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A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Will subsidies for developers trickle down to provide more affordable housing for high-income people? Monday@City Council

At this Monday's City Council meeting, the current pro-developer majority is expected to give a big early-Christmas gift to developers and large property owners....

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Dec. 2, 2018
Last comment by Kevin, on Jan 27, 2019 at 1:34 pm | 18 comments | 8431 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Promising news on credentialism: Palo Alto failed basic test for malignant bureaucracy

I have railed against the pursuit of meaningless awards, credentials and other distinctions by City Hall and various advocates -- they serve only to inflate the...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Jan. 4, 2019
Last comment by Curmudgeon, on Jan 5, 2019 at 12:42 pm | 1 comment | 6812 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

A bad beginning makes a bad ending: City Council

The current City Council is ending as it began 2 years ago, with the pro-development majority abusing its power. Back then those Council members would introduce...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Dec. 8, 2018
Last comment by Harry Merkin, on Dec 15, 2018 at 1:18 pm | 8 comments | 6893 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

El Camino: Another scheme to increase congestion?

The risk that either alternative will actually be implemented is minimal: Both call for substantial widening of El Camino, which requires taking private property...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Nov. 12, 2018
Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Nov 19, 2018 at 11:44 am | 32 comments | 8745 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Fight racism: Oppose districts for PAUSD

A threatened lawsuit is seeking to enshrine racist attitudes on our School Board elections, and potentially on the policies of the PAUSD. (==I "^

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Sep. 5, 2018
Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Oct 18, 2018 at 3:11 pm |
20 comments | 6345 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Non-Player Character: Can you be mistaken for an IRL-NPC?

An NPC is a character in a computer game whose actions are determined by an automated script or set of rules, as opposed to being a character controlled by a player....

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Oct. 15, 2018
Last comment by Tim Buck II, on Oct 17, 2018 at 6:33 pm | 6 comments | 30092 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Kavanaugh-Ford: A widening societal division on justice

The public's reactions to Prof. Ford's accusations of Judge Kavanaugh highlighted an increasing division in what we as a society consider proper conduct in dealing...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Sep. 30, 2018
Last comment by Resident, on Oct 6, 2018 at 11:12 am | 23 comments | 8019 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Populism: A response to the failure of the elites: Palo Alto edition

==I "Especially in this day and age, populism is something to be resisted. That we don't want to be populists. That we basically want to do things with good...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Sep. 23, 2018
Last comment by StarSpring, on Sep 29, 2018 at 10:38 am | 16 comments | 8703 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Misadventures in boycotting: In-N-Out Burger & Wil Wheaton

These two recent instances of political boycotting are interesting supplements to an earlier blog.(foot#1) The Chair of the California Democratic Party, Eric...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Sep. 1, 2018
Last comment by Anon, on Sep 6, 2018 at 8:54 am | 26 comments | 11245 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

A sanctimonious, hypocritical (national) media

"Are you willing to pay for quality journalism?" is a promo I routinely receive. And my rhetorical response is ==I "Does that mean you have...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Aug. 17, 2018
Last comment by Harry Merkin, on Aug 28, 2018 at 10:49 pm | 50 comments | 12700 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Use-Mention distinction fading; Idiocracy ascendant

Failures to make this distinction can have substantial real-world consequences, damaging reputations and lives. Yet in even the simplest cases of this aspect of...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Jul. 21, 2018
Last comment by the_punnisher, on Jul 27, 2018 at 12:18 am | 20 comments | 8099 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

The Right to Listen: Free Speech #2

Speech is different from talking. It necessarily involves the communication of thoughts from a speaker to an audience (^

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Jun. 14, 2018
Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Jul 9, 2018 at 2:09 pm |
17 comments | 17812 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Mocking Nazis is a crime in Britain: Free Speech #1

Public awareness of ongoing attacks against Freedom of Speech is very low, judging from discussions with friends and from poor coverage in the mainstream media (MSM)...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on May. 1, 2018
Last comment by Resident, on May 31, 2018 at 3:52 am | 8 comments | 18885 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Parkland School Shooting: Why work for a good solution when there is a proven non-starter?

This is not a discussion of the pros and cons, although I will include some notes about the complexities. Instead, my focus will be on the abysmal politics currently...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Mar. 1, 2018
Last comment by Santa Fe High school, on May 19, 2018 at 4:18 pm | 40 comments | 14673 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Enough with Boycotts & "We don't want your type around here"

Santa Clara County is planning a ban that I regard as equivalent--morally if not legally--to those states that effectively ban abortions by imposing regulations...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Mar. 31, 2018
Last comment by Former PA resident, on Apr 21, 2018 at 10:17 am | 41 comments | 16528 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Humpty Dumpty's Theory of Meaning + 1984 + Overton Window

Respect for language is essential for a meaningful, productive discussion. Developing a sensitivity to misuse and manipulation of language is a foundation of critical...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Mar. 17, 2018
Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Mar 21, 2018 at 3:21 pm | 20 comments | 18408 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Damore's Google Memo NLRB Complaint Rejected: More misrepresentations

James Damore was fired for an internal memo he wrote about Google diversity programs and political biases. The NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) effectively...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Feb. 17, 2018
Last comment by peninsula resident, on Feb 27, 2018 at 5:36 pm | 28 comments | 9335 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

This time we're not lying. HONEST! No, really!

Non-clickbait headline: Highly partisan media, the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect & examples from my history. Fake news has been big news for over...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Jan. 19, 2018
Last comment by Nayeli, on Jan 26, 2018 at 11:35 am | 28 comments | 8642 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

SB35: Taking power from the people

Who would ever think that the way to increase affordable housing would be to make it more expensive? That what the backers of California Senate Bill 35 (SB35) would...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Aug. 31, 2017
Last comment by Michael Goldman, on Nov 13, 2017 at 12:10 pm | 20 comments | 10961 Views

A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE

Joe Simitian talk: Listening to Trump's America: Bridging the Divide

In the wake of the Trump election, Joe Simitian--a Palo Alto native and currently County Supervisor--visited three counties that had swung to voting for Trump after...

Original post made by Douglas Moran on Oct. 15, 2017
Last comment by the_punnisher, on Nov 2, 2017 at 8:02 pm | 46 comments | 13096 Views
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