Open thread: Assigned reading

What are the best political sites? Who should I read to broaden my thinking?

One request--nothing long. No books. And tell me why I should read someone. What makes it worth your time or mine?

Open thread: What's next for libertarians?

Ron Paul kind of sputtered in this campaign. He was great in the debates, but disappointing at the polls. Although he had a better showing than 2008, his philosophies weren't setting the pace in the primaries. Will libertarians make a difference in this election cycle? What will happen after the election? Your take.

Open thread: (For the brave) Race relations

Is anyone brave enough to talk about race? I've written a bit about race and haven't gotten many comments. Am I really braver than my readers?

• Maybe I'm braver because I actually live and work with more blacks. I live next door to a black family and we're very friendly because they reached out and I responded. In the medical field, I work with a lot of black folks as patients and as co-workers.
• Maybe it's because I live in a town that's safe, suburban, fairly integrated, and not a powderkeg of racial resentment and anxiety. 
• Maybe it's because at the age of 22 when a prospective landlord asked whether I was married to a black or a white, I wasn't brave enough to throw back the question. I decided later that day not to participate in someone else's racism, but confront it. (... And I've lived in those safe, suburban towns where speaking against racism is safe and unridiculed.) 
• Maybe it's because my exposure reached a critical point that I could start talking. 

How about you? Do you talk about race? Why or why not? If you don't want to use your usual name, click on Name/URL, and choose a temporary one.

Open thread 1: Anything

I'm going to be away for over a week, but maybe there are enough readers and commenters to keep the blog going without me. The response to this short post makes me think it's possible. Please behave. I will be strict about deleting insults and stupid talking points when I return. I've started several threads where I'd like to hear your viewpoints. This one is for anything, so fire away.

Open thread: Predictions

As a scientist, I love the power of theories. Lots of other people do to. In fact, politics is full of people who use political theories to structure their campaigns. Pundits theorize all the time and predict all the time.

So go ahead, theorize, predict, and explain why X will happen.

 Photo credit: dailygalaxy.com

Paradoxical quote of the day - her money

The comptroller of a small city in Illinois was just arrested. She allegedly embezzled $30 million over several years. The former finance commissioner, when he retired last year, said of her:

"[She is] a big asset to the city as she looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own."

I guess that was true. Kudos to the reporter who found that quote.

Short: Two Santa theory

I didn't know there was such a simple encapsulation of the appeal of each of our political parties. But here it is: the two Santa theory. I'll let you guess what it is, with two additional hints--what would Santa Dem give? What would Santa GOP give?

As a bonus, there is quote from Irving Kristol:

"I was not certain of its economic merits but quickly saw its political possibilities."

Translation: It may not work in practice, but it's election gold.

Photo credit: islandwoo.tumbler.com

Update 7/26/12. I want refer to this post so frequently that I can't leave it as mostly a link. I have to say what the Two Santas are:

• Santa Dem brings all the children lots of government services.
• Santa GOP brings all the children tax cuts.
• Both Santas blow huge holes in the federal budget. Fundamentally, they aren't that different.

Now that you know the core of Two Santa theory, I still recommend reading the original column. It's short, readable, and more fun than ... um, two Santas.