Current Events

Clueless About Politics or Naïve About What Drives Policy?

Last update April 3, 2018Leave a Comment

The Internet isn’t our friend. Prescription drugs kill. Gun control is a non-starter on Capitol Hill. These three truisms contradict everything we hear in the media and from lawmakers desperately seeking a bipartisan win. Don’t expect any of the hype to go anywhere. These are issues meant for press releases and Americans who are clueless about politics, not legislation no one will be able to agree on.

Bulletproof Backpacks, Safe Students and Idealism Go to War

Last update March 7, 2018Leave a Comment

Students planning walkouts, visits to state legislators, a talk with the president, and other strategies to finally get our gun laws to wise up and keep kids safe are about to learn a harsh lesson. Government doesn’t jump because we want something. It jumps when the people who run it want something. Federal and state legislatures have been fighting over gun control for a long time. That’s how educating kids created a market for bulletproof backpacks and why “safe students” doesn’t mean what it’s supposed to mean.

Flu Epidemic: Season Threatens Everyone Except Congress

Last update February 4, 2018Leave a Comment

The flu epidemic isn’t very glamorous. It’s difficult to get political traction from an equal opportunity disease that kills children, the fit, and the elderly and doesn’t have a clue about religion or skin color. No matter how bad this season gets, influenza just doesn’t have the appeal of other problems that push our hot buttons.

Justice for Gun Crime Victims Won’t Come From Democrats

Last update January 2, 2018Leave a Comment

It’s true. Republicans didn’t do much last year to stop gun crimes. It’s also true that they never said they would, while Democrats spent 2017 double-dealing over gun violence. If the Democratic Party truly seeks justice for gun crime victims it needs to be fair and just about how it wants the law to be enforced.

Biggest Failure of 2017? 10 Political Catastrophes to Remember

Last update December 22, 2017Leave a Comment

In most walks of life failure is a bad thing. The one exception is failure in politics. When government trips up it can be a good thing. From that perspective it’s hard to choose the biggest failure of 2017. Many political catastrophes played out to our benefit.