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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 ( 1483 )
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David Gelernter and the Ideology Trap
David Gelernter is a well-known computer scientist, whose talk I wrote about previously. Afterwards, I wanted to speak with him, but didn’t want to buy the new... Read more
Posted on 19 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Our Gal in Iraq
In the last episode (“Our Gal in Kabul”), daughter Elizabeth (now 23) was headed to a job with a humanitarian organization in Afghanistan, to sort out the... Read more
Posted on 17 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Does Science Prove Rich People Are Jerks?
Left wingers obsess over inequality partly because they hate that others are rich and they’re not. It’s more than just envy, but a sense of injustice: they... Read more
Posted on 13 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Trump: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Now he says the shackles are off him.I’ve watched political debates for 56 years. But Sunday’s featured the most shocking and frightening thing I ever heard in... Read more
Posted on 11 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
La Commedia è Finita
“Believe me . . . this much.”He said, “These words don’t reflect who I am.”Oh yes they do, you creep. They reflect perfectly who you are. Some of us saw it... Read more
Posted on 09 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Book Groups and “the Good Old Days”
I’m in two book groups. One, for about 25 years, originated among PSC co-workers. (The story goes that it began with two guys expecting two gals at a restaurant... Read more
Posted on 08 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Simultaneous Pleasures
MeIt is sunny, the sky a vivid blue. It’s in the seventies, with a gentle breeze. The warmth, modulated periodically by caresses of air, feels delicious on my... Read more
Posted on 05 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Pakistan: Shooting Polio Doctors
Dr. Zakaullah Khan was shot dead on September 11 in Pakistan. He was a leading figure in the push for polio vaccination. A huge global effort has nearly... Read more
Posted on 02 October 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
World Leaders Admirable and Loathesome
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson was embarrassed the other day being unable to name a foreign leader he admired. At first I winced – it seemed... Read more
Posted on 30 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Debate
I sat down with a sense of dread; and a bowl of popcorn to medicate the pain. Conventional wisdom said Clinton had to tread a lot of fine lines, some mutually... Read more
Posted on 28 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Tattoo Nation
Going to the beach nowadays is to visit a tattoo exhibition.Tattooing used to be tantamount to sticking a label on yourself saying “low class” or “no class.”... Read more
Posted on 25 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Syria
So by mistake a U.S. airstrike killed sixty-odd soldiers of Bashar Assad’s Syrian army.Boo hoo.We abase ourselves with apologies, while the Russians (who bomb... Read more
Posted on 22 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Ban the Box?
Since 2007, eleven states have enacted bans on checking a job applicant’s credit score. The aim is equality and fair hiring – since someone with low credit woul... Read more
Posted on 20 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Bible Babble
The Massachusetts Bible Society is conducting “The Great Bible Experiment” – discussion forums in “America’s least Bible-minded cities.” Strangely, Albany tops... Read more
Posted on 17 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Dear Trump Voters
You’re making a big mistake. A whopper. Believe me; OK?What a big con you’re falling for. Make America great again? Trump has no clue what made it great. It... Read more
Posted on 14 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Donald Ainslie Henderson: Hero
One who saves another’s life is reckoned a hero. Donald Ainslie Henderson is a hero you never heard of, but he saved around 100 million (so far, and counting).... Read more
Posted on 13 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Colombia’s Peace Deal: How to End Wars
There are important lessons to be learned from Colombia’s recent peace deal with its FARC insurgency, ending a 52-year civil war. Read more
Posted on 10 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Banning the Burkini
Banned in FranceThe “burkini” is Muslim swimwear; more burqa than bikini, it enables gals to get wet while still covered. Some French jurisdictions have banned... Read more
Posted on 07 September 2016 SOCIETY -
The Animal That Came in from the Cold (My Labor Day Tribute to Work)
There’s a cynical misanthropic mentality seeing humanity as a curse upon the planet, and modern life as a snakepit of psychic malaise. I don’t buy it. Read more
Posted on 05 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Gertrude Stein and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
Therese performing poetryMy poet wife Therese Broderick started a Meetup group to discuss poets and poetry. Every month she’d sally forth to the appointed venue... Read more
Posted on 03 September 2016 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY
