What it could indicate about his priorities and “vision” — How about this? Nationwide right to work for working Americans. Defunding Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities on day one. A whole new era of domestic energy production. Sweeping new protections for conscience and the right to life of the unborn. Concealed carry reciprocity in all 50 states and the District…

Balancing public health with demands to freely harm ourselves and others during a pandemic — Our bodies are not the only thing under assault during this pandemic. While most Americans claim to support freedom, its unequal distribution is a stain on our history. Inequities continue, including within the debate over Coronavirus/COVID-19 precautions. They’re part of a greater failure to strike a balance in meeting as…

Plans for expressing love and gratitude that mitigate risk — Consider the last 8+ months with SARS-COV-2 as a particularly nasty punch. The recent spike in cases and hospitalizations has reportedly been fueled by small gatherings. So how are we going to respond, including during the holidays? Ideas that promote failure: Pretending we didn’t get hit, despite losing teeth (lives and livelihoods) Deciding that…

Quality examples abound if we are willing to learn from them — Defenders of the POTUS are currently arguing that Clinton or Biden would have done no better at preventing COVID-19 transmission and related deaths. It’s tough to know for sure without a time machine or alternative universe. Accepting the argument means believing Clinton or Biden would have done as poorly on…

A letter to the pandemic response cynics — To those making such statements or accepting 200,000+ premature deaths: How cynically do you view Americans to believe we can’t do more than argue about hoaxes and wearing masks amidst widespread sickness and death? The federal government to think we can only blame China and the WHO while abdicating international…

Why we must heal wounds to build a culture of productive political interaction — American democracy is in jeopardy. It likely can’t survive continued gridlock on issues like the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and environmental injustice. Our failures stem from a lack of both policies that improve collective well-being and political discourse capable of generating them. …

A case study of political dogma trumping basic decency or logic — On Friday Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Tucker Carlson discussed conclusions to draw from the President’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Their conversation illustrates how dogma (in this case right-wing) can distort rational thought and attempts to develop practical policy. The nation desperately needs all of us to do better than this:

Putting partisan struggles in a context of greater ones — Expanding partisanship in the United States is occurring in the context of larger historical struggles. The prevailing gridlock and lack of leadership (especially federal but in many cases state and local as well) hurt progress in each. This is a feature for politicians prioritizing short-term wealth or power over all…

Bringing receipts to the debate gets us closer to the truth — Following release of reports of the President calling fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers,” a debate is raging over his thoughts and actions about service members in general. Cutting through the noise requires “bringing receipts.” This article includes a lengthy but not exhaustive list of other potentially relevant statements and policy…