Religion versus Atheism

I watched a debate on C-SPAN a while back between the crusading atheist Christopher Hitchens and anti-evolution crusader David Berlinski on the question ‘Does Atheism Poison Everything’.   I can’t imagine a more compelling case for agnosticism than listening to these two duke it out on the fringes. 

The People Have Spoken

The election is over.  The results are in.  Disappointed liberals and progressives should accept them, and comport themselves with all the dignity and grace which conservative and Tea Partiers demonstrated two years ago; after voters elected Obama, and swept in Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. 

Insanity and Institutionalization

It’s insane!  Anybody who truly believes that we can maintain decent wage rates and environmental protection—while laying open our market to unregulated imports from countries where none exist—and still keep unemployment manageable, should be in an institution.   

… uh … preferably not Congress. 

Jobless Recovery

On the subject of the ‘jobless recovery’, the elephant in the room is the inexorable transfer of our productive capacity to th Third World.  Any politician who says he or his party will turn that around is simply wrong.  Until we recognize this, and our leaders have an honest, informed conversation about it, we cannot plan a response, and reform societal institutions to function in the new reality we will face. 

We're Number 36!

Boehner told an audience last week that we have ‘the best health care system in the world’. He was a little short on specifics (e.g. what measures validate that statement, or where he got his pom-poms, pleated skirt, and matching panties). It wasn’t a serious statement – just boosterism.

A well-informed fan in the stands might hold up one of those foam hands – with around 36 fingers pointing up.

The New Opiate of the Masses

In our society, SportsCenter is the opiate of the masses. 

Investment vs. Squander

If a man puts $50k down on a new home and his wife spends another $50k on cocaine, both ‘spend’ the same amount of money.  If they find that they need to reduce spending by $20k to keep from going broke, a commission may suggest an across the board 20% reduction.  That would avoid the potentially difficult conversation about priorities. 

Probably better to have the conversation. 

Insurgency

The goal of an insurgency is not to demonstrate that it is a superior alternative than the sitting government. The object is to make the existing government unstable, causing the people to lose the confidence. They use fear, pressure, and propaganda. Finally, through attrition, exhaustion, or frustration, the government yields power. Once in power, the insurgent’s true agenda is revealed – as it is executed. 

And that concludes our lesson on what the Congressional Republican leadership and the Taliban have in common.

Jefferson

How could anybody want to de-emphasize Jefferson’s role in US history? 

He was a courageous patriot, and was among the brightest stars in the Enlightenment sky.  He is the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.  He shaped the Bill of Rights.  He is the architect of the ‘Wall of Separation’ between church and sta …

OH!  I get it.  Never mind.