The Myth Of Progress – Pricking The Bubble
Again and again, I am reminded of the need for humility, as well as dignity and confidence. I am reminded not only by my own faults and errors, which are…
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Welcome To The Brave New World
Speaking of censorious scrupulosity…. While censorship is rising rapidly, with Google, Facebook and Twitter, as well as the major media, controlling and restricting what people can see or read, say…
Laying Waste To The Religious Right
A few brief thoughts for perspective: “Censorious scrupulosity” – Stephen Toulmin is as witty as he is brilliant. Make it viral (so to speak… Yikes, we will soon have to…
Resilience: Another Lesson From The Heart Of The Renaissance
It’s interesting to me to reflect on the fact that Florence and Tuscany have weathered many, many storms and vicissitudes, and have seen empires come and go. Tuscany was culturally…
The Greatest Depression Begins
Goldman Sachs predicts 24% contraction of economy in Q2 alone – and they are the optimistic ones! This is bigger than the Great Depression, by the look of it. Thanks…
Six Founding Principles Of Good Government
Or, Public Policy 101: Tax “Bads”, Not Goods Public policy, or government policy, should reflect certain basic principles. Let’s set out a few. Not everyone will agree, but polls repeatedly…
Why The Left Is Once Again Wrong
Also happening now, and further showing the continued failure of the left: the left is shouting in defence of payroll taxes – which kill jobs, as they are a…
Waiting For The Crazed Clown Show To End – Or, Welcome To The Brave New World
I don’t know when I will be able to go to the gym or library again, or a park, or my favourite local bookstore or record store – or whether…
Faith, Hope & Love, During Difficult Times
Now is a time for faith. Or if you prefer, and perhaps more important yet: for perseverance, for patience, for forbearance, for resolve, for courage, for confidence, for…
The Faux Left, and, The Urgent Need To Unite The People
What’s called “the left” is really a few camps, very narrow in range: There are neoliberals such as Hilary Clinton, Obama, Biden, and the Democratic party establishment, who are (like…
Further Studies In Philosophy
A few thoughts aloud (Reading Toulmin and Montaigne this morning sparked some exciting musings and thoughts!) Serious studies of philosophy…ahhh, that makes me so happy. That makes me smile,…
Modernism, Post-Modernism, Skepticism, and Sanity
Reading Toulmin’s brilliant history of modernity and the past four centuries (Cosmopolis), it becomes clear at page 190, in his conclusion, he has not been heading for the kind…
Meditations For Difficult Times
What do you do when the world has gone insane? Well, you stay calm, and keep working for justice, peace, democracy, ecological balance, and freedom. You also have to…
The Central Issue: Oligarchy vs Democracy
The central issue, now as always, is not about wealth, or distribution of wealth. It’s not about bread and butter issues. It’s not about taxes or spending, budgets or allocations,…
Hurray For the Daft! (That’s Us)
* (My apologies for the strange formatting again – WordPress gets glitchy on me and refuses paragraph spacing, forcing me to use awkward-looking stars. Bear with me.) * The left…
Coronavirus (COVID-19): The Central Facts
This was the letter I just sent to a friend who, to his credit, was very calm and respectful as he stated that he felt I was misunderstanding the current…
Propaganda Lessons From History: A Very Short Review – 9/11 to the Coronavirus
Generally I post only essays I have written myself, on my blog. There have been a few exceptions for films, videos or articles that I feel are of exceptional importance…
Chomsky On The Coronavirus: Perspective Is Urgently Needed
Chomsky clarifies the situation with the coronavirus, saying: it’s serious enough, but it represents not even a fraction of the biggest dangers we are facing, which are nuclear war, global…
Coronavirus: Hype Confirmed, Fascism Confirmed
Here we go. As I have said since January, the draconian, authoritarian, and quite literally fascist response to, or use of, the coronavirus, is far more dangerous than the virus…