Mike Olson

The Crime of Human Virtue

I loved this essay by A.R. Moxon. You might, too.

We don't need no water.

The US federal government operates on a fiscal year that begins on October 1 of each year and ends on September 30. By the first day of October, the Congress must have passed a budget, or the government isn't able to pay for stuff. Sometimes, the Congress can&

Speaking up

I started this blog as a space to talk about important issues. I wanted to share my socially liberal, progressive views. I wanted to talk about national and global finance and how we could invest in the society we ought to be. Today I want to do something more basic.

Responsibility

Content warning: This is a post about an actual child suicide. You may well prefer to stop reading here. I've resisted writing about this for some time. I don't want to appear to trade on the tragedy that befell Adam Raine and his family. And, frankly,

Subverting the midterms

Beginning more than a month ago, Donald Trump sent the US Marines and National Guard into Los Angeles. He claimed that they were necessary to protect immigration agents working for ICE, rounding up and jailing people who may or may not have been in the country illegally. Last week, he

It's not hard to feel good.

Hey gang, Every August, I visit DonorsChoose to find some schoolteachers to help out. Lots of educators post there about projects they want to do or things they need for their classrooms as kids come back to school. I pick a few and fund them up in gratitude for how

Google is watching

Swinging the spotlight, for a moment, from politics to big tech. I upgraded my mother-in-law's internet service recently. As part of that upgrade, I installed a new wifi access point with better security. That meant changing the network name, which of course meant all the stuff in the

Earn my vote

I've been, in recent elections, a pretty reliable supporter – donor, canvasser, voter – for Democratic candidates running for office locally and in state and national races. About four months ago, I adopted a new policy: I will make no more contributions, of my time or my votes or my

Gerrymandering

Quick comments on two issues of the moment before I get into the post I mean to write this morning. One: Molly White maintains an up-to-date digest of all the payments made by, and favors done for, cryptocurrency players interacting with the Trump administration. The PAC donations bug me but

South Park

The 27th season of the animated television show South Park premiered on Wednesday night. The show has always been, uh, edgy. I don't watch it regulary, but the new season opener has gotten so much attention that I streamed it last night. The backdrop to the episode is

"To Restore America, Start with Honor"

My abiding patriotism struggled, yesterday, with my deep disappointment in the American politicians and institutions of the moment. I began my day by re-reading the Declaration of Independence, as I do every year (and boy, are the charges against King George III germane just now!). I gathered with friends and

Torture at CECOT

We interrupt the budget drama to bring you this immigration update: Allison Gill has published a story on the Mueller, She Wrote blog on an amended filing by lawyers for Kilmar Garcia Abrego, alleging widespread torture of inmates at the facility, including Abrego himself. I wrote about Abrego's