I’ve been a bit under the weather, but just want to take a moment to highlight two of, potentially, the most extraordinary and horrific events in the history of the nation: 1) the possibility that a minor court judge in one state might deprive millions of Americans of the right to medical treatment;and 2) that a House majority might threaten a State legal official, over whom the Federal Governmemt has absolutely no jurisdiction–in other words, repudiating the Division of Powers on which the Nation was founded, and attempting to implement a legislative tyranny. See Amendment XIV to the Constitution. More later.

De Santis and Totalitarianism: A Consideration “Something is happening, and you don’t know what it is, Do you, Mr. Jones?” Bob Dylan, “Ballad of a Thin Man” “Follow the money; it’s all about the money.” Adam Schiff I wish it were, but no, it isn’t. Sure, money, but money is…

War and Peace: Some Misunderstandings Many of us are asking questions about the War, that add up to, what the hell is going on? It’s perfectly clear what’s going on in Ukraine–and Russia–But as for the Administration, and President Biden in particular what next, and what about…everyone knows what that…

If This Be Treason… “I’m shocked, Rick, shocked, to find that gambling is going on here.” “Shocked” doesn’t begin to reach it. It’s never enough: how can we even prepare to adapt to the endless plunge into murderousness and depravity. I’m trying to get my head around the treachery of…

Race, Crime, and the Police: Part 2 In Part 1 of this blog I promised to take up the concrete issues of “guns and crime.” But this can’t be done usefully without clarifying the philosophical ground on which arguments about those issues ultimately rest. Everything that follows in my discussion…

Race, Crime and the Police: Part I 1. Race and Crime As I’ve previously argued, crime does not arise from human nature; why aren’t they killing each other on Tristan da Cunha? What’s wrong with the Danes, where are the mass murderers and serial killers hiding? Quite obviously, rather, “crime”…

Tyre Nichols We had just finished watching a DVD last night (about Hiroshima and its aftermath; I’ll be having more to say about that in a later post). We turned on MSNBC to see if there were any late news breaks, and there was Alex Wagner doing the 10 o’clock…

Part 3. The Crisis and the U.S.: Why Violence? There is one master-work of psychological analysis, undertaken as a response to rise of Naziism, that attempted to explain the difference between those who respond violently, and those who do not, at least in the U.S.: The Authoritarian Personality, by Theodor…

2. The Crisis, History, and “Human Nature” The latter is is probably the most common explanation of our ongoing multiple disasters. I don’t refer to phrases like “Fallen man” or “original sin” which are just metaphors, as though neither culture nor genes exist. …