On 12/10/2018, I published my blog post about SFWA and the Writers of the Future Contest. (I've since updated it a few times for various reasons, including an official response from the SFWA Board on 12/18/2018.) On 12/11/2018, the SFWA Board issued an update to clarify the rule about contests: Qualification Update: Publication Via Contests As Applicable to Rule III... read more »
UPDATE 12/28/2018: I've published a followup blog post. UPDATE 12/19/2018: The SFWA Board send me an official response via email yesterday. I'm adding it at the end of this post. UPDATE 12/17/2018: After some thought, I have redacted portions of this blog post that dealt with internal Grievance Committee processes. I do not believe they violated the specific confidentiality rule in the SFWA... read more »
Time for another of Eric's Wacky Public Policy Proposals! People pay smugglers thousands of dollars to get smuggled into the United States. This generates revenue for criminal operations, and puts people's lives at risk. The presence of illegal immigrants in the United States also leads to employers paying low wages to people who can't legally complain about it, lower tax... read more »
I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment. I believe people have the right to arm themselves for their own protection and as a check against a tyrannical government. Therefore, I agree with those who say it would be a bad idea to allow the government to have a database of guns and their owners, because that would make gun confiscation... read more »
Months ago, someone asked me what I would do about health care in the United States. My preferred health care policies stand no chance whatsoever of being made into law, but I'm going to explain how I would structure the system if I were in charge. Warning: Not only is this a long post, but if you want to criticize... read more »
I've heard a lot of people talking about how many lives have been saved by Obamacare, and how many lives will be lost if it is repealed. So I decided to look at the mortality statistics for the United States before and after passage of the Affordable Care Act. The data for 2009-2014 is taken from the Age-Adjusted Death Rate... read more »
On November 4, 2008, I made the following blog post: Congratulations to President-Elect Obama While I didn’t vote for him, I wish him well in doing what is best for our country. It was succinct, but heartfelt. No matter who is President, I want them to do what is best for our country. With that in mind, I post the... read more »
Obviously, our next President will almost certainly be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Most likely, that will happen because one or the other won enough states with enough electoral college votes to have at least 270. And I've already discussed the unlikely event that McMullin wins Utah's six electoral college votes and neither Trump nor Clinton has 270, so... read more »
This is what I hope will happen: Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com This is my prediction for what I think will happen: Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com Of course, in 2008 I underestimated the Democrat's victory margin in the Electoral College. I did so again in 2012, although by less. Maybe... read more »
I've seen a lot of people claiming that Evan McMullin winning Utah just helps Hillary Clinton get elected. That is false, and I'm going to explain why. First, McMullin winning Utah makes a difference in who is elected President in only one circumstance: if neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump manages to get to 270 electoral college votes. It's highly... read more »
