Loring Craymer
@lcraymer.bsky.social
Geneticist by training; parallel supercomputing by profession. ex-JPL, ex "Productivity Maven" for DoD Center for Exceptional Computing. Currently semi-retired, working on compiler startup.
I guess that they want 100% turnout in the primaries. This is why the party has such low approval ratings.
November 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
I guess that they want 100% turnout in the primaries. This is why the party has such low approval ratings.
The key Constitutional phrase is "except in Cases of Impeachment" that restricts the pardon power. I suspect that the same approach should apply to impeachment of any cabinet member or other official that Trump tries to pardon.
November 10, 2025 at 7:07 AM
The key Constitutional phrase is "except in Cases of Impeachment" that restricts the pardon power. I suspect that the same approach should apply to impeachment of any cabinet member or other official that Trump tries to pardon.
I suspect that the current rather toothless DC criminal code would be grandfathered in; otherwise, the new state would have to pass legislation and wait for Trump to commit further crimes. More likely, an enumeration of crimes in impeachment charges should work.
November 10, 2025 at 7:07 AM
I suspect that the current rather toothless DC criminal code would be grandfathered in; otherwise, the new state would have to pass legislation and wait for Trump to commit further crimes. More likely, an enumeration of crimes in impeachment charges should work.
They should put the IGs back in place, add staff, and do the usual periodic oversight meetings. The IGs can handle this; Congress needs to work on legislation.
November 7, 2025 at 11:00 PM
They should put the IGs back in place, add staff, and do the usual periodic oversight meetings. The IGs can handle this; Congress needs to work on legislation.
We won't recover; we will rebuild. I suspect that this administration will be followed by an activist Congress that will rewrite/update a lot of the governing legislation (includingt the tax code). Be ready to raise your voice; it will be heard.
November 6, 2025 at 10:40 PM
We won't recover; we will rebuild. I suspect that this administration will be followed by an activist Congress that will rewrite/update a lot of the governing legislation (includingt the tax code). Be ready to raise your voice; it will be heard.
Real conservatives make preserving civil rights the focal issue, while progressives see expanding civil rights as critical. A healthy democracy needs both.
November 6, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Real conservatives make preserving civil rights the focal issue, while progressives see expanding civil rights as critical. A healthy democracy needs both.
You were probably born too ate to see a genuinely conservative party in the US. Libertarianism destroyed GOP conservatism.
November 6, 2025 at 7:21 PM
You were probably born too ate to see a genuinely conservative party in the US. Libertarianism destroyed GOP conservatism.
Not yet--a lot of the establishment Dems fit Heinlein's definition: "An honest politician is one who stays bought".
November 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Not yet--a lot of the establishment Dems fit Heinlein's definition: "An honest politician is one who stays bought".
For sure! I'm looking forward to the primaries. We need a Congress that fixes the issues that rile up voters, and doesn't just leave problems to serve as campaign issues for the next election.
November 6, 2025 at 3:41 AM
For sure! I'm looking forward to the primaries. We need a Congress that fixes the issues that rile up voters, and doesn't just leave problems to serve as campaign issues for the next election.
We should all be grateful that when it comes to strategic thinking, every one in the Trump administration is a cargo cultist.
November 6, 2025 at 1:24 AM
We should all be grateful that when it comes to strategic thinking, every one in the Trump administration is a cargo cultist.
My inner cynic says that "elections have consequences". I'd rather believe that the justices are more concerned with law and the Constitution.
November 5, 2025 at 8:23 PM
My inner cynic says that "elections have consequences". I'd rather believe that the justices are more concerned with law and the Constitution.
We need to see major behavioral change in party leadership. That includes forcing them to support voters before donors. Next year's primaries should help with that.
November 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
We need to see major behavioral change in party leadership. That includes forcing them to support voters before donors. Next year's primaries should help with that.
Probably not--many of them need to be primaried by young progressive candidates. In other (red) districts, we want candidates that represent their voters, candidates who are likely to be more moderate.
November 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Probably not--many of them need to be primaried by young progressive candidates. In other (red) districts, we want candidates that represent their voters, candidates who are likely to be more moderate.
Yeah, desperation sets in. OTOH, the next few polls are likely to be less biased by fear of Trump/MAGA retaliation, a bias that was highlighted by the difference between pre-election polls and election results. Trump's poll numbers are about to drop.
November 5, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Yeah, desperation sets in. OTOH, the next few polls are likely to be less biased by fear of Trump/MAGA retaliation, a bias that was highlighted by the difference between pre-election polls and election results. Trump's poll numbers are about to drop.
And don't snooze through the primaries, either; they will determine what the Democratic Party stands for in the general election.
November 5, 2025 at 2:41 AM
And don't snooze through the primaries, either; they will determine what the Democratic Party stands for in the general election.
Corrupting the US military is difficult--there's a long tradition that illegal orders should be disobeyed and of service to the country and Constitution. It can be done, but I doubt that it could happen before the 2026 elections.
November 2, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Corrupting the US military is difficult--there's a long tradition that illegal orders should be disobeyed and of service to the country and Constitution. It can be done, but I doubt that it could happen before the 2026 elections.
He feels the walls closing in. He's going to have to negotiate with Congressional Democrats to end the shutdown, and he fears the resulting loss of face. On top of that, the Epstein files just won't go away.
November 1, 2025 at 10:07 PM
He feels the walls closing in. He's going to have to negotiate with Congressional Democrats to end the shutdown, and he fears the resulting loss of face. On top of that, the Epstein files just won't go away.
History looks different for those of us who lived through the changes of the sixties.
November 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
History looks different for those of us who lived through the changes of the sixties.
American egalitarianism was a dominant theme of my youth; because libertarianism sees rights as being granted to others by the individual, equality is irrelevant.
November 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
American egalitarianism was a dominant theme of my youth; because libertarianism sees rights as being granted to others by the individual, equality is irrelevant.
Libertarianism profoundly changed the GOP. The philosophy took advantage of the Cold War myth of American individualism, when real change in the US has always been the result of collective action.
November 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Libertarianism profoundly changed the GOP. The philosophy took advantage of the Cold War myth of American individualism, when real change in the US has always been the result of collective action.
Meanwhile, the chaos of the McGovern campaign led to "super delegates" and more DNC control to curb the Democratic Party's populist tendencies. The Democratic base started to sit out elections.
November 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Meanwhile, the chaos of the McGovern campaign led to "super delegates" and more DNC control to curb the Democratic Party's populist tendencies. The Democratic base started to sit out elections.
Then the Bakke decision introduced right wing Libertarianism to the nation, which rapidly became a socially acceptable way of rejecting the Civil Rights movement.
November 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Then the Bakke decision introduced right wing Libertarianism to the nation, which rapidly became a socially acceptable way of rejecting the Civil Rights movement.
The Civil Rights backlash fueled Nixon's Southern Strategy, as did Falwell's "Moral Majority". By 1968, the "Blue Dog" Democrats were vanishing, and the leftward swing of the Democratic Party was over.
November 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
The Civil Rights backlash fueled Nixon's Southern Strategy, as did Falwell's "Moral Majority". By 1968, the "Blue Dog" Democrats were vanishing, and the leftward swing of the Democratic Party was over.
The Democrats moved left? Not that I observed. The real story has more to do with the passing of New Deal Democrats, the Civil Rights backlash and unintended consequences, and the rise of right wing libertarianism.
November 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
The Democrats moved left? Not that I observed. The real story has more to do with the passing of New Deal Democrats, the Civil Rights backlash and unintended consequences, and the rise of right wing libertarianism.
I can't wait to see what the Lincoln Project does with video like this. I suspect that Trump's reaction to the Reagan ad is about to be dwarfed in comparison.
November 1, 2025 at 3:59 AM
I can't wait to see what the Lincoln Project does with video like this. I suspect that Trump's reaction to the Reagan ad is about to be dwarfed in comparison.