Just wanted to say that, while I am not quite through reading it, I think Invisible Sun is the best of the series. So, good on ya for that.
]]>As far as the discussions about what the Republican Party will do or how it will adapt, I have some familiarity with this. I am disappointed to tell you all that it will not change - it exists in a world with "alternative facts" and that is not going to change for the foreseeable future. There is 40% or so of the population here that believes falsehoods - talking to them is akin to talking to people in a cult. (I have multiple family members in said cult). There is no persuasion, no convincing, no argument to be had. I've tried. Where this leads, I am not sure. I like to be hopeful about things - I have a vested interest, I have 2 kids - but I do not see this resolving positively in a mediated way. It seems to me that more things like what happened at the Capitol would need to occur to bring reality to bear. Sadly - I believe that there will be more pain to come prior to advancement.
In other news, I very much enjoyed the lost boys story in the Laundry Files "universe." Thank you for the escapism! (And I still say GlassHouse was one of your best novels ever and would love to see a sequel! ;)).
]]>Of course, at the same time every year, there is DragonCon, which typically scoops up a lot of the scifi and fantasy genre authors (and is also pretty amazing, though I haven't attended in quite a while).
I believe I mentioned this once before and you shot it down on the basis of our insane president - but hey, now you have a completely nutty government yourself to flee! Having lived through these inglorious times, I find I have developed a remarkable ability to zone out and tune in only when something truly hideous is being discussed - like splitting up families and caging children. Panel discussion! Coping mechanisms! (Strike that, actually, that would be weirdly existentialist in an extremely depressing way.)
Anyway, we would love to see you here.
]]>The arguable suppression technique here was requiring a photo ID at all in order to vote, when the evidence of voter fraud was nonexistent. The offering of the alternative ID cards (for free) was intended to show no bias, though obviously, there is always bias against the poor and working class when you require extra steps in order to do something.
]]>It probably IS fair - it's a contribution to the social welfare system (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid), which ultimately substitutes for a private pension, and is the product of a bargain struck in the wake of the New Deal as I understand things. But it is something that is a bit of a surprise when you first start running a business. Most people don't really think much about it.
]]>I was right: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-now-has-the-worlds-5th-largest-economy/
CA would be #5, followed immediately thereafter by the UK at #6.
Texas apparently comes in at #10, just ahead of Canada. (That stat from Wikipedia, so... I dunno).
]]>Some kind of trade/immigration/free movement of people thing could work in theory, though, and might open up some opportunities for both sides, especially for the UK, which is about to be escorted to the kids' table of economic/geopolitics. Pipe dreams, though. Bagpipe dreams?
]]>(On a side note - I do actually think there could be an opportunity were our stupid governments able to conceive it - but they won't.)
]]>I come at this with some reasonable amount of knowledge, having studied European history in college and the development of the EU in law school and traveled a fair bit), and the point you made about peace arising from co-dependent economic systems is an important one, and one that I've made to some of my American friends - basically, some very sharp people got together and figured if France and Germany couldn't prosper without the other, then maybe, just maybe, they'd stop trying to kill each other. Hence the coal-steel agreement, the EC, and all the way up to the EU.
HOWEVER - 2008/09 economic collapse and the inability of Europe to adopt a flexible monetary and economic policy to effectively react to it, combined with the current incoherence in dealing with the migrant crisis brought about by the Syrian civil war (and probably Ukrainian conflict, though we don't hear much about that), have exposed some weaknesses in the system. Perhaps more regional control would have successfully reacted to some of these issues? I don't know. But I do think there is the possibility that continued centralization of power might not necessarily be the best thing - and might be and probably is more than is required if the primary reason for union is the avoidance of deadly/violent internal European conflict.
I used to always joke with my European friends that the EU was really becoming the United States of Europe (no one liked that at all) but legalistically, it WAS and IS true, and in a very intentional way. While we are more unified culturally here - diverse, though "American" and in a weird way united by an immigrant heritage - the states retain many powers. Our principles of federalism have derived from decades of case law with a sprinkling of key constitutional amendments (and one horrible but defining civil war). In many ways, the organizing EU charter agreements seemed to me when I studied them to be overreaching and idealistic, if not a bit naive. It is to my American eyes a bit jarring, as each of the EU countries is so distinct culturally, very unlike in the U.S. (We have different communities, but the inertia is towards assimilation for the most part - another problem I think Europe has with its immigrant communities from what I've read and heard, who are for the most part kept at arms-length for generations). How could Europeans strive for more unanimity than we could achieve, here?
So - I guess all of that is to say that at least from a distance, I appreciate the argument for leaving. But if I lived there, who knows? It's hard to make judgments from afar.
]]>Though American, I've been viewing this with some obsession.
Hope you all are able to figure it out... and that we learn something from you. We have our own oddities, however...
]]>Any inclination towards writing a sequel to Glasshouse? Love that book. Maybe I've mentioned that before.
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