Truth is the First Casualty of…Unchecked Power
Three years after the US’s catastrophic run from Afghanistan, most Americans have no clue what happened. No one has stood up and taken responsibility. Five years after the killings that triggered Black Lives Matter (BLM) most Americans do not really…
Why do we act in other than our self-interest? Is the rational actor/choice theory valid?
Over a few blog entries (see the Defending the Republic series), I have wondered why people who do not seem to benefit from social justice efforts support and endorse them. Why would a white male push an agenda designed…
Operant Conditioning, Path Dependency and Societal Revolution, Part 4
This is the last part in a four-part series. Part 1 discussed the principles of Operant Conditioning and Path Dependency. Part 2 looked at what happens when philosophy and religion are blocked or obscured in a culture and the vacuum…
Defending The Republic, Part 1: Scenarios
Over the last year, I’ve been thinking, researching, and writing (Corporatism Part 1, Part 2; Thoughts on Ukraine, Part 7: The Joint Corporatist Scenario, among others) a lot about corporatism. I’ve been searching for a reason why corporations are doing…
Education Reform
Abstract: Education reform requires an integrated approach at the national, state, and local levels. A national clearing house can help develop campaigns, themes/messages, and educational packages and advertisements. Yet all this is for naught if we do not change…
Teachers’ Unions and Critical Theories
The teachers’ unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) did not always support Critical Race Theory (CRT). It took several punctured equilibriums to make that happen. But they do now with a vengeance. 2015…
A Solutions-based Approach to Social Justice
The glowing horseshoe in the figure above is at the optimal point Matt Haig discusses in How to Stop Time. This optimal point exists in many things. Not enough of the independent variable and the dependent variable is not maximized.…
Virginia Board of Education: Transgender Policy
This blog builds on Critical Thinking and Policy Development and Analysis, Critical Thinking: Logic and Rationality, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Key Components and Dimensions, Critical Thinking: Bounded Rationality and Time, Critical Thinking: Credence and Veracity, and A Solutions-Based Approach…
Reconstructing History, Part 10: Means, Motive, and Opportunity
Many of us have seen at least a few episodes of police procedurals and are familiar with the concept of “means, motive, and opportunity”. It is not a new concept. I remember reading about it as a kid in my…
Re-constructing History, Part 8: First, Do no Harm
The Hippocratic Oath enjoins the doctor to “first, do no harm”. I suspect most of the advocates of Social Justice movements think they do no harm and a great deal of good. I suspect that is not the case…
