It's OK to support a candidate, but once that candidate achieves office it's time to be skeptical, critical and demanding. There have been forty four Presidents in this nation's history (I know, I'm not including the seven presidents under the Articles of Confederation), and significantly fewer good or even great presidents. History being the example,... Continue Reading →
Agitate: December 2008: Capitalism is no Cure
v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} b:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Neoliberalism is a scam. Our adherence to free market principles as presented by the political elite since the so called Reagan Revolution was that of blind faith. We really wanted it to be morning in America. We really wanted simple solutions to the problems that otherwise... Continue Reading →
Olbermann on Bush: Yeah, what he said.
I wanted to do a summary of the Bush Administration, but I found that Olbermann beat me to the punch. That's all right, I have other things to work on anyway. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/28699663#28699663 .msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999... Continue Reading →
Manicheanism and Sociology: The Concept of Evil and Foreign Policy
If sociology has a role as a discipline it is to dig beyond the rhetoric of power and clarify the social facts that inform our lives. As such, there is no room for sociology to remain objective, any more than a physician should remain objective. As the physician should be biased toward curing disease and... Continue Reading →
A World of Owls and Humans
A Habitat for Humanity House stands empty.
John Wayne, a Fluffy White Dog and Life's last Dignity
In 1976 John Wayne starred in his final movie, The Shootist. Wayne played John B. Books, an aging and dying gunslinger at the turn of the century. Wayne was diagnosed with "a cancer" (symptomatic of prostate cancer) and informed that he was going to die...slowly and painfully. The doctor, played brilliantly by Jimmy Stuart, informed... Continue Reading →
Fluffy White Dog Sociology
This last week my family had to put down our loving companion, Nilla. She was old and blind. A couple of years ago she lost her eyes to hypertension. In the last couple of months we watched her health decline. She started losing control of her rear legs and having seizures. The vet told... Continue Reading →