Category Archives: Trump (Don the Con)

Things I Worry About: How Alternative Fact Worldviews Enable Fascism

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

George Santayana, in Reason in Religion, makes the argument that religion serves the same sort of purposes that poetry does and that, while not literally true,* is nonetheless elevating. William James, in Varieties of Religious Experience, makes a pragmatic argument … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | 4 Comments

On the Dobbs Decision: It Can Happen, It Is Happening, Here

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

I’ve never liked the term unenumerated rights because the point is not whether they are numbered but whether they are expressed, so until now, I have avoided it in my comments on this decision. But that’s the standard legal term … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion, Sex and Gender, Trump (Don the Con) | 17 Comments

Ukraine and the U.S.: A Tale of Two Republics

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

In literary studies, a foil is a character who stands in contrast to another character, thereby throwing the qualities of the other character into sharp relief. I’d like to share an example, which I’ll call, “A Tale of Two Republics.”  … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | 5 Comments

How to Become an Expert on Military Strategy and Preparedness

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

Too bad we don’t have a stable genius like Donald Trump in the offal office right now, given the war in Ukraine. He is soooooo well informed! Here, a blast from the past, Trump talking to NBC reporter Chuck Todd … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | 5 Comments

What George Orwell Had to Say about Alternative Facts Universes like Those of Putin and Trump

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

We live in an open society, and so it is relatively easy for Putin to embed agents (e.g., Maria Butina) and recruit assets here to spread his “truths.” Because we are awash in agents and assets (witting and unwitting) of … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | Leave a comment

An Existentialist Perspective on Russia v. the West

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

This is an excerpt from a PBS interview with the profound, learned, witty, altogether brilliant Russian political scholar and former member of the Russian Duma Ekaterina Schulmann. It’s from a series called The Putin Files. I say that this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | Leave a comment

Why Repugnicans Support “School Choice” and a Look Back at the Repugnican National Convention

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

Republicans face an existential threat. Polling shows that young people oppose them, often by overwhelming numbers, on every issue. And, of course, the country is becoming less white. So, if they are to keep from going the way of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Politics, Religion, Trump (Don the Con) | Leave a comment

Treasonous Conspiracy at the Highest Levels of the Trump Maladministration

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

I rarely share news stories on this blog, but this one is REALLY important. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/is-doj-investigating-the-forged-documents-trump-used-in-his-coup-attempt/ar-AASWwCM?ocid=msedgntp

Posted in Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | Leave a comment

IQ 45’s Arizona Rally, 1/16/2022, a Review

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

Trump on the stump with his chumps In Arizona today, Trump gave another of his blithering, stupid speeches, this one to kick off his campaign to win the midterms and then, again, the Presidency. If you didn’t hear this speech, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | 8 Comments

News from the Near Future

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Bob Shepherd

NB: All statistics in this essay are from Pew Research unless otherwise noted. Republicans face an existential crisis, but they have a plan. First, young people don’t share their ideologies (racism, ultranationalism, laissez-faire Capitalism, fundamentalist Christianity). Consider Millennials. Only 12 percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Trump (Don the Con) | 10 Comments