ONLY PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE RIGHTS, AND ONLY THE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN GOVERNMENT
On Riots and Protests
SOME PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS ON BALTIMORE Like most Americans, I'm appalled at the level of violence that has taken place in Baltimore, escalating yesterday to an extreme pitch. That being said, I'm appalled about a lot of things. I will never condone violence. It should go without saying that I am equally, if not more appalled... Continue Reading →
Lessons Not Learned on Flying Killer Robots
WE CANNOT USE TERROR TO FIGHT TERROR Imagine, if you will, living with the certainty that that at any given time a cold, electronic eye might be focused on you from miles away. You cannot see it, you cannot hear the whirring it makes as it positions its acutely sensitive lens on you. Through this... Continue Reading →
Oh, Boy! Phil Gramm is Giving Advice!
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? Today, one of my students came into my class with an editorial in the Wall Street Journal written by Phil Gramm. Gramm is a visiting scholar for the American Enterprise Institute. the American Enterprise Institute, according to its own website, is "committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity and strengthening... Continue Reading →
Noam Chomsky: The Grand Master Truth Teller
AS WELL AS A NATIONAL TREASURE Occasionally, the Mad Sociologist Blog will feature significant voices that share its mission. These will be categorized under "Featured Voices." Chomsky never disappoints. Below he offers analysis on education, linguistics, psychology and the social sciences, and, yes, politics.
A Contest of Madness
STATE VS. NON-STATE SYSTEMATIC VIOLENCE Appalling! Barbaric! Crimes against humanity! These are just some of the terms that we use to describe the sick bloodletting committed by the terrorist group, ISIS. And, really, there can be no argument. The actions of ISIS in the Middle East is nothing short of sickening. As a small, formerly obscure group,... Continue Reading →
They Are Not Going to Simplify the Tax Code
IT'S A MYTH THEY CREATED TO CUT THEIR OWN TAXES While at the gym today I couldn't help but notice the standard FoxNoise program playing above me. There, on the screen, was Neil Cavuto doing everything but French kiss Donald Trump in an interview about tax day. Apparently the Donald is considering yet another presidential... Continue Reading →
A New Home
Hello Everyone! Well, you might have noticed that the old Mad Sociologist Blog page is a bit under the weather. For quite some time now I've wanted to change the blog URL to one less..."spammy" as it was called. Well, in my attempt to do just that I really jacked up the original. Just as... Continue Reading →