One of the first things an authoritarian governing elite must do is to convince people that they are not free.  This has been going on for at least forty years, ever since the Church Committee’s revelations about the CIA in the mid-seventies, including its mind-control programs.  Everyone was appalled at the epiphany, so a different tactic was employed.  Just have “experts,” social, psychological, and biological “scientists,” repeat ad infinitum that there is no longer any mind control since we now know there is no mind; it is an illusion, and it all comes down to the brain.  Biology is destiny, except in culturally diversionary ways in which freedom to choose is extolled – e.g. the latest fashions, gender identity, the best hair style, etc.  Create and lavishly fund programs for the study of the brain, while supporting and promoting a vast expansion of pharmaceutical drugs to control people.  Do this in the name of helping people with their emotional and behavioral problems that are rooted in their biology and are beyond their control.  And create criteria to convince people that they are sick. More

Like too many nations, the United States likes to think of itself as a chosen nation and a chosen people.  Presidential inauguration statements are typically an exercise in proclaiming American exceptionalism, and this mentality has far too much influence in the United States.  It’s particularly regrettable when individuals who should no better indulge the kind of hubris and triumphalism associated with American exceptionalism. More

When it comes to air travel, there are airlines, and then there’s United Airlines. Many people know this from experiences hard earned at the hands of United, including yours truly.

While there are thousands and thousands of complaints to be made about United, (merely) moaning about is futile– United, if anything, is a symptom of something deeper and more pervasive, namely, what happens to a business whose sole raison d’etre is the profit motive, and the accompanying race to the bottom in search of profits. More