Tag Archives: news

Government “of the people” (Gary Krenz)

Posted on November 1, 2026 by gdkrenz

In previous posts we have discussed Lincoln’s “government for the people” (here), where the people are the beneficiaries of the government’s actions, and “government by the people” (here and here), where the people are the agents of the government’s actions. … Continue reading →

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Government “by the people” (II) (Gary Krenz)

Posted on October 5, 2026 by gdkrenz

In the last post in this series, we discussed prudential and existential reasons that democracy is, in some form, the appropriate form of government for free, equal, dignified human beings. Now, let’s dig a little deeper. Lincoln, in the Gettysburg Address, posed … Continue reading →

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Corruption and Corruption (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 22, 2026 by gdkrenz

For good reason, governmental corruption is much in the news now. The level of graft in the Trump Administration has reached astounding levels (I posted a brief overview a couple of months ago, and of course it has only grown since). A … Continue reading →

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Why democracy? (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 5, 2026 by gdkrenz

A refrain that we often hear is along the lines of: most people are not motivated by appeals to save our democracy; the concept is too abstract; people are focused on bread-and-butter issues; maybe they can get exercised about the loss … Continue reading →

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Chaos and Resolve (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 3, 2026 by gdkrenz

It is hard to imagine more chaos than we in the US face right now — though I fear we will find out what more is like. Certainly chaos as a function of time has had an upward slope. Trump’s … Continue reading →

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The Lowest of the Low

Posted on July 31, 2026 by gdkrenz

I’m watching Deadline Whitehouse on MSNOW, which I think is one of the best shows of political analysis we have. The current episode is covering recent polls, and Nicolle Wallace just said, “Trump’s poll numbers are approaching Richard Nixon levels just before … Continue reading →

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Donald, Thy Name Is Corruption (Gary Krenz)

Posted on July 11, 2026 by gdkrenz

Corruption. From the Latin corrumpere, which meant “to destroy, spoil, ruin, break to pieces” — and by extension, “to seduce or bribe.” When we say “corruption,” we of course think of things like graft, bribery, ill-gotten gains, misuse of power; we … Continue reading →

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Two visions of citizenship

Posted on July 2, 2026 by gdkrenz

As you know, the Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s Executive Order seeking to end birthright citizenship. This is the good news. The bad news is that the decision was basically 5-1-3, or more accurately, from the standpoint of the basic constitutional principle, … Continue reading →

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The Danger and the Opportunity

Posted on June 21, 2026 by gdkrenz

We are at a cusp in American history, a moment of crisis and opportunity. Trump is increasingly out of touch with reality, now alienating even parts of his base. But the Trump machine, the GOP machine, the Fox/Sinclair media machine … Continue reading →

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The Right’s Demonization of Democracy (Gary Krenz)

Posted on May 10, 2026 by gdkrenz

An ongoing canard on the Right and among MAGA types is that the United States is “not a democracy but a republic.” This piece by Barbara Clark Smith of the Smithsonian Institution is a fine, concise historical review of the relationship of … Continue reading →

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