In 2019, Mark Arax published the definitive work on the story of water in California, The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California. He has recently published what might be seen as a distillation of this magnificent book in an article for the MIT Technology Review. As a distillation, the most essential themes from … Continue reading Raisin Prophecies
Thank you, Myoviches of Montenegro
February 17, 2020 Dear Mijovići of Montenegro (as well as other friends and family): This letter began as an effort to send New Year’s wishes to all the Mijoviches of Montenegro and thank you once again for the hospitality shown us during our time with you. This letter also intended to convey further information that … Continue reading Thank you, Myoviches of Montenegro
Essential Fascism: A Response to Goodfellow
Sam G (I like the Lord of the Rings echo here!): You have always maintained an appropriate caution in drawing parallels between the fascism that emerged in interwar Europe and similar elements in the US political landscape of the present. What emerged in the Nazi period, for example, drew from foundations deeply set in medieval … Continue reading Essential Fascism: A Response to Goodfellow
Why Fascism is Wrong for the Fascists
Fascism is not wrong simply because it carried out the Shoah. Every other political ideology has empowered their adherents to perpetrate mass crimes against humanity. The communists persecuted and often killed kulaks and ethnic minorities by the hundreds of thousands. The western liberal tradition may have been the most effective killer of all, murdering and … Continue reading Why Fascism is Wrong for the Fascists
Forecast
So throw everything out the window and start over. We no longer are talking about wannabe fascists, fascist-lite, or fly-by -night fascists. The real fascists showed up dragging the cult of leadership with them. Granted, they did not wear brownshirts, but were dressed like they were going to a high school football game, albeit slightly better armed. These … Continue reading Forecast
Response to Goodfellow
Because I am not particularly good with the technological dimensions of operating my own blog, I have been compelled to write a new post in reply to Sam Goodfellow’s thought-provoking entry, “You Say You Want a Revolution.” When I initially posted Sam’s article, I failed to post it under his authorship. As a result, those … Continue reading Response to Goodfellow
You Say You Want a Revolution
Is a general revolution imminent? Are the social, psychological, and cultural effects of social networking rendering the way we conduct our relationships or manage knowledge obsolete? Are domestic and global economic inequities reaching unbearably large extremes? Are the governing institutions capable of resolving current problems? Are the major problems of climate change, global health, and … Continue reading You Say You Want a Revolution
Another Goodfellow, Tennessee Whiskey, and Flyleece
Sam Goodfellow Art Thank you, Sam, for your visual contribution. I can think of no more concise and powerful summary of everything Mary Trump had to say about her deeply disturbed Uncle Donnie. A Tennessee Whiskey to Soothe Your Soul A while ago I pledged to not drink Kentucky bourbon in a post intended to … Continue reading Another Goodfellow, Tennessee Whiskey, and Flyleece
How I Voted and Why
When I retired, I looked forward to taking my citizenship duties more seriously by reading more carefully the Voter Information Guides. What follows here are the decisions I made on this year’s ballot and some effort to explain why I made the choices I did. The reason I did this was two-fold. First, I hope … Continue reading How I Voted and Why
Unity
In 1989 East Germans set aside their differences and protested openly and together against a totalitarian state. They were not deterred by the STASI (Staatssicherheitdienst), a police force that had a much larger number of police than Hitler had at his command. In the city of Leipzig, the most notable protests occurred on a … Continue reading Unity
Measuring Trump’s Covid Failure
One of the key takeaways from the revelations in Bob Woodward’s new book is that Trump is not as stupid as he makes himself out to be on television. After weeks of consulting with some of the best infectious disease experts in the world, he actually understood at a childish level how viruses are contracted … Continue reading Measuring Trump’s Covid Failure
Etiologies 