You’re gonna be hearing a lot about the Iowa caucuses today. And not for why we all expected to anyway. You’re probably already aware that last night the Iowa Democratic Party failed rather dramatically in the one job they had…
Impeachment: IOIYAR Triumphant?
‘IOIYAR: acronym for “It’s Okay If You’re A Republican,” shorthand for discussing hypocrisy.’ Inconceivable! Well, not really; I just wanted to use that header. It’s actually been quite conceivable for a while, as I discussed the other day in Impeachment:…
Impeachment: A Stupid Thing Happened On The Way To The Senate
Well, lots of really stupid things. And even more stupid things have happened after it got there. There is one stupid thing that matters more than all the rest. Trump seems to genuinely think that he’s a king. To be…
Impeachment: How’s That Goin’ For Ya?
Since we’re getting a live test of how well the Constitution’s oversight of the Executive branch works at the moment, let’s evaluate how it’s doing vs. my suggestion from Failed Constitution Check: Executive Oversight that the Executive branch needs to…
Constituent Service: Making Politicians Face The Music
Politicians really are a class all their own. That’s not a good thing. Even politicians who famously start their careers straight out of a blue-collar life find themselves dragged into the bubble of political culture: seeing mainly other politicians, speaking…
Escrow: Keep The “Cloud” Honest
So, I work with computers and online hosting systems; this will be relevant … There is no cloud. There are just computers that other people control. This matters when manufacturers decide to start making and selling products that refuse to…
He’s Repressing Me: Freedom Of Conscience In An Age Of Anti-Discrimination Laws
Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Fine; I’ve got that out of my system. We can start the actual post now. Anti-discrimination laws are … problematic. By definition, they are an attempt to force citizens to behave…
National Territories: Taxation Without Representation
Territories, federal districts, protectorates; whatever you call them, their very existence violates one of the foundational principles of this country. No taxation without representation. In the United States, this is repeated at us endlessly, from elementary level history to Schoolhouse…
You Need To Read This: Remembering Courtney Everts Mykytyn
You should read this, from Mother Jones. I hadn’t heard of Courtney Everts before I read it. But she sounds like she had the right idea: you probably can’t change the systems around you, but you are responsible for how…
SPQA: Senatus Populusque Americanus
This is a followup to Let’s Do This: For Once Something Is Actually About States’ Rights. Either abolish the Senate or change the Constitution to make us a real federation. Let’s get really non-controversial: the only reason the Senate exists…