I: Keeping Trump off the Ballot This question came to me on Mastodon: Have you seen the Colorado decision on the 14th Amendment case to keep Trump off the ballot there? If so, can you explain why they would hold that the President is not an officer of the government? The 14th Amendment was drafted …
Parchment Barriers and Keeping Trump off the Ballot Read More »
The details of the following story are taken from this book by Thomas McInnis, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas: (Also, the story was all over the news.) Remember those anthrax attacks just after the attack on September 11, 2001? The federal investigation into those attacks took investigators to hundreds of scientists …
The Fourth Amendment and Criminal Investigations Read More »
The Misinformation-Outrage Cycle This is Part 6, the conclusion. It’s generally best to follow the advice given to Alice and the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then stop.” But if you must read out of order, here are all the links: Part 1: …
The Misinformation-Outrage Cycle This is Part 5. It’s generally best to follow the advice given to Alice and the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then stop.” But if you must read out of order, here are all the links: Part 1: “There are …
Part 5: Get the Fighters Fighting and Keep Them Fighting Read More »
The Misinformation-Outrage Cycle This is Part 4. It’s generally best to follow the advice given to Alice and the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then stop.” But if you must read out of order, here are all the links: Part 1: “There are …
The Misinformation-Outrage Cycle This is Part 3. It’s generally best to follow the advice given to Alice and the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then stop.” But if you must read out of order, here are all the links: Part 1: “There are …
The Misinformation-Outrage Cycle “When news becomes entertainment, what matters is who puts on the best show.” —Timothy Snyder . . . and when news becomes entertainment, facts get lost. People get mired in conspiracy thinking and they begin exhibiting authoritarian tendencies. This is Part 2. It’s generally best to follow the advice given to Alice …
Part 2: Creating the Conditions for Mainstream (MSNBC / CNN) Conspiracy Theories Read More »
(The link to Part 2 is at the end) Plato argued that democracy was inferior to other forms of government, including monarchy, aristocracy, and oligarchy because democracy—by its very nature—undermines the expertise necessary for good governance. This is summary of Plato’s thoughts is from the Stanford Dictionary of Philosophy: Most people do not have the …
The Misinformation-Outrage Cycle, Part 1: “There are no Yankees here!” Read More »
There was quite a bit of drama a few weeks ago when Trump violated the gag order in the New York Manhattan case, which you can read about here. As a result, Trump was fined But now I’ll focus on what’s happening with the much broader (and more complex) gag order proceedings in the J6 …
The First Amendment and Putting a Muzzle on Donald Trump Read More »
First, some business As I announced in my last blog post, I have signed a contract to write a new book, so my blogging schedule has shifted from weekly to whenever. Meanwhile, I often post commentary and answer questions in the following places: Mastodon (I prefer Mastodon: There are no algorithms so less of a …
