Bill Jouris

by wj Yesterday saw the first special Congressional election since the November general election.  First, let's look at the district. Kansas 04 is a very strongly Republican district.  It last elected a Democrat in 1992 — and that Democrat an exception to its historical pattern.  In November, Mike Pompeo (now CIA Director) won with 60% … Read more

by wj I had thought that there were two views about “soft power” — influencing foreigners (individually or collectively) with persuasion rather than force or the threat of force. First, that it was an important and useful part of our foreign policy arsenal. This view has governed US foreign policy since WW II, and is … Read more

by wj Among the interesting stories this past week, Kim Jong-nam, the (older) half brother of North Korea’s leader Kin Jong Un, was assassinated in Malaysia. Several North Koreans are in custody. But the interesting bit is the response from China, where he has been resident for some years. China is said to feel insulted … 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 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 wj (Because, as hsh noted, it’s been way too long since we had an open thread started. Mea culpa!) Came across this in my local (California!) paper this morning: Are Cubs visiting White House early to avoid Donald Trump? Of course, the fact that Obama is from Chicago could have something to do with … Read more

by wj It occurs to me to wonder, how has this not yet generated a Trump tweet? It’s an Army regulation that “Effective immediately, brigade-level commanders will be able to grant accommodations to servicemen and women who wear beards, turbans, or hijabs for religious reasons.” It seems tailor made for him: It’s a tail end … Read more

by wj It's a goal worth pursuing.  So Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah,Happy Solstice,Happy Holidays (if that's how you roll) For something fun, and not specifically related to any of those holidays, there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP96n0gyNz0I'm particularly fond of the tag line: "The hardest job I ever done…." Sort of reminds me of how I (and, I … Read more

by wj California gets held up as an example of how Democrats can run amok without Republicans having some sort of veto. Certainly it is true that California Republicans have made ourselves mostly irrelevant when it comes to contests for state-wide offices (both state offices and Senate seats). Currently, Democrats have a 2/3 majority in … Read more

by wj Wonkie suggested “an open thread where we share stuff we do (besides obsess about politics), because I’m pretty sure this is an accomplished group of folks who do all kinds of interesting things.” So why not? (Well, I suppose there might be an argument for waiting until after the elections, so we will … Read more

by wj Because it’s important to keep track of what is really important in life. And the Cubs are going to the World Series for the first time since before I was born. Not only that, they did it with the first time a team has faced the minimum number of opposing hitters (27) in … Read more

by wj (Just because who knows where things will go tonight?) It has occurred to me. Baring divine intervention (or demonic intervention; take your pick) it’s pretty obvious by now how this election will turn out. Only two questions remain: – What will happen down-ballot? (AKA How big will it be?) – How does the … Read more

by wj Sometimes, I get serious cognative dissonance in real time. Right now, my local all news station (KCBS) is saying that “a new national poll shows a dead heat” in the Presidential race. Meanwhile, the Washington Post/Survey Monkey poll, just out today, shows . . . a toss-up in Texas. And in Mississippi! (In … Read more

by wj (I was tempted to use “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.” But it’s been used….) Here’s a headline from City Pages (a weekly news magazine in Minneapolis/St Paul): Republican Party of Minnesota forgot to put Donald Trump on Minnesota ballot. Yep, you read that right. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office put the … Read more

by wj Earlier this week, my wife’s BFF passed away. (They’ve been friends for 3 decades plus. Since long before “BFF” appeared in the language.) He was only a few weeks older than she is, and it’s been traumatic. Giving rise to these musings. For most of us, the first time we lose someone we … Read more

by wj For those of you who are heartily sick of politics, here’s your chance to change the subject. (But you are going to have to do it yourselves.) We had lots of fun pointing fingers at the things that went wrong (from our point of view, at least) in last week’s convention. But here’s … Read more

by wj The anti-Trump forces have failed in their attempt to force a roll call vote on the convention rules. Featured during the attempt: the person chairing the convention up and walked off the stage for 10 minutes. Didn’t bother to try to gavel things back into order. Just left. Just caught on the radio, … Read more

by wj Bobby made a request yesterday that I think deserves a thread all to itself: Please take just one pressing social, political, or cultural issue we debate here all the time and spell out the so-called moderate position. OK, folks. The banner at the top of the page says “This is the Voice of … Read more

by wj I read something recently which noted that one of the great (and mostly unanswerable) questions for historians is: “What were they thinking?” We can make a reasonable stab at “What happened?” But “Why?” is harder. There have been a number of exchanges here lately, where one or another of us has suggested (not … 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 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 wj And surely we need one today, even if we were managing without yesterday. Apologies that my day job distracted me from setting this up sooner.

by wj I have stumbled across a document, Report on the Economic Well-Being of US Households, which was put out by the US Federal Reserve earlier this month. A couple of things seem worth noting. First, it reports that 60% of adults report that they are either “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” compared to 65 … Read more

by wj** Today, the Supreme Court handed out three decisions. Two were unanimous — including one which upheld the way Arizona drew its current electoral districts. But the third was more interesting. Bank Markazi v. Peterson involves the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Bank Markazi is otherwise known as the … Read more

by wj As everybody here (at least those who live in the US) is aware, taxes are normally due on April 15. That is extended, naturally, when the 15th is not on a week day, i.e. it is on a Saturday or Sunday. But this year, April 15th is a Friday. And yet taxes are … Read more

by wj In a press conference this morning, Donald Trump announced that, upon receiving te Republican party nomination, he will be joined on the ticket by Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump cited their common views on a variety of issues. Trump declined to specify just what those common views might be, his response being “Anyone who … Read more

by wj Time for another weekend open thread. But the best I can offer is this take on the poor state of our infrastructure: From a traffic report on KCBS yesterday: “Traffic on I-880, where fuel efficiency goes to die.” It’s a highway that hasn’t expanded at all in decades. Dispite the huge growth of … Read more

by wj I have to do something to fend off my irritation (akin to the Count’s irritation with the Republicans) at seeing nothing but basketball all over my TV. So I’m looking at baseball . . . even though the season hasn’t started yet. As ever, 538 is the place to start: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/bored-with-balance-in-baseball-2016-could-be-your-year/ Perhaps I’m … Read more

by wj A little while ago, Leonard Pitts had a column entitled If Hollywood Does Not See You — And Reflect You — Are You Really There? It was his take on the much-commented lack of minority, specifically black, actors nominated for the Oscars this year. Now certainly there is reason to wonder why Hollywood … Read more

by wj Yes, it is still way early, and the Republican convention a long time away. However, the question that is arising is whether it is still possible to stop Trump — and if so, for how much longer will this be true? Let us suppose, for the sake of discussion, that nobody actually “stops” … Read more

by wj The Iowa caucuses being past, we are now being treated to a flood of stories on What It All Means. As usual, not much really. Certainly just winning in Iowa means very little — except in cases where the winner seemed enormously unlikely. That’s why winners like Huckabee get little from it; they … Read more

by wj There has been a lot of concern expressed by (and even more attributed to) the Republican “establishment” about the impact that a Trump candidacy might have on other Republican candidates on the ballot. And, increasingly, concerns of the same kind about a Cruz candidacy. But now, the down-ballot impact concern is apparently spreading. … Read more

by wj But so soon? It appears that Senator Cruz’ campaign is gaining enough ground to worry Mr Trump. How do we tell? Because Trump has come out saying that “the party might face a legal headache if it nominates Cruz.” Specifically, ““Republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: ‘Do we want … Read more

by wj Just in case someone wants to comment. Beyond my personal astonishment that Mr Trump’s staff didn’t try to get him at least minimally informed about how the Internet works. (Although I suppose those could have been totally off-the-cuff remarks.) Not that total ignorance appears to have slowed any of them down when proposing … Read more