I am a big fan of the political economist Mark Blythe. He recently gave a talk at my alma mater the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on, basically, how we got into this mess. The mess being Trump, Brexit, and the rise of populism around the world. You can watch the video here. The whole talk is […]
(Image Source: https://www.h-schmidt.net/map/) Steve Saideman recently wrote a blog post about “Hegemonic Abdication Theory.” Driven to exasperation about the latest news on the gutting of the State Department, Saideman writes: “Looks like we need to develop some new theory as Trump/Tillerson/Kushner/etc are now doing something that might unprecedented: simply giving up a country’s position as the main […]
The New York Times, has a great story on how the term “fake news” has been increasingly used by authoritarians around the world to deflect criticism against them for their horrible policies: “President Trump routinely invokes the phrase “fake news” as a rhetorical tool to undermine opponents, rally his political base and try to discredit a mainstream […]
Fracking has certainly been a boon to domestic energy production in the U.S. but with the benefits also comes serious downsides. In addition to the environmental and climate negatives fracking also has serious health consequences. Its long been suspected that the groundwater around fracking sites can become contaminated with hazardous chemicals from the fracking process […]
Pew Research Center has just released a new report on opinions about the Russia investigation and other Trump related horrors. It’s not surprising that Trump is totally unpopular with Democrats and Independents but he is also losing ground with Republicans especially with moderate Republicans. From February to December 2017 Trump’s support among moderate Republicans has decreased […]
Personally, one of the reasons I am so concerned about climate change is that I, quite literally, can’t stand the heat. One of the hardest things for me to adjust to since I moved to Texas is the extreme heat. Its not that I miss the North Dakota winters of my youth but I would […]
Today marks my 5th sober anniversary. I don’t really talk about this much but I guess today makes a useful time for reflection. My basic reflection is this: I am immensely grateful to have given up the drink! My life has improved in major ways (i got a tenure track job, I got married!) and […]
