"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by Doctor Science Bad news makes me re-read comforting fanfic, so it’s been a while. At last I have some books to report! Company Town by Madeline Ashby has many areas of overlap with Alex Rakunas’ “Windswept”, which I read about a month ago. Kickass heroine, working for a union, gets involved in high-stakes violence/crime/mystery … Read more
–by Sebastian Leaders who fan the flames of xenophobia so that their followers lash out are evil. Leaders who structure their systems such that a large portion of the population are on the edge of lashing out are fools. Trump and his ilk are bad people. But we are fools for letting it come to … Read more
by wj Just in case someone has something to say that does NOT involve the Brexit vote or the US Presidential campaign.
by Doctor Science This is your Brexit watch/results thread. I have had only a vague, distant impression about what’s driving Brexit, and only within the past week or so did I realize how close the vote was going to be. For US votes, I follow Sam Wang and 538 for their data-driven, boring approach. The … Read more
by Doctor Science Ever since it became clear that Donald Trump would have enough delegates for the Republican Presidential nomination, various desperate Republicans have been talking about the possibility of a “coup” at the convention, where the cooler heads of party stalwarts might install someone more generally-acceptable as the nominee. I’ve been laughing at these … Read more
by Doctor Science I used to think I didn’t like roses. The standard roses of my youth in the 60s and 70s were Hybrid Teas: gorgeous, large flowers without much scent, from plants that are magnets for bugs & diseases. Ugh, not worth it. What really changed my mind was a particular rose. It grows … Read more
by wj A couple of weeks ago, there was a primary election here in California. Per California law, most of the races were what we call “top two”. That is, everybody can vote for all of the candidates, from all parties, for each office. The top two vote winners go on to the general election. … Read more
–by Sebastian One facet of the discussion regarding the Islamic inspired attack on the gay Pulse nightclub in Orlando is the heavy political tribalism that is already shaping the narratives, particularly regarding whether it was an Islamic terrorist attack or an anti-gay hate crime. Team Blue takes the anti-gay hate crime side of the argument … Read more
–by Sebastian I don't often remember my dreams. This morning I woke up into a dream where I was waking up in my bed. I realized that the north and west walls in my room had transformed into a plexiglass and that there were no doors anymore. There was some crazy straight guy yelling at … Read more
–By Sebastian Hulk Hogan's case against Gawker has caused quite a bit of consternation.1 The concerns seem to cover a few major topics: forum shopping2, the media being chilled from conducting their normal business, the size of the award, the immense costs of defending a lawsuit, the danger of having rich third parties fund lawsuits. In case … Read more