Belated Happy New Year!

It’s been a while since I blogged. No, it wasn’t the longest coffee break ever. To be honest, I’ve had enough medical, legal, and dentistry distractions to set me back more than a few months, but I’m bouncing back!

Anyway, I had to put my writing and publication on hold, and build up a backlog of analytical responses for my online crit groups. (Apologies, fellow critters.)

But what a time to climb back in the saddle!

Welcome to 2019!

1. Britain crawls (confusingly) towards – or away from – one of several possible Brexit futures (you choose):-

a. a disastrous crash out of the EU,
b. a bright new future freed from EU shackles, or
c. remaining in the EU (for good or ill)

Seriously, you choose which it will be. It’s anyone’s guess, right now – including everyone at the negotiating table.

2. America’s Next Top President contest race begins.

(You mean there’s another 18 months of this?)

3. Mother Earth continues to smite the land with earthquakes, volcanoes, and extreme weather.

As a long-time resident of Luxembourg, I don’t get to vote on any of these exciting events: that means no one can blame me for the chaos or the outcomes. (Phew!)

And as a (small “d”) democrat who studied Politics and has kept a disapproving eye on all the recent shenanigans, I wonder if anarchy is the next globally most-popular form of politics. Could be a good investment. Can I buy futures’ shares in Anarchy?

I’ll make a totally neutral observation on democracy and voting. Democracy might be “the worst form of government apart from all the others”, but I see a conflict of opinion about the validity of different systems of assessing voter choice.

In the USA presidential election, the winner is decided by the Electoral Colleges’ votes, not by the nationwide popular vote. Around half the USA voters now reject this system and want to go with the popular vote result.

However, Britain’s Brexit vote was a referendum – the ultimate in “popular vote” choice. And that result is rejected by around half the voters.

So which voting system – if any – is the right one, the most truly democratic one?

(Just a question…)

The Good Stuff

All my personal “distractions” should be resolved shortly; I have a few works nearing completion or going through final, final revision; and I have masses of travel planned for the year ahead.

Also, I’ll hit 67 in September – which I count as a successful outcome, given the previous decades.

So, a bright year ahead for me and I wish the same for you all.