Another deeply unappealing decision

Just a few thoughts on the highly probable nomination and rather likely ultimate victory of Hillary Clinton as the next POTUS:

1) Criticism of Clinton is not inherently sexist.

2) A lot of criticism of Clinton WILL be and IS sexist. And not just from Trump.

3) Anyone about to criticize Clinton would do well to pause long enough to ask 'would I criticize a rich white male candidate the same way?'

4) Names are going to be tricky. First man? Mrs./Madam President? When she visits Saudi Arabia, will she wear a head scarf? Lots of etiquette to grapple with.

5) Clinton is somewhat to the left of the American median on certain social issues, particularly those pertaining to women. In every other respect, she is center right or (in foreign policy) an out-and-out hawk. She is not a liberal ...

5a) ... I think. It's hard to say given how quiet she is on actually positions. This isn't as bad as it was to start the campaign, but she still shies away from actually opining on anything controversial, or as in Keystone, she waits until public opinion is clear and then sneaks out a presser where it's sure to be buried by the Pope's visit or other major news stories.

6) She is to Obama on transparent government and civil liberties as Obama is to John Yoo. That's not a compliment, and it's not just her email, either. She just doesn't seem to care about these issues.

7) She is thoroughly artificial and, as shown by the ongoing charlie-foxtrot of her emails, more than a little dishonest.

8) Not all of which is entirely her fault. The dishonesty, yes, but if I spent 25 years, sometimes bruising and often intensely personal, in the political spotlight, I'd probably be a little control-freakish myself. That doesn't make it a good quality to have in a president - it isn't - but it's probably unavoidable if we're going to have candidates with the depth and breadth of experience Clinton brings.

9) I could see myself voting for a moderate Republican over Clinton.

10) No such Republican has a chance of facing her. Trump isn't going to win, but neither is anyone who is willing to stand up and tell his voters that everything he's promising is bullshit.

And 11) Unless something truly bizarre should occur, I'll be voting for her in 13 months. Woo.

(inspired by this column from a few months back: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/charles-krauthammer/2015/04/21/krauthammer-queen-hillary-coronation/26090519/)

Why Google will eventually take over the world

No, this is not a paranoid conspiracy theory. This is just a thought experiment at taking current trends to their logical extremes. I quite like the results, however.

One thing I quite enjoy about watching large tech companies is their rather straightforward approach to problem solving.  Having trouble breaking into a certain industry?  Just reinvent the industry.  Is one company causing you problems with their chokehold on the market?  Invent their competition and push them out of the way.  Consider how many industries Apple has essentially invented in the last decade.  This is a very different approach from large corporations in other industries.  GM, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, all the automakers, all expanded until they could expand no more, and then settled down to compete for incrementally larger slices of the existing market share.  (Unless you're talking about Tesla, which is as much a tech company as a car company, and acts like it.)

Recently, I was discussing this with my brother in relation to the video game company Valve.  Over the last decade, through the incremental growth and development of their Steam platform, Valve has managed to snap up something like 75% of the total PC video game distribution market.  As a consumer, I will admit that I think the last time I bought a hard copy of a PC game was Halo 2; everything else I could desire is either on Steam or can be downloaded directly from the developer.  And given the choice, I'll go with Steam.  They have an extremely well-integrated social and stat-tracking front-end, and more to the point, they have a ridiculous economic engine in the form of TF2 Hats, Dota 2 cosmetic items, trading cards, and all the other games that provide market items to feed the growing Steam economy.

In the beginning.

Welcome to this blog.

I plan to blog about a lot of things that bother and/or are important to me.  Many of them will be political.  It is not my intent with this blog to change anyone’s mind or to in some way shake the foundations of creation with new and unprecedented thoughts.  I think that I am an intelligent, reasoning (and reasonable), and well-informed citizen, but I don’t expect to say anything that will change the mind of someone whose mind already is made (although, if I do, I’d be happy to hear it). 

While I still have faith in the power of logical argument and reasoning, I also think that logical argument only works in an open and extended debate into which both parties enter with open minds and a common desire for truth.  Such a debate becomes less and less likely as the medium of conversation gets further and further from face-to-face contact.  Trying to change someone else’s opinions through a blog or a forum post, unless there is a sustained and respectful dialogue between bloggers, is just begging for failure.  So, while I deeply wish that more people agreed with me, I’m not going to waste my time or theirs by trying to change their minds with a blog.

I’m writing this blog because I believe heart and soul in Oscar Wilde’s dictum that “If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”  As I understand it, this means that if your writing about a topic is confused or unclear (assuming that your grasp of the technical skills of writing is sufficient to your task), it is reasonable to assume that your thinking about a topic is unclear; if you are unable to clearly delineate your thesis and main supporting arguments, it is likely because you yourself do not know or understand your argument.  (This is assuming, of course, that one is attempting to write with clarity; obviously, insurance policy writers and (usually) the spokespersons of politicians are working with an entirely different set of objectives.)

The logical corollary of this, of course, is that if you can write well about something, you are thinking well about it.  Hence, this blog.  If something matters to me—politically, spiritually, personally, professionally—I want to be able to act upon my beliefs, but even more important to me is that I understand my beliefs; that I am able to clearly and rationally explain why I feel the way I do and what I think should come of it.  In effect, this blog is a practice ground for when I find myself in one of those rational debates I mentioned in paragraph 2.  If I believe something, but am unable to write a coherent blog post explaining why it is the case, that means I either need to do more research, revise my opinion, or both.

So that’s what you’re reading; a test bed for my critical thinking.  I’m honored that you have read even this far, and even more so if you decide to read further.  Please leave comments, especially if they contain links to factual sources that I have not seen.  If you want to agree or disagree with any of the positions I argue, I’d be happy to discuss it with you in the comments.  As I said above, however, I have very low expectations for rational debates via internet forums, so please don’t expect to engage me in a flamewar, and know that if your arguments cross the line between principled disagreement and ad hominem attacks, I will be delighted to ignore you.

I hope you enjoy, and that it is as useful for you as I hope it will be for me.