It’s good to remember that one of the hallmarks of American character, going right back to the very beginning, has been that we tend to be uncooperative when we see fit. We enjoy a strong rule of law, but that’s never been one of the markers of our identity as Americans. Throwing tea into the harbor, running underground railroads and putting up speakeasies is more our … Continue reading Oh, America, How Do I Love Thee?
I think it’s really important for us to remember that Trump does not and never has had the support of the American people. He lost the popular vote by millions of votes. He currently has something like a 37% approval rating. Which is unheard of for an incoming president. Even President G.W. Bush had a 62% approval rating after losing the popular vote. So it … Continue reading Marmot for President!
I’m pretty sure Christian enthusiasm for Trump, where it exists, is the end times delusion the fundies have been trying to warn us was coming. For those of you who aren’t in the know, it’s a common teaching in some Christians circles that in the end times, there will be a delusion sent by God which causes people to call good evil and evil good. … Continue reading Is This the End Times Delusion?
In any conflict, it’s important to keep up with what’s going on with the other side. But between social media and the extreme unpleasantness of dealing with the radical right, a lot of people are in a bubble where they aren’t hearing the conversations taking place among those who are on “the other side”. While I totally understand the impulse to cocoon and support it … Continue reading Let’s Get This Thing Started
Since clearly a lot of people are struggling to differentiate between reliable news and bullshit, let’s talk about something called a primary source. You can think of a primary source as original documentation. So if I’m studying Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with Mary Todd, letters between them would be a primary source. A book written about their relationship which quotes those letters would be considered a … Continue reading Quick Tips for Evaluating a New Story
A few years back, I looked out the window and saw my then 6 year old daughter riding her bike in the driveway while my tweenaged son ran after her, swinging a baseball bat at the back tire of her bike. My daughter was laughing while my son wore an angry scowl on his face as he just missed the back tire of her bike. … Continue reading Trump’s Responsibility to Avoid the Appearance of All Kinds of Evil
Want to know why communicating with people on the other side has become so difficult? Well, everyone focuses on the outrageous things Rush Limbaugh says, but if you listen to his show, you can see that underneath all the nonsense, what he’s doing is teaching people the dirty tricks of rhetoric and debate. He’s been showing his listeners how to trip people up with manufactured double … Continue reading Why Discussion and Reasoning Have Failed
Obviously there are an overwhelming number of unacceptable things going on, but I’m going to be trying to offer near daily, simple instructions for one act of protest/resistance that will take very little of your time. Today’s target is Marco Rubio. Sen. Rubio has indicated some reluctance to approve Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. Tillerson is a long time oil executive who has … Continue reading Your Simple Act of Resistance for the Day – Friday, January 13th
As you have probably heard, Trump gave a press conference yesterday. Which is actually a very normal thing for presidents to do. Except Trump doesn’t engage in normal behavior. His conflict with a CNN reporter where he refused to take a question because he claimed that CNN is “fake news” got most of the headlines. Especially since he went straight from that to taking a … Continue reading A Few Facts About That Press Conference Yesterday
The Upside Down World 