The death of expertise spells doom for democracy

These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had access to so much knowledge, and yet been so resistant to learning anything. Tom Nichols The Founding Fathers, while setting up a democratic republic, guaranteed a free press to serve as a watchdog on the government. They also set up public schools and universities because … Read more

Willful Ignorance

The tribally inclined audience … is contemptuous of outside fact-checking, no matter how assiduous, but endlessly gullible toward information shared on the inside. Consequently, it is an easy target. David Roberts When people voluntarily choose to severely limit their sources of information they are choosing to willfully blind themselves. Because people are easily drawn to … Read more

It’s time for Warren and Sanders to unite

Look, it’s simple math. In almost every poll I’ve seen since the Democratic Primary race began, Biden has been ahead of both Warren and Sanders. However, in those same polls, Warren plus Sanders is greater than Biden. Elizabeth Warren was the first Democrat to announce her candidacy on February 19, 2019. I thought then that … Read more

Fear Not

Why is it that the first thing an angel always says is, “Fear Not.” Shouldn’t seeing an angel be the most beautiful, amazing, wonderful, delightful, inspiring, experience of one’s entire life? In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, Adam admitted that they were afraid because they were naked. The … Read more

Tribalism vs. Truth

Right-wing media and their allies in the Republican party have consciously and deliberately created the current extreme polarization in our society by completely rejecting the core institutions and norms of American democracy. They have managed to convince millions that our traditional institutions tell only lies and that reality resides only in the rhetorical universe they … Read more

The attack on our basic institutions

In November 2009, Rush Limbaugh rabidly attacked the science of climate change in a portion of his radio show he called, “Climategate.” During that show he called the basic institutions of our society: government, academia, science, and media, the “Four Corners of Deceit.” Since then, the right-wing attack on these institutions has only intensified. The … Read more