One of the interesting twists of the overblown Trump’s 100 Days” stories is that they are not just about what Trump has accomplished, but about what he has not, and why. This piece from The Guardian argues that what Trump’s first 100 days in office suggest is that American democracy is stronger than we thought…
Getting inside Trump’s Brain. April 25, 2017
Not much of a post, but here are two pieces I want to share about Trump’s psyche. Love him or hate him, it’s hard not to find plenty of food for thought here. The comparison with other presidents is particularly thought provoking. What presidential personality characteristics are likely to lead to what consequences for the…
Happy (100) Days
So the idea that a president must accomplish big things in his first 100 days is partly a reference to how much FDR got done and partly an awareness that if a president doesn’t act in a hurry, his popularity is likely to go down (it is usually highest when he is inaugurated) and then…
The Perils of Unified Party Governance
The reminder “be careful what you wish for” certainly applies to winning control of all the branches of power in a presidential system — it looks thrilling and promising on the surface but it is a trap for the unwary or unready. Right now, the United States is essentially governed by a single party —…
Oh Those Liberal Snowflakes
We had Charles Murray on campus a week ago with predictable results. People marched, protested, tried to drown him out. I was opposed to his visit because I think Murray is an intellectual flake (different from a snowflake) and a racist and sexist to boot and I was concerned about the sponsorship of the speech….
War is Hell, Happy Easter and Pesach Sameach Edition
I got an email from one of the high school teachers I work with the other day entitled “Bomb.” It was about the frenzied excitement with which some of his students greeted the news that we dropped the “MOAB” on Afghanistan. The teacher was worried that, for a generation raised on violent warlike video games,…
Keeping (up with) the Republic 