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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 ( 1412 )
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Stranger in a Strange Land
“America.” How redolent a name, laden with import and meaning. Being part of America meant so very much to me, at the core of my soul. Read more
Posted on 08 November 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
America: The Once and Future Country?
For years I’ve repeatedly warned that America — as a democracy — its ideals and values — were not ordained forever by some god. And could not long endure if... Read more
Posted on 06 November 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Final Election Wrap-up: Keep America Great
I am writing this out of love for America, and for all who share it — of whatever party.Voters say their top concern is the economy. Many think it’s bad, and... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
CSICON: Island of Reason in a Sea of Madness
We attended this conference in Las Vegas in late October — a gathering of about 650 humanist/atheist/skeptical science oriented rationalists.We’d been to Vegas... Read more
Posted on 01 November 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
My Racial Bias
There are two great errors. First, that whites are superior. While societies predominantly white may have logged greater technological and cultural achievements... Read more
Posted on 30 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“The Only Patriotic Choice for President”
Published by the New York Times Editorial Board, much condensed by me for brevity. I most sincerely implore, especially, my Republican friends to ponder this... Read more
Posted on 28 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Trump: The Mental Issue
This is a matter of highest seriousness. Voters must pay heed.Trump, if elected, would be our oldest president ever. Older than Biden. Whose continued capabilit... Read more
Posted on 22 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The End of Governing
Governments worldwide are doing less with more. So says a recent analysis in The Economist. The share of GDP consumed by the public sector has been inexorably... Read more
Posted on 19 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
What’s the Future of the Republican Party?
The two-party system was long central to America’s civic structure. Developing outside (and unforeseen by) the Constitution, but becoming integral to our... Read more
Posted on 17 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Republican Ethic of Lies
Note the word is “ethic,” not “ethics.” Untruth has become the Republican party’s ethic; its principle, its culture. The alternative seen as just lame, for naiv... Read more
Posted on 09 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
God is Testing Christians
Certain Christian loudmouths love saying some natural disaster is God punishing us for “immorality” (usually homosexuality). As if they read his mind. As if the... Read more
Posted on 08 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Finding Margaret Fuller
I’ve written about Maria Popova’s book, Figuring. Among others, it discusses Margaret Fuller (1810-1850), whom I practically fell in love with. Read more
Posted on 06 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Life, Love, Death in Maria Popova’s Book “Figuring”
Found this in my book cupboard with no idea how it got there. A fat 500+ page 2019 paperback from apparently a proper British publisher, but presentationally... Read more
Posted on 04 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
I Learned So Much I Didn’t Know From Vance in the Debate
Did you know that President Trump saved Obamacare? I did not, but was glad to learn this from Vance in the VP debate. You see, Obamacare (the Affordable Care... Read more
Posted on 02 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
This Election: How Is the Chicken Prepared?
That’s the punchline to a joke (which a columnist recently opened with). Airplane passengers are told there are two meal choices: chicken, or a pile of excremen... Read more
Posted on 01 October 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Zoom Sex
As the pandemic unfolded in 2020, bursting into our lives was a techno-cultural phenomenon called Zoom. It seemed a natural; despite some drawbacks, still a... Read more
Posted on 28 September 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Great Therese Broderick Book Talk October 1
Noted local poet Therese L. Broderick will present a rollicking review of Alice Fulton’s book, The Nightingales of Troy: Stories of One Family’s Century — At 2... Read more
Posted on 27 September 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Project 2025 Etc. — What’s Really Going On
When “Project 2025” first gained notice, Trump said he knew nothing about it — but disagreed with much of it.Huh? How could he disagree without knowing about... Read more
Posted on 25 September 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
David Hume Asks Why
I tortured myself by reading The Cambridge Companion to Hume. Or trying to. Hoping to gain some fresh insight.David Hume (1711-76) was a Scottish philosopher.... Read more
Posted on 23 September 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Chief Justice John Roberts Has a Nightmare
JANUARY 20, 2025:HARRIS: . . . Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.ROBERTS: So help you God.HARRIS: So help me God.ROBERTS:... Read more
Posted on 21 September 2024 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY