money & brains

The proliferation of endowed chairs gives testimony to wealth's need for intellect (as well as its vanity).

friends & foes

Nations want allies but need enemies.

lost battles

The obits usually say 'she lost her battle with cancer,' but not that she lost a battle with say pneumonia or an 18-wheeler or an ex-boyfriend.

we are the 1 %

I need to remember that my 'people' probably are richer than 99% of the rest of the planet.

nothing fails like success

think cars, mass education, TV, intelligence...

chauvinism

Say what you wish about your family, tribe, state, or nation - you have to agree Earth is the best damned planet in the solar system.

2016!

i'm beyond weary of 2012...but thinking about whether Clinton will get to run against President Gingrich.

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.