There are certain mantras that are omitted only at the speaker’s peril. For example, whenever there’s a tragedy the politician’s “heart [has to go] out to the friends and family”. And every address must end with “God bless the United… Read More ›
Editorials
POLICE RELATIONS MADE SIMPLE
It ain’t rocket science, people. Fear begets fight or flight. But sometimes – e.g. when defiance of legitimate authority is involved – the latter isn’t an option. Fight requires anger. And anger, if it’s to do its job, is notoriously… Read More ›
… OR NOT
Yesterday I posted my obituary for the Trump administration. But a less knee-jerk reader has reminded me that “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings”. He’s right. And so to cover my ass, I owe myself an explanation for… Read More ›
OBITUARY
It’s by no means a certainty, but it’s beginning to look like Trump isn’t going to win a second term. Some people think he’s going to find some pretext not to step down, but I think they’re just awfulizing. He’s… Read More ›
WHITE SUPREMACY
There are a few people who think the Nazis had the right idea; they just got it wrong about which is the master race. There are more than a few people, myself included, who think that people of one race… Read More ›
HOW TO SURRENDER IN THE LANGUAGE WAR
What do Edward Sapir, Benjamin Lee Whorf, George Orwell, and post-modern feminists have in common? They all triangulate on the fact that we think in words. And so if you can control what can be said, you can control what… Read More ›
THE RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE STORY
Here’s another entry in the ongoing saga of news that isn’t. Some of my followers and even more of my readers live in the United States. Does that mean I’m trying to interfere in their upcoming presidential election? Well, I’m… Read More ›
POLICING 101
Poor people don’t have a lot. If they did, they wouldn’t be poor. As a result, their need to protect what little they have is greater than the need of those who have more to protect what they have. This… Read More ›
THE BOUNTY STORY
During the 1980s, the U.S. financed, armed, and trained the Mujahideen in what proved to be their successful campaign to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. In other words, they paid the Mujahideen to kill Soviet soldiers. The Taliban, which… Read More ›
DOGWHISTLING
If I ask whether the blind date you’re setting me up with is good looking, and you answer that she has a wonderful personality, you’re not just saying something about her personality. Likewise, then, no one denies that all lives… Read More ›
Paulosophical Vimplications 