The message here, obviously, is that the blind consumption of resources leads to the death of the planet. While this is true, we need the developing world to consume more. More food, more of the energy required for things like …
Category: Sustainability
Hoping for the Best, Fearing the Worst
The retired actress to whom I referred in my earlier post Republican Moderates Stand No Chance Against Trump said something that resonated with me, “I guess we’re all trying to convince ourselves that the next four years aren’t going to …
Tagged with: a federal ban on abortion, cabinet positions filled by Trump megadonors who are ridiculously unqualified for their positions, corporate greed making the lives of working Americans miserable, Cuts to Social Security, institutionalized racism, people kicked off healthcare and dying of treatable diseases, presidential lawlessness, tax cuts for billionaires, the demolition of our public education systems, the end of our nation's meager commitment to climate change mitigation
A Search for Clarity and Meaning
Albert Camus lamented that the world of his time, the mid-20th Century, failed to provide “clarity and meaning.” It’s hard to imagine what he’d make of the changes that have taken place over the last few years, in particular, the …
Music that Changes Our World
Both diminutive in stature and frequently sick, Frédéric Chopin was in no physical position to help Poland in their uprising against the oppressive Russian rule in 1830-31. He could, however write music intended to inspire his comrades to go kick …
Tagged with: Music that Changes Our World
Words of Compassion from Paul Newman
When I was a little boy my grandfather told me, “Try to leave this world a better place than it was when you got here.” That sentiment is less common today than it was 60 years ago, but it certainly …
Spinoza’s God
Spinoza was one of the so-called continental rationalists, along with Descartes, Leibniz and others less often read today. As suggested by Einstein at left, he had a distinctly nontraditional view of God, which got him in a great deal of …
A Very Hard Year
Chris Hedges is an American journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister. The observation he makes here is shared by a great number of Americans, and by people all around the world who simply wish we could remove some of the insanity from our …
Tagged with: Chris Hedges
Protecting Our Children
Let’s think about the point made at left for a second. What’s the most important difference between the lawn-game industry and the manufacturers of firearms that are intended to be weapons of war? Answer: Billions upon billions of dollars in …
Tagged with: Protecting Our Children
Our Schools
Here’s a meme for the true moron. News flash: Schools teach neither patriotism nor “trendy ideologies.” IMO, if a particular teacher wanted to make a point on the subject here, it should be that the use of the U.S. military …
Tagged with: Our Schools
The Cost of Ignorance
As Ben Franklin observed in the 18th Century, ignorance imposes huge costs on society in many different forms. Sure, crime is among them, but take a look at what just happened here in the U.S. in November. The most poorly …
Tagged with: Trump administration's Project 2025
