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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 ( 1468 )
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Honoring Lincoln on President’s Day: Character Matters
Here is a commentary, from August, by former White House correspondent Christi Parsons; condensed by me:They might seem like a president’s performative gestures... Read more
Posted on 16 February 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Trump Derangement Syndrome, and Election Fraud — A Serious Analysis
Just how sick is the Republican Trump cult? Let’s examine this seriously.Start with the recent Georgia election office FBI raid (bizarrely including National... Read more
Posted on 12 February 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Justice, Accountability, Reckoning — Or Forgiveness?
A periodic gathering of old friends was discussing — inevitably these days — our nation’s “situation.” How it’s unfolded, and what’s the way forward?Why did hal... Read more
Posted on 08 February 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
My Survivor’s Guilt
In 1975, at 27, I met “Paula,” 19. My girl chasing had been going nowhere. I made a date with Paula, only to cancel, having found a hotter prospect. Which soon... Read more
Posted on 05 February 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The GOP is Full of Shit*
If one fixation seemingly defined the Republican cult, it was Second Amendment gun rights. Yet dishonesty and hypocrisy are the party’s overriding features. Thu... Read more
Posted on 31 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Jack Smith in Bizzarroland
How fitting if in the end the only person criminalized for January 6 is . . . Jack Smith. The special prosecutor.Of course some 1500 people were convicted for... Read more
Posted on 27 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Greenland — America Pays a Big Price — And Gets Nothing
An Albany Times-Union editorial called Trump’s Greenland threats “insane” and “madness;” and said the European Union must impose harsh economic sanctions agains... Read more
Posted on 24 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Israel’s Kristallnacht — And Minnesota’s
“Kristallnacht” was the 1938 German Nazi pogrom attacking Jews with violent atrocities. (My own forebears got out months earlier. Read more
Posted on 22 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Disgusting, Vile, Sick
Venezuela’s democracy heroine Machado gifted her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump (well, the medal — not the money). Part of the global orgy of Trump butt-kissing. I... Read more
Posted on 17 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Book Spurning
Socrates denounced writing as undermining people’s faculty for memory. Nevertheless, writing and reading spread greatly in the ensuing 2400 years. Now that’s... Read more
Posted on 14 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
1984
Yes, the book, Orwell’s 1949 novel. I read it, like, 60 years ago. But one of my book groups recently picked it — for obvious reasons. So I read it again.... Read more
Posted on 11 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Venezuela’s Oil — And The New World Order
“No blood for oil!” was the cry opposing our 2003 Iraq action. The cynical notion that it was to grab Iraq’s oil was false. We went in for high-minded reasons.... Read more
Posted on 09 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
My Blog Suspension
Visitors here in recent days have gotten a screen saying this blog is suspended for violating terms of service.I learned of it yesterday when I tried to post a... Read more
Posted on 08 January 2026 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Power and Progress
In the 2023 book, Power and Progress, by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, the idea of progress improving productivity, and making everyone better off, is calle... Read more
Posted on 03 November 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
$230 Million: The Biggest Most Blatantly Corrupt Political Thievery in U.S....
Hard to believe even Trump could be so despicable.He’s used junk lawsuits to shake down big media companies for millions in “settlements” that amount to... Read more
Posted on 01 November 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Mitch Landrieu: What Democrats Need To Do
Mitch Landrieu says Democrats have a problem. Up against the awfullest regime in U.S. history, they actually seem the less popular. Losing connection to the... Read more
Posted on 30 October 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Supreme Court’s 2025 Dred Scott Decision
In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the infamous Dred Scott decision, ruled (actual quote) that Black people “had no rights which the white man was bound to... Read more
Posted on 28 October 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Coming Debt Bomb
Some say governments should manage budgets like families must. But governments are different. They can borrow and keep rolling over loans indefinitely — as... Read more
Posted on 26 October 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Frozen River — Too Good to Be True
The Frozen River is a 2023 novel by Ariel Lawhon. Wow, a helluva read, very gripping; the action doesn’t let up. So vividly written, it’s almost believable. Read more
Posted on 23 October 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Pronoun Problems and the State of the Nation
The New York State Writers Institute’s annual book festival is always a great event. One program this year had Robert Boyers in talk with John McWhorter. Read more
Posted on 21 October 2025 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY
