Garry Kasparov On Democracy

Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov who left the Russia n 2013 due to his opposition to Vladimir Putin and later founded the Renew Democracy Initiative, sees striking similarities between the rise of Putin in Russia and Trump in the United States. Not in personalities as they are clearly different but in their determination to change their respective countries from democracies to oligarchies. 

"Look, it's - as you said, is America is a democracy, but democracy is not an insurance. Democracy, the way I see it, is more like an instrument that helps you to protect the constitutional order. Back to Russia, Putin's Russia, and, of course, Russian democracy was very feeble. It's no comparison to American institutions that are nearly 250 years old, I can recognize. You destroy the state control powers and you start privatizing them. Some people have power because of the proximity to power. That's a real danger. That's oligarchy. So that's why the Trump-Musk regime is trying to form a classical oligarchy where people who control wealth directly make decisions that concern millions and millions of American citizens, circumventing the other elected bodies."

Romantic Men

 Contrary to the stereotype, men are more romantic than women. 

Women are often viewed as more romantic than men, and romantic relationships are assumed to be more central to the lives of women than to those of men. Despite the prevalence of these beliefs, some recent research paints a different picture. Using principles and insights based on the interdisciplinary literature on mixed-gender relationships, we advance a set of four propositions relevant to differences between men and women and their romantic relationships. We propose that relative to women: (a) men expect to obtain greater benefits from relationship formation and thus strive more strongly for a romantic partner, (b) men benefit more from romantic relationship involvement in terms of their mental and physical health, (c) men are less likely to initiate breakups, and (d) men suffer more from relationship dissolution. We offer theoretical explanations based on differences between men and women in the availability of social networks that provide intimacy and emotional support. We discuss implications for friendships in general and friendships between men and women in particular.

No surprise to me. But then again I am hopelessly romantic. 

The New Marriage of Unequals

Along the lines of my post from two weeks ago on women and marriage, The Atlantic has an article on women marrying less educated men. 

Once upon a time, it was fairly common for highly educated men in the United States to marry less-educated women. But beginning in the mid-20th century, as more women started to attend college, marriages seemed to move in a more egalitarian direction, at least in one respect: A greater number of men and women started partnering up with their educational equals. That trend, however, appears to have stalled and even reversed in recent years. Gaps in educational experience among heterosexual couples are growing again. And this time? It’s women who are “marrying down.”

Researchers debate whether marriage between educational equals—homogamy—is on the decline. But one thing is clear: The phenomenon of women marrying men with less education than themselves, what academics call “hypogamy,” is on the rise. In fact, women are now more likely to marry a less-educated man than men are to marry a less-educated woman.

The reasons listed in the article are:

• Political divergence - men, especially young men are moving to the right whereas women are more to the left. 
• Love - women's increasing economic security allowing them to marry who they love rather that "a good catch". 
• Availability - Fewer educated men available per educated woman. 

I would add a fourth namely that gender segregation in work. Most plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other skilled trade positions are dominated by men. Such jobs do not require college degrees but are very well paid. 

Law Firms Caving In To Trump

Perhaps not surprisingly several large law firms who  worked for clients President Trump dislikes are caving in to Trump administration pressure and agreeing to $100 million "pro-bono" work for causes he supports. So much for legal ethics. 

I wonder if these firms are thinking at all about how they will be perceived in the future. Germany went through something similar in the early 1930s and firms which aligned with their authoritarian leader did not in the end do so well. Hopefully our country won't go quite so far down the authoritarian path but I suspect that is exactly what the Germans thought nearly a century ago. Time will tell. 

There is some hope however as several law firms are resisting. 

Are Women Giving Up On Marriage?

In a Wall Street Journal article, reporter Rachel Wolfe  explains why women are giving up on marriage. It is an interesting read but it appears to be an opinion piece with few relevant facts. Indeed, one of her key facts - that more men are going to college than women is false and was corrected from the original version.

What we're seeing is that young men are really struggling across a whole host of factors, and they are having a lot more trouble finding paying jobs than they once did. Women, on the other hand, are flourishing, they're just blazing ahead. And so what that means is that women no longer are financially dependent on men to do the things that they want to do in life, including buy houses and have kids. And so more of them are doing it alone. It makes economic sense that if they don't have to settle, they won't. Which is not to say that they don't ever want to get married and find a romantic partner, but it does mean that they don't have to accept something that doesn't meet their standards.

I don't totally disagree with her, but personally I think the main reason women are marrying less is increasing gender equality which allows women who do not have an interest in marrying to not be pressured by society into doing so. And if they want to have a kid on their own, they can manage it both biologically and financially. 

I do not think it is due to a lack of good men. That is a bit silly and sexist. I wonder what Ms. Wolfe's reaction would be to reading an article stating men are marrying less because there just aren't any good women around? 

Crazy Legal System

A recent lawsuit against HP relating to an HP firmware update which prevented their printers from using non-HP ink resulted in a victory for the three litigants. Each was awarded $5000. Their lawyers were awarded $750,000. The award to the lawyers is simply crazy. It clearly shows just how out of control our legal system is. I wish I knew what the true profit margin on the "attorneys’ fees and expenses" was. I'll bet it made up the vast amount although I imagine it was all rolled into the expenses. Just like I have seen in family court. 

Northern California Family Court Corruption

As is the case with most of the country, the family court system in northern California appears to riddled with crime and corruption. 

A 2022 report by California State Auditor Michael S. Tilden exposed widespread corruption within the California State Bar, citing undisclosed conflicts of interest, misappropriation of client funds, and improper handling of judicial complaints. While this report focused on attorneys, the abuses within California’s family courts extend far beyond, affecting countless parents and children trapped in a system designed to extract wealth rather than ensure justice.

Parents in Northern California have come forward with harrowing stories of judicial misconduct, including:

Judges who have been recused continue to issue orders retroactively.

• Children being permanently removed from a parent based on hearsay allegations, without evidence or due process.
• Fraudulent restraining orders issued to manipulate custody arrangements.
• Attorneys engage in abuse of process, coercion, blackmail, and suppression of exculpatory evidence.
• Repeated violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in family court proceedings.
• Court-appointed minors’ counsels disregard the best interests of children while benefiting from prolonged litigation.
• Children being denied the right to testify, despite legal statutes protecting their ability to do so.
• Secret hearings (“Star Chambers”) that remove children from their parents without notice.
• Systemic bias favoring wealthier litigants who can afford to game the system.