I have changed my mind: This week’s presidential debate matters. Before I continue, a quick recap: Last month, I expressed my long-standing view that presidential debates aren’t very meaningful and are very stupid. They are pseudo-events, the historian Daniel J. Boorstin’s term for manufactured media spectacles that feel significant because we imbue them with significance. […]
Tag: matters
Alastair Campbell on why politics matters to children
Politics isn’t usually something most children and young people enjoy, or even understand. But Alastair Campbell is on a mission to change that. Campbell, who was former UK prime minister Tony Blair’s spokesman in the late 90s and early 2000s, believes young people have become so disengaged with politics that the future of democracy could […]
Voting matters, so vote for the GOP if you want these specific things
Some moderates think the presidential candidates are too extreme. And some people don’t want to vote for either elderly candidate. Some don’t think it matters who they vote for. It matters greatly. Vote Republican if you want:Authoritarian government instead of a democracy.To get out of the Paris Climate agreement.Tax subsidies for fossil fuel companies.Tax cuts […]
Why Trump’s rhetoric about vaccines and defunding schools matters
Across the country, public school districts require children to be fully immunized against, among other things, polio, measles, hepatitis B, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis before they can attend classes. These policies have existed for years; they’ve been incredibly effective; they enjoy the support of public-health officials; and they haven’t been especially controversial. Indeed, up […]
Symptoms, what Michigan outbreak means for pets and why wastewater matters
Called highly pathogenic avian influenza, the H5N1 bird flu virus making headlines in Michigan and across the U.S. got its name because it is so well adapted to infecting and killing birds. H5N1 has been circulating in the U.S. since January 2022 and globally since 2021. What has scientists and researchers worried, however, is that […]
Father takes matters into his own hands after catching rideshare driver assaulting his daughter: police
Authorities in Washington state are investigating a shooting Saturday night after they said a father caught a rideshare driver allegedly sexually assaulting his daughter while she was “highly intoxicated.” Early Saturday morning, Thurston County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a weapons violation in Nisqually Valley. A deputy stopped a vehicle that was attempting to […]
Why the Ukrainian economy matters to Russia (and the rest of the world)
Ukraine’s Economic Importance Amidst War with Russia At the time of writing, Russian tanks are storming into Ukraine from several directions while cruise missiles bombard the country’s cities and military installations. This full-on invasion, which began the morning of 24 February, has been long in the making. Its orchestrator, Russian President Vladimir Putin, began building […]
Why Biden’s protest problem has reached deep-blue California and why it matters
As former President Trump’s motorcade coursed through Beverly Hills, Newport Beach and San Francisco last week, packs of MAGA hat-wearing, flag-waving fans lined the posh streets and coastal highways and cheered. Yet when Vice President Kamala Harris, who was raised among community activists in Berkeley, headed to a San Francisco fundraiser the same week, a […]
Biden and Trump may forget names or personal details, but here is what really matters in assessing whether they’re cognitively up for the job
Some Americans are questioning whether elderly people like Joe Biden and Donald Trump are cognitively competent to be president amid reports of the candidates mixing up names while speaking and having trouble recalling details of past personal events. I believe these reports are clearly concerning. However, it’s problematic to evaluate the candidates’ cognition based only […]
Maddow Blog | Why Trump’s vow to fire ‘woke’ U.S. generals matters
It’s no secret that Donald Trump has repeatedly clashed with U.S. military leaders, but it appears that the Republican has a plan to address this if voters give him a second term: The former president apparently intends to kick many generals out of the armed forces. In his latest Fox News interview, which aired on […]
Why mail ballot requests have dropped off a cliff in Miami-Dade (and why it matters)
A recent change in state law has led to a drastic drop in the number of Miami-Dade voters requesting mail-in ballots, leading county officials and political organizations to scramble to try and make up the difference. As of Tuesday, roughly 194,000 voters in Miami-Dade County had requested vote-by-mail ballots, Supervisor of Elections Christina White told […]
Dell Stock Saw A Downside Reversal. Here’s Why It Matters.
A previous column covered why position size was critical when we took a small loss in Dell (DELL). But just because a stock is a losing trade, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be revisited. Here’s how we handled a profitable trade in Dell stock and why we take notice of downside reversals. X A Second Chance […]