It’s pretty obvious to me that the major point of Trump’s agenda is to ensure Russia colonizes Ukraine again. NATO has traditionally waited for America’s lead on security issues since we are the largest member. However, we comprise less than 50% of NATO’s population and less than 50% of NATO’s military expenditure. It looks to …
Author Archives: stidmatt
Design a government
There are several steps to designing. your system of government and most countries use a unique form of government. Out of 136 democracies listed on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_electoral_systems_by_country 106 countries use a completely unique system used by no other country. So using only the features currently used by a government, and only considering democracies, here are the …
Keys to Freedom
Elections Elections are obviously essential to preserving freedom around the world. It offers the most direct check on power available to any individual, and a robust election system ensures the government serves its people instead of oligarchs. It’s more than just having an election though. There need to be multiple parties competing. Political outsiders need …
2024 was lost on turnout
Year 2020 2024 Difference Total 158429631 155238302 White % 67% 71% White 106,147,852.77 110,219,194.42 Black % 13% 11% Black 20,595,852.03 17,076,213.22 Hispanic % 13% 11% Hispanic 20,595,852.03 17,076,213.22 White D % 41% 42% White R % 58% 57% Black D % 0.87 0.86 Black R % 0.12 0.13 Hispanic D % 0.65 0.51 Hispanic …
A post-NATO world
With Donald Trump as President effectively allying himself as president, it gives the world a very different global political structure for the next 4 years. The first impact of this is US alliances, which expand across 5 continents and the US is the cornerstone of the global democratic world. As I described on Wednesday, there …
SAVE Act
Read the text here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/text/ih78 Every system that determines citizenship is based on a chain of trust. Once a citizen has proven they are a citizen once to get a document, that document should be proof of citizenship. However, the law is no longer written to recognize this. For starters, it is already a felony …
American Mutual Protection Pacts
The United States is the most defended country in the world, and not just because our military is the largest, but through our network of alliances we are protected by the militaries of all of our allies combined. We have mutual protection pacts with countries on every continent except Africa, and our alliances have overall …
Gas prices
Let’s think about the total impact on gas prices over the budget of the average household. You have an average income of around $55,000, so let’s be pessimistic and say you make $50,000 per year because the math is easier. You drive a car that gets around 30 miles per gallon, you live 10 miles …
A short history of Moldova
Maps are taken from https://www.oldmapsonline.org The Principality of Moldavia was the westernmost part of the Mongol Empire from 1241 to 1346. Events before then are not important for understanding how Moldova became an independent republic from Romania. Before then the region was occupied by Turkic peoples. After independence, the Principality of Moldavia was formed in …
Honey or vinegar
There is an age-old question, will you catch more flies with honey or vinegar? We know of course that you will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and this expression has lasted for so many centuries because it is a useful metaphor for everything in life. David Ricardo was one of my favorite …