Consider, Reconsider
A Reason to Think, and Think AgainThe Identity Politics of Death
Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent yesterday. Marked a terrorist protester by the administration (similar to Trump's blatantly false tweet about Martin Gugino five years ago), she was in fact a Legal Observer. All video angles show her trying to go around...
The New Old Meritocracy
I recently read a newsletter for a national organization, in which one leader wrote, "Regardless of your political views, you cannot deny that the USA is currently undergoing a revolution in trying to eliminate entitlement." This was meant to be an apolitical...
To Kill a CEO
Even months displaced from the December 9th murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, it's still hard to process. The air never quite cleared. But one thing is for certain -- Luigi Mangione became and still is a folk hero. Despite the presidential election being...
The Preservation of Censored Content: NASA
An article on Space.Com, appeared on February 11th, headlined as "Scientists alarmed as Rubin Observatory changes biography of astronomer Vera Rubin amid Trump's push to end DEI efforts". This is happening across innumerable federal government websites, mostly...
Dictator on Day One … and Two … and Three …
Donald Trump promised to be a "dictator on day one". Two weeks in and there's no end in sight, as I made note of over 40 steps in the march to illiberal madness and complete control by one faction of one party. The Constitutional challenges and lawsuits from states to...
Making Hungary Great Again
{Posted by Ryan S Bonnett, with permission to republish} I haven't posted much about politics recently, and there's a reason. Under the previous administration, it was easy to address egregious points as they came up, which was seemingly on a daily basis. But now? I'm...
Why it is Wrong to Argue Over Vaccines
With my particular formal educational background and skills, I am able to "do my own research" on most subjects competently, at least on a basic level, even if I was not previously well-studied in those subjects. And I sometimes have to update and revise my...
I Was Facebook Jailed … and I Deserved It
I can tell you -- as so many others can -- that social media is not "silencing conservative voices". In other words, if you spread dangerous lies about the election or vaccinations, or called for insurrection, and coincidentally (or not) you are a Trump supporter,...
The Implications of Being Anti-Education
We regularly see sentiments pitting the Trades against the Professions, as much as reasonable people recognize they are both indispensable parts of the same body. Some memes are outright mean, while others are simply calls to de-normalize parents' and individuals'...
Behold the 12%
In a recent survey, 12% of respondents supported storming the Capitol on January 6th. We should be grateful the number is this low, with all the intentional polarization we're struggling beneath these days. And it confirms my own estimates. From years of studying...
President and Press
There has been an oft-repeated claim that President Trump has been hounded by the press from day one. That's a subjective statement I don't think is worth disagreeing with. But let's recognize it an apologetic attempt to explain why so many don't see the glory of his...
Time For a New Political Party
{Reprint of an editorial by Bruce E. Kenney, used with permission. Was published in the Olean Times, December 26.2020} To Rep. Tom Reed, in the late 1980s, as a Democrat, I ran against state Sen. Jess Present. I was unsuccessful, but during the campaign and after, I...
Indictment of a Figurehead
So many times these last three years I waited for uniting, encouraging words over tragedies and challenges, not unmeasured rallying. Deaths of respected leaders used to be mourned, putting aside political differences for the healing of a nation. When challenged or...
Culture War? We Need To Do Better.
{by Ryan S. Bonnett, reposted with permission from Facebook} I'd say that I need a break from politics, but that wouldn't be entirely true. Politics is the back and forth negotiation where our representatives ostensibly negotiate on our behalf, mixed with the direct...
Rethink History; Rethink What You Think is Happening in America
People are not educated about history, yet pass around strong opinions, parroting details they clearly didn't know the day before. Where did they get them? Revisionist propaganda has been around forever, often skewed one way, then the other. Fake experts (most news...
Pulling the Fire Alarm in America
I have studied the psychosocial phenomenon of brainwashing for many years, and it is a blood cousin to something I also research and write about -- ideological fanaticism. It took a while to see the pattern before me in our own nation, but now that I do, it's...
Examining Violence by Protesters … I Mean Sports Fans
Let's get my one-paragraph soapbox out of the way: I used to find it intolerable that people don't understand or accept that protest can be both peaceful and unpeaceful. After all, it may be peaceful all day across one or more cities, but then things seem to always...