Out of Step With the World

We all, I suppose, live in a tiny world of our own construction, whose size and character depends upon what interests us. I realized the other day just how peculiar my own little ...

A Fail-Safe Investment

"€œAre you ready for life changes?"€ the advertisement that came through the Internet asked me. In general, the answer is "€œNo, I am not ready."€ I don"€™t like ...

The Parking Garage of the Fates

"€œOf all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine"€: so uttered a distraught and heartbroken Humphrey Bogart in the iconic Casablanca. It's one ...

Richard Dawkins, Cyclops of Science

Richard Dawkins must be one execrable speck of a man. The outspoken atheist never tires of picking on the pious, slamming them as ignorant fools beholden to anachronistic beliefs. ...

Karl Marx

Was Karl Marx a Dirty, Filthy, Rotten Bigot?

I believe modern society would be far saner and healthier if it worshiped Groucho Marx rather than Karl Marx, but as with most things, I find myself in a small and persecuted ...

Adolf Hitler

The Myth of Prejudice

I don"€™t believe in racism, sexism, or homophobia. There, I said it. While all three are prevalent all over the world, I don"€™t think they exist here in the West. Of course, ...

The Strange Evolution of Eugenics

Predictably, responses to veteran New York Times genetics reporter Nicholas Wade's new book A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race, and Human History are already starting to break ...

Lost in Space

The world is too much with us, late and soon. Before long, it can begin to seem reasonable. I have my doubts. The usual always seems reasonable. For example, existence seems ...

Sasha and Malia Obama

Little Selfies on Hogwash Mountain

A "€œselfie,"€ when posted by an even remotely attractive girl, is a bit like telemarketing. Everyone claims to hate it, and conventional wisdom deems it to be incredibly ...

No Light at the End of the Cosmos

There is no magic in the new Cosmos"€”no angels or demons, no dragons in Eden, just cold dust and burning gas viewed through rose-colored glasses. No creator gods dominate the ...

What’s the Matter With Blackface?

Last week, some rich guy at a party in Vienna may have grabbed Kim Kardashian’s ass and someone may have approached her wearing blackface. So? She got $500,000 to be the ...

Who Will Hire the Hangman?

Why should the dying have all the best deaths? Fatal illness is not the only form of terrible human suffering: on the contrary, the briefest of reflection should be enough to ...

In Defense of Bronies

Ridiculing “Bronies”"€”those fanboys who are obsessed with the TV show My Little Pony"€”is a forgivable offense. Sure, these are seemingly heterosexual males who ...

The Strategic Beer Initiative

As cultures ancient and modern continue their clash along the bleeding arc from Timbuktu to Afghanistan, America's policy mandarins are searching for a way out of a dilemma that ...

John Cleese

10 Great Things About the Brits

A lot of things about Great Britain aren"€™t so great. Their bathrooms are freezing and if you want a shower, you have to turn on the hot water tank and wait twenty minutes. ...

A Sozzled Apprehension of Politics

I am seated in front of the Optiplex, drinking Padre Kino red and garnering insight. The garnering is tough these days. Still, to this end nothing is so effective as cheap Mexican ...


Sign Up to Receive Our Latest Updates!