“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ~ George Washington “… government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” ~ Abraham Lincoln “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” ~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt…
Doggies for Bernie
I started a new group on Facebook. It was Molly’s (my Shi-tzu/Pomerainian) idea. If you want, you can visit/join here. Molly telepathically dictated this manifesto to me: Doggies for Bernie Manifesto by Molly We, the doggies of the USA, have grown weary of party politics in the USA. While Republicans enact counter-productive measures for many…
Handicapping the 2020 Presidential Race, Redux
Last Spring, I wrote a way-too-early analysis of the likely 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. A lot has changed since then. While back then, no one had formally declared their candidacy, now a shit ton of candidates are campaigning away with more likely to join the fray. So, I’ll give an updated rundown of who I…
Suggestions for Bernie Sliming
Sigh. It’s gonna be a long, long primary season. Bernie has barely declared his candidacy and the center-right corporatist mainstream media is already cranking out story after story after story attacking him. We should not lose sight of the real victims here. Our hearts should bleed for the poor, sweet, innocent, defenseless hacks forced to…
Gish Galloping Bernie
One of my top nominees for the Most Irritating Rhetorical Technique of All Time Prize is the Gish Gallop. Basically, the debater tries to drown the argument in a flood of claims, as if an enormous volume of specious gibberish is convincing in and of itself. Each point must be exhaustively rebutted individually, or else…
The Good Ol’ Days
Every now and then, in the course of a discussion about vaccines or some other aspect of science-based medicine, I’m asked why I even care. Apparently, only parents are allowed to give a flying fuck about public health. Or something. We genealogical dead-ends should just shut up already. Parents are imbued with an innate sense…
Characteristics of Champions
Well, I just turned commenting back on for my blog. Now, I need a post which will elicit some comments, despite the blog’s miniscule readership. What shall the topic be? I know! Football. Last Sunday, the NFC Championship game between the LA Rams and the New Orleans Saints took place. 99.99% of the discussions and…
My Closed Mind
I confess. I’m closed minded. We all know the drill. Somebody makes a claim. We keep an open mind and carefully investigate, research, and analyze before we determine the veracity of the claim. The source of the information isn’t supposed to be an automatic disqualifier. Of course it seldom works that way, and I’m not…
Bands in Hell
Another Facebook post. This one caused a bit of discussion; Hell is a place where the cooks are English, the policemen are German, the politicians are French, the architects are Mormons, and the bands are Steely Dan and the Grateful Dead. This caused a few people to ask what’s wrong with the Grateful Dead. I…
Press release
Another Facebook post, I wrote this the day before my birthday. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Garth Hagerman today formally announced that his birthday, previously scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled. Furthermore, all of his birthdays and his entire aging process has been suspended until further notice. “It’s just not profitable to age anymore”, Hagerman said. “When…