“Education is not merely neglected in many of our schools today, but it is replaced to a great extent by indoctrination.” (Thomas Sowell) If I understand it correctly, Thomas Sowell is a bit of a darling on the political right in the US right now. Whether the idea originates with…

If you were in the know, you would know what that title means. My 163rd essay on Medium? Nope. The 163rd day of the year. Not even close. The re-election of Donald Trump? Bingo. That wasn’t so hard. Like many people, I first became aware of Gematria via a Jordan…

I think nearly everyone has seen Donald Trump’s Fulton County Jail mugshot. A lot of people were psyched to see it released. A lot of people — on both sides of the political spectrum — are making money off of it. But one of the things that struck me was…

Facts are simple and facts are straight Facts are lazy and facts are late Facts all come with points of view Facts don’t do what I want them to Facts just twist the truth around (Talking Heads, “Cross-eyed and Painless”) I recently asked my grandson what he thought about the…

As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives. That is why, in this era of official evasion…

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel, To show that all’s equal and that the courts are on the level And that the strings in the books ain’t pulled and persuaded, And that even the nobles get properly handled… (Bob Dylan) In February of 1963, a drunken…

When I was an undergraduate, I took a class in American Studies. The first day of class, the professor placed a $20 bill on his desk and told everyone in the class that it was theirs if they could name the 9 justices on the Supreme Court. Crickets. He said…

I will sleep with a clear conscience. I will sleep in peace. (Sinéad O’Connor) In case you hadn’t heard, the activist and “protest singer” (her self-characterization) Shuhada’ Sadaqat died on on 26 July, 2023. She was 56 years of age. My social media feeds have been filled with friends and…

There will come a time when it isn’t “They’re spying on me through my phone” anymore. Eventually, it will be “My phone is spying on me.’” (Philip K. Dick) As you may well know, I read, study, and write about science fiction. Among science fiction readers and critics, they have…