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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 ( 1364 )
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Death
None of my 300+ past blog posts directly tackled the biggest fact of human existence: that it ends.First let’s be clear: death is death. There’s nothing... Read more
Posted on 16 May 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Sonia Sotomayor and Affirmative Action
My wife gave me Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir as a Valentine gift – with a catch. I had to read it on her e-reader, which she wanted me to try. Verdict: I like its... Read more
Posted on 10 May 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Welcome, New Followers!
This blog, since WordPress featured it recently, has many new followers. Welcome aboard! People gaining success or recognition often say they’re “humbled” — th... Read more
Posted on 09 May 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
America on Meds: Our Future
According to a report in the New York Times, almost one in five U.S. high school boys has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),... Read more
Posted on 03 May 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
In Quest of Infinite Jest: A Non-Book Review (A Post-modern Post)
David Foster Wallace’s 1996 novel Infinite Jest is a literary/cultural icon, a sprawling phantasmagoric landmark of modern – or should I say post-modern or... Read more
Posted on 30 April 2013 CULTURE -
Syria’s Red Line – Or Is It Merely Pinkish?
Reuters, March 23, near Aleppo. (Humans died too)There is good evidence (soil samples, victim images) that Syria’s regime has used chemical weapons (Sarin, and... Read more
Posted on 27 April 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Alexei Navalny and the Kremlin Kriminals
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was one of Russia’s richest men, and among them all, possibly the most above board. Yet Putin’s Kremlin Kriminals, in 2003, used trumped... Read more
Posted on 25 April 2013 POLITICS, SOCIETY -
America on Disability
NPR’s “This American Life” broadcast a report by Chana Joffe-Walt about the Disability system. It’s a real eye-opener. (click here; or, for a text version, here. Read more
Posted on 21 April 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
This is Who I Want Here
Immaculee Ilibagiza, survivor of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and author of a best-selling book about it, pledging allegiance at her U.S. citizenship ceremony... Read more
Posted on 18 April 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Boston
When President Obama said Americans are standing with Boston, I was reminded that we stood in solidarity with Boston before – before, indeed, there actually... Read more
Posted on 17 April 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Free Market Economics and eBay
I have criticized critics of capitalism and market economics. Mostly, what they denounce is either a straw-man caricature, or else a very small part of a very... Read more
Posted on 13 April 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Margaret Thatcher: The Lady’s Not for Turning
Margaret Thatcher was a great hero. The model of a politician who was in it not to be something but to do something. And boy, what she did.Margaret Roberts,... Read more
Posted on 08 April 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“Ask” — A Very Personal Story
There’s a radio show called “The Moth” where people get up and tell stories, often highly personal and self-revelatory. I’ve wondered what story I might tell.... Read more
Posted on 03 April 2013 LOVE & SEX, SEXUALITY -
Even in Africa
When William Easterly reviewed Matt Ridley’s The Rational Optimist, he called “disturbing” Ridley’s use of the word “even” regarding Africa, as in saying... Read more
Posted on 29 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
New Pope Frankie
So, 520 years after the discovery of the New World, the Catholic Church finally gets around to choosing a Western hemisphere pope. Read more
Posted on 24 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
My New Book – Angels and Pinheads
My new book is Angels and Pinheads: A Guide to Which is Which and What’s What. In 226 pages it packs 146 entertaining and provocative essays, commentaries,... Read more
Posted on 21 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Why I Am an Optimist
You know the indictment of humanity: killing and raping each other and the planet. We’re not angels. Indeed, we are animals, and some pessimists actually compar... Read more
Posted on 17 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Trust, Honesty, and China
So, China is going to eat our economic lunch and dominate the globe? True enough, China has much going for it, mainly hugeness, but also what’s really the... Read more
Posted on 12 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
No Fan of “A Fan’s Notes”
A Fan’s Notes is Frederick Exley’s famous 1968 “novel.” I finally read it because it keeps appearing atop all those “best books” lists. I don’t see why.It’s a... Read more
Posted on 06 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Imagine
I propose that the United States Constitution be amended to add the following provision:“It shall be the duty of every citizen to develop the scientific... Read more
Posted on 03 March 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY