Something I haven't remarked on yet, despite being completely obsessed with it, is the 2016 U.S. elections. This has been a fascinating year (well, let's say 'election cycle' since 'year' really doesn't cover it). I am an unapologetic leftist, so seeing a candidate like Bernie Sanders come out and do well has been quite lovely, a real reminder that the United States is not completely populated by the right wing. Although it's fairly clear at this point that barring something quite unforseen Clinton will be the Democrat's candidate, at least the conversation has been more substansive than we could have expected otherwise. And on the Republican side, we've had this rise of the populist candidate and on some level a complete self destruction (or re-awakening, depending on how you think about the whole thing). It's going to be a very interesting election. The one thing that really has taken a beating has been the candidate selection process. It's not clear to me that either side will reform it, but it has certainly become clear that when the U.S. uses the word 'democracy' they mean something very different indeed.