The Mad Sociologist Blog

  • The Myth of Choice in American Health Care

    The free market yahoos keep at it.  They insist on maintaining the status quo of American health care by scaring us with horror stories about how a government run health care system would deprive citizens of making market choices in their best interests.   This plays into the American Cultural Legacy of individualism.  It is also Read more

  • Are Republicans a Threat To The Institution of Marriage?

    Okay, enough already.  I make it a point to avoid commenting on the personal lives of politicians.  I’ve always contended that what is going on in the personal lives of our politicians is none of my business, so long as they are representing the needs of the American people.  Of course, if that personal life Read more

  • Death and Sacrifice for Freedom in Iran

    On Neda Agha-Soltan’s Death Read more

  • We spend thousands on a piece of paper…uh…I mean on an education! or The Bradbury Curriculum

    Ray Bradbury is one of my heroes.  He’s one of the few public individuals I would love to meet. (Unfortunately, he has his heart set on Bo Derek…can’t say as I blame him). Today, in the New York Times, I heard Mr. Bradbury say he doesn’t believe in colleges or universities.  He believes in libraries! Read more

  • The Poor Ayatollah: Questions of Legitimacy in the Iranian Conflict

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seeing the opportunity, grabbed a very angry tiger by the tail.  His support of current President Ahmadinejad, and his dire warnings against further protests exacerbates the problem of political legitimacy in Iran.  As the leader of Iran, Khamenei had to make a stand.  He had three main choices: concede, conciliate or crush.  Read more

  • What's the Buzz from DARPA

    I swear I’m not making this up.  I read about it in Discover Magazine and confirmed it on the DARPA website Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Yes, DARPA has a website! But we’ll get to that later). Researchers at the University of California, Berkley have created a cybernetic beetle (pictured above) that can be controlled Read more

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