Bombings in Egypt and Lebanon. Shootings in Paris and California. Terror attack after terror attack after terror attack.
Folks, we’re in the situation we’re in because people are ignorant and easily deluded. I refer both to terrorists, exploited and manipulated into committing their ghastly acts, and to you the reader. In order to oppose this, (more…)
The New York Daily News is renowned for attention-grabbing headlines. “Anything to sell a paper” could be their motto (and some say it is). Today, they’ll be printing “God Isn’t Fixing This” on the front page as a slap at the Republican presidential candidates. (more…)
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
– Albert Einstein
A friend and I were discussing this tonight, and we saw it in different ways.
“Science is science, religion is religion. They are NOT mutually dependent,” he said. As he continued, I had to admit I saw the justice in what he was saying. The two are quite distinct, two very different ways of seeing the world, for science applies logic to perception and measures the universe, seeking facts, finding and testing rules; whereas religion seems to apply its own rules to the universe, forcing everything that exists to fit into the laws and commandments and rituals of the faith. (more…)
I’ve just read a CNN news story that’s miles away from objective journalism. It’s the top-trending article, above the Tunisian bombing, above what seems to be World War Three starting in Turkey. And it’s not even news.
So a year and more ago, Chicago cops apparently (more…)
(NOTE: This article has been revised again; the pros and cons listed have been kept up to date, even though the intro is vintage campaign.)
Major media outlets are full of reactions to recent announcements that the President will be asking to increase the ceiling on Syrian refugee acceptance for next year. Unsurprisingly, the stories are largely focused on the reaction to the announcement; contention drives the media profit mill, and so it would be unusual to see any other form of response from them.
Since it’s the height of the upcoming Presidential election cycle, it’s also not surprising that every hopeful candidate has (more…)
There is global outrage at the recent terror attacks on civilians, and rightly so. The group calling itself the Islamic State (I’ll be referring to them as Daesh, following the example of France’s President Hollande) has claimed responsibility for not only the attacks in Paris, but also bombings in Beiruit and a passenger jet in Egypt, Metrojet Flight 9268. In all, several (more…)
We all know the quote “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” It’s a paraphrase from a work by Karl Marx. Most of us have no idea of the context or his intended meaning.
“…Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion (more…)
The first step toward a solution is to know what the problem is.
Healthcare in this country has been the subject of widespread and highly politicized debate in recent years. Most of us agree that there’s something wrong, but we tend to disagree on what, exactly, that might be. It’s little wonder that the solutions that we try are subject to controversy — and that controversy includes widespread civil disobedience, of a type and breadth not seen since the civil rights era of the 1960s and 70s.
The trouble is, we don’t know what precisely is wrong. We haven’t diagnosed it. So… (more…)
(Sometimes, we need to take a break and appreciate the wonderful things we’ve been given over the years. Today, I’d like to remind you of the glorious yet fictional legacy of that greatest of presidents, Josiah Bartlet, master of oratory and unparalleled leader of the Free World. The following was excerpted from The West Wing, episode: “War Crimes”. Enjoy.)
CHARLIE: How was church?
BARTLET: [mumbles] It sucked.
ABBEY: It was fine. [to Bartlet] Stop it!
BARTLET: It sucked!
ABBEY: [sighs] You’re talking about church.
BARTLET: Oh, like I’m not already going to hell. (more…)
REMARKS TO THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB
by Michael Crichton – San Francisco – September 15, 2003
I have been asked to talk about what I consider the most important challenge facing mankind, and I have a fundamental answer. The greatest challenge facing mankind is (more…)
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