“The time has come," the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings-- And why the sea is boiling hot-- And whether pigs have wings.” The time has come… to talk about the elephant in the room of possible Progressive topics – the Trump/Cruz Primary. Trump is finally beginning a long, fiery descent into irrelevance (it will be Cruz’s turn next) but the damage […]
First of all, an apology for the delay in getting this blog published. There were serious hard drive problems that took a while to solve. All is well now. It seems appropriate in the month of windy bluster to talk about gun nuts. Not sportsmen, who pursue greater focus, concentration and accuracy, and not collectors, who value guns as interesting, beautifully intricate pieces of fine machinery with strong historical relevance, […]
December's blog took a lighthearted look at our sometimes frenetic pursuit of the Christmas Spirit. It was lighthearted but it was also meant to be respectful, because it explored something very real and powerful - transcendence - a state of being above or beyond normal consciousness. (The Christmas Spirit is an experience of transcendence.) As wonderful as transcendence is however, it also happens to be one of the disconnects that […]
It's that time of year again - when people get caught up in a frantic hunt for the Christmas Spirit, spending money, time and energy like they have extra. Pushing, shoving, jostling and grabbing so they can get a thing that, when covered in paper and handed to another person, will possibly lure this butterfly of happiness to a specific location, if only for a second. Listening to the same […]
In one episode ("Flight Path") of the great 1970's science fiction television series UFO, a young, beautiful woman is threatened by a bad guy (under alien control) who is trying to jimmy her apartment door and shoot her. After brief indecision she remembers the double-barreled shotgun in the closet and blasts the intruder through the door just as he gains entry. He falls to the floor dropping his pistol which […]
Let's get right down to it, shall we? Stock reasons not to vote: You are one of millions. Your vote won't make a difference. It's like spitting in the ocean. You know politicians are lying when they have their mouths open and words are coming out. A politician's campaign promises are like Listerine wafers in your mouth. You don't understand the issues and you're too slammed right now to educate […]
Isn't it strange that so many things are just the opposite of what they appear to be? Take color, for instance. The color of something is not what it is, it's what it isn't. Simplistically put, the wavelength of light that an object rejects is its color. So, in one sense, a red object is actually every color but red. Similarly, autism appears to be a lack of awareness of […]
Okay, let's cut to the chase. Last month we asked the following questions: What are the right’s cultural constructs? What are the left’s cultural constructs? What are the a priori premises upon which they each build these constructs? To sidestep motivated reasoning and avoid intellectual and social gridlock, it is useful for Progressives to know these things. Of course, different studies use different words to describe different concepts in different […]
Last month’s blog, in an effort to bridge the chasm between left “truth” and right “truthiness,” introduced the recent social intuitionist model of cognition that maintains that logic is actually a faithful servant of the emotions instead of their master, and that this is the best arrangement for productive and successful decision making. Three scenarios in which deployment of pure logic would lead to disaster were offered as springboards into […]
