Revulsion, La Grande Bouffe, and the Spectacle of Grotesque Elite Self and System Destruction
Why our elites, starting with the top ranks in the Trump Administration, are disgusting.
Read more...Category Archives: Social values
The Housing Crisis Is Forcing Americans to Choose Between Affordability and Safety
The magic of the market: a system where your income determines your exposure to climate disasters.
Read more...Investigation Reveals How Amazon Is Fleecing Public Schools With ‘Algorithm-Driven Pricing’
$74 for 36 markers.
Read more...Coffee Break: American Science Shattered
American Science, Shattered. So says is the title of Part 1 of a ten part series in STAT News. Since STAT articles are usually paywalled, I will summarize them here as they appear. Unlike most accounts of the current state of science in the United States, the authors of this article have found scientists who […]
Read more...Could an AI Have Suggested that the Earth Is Not at the Centre of the Universe?
Deviant thinking is on the decline as AI mirrors consensus instead of challenging it, making us more homogeneous and complacent toward power.
Read more...Is Male Infertility Contributing to Falling Birth Rates?
RFK, Jr. is exercised about falling birth rates and depicts falling sperm count as a major contributor. How sound is this view?
Read more...The Meaning of Freedom in These United States
Nicholas Buccola is a historian of the United States who will still be read 30-40-50 years from now. I regret that I will not be here to see where he takes us. In 2019 he published The Fire is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate Over Race in America. This […]
Read more...The Cloud’s Not Fluffy, It’s a Hot, Loud, Energy-Voracious Factory
A more detailed look at why to resist massive pressures for data center buildout and question claims of inevitability.
Read more...MAGA Antitrust Is Officially Dead: DOJ Sanctions Price Fixing With Slap on the Wrist Settlement Against Rental Housing Collusion Kingpin RealPage
Private-equity-owned RealPage can still lead national rental housing cartel as it moves to access renters’ financial data and embraces AI decision-making. The company is also suing New York state for violating its speech by attempting to stop its illegal behavior.
Read more...Why Do We Still Have Poverty?
Richard Murphy explains how antisocial neoliberal economics deliberately creates poverty — using fear and insecurity to keep wages low, rents high, and wealth flowing up to the richest.
Read more...Protestor Confrontation with ICE in New York City Appears to Have Stymied Raid; Is There Any Hope for ICE Opposition?
As ICE protests continue, are they succeeding in throwing sand in the gears of the deportation machine?
Read more...US “R” Us or Tax Sovereignty?
Countries can either capitulate to President Trump’s tax bullying or come together to fight for the sovereign right to tax multinationals fairly.
Read more...Coffee Break: Science and Belief, Working AI, ADHD Update, and Research Support
Part the First: When Science Becomes a Matter of Belief Things Go Sideways. The current Secretary of Health and Human Services is getting his way. This is not a surprise. The President hired him to “go wild on health” and he is doing just that. Some have complained that as Secretary of HHS that RFKJr […]
Read more...Thomas Hobbes and His Political Philosophy
The historical, philosophical, and social foundations of Thomas Hobbes’ political thought.
Read more...Encountering the Buddha
Rajiv Sethi muses about a favorite Buddha, in the sense of “old man”: Salman Rushdie.
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