Orwell, Occam’s Razor and Orlando

A man, born and raised in the Islamic faith, whose father was a vocal critic of America, a vocal supporter of the Taliban, whose faith not only calls homosexuality a sin but calls for its punishment, called 911 to pledge allegiance to ISIS, then walked into a gay bar...

Bitterly Clinging… To The Narrative

In the first (brilliant) season of the HBO series True Detective, Detective Hart (played by Woody Harrison) cautions Detective Kohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) against letting predilections or presumptions interfere with rational analysis: You attach assumptions...

Cultural Appropriation and Control

There was an altercation recently that involved a white college student at San Francisco State University and a black woman who confronted him about his dreadlocked hair. The woman, who is reportedly a campus employee, told the student, Cory Goldstein, that he...

Is A Seismic Realignment In The Works?

A story that popped up in my news feed this morning provides a good take on the underpinnings of the current Republican fracture and ably assesses the possibility of a fundamental breakdown of the Republican party into distinct subgroups. In particular, it notes that...

The Rise of American Fascism

The most common descriptor in American politics is the Left-Right axis. Democrats and liberals are considered to be on and embody the Left, and Republicans and conservatives are considered to be on and embody the Right. The axis is woefully inadequate for the task...