Author Archives: dsfjr

Your Vote Is Not a Special Snowflake, Except When It Is

I wanted to save writing a post about protest voting and single-issue voting until closer to the general election. In case I have any tiny influence with the people reading this blog, it would be better to read this argument in the immediate run-up to the general election rather than a year out when naryContinue reading “Your Vote Is Not a Special Snowflake, Except When It Is”

Weekend Links

We invited one of the students in my adult class and her husband over for dinner tonight. This student, who goes by the English name Dana, is really impressive in her dedication to learning English. She teaches full time at a local high school. This year, Dana is the lead teacher for a class of high schoolContinue reading “Weekend Links”

The Republican Nomination Contest: Ben Carson, Really? Really? Edition

Famed pediatric neurosurgeon and crackpot pyramids theory enthusiast Ben Carson is now challenging Donald Trump for frontrunner status in the race for the Republican nomination for president. As mentioned previously, this new development could really complicate Trump’s core message, which seems to be that he’s a winner and winner’s win so vote for him if you want toContinue reading “The Republican Nomination Contest: Ben Carson, Really? Really? Edition”

Morning Coffee in China Links

First blue sky and sun we’ve seen in three days here in Dali. We got our first taste of the cold season here these last few days, and it tasted bitter! While Dali’s winter climate is quite mild, it’s kind of a tough season because there are no central heating systems. We use (terribly inefficient) space heatersContinue reading “Morning Coffee in China Links”

Reality Has a Well-Known Liberal Bias, Paul Krugman Edition

Why don’t facts say what we want them to say? Paul Krugman has been on this beat for a long time, notably writing in 2014 about conservatives unable to deal with the fact that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was doing what it was designed to do. Here, Krugman catches The Federal Reserve BankContinue reading “Reality Has a Well-Known Liberal Bias, Paul Krugman Edition”

The Agony of Debate: CNBC, Candidates All Manage to Offend

Tonight’s Republican debate was terrible. After listening to several sneering exchanges about how government is always the problem and always screws things up and Obama welcomes violence against the nation’s police and BOO! socialism, I couldn’t get this refrain out of my head: Nasty people saying nasty things and being nasty to each other to the cheersContinue reading “The Agony of Debate: CNBC, Candidates All Manage to Offend”

Boehner Saves the Day, Sort Of

We won’t have John Boehner to kick around much longer and it looks like he’ll succeed in doing the country a favor by kicking his party’s own Freedom Caucus in the teeth before he steps down as Speaker. I still hesitate to give much credit in a situation that involves Republican party leaders saving theContinue reading “Boehner Saves the Day, Sort Of”

On Recipe Comments and A Simple, No Yeast Bread

If you’ve looked at many recipes online, you’re probably familiar with what I’m about to describe. I’ll read a recipe, then glance down at the comments to make sure there’s no “this recipe sucks” consensus. Often, there are some really funny comments, though unless they are master trolls I don’t think making me LOL was whatContinue reading “On Recipe Comments and A Simple, No Yeast Bread”

Weekend Links

Teaching today and tomorrow, so I might not get around to another full post this week. Some links: First, some self-promotion. Here’s a link to something I wrote this week. It’s my longest essay and I think my best one so far. I tried to explain the leadership crisis in the House and why it’s kind of aContinue reading “Weekend Links”