east meets east

Did bin Ladin know that he would use America's paranoia against itself, like a judo black belt?

like an old dog

The US creates messes all over the globe: Cuba, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq...and seems unable to clean them up.

how would Jesus drive?

In high school I was taught defensive driving, but now I think that empathic driving would make our lives more pleasant.

a serious question

Would the Republicans rather have as president a Democratic presiding over a recovery or a Republican presiding over a depression?

public speaking

There appear to be mainly 2 kinds of speakers: those who are too shy to say anything, and those who don't know when to shut up.

certainty in action

Goethe said 'Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action,' which seems true if by ignorance he meant intellectual delusion coupled with the feeling of certainty.

the economy as a car

Businesses are flooring the accelerator of a vehicle that may be running out of gas, while the environmental movement is tapping on the brakes. But the car may run off a cliff before the gas is all burned or the brakes wear out.

work and war

Just as work can give identity to the individual, so wars seem to give identity to nations. The US is still struggling to maintain its identity, although the European nations may be evolving beyond this stage.

bizarre behavior

anyone from not-so-long-ago would be amazed at what's seen on the street:
--bellowing into thin air while wearing huge 'earrings',
--writhing on the ground next to sidewalks full of running bodies,
--carrying dog shit in plastic bags...

unsustainable

some places in the world may not be sustainable: Haiti, New Orleans, San Francisco...?

we're in between

in watching movies i realize that real human movement is midway between the too-smooth action of computer animation and the jerky movements of robots.

those poor tea partiers...

How did the rich convince them to look out for the interests of the rich?

what i value...

Honesty
Self-awareness
Humor
Creativity
Compassion
...
Intelligence

selfishness begins at home

The rich don't want to pay taxes because they suspect it sends down the drain money that they'll need to survive further economic decline and the unfolding climate catastrophe. There's just not enough to go around.

Changing climate

How much climate change is due to climate change scientists flitting among international meetings?

success is doomed to failure

Nothing can keep growing without starting to fail; viz., TV, the automobile, mass education. Scale is a fundamental systemic force in the universe.

anger

Conservatives unhappy with sclerotic government and progressives unhappy with winner-take-all capitalism sound the same. Systems are overheating.

handbooks in a nutshell

What's with these cutesy titles for 200, 400, 800 page books? A handbook fits in your pocket; a nutshell is even smaller.

The mother of all perfect storms

When a profit-hungry biopharmedical industry meets an aging population in a shrinking economy.

circle of pointing fingers.

The people say "We're tired of bureaucrats telling us what to do!" The bureaucrats tell us "We're just doing what Congress has legislated," and Congress tells us "We're passing laws the American people want." Am I missing something?