This phrase, from Lincoln’s marvelous Gettysburg address, seems to have long been taken in American politics to support a populist stance. May the simple man, the Mr. Smiths in Washington, bring truth, honesty and other values worth fighting for to those whom they represent.

We saw how far that ideal was applied in the last couple of administrations. As discussed by Dr. Simon Langstoff: “Is it too unreasonable; is it impossibly naive to hope that they might look to our interests (and not just our wants) and offer a realistic programme for good government?”

Lately, the U.S. State Department has taken a leaf from the TED notebook by sponsoring the TED@State series. It’s a relief that it appears to be acceptable to be an intelligent person in the U.S. once again. Our State Department is our public face to the world; that face is finally no longer that of a buffoon.

Yesterday, Europeans had the opportunity to vote for their national delegates to the European Parliament. Approximately 43% of eligible voters actually cast their vote across the 27 nations. While that is not a large proportion of voters, and the sad fact is that in the most stable societies, we undervalue this privilege we have the right to exercise, that is still a large absolute number of citizens who bothered.

The number of seats allotted to a country is more or less proportional to the number of citizens; there are eighty-odd for France, which is one reason why the country is so particularly hostile to Turkey’s entry in the E.U. But France was by no means the country with the most far-right representatives elected, and other countries will a much larger proportion of either islamophobic or nationalist or even anti-European Union delegates.

I am amused by the prospect of getting oneself elected to a quite cushy position as Member of the European Parlement on an anti-European Union platform. It’s not straightforward finding out how cushy that is – Wikipedia cites something around 7K euros a month, which is quite comfortable from a French scientist’s point of view – but the statute referenced says that “The amount of the salary shall be 38.5% of the basic salary of a judge at the Court of Justice of the European Communities.” Which is really helpful. Here it intimates that (in 2004) half the salary = 8500 euros/month. So, you scientists can figure it out.

There are a couple of pirates who got elected, as well. The presumably well-meaning, Robin Hood kind. I suppose that’s worth a chunk of my taxes, just for the spectacle.