I’ve watched the debate over the vanilla Republican tax bill closely during these many months. It’s been fascinating at many levels, not least sociologically. People reveal much about themselves — and their views of personal autonomy — in how they discuss taxes.
Tag: death
A Reconsideration of “The Personal Is Political”
“The personal is political,” if taken in the sense that everything about a person must be forced into the Procrustean Bed of an ideology, guarantees a life of bleak, endless, and futile struggle, which is all the more tragic because it was never necessary or wise in the first place.
The FBI Is Not Your Friend
One of the unfortunate ironies of the manufactured “Russiagate” controversy is the perception of the FBI as a friend of liberty and justice. But the FBI has never been a friend of liberty and justice. Rather, as James Bovard writes, it “has a long record of both deceit and incompetence.”
The Shining City on a Hill: Commentary on Reagan
While wrapping up my graphic novel, I wound up reading Ronald Reagan’s famous Farewell Address – his “Shining City on a Hill” speech. Given my broader views, I obviously have some objections. But I was amazed to read an actual presidential speech where I agreed with entire paragraphs.
Which Forms of Government “Work”?
The unkind truth is that government– attempting to govern anyone but yourself– doesn’t work. The reason being that statism, the fundamental belief which leads to the attempt to govern others, doesn’t work. Unless your goal is slavery, death, and destruction, in which case, they all work just fine.
Developing Extraordinary Resilience
We’re all beset with difficulties, obstacles, pain, tiredness, and a thousand other setbacks, small and large. What determines whether we take these setbacks in stride, or let them bring us down, is something that psychologists call “resilience.” It’s an ability to come back from setbacks, adapt, learn, but not be dragged down by these setbacks.
Presidential Material
The recent death of Charles Manson left me pondering. As a result of this pondering, I realized I would have preferred a President Charles Manson over a President Hillary Clinton.
Consent of the Governed, Revisited
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” This sounds good, especially if one doesn’t think about it very hard or very long, but the harder and longer one thinks about it, the more problematic it becomes.
Gratitude to Overcome Boredom, Difficulties, Complaining, & Feeling Overwhelmed
As many give thanks for what’s in their lives this week, we might look at how to go deeper with gratitude. “Gratitude” seems like a trite and even perhaps boring topic to many — we all know we should be grateful. And yet, there are ways that we aren’t cultivating gratitude … and our lives could be much easier, even richer, if we did use gratitude in these deeper ways. Let’s take a few examples.
Worse Than The Worst
Yes, I actually think losers who play the standard “knock out game” are probably less ethically reprehensible than the losers who clinically murder people for the State. And that’s a really low bar to begin with.