Category: Politics

About the Mar-a-Lago documents: why so much paper?

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I admit it, I’m having a weird moment right now regarding classified documents. Including the ones that former president Trump stored in an insecure location in his Mar-a-Lago resort. I work on documents for a living. I write them, edit them, post them, promote them. Some of what I work on ends up in printed … Continued

Was ranked-choice voting in Alaska unfair to Republicans?

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A recent election for a House seat for the state of Alaska was a good test case for ranked-choice voting. Republicans got more first-place votes, but a Democrat won. Was that fair, or was it a travesty? What happened in the Alaska special election for US House Alaska has only a single U.S. House seat. … Continued

Why does the DOJ use so much passive voice in its Mar-a-Lago filing?

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The U.S. Department of Justice filed a response to a recent Donald Trump request regarding the raid of Mar-a-Lago. Its filing is full of passive voice, a means of expression I’ve continually railed against. Why is it passive, and should the DOJ be writing in the active voice instead? Here’s a passage from the DOJ’s … Continued

New voting systems would benefit moderates, according to this voting simulation

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The average American politician is far more extreme than the average American voter. Our current voting methods encourage these extreme viewpoints. To investigate how new voting systems like ranked choice voting and “jungle primaries” could change this, I created a simulation of different voting systems and tested it on various types of voting districts. How … Continued

All caps isn’t just ugly, but legally risky, too.

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In Michigan, a group gathered enough signatures to put an abortion rights amendment on the ballot this November. Now an opposing group says the all-caps typography is so ugly that it’s unreadable, so the signatures should be tossed out. Here’s a portion of the petition in dispute: That is, unquestionably, extremely difficult to read. The … Continued

Is inflation surging or is it over? An explainer.

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In the wake of last month’s inflation report, I’ve seen headlines that say that inflation is at record highs. Others say inflation is now zero. The problem is that when it comes to rates, it’s easy to get confused — or to confuse people on purpose. So here’s an explainer. Understanding rates Let’s look at … Continued