Monthly Archives: June 2016

GMO Wars: 107 Nobel Laureates vs. Greenpeace

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Can my fellow liberals, who too frequently count themselves among the idiotic “No GMO!” constituency, please get off the science-denial bandwagon now, leaving it to the far-right, with its young Earth creationists and global warming denialists? 107 Nobel laureates sign … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, Politics, science, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

The Difference Between Having An Ideology And Having An Agenda

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

It’s one thing to have an ideology, another an agenda. An ideology is a habit of mind, often not wholly conscious to its possessor. It functions as subtext for behavior. The ideology of consumption, for example, takes it for granted … Continue reading →

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For Lower Taxes (His Own), Trump to Sue D.C.!

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

This is crazy. Trump is so selfish and narcissistic. He’s in the midst of running for President, and yet he won’t show his tax returns–and now, smack dab in the middle of an election cycle, he appears to be filing … Continue reading →

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Elizabeth Warren for VP

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Elizabeth Warren on The View yesterday was awesome. She would make a terrific VP for Hillary. Oddly, when I watch her, she makes me want to live (to live larger and enjoy each day). She seems to love life. She … Continue reading →

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More Trump Racism: Trump is Afraid to Trade with Asians and Mexicans. Notably, He Says Nothing in His Speech Today about Trading with Russia or Tearing-up Trade Agreements with White Europeans.

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Today, Trump has made tearing-up trade agreements with both east and south center pieces of his idiotic economic policy–actions no serious economist appraises as valuable or urges. Such moves as Trump proposes would tank the economy, killing domestic jobs (as … Continue reading →

Posted in brexit, donald trump, hillary clinton, Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Brexit and Trump vs. The Big Blue Marble in Space

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Brexit and Trump. The Brexit vote and the Trump movement suggest to me that the anti-globalization right in the West is ever more evidently on the ropes. The broken wheel squeaks loudest. The right’s Christian fundamentalism card doesn’t seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in beauty, brexit, climate change, donald trump, hillary clinton, Politics, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Fish

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Buddhist mandala meets Jackson Pollock: how one obsessive-compulsive fish gets another fish to notice him, bringing her under his spell. The Japanese puffer fish signals sexually by making art circles. The pattern tells the female: “Lay your eggs in the … Continue reading →

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Tony Blair vs. Donald Trump

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

In the link below, Tony Blair analyzes, clearly and succinctly, the Brexit fallout. What an indulgent, tragic, and self-inflicted wound the majority in Great Britain has inflicted on its country–and the world. Will this function as an object lesson for … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernie Sanders, donald trump, hillary clinton, Politics, science, Ted Cruz | Leave a comment

The Clash of Fundamentalisms

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

As I see it, there are two very large megatrends that are crossing in the 21st century: the decline of religion (in terms of credibility and the number of serious practitioners it attracts) and the urbanization of humanity. Demographers tell … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, david hume, donald trump, feminism, Politics, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Brexit and Trump

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Who’s to blame for calling this idiotic up or down Brexit vote in the first place? David Cameron. He thought remain would be a slam dunk. Against the advice of professional economists everywhere, he wagered Britain’s long-term economic growth rate … Continue reading →

Posted in donald trump, Politics | 6 Comments

Islam vs. Christianity, and the Mark of the Beast

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Some Christians claim that Allah represents the Mark of the Beast; that the Greek letters for 666 resemble the way Allah is written in Arabic. I’m no fan of Islam, but demonizing Islam as Satanic and prophesied as the cipher … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, donald trump, Genesis, God, God, philosophy, Politics | 5 Comments

Radical Islamic Populism and Donald Trump

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Follow this recent sequence of events in Pakistan: A Christian was accused of blasphemy; a Muslim governor defended her in the media; he was murdered; the man who murdered him was given the death penalty; 100,000 people came out to … Continue reading →

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Donald Trump Is Going Nowhere Because The Missing White Voter Doesn’t Exist

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

I think of Donald Trump as a hamster on a wheel; a bicyclist on a stationary bike. (Pick your metaphor.) There’s lots of feverish spinning, but he’s actually going nowhere. It’s like the plane image laid on the ground by … Continue reading →

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Turn That (Jerry) Brown Upside Down

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Correlation isn’t causation, but something at least appears to be up. Conservative economic theory doesn’t seem to be matching the real world right now. Under liberal Governor Jerry Brown, California’s economy grew 4.1% in 2015, tying Oregon for the highest … Continue reading →

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“Thump That Bitch” is Now “Trump That Bitch”

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Instead of “Thump that bitch!”, we have “Trump that bitch!”–the new, unofficial rallying cry of the Trump right. Trump, as when he disavowed knowledge of David Duke’s support, is pretending he doesn’t even know the phrase is coursing through his … Continue reading →

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Trump, the Confederate Flag, and Cleveland

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Will Donald Trump let Confederate flags wave among American flags on the Republican party’s convention floor in Cleveland? Imagine the optics of that. _____ Back in July of 2015, Trump signaled his support for sending the Confederate flag to museums, … Continue reading →

Posted in donald trump, hillary clinton, Politics, Ted Cruz | 4 Comments

Donald Trump’s Orlando Speech, June 13, 2016

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

I watched Trump’s full speech on Orlando just now. Hillary is going to have problems responding. His speech has its demagogic parts, and there are two moments along the way where he teeters into an emotional place where you can … Continue reading →

Posted in donald trump, hillary clinton, Politics | 8 Comments

Orlando, Gun Control, and the AR-15 Rifle

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

How could this happen? How is one lone wolf able to kill fifty people so quickly? AR-15 rifles are not hunting rifles. They’re military rifles. They put out thirty rounds in less than a minute. They’re easy to get, they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in donald trump, hillary clinton, Politics | 6 Comments

Hillary is Running as a Feminist

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Below is the YouTube link to Hillary Clinton’s full speech to Planned Parenthood, larded with pro-women policy proposals and juicy take-downs of Donald Trump. She is running, not just as a woman, but as a feminist; a take-no-prisoners, bad-ass, unapologetic … Continue reading →

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Pocahontas: Trump Tells Warren Who She Is

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Santi Tafarella

Pure domination. Disrespectful of a woman. When I read yesterday Donald Trump’s tweet mocking Elizabeth Warren’s Native American heritage–calling her “Pocahontas”–I thought of the following lines of a James Fenton poem: “The laughter from the armored car. / This is the … Continue reading →

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