Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
A post with a historical reference
Most of us thought conservatives wanted to keep or conserve the world more or less as it is. The dictionary definition is “Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values.” Until recently, conservatives had the reputation for being somewhat dull but reliable,…
Russia invaded Polish airspace the night of September 10, 2025. Russia attacked Poland with Iranian Shahed drones, and Poland promptly shot down most of them. President Trump’s tepid response to the incursion was, “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!“ Less than a month ago, President Trump warmly embraced Russian dictator…
There is a strong tendency for Americans to ignore the realities of the past and the present. Many Americans ignore how and why our country was founded, slavery, periods when the scales of justice were tipped in favor of the ultra-wealthy, and unwise foreign policies. Americans typically revere the totems and symbols of past glory,…
The Surgeon General of Florida announced the end of laws that require children to receive mandatory vaccinations. The Nigerian doctor, Joseph Ladapo, was selected by Governor DeSantis because of his vaccine skepticism. The end of compulsory vaccinations in Florida is also consistent with RFK Jr’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. Florida’s Surgeon General compared mandatory…
No one is quite sure of the motivation for Trump’s preemptive attack on India. Was he punishing India for unfair trade practices, India’s purchases of Russian oil, or for some other reason? The tariff on India’s products was 25% and it was raised to 50% effective August 27, 2025. The net effect of Trump’s “get…
Make America Like Yesterday (MALY) This article focuses on the MAGA-led march into a potential economic disaster. Ignore Trump’s tariffs, immigration, and deficit spending. A longer-term danger lies in how America acquires and distributes energy. Over the last year or so, I’ve read several articles about the energy policies in various countries. As much as…
Cookies can represent and fulfill many functions. Among them are to make people happy and to be used in hypothetical exercises. The President’s wife wrote Putin a letter about the children stolen during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so we can imagine that a few Russian soldiers have compassion for these Ukrainian orphans. Cookies can…
American culture has a blind spot or a fatal flaw in its response to unproductive, sensational, or cancerous behavior. Today, many Americans celebrate and implicitly support people who act stupidly, immorally, and even criminally. They gravitate towards celebrities who promote chaos and away from those who are boringly competent. Our social media algorithms are aware…
I have visited the Rust Belt many times. I drove through Youngstown, Ohio, in 1970 and 2005. I have seen whole neighborhoods bulldozed. The same thing happened in Michigan and other Rust Belt states. I understand the pain and the loss. So, what happened? America still produces lots of mechanical and industrial engineers. We still…
Beliefs about Artificial Intelligence How does everyone feel about artificial intelligence (AI)? AI has been around since the mid-1950s. I asked my tech guru in the 1970s to define AI, and he responded, “It’s using a computer to do things we haven’t done before.” In the beginning, one of the goals of AI was to…