One of the hallmarks of Democracy is the peaceful transfer of power from one elected administration to the next. This is especially important when the outgoing and the incoming administrations are from opposing parties. It is, of course, difficult to lose a hard-fought contest, but the mature response is always for the loser to stand … Read more
When a new presidential administration takes office in the United States, there is a large turnover of employees in the Executive Branch of the Federal government. There are two categories of employee: the political appointees and the career civil servants. The political appointees come and go, while, of course, the career civil servants provide continuity … Read more
If we do not have the capacity to distinguish what’s true from what’s false, then by definition the marketplace of ideas doesn’t work. And by definition our democracy doesn’t work. We are entering into an epistemological crisis.” Barack Obama Information is only as good as the quality of your sources. Social media in particular is … Read more
In the election of 2020, nearly 73 million Americans voted for autocracy over democracy. Most of these people are under the brain-numbing influence of lies, manipulation, and conspiracy-thinking. The frightening thing is that even without Trump in the White House, they could still be a potent and dangerous political force. Currently, the most obvious effect … Read more
If American democracy ceases to move forward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot of our citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land. Franklin Roosevelt Umberto Eco (1932 – 2016) was an Italian philosopher, cultural critic, novelist, and political and social commentator. He grew up … Read more
The American public generally doesn’t really know what goes on at a Trump rally. Progressives dismiss them as circuses for lunatics. The mainstream media tend to report only on crowd size and the one most outrageous soundbite of the day. Old-style conservatives excuse the rallies as “just Trump being Trump.” Most people actually pay almost … Read more
A virus is a small collection of genetic code, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat. A virus cannot replicate alone. Viruses must infect cells and use components of the host cell to make copies of themselves. Often, they kill the host cell in the process, and cause damage to the host organism. … Read more
I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters. Donald Trump, Iowa, January 23, 2016 Donald Trump’s approval rating among Americans has always been between 37 and 45 percent. Just over a third of our citizens seem to support him no matter what he says or … Read more