justice/jails

The State of Mass Incarceration – 2022

March 14, 2022 Comments Off on The State of Mass Incarceration – 2022
Prison Policy Initiative released a new report on the state of incarceration in 2022. (graphics from prison policy.org) Over 80% of those in Local Jails are waiting for trial – they’ve been convicted of nothing other than not having the money to buy their way out of jail. Drugs still --->> read more -->>
political system

Oligarchs in Action – in the US

March 12, 2022 Comments Off on Oligarchs in Action – in the US
The Russian war against Ukraine has produced a lot of noise about the fate of Russian oligarchs. Seizures of the yachts, bank accounts and more. Perhaps we should spend a bit of energy focusing on our own oligarchs, the rich and corporations. Despite all of the noise of the Republican --->> read more -->>
Social Nature

Our Social Nature and the Future

February 10, 2022 2
I’ve spent more than a year investigating the sources of our species reaction to autocrats, pandemics, global warming and the crisis of global capitalism. Here is a draft of an introduction to the topic. Lots of evolution, anthropology, archeology, neurology and cognitive psychology all rolled up. Now on to understanding --->> read more -->>
human nature

What Is Meant By “Human Nature”?

November 29, 2021 Comments Off on What Is Meant By “Human Nature”?
As a preface to my new field of inquiry: Human nature: “the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans” I am most interested in how human nature is framed and partially determined by the mechanisms in our brains. In addition human culture --->> read more -->>
borrowed without permsission from The Atlantic 2017
human nature

Accounting for Trump and the Resurgence of Autocracy

November 28, 2021 Comments Off on Accounting for Trump and the Resurgence of Autocracy
11.28.2021 – revised 11.29.2021 For the last ten years and more I have been studying US history and the current state of our affairs. A significant focus has been on what I refer to as the “actual workings of capitalism”. You can find some of the findings at AmericanDelusions.com. More --->> read more -->>
economy

What’s Wrong With Inequality – the word?

November 26, 2021 Comments Off on What’s Wrong With Inequality – the word?
Ban inequality – the word, the naked word, from our political rhetoric. Inequality is everywhere around us in the media sphere as well as in our day-to-day conversations. Amongst progressive folk one can drop the word like an F bomb and summon up agreeable outrage in one’s interlocutors without saying --->> read more -->>
healthcare

Our Corrupt Politics – Drug Pricing Again…..

October 21, 2021 Comments Off on Our Corrupt Politics – Drug Pricing Again…..
“A 30-Year Campaign to Control Drug Prices Faces Yet Another Failure Democrats have made giving government the power to negotiate drug prices a central campaign theme for decades. With the power to make it happen, they may fall short yet again.” This is the headline with its tagline in today’s --->> read more -->>
human nature

Humans, Human Culture and Popular Government

March 22, 2021 Comments Off on Humans, Human Culture and Popular Government
The US is commonly cited as the first large experiment in popular government. Even admitting that it started on the basis of a government of white men that excluded women and non-European men and who enslaved other human beings, it was the first large trial of the idea that the --->> read more -->>
No Picture
political system

Trump and Republicans bring us a 9/11 every day

December 3, 2020 Comments Off on Trump and Republicans bring us a 9/11 every day
Thursday 12/3/2020 2,977 people died in the attacks in the US on 9/11/2001. The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center reported 2,804 deaths yesterday. As noted earlier, back in February and March of this year one could just say that the pandemic was an act of nature. But after 9 --->> read more -->>