Author: Elliott

I’m on record as being pro-choice and for suggesting that abortion is Republicans’ Achilles Heel. In the latter blog, which was posted about a week before the leak of Justice Alito’s draft opinion, I stated that Republicans would be better served by reinforcing their brand as the party of freedom while Democrats have been aligning…

Less than a week after publishing Some Thoughts on Buffalo, another mass killing has taken place. This time in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children and two adults were murdered by a young man. The Uvalde event is a little different than the Buffalo tragedy in that the perpetrator appears to be hispanic with many of…

On May 14, 2022 Peyton Gendron walked into a grocery store in Buffalo, NY and shot 13 people, killing 10. On June 17, 2015 Dylan Roof walked into a church in Charleston, SC, shot and killed 9 people. Both of the shooters were young white males (18 and 21) and each chose his location specifically…

Henry David Thoreau’s Essay on Civil Disobedience was published posthumously in 1866. I remember having to memorize a definition in high school when we studied this landmark essay. Civil Disobedience occurs when a citizen intentionally violates the law and is willing to face the consequences. Our teacher made a big deal about that last part…

There have been counter-culture movements of one kind or another in the U.S. since at least the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s. This rapid industrialization lead to population gains in major urban areas like New York, Chicago and Detroit as workers moved there in search of factory jobs. This urban growth…

Readers of More Spock know that examining ways to reduce the wealth gap is one of my interests. I recently saw a headline that shared the CEO of a large bank received a 19% pay raise in 2021. I’d bet a substantial sum that there are policies at that bank that make it virtually impossible…

I enjoyed reading coverage of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings. For the record, I feel she should be confirmed. She’s well-qualified. Her positions may not satisfy all sides, but in our system, the President gets to nominate the successor when a supreme court justice seat becomes available. I believe those justices should generally be confirmed…

George W. Bush was president from 2001-2008. Near the end of his second term, a crisis hit the financial markets, linked largely to concern about risk associated with mortgage-backed securities. This panic lead to the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Joe Biden was inaugurated in 2021 and is facing a similar financial crisis. This time it’s…

Of all the political topics, the environment is perhaps the one that is the most challenging for a person trying to utilize logic and pragmatism in analyzing options and choosing a policy platform to support. The position of the “green” wing of the political spectrum is that the earth is warming at an alarming rate…