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Why not just publish the votes?

Regardless of your political affiliation, it is hard to disagree with the fact that voter confidence is a pillar of democracy. I am writing this because of the recent announcements made by Trump about foreign actors meddling in our elections. I am not an expert in voting systems, I have no background in politics, no major in Political Science. I have not spent any time reviewing voter fraud data and have no opinion one way or another about whether the recently announced voter fraud is real, but that is not the point of this. The point of this is to frame an idea that might help increase voter confidence in elections.  Here's the idea: publish the votes. Imagine the following scenario: You cast your vote You receive a randomized ID after casting your vote You remember the ID or write it down on your phone's notes app or on a piece of paper Each vote is published online You simply search for your randomized ID and can personally verify your vote At the same time, you can personal...
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In Defense of a Car-Centered Society

  Wanting personal space requires cars. I live in Texas. Now wait – lest you say to yourself, “Ah great, a good ol’ boy from Texas defending his right to own a dually Dodge Ram with a 10” lift that runs on coal”, I do not own a Dodge Ram, I drive a small electric vehicle. Also, in the last 15 years, I’ve spent 8 of those years outside of Texas (two years in a large city outside the United States, four years in a college town and two years in classic suburbs). I like Texas; this little ditty is informed by life outside of Texas. There are a lot of popular fantasies about living in a carless society. Frequently they use Houston as a punching bag. There is a particularly popular video on YouTube that attacks Houston for being dangerous and not walkable. It bothers me that the takeaway from the video is that because Houston made some mistakes in the 1800s and recently underinvested in sidewalks, all cars are bad and we should all walk to work and bike everywhere. Houston literally...
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