Again, must plead a busy schedule for infrequent updates. I also think I’m going to migrate to a more focused blog as soon as the semester ends.  This blog has suffered from a lack of a theme as much as my own busy schedule. I’m defending my prospectus at the end May, and I think I’ll start another blog called “Piloting the SS Dissertation: From Candidacy to Completion.”  That incarnation of the blog will follow more how to preserver and finish the dissertation, from a social science perspective.

Anyway, all that to say that this blog might go dormant soon. It’s never really had a focus other than “Things I Occasionally Find Interesting” which isn’t particularly effective. However, here is one more link I find interesting.  Basically, a review of the new Mann and Ornstein book by a legal/poli sci professor who actually gets the importance of institutions right (i.e. – polarization and hyper-partisanship stem from the rules of the game). Honestly, the only reason we ever had a period of “bipartisanship” was because of a historical anomaly with the party of the left.  The reviewer also recognizes that “reform” is another word for “policy.”  And passing policy in such a polarized system is really, really hard. Anyway, just a good piece that’s a great deal more realistic and accurate than most.