The Political Science Interpretivist

  Bill Maher thought he was being funny when he vilified student protestors in a recent show . But he was actually doing the whole of humanity a great disservice. I gave a much more accurate and empathic account of the main motivation of these protesters in a prior post on this blog entitled The Psychology of the Student Protests . As an Interpretive political scientist, I observe that the cause of, or reason for, those protests is the strong sense of  compassion  in the students for their fellow human beings in Gaza who are suffering deeply from the merciless slaughter of their family members, friends, and neighbors. There are many issues involved in making this observation, which I addressed in my other post on the subject. I noted that the students have erected those “encampments” as an expression of their shared feeling of urgency that the killing and suffering in Gaza be stopped now. With over a million viewers, Maher could have helped to reduce the widespread misunderstan

Its unfortunate that Democracy Now, a leading news source for Progressives in the US, continually misinforms the World about Nayib Bukele and the politics of El Salvador.* . For instance, in the broadcast of June 5, 2024, Amy Goodman  announced AS NEWS that Bukele’s February 4 th  re-election is “illegitimate.” She took it upon herself to proclaim that the former constitutional one-term limit had not been legally revised.  But if she really understood “democracy,” then she would know that “Legitimacy” depends on the Consent of the Governed. Over 80% of the voters have ratified the constitutional changes Bukele has made in El Salvador by re-electing him to a second term. Let’s not forget, FDR was re-elected to a FOURTH term. Would liberal Amy call him a “dictator”? Not likely. She, and co-host Juan Gonzalez, seem to think that Bukele violated the “Human Rights” of some Salvadorians by rounding up everyone with tattoos on their neck and face. But the government   has procedures f