Green Delaware's Page

10/28/2024

With Halloween happening, it's worth thinking about the real history of what (some of us) are celebrating:

How did the idea of a grotesque, green-skinned, broomstick-riding hag come about? It was a lethal combination of church zealots, the invention of the printing press – and male doctors contemptuous of female healers

09/12/2024

Nothing, these days, is more important than understanding the psychological roots of Fascism (trumpism, Na**sm ...). At one time it was common enough to hear arguments that German society had some special vulnerability to authoritarianism. "It can't happen here." This Guardian piece has some insights:

Neuroimaging studies have shown that the amygdala, the tiny almond-shaped brain structure that mediates fear, is larger in people with more rightwing views

09/11/2024

The "debate?" What did you think?
Me: Harris is a competent mainstream US politician, leaning to the Right. Trump is an obvious scumbag. Only in a truly diseased country would the two be polling similarly. Harris did a decent job of baiting trump--not such a difficult thing.

What she did not do is to say anything really meaningful about energy policy, the Russia/Ukraine War, Gaza, health care reform, immigration policy, reproductive rights, and so on. So I suppose those satisfied with Biden will be OK with Harris' campaign. everyone who is sane and not a zillionaire should prefer Harris to trump. Is it likely that Harris, once in office, will shift towards more "progressive" policies. One can only hope. Much will depend on how the House and Senate shake out.
The Guardian has some commentary from a panel: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/11/who-won-harris-trump-debate

09/02/2024

Heather Cox Richardson on Labor Day:https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-1-2024

08/12/2024

Richardson on the roots of Midwestern politics and the present trajectory of same:

Vice President Kamala Harris’s choice of Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate seems to cement the emergence of a new Democratic Party.

08/04/2024

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/03/who-is-tim-walz-potential-vp-kamala-harris
Profile of Tim Walz in the Guardian. (IMO, Walz' weakest issue area is environmental.)

The Minnesota governor has delivered progressive policies in his state and has a history of swaying Republican districts

07/26/2024

(And Fascism generally.)

Outsiders can’t fathom his success. But Trump’s supporters believe his gaffes and misdemeanours prove he’s ‘one of them’, says academic and author Stephen Reicher