It’s not easy to keep your head above water in these politically turbulent times, but do we have a choice? I’d say that we don’t. The future is not ours to give up on. We all have our low points though and for me the world really shifted on its axis on 7th November 2016, […]
Political Philosophy
On Jo Swinson and Glasgow’s Attainment Challenge
On Thursday (30/5/19) Lib Dem leadership candidate Jo Swinson commented that unequal access to university was due to a lack of investment in early intervention and lack of aspiration from young people, who don’t think that university is for them. She cited a town in her constituency where she claimed 80% of young people went […]
The Future of the American City
As I vacuum the dark green carpet while listening to an interview with author and Democracy Now! Co-host Juan Gonzalez, I’m struck by a particular statistic: 70% of the world’s population will reside in cities in the next two years. The implications of this, says Gonzalez, are gigantic for progressivism, as these cities will become […]
Life In The Empire Part 3: The Shredded Fabric of Reality
Growing up American feels like the old metaphor of a fish being removed from the river. The fish has no concept of water itself because the liquid home is all it has ever known. Once it is yanked from the stream, its worldview is shattered. A new world has been discovered and the fish […]
The Meaning of Life part 4: No Gods, No Masters
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, we learn from a computer named Deep Thought that the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is “42”. In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, we learn that the Ultimate Question that produces that Answer is “What do you get if you multiply six by […]
The Frontlines of Rust Belt America
My father is one of the most hardworking people I know. He works as a university administrator in the provost’s office of the school he taught at for nearly two decades. He served as Chair of the Faculty Senate with no additional pay prior to accepting that position. He maintained his duties in the provost’s […]
The Meaning of Life part 3 – The Endless Struggle
“Every generation must fight the same battles again and again and again,” said Tony Benn in one of his more memorable speeches. “There is no final victory, and there is no final defeat.” Those who buy into what those trying to shift power from the ballot box to the market-place with austerity, balanced budgets, so-called […]
The Meaning of Life, Part 2: Ain’t No Power in the ‘Verse
Yes, that’s a reference to Joss Wheddon’s space western Firefly. Under Ireland’s 2009 Defamation Act, “A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €25,000.” Seriously, Dail Eireann, what the fuck? Have you even HEARD of the […]
The Meaning of Life, Part 1: Cosmic Perspective
This trilogy is not like the Monty Python version, there will actually be more parts. Lots of folks say we need to abandon American exceptionalism. Some, like my Dear Uncle Napoleon, prattle on about British exceptionalism. Today, rather than taking on either of those two comparitively minor annoyances, I hope to kick the shit out […]
On Liberty and Dissent
No one talks of liberty anymore. No one seems to even think that the notion of liberty is important or even relevant to their daily lives, just mention the word and observe their eyes glass over. It has become an abstract too tiresome to decode, let alone interact with, and the libertarian writings of John […]