House Democrats are raiding the Smithsonian’s dinosaur exhibits to fill their leadership positions. They’re tapping some younger faces for a few less powerful leadership positions, but the old guard — the politicians who lost Congress in 2010 — are simply stepping back into power as if the last eight years never happened.
Tag: action
Doing Justice to Trump’s “Invasion” Claim
It’s perverse to characterize a migrant “caravan” — a group of civilian non-combatants, many of them women and children, moving from one place to another in search of safety, freedom and livelihood — as an “invasion.” Is the morning commute of millions of workers into every major American city an “invasion?” More than 1 in 10 Americans move each year — often across city, county, even state “borders.” Are they “invaders?”
On Stoicism
To everyone who gets triggered or offended by words, take some advice from the ancient Stoic philosophy: recognize your own complicity in how you react to what you hear other people say or read what they write.
An Intentional System for Working with Goals
Goals, like any tool, can be used to bludgeon ourselves over the head with shame and guilt, or can be used with intention, as a way to consciously deep our practice in life. I’ve been known to rail against having goals from time to time, to espouse goal-less living … but the truth is, goals can be used to guide us if they’re used intentionally.
On Colonialism
Mine is an admittedly amateurish review of the history of colonialism, but two themes stick out: 1) colonialists primarily desire the physical resources and additional tax cattle of those they are colonizing, and 2) colonialists sell this to its useful idiots (nobles, priests, peasants, and soldiers) as a moral obligation to bring their obviously superior…
Intelligence, Knowledge, and Self-Respect
Intelligence without ego-strength, a vibrant knowledge base containing various ideologies, and self-respect means little. It will largely mean you are a calculator, an emotional reactionary, or an eloquent parrot.
No One Owns a Culture
One may have preferences about culture. One may have affections for or aversions to a culture or particular elements of a culture. But such preferences do not entail any rights of ownership.
On Sex
Here’s a thought experiment: An experienced and wealthy movie executive requires that those who want a part in one of his movies to perform a day of community service at a local hospital where he sits on the Board of Directors
The Art of the Smear — The Israel Lobby Busted
Al Jazeera, the Electronic Intifada, Max Blumenthal’s The Gray Zone Project, and others have performed a much-needed service on behalf of freedom, justice, and decency. I urge you to watch this program and spread the word.
Shall Make No Law
Well, now we have another constitutional crisis. Presumably POTUS is acting within the scope of his constitutional authority. I mean, after all, didn’t he swear an oath to act within the constraints?