Erictheblue

LATEST ARTICLES ( 375 )

• A Year of Reading

  

  New Yorker writers and editors weigh in, here, on "the best books of 2014."  If it's fair to assume that the best of the best are the ones... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Books of the Bible: Judges

  

  The English title, with its jurisprudential atmospherics, might lead the contemporary reader astray: better would be "Leaders." But the kings are yet... Read more

  Posted on 21 December 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Market Solutions

  

  Like a lot of liberals, I don't believe very much in "the magic of markets."  Too often the "magic" is just rich people grabbing stuff. Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• My Time on a Grand Jury

  

  Many years ago, I was called to grand jury duty.  In Hennepin County, Minnesota, grand jury duty is different in that you don't hear just one... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Electoral Distortion

  

  In the midterm election this year, Republican candidates for US House won, in the aggregate, 51.6% of the vote, compared to 45.5% for Democrats. Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• At the Movies: Gone Girl

  Abraham Lincoln, who married a nut-case, was, according to The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln on my father's bookshelf, fond of quoting the maxim about... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Games Geeks Play

  Being a geek, I sometimes, like during halftime of televised football games, find myself inventing little games of chance and then wondering about the best... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Election Result, and Interpretation of Same

  My general view is that there has been too much made of the result of the midterm election.  I hope Republicans do not overreach in governance to the... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Election

  

  A spot on NPR plugging their election coverage used the phrase "fight for control of the Senate."  I don't think "control" is the righ... Read more

  Posted on 04 November 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Series

  I was half-heartedly pulling for the Royals, I guess, but mainly just enjoying the games, the ones I was able to watch anyway. Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Reading Thoreau During "Million Dollar Listing"

  

  I've been reading, during my lunch hour at work, and at home in the evenings after the kids are in bed and while Amanda is watching the sublime programming of... Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Ad Watch

  

  The thing I hate most about political ads is what they reveal about how stupid the campaigns must think we all are.  Take the most recent Mike McFadden ad... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Obamacare on the News Feed

  

  This picture was in my FB news feed.  I'm not sure what the lie might have been.  Did someone in the Administration say that, within a year of the... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Power Always out

  

  The Supreme Court's announcement, earlier this week, that it would not review lower-court decisons, from three different circuits, holding that same-sex... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Books of the Bible: Joshua

  

  Back in Genesis, God had promised Abraham that He would give his descendants a land and a nation and that they would be a blessing to all people. Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• In the Current New Yorker

  

  I enjoyed this review despite knowing nothing about the subject, Marilynne Robinson.  I take that back.  I do know that Robinson is a great... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• To Dither, Or Not to Dither

  Speaking broadly, there are two ways for presidents to err.  They can do stupid things, like invade Iraq.  They can also dither until it's too late... Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Democrats, Republicans, Baseball, Football

  

  Although the "gender gap" gets more attention, the urban-rural divide drives the dysfunction of American politics. The above map shows the outcome, by... Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Replacements at Midway

  

  You can read reviews of the Replacements Midway Stadium show here and here and here and all over.  I haven't looked hard but I'm guessing it would be... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Princeton Election Consortium Bucks Conventional Wisdom About the Coming Midterms

  

  Everyone knows the CW about the midterm elections this November: the Republicans will ride a wave of anti-Obama sentiment to win a majority in the Senate while... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2014 POLITICS, SOCIETY