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MY BLOGS
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The Rational Optimist
http://www.rationaloptimist.wordpress.com/
Commentary of Life, Society, Politics, and Philosophy
LATEST ARTICLES ( 1302 )
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State of the Union: US: Sweden
So the President gets up there and unveils a host of big new government programs. Then he says they won’t add a dime to the deficit. Read more
Posted on 16 February 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
What is WRONG with Muslims?
Optimists like me (and Steven Pinker) see a world in which violence is being progressively restrained. Naysayers point to a persistence of violent conflict in... Read more
Posted on 09 February 2013 DEBATE, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
A Change of Mind on Gay Marriage
I have found, in political idea wars, that deeply invested viewpoints are pretty impervious to changing. I’ve previously discussed, for example, confirmation... Read more
Posted on 03 February 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
How To Solve All Societal Problems
The theme of Rebecca Costa’s 2010 book The Watchman’s Rattle* is that the complexity of modern life is itself the key to the complex problems we face. Read more
Posted on 28 January 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Dear Abby
Pauline Esther Phillips died last week at 94. She was better known by her pseudonym, “Abigail Van Buren,” originator of the “Dear Abby” column (which, for... Read more
Posted on 23 January 2013 SOCIETY -
Cat-Women of the Moon
After having recently viewed the film classic Plan 9 From Outer Space, we decided to see Cat-Women of the Moon. My wife and I highly recommend this fine motion... Read more
Posted on 17 January 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Who Was America’s Worst President?
During the holidays my sister-in-law got me into a heated discussion on how I could possibly have voted for such a flawed, problematic bumbler with weird... Read more
Posted on 12 January 2013 POLITICS, SOCIETY -
We Have Met the Enemy and It’s Us
Recently I got one of those virally forwarded e-mail blasts, flaying Washington politicians and demanding an array of draconian punishments for them, stopping... Read more
Posted on 06 January 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Guns ‘n’ Schools
The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre has blamed the Newtown shootings on just about everything and everybody except guns and the gun-fetishizing... Read more
Posted on 27 December 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Dust Bowl
We’ve watched Ken Burns’s film, The Dust Bowl. It was a compelling story – with great modern resonance. Here was a huge environmental disaster, indisputably... Read more
Posted on 22 December 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Underground Railroad – Lessons for Today
I recently attended a presentation by Paul and Mary Liz Stewart about their Underground Railroad History Project. The “railroad” was a network helping escaped... Read more
Posted on 15 December 2012 CULTURE, HISTORY, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
How the Mind Works (Or Can It?)
You’re parachuted onto an alien planet. Of course, the language is unlike any you’ve ever heard. In fact, imagine further you don’t know any language – or even... Read more
Posted on 04 December 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
In Pursuit of the Great White Whale
As explained in my recent post, the best way to raise tax revenues, mainly from the rich, is to cap deductions, avoiding the politically charged issue of raisin... Read more
Posted on 03 December 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Syria
Aleppo Let’s not forget how this started. The opposition was scrupulously nonviolent until the regime responded with extreme violence. That (to borrow a... Read more
Posted on 29 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Fiscal Cliff Notes
Here’s the deal: Tax revenues rise. Not rates – revenues. Raising rates is bad because it disincentivizes work, enterprise, and investment, and encourages tax... Read more
Posted on 23 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Is There a Moral Duty to Relieve Suffering?
I recently read Christopher Wraight’s book, The Ethics of Trade and Aid: Development, Charity or Waste?* Wraight teaches philosophy, and examines the moral issu... Read more
Posted on 13 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Denialism
Michael Specter’s book Denialism spotlights a bizarre perversity: just when science and technology have vastly improved the quality of our lives, too many peopl... Read more
Posted on 10 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Electoral College Reform
I’ve been thinking about this issue since the ‘60s, when I wrote my first (unpublished) novel, about the mess of an inconclusive electoral vote when a... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Republican Party’s Future
Columnist George Will has said that, given the economy, if Republicans can’t beat this president, they should look for another line of business. (One might... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
XXXXX (Censored by Liberals)
“Censorship” is one of the dirtiest words in the liberal lexicon; one of the worst crimes. Liberals hate it so, they often scream “Censorship!” when it isn’t... Read more
Posted on 01 November 2012 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY