"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by liberal japonicus Or, according to google translate 现在是开始学习中文的时候了。 (Xiànzài shì kāishǐ xuéxí zhōngwén de shíhoule.) I have made several concerted efforts to study Chinese, and thought that I had given up, but this article makes me realize that I better bite the bullet and take another run at the damn language. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/30/donald-trump-is-handing-china-the-world.html I can … Read more
–by Sebastian Lots of things scare me about Trump. So many that it is really hard to focus on one. Which I'm half-convinced is a strategy, or at least a fortuitous-for-him habit that Trump has of throwing up so many crazy things that you can't grasp any one*. One of the few tenuous strands of … Read more
by Doctor Science I’m incandescently appalled by Trump’s Executive Order yesterday about refugees and visitors from certain Muslim countries. Today I wrote up some scripts for calling my Senators. The talking point I chose to focus on is the vote to confirm John Kelly for Secretary of Homeland Security. Of my two Democratic Senators, Cory … Read more
by wj Note Silver has been running a series of columns at 538 on the 2016 election and why so many predictions were so far off. The latest talks about Early Voting. This quote kicked off something in my mind: “On Oct. 23, for instance, The New York Times argued that because Clinton had banked … Read more
by russell Here is a draft version of the Trump administration's initial infrastructure priorities. Somewhat to my surprise, they all seem pretty good, to me. They all seem like… useful, needed infrastructure. Many of the concerns that have been raised about the funding mechanisms, and what the ownership status of the projects will be once completed. I.e., … Read more
by Ugh Since this is the issue I know best and as we head further into the darkness that started on Friday, I thought I would post this helpful reminder when it comes to the debate regarding "tax reform" this year: the U.S. is a low taxed nation among developed economies, our supposed competitors. This may … Read more
by wj I innocently assumed that someone else would put something up first thing this morning (i.e. before we woke up on the West Coast). But since they didn’t….
by wj President Obama has now commuted more sentences than any previous President. From what I can tell, a lot of there are non-violent drug offenders and others whose sentences are arguably out of proportion to the reality of their offense. So far, so good. But then there’s this: “Chelsea Elizabeth Manning – Oklahoma City, … Read more
by liberal japonicus Adam Gopnik's piece about Trump and his failure to find anyone of any stature to play at his inauguration, except those he can order to do so, is food for thought. And so the inability, so far, of Donald Trump to get any significant musicians from any of those traditions, rock or … Read more
by Doctor Science I’m finding the news so depressing/enraging/flabbergasting these days that I’ve taken refuge in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Specifically, helping citizen science projects at the Zooniverse. It’s been years since I talked about them, and I’m working on different projects these days. When I’m in the mood for picking a project, I … Read more