People have debated for decades about why there hasn’t been a solution to the Israel / Palestine issue. Allow me to simplify down to two truths that trump all others: Israel will never accept any solution that sees Palestinians in control of the land they believe God gave to them. The Palestinians are not prepared to govern a…
CNN vs. BBC: Profit vs. Service
I am disgusted every time I click a video on CNN.com and am forced to watch an advertisement. It’s supposed to be news. What’s next, library books? The situation is made more obvious when you compare it to the BBC website where, when you click a video, it plays the news. To poke a stick in the wound,…
BBC > American News Because of Conflicting Incentives
The BBC has a history of stating, as a matter of policy, that it refuses to cover certain stories, or cover them in a certain way, because of how it will affect the country. Some examples: Not going overly into how murderer’s did their work, to avoid glamorizing them Not endlessly playing tragedy stories because people can’t look…
Do Groups of People Get What They Deserve?
I just found out that the latest Transformers movie made many times more money than a recent sci-fi film by Tom Cruise, Edge of Tomorrow. This was deeply disturbing to me. In a very real way, I don’t want to live in a world where this is possible. And yet we have a blame loop here: People make…
When We Say The Right Doesn’t Care About the Poor, This is What We Mean
I talk to many conservatives who insist that the right cares deeply about the poor. Some even say the right cares more than the left does. Well, Pew just put out a brilliant study on the actual attitudes, and they’re remarkable. If you look at the left part of the chart, you see that conservatives think the poor…
A Summary of My Political Views
Here I’ll try to cleanly summarize my positions on the primary political topics using no more than four short paragraphs per subject. Taxation Regardless of whether someone also worked hard to achieve so-called “success”, e.g. a high salary, a good job, comfortable living arrangements, etc.–which I don’t discount–the vast majority of successful people came from good families and…
Five Mistakes the GOP Will Not Recover From
The GOP seems to make a habit of being on the wrong side of issues. I think we’re nearing the time when this will become obvious to voters. Here’s a short list: Iraq. It’s true that Democrats voted for the war as well, but that doesn’t make the two sides equally guilty. Virtually all opposition to the war…
CNN Using Tabloid Tactics
Wow. Yeah, talking about what can give you cancer should get someone to click on it. The use of caps for THIS was a nice touch, too. It’s quite sad when one of the country’s main sources of news is becoming little more than a linkbait generator. This is yet another sign that when it comes to a…
Removing Dictators is Immoral
Iraq is about to fall to Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda groups have already taken two cities, and they continue to advance and expand. The government is crumbling and the Iraqi troops are fleeing. Al-Qaeda will soon control the entire country. How is this possible? Simple: there’s no dictator there to stop them. Putting it coarsely, the reason groups like Al-Qaeda…
How the U.S. Military Manufactures Consent Using Movies
Have you noticed the number of movies over the last five years that are overwhelmingly pro-military? They all kind of feel the same. Maybe it’s the Navy taking out aliens in the ocean, or the Air Force sparring with Iron Man, or the Army in Godzilla. But the feel is nearly identical.
Is Putin a Fascist?
A number of people have been saying for a while that Putin is trying to rebuild the USSR. Or at least, “Mother Russia”, whatever that means. I agree with that. It seems obvious. But I’ve been saying something else—that his sway is more like Hitler’s than anyone else’s. I’m no expert on World War II, but what I…
High Paying Jobs as an American Priority
I’m baffled by the shortsightedness of those who seek profit at the expense of the middle class and poor. I don’t understand how it’s so attractive to have more and more of less and less rather than a steady, but small piece, of something that’s healthy and growing. Or maybe I do understand that: Perhaps it’s as basic…
Free Markets, Disruption, and Hypocrisy
So if you needed evidence that “free” markets, and lobbying, and the conservative right were a bad mix, your search has ended. Earlier this week Chris Christie moved to keep Tesla out of New Jersey, essentially because of lobbying by the car dealerships. And the same thing is true in Texas as well. Here you have two Republican…
Is Government or Industry Responsible for the Cable ISP Situation?
Here in the United States we have a problem with our Internet speeds. I’m not an expert on this, but I think I may know the reason(s). Countries that have extremely fast, cheap, and accessible Internet have made it a national priority to do so. They don’t listen to companies who think they can make more money by…
Libertarians Don’t Ban Things
Conservative, so-called “Libertarian” types love talking about being for personal responsibility and freedom, but so many seem to hate actually doing it. Marijuana? Ban it! Sex education? Ban it! Porn? ban it! 1,000 other things labeled evil? Ban them!
Religious Cognitive Dissonance on Wealth Inequality
The richest 85 people in the world now have equal wealth to that of the bottom 3.5 billion. Seems fair. What got me thinking, though, was how religious conservatives tend to be the most comfortable with this. They say things like, Well, if they’re creating the value… Sure, and by that rationale we can keep going. Why shouldn’t…
Why U.S. Healthcare is So Expensive
A conservative (free markets and such) friend and I were having a private conversation about healthcare when he asked why there was so much waste in our healthcare system, i.e. why was the cost of actual care so low compared to how much we spend. Here’s my answer, edited for clarity: The waste you’re alluding to is caused…
The Problem With Free Markets and Core Services
Conservatives are known for their belief that free markets are the answer to all problems—including those like healthcare. The idea is elegant: you have a problem and you unleash the free market upon it. Companies will compete, and you’ll have the best outcomes. Done and done. It’s been intuitive to me that there is an inexorable conflict here,…
The Fix for America’s Democracy
Everyone seems to know the American experiment is failing, but what we’re not hearing is a crisp reason followed by a solution. Allow me to propose one. The two conflicting forces There are two primary forces in motion within human individuals and human societies: The Selfish Forces are given to us by evolution. They compel us to bite…
Ignorance + Evil = Catastrophe
When something catastrophic happens, like the sub-prime mortgage crisis, I immediately search for two components in the event: Ignorance: a victim, or group of victims, who should have known better Selfishness: a malicious agent to capitalizes on said ignorance for his gain In the housing example it was pretty clear: those people should not have been signing up…
America Needs a Prime Directive
America needs a Prime Directive. If we were to capture the current, implied one, it’d be something like: Take advantage of what is around you in order to maximize profit and growth at all costs. Great. We’re good at that, and it’s killing us. It’s time to stop. We need something more sustainable, more respectable, more…well, American.
Government and Corporations Fail For the Same Reason
It’s generally accepted that the left tends to blame corporations for our problems, while the right tends to blame government. What’s interesting is that regardless of which is more true, both entities fail for the same reason, i.e., in both cases there is a group that each is supposedly beholden to, and then there is the group that…
Politicians Should be Monks
It’s generally accepted that money corrupts politics. Even good people go into the game and emerge as maligned versions of themselves. And now that the Citizens United ruling allows large corporations to more openly influence lawmakers, the situation can only deteriorate. Perhaps the solution is to have politicians become something like a monk.
Identifying the Source of my Bias for Obama
I’ve been thinking a lot about my bias towards Obama. And when I say bias I specifically mean my tendency to assume that there is some sort of positive rationale for his behavior–even when it appears overtly negative. The thought struck me the other day, and I’ve been manicuring it ever since. Essentially, his domestic views, which I…
I’m Quite Unhappy with Obama Right Now
Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs…
McDonalds’ Suggested Budget for Employees
Yeah– now, when I first saw that, I assumed that the top line was for a part-time McDonald’s employee. Then I got out my calculator– that is actually what you would make if you were working full-time at McDonald’s. 1,105 dollars a month.via McDonalds’ suggested budget for employees shows just how impossible it is to get by on…
The Difference Between Wiretapping from Bush and Obama
There are many people who are asking us long-time Obama supporters why we’re not just as upset about PRISM as we would have been if this program had come from Bush. It’s an absolutely fair question. It reeks of emotional bias and an intellectually-compromised double standard. I’ve spent some time thinking about it. I think I have an…
Obama Owes us an Apology and an Explanation
Mr. President, I have been with you all the way, and if you have a reason to OVERTLY break your promises on security to us–with the blatant monitoring of Americans, with the failure to close Gitmo, with the expansion of the Patriot Act–then tell me. Say it. Say the words. Give me an explanation. You owe us one.…
The Moral Market Fallacy
Many conservatives and libertarians are deeply confused about the morality of markets. They view markets as pure and benign forces with the ability to grant moral righteousness to any behavior that comes from them. This is profoundly wrong. Markets, like gravity and inertia, are natural occurrences–wild and unfeeling in their actions. Markets are far more complex, of course,…
On the Argument That Conservatives Give More to Charity
I have many conservative friends who love to throw this argument at me when I speak of their lack of compassion for those who are weak, ignorant, or otherwise powerless. This is how I generally respond. – I believe that most of those conservatives are donating the money because: it’s strongly encouraged by their church, and doing so…
My Current Thoughts on Gun Control
Like many others, I’ve been in a number of debates about gun control in recent weeks. Here are my main thoughts on the topic: The goal of any gun rights or legislation that limits those rights should be that of reducing suffering and increasing happiness for Americans. That is the moral goal, and all other considerations should be…
Are Libertarians Suffering From Technology’s XY Problem?
A bit ago I posted about the XY problem that’s common in online technical forums. It should sound (sadly) familiar to anyone in technology: You want to do X, and you think Y is the best way of doing so. Instead of asking about X, you ask about Y. A good example of this is asking about how…
The Fiscal Cliff Debate Is Exposing the GOP as Liars
Remember during the election when we were all talking about who was fighting for what? Remember how Obama was claiming the Republicans were trying to cut social security and medicare and such? And the Republicans were coming back and saying that it was Obama trying to do this, and that they wouldn’t think of it? Yeah, I remember…
Why I’m No Longer a Libertarian
Libertarianism is attractive. I find that it functions as a sanctuary for both those unhappy with conservatism (which they often see as loyalty to authority and tradition) and those tired of liberalism (which they often see as loyalty to blind compassion). Libertarianism replaces those key beliefs with a foundation that’s not tradition, authority, or compassion based, but one…
IQ2 Debates: Raise Your Issues Knowledge in a Single Hour
Many of us in the tech industry fancy ourselves experts on politics and various types of policy–especially taxation. We feel our positions are backed by fact when in fact we’re relying mostly on shadows of other people’s statements. Given the fact that this is often the best we can do with complex topics like taxation and global warming,…
A Proposed Foundation for Human Government
I have an idea for a potentially universal guideline for maturing as a civilization: Humans should use a combination of reason and compassion to increase the happiness and reduce the suffering of conscious creatures. This isn’t mine: It’s mostly Russell, with some Harris thrown in. What is mine is proposing that this become the measuring stick for any…
My Current Thoughts on Israel
My thinking on Israel has changed a lot over the years. I’ve spent a few weeks there while in my early 20’s serving in the military, and at the time I was quite conservative (?) in my stance on the country. As I’ve grown older, talked to more people, and read more books, I’ve come away with what…
Obama Cries as He Thanks His Team
With this man as my President I am more proud to be American than I have been in a long time–perhaps ever. I truly cannot fathom how anyone can hate this man, and I’m honestly at the point of disliking those who do because I know their reasons for hatred at this point can only be founded in…
The Morally Pure Way to Settle America
I’ve been thinking a lot about content for the book I’m working on, and given that the theme is speaking clearly and honestly about topics that are controversial I began wondering about the proper way to educate children about the colonization of America by Europe. For those not familiar, it used to be that Columbus was revered as…
Trickle-down (Supply Side) Economics is a Liberal Fiscal Policy
Trickle-down economics, i.e. the idea that if you give the rich lots of money it will improve the economy, is traditionally associated with financial conservatism, yet the reality is quite opposite. This is an unproven claim, and in fact there is significant evidence for the opposite claim. So in truth, supply-side economics is a liberal economic approach in…
A Lists of Obama’s Accomplishments
Here’s a quality link for those who wish to know what Obama has done with his time in office. It’s broken down by category and has a very crisp structure to it. So for anyone looking to: Learn for yourself what Obama has done. Provide data to others regarding what Obama has actually done. …this is the link…
A Letter to a GOP Family Member Who is Against Obamacare
Hi $NAME, Basically, the role of the government is to provide for our welfare, to see that we flourish, etc. Note this part of the constitution: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the…
Theon Greyjoy is George Bush
A great feature of Game of Thrones is that it teaches us about reality while it entertains. One example is illustrating how so few people are purely good or evil. Even those we consider purely good or evil are actually, under a keen eye, mixtures of many things. Two people who embody this are Theon Greyjoy and George…
Civilized Cities Should Ban Smoking
I feel like I cannot be the only one who is disgusted every time I walk through someones exhaled cigarette smoke while walking on a public sidewalk or entering/exiting a public building. In populous areas, this equates to every few steps. People crowd around the doors to their establishments, which happen to be right on the sidewalk, and…
A Collection (of Collections) of Obama’s Accomplishments
This next year is going to yield many debates on what our current President has or has not accomplished in his first term. Here’s a collection (of lists) of what he has accomplished. http://obamaachievements.org/listA seriously comprehensive list of accomplishments, by category. PolitiFact Promises Kept ListingA phenomenally unbiased list of promises and statements made by Obama, with analysis of…
My Problem With the Libertarians
I have many friends who are libertarians, and when I spew here regarding politics I often hear from them in comments or via email, “I agree with you that the Republicans are crazy, but I’m a Libertarian…”, and so on. Let me explain why I’m not a libertarian–and I’ll start by mentioning that I used to be one.…
The Rich and Selfish Have Enlisted the Poor to Fight For Them
It seems the poor and uniformed are partial to the rhetoric of the rich and selfish. This is a most unfortunate fact, as it means that the slaves are demanding the right to be beaten, and they have named the abolitionists as the enemy. As sad as this is, I can’t help but laugh at it. But my…
The Republican Agenda is Bad for America
Modern Republicans have succeeded in promoting a narrative of being for the middle class in America when in fact they are the single largest enemy of it. Here I will explore a number of points that combine to form an extremely clear picture of what they truly stand for. 1. First Principles One political philosophy in this country…
The People Making the Best Arguments Against College, Went to College
If you frequent Hacker News and Reddit as I do you’re probably familiar with a certain type of rant regarding college. It goes something like this: College isn’t nearly as important as people say it is. I am highly successful (you’re reading my blog, and you’ve heard my name before in the industry), yet I found college (which…
Trump Proposed a Lump Tax on the Rich to Pay Off the National Debt
Today I learned (from Scott Adams’ blog) that Donald Trump, during his last presidential run, proposed that we pay the national debt off all at once–with a massive tax on the rich. I don’t know the details, and they don’t really matter, but it was something like, “take 15% of the assets of those with the most money.…