One of the worst forms of human bondage is financial debt. Indeed, throughout most of history, debt could literally land one in prison. During the 1700’s and 1800’s in England, ten thousand people were imprisoned for debt each year. However, the prison term did not count as paying the debt. Instead, an inmate was typically … Read more
Let me tell you what I think you already know, but you have to say it out loud. Inequality is by design.From those who colonized us 400 years ago, systems were built around people in power, by people in power, to keep their power. And 400 years ago, who were those people in power? White, … Read more
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy … Read more
An important way to understand Trump and Trumpism is as an assault on reality. At issue is the attempt to control, to own, immediate truth along with any part of history that feeds such truth. Robert J. Lifton The desire to control reality is typical of authoritarianism, religious zealotry, and cultism. If you control a … Read more
I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters. Donald Trump, Iowa, January 23, 2016 Donald Trump’s approval rating among Americans has always been between 37 and 45 percent. Just over a third of our citizens seem to support him no matter what he says or … Read more
We never hear the word “usury” anymore. The early Christian Fathers taught that usury was a sin for which one could be damned to Hell. It was considered to be equivalent to robbery. Usury, of course, is the lending of money for interest. The charging of interest is basic to modern capitalism. Capitalists refer to … Read more
Since at least the 1890’s, the phrase “Lies, damned lies, and statistics” has been used to diminish the persuasive value of numbers in an argument. A person who uses that phrase is trying to weaken the persuasive case of an opponent by implying that “statistics” can be found to support any point of view. On … Read more
Charges of conspiracy (“fake news,” “rigged elections,” “deep state”) flow from the Trump White House constantly. They are disseminated by fast, broad-ranging, technologies, facilitated by media co-conspirators, and assented to by elected representatives who know better but remain silent. Today, conspiracism is not, as we might expect, the last resort of permanent political losers but … Read more