I love that Robert Redford did not want a public funeral, a theater of applause and tribute. Just another sign that he was a great man.

Charisma has always struck me as a red flag in a person. It is almost like a personality flaw that I am inclined to distrust.

"Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." Kenneth Boulding

Now Ophelia She's 'neath the window For her I feel so afraid On her twenty-second birthday She already is an old maid To her death Is quite romantic She wears an iron vest Her profession's her religion Her sin is her lifelessness Bob Dylan, Desolation Row

"The web of our lives is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together; our virtues would be proud, if our faults whipped them not; and our crimes would despair, if they were not cherished by our virtues." Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

"Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty." Hannah Arendt

Depressing thing about the whole "debate me bro" phenomena is its basically the opposite of a Socratic argument. Everyone comes in convinced they have the truth in hand and the goal is to retrench the doxa of the already convinced as firmly as possible.

The radical belief that it’s okay for a website to prioritize quality over size, maybe even good.

'That is what the philosopher is: a mourner, a societal scapegoat, and an ‘enemy’ of human progress. Now the question is: What keeps her going?' freethinker.co.uk/2025/07/the-...

Good morning! I'm in Uganda to visit family and friends. But depending on your perspective, don't worry or I'm sorry: I'll be back by the end of the month. See you soon, NYC.

"In a one-sentence summary, this bill takes away health care from middle-class and poor people, and uses the money to pay for tax cuts mostly for rich people." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/o...

4 July thoughts on the state of secularism and democracy in America today, and a look back at previous articles and interviews about America. freethinker.co.uk/2025/07/the-...

"The simplest way to understand democratic socialism, from an academic standpoint, is as an ideology rooted in its opposition to capitalism and wanting to shift power to workers from corporations." Sounds good to me. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/u...

Way too many people talk about a billionaire creating a thousand jobs and not about a thousand workers creating one billionaire.

Today we honor Juneteenth, a reminder that freedom was fought for, not given. We must honor the past by continuing to fight every day for justice, truth, and equality.

Greed is not good.

For years we've heard from the right about "welfare queens" and other so-called "freeloaders" pulling one over on the government. But actually, it's the wealthy who are the real freeloaders — pulling one over on us all by skirting their taxes. Where is the outrage over that?

“But honestly, it’s kind of fine—because the government works. It’s not as inefficient as I was expecting, to be honest. I was hoping for more easy wins.” www.govexec.com/management/2...

Busting up big corporations and tackling Wall Street’s greed. Getting big money out of politics.  Strengthening unions and fighting for higher wages. Medicare for all, paid family leave, universal childcare... This is the progressive populist agenda we need in America.

"A mere 158 families provided nearly half of all campaign contributions for the initial phase of the 2016 presidential election." Daniel Markovits, The Meritocracy Trap

"The richest 1% of Americans contribute more to political campaigns than the bottom 75% combined." Daniel Markovits, The Meritocracy Trap

"Meritocracy has become the single greatest obstacle to equal opportunity in America today." Daniel Markovits, "The Meritocracy Trap"

"A poor or middle class child therefore faces longer odds against climbing the income ladder in the United States than in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway, and Denmark." Daniel Markovits, "The Meritocracy Trap"

"Only one out of every hundred children born into the poorest fifth of households, and fewer than one out of every fifty children born into the middle fifth, will ever become rich enough to join the top 5 percent." Daniel Markovits, "The Meritocracy Trap"

@mattpolprof.bsky.social jacobin.com/2023/04/libe...

THIS. #HandsOff

In his 1957 filibuster, Strom Thurmond said "Negroes ... are not so well qualified to vote as are the white people.” A Black senator just broke the record Thurmond set with that speech. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/cory-bo...

❤️BREAKING❤️ - Bernie Sanders before 20k People in Tucson: "They have the wealth. They have all the money in the world. They have the power. They have the media. But you know what they don’t have? We’ve got 20,000 people here in Tucson and we got 100's of millions of people all across this country."

Tucson, Arizona today. Original projected attendance was 3,000 people. 23,000 showed up.

Excited to be going through this one.

WOW! AOC and Bernie Sanders just held the Biggest political event in Denver since Obama 2008.

From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA

The United States of America is the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care as a human right. The result: We rank dead last among wealthy nations in life expectancy. We must end that international embarrassment. Yes. We need Medicare for All.

We expected 2,000 people out in GOP-held Greeley, Colorado. 11,000 people showed up. Something special is happening, folks. Now is the time to organize in every dimension possible and get to work.

Sanders: We are not a poor country! There is no excuse on God’s earth for people to have to choose between food and the medicine they need to stay alive.

AOC: I want to live in an America that guarantees healthcare to every person. I want to live in an America that has a living wage for every person I want to live in an America where you have free speech to express yourself and not be afraid of being put on a list or deported.

"Ancient wisdom found in many cultures—including in Hinduism—teaches us that true wealth is to be found not in accumulation but, rather, in stewardship." merionwest.com/2025/03/17/t...

Incredible energy at the Bernie rally in Michigan today. 10,000 people showed up

In a country where the 10% richest Americans own 90% of the value of stocks, I think it is reasonable to suggest that, when hard times hit, preserving jobs, not shareholder profits, should be the first priority of firms.