Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
When countries are controlled by criminal enterprises
The good news is that we will not need to file our tax returns within a few years. That should make former Speaker Paul Ryan happy! The bad news is that a little-known corporation recently energized by Trump and DOGE will know everything about you, and thus, there will be no reason to report to…
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…
We have all heard a joke similar to this one: A doctor, Elon Musk, a little boy, and a priest were flying on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. Despite the pilot’s best efforts, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute and yelled to the passengers…
The 1956 book When Prophecy Fails is a social psychology classic that examines the aftermath of the Chicago UFO religious group, the Seekers, who believed the world was about to end. The book’s authors study what the group members did when the apocalypse did not occur. It takes extraordinary mental tricks to recover after predicting…
America has had a few very intractable problems that tied our society in knots. In the 19th century, it was slavery. After the Civil War, the most significant issues revolved around economic prosperity and inequality. We’ve had many economic ups and downs with winners and losers. Ironically, both are now unhappy. The losers are resentful,…
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…
When we hear the term barn burner (also barnburner), most think of an exciting event, usually a competitive sport. We assign the term to the most thrilling, intense, and captivating activities. The television sports commentator said the recent men’s NCAA championship game “was a barn burner.” However, we can also assign it to other events….
Donald Trump has had a lifetime fascination with professional wrestling. As most people older than ten know, professional wrestling is entertainment, not a sport. It pretends to be a sport, but it is a carefully choreographed masculine drama in which the winners and losers are predetermined. Professional wrestling seeks attention and cathartic release from macho…
The terms lock-in (noun), lock in (verb including different verb forms), or locked-in (adjective) have been around for a while. They have a surprisingly broad range of usages in technical, slang, social, business, medical, religious, and political contexts. Likewise, they have a wide spectrum of connotations, from highly positive to extremely negative. A lock-in can…
The self-described genius has another challenging task. In addition to stopping the Russian war with Ukraine in one day (any day now) and putting all immigrants with tattoos into an El Salvadoran prison, Trump has to teach penguins how to do math. Trump imposed new tariffs on every island, inlet, floating iceberg, and country (except…