The unofficial contest to become Donald Trump’s running mate has underscored the enduring Republican plot to overturn elections. At the beginning of this election year, Rep. Elise Stefanik, of New York, chair of the House Republican conference, stated that she would not agree to certifying the results of the 2024 election unless she considered them […]

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Were awards given for the worst economic idea each year, Donald Trump’s call for a 10% tax on all imports would be the 2023 winner. The tax would damage the US economy as well as propagate climate change and environmental devastation. Trump sees jobs lost to foreign trade as the economic problem facing the US. […]

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Walt Whitman was right when he wrote that our democracy is an athletic one. Defending our democratic republic requires the stamina of a marathon runner and the versatility of a gymnast.  The events of January 6 alerted Americans to the quirkiness and fragility of our electoral process. Had Vice President Mike Pence failed to certify […]

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On the doorstep of the long U.S. political season, it’s worth pondering the significance and shelf life of several familiar political maxims. Each contains at least a grain of truth.   FIRST,  GARBAGE IN / GARBAGE OUT Everybody who understands statistics knows this maxim. There is always much more Noise than Signal in the data […]

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Official Washington has lost the plot, and I’ve never been more frightened for the future of America. No, I’m not talking about the fear of losing our democracy to authoritarian theocrats, though that remains a constant existential threat. I’m concerned that the pro-democracy “good guys” have settled into a debilitating groupthink. To use the Rumsfeldian […]

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