Liberals hate Trump, no question about it. He’s the definition of illiberal: authoritarian, racist, sexist, and downright nasty. Not only that, he’s a living repudiation of the liberal delusion that America runs on meritocracy. But you want to know a dirty, little secret? In back alleys, encrypted group chats, and off-the-record conversations, liberals will still… Continue reading Why Liberals Will Give Two Cheers for Trump
Wars can end practically overnight. Just look at Syria, which was locked in a civil war for a dozen years. Having survived a succession of uprisings, Bashar al-Assad seemed on track to become a tyrant for life. Then, in the space of a couple weeks, his allies effectively deserted him, his army melted away, and… Continue reading Assad Gone, Trump Coming: What is Ukraine’s Future
The industrial revolution depended on fossil fuels. The current transition to clean energy aims to leave coal, oil, and natural gas behind. But this transition is also heavily dependent on critical metals like copper, lithium, and nickel. It’s also not clear whether the earth contains enough of these metals to support all the solar installations,… Continue reading Can Recycling Save the Clean Energy Revolution
Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election was surprising in a number of ways. He won every swing state as well as the popular vote, which a Republican candidate hadn’t done in two decades. He led his party to a congressional sweep, with the Republicans maintaining control of the House of Representatives and seizing… Continue reading Surviving the New Trump Era
Donald Trump’s presidential win is a vivid refutation of two adages: cheaters never prosper, and might doesn’t make right. These are not just comforting words that parents say to their bullied children. They are, or at least ought to be, the letter of the law. From community ordinances all the way up to international agreements,… Continue reading Planet of Bullies
In Philadelphia this past weekend, I met a number of people who’d given up on democracy. They railed about politicians who make promises they don’t keep. They spun conspiracy theories about the government. A number of those who answered the door told me that they weren’t going to vote. Then there were the grim young… Continue reading The Plot Against Democracy
Twenty years ago, when I first heard about “dog poop girl,” I thought, “Well, that’s just South Korea.” In 2005, a young woman took her dog onto the Seoul metro where it promptly did its business. The owner refused to pick up after it. She was scolded by her fellow passengers. In an earlier age,… Continue reading The Cruelty of Crowds
The richest man in the world is trying to buy the U.S. presidential election in order to bestow it, like a burnt offering, upon his preferred candidate. Multi-billionaire Elon Musk is not only pouring $75 million of his own money into Donald Trump’s campaign. He is now offering payments to voters in swing states in… Continue reading Billionaires vs Democracy
The dream of Korean reunification is now over 80 years old. This year, the notion that the two halves of the Korean peninsula could be stitched back together has become so feeble that it entered hospice. The children of this dream of reunification are responsible for putting it into the intensive care ward. The northern… Continue reading The End of Reunification?
No one wants a nuclear reactor in their backyard. It’s an eyesore and a health hazard, not to mention the hit to your property values. And don’t forget the existential danger. One small miscalculation and boom, there goes the neighborhood! In the 1970s, in the southwest corner of Germany, the tiny community of Wyhl was… Continue reading Getting from NIMBY to YIMBY