https://michaeljkram.com/blog/ Posts by Michael J. Kram, author of Common Sense 2.0, on October surprises, Thomas Paine, generalist thinking and what one citizen can do. en-us Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 https://michaeljkram.com/blog/what-is-an-october-surprise/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/what-is-an-october-surprise/ Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram A plain definition of the October surprise, where the phrase came from, and why I put it on the cover of my book. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/what-can-one-citizen-do-before-an-election/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/what-can-one-citizen-do-before-an-election/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Here are nine things one citizen can still do before then, and one for the morning after. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-fact-check-political-claims/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-fact-check-political-claims/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram Five steps, five minutes, and a worked example on a civics statistic that people have been sharing for years. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/thomas-paine-common-sense-summary/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/thomas-paine-common-sense-summary/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram What Paine argued in 1776, the lines worth remembering, and why a plain pamphlet for ordinary readers still matters 250 years later. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/generalist-vs-specialist/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/generalist-vs-specialist/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram A specialist digs one hole deep. A generalist knows which hole to dig. I argue America was built by the second kind. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-think-like-a-generalist/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-think-like-a-generalist/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram Generalism looks like a gift, and sometimes it is. The rest of us can train it with a pencil and better questions. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/tree-of-knowledge-thinking-game/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/tree-of-knowledge-thinking-game/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram One pencil, two nouns, a short list of verbs. The game from Appendix 4 of my book, with the rules exactly as I wrote them. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-talk-politics-at-thanksgiving/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-talk-politics-at-thanksgiving/ Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram You can talk politics at Thanksgiving and still get pie. Agree on rules before the turkey, ask before you argue, and leave every door open. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/were-the-founding-fathers-generalists/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/were-the-founding-fathers-generalists/ Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram Franklin and Jefferson get called polymaths. I think the better word is generalists, and I think they were trained, not born. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/civic-engagement-ideas-after-the-election/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/civic-engagement-ideas-after-the-election/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram Whoever wins on November 3, the country still runs on the meetings nobody attends. Here is a year of them, one evening a month. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-propose-a-law-as-a-citizen/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-propose-a-law-as-a-citizen/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram You can't drop a bill in the hopper yourself. You can write it, find the member who will, and in 24 states go around them. https://michaeljkram.com/blog/books-like-common-sense/ https://michaeljkram.com/blog/books-like-common-sense/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Michael J. Kram Nine short books that talk to citizens the way Paine did in 1776. The last one is mine, and I'll say so up front.