The Mad Sociologist Blog

  • 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… Read more

  • A World of Owls and Humans

    A World of Owls and Humans

    A Habitat for Humanity House stands empty. Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • 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… Read more

  • Why Banks are Stupid to Foreclose–And Why They Do It Anyway

    A friend of mine was a victim of foreclosure.  Yes, a victim.  There is no reason for banks to foreclose on honest Americans who’ve done nothing wrong except fall upon hard economic times while living in what is described as the wealthiest country in history. In fact, foreclosure costs banks and even taxpayers more than… Read more

  • Clean Coal, Framing and an Omnicosmic Perspective

    Clean Coal, Framing and an Omnicosmic Perspective

    A couple of years back here in Southwest Florida there was a proposal to build a coal power plant in Hendry County to help satisfy the growing need for electricity.  Not to worry, we were told, this was a “clean coal” power plant using the most recent technological advances to filter all of the bad… Read more

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