Fsrcoin
MY BLOGS
-
The Rational Optimist
http://www.rationaloptimist.wordpress.com/
Commentary of Life, Society, Politics, and Philosophy
LATEST ARTICLES ( 1300 )
-
Human History in a Nutshell, Part 2: Civilization
Previously I recapped our biological evolution. Now for civilization.It’s a tale of two revolutions: agricultural and industrial. For around 95% of our existenc... Read more
Posted on 05 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Las Vegas: It’s Not About “guns”
After every mass shooting, the NRA says it’s not about guns. They’re right.It’s about military style assault weapons.The Supreme Court, in Heller v. Read more
Posted on 02 October 2017 POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Human History in a Nutshell, Part 1: Evolution
It was about six million years ago that we last shared a common ancestor with a biologically distinct gang — chimps and other apes. But our species, Homo... Read more
Posted on 28 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Curse of Ham
I have written about Kentucky’s Creation Museum. Should be called the Museum of Ignorance, since its exhibits contradict incontestable scientific facts. Like th... Read more
Posted on 26 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Norman Dorsen, Colin Bruce, and Mortality
One thing that happens as you get old is that the world is increasingly populated by ghosts.I graduated NYU Law School in 1970. Read more
Posted on 24 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
A Different Idea About Health Care
As Republicans try one more time to pass a bill to strip millions of their health care, a huge policy crap-shoot without benefit of hearings, public debate, or... Read more
Posted on 22 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
101 Stumbles in the March of History
This 2016 book, by Bill Fawcett, is a compendium of historical might-have-beens. Decisions and choices the author deems mistakes, along with speculation about... Read more
Posted on 19 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Political Extremism and Moderation
This is a time of extremism. Marchers with torches and swastikas chant “Jews will not replace us,” and the president sees there some “very fine people.” Maybe m... Read more
Posted on 15 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Moving Pictures, Myanmar, and Rohingyas
My masthead declares me an optimist but a rationalist. Humanity is on an upward path, but nothing is ever simple, it’s strewn with pitfalls. Seeming triumphs... Read more
Posted on 12 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
My 70th Birthday Speech
Holding one of my wife’s gifts: my paternal grandparents’ 1910 marriage certificate. It shows their parents’ names, which I’d never known. Read more
Posted on 09 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Another Day, Another Disgrace
Trump has killed the DACA program — “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” — allowing people brought to America before age 16 to stay.Most of these 800,000 ar... Read more
Posted on 07 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Was Jesus Christ a Real Person?
Long ago a customer sent me a book, to convert me, titled Who Moved the Stone? I read it. The whole book sought to prove by logic that Christ must have risen... Read more
Posted on 04 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Good News from Kenya
Did you hear the big news from Kenya? Its Supreme Court annulled the president’s re-election. And he accepted it.Africa’s post-colonial history has been mostly ... Read more
Posted on 02 September 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Economist: A Love Letter
On this blog I’ve frequently cited The Economist. It’s a news magazine (though Britishly calling itself a “newspaper”). I’ve subscribed for about thirty years. Read more
Posted on 31 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Interesting
Note the “Found in supposedly empty equipment” stamp. Apparently this situation happens enough that the Postal Service has a rubber stamp for it. (This package... Read more
Posted on 31 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Trump Pardons Arpaio: America Sinks Lower
After outraging decency with his putrid rant about Charlottesville, welcomed by white supremacist Neo-Nazis, Trump compounded it by pardoning former Arizona... Read more
Posted on 28 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Statues and History
Trump has attacked removal of “beautiful” monuments to Confederate icons like Stonewall Jackson, Jeff Davis, and Robert E. Lee. Will Washington and Jefferson... Read more
Posted on 26 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
For Women Only
My wife has attended an annual writers’ retreat in Indiana. Now she’s been invited to a “girls only” gathering of former attendees. She was very critical. I... Read more
Posted on 24 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Eclipsed
Me, viewing eclipseWith all the pre-eclipse coverage, I somehow initially didn’t grasp there’d be much to see here in Albany, NY, quite far from the totality... Read more
Posted on 22 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Bonobo and the Atheist
Our closest biological relatives are chimpanzees. They’re not as cute as you might think; often nasty and violent. How nice then to have discovered the bonobo... Read more
Posted on 20 August 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY