(Political Ramblings from a Little Left of Center)
My work-in-progress modus operandi for this blog is to first simply collect random notes, articles, and references that I find interesting. These artifacts occasionally combine to form the raw idea of a blog topic and a few of the collections eventually morph into an actual post. This week, however, I’ve found myself largely unable to…
Thus far, I’ve purposely steered clear of the “Issue of the Day” when selecting blog topics. My preference is to pick a topic that is important, but not one that is currently flying across cable news chyrons. I find value in stepping back a bit to gain some perspective before weighing in. But not this…
The syndicated columnist Molly Ivins once opined that Texas politics was “Better than the zoo.” Yeah, I don’t know. Wild animals at the zoo do tend to shit on everything, but they can’t cause nearly as much permanent damage as Texas politicians can. From my perch in Austin, perhaps I’m on the wrong side of…
Time to update my previous Congressional election postings. While the Democrats have improved their chances in both chambers, it’s still a numbers game. My Top 20 House race targets have changed a bit. Again, this list reflects my analysis of where money can be best spent to flip the House. See my previous posting for…
I generally find political labels to be rather pointless and I don’t consider myself to be a member of any political party. I also acknowledge that any political positioning on any scale is largely a matter of perspective. That said, I have indeed self-identified as “a little left of center” within this blog. While I…
“Fun with Flags” is a recurring bit on “The Big Bang Theory” sitcom where Sheldon records a video podcast on the exciting topic of vexillology – the study of flags. I wondered how the gang might weigh in on the various flag stories currently in the news… Scene: The apartment. Sheldon and Amy are on…
I decided on the title of this piece before I had much of a clue how to actually write it. What the hell was I thinking? Even a cursory discussion of this topic could easily require several books. Several intensely boring books. I had writer’s remorse about even “going there” given that (a) I’m by…
Numerous pundits seems to think Democratic control of the Senate in 2018 is still a possibility. Okay, sure. A flipped nickel landing on its edge is also a possibility. The chances of the latter are about 1 in 6000. The chances of flipping the Senate are only slightly better. The reality is that the 2018…
This Thursday, a large number of newspapers from across the country will separately produce independent editorials concerning Trump’s constant and virulent attacks on the media. I’m looking forward to reading some of them but will first add my own small voice to the mix. Although there are many examples, this tweet seems representative as a…
A friend of mine recently announced the restart of her own blog focused on marketing. Since she’s brilliant, an expert in international marketing, and someone whose opinions I greatly respect, I told her I’d love to read her take on the use of marketing techniques to produce political propaganda. I went so far as to…