Tag: Slavery
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Fascism Is Just Another European Pathogen
European culture and military superiority didn’t conquer the Americas, European pathogens did. By the time European colonists had landed enough armed men to do actual battle with anyone, European germs had reduced the native population by as much as 90%! Armed Europeans may have thought they and their culture were superior but their superiority was…
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Voting With Our Dollars
Supermarkets and ballots have a lot in common. So do buyers and voters. When we choose between Coke and Pepsi, we’re voting between them. That’s how Coke and Pepsi see it. That’s one of the reasons both Coke and Pepsi spend a literal fortune on advertising (despite the fact that everyone on the planet already…
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A Culture Of Greed
America is a great human idea locked in a boss battle with the worst human instincts. A truly free society where everyone has an equal shot at happiness vs a culture of greed. That’s the battleground. We’ve always been a lab experiment of a country. On the one hand, we’re a great idea. On the…
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America + Guns = Magical Thinking
Stone cold fact: a significant chunk of America really and truly thinks that having more guns around makes everyone (and America) safer. Never mind that every scrap of data screams the exact opposite. People compelled to own guns don’t care about statistics. Even “responsible gun owners” increase the chances that something bad will happen inside…
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Republicans Are What Happens When Tribalism Goes Nuclear
Americans are going to the polls – at a mid-term – in record numbers. That includes a lot more of the youth vote than has ever voted before. It also includes a lot more women. They registered to vote – many for the first time – because the Supreme Court took away their rights! And,…
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America Feels Crazy Cos It’s Fighting Two Wars
How crazy does America feel right now? Fighting two wars concurrently will do that to a nation. For starters, one of our two political parties doesn’t want to play “Democracy” anymore. That is, they don’t want to play American Democracy if it means losing elections. And they definitely want no part of a diversified America…
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Every Gun Is An Accident Or Tragedy That Just Hasn’t Happened Yet
Repeat: every gun is an accident or tragedy that just hasn’t happened yet. And, while we’re at it, there’s no such thing as “responsible gun ownership”. That’s gun owners wanting to put the best possible face on their gun ownership. They’re not irresponsible jerks like the gun owners whose guns kill people. Their guns could…
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What Do Conservatives Want To Conserve? The Past
Maybe the only honest thing your average conservative ever does is call him or herself “conservative”. Conservatives, by nature, want to conserve (although, ironically, one of the things most conservatives don’t want to conserve IS Nature but never mind!). The only important question, really, is what do conservatives want to conserve? The answer? Conservatives want…
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Americans Must Choose Between A Renaissance And A Retreat
Insert fork-in-the-road analogy here. Whatever that analogy is, it was inevitable. The last time we stood here, we opted for the “Civil War” path. We all know how that turned out. It was bloody and brutal and catastrophic. While it formally ended slavery – a very good thing – it didn’t actually end slavery; it…
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Democracy Is “Use It Or Lose It”
Winston Churchill famously said “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried”. He said that after being voted out of office at the end of World War Two. Despite his cynicism (born of losing an election), he was right. Democracy is damned hard to pull off.…