This is the text of a letter I sent to my Republican congressman, John Faso: "You are old enough to remember the Watergate affair. After six long years Nixon's criminality was catching up to him in 1974. In the famous words of Howard Baker, "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"… Continue reading Time to Get the Ball Rolling
Woman in Gold
My wife and I watched Woman in Gold on Netflix yesterday. How we missed this in the regular theater I cannot say. It is an excellent film, that depicts the efforts of Maria Altmann, a refugee from 1938 Austria, to recover the portrait of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, painted by Klimt in the early 20th… Continue reading Woman in Gold
The Boy Who Cried Wolf – a Letter to the president (sic)
Did your parents tell you the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf? It is one of Aesop's fables. Wikipedia sums it up: "The tale concerns a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking wolves are attacking his flock. When one actually does appear and the boy again calls for help, the villagers… Continue reading The Boy Who Cried Wolf – a Letter to the president (sic)
On the Nazi Track
Dear President Trump: I was taught at home to treat everyone equally. So even as a child I had friends who were of all colors, religions, and economic backgrounds. My parents taught me to treat everybody the same as far as that goes. But they also taught me to avoid doing bad things, such as… Continue reading On the Nazi Track
Impeach Donald Trump
Trump has been in violation of the constitution's foreign emolument clause since he was sworn into office yesterday. There are articles in Time and several other mainstream publications with pointers to a site, where people can sign a petition. The basic problem is that under the constitution, it is not allowed for any government officer… Continue reading Impeach Donald Trump
Inauguration Speech
I had low expectations for this speech, but it was worse than I expected. Full of nonsense. The idea that people in Nebraska see the same sky as people in Detroit shows that the man has never looked up at night in either place. His vision of the country is the darkest I have heard… Continue reading Inauguration Speech
The Trump Hitler Nexus
The Albany Times Union printed a column by Harry Rosenfeld "Trump's Rise Mirrors 30s Hitler." He makes the point quite well, citing numerous "congruities" between Hitler's statements and those of Donald Trump. As readers of this blog know, I was on this comparison quite a long time ago. Here we are with Trump almost in… Continue reading The Trump Hitler Nexus
A Quick Primer on Climate Change
The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) represents a consensus of scientific assessments of a wide body of evidence. Some of the key elements that people need to understand are as follows: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. This means that it absorbs radiation from the sun and dissipates the energy by… Continue reading A Quick Primer on Climate Change
How Do We Know What is Established by Science?
What does it mean when we say that something is scientifically well established? Scientists who seek to learn something new do not know what others are studying at a given moment. They thus work with some degree of urgency, because others might discover the answer to the question they are exploring, and publish it first,… Continue reading How Do We Know What is Established by Science?
Trump’s Disastrous Election
About all the intelligent people on earth were shocked by Trump's win over Hillary Clinton. People are trying to make sense of it in retrospect; we'll see what comes out of the analysis. My own feeling is that we are heading into a dark future. Trump really is a vile person, based on his public… Continue reading Trump’s Disastrous Election
