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Reasons to be Cheerful

Donald Trump, President-Elect

Donald Trump has won the presidential election.

This is terrible news. He is a convicted criminal and has no respect for the norms of democracy that keep societies together. He is unlikely help the poorest in society and the USA will remain divided for at least the next four years, probably much longer. The global climate is in greater peril. Ukraine’s predicament is worse. The outlook is bleak for the Gazans and the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

In the run-up to the election, the liberal press are full of warnings that this was somehow America’s last chance. The Atlantic posted articles on ‘The Fragility of American Freedom’ and the New Yorker Cover depicted Lady Liberty on a tightrope. The message is that now the USA has fallen to Trump, it will never recover.

The next few months and years will be galling and frustrating. But over the medium to long term, I remain optimistic. I think it’s helpful (if only to myself, as a coping mechanism) to list my heuristics and axioms.

Continue reading “Reasons to be Cheerful”
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The Equaliser

The Labour politician Frank Field (Lord Field of Birkenhead) has died aged 81. He had prostate cancer.

Back in 2015 I had my own fight with that disease. Actually, it was less of a fight, and more a minor altercation. A fracas, or an affray. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and had an orchidectomy the next day. 


An instant cure, which I’ve always thought as Nature’s cruel contribution to the inequality of sexes. Some uniquely female cancers are not so easily dealt with and are just as deadly as they were a generation ago. 

Continue reading “The Equaliser”
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Democracy vs Ochlocracy

Simpsons Angry Mob

The Government’s hideous Rwanda asylum plan has been ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.

Under the plan, people who applied for asylum in the UK after arriving via an irregular route would be deported to Rwanda, and have their claim processed there. Not everyone realised that successful applicants would be granted asylum in Rwanda.

My view is that the policy is wrong on the most fundamental level. We take far fewer refugees than we should, if they were dispersed proportionally throughout the world. There are reasons why people choose particular countries for their asylum claim and it’s often to do with prior links to that country. It’s absurd that a person who already has family living in the UK, and who applies to the UK government for asylum, should be sent elsewhere.

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The Difference Between Voter Fraud And Voter Suppression

When dealing with propagandists, one trap that well-meaning campaigners often fall into is the adoption of the other side’s “framing” of an issue. Another is to repeat the claims of the liars as you attempt to debunk them. Both mistakes end up reinforcing the lie in the minds of many people.

Stacey Abrams had a fair claim that she was cheated. Her opponent was a secretary of state responsible for conduct of elections – and oversaw the purge from the rolls of tens of thousands of predominantly black voters. GOPers mocked her. But she had a case. Trump has noises. David Frum (@davidfrum) November 10, 2020

One lie that Republican misinformation merchants are currently peddling is that their noises about the election are no different to the complaints made by the Democrats in previous election cycles. The response is to say, “no that’s different because our claims are genuine.” That might be true, but it doesn’t persuade anyone.

Moreover, the crucial difference lies in the fact that vote fraud is not the same as vote suppression. Continue reading “The Difference Between Voter Fraud And Voter Suppression”