Category: Politics

It was a busy week, and in the modern world seven days is too long to keep track, but I thought this was worth noting even after we’ve stopped talking about minor things like the budget. Remember: some things can’t be taken back; some bells, as they say, can’t be un-rung. Once you’ve sold an…

According to the headlines, Google is being sued. “Memo man Damore is back – with lawyers,” “James Damore Sues Google,” even “James Damore’s Lawsuit is Designed to Embarrass Google.” No, no, no. Damore isn’t suing Google. Harmeet Dhillon is suing Google. His lawyer is “an American lawyer and Republican party official. She is the former…

From a Venezuelan who learned a fair amount suffering under Hugo Chavez: “Normal politicians collapse in the face of scandal because the scandals show them dozing on the job or falling back on their promises. To get elected, they offer a bargain: “Vote for me: I will make you richer/fight for your rights/assure your progress.”…

Ok, let’s summarize: 1. The tax bill drastically increases costs for graduate students by charging the tuition which they don’t pay as income. 2. The tax bill would devastate startups, especially technology startups, by taxing options when they vest (but in many cases before they could be sold, making them worthless for startups). Note: this…

This is a fascinating glimpse into how polarized our country has become. Gallup asked Americans to rate Trump from 0-100. Among Democrats, the average score is 16; a majority of Democrats give Trump a score of 3 or lower, and 75% rate him below a 20. In contrast, the average score among Republicans is 77,…

For years, the Republican right suggested that if Obamacare passed, the result would be “Death Panels” which would choose whether or not individuals would get the healthcare they need. We all denounced those claims as specious; there was no such provision in the ACA. Now that the Republicans have control of the government, they’ve trotted…

I believe in this dream of America: a place where no one profits from the misery of others, where the suffering of the smallest child matters as much as the glory of our captains and leaders. I believe in a place where we seek truth, where we treat disagreements with respect and patience, where honesty…

Let’s be real. We shouldn’t need much more than these two statistics: 4 in 10 U.S. women rely on health centers like Planned Parenthood as their only source of medical care. The services Planned Parenthood health centers provide save us over $10 billion a year. But if you need to understand what those statistics mean…

Representative Rodgers had an opinion piece published in the Washington Post a couple days ago. Here is my response to it: Ms. Rodgers: With all due respect, your article is a lie and you are a hypocrite. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You voted on this bill, and posted that opinion piece, before…

Breitbart posted a piece today about the recently passed budget. The piece is fascinating and not a little disturbing. It’s fundamentally a “framing” piece; there’s not much content here, it’s mostly just positioning for the 2018 elections. But there are a couple of pretty fascinating nuggets. First, I think this offers an interesting glimpse into…