Episodes

I call then Garchs - types who have unconscionable wealth, wiling to subvert democracy to accumulate more. The word oligarch is used by academics, but that doesn't sound sinister enough to me for those whose only purpose is to accumulate immense wealth and power at the expense of the other 99.9%

The fact that Twitter is a mess is not news or a surprise. The transition to a new "X" logo and the elimination of the blue bird is just another exercise in Elon Musk's narcissism. I'm skeptical of the platform's ability to survive given the precarious decline of its advertising revenues - apparently in the region of 50%, and the periodical and increasing technical instability of the platform. What does surprise me, is how reporters have continued to support the platform in the face of multip...

The Untilled Field (1903) is a volume of short stories by George Moore. Chapter one, In The Clay, features the story of a Dublin sculptor whose work has been destroyed. Who is to blame and what has caused this unprovoked destruction? About The Author - from the Dictionary of Irish Biography George Augustus Moore (1852 - 1933), novelist, critic, memoirist, and cultural activist, was born 24 February 1852 at Moore Hall, Ballyglass, in Co. Mayo, a ‘big house’ in the Anglo-Irish style, built by his...

Yesterday, Twitter suspended the accounts of several high-profile journalists. In Twitter’s understaffed and diminished state, no immediate reason was given for the actions. Apparently, Twitter’s decision relates to the journalists reporting on the suspension of a Twitter account named ElonJet, which tracked the movements of Elon Musk’s private plane. It seems Mr. Musk believes that tracking the movement of his jet put both him and members of his family at risk and, in his view, constitutes d...

On Nov 1st, I created an account on Mastodon.ie. I’d been triggered by a news story. What was that story? Two days before, Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, had shared a scurrilous tale about Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy, one of America’s most powerful politicians. Mr. Pelosi had been the victim of a serious assault by a deranged attacker hopped up on right-wing political rage. The attacker had hoped to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, who is the target of much right-wing animus. Fortunately, she was no...

Thoughts on Governor Ron De Santis of Florida, how he shipped migrants to Martha's Vineyard, and the long-troubled, painful relationship America has had with many arriving migrants to its shore NPR: On the Martha's Vineyard Migrant Story

Primary elections frequently result in highly partisan general election candidates. I think Alaska has figured out a better way to produce candidates that better represent voters. Alaska may be The Last Frontier state, but it's leading the way in creating a healthier American democracy

How can somebody with only 26% of the vote win an election? That happened this week in the New York Democratic Primary for the 10th Congressional District. Is that good for democracy? I don't think so and I think Ranked Choice Voting provides a better way to produce a result more closely aligned with the will of the people. Ranked Choice Voting Links How it works from Ballotpedia Where Ranked Choice Voting is used in the United States

All American political parties are made up of coalitions, or voting blocks, that are cobbled together to support either the Republican or Democratic Party. Looking at the Republican party I see it as broken down into two major groups which in turn can be subdivided. Understanding this particular coalition is to understand some of the peculiarities that make up the GOP

Why the Senate Filibuster needs to be eliminated. Why it's invoked more frequently by the Republican Party - the party of Non Governance. Understanding the 3 legs of Non Governance rule Some Links: Josh Marshall June 6th OpEd in the New York Times Brookings Institute article on the filibuster contains a chart mapping the invocation of cloture votes to end Senate filibusters over the last 100 years

How did the Republican Party become what it is today? Here's a quick sketch of its long, strange and troubling journey

Lets talk about the real crisis faced by American and Western Democracy

On Thursday evening June 9th, the US House of Representatives will hold the first of six hearings on last years January 6th insurrection. There have been accusations of partisanship, the usual political Kabuki and questions of whether these hearings have been hijacked for the upcoming Mid Term elections in November. Here are my thoughts on why I think these hearings are a pivotal moment for American democracy and why I think you should pay close attention.

I wanted to talk about how Americans need to reorient toward radical centrism and practice two-thirds politics meaning the need to step away from the tired national dialogue stoked by fear mongers towards a place of engagement where a significant majority of Americans agree In this episode, I refer to a couple of polls. Here's the links Pew Research - Item 7 University of Texas - Gun Background Checks

Some thoughts on yesterday's violence in Uvalde and Texas and why America struggles in regulating the distribution of guns

Introducing Nutty in NYC. A podcast with a Midlantic view