The epithet ‘useful idiot’ has often been attributed to Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik revolution of 19171, but there is no indication that any of Lenin’s works contain the epithet….
Those who wish to seek out the cause of miracles and to understand the things of nature as philosophers, and not to stare at them in astonishment like fools, are soon considered heretical and impious, and proclaimed as such by those whom the mob adores as the interpreters of nature and the gods. For these men know that, once ignorance is put aside, that wonderment would be taken away, which is the only means by which their authority is preserved.
Hundreds of the people involved in the January 6th, 2021, attack on the capitol building in Washington have already been charged, tried, convicted and sentenced. One of the most recent,…
Parque Nacional Yasuní (PNY) is a national park in the far east of Ecuador and occupies an area of just over 9,800 square kilometres. The park lies within the Napo…
Over the last little while I had to deal with an American cooker who was completely lacking in any understanding of science, let alone any dealing with Covid-191. Not long…
Some days ago, I posted an article about how, after three and a half years, we finally succumbed to infection by the SARS-Cov-2, and how we recovered from it. I…
Deep into the 21st century, America is more racially, ethnically and religiously diverse than any moment in its 247-year history. The rising cohort of younger millennials and Gen Z — the nation’s best-educated generations ever, which seems to coincide with their embrace of diversity, tolerance and progressive ideas — is showing up at the voting booth. Sorry Sarah Palin, but this is “the real America” now, and the millions clinging to the older hierarchies around race, gender and Christian hegemony are not handling it well. If democracy means this true majority winning elections, then they hate democracy. If the real America is this young and diverse, then they hate America. [https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/us-conservatives-embrace-authoritarianism-anti-democracy-20230813.html]
As I explained in an earlier post, my partner and I have both had Covid-19 after three and a half years of avoiding catching it1. While we were both very…