Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2024

Alice Rush

Re: the meme here, a reader opines: Brandon has nothing to do with it. No politician had anything to do with it.

I agree that, generally, U.S. presidents tend to get too much credit when things go right, and too much blame when they head south.

Yet in this case it’s unclear, to me at least, how much credit Biden actually deserves for what appears an extremely robust economy, as measured by job growth, stock market valuations, inflation control, etc.

One can identify a great number of public sector investments that are aimed at rebuilding/expanding infrastructure, bringing manufacturing jobs (especially cleantech) back from overseas, expanding energy security, and post-COVID recovery. One can add, of top of that, that these investments are simply paying off precisely as they were intended.

Many economists are surprised that so much growth was possible without, for instance, huge rates of inflation causing rising interest rates that in turn sent us into recession. It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of a “soft landing” was something of a pipe dream.

Granted, all this is not an easy pill to swallow if you’re a Republican, praying for a meltdown going into election season, but it does seem to be the case.

How Much Credit Biden Merits for the Economy

Renewable Energy

Understanding the U.S. Constitution

Published

6 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Alice Rush

Hillsdale College is a rightwing Christian extremist organization that ostensibly honors the United States Constitution.

Here’s their quiz, which should be called the “Constitutional Trivia Quiz.”, whose purpose is obviously to convince Americans of their ignorance.

When I teach, I’m going for understanding of the topic, not the memorization of useless information.

Understanding the U.S. Constitution

Renewable Energy

Bravery Meets Tragedy: An Unending Story

Published

9 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Alice Rush

Here’s a story:

He had 3 days left until graduation.

STEM School Highlands Ranch. May 7, 2019.

Kendrick Castillo was 18. A robotics student. College bound. Accepted into an engineering program. The final week of school felt like countdown, not crisis.

Then a weapon appeared inside a classroom.

Students froze.

Kendrick did not.

Witnesses say he moved instantly. He lunged toward the attacker. No hesitation. No calculation.

Two other students followed his lead.

Gunfire erupted.

Kendrick was fatally sh*t.

But his movement changed the room.

Classmates were able to tackle and restrain the attacker until authorities arrived. Investigators later stated that the confrontation disrupted the attack and likely prevented additional casualties.

In seconds, an 18-year-old made a decision most adults pray they never face.

Afterward, the silence was heavier than the noise.

At graduation, his name was called.

His diploma was awarded posthumously. The arena stood in collective applause. An empty seat. A cap and gown without the student inside it.

His robotics teammates remembered him as curious. Competitive. Kind. Someone who solved problems instead of avoiding them.

He had planned to build machines.

Instead, he built a moment.

A moment that classmates say gave them time.

Time to escape.

Two points:

If you can read this without tears welling up in your eyes, you’re a far more stoic person than I.

Since Big Money has made it impossible for the United States to implement the same common-sense gun laws that exist in the rest of the planet, this story will reduplicate itself into perpetuity.