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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 ( 1469 )
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“Presidents and the Press: Trump, Nixon & More”
(Schieffer; Amy Goodman; Historian Douglas Brinkley; Harry Rosenfeld (who was Woodward- -Bernstein’s editor); and Shane Goldmacher)Rosenfeld: in the Watergate... Read more
Posted on 21 October 2017 POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Dirty Deeds: Election Mischief, Cybercrimes & Civil Liberties
(Panelists Russell Banks, David Daley, James Steiner, Kelly Vlahos; moderator Victor Asal)“The call is coming from inside the house,” said Daley, a line from a... Read more
Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“Race, Class & the Future of Democracy”
(Panelists Carol Anderson, Jose Cruz, Juan Gonzalez, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc; moderator Gilbert King)“Make America Great Again” — and when was it great before?... Read more
Posted on 21 October 2017 POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“The First Amendment & Free Speech Under Attack”
(Panelists Floyd Abrams, Anthony Paul Farley, Kristina Findikyan, Richard Honen; moderator Ashleigh Banfield)Abrams is the nation’s premier First Amendment... Read more
Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“The End of Newspapers?” [Note, the Last in a Series of Posts Recapping a NYSWI...
(Panelists Bill Keller (former NY Times Executive Editor); Jim Rich (Executive Editor of Huffpost and formerly of the NY Daily News); Richard Tofel (President o... Read more
Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
America’s Partisan Divide Trumps All Other Tribalisms
“Humans are extremely loyal to members of their own group. They are even prepared to give up their own lives in defense of those with whom they identify. Read more
Posted on 17 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
A Cute Puzzler
This came not from Car Talk but an essay I read. Imagine a ribbon girdling the Earth’s circumference. Then add just one meter to the ribbon’s length. So... Read more
Posted on 16 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Iran Deal — More Trump Destructivism
Must I address every Trump atrocity? (Actually I don’t, it’s impossible; I haven’t discussed the NFL nonsense.) But I feel a civic duty to call out truly bad... Read more
Posted on 13 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Gettysburg
My wife applied for a writer-in-residence grant at Gettysburg. She didn’t get it, but meantime became interested in the history, and we decided to go there. Read more
Posted on 09 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
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
