A peaceful transition of power between elected governments is one of the crucial aspects of representative democracies. Let’s hope that is what the coming weeks and months bring here in the US. As regular readers of Continuations know, I have been concerned about Trump’s various attempts to undermine this process for some time. Some claim that such concern was misguided as they see Trump as simply incompetent – but that strikes me as a problematic claim to make about someone who both had a su...

A peaceful transition of power between elected governments is one of the crucial aspects of representative democracies. Let’s hope that is what the coming weeks and months bring here in the US. As regular readers of Continuations know, I have been concerned about Trump’s various attempts to undermine this process for some time. Some claim that such concern was misguided as they see Trump as simply incompetent – but that strikes me as a problematic claim to make about someone who both had a su...

I have been meaning to write a blog post about Marxism following an exchange in the comments to one of my posts about Trump’s dictatorial tendencies. Essentially the thrust of the comment was that Marxism is a bigger threat in the US today than fascism. I disagree with this assertion, but I do think that the extremes to which we have taken capitalism have opened the door for a resurgence of beliefs that it needs to be toppled entirely rather than shrunken dramatically, as I propose in The Wor...

I have been meaning to write a blog post about Marxism following an exchange in the comments to one of my posts about Trump’s dictatorial tendencies. Essentially the thrust of the comment was that Marxism is a bigger threat in the US today than fascism. I disagree with this assertion, but I do think that the extremes to which we have taken capitalism have opened the door for a resurgence of beliefs that it needs to be toppled entirely rather than shrunken dramatically, as I propose in The Wor...

Anyone following Continuations knows that I have been writing for quite some time that Trump represents an attack on the institutions of democracy. Here is the opening paragraph of a post I wrote about why I was voting for Hillary Clinton (despite disliking her as a candidate):The 2016 Presidential race is not a typical election between two candidates based on the merits of their positions on key issues. Instead, it is a stark choice between Hillary Clinton, whose positions you may disagree w...

Anyone following Continuations knows that I have been writing for quite some time that Trump represents an attack on the institutions of democracy. Here is the opening paragraph of a post I wrote about why I was voting for Hillary Clinton (despite disliking her as a candidate):The 2016 Presidential race is not a typical election between two candidates based on the merits of their positions on key issues. Instead, it is a stark choice between Hillary Clinton, whose positions you may disagree w...

We have reached the stage in the devolution of our democracy where people have become afraid. Not in the overt, trembling with fear way, but in the semi-conscious, easily suppressed, but no less potent one. If I say something now, what happens if Trump stays in power? Will my company (or portfolio companies) face repercussions, such as losing government contracts? Will the IRS turn over my finances? Will I be called out publicly and have an angry mob show up at my door? The more you have to l...

We have reached the stage in the devolution of our democracy where people have become afraid. Not in the overt, trembling with fear way, but in the semi-conscious, easily suppressed, but no less potent one. If I say something now, what happens if Trump stays in power? Will my company (or portfolio companies) face repercussions, such as losing government contracts? Will the IRS turn over my finances? Will I be called out publicly and have an angry mob show up at my door? The more you have to l...

Silicon Valley’s tribal boosterism has been bad for tech and bad for the world. I recently criticized Reddit for clamping down on third party clients. I pointed out that having raised a lot of money at a high valuation required the company to become more extractive in an attempt to produce a return for investors. Twitter had gone down the exact same path years earlier with bad results, where undermining the third party ecosystem ultimately resulted in lower growth and engagement for the netwo...

Silicon Valley’s tribal boosterism has been bad for tech and bad for the world. I recently criticized Reddit for clamping down on third party clients. I pointed out that having raised a lot of money at a high valuation required the company to become more extractive in an attempt to produce a return for investors. Twitter had gone down the exact same path years earlier with bad results, where undermining the third party ecosystem ultimately resulted in lower growth and engagement for the netwo...

Among a lot of Democrats, Senator Manchin is persona non grata. And while I am not exactly a fan of his either, there is something profoundly wrong about how Democrats are approaching crises with massive bills. I was asked to publicly support the Build Back Better Act because of its climate provisions and there is no way I would do that given that it is a bloated monstrosity. Going back to the American Recovery and Re-investment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Democrats’ approach has been to throw ev...

Among a lot of Democrats, Senator Manchin is persona non grata. And while I am not exactly a fan of his either, there is something profoundly wrong about how Democrats are approaching crises with massive bills. I was asked to publicly support the Build Back Better Act because of its climate provisions and there is no way I would do that given that it is a bloated monstrosity. Going back to the American Recovery and Re-investment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Democrats’ approach has been to throw ev...

A while back I wrote a post titled “In Praise of Consistency,” which argues that a powerful way to examine one’s beliefs is to check their internal consistency. An example that’s currently on my mind is the right of private companies to turn away unvaccinated customers. On the right there are a lot of people who seem to think that shouldn’t be allowed, but at the same time belief that a baker should be able to refuse making a wedding cake for a gay couple. This strikes me as highly inconsiste...

A while back I wrote a post titled “In Praise of Consistency,” which argues that a powerful way to examine one’s beliefs is to check their internal consistency. An example that’s currently on my mind is the right of private companies to turn away unvaccinated customers. On the right there are a lot of people who seem to think that shouldn’t be allowed, but at the same time belief that a baker should be able to refuse making a wedding cake for a gay couple. This strikes me as highly inconsiste...

Politics in the US has become ever more tribal on both the left and the right. Either you agree with 100 percent of group doctrine or you are considered an enemy. Tim Urban, the author of the wonderful Wait but Why blog has written a book digging into how we have gotten here. Titled “What’s Our Problem” the book is a full throated defense of liberalism in general and free speech in particular. As with his blog, Urban does two valuable things rather well: He goes as much as possible to source ...

Politics in the US has become ever more tribal on both the left and the right. Either you agree with 100 percent of group doctrine or you are considered an enemy. Tim Urban, the author of the wonderful Wait but Why blog has written a book digging into how we have gotten here. Titled “What’s Our Problem” the book is a full throated defense of liberalism in general and free speech in particular. As with his blog, Urban does two valuable things rather well: He goes as much as possible to source ...

Other than a few tweets I have stayed quiet on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as I was reading a ton to try and form an opinion. I am writing this post as much for myself as anyone else, as writing helps me clarify my thinking and also records it so I can go back to it at a later point. For those who just want the conclusion up front: I believe NATO needs to push back hard on Russia now, including supplying much more equipment to Ukraine. We also urgently need to stop our energy purchases from ...

Other than a few tweets I have stayed quiet on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as I was reading a ton to try and form an opinion. I am writing this post as much for myself as anyone else, as writing helps me clarify my thinking and also records it so I can go back to it at a later point. For those who just want the conclusion up front: I believe NATO needs to push back hard on Russia now, including supplying much more equipment to Ukraine. We also urgently need to stop our energy purchases from ...

Texas law SB8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, has gone into effect banning abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, which is often before someone knows that they are pregnant. I have to admit that I feel stunned by the degree to which parts of the United States are backsliding on what I believe are basic accomplishments of social and political progress. And to add more damage to the mix, the right of action here is vested in individuals as opposed to in the state, thus deputizing a minor...

Texas law SB8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, has gone into effect banning abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, which is often before someone knows that they are pregnant. I have to admit that I feel stunned by the degree to which parts of the United States are backsliding on what I believe are basic accomplishments of social and political progress. And to add more damage to the mix, the right of action here is vested in individuals as opposed to in the state, thus deputizing a minor...