Gaius Publius

An earthquake preparedness film produced in Victoria, British Columbia (source)by Gaius PubliusThis is not quite a political story, but it's an important one.

by Gaius PubliusIf you're like me and work on a Windows-based system, you get these popups from time to time offering to "upgrade" you to Windows 10, Microsoft's latest and greatest, for free. Normally these upgrades cost $100 or so. Me, I'm still on Windows 7, since like many I consider Windows 8 both half-baked for professional use and a data-suck for entertainment use.

June 2007 — Clinton and Biden confer during a Democratic primary debate at Howard University. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo; source) by Gaius PubliusA newsy piece as we watch the shifting winds.

Does Donald Trump have an Achilles heel? by Gaius PubliusThe Trump phenomenon is taking off and shows every sign of "having wings," to not mix a metaphor. According to this excellent analysis by Lee Drutman, "What Donald Trump gets about the electorate," Trump has found a policy sweet spot with Republican voters (as opposed to the party's money-bought leaders):

Ann Coulter on Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and whom she'd rather run against (h/t Justin Lane at the Ring of Fire Radio site)by Gaius PubliusAs the video above makes clear, Ann Coulter wants a Donald Trump–Hillary Clinton contest in the general election and fears a Bernie Sanders matchup. Since she's speaking with Lou Dobbs in the friendly confines of Fox News, I take her as sincere, not blowing smoke.

by Gaius PubliusThis may be old news (as in, not yesterday) but I've seen almost no mention of it, so I wanted to help publicize one craggy corner of the jockeying within the party for the right to name its nominee. Remember, the voters don't have the largest say in who will be any party's nominee.

Thom Hartmann on Donald Trump's other strong appeal to Republican voters (hint: Think Ross Perot). People who like Trump for this reason are potential Sanders voters. Mainstream Democratic trade policy, another party problem, is discussed below.by Gaius PubliusSchedule note: This will be the last piece for a few weeks from me. Writing will resume the third week of August.

Silicon life forms declare war on "ugly giant bags of mostly water" — in other words, us.by Gaius PubliusWater is literally the stuff of life for living beings. All life began as single-celled organisms floating in water. In their earliest and simplest form, living things are organized bags of water capable of reproduction, whose "inside" water is held together by a permeable or semi-permeable membrane ("sack" or "skin") through which nutrients borne by the "outside" water (the environment) pass in, and through which waste passes out.

Sandra Bland (source; photocredit: Facebook)by Gaius PubliusWhile writing up a piece featuring a beautifully penned statement by Shaun King on Sandra Bland and "the talk" given by black parents to their sons (but not their daughters), I came across this, about th

by Gaius PubliusThis is an interesting find. The underlying article is from U.S.