Off topic, but timely: Earth Day, and no doubt news organizations all over the UK are giving extensive coverage to George H. W. Bush’s remarkable environmental achievements. And they were remarkable.… (View Post)

On topic (I think): There is a famous historical precedent, in the career of one James Michael Curley: "James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic po… (View Post)

There's a detail in Washington state's elections that has charmed me for years: A Republican won the Secretary of State's office in 1964 (which was not a great year for Republicans), a… (View Post)

In the US, some states allowed betting on horse races, when most other gambling was still illegal. (I think the argument was that horse racing needed gambling, in order to "improve the breed&quo… (View Post)

FPT: Robert Heinlein's writings still have the ability to provoke controversy. Most of it, I am sorry to say, does not recognize the range of his thinking. His early novel, "Beyond this Hor… (View Post)