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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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Three Exciting Candidates
I first noticed Neel Kashkari in 2008 as a remarkably young Indian-American, standing beside the Treasury Secretary and being tasked with sorting out the... Read more
Posted on 16 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Thomas More’s Utopia: The First Communist Manifesto?
Saint Thomas More (1477-1535) wrote Utopia in 1516.* Not only the first in the utopian fiction genre, it’s also been called the first communist book. Read more
Posted on 12 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Goodbye, Cutesie
Cutesie was our cat. We got him for our daughter Elizabeth when she was four, and she gave him that, well, cutesie name. Maybe a play on the word’s definition?... Read more
Posted on 10 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“Cleaning Up” Albany Corruption: The Cuomo Way
Andrew Cuomo ran for governor in 2010 pledging to “clean up” Albany political corruption.In Cuomo-speak, “to clean up” must mean “to perfect. Read more
Posted on 07 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Civilizational Crisis: The World According to Brooks (& Robinson)
I like columnist David Brooks for being a “Big Picture” kind of guy – giving the view from Olympus.His 9/3 column finds commonality in the two big conflicts... Read more
Posted on 05 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Net Neutrality, and Regulation by the Unicorn State
“Net Neutrality” is a hot issue. It refers to equal service quality for all web-based traffic, against a fear that Internet providers (like Verizon) will allow... Read more
Posted on 03 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Nude Celebrity Photos
Big breaking news! Hacked nude photos of celebrities on the Internet! Holy Cow!Like, this is the very first time we’ve ever seen pictures of these actresses... Read more
Posted on 02 September 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Passion of the Western Mind
This book by Richard Tarnas is a history of Western thought. Now, yes, Eastern thought is also worthy of respect. But the Western intellectual tradition is the... Read more
Posted on 30 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Ferguson
As a blogger, I’m required to comment on Ferguson.I’ve read that 65% of blacks polled believe the police overreacted to the protests. This shocked me. I thought... Read more
Posted on 27 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
TSA Follies and The Death of Common Sense
I hear the TSA is seeking public suggestions.Recently at airport “Security” we almost missed a flight because TSA thought a boarding pass didn’t look quite... Read more
Posted on 25 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Paul Auster: The New York Trilogy
For a long time I was vaguely aware of writer Paul Auster. His name would come up here and there. I’d never read his stuff; nor anything, really, about it. Yet ... Read more
Posted on 23 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
James Foley’s Head Was Not Chopped Off
American journalist James Foley was beheaded by the “Islamic State.” You might picture his head on a block, neatly chopped off with an axe. It wasn’t. Read more
Posted on 20 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Obama, Hillary, and “Don’t Do Stupid Stuff”
Bill Clinton had “It’s the economy, stupid.” For President Obama, it’s “Don’t do stupid stuff” (sanitized version) in foreign affairs. Now comes Hillary saying... Read more
Posted on 20 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Sarah’s Story — Abraham and Isaac Revisited
NPR’s “Selected Shorts” features actors reading short stories. Today’s, “Sarah’s Story,” by Galina Vroman, read by the terrific Jane Curtin (here’s a link),... Read more
Posted on 18 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Let Women Go Topless in Public?
I recently wrote (disparagingly) about Muslim craziness with covering up women. Shortly after, I heard a radio discussion about public breast-feeding and, more... Read more
Posted on 14 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Inquiring Minds Want To Know
Last year, when President Obama was mulling limited air strikes to punish Syria’s chemical weapons use, he stopped and decided it would need a Congressional... Read more
Posted on 13 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Injustice To Muslim-Americans
The other day I did something I hadn’t done in over 20 years: marched in a demonstration. The previous time was a protest against the acquittal of officers who... Read more
Posted on 10 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“Her” — A Love Story
The plot: boy meets girl. They fall in love. Boy loses girl.Theodore works for an agency writing gooey personal letters for clients. Samantha is a computer... Read more
Posted on 07 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Muddle East
Columnist David Brooks recently opined (quoting Richard Haass) that the Middle East may be entering its Thirty Years War. The reference is to the cataclysm... Read more
Posted on 03 August 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
How Hillary Can Be Beaten
Not in recent memory has one presidential prospect, so far in advance, been so pre-emptive a front-runner. To be exact, not since Hoover in 1928. Read more
Posted on 31 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY
