Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
When countries are controlled by criminal enterprises
The translation of the news flash in Spanish is “Dictatorships Do Not Function.” For anyone who believes that authoritarian regimes are good for anyone but the dictator and his family, there is a perfect example to bet against authoritarians. The BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, and South Korea’s intelligence service—consistently cite an initial North Korean deployment…
America’s economy and society are at a critical juncture. Like an energetic bunny, America dominated the twentieth century. The American Puritans in the North and West used technology to industrialize, electrify, and computerize the country. The Southern Cavaliers provided most of the fossil fuels needed to energize our progress. The USA developed a diversified economy…
Hubris is the great sin of the tragic hero, the flaw that brings about their downfall. [Britannica] Origin of the word hubris: From the ancient Greek word hybris, which initially meant wanton violence, insolence, or outrage. Over 2,400 years ago, several playwrights, including Sophocles, wrote Greek tragedies about the catastrophic outcome resulting from excessive pride,…
Many of us, either continually or occasionally, regard the “strange” actions of others as being stupid, evil, or uninformed. There is no need to provide examples of “strange” actions since America is now so fractured that it would be harder to find examples of shared “solid” understandings. In light of the chaos in the public…
NOTE: I took the day off today. This blog post was generated almost entirely using artificial intelligence. Any errors, omissions, or political slights are not my fault. However, the AI included footnotes, which is more than I ever do. I used evato.com to generate the images. The landscape of U.S. immigration enforcement is undergoing a…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not likely to cause the demise of the human race. Instead, AI-like humans are more likely to trigger our downfall. These AI-hybrid humans will not be half-human, half-machine cyborgs, as depicted in the movies. Instead, they will be fully human, driven by their burning desire to dominate others. They will not…
I hope my predictions of the future are wrong. Almost everyone except the very poor or the very rich plans for the future. Most of us need to plan and perform mundane activities, such as holding down a job, balancing our checking accounts, and keeping appointments. People who employ others must also be concerned with…
A surprising percentage of Americans side with the narrative that some things cannot and should not be thought about or acted on. Guns, including automatic firing capability, should not be controlled. If God allows dozens of crazy men to shoot 20 people at a time, who are we to object? A minority of Americans (about…
The daughter of a hypothetical English king is getting married. The king has spent an enormous amount of money battling internal and external foes, and he needs to purchase 500 bottles of French wine. While he pretends to have unlimited wealth, he is desperate to spend as little as possible for his daughter’s wedding. However,…
By 2003, the George W. Bush regime did the following: a) lowered taxes for his ultra-wealthy benefactors, b) loosened financial regulations to allow his ultra-wealthy benefactors to snooker millions of students, retirees, and wannabe homeowners and investors, c) blamed all the problems on Democrats, and d) started a war with IRAQ. In 2025, the Donald…