I’ve been somewhat remiss in saying anything about this election – largely because others have said so much (and I don’t mean that in an altogether nice way, either). It would be interesting, I think, to get some sort of statistical fix on just what percentage of the English-language blogosphere has been devoted to the…
All posts in US Politics
Election Night Bingo
Actually, it’ll be Election Morning Bingo, here in Shanghai. But anyway. Thanks to good friend AK, back in the USA, I offer up this small token of election good will. Six cards, played using standard Bingo rules, with election catchphrases taking the place of numbers (I hope that’s obvious). Click each card pair for an…
The 2008 Minnesota Overseas/Military Absentee Ballot Follies – UPDATED
[NOTE TO REGULAR READERS: If you’re interested in how US absentee election ballots are handled, this post is for you. If not, and you stopped by expecting to see China content … might I recommend Dee Dee Pass’s excellent “The New China Price” in yesterday’s Star Tribune? A nicely reported piece.] [UPDATE 09-09: Below, Minnesota…
Flag this.
According to today’s edition of my hometown newspaper, it is now illegal to sell Chinese-made American flags in Minnesota – punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a US$1000 fine. The spirit of the law is well-expressed in the lede: That American flag you’re buying in Minnesota for this July 4th will be…
Obama and Asian Americans
I’ve been in the US for a little over a week now, and – among other things – I’m overwhelmed by the wall-to-wall coverage of the US Presidential Race. Outside of a national disaster, I can’t think of such sustained, in-depth coverage of any other event in my lifetime. And yet, with so much coverage,…
Did Hillary Clinton Stand Up to Beijing in 1995?
No surprise, China has become a recurring feature in US presidential debates as of late. And no surprise, each candidate is attempting to top the other in demonstrated ability and willingness to “get tough on China.” But so far as I can tell, Hillary Clinton is the first candidate claiming that she has a track…
‘No’ Votes for the State Council
A tip of the hat to Ting Shi of South China Morning Post for pulling off the extraordinary and totally unheralded task of reporting leaked votes from Sunday’s polling for State Council [subscriber only]. No small trick. Of course, the vote was not competitive in the typical sense: instead of indicating a preference for whom…
US Democracy in Absentia: Overseas Voters Still Count Less
On November 6, 2007, municipalities throughout the great US state of Minnesota will hold local elections for offices such as mayor, city council, and school board. These are relatively minor affairs (so long as you don’t care about street lights and education policy), and nobody outside of Minnesota is going to pay much attention to…
Evil Chinese Bankers and the Next American President
For a few, brief shining years that bumpered the last and current centuries (1998 – 2001), the Treasury of the United States ran a surplus (detailed statistics can be found here, pp. 21-22). As a modern phenomenon, an American surplus is weird: since the 1930s, the US government has almost always operated at a deficit.…