Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. I previously blogged under the name, "Truth vs. Bush." http://www.truthvsbush.blogspot.com/. However, I thought that this name had become a bit out of date. I can't imagine how that duck could possibly get any more lame.

Accordingly, I have adopted the new name, "Democratic Core." The name has lots of meanings. I consider myself a Democrat to the core. Expressing opinions on political issues, as I am doing in this blog, is at the core of democracy.

I also picked the name because of my interest in the writings of Thomas P.M. Barnett. My wife accuses me of having a "man crush" on Barnett. I don't think that's the case. I just find him to be a very interesting and original thinker and writer. While there are some major points on which I disagree very strongly with Barnett -- for example, he supported the Iraq War, and as readers of my old blog know, I opposed it to my "core" -- but on balance, I find that Barnett offers about the most insightful analysis of the current state of the world that one is likely to find. He is challenging and he cuts across traditional Left/Right ideological categories, a position in which I occasionally find myself. Anyone interested should take a look at Barnett's blog, www.thomaspmbarnett.com.

Anyway, the connection between the name of this blog and Barnett's writings has to do with the term "Core." Barnett uses the term "Core" to refer to the parts of the world that are connected to the global economy, or, what he calls "the functioning Core of globalization."

Thus, here I am - writing in the Core, a member of the Democratic Party, and a believer in democracy. I hope you enjoy what I have to say.