Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
The “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by our House of Representatives contains a 10-year moratorium on state and local laws concerning artificial intelligence (AI). There is much to consider in House Bill 1 (its official name is “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”). We know the bill has lots of pork, but if anyone criticizes this bill,…
Cringe: a feeling of embarrassment or discomfort in response to something awkward or unpleasant. Most of us, particularly younger people, have listened to confused fathers and uncles bloviating about topics they know little about. The fictional Archie Bunker from Queens, New York, is the perfect example. Here are some of his humorous witticisms: Archie was…
There can no longer be any doubt. The Trump Administration is hellbent on destroying American higher education. Trump is attacking higher education, as Mussolini did in 1931, Mao in 1968, and Viktor Orban in 2019. All dictators want to neuter and control the intellectual gold mines of their societies. This impulse is fueled by the…
When America was “great” between 1890 and 1932, there was an active, overtly criminal culture, particularly in large cities. The most famous criminal icon in this era was Al Capone of Chicago. Capone and his associates were able to control neighborhoods in many ways, including violence and intimidation. However, over time, many gangsters were able…
The chaos of the Trump Administration’s tariff war is already causing importers and exporters to halt shipments worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic caused factories and most supply chains to freeze for extended periods. Have we forgotten the empty shelves of toilet paper? Do we remember the hoarding behavior? We can expect a similar experience by this…
The most recent Real Time With Bill Maher episode concerned Maher’s recent White House meeting with Donald J. Trump. Maher’s shtick is a unique comic style. He portrays himself as a truth-seeker with no limits. He proudly proclaims his atheism, libertarianism, political incorrectness, and satire. He skewers every shade of the political spectrum, except for…
Many books document the aftermath of countries and cults that fail spectacularly. The scenario should be familiar to everyone: A charismatic leader convinces his cult followers that they have mighty, secret powers or standing in the world. He convinces them that their unique beliefs will allow them to triumph in the afterlife, the current life,…
Arrogance really comes from insecurity, and in the end our feeling that we are bigger than others is really the flip side of our feeling that we are smaller than others. Desmond Tutu While some of James Bond’s movie scenarios involved undercover spying with foreign governments, several involved spying on rouge, power-seeking entrepreneurs. One of…
Ostensively, Elon Musk purchased Twitter because he thought it was silencing the voices of his right-wing causes. Elon said he believed in “radical free speech,” meaning no voice should be silenced. He noted that Twitter management and the Deep State were violating the sacred American tenet of free speech. He apparently had already sided with…
We may recall that during COVID, Musk borrowed money from the Biden administration to keep Tesla from going bankrupt. He was also so committed to his work that he slept in the factory. Today, he sleeps in the Lincoln Bedroom in Trump’s White House instead of the factory floor. How his life has changed in…