Politics
Protesting Progressives
The mood at the annual progressive conference meeting held in Washington DC June 7-9 can best be described as cautious pessimism. After the high two years ago of electing the first African-American President and a Democratic-controlled Congress, both… more »
"Horrible Things Happen;"Beneath the Surface of the BP Spill: What's Happening Now, What's Needed Next
It seems that the human inability to grasp and execute the complex steps of a deepwater drilling procedure led to the tragic outcome. A separate discussion is warranted of an almost universal lack of preparedness by the industry and government to deal with the aftermath of this blowout. more »
Love Me, Love My Vote
It's an election year, and my popularity is at a all-time high! Not that I'm running for office myself, but if I were, it's nice to know that I recently acquired a lot of friends in high places whom I've never actually met. Nevertheless, many of them have really been putting themselves out lately to win my approval, and I must say I'm extremely flattered, even though there are times when I might characterize their efforts as "overkill." more »
Alabama Machiavelli, Review of Stealth Reconstruction: An Untold Story of Racial Politics in Recent Southern History
Machiavelli was a high-level bureaucrat in the Florentine Republic, not an elected official in a democracy, but he did write about how to get and keep political power. His basic advice was to appear to do one thing while obscuring the fact that you are really doing something else. more »