We don’t have access to the precise discussion between Kristi Noem and the editor she hired to prepare the South Dakota governor’s new book for publication.  Yet it’s hard to imagine this happening too differently from the following: Editor:  Apparently, you shot a dog you couldn’t train for a certain specific purpose, instead of finding it a new home. Noem: Correct. Editor:  To make such an entry in your book is to say that you’re not ashamed, perhaps even proud, of what you did. Noem: Again, correct. Editor:  But many readers are going to infer that you’re a cold and empt ..read more

A few facts: • Trump lost the 2020 election, and, though there was no evidence of significant voter fraud, he continues to claim the election was rigged. • He urged his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th to disrupt the confirmation of the election results, and then watched the insurrection on television for more than three hours before heeding the advice of his closest advisors and calling off the mayhem. • Since then, more than 800 of the insurrectionists have been tried and sentenced. • Trump says he’ll pardon these people if he’s re-elected in 2024. • Here, he’s saying that ..read more

As Reich points out here, we live in horrible times in terms of abandoning rule of law. Anyone who’s wondering what early 20th Century Germany and Italy were like leading up to the onset of fascism need only look around at the present-day United States ..read more

The meme here speaks precisely to how absurd this issue of presidential immunity is. I could ask any kid in the local high school what the American Revolution was about, and get correct answers like: “We didn’t want a king.  We wanted to elect someone who is accountable to the law and to the people.”   ..read more

Re: the meme here, a reader notes: Modern science is religion. If you know what the scientific method entails and how the method is used, you will be able to call out the scammers. Since the 30s science has died. It is sad, what people call science now days. Science is a word that automatically adds credibility, while completely staying away from real science. Thanks for this.  I’ll try to remember to pass this along to my friends in the biologic and physical sciences, who represent a tiny fraction of the many millions of those who are working feverishly around the globe to make our lives ..read more

I very seldom write posts about matters of pop philosophy like this one; I can only say that there was something here that spoke to me. I’ve been too quick to point out the stupidity of other people in my life, but what have I accomplished? I’ve been criticized for my mediocre talents at the piano, but, now that I’ve quit, did anyone win that war? Maybe it’s best to celebrate the goodness in others, and keep one’s criticism to oneself.   ..read more

Two comments on the meme here: a) It’s next to impossible to know whether or not 1970s rocker Alice Cooper actually said this.  Today, it’s common for the MAGA crowd to fabricate stories about celebrities who are known to be kind and thoughtful people who, for instance, “refuse to work with Disney because the organization is ‘woke.'”  Idiots believe this, and we live among them. It’s pathetic, but true. b) Fortunately for us all, we Americans enjoy the protection of most (but not all) forms of speech under the First Amendment to our constitution. Yes, there are people who, erroneousl ..read more

Two old friends are having a discussion about Benjamin Netanyahu and his level of intelligence; one says he’s “stupid,” and the other disagrees. Now, I don’t follow Israeli politics as closely as either of these two, but here’s my take on the matter: Insofar as he’s a demagogue, and an extremely effective one at that, we need to grant that he possesses intelligence along a certain dimension that is sufficient to enable him to figure out, with fabulous precision, how to address his audience and control their behavior at the polls. It’s unclear if he’s capable of solving differential equations ..read more

In response to what Neil deGrasse Tyson says here, all I can say is, “I hope so, but I don’t see too much evidence that this is where we’re going.” How much science and other forms of clear-headedness are we applying to ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and elsewhere around the world?  To climate change mitigation? To preventing the death of U.S. democracy? To optimizing our approach at the southern border ..read more

My father was a B-17 bomber pilot in the European theater of WW2, who, by 1944, had flown with his 10-man crew, 29 successful missions destroying Nazi crude oil refineries.  They were shot down on November 25 of that year, on the return trip from what would have been their 30th. Still over Germany, about 10 miles short of the French border and having lost three of their four engines, they had run out of luck. Dad and his men had no option but to bail out, parachute to the ground, and hope for the best.  They did, however, have a decision to make, and an important one at that.  T ..read more