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 –>>

Use of the word inequality hides the real issues. —>> read more –>>

“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 –>>

Packer’s Last Best Hope: America in crisis and renewal (Ferrar, Straus & Giroux 2021) has aroused quite a bit of attention and comment in the media. At the heart of the book is Packer’s description of four Americas: Free America, Real America, Smart America, and Just America. The writing is solid and attractive. —>> read more –>>

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 –>>

Since I noticed that every day now as many Americans are dying in the Trump Pandemic as died during the 9/11 attacks I have thought about how different public and government reactions have been. —>> read more –>>

The 12/4/2020 NYTimes ran a very interesting opinion piece, “Why Did Racial Progress Stall in America?” by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett. This is a great summary of why, despite appearances, actual progress towards racial equity stalled after the surge of the post-WWII era.

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 months of active deception and no leadership by the President and the Republican Party, we need to be clear that this pandemic is Trump’s Pandemic. With just 4.5% of the world’s population the US has 21% of the world cases and 15% of the deaths……to be sure this will get much worse over the coming months. —>> read more –>>

Our justice system is prominently featured in our culture as a source of fair-handed justice. Everyone stands before the law on an equal footing. The justice system in reality is a gigantic fraud of inequality and lifelong punishment. Our police lead the world in the rate at which they kill civilians. The promise of a fair trial before a jury of our peers is denied over 90% of the time. Coerced plea bargaining with the prosecutors holding all the cards after they have staked the deck is the norm. —>> read more –>>

Friday November 6, 2020 – Election Results Still in the Waiting Room As I wait for the electoral machinery to complete its work I am struck by how this election has confirmed that we are in a deep mess with nothing in sight to set us on a more productive —>> read more –>>