Don’t Let the Terrorists Win – White Supremacy Edition
14 Aug, 2017
“Don’t let the terrorists win.” We said that a lot after 9/11, and have for the last 16 years. As air travel became absurdly cumbersome, as civil liberties were eroded, as people were arbitrarily blacklisted or detained without room for appeal – we said the…
R e a d M o r eWhy Trump Won’t be Impeached Any Time Soon
16 Jun, 2017
I see any impeachment of Trump before 2019 as extremely unlikely. Here’s why. First, for context, I believe the GOP as a party would be better off with a swift impeachment and resignation than a protracted scandal. Every week this remains in the news, their…
R e a d M o r eHealthcare Improvements Republicans Could Make
25 Mar, 2017
Here are some things the GOP could productively do on healthcare, that have little or nothing to do with repealing the ACA: 1. Price transparency and consistency. Require all providers (hospitals, doctors, etc..) to clearly publish their prices by service and by diagnosis in advance,…
R e a d M o r eTo Fight Climate Change in the Trump Era, Focus on the States
20 Nov, 2016
Summary: Focus on the states. Advocate for clean energy. (This is a follow-up to my post on pushing for progress at the state level.) Short Version If you read nothing else in this post, follow these three steps: Find your state legislators and the contact info for your…
R e a d M o r eTrump Isn’t Hitler. The US isn’t 1930s Germany
11 Nov, 2016
Trump isn’t Hitler. And, more importantly, the US is a far different place than Germany in the 1930s. We’re a 240-year-old nation, not a 14-year old republic reeling from WWI. Our institutions are more solid and stable. They can’t be swept away in the way…
R e a d M o r eWe Can Push For Progress at the State Level
10 Nov, 2016
Donald Trump won. The GOP has the Senate and the House. They’re likely to retain the Senate in 2018. Trump will get to appoint at least one, and probably multiple Supreme Court justices, with a (presumably) friendly Senate. Yet we live in a republic. And…
R e a d M o r eHow to Think About the Paris Climate Deal
13 Dec, 2015
Over the weekend, the world agreed to a new climate deal. Brad Plumer explains it well. Reactions range from celebration to dismissal of it as a fraud. It’s rare to see James Hansen (a tireless campaigner for addressing climate change) and Bjorn Lomborg (one of the…
R e a d M o r eCitizens Led on Gay Marriage and Pot. We Can on Climate Change Too.
15 Jul, 2015
A decade ago, it was nearly inconceivable that in 2015, gay marriage would be legal across the US and marijuana fully legal in four states plus the District of Columbia. Yet it happened. It happened because citizens who wanted change led, from the bottom up,…
R e a d M o r e2014 Was a Good Year: Better Than You Remember
21 Dec, 2014
Eric Garner. Michael Brown. The Sony hack and surrender to fear. 2014 seems to be ending on a crappy note. My twitter feed is full of people expressing good riddance to the year. 2014 was better than that. I want to take a moment to…
R e a d M o r eThe Best Books Threaten the Powerful – My Video Message on Banned Books Week
19 Sep, 2014
My old friend Derek Wolfgram asked me to record a video message for Banned Books Week, on behalf of the California Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee. So here are some thoughts about the global brain, censorship as brain damage, and why the books that are…
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