The Auckland, New Zealand police and Auckland Pride, an LGBTQ support organization, were unable to come to an agreement about police marching in the Pride parade. They did, however, produce one of the most oblique, passive, and ultimately pointless media releases ever posted. This is what happens when you’re not sure what to say, but…
We have a divided government. We’re going to disagree. But it’s time to get some stuff done. (Last political post for a little while, but hey, we just had an election that mattered.) Americans wake up this morning with Democrats controlling the House and Republicans extending their majority in the Senate. Donald Trump is still…
Here’s what’s going to happen today, Election Day in America, and in the weeks and years that follow. (You will notice there are no percentages here. I predict, I don’t quote probabilities.) Young people will vote in record numbers. But less than half of the young people eligible will vote. Someone will win control of…
I see many, many posts, videos, and tweets telling people to vote. Meanwhile, 10,000 Twitter bots are apparently telling you not to vote. So which should you do? This election is a referendum on the policies of Donald Trump. But if you go to the voting booth, you will find you cannot vote for him…
In the US, the midterm election day is one week from today, November 6. Facebook says it will ban misinformation on voting. If you find this news item encouraging, allow me to discourage you. First off, the ban is limited in scope. Facebook is not banning fake news (as if such a thing were possible)…
The arguments about health care policy aren’t just arguments about health care economics. They’re actually about American support for innovation. Let’s lay it out. First, entrepreneurship. According to a study by Pierre Azoulay and three other authors in the Harvard Business Review, the average age of a successful startup founder is 45. Here’s some of…
Someone you know is transgender. They deserve to be treated like a human. Look. My job here is normally to pick apart public statements by people, to show you how things can be written better. I try not to get into taking political positions. But I am making an exception today. If this bothers you,…
I was puzzled when Donald Trump indicated that he doubted that the Saudi government had been involved in the disappearance, and likely murder, of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi. But he said he was sure, because of the Saudis’ “strong denial.” Here’s a quote: “All I can do is report what he told me. He told…
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh defended himself in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. He says you can trust him to be impartial. Did he undo the damage he did during his hearing last week? Just a reminder: the purpose of this blog is to reveal what’s really going on with written communications. I’m…