Two years ago I wrote a piece suggesting that Democrats should try to have sympathy for Trump voters who end up worse off as a result of Trump's policies [Trump America] [https://the-quarterly.ghost.io/trump-america/]. It was based on the premise that Trump's policies would

I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. I believe her because I can relate to her. Not because my experiences match hers exactly, but I can relate to her in the way that I understand how childhood experiences have a lasting impact on the rest of your life. I can relate

When Michael Jackson died in 2009 after being given an astounding cocktail of drugs by his personal physician, there was a lot of head scratching about how a doctor - someone who's entire profession is built around the Hippocratic Oath - could make such a poor decision when

There is so much beauty in this world. Nothing could stop that. No amount of hate could put an end to it. I can only feel sorry for the people who fail to see that. They live tortured lives in a hell of their own creation. I wake up every

I wrote down my first thoughts about the 2016 presidential election back in February of 2016 [https://the-quarterly.ghost.io/antithetical/]. It was the start of the Democratic primary. I laid out a case for why I thought that Hillary Clinton had a better chance than Bernie Sanders to win

Republican politicians have inadvertently (or intentionally) created a feedback loop based on the demonization of liberal-progressive policies. The feedback loop starts with Republicans politicians setting themselves apart from Democrats by demonizing the policies enacted by Democrats. These Republican politicians focus mostly on how terrible Democratic policies are and offer few

There's a fundamental disagreement taking place in this country. It's a disagreement about the role society plays in our life and what its responsibilities are to its members. Imagine a life raft on the open ocean. On the life raft are those of us who are

There were legitimate criticisms that could have been made about the Affordable Care Act. Obama said something along the lines of, "If you like your health care plan you'll be able to keep your health care plan." That was short-sighted and failed to appreciate the ways

In 2009 President Obama sat down with House Republicans for a round table discussion on health care. He laid out the reasons why the Affordable Care Act was necessary. I'm not as eloquent as Obama, but I'll paraphrase the points he made. Health care costs were

When I listened to the audience cheer at Trump's inauguration, I couldn't help but think that all those people will be so incredibly disappointed when they realize that Trump failed to make their lives better. Trump has sold them a bill of goods that sounds great

When I listen to people talk about homeopathy or astrology, I usually just roll my eyes. I find those beliefs to be utter nonsense, but at the same time, it's none of my business what other people believe or don't believe. I think there's

There's a well-documented rural flight taking place in this country. Rural populations are in decline as jobs dry up and younger generations search elsewhere to find a hopeful future. In 2013, 60% of rural counties shrank in population. Many rural towns are dying a slow death. It'

It's not lost on me that I don't have a "hard" job. Sure, it can be mentally exhausting, and it requires a great deal of creative problem solving, but the only thing I'm exercising is my brain. It's obviously a

I was running along a winding country road a few months ago. The kind of road that can barely fit two cars. The kind of road that doesn't have a shoulder. As I was running around a bend, a car came down the road from the other direction.

I had to defriend someone on Facebook that I haven't seen in person for quite a few years, because she was sharing a constant stream of fake news and misinformation, most of it being anti-Obama and anti-Hillary. One of the things that puzzled me about her was that

Here's an example of what I meant when I talked about information asymmetry. Donald Trump has been accused of rape or attempted rape by three different women. All three cases were dropped before they went to trial. The most recent accuser was set to have a press conference

We need to have a talk. I’ve seen a number of people talking about how liberals are not being tolerant of Trump and his supporters. I admit, yesterday I called Trump a human dumpster fire. That was wrong. I apologize for that. It came from a place of pain.

There's an information asymmetry in the political Left-Right divide, and it's taken this election to a really weird and scary place. Both sides have always pushed a narrative, one that helps their respective causes. Historically those narratives don't stray too far from what might

I've never been as ideologically aligned with any candidate as much as I am with Bernie Sanders. I once took one of those of political match tests and the top result was Bernie Sanders at 99%. I strongly believe in the social safety net. I should see Bernie