This Will Be My Last Entry On This Blog

For over a decade, I have promoted the pinnacle of brain function (critical/science-based thinking) on this blog. I have had great support from mainly foreign sources (especially Singapore). However, a putrid response from my native USA has been very disappointing. Because of this, as well as increasing mental and emotional struggles with the escalating political troubles in the USA, I no longer wish to continue adding content to this blog. 

It is VERY clear where I stand on all aspects of reality. Those of you who have what I don't have, continue the battle. I have adequately presented enough information in my targeted areas to help anyone interested in learning more about them.

To anyone still interested in this blog in the future, please continue to explore it. I will leave it active indefinitely for that purpose.

Peace to you all. 

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Below, I conclude with links that are extremely pertinent to the current state of democracy in the USA.

One is an ideologue if one rejects objective evidence

MAGA is just another anti-science, cruel, and dishonest attempt by USA conservatives during the last 100 years or so to gain power and wealth at the expense of 

"We, the People."

The History of the US's War on Government by Conservatives

Republicans Are On The Wrong Side Of History - And Everything Else!

Did America Really Choose Trump? (Yes, and how sad) 

They Don't Want Smaller Government, They Want Social Darwinism

Dystopia is here

The Horror of The US House Budget Bill

House budget bill would add $3.1T to deficit and debt over the coming decade

SECRET Provisions of Bill TO HIDE Trump Crimes EXPOSED

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What is the answer to improving economics and well-being in the USA and the rest of the world? How about investing in true needs with the surplus funds of the wealthy individuals and countries through significant increases in taxes on rich individuals and countries (link)?

The Present Knowledge Concerning Human Evolution

"For nearly 250,000 years after Homo sapiens first appeared around 300,000 years ago, archaeological evidence shows minimal cultural development: basic stone tools, rare symbolic artifacts, and little technological change. This period, often referred to as "the Long Silence" — a term that emerged in the late 20th century among researchers to describe this puzzling stagnation — lasted until about 50,000 years ago. Then, a rapid cultural explosion occurred: complex tools, cave paintings, musical instruments, burial rituals, and long-distance trade networks appeared almost simultaneously, marking the start of the Upper Paleolithic Revolution."

Click on the link below for the latest understanding of where present humans came from. This video is one of many from this producer that expands our knowledge of human history:

The Prehistoric Time Hole No One Can Explain

Non-Citizen Voting In the USA: It Is A Nothingburger

"The SAVE Act passed the House in April, 2025. As it awaits consideration in Congress, we spoke with Jason Carter from the Carter Center. Yes, like that Carter. Jason is asking why Congress is working on a vanishingly rare problem: noncitizen voting. The SAVE Act, if it becomes law, will require additional proof of citizenship for all Americans seeking to register -- or reregister -- to vote. The goal? To stop all noncitizens from voting -- which rarely happens."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the truth about the major Republican voter suppression action:

Fixing a problem that doesn't exist

Heather's Letter (5/18/2025)

"Tonight, late on a Sunday night, the House Budget Committee passed what Republicans are calling their “Big, Beautiful Bill” to enact Trump’s agenda although it had failed on Friday when far-right Republicans voted against it, complaining it did not make deep enough cuts to social programs.

"The vote tonight was a strict party line vote, with 16 Democrats voting against the measure, 17 Republicans voting for it, and 4 far right Republicans voting “present.” House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said there would be “minor modifications” to the measure; Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) wrote on X that those changes include new work requirements for Medicaid and cuts to green energy subsidies.

"And so the bill moves forward.

"In The Bulwark today, Jonathan Cohn noted that Republicans are in a tearing hurry to push that Big, Beautiful Bill through Congress before most of us can get a handle on what’s in it. Just a week ago, Cohn notes, there was still no specific language in the measure. Republican leaders didn’t release the piece of the massive bill that would cut Medicaid until last Sunday night and then announced the Committee on Energy and Commerce would take it up not even a full two days later, on Tuesday, before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could produce a detailed analysis of the cost of the proposals. The committee markup happened in a 26-hour marathon in which the parts about Medicaid happened in the middle of the night. And now, the bill moves forward in an unusual meeting late on a Sunday night."

Click on the link below for the rest of the Heather Cox Richardson Newsletter:

https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/may-18-2025?r=19e0g&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

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BONUS: A bird's-eye view of how bad the situation is in the USA presently (link)

Heather's Letter: 5/17/2025

Click on the link below for Heather Cox Richardson's take on some monumental Supreme Court decisions improving equality for minorities in the USA:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-17-2025?utm_source=substack&publication_id=20533&post_id=163836326&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=19e0g&triedRedirect=true

Carl Sagan Wisdom

 

30 years ago. Ponder that.

Barbara Walters: A Lesson Regarding How To Interview Trump

Barbara Walters interviews Donald Trump on ABC's 20/20. This interview was broadcast on August 17, 1990.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TwVCuPJrMw

Due Process In The US Constitution Clarified

Here are four things you should know:

1. The Constitution clearly guarantees “due process” to all “person[s].” The Constitution’s 5th Amendment says “no person shall … be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” The word “person” makes no distinction between citizens and noncitizens. (The 14th Amendment makes this applicable to the states as well.)

2. The Supreme Court has long held that this promise extends to immigrants in deportation proceedings. In a 1993 opinion, Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, Justice Antonin Scalia — hardly a left-wing extremist — wrote that “It is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings.”

3. Due process doesn’t always require a full trial, however. At the least, immigrants facing deportation are entitled to:

(1) notice of the charges against them (the government must provide an immigrant with a charging document, often called a “notice to appear,” outlining the reasons for potential deportation).

(2) The opportunity to present evidence before an immigration judge to show why they should not be deported (e.g., asylum, student visa, green card, cancellation of removal).

(3) A judgment based on the facts of the case and applicable immigration law.

(4) the right to appeal the decision to a higher court.

4. The right to habeas corpus is fundamental to our legal system. Defandents have used habeas corpus to challenge detentions by government officials since 13th-century England and the Magna Carta. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 84, “The subjecting of men to punishment for things which, when they were done, were breaches of no law, and the practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.”

Hence, the framers provided in the U.S. Constitution that the writ of habeas corpus, carried over from British law, “shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

Needless to say, we are not now experiencing rebellion or invasion. Moreover, despite what Miller suggests, the authority to suspend the writ is placed in Article I, which outlines the powers of Congress, and not Article II, which lists those of the executive branch.

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Robert Reich - The full article

The Monty Hall Problem And Critical Thinking

"To draw conclusions and make decisions, humans often rely on heuristics—mental shortcuts that let us form judgments quickly by focusing on the most accessible information instead of analyzing every detail. Heuristics save time and effort, but they can steer us toward errors.

"According to Daniel Kahneman and Shane Fredrick, attribute substitution underlies many of our heuristics. It happens when we inadvertently swap a tough question for a simpler one and then answer that stand-in question instead."

Click on the link below for the details of how a small change in this classical psychological problem exposes lazy thinking:

Why a Twist to the Monty Hall Problem Stumped So Many

The 3-Door Problem

Congress: Get Your Act Together

"Checks and balances are at the absolute core of our governmental workings.

The framers designed a system that was directly opposed to one person or one group of people having all the power, and we see that through the myriad ways Congress can check the president. So what are those checks? How have they waned over the last few decades? And finally, why would Congress opt to use (or not use) them?

Joining us today is Eric Schickler, professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley and author of Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power."

Click on the link below for a podcast delving into what the US Congress MUST do to save our democracy:

How can Congress check the president?

A New Feature On This Blog: Heather's Letter (5/13/25)

Anyone who follows me regularly knows that my favorite historian on America is Heather Cox Richardson. She publishes an almost daily newsletter in which I find the best summary of the current issues in the USA placed within a historical context. Therefore, I have decided to publish what I see as particularly important issues here beginning today. 

Heather's Letter (5/13/25)

A Little-Known Organization That Is One Of The Most Dangerous To The USA

"John Oliver takes a look at the Alliance Defending Freedom – the legal organization behind several landmark Supreme Court cases, including the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade."

Click on the link below for an exposé of this evil group of ideologs: 

Alliance Defending Freedom: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

NO! Science Did NOT Emerge From Christianity (Full-Stop)

I have posted on the subject before, THIS, for example. Click on the link below for a classic post from one of my favorite trusted sources:

Did Christianity (and other religions) Promote The Rise of Science?

US Debt: An Existential Threat?

Click on the link below for what I think will be the first step in the process of the failure of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency and a possible return to the gold standard:

Why the US Treasury Market is on the Brink of Total Collapse 

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More on the subject here, here, here, and here.

The President As An Abusive Parent

"If you’re anything like me, it’s not just Trump’s policies that anger and depress you. It’s also the man himself.

"Ronald Reagan’s policies were terrible, but he tried to present himself as a decent man.

"Trump is a despicable human being. His odiousness affects many of us because presidents are parent figures to the nation as a whole.

"According to psychological research, we respond to presidents much as we did to parents when we were kids.

"George Lakoff, professor of cognitive linguistics at Berkeley, has found that two competing models of parenting shape political preferences: either the 'strict parent' or 'nurturant parent.'

"The strict parent views the world as a dangerous place that needs to be controlled. The nurturant parent emphasizes empathy and mutual responsibility.

"Lakoff has found that presidents are elected either because a large portion of the public wants a tough, judgmental parent — or a caring, nurturing one.

"Reagan fit into the strict parent model; Barack Obama, the nurturant parent one.

"But I think Trump represents a third model — the cruel and abusive parent. A parent so malignantly narcissistic that he wields punishment for his own satisfaction, often in unpredictable ways that make him even more terrifying.

"In other words, Trump is not just abusing presidential power by violating laws and the Constitution. His behavior is also abusive.

"His malignant narcissism is viciously vindictive. His cruelty borders on sadism; he seems to take pleasure in causing others pain. And he often changes his mind or alters the punishment, creating even more confusion and fear.

"I don’t want to oversimplify the very complex relationships between the parenting we had (or subconsciously want) and how we respond to Trump. But I believe these emotional connections are real and important. Critiques of Trump’s policies alone don’t get at them.

"Many of us who had nurturing parents are depressed and disoriented by Trump. We find it hard to comprehend how such a detestable person can wield so much power over us.

"Even many voters who hold to the strict parent view — who may have had a strict parent and perhaps voted for Trump because they felt the nation and the world were getting out of control — reject his abusiveness. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults now say that Trump has 'gone too far' in using presidential power to achieve his goals.

"A third group is profoundly shaken by Trump. Of the people I know who are most emotionally devastated by him, many had at least one abusive parent.

"I suspect some are overwhelmingly drawn to him for the same reason, but instead of being shattered by him they are fanatically loyal. This would include the sycophants now surrounding him in the White House and Cabinet who appear to share his cruelty and sadism.

"Research shows that abusive parents often become more abusive over time — more enraged, more paranoid, and less predictable.

"Hence, the children of cruel and abusive parents tend to abandon them as soon as they are able. Or cling to them ever more desperately.

"Let’s hope all of America does the former with Trump, and the sooner the better."

Robert Reich

The Regression Of US Society Through The Eyes Of A Teacher

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR A FACEBOOK REEL
THAT SHOULD SOBER YOU UP REGARDING WHAT
IS HAPPENING IN THE USA:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/656239307310917

Trump, MAGA, DOGE, And Your Privacy

"Alarm appears to be rising about how the 'Department of Government Efficiency' (DOGE) is consolidating data about Americans. Hannah Natanson, Joseph Menn, Lisa Rein, and Rachel Siegel wrote in the Washington Post today that DOGE is 'racing to build a single centralized database with vast troves of personal information about millions of U.S. citizens and residents.' In the past, that information has been carefully siloed, and there are strict laws about accessing it. But under billionaire Elon Musk, who appears to direct DOGE although the White House has said he does not, operatives who may not have appropriate security clearances are removing protections and linking data."

Click here for the rest of the article by Heather Cox Richardson.

Understand MAGA's Push For More Babies

"With Mother’s Day this Sunday, I wanted to raise a real problem — but one that’s being grotesquely distorted by Trump and his lackeys.

"Births in the United States increased by just 1 percent in 2024, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s nearly a record low.

"It means ever-fewer workers supporting ever-more retirees. There are now about 3 workers for every retiree in America. That ratio is projected to drop to about 2 workers per retiree in just five years.

"It’s a real problem, but Trump’s vow to remedy it — he’s calling for a $5,000-per-birth “baby bonus” and says he wants to be known as the “fertilization president” — has nothing to do with solving it.

"Like so much of what he touts, Trump’s “remedy” is a pretext for something else.

"He and his regime are not interested in more babies or children in America. Their real aim is to discourage abortion and encourage more traditional male-dominated nuclear households. In other words: patriarchy."

Click on the link below for more:

The White House’s avowed concern about the nation’s declining birth rate is a pretext for something else.

An Objective Look At Pope Francis & The Catholic Church

"I have often wondered why membership in the Catholic church isn’t down to zero by now—and I’ve voiced this curiosity quite a few times in my articles here. The Catholic church to date has paid out 3 to 4 BILLION dollars in legal fees because of child abuse/rape by its clergy. Why haven’t Catholics abandoned the church en masse? When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, and was welcomed as a breath of fresh air, the best thing he could have done was hold a weekly press conference to explain all the measures he had taken to get rid of pedophile priests—how many had been expelled from their positions and turned over to the police; what improved screening processes had been initiated to prevent such men from being ordained; what ongoing counseling programs had been established to help priests behave—including high ranking clergy who have transferred offending priests to other parishes. Of course, sexual abuse has come to light in many other Christian brands, but this hideous scandal qualifies the Catholic church as a dangerous cult."

Click on the link below for more:

It's Hard for a Pope to Have a Great Legacy