June 21, 2022

It's as important to recognise the people who did the right thing as it is to prosecute

those who did the wrong thing.

For people wondering what the point of these hearings will be if DoJ doesn't indict (and I still think it's likely they will), telling the stories of ordinary people suffering threats and injustice and still telling the truth is the point. These people deserve their time in the sun and to have an opportunity to inspire others to do the same.

June 13, 2022

The power of positive thinking meets the rule of law.

The January 6th hearings today illustrates for me again why it was always a terrible idea to elect a businessman to run the country "like a business".

There's a cult in corporate management culture which glorifies imagining a goal and then not letting anything get in the way of achieving that goal, certainly not facts. If you can dream it, you can do it. And that's exactly what Trump was doing - what his background trained him to do.

The self-evident problem is that facts are facts and the law is the law. And good government is usually about determining the least bad course of action on the basis of the best facts that can be mustered within the constraints of law and due process.

While Trump is his own whole self-contained bag of snakes, I think he also manifests a dangerous American cultural trend that prioritizes "vision" over living in a fact based reality.

Being good at government takes a lifetime of study and experience. We need to fight back harder against sneering attacks on the professionalism of the civil service and of career public servants.

February 12, 2022

Here's how you shift anti-vax convoy bullies

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-parliament-protest-speaker-trevor-mallard-plays-barry-manilow-macarena-over-loud-speakers-to-deter-crowd/KRZ3NHOVFXS2GNPMDAWZOQU2HA/

"Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard has started his next attempt to make life uncomfortable for the protesters outside Parliament, by setting up speakers to boom Barry Manilow, the Macarena, and Covid-19 vaccination messages at them...

Mallard, who had Parliament's lawn sprinklers turned on last night, had his speakers turned on as Freedom and Rights Coalition speeches ended...

Mallard said: "We wanted to make sure everybody here had the warning about trespass and because of the number of unvaccinated people in the audience, we believe it's important to promulgate messages about vaccination.

He said the 15-minute loop of music and Covid-19 ads would play on repeat, possibly through the night."

And there's a cyclone on the way. Seriously, screw these people. They've been digging trenches through the middle of the lawn in front of Parliament to try to get the sprinklers to drain away from their tents and throwing things at school kids wearing masks as they try to walk by.