Race and Racism
On wokeness, defunding the police, Shor, and Populism
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 […]
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 […]
Sam Harris’s false equivalence
In this podcast from Jan 9, 2020, Sam Harris criticizes both Trump supporters and BLM protesters and says both hold “grotesque” views. He spends the first half of the podcast denouncing the extremism and unreasonableness of Trump and his supporters, in particular with regards to the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capital building. In the […]
Change Washington State’s Seal to include the face of Booker T. Washington
George Washington was a slave owner. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery but rose to be a great orator, educator and statesman. It is fitting, in this era of Black Lives Matter, that Washington State officially change its seal to include Booker T.’s face, not George’s.
Vladimir Putin Says Liberalism Has ‘Become Obsolete’
In an interview with Financial Times Vladimir Putin says liberalism has ‘become obsolete’. The Russian leader made the statement before he left for the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. He claimed that liberalism is in conflict with “the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population…” According to BBC News, Premier Putin also stated that multiculturalism is “no […]
Is fascism rising here?
Last night there was a showing of Rick Steve’s The Story of Fascism in Europe. There was a big turnout, about 40 people, which the organizers said was the largest they’ve had for a film. The film blamed the rise of fascism on desperate people deceived by charismatic leaders (Hitler, Mussolini, Franco) who offered simple […]
More fliers from neo-Nazi Patriot Front group
A friend reports that the white supremacist group Patriot Front dropped hateful propaganda in neighborhoods and on porches last night in Tacoma, Edmonds, West Seattle, and Bellevue. Nate Bowling has tweeted about this: https://twitter.com/nate_bowling/status/1081959317392093186 Someone else reported seeing them in Olympia. And someone reporting seeing them in Everett. A related group did similar drops in […]
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 […]
How Seattle police aided the neo-Nazis in the anti-Sharia protest
Multiple credible sources have reported that the Seattle police harassed counter-protesters but protected anti-Sharia marchers participating in Saturday’s anti-Sharia law march in Seattle. https://patch.com/washington/seattle/seattle-anti-sharia-protest-counter-protest-15-pictures http://komonews.com/news/local/anti-muslim-rally-counter-protests-expected-in-seattle I got permission to copy the post of a friend of friend, below. My apologies for the anonymity and “hearsay” nature of this evidence. Someone at my work attended […]