Dumb Europeans—Part 2: The Bully Made Me Do It
The European collective myopia regarding the US affects major policy decisions and the reporting on them.
Author: Ilari Kaila
Fearless Girl and the Woke Oligarchs of “1984”
A publicity stunt by a transnational advertising company for a multi-trillion-dollar Wall Street behemoth gets woke people excited.
Dumb Europeans—Part 1: Will Trump Make Us Love America Again?
What’s the difference between an American liberal and a European liberal? An American liberal is harshly critical of the United States’ role in world affairs and of the flaws in American society, whereas a European liberal is harshly critical of the United States’ role in world affairs and of the flaws in American society.
Harris on Harris: The Donald Trump Edition
After the gay nightclub massacre in Orlando last year, Roger Jimenez, pastor of a small Baptist church in California, gave a sermon proclaiming that he’s “upset” the gunman “didn’t finish the job,” and that the government should have all the “sodomites” lined up against the wall and “blow their brains out.” In the ensuing backlash, Jimenez complained that […]
Donald Trump and the Continuing Bush-Obama Legacy
My first foray into blogging was when, halfway into Obama’s first term, I wrote a long article titled Little Hope for Change: A Summary of the Bush-Obama Legacy, which my friend Tim Page turned into the website Obama the Conservative. It was a blog that featured just this single, periodically updated article, nearly 20,000 words […]
Technology Bringing Dumb Ethical Questions to Life (Kind Of)
On self-driving cars and the “Trolley Problem,” buttons that kill random Chinese people, Sam Harris, and The Twilight Zone.
Duck Speeches: This Month in Mangled, Mimicked, and Meaningless Words
Political speech, as George Orwell has noted, is often not speech in the fullest sense of the word. “Duckspeak” is tribal signaling, half-consciously discharging from the speaker’s oral cavity, meant to be received in the same unthinking stimulus-reflex manner.
Brexit: Hysteria, Prejudice, and Misguided Emotion on Both Sides
Public discourse is exploding with expressions of panic and a kind of solidarity in resentment. But underneath all the scorn and anger, few substantive arguments figure into the discussion, while many of the endlessly repeated conventional points are misguided and offensive.
Satire and Free Speech
In the US, it’s irrelevant whether jokes about politicians are made by comics or politicians. In Europe, the wrong joke can land you in jail.
How to Write Your Own John Oliver Monologue
Following these steps, you, too, can easily transform a news story into John Oliver material!
Limited Hangout 