I Made a Video On The "Dictator's Handbook" and Democratic Backsliding


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Favorite Scene From the Book: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Contains minor spoilers. For me, Philp K. Dick's  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep  speaks directly to this political moment. The book deals extensively with themes of empathy, compassion, law enforcement, our thinking about illegal immigrants and criminals, and what it means to be human. Even though it was published in 1968, the book anticipates virtual reality, and the desire to broadcast our experiences and emotions and tap into the experiences and emotions of other strangers in a way that evokes how Facebook and Twitter are used today. Like other Philip K. Dick novels, Do Androids Dream depicts Earth as a bleak post-apocalyptic dystopia. The plot follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard working for the San Francisco Police Department to hunt and kill androids living on planet Earth illegally. Deckard's work is complicated by the fact that androids are basically indistinguishable from human beings with only the following differentiators: Androids are manufact...
Read more

A Guide to Debating Ben Shapiro on Poverty in America

Shapiro's Stance: Class and income mobility exists in our society Anyone can succeed in America by simply: a) finishing high school, b) waiting until married to have kids, c) getting a job Poor people are poor because they "suck at managing their money" We don’t need to worry about poverty in America because being poor here is better than being poor in most places in the world Opening Question: Student: There’s a popular Youtube video of you speaking at a public school, with many low-income students in the audience and you say something along the lines of: “if you are permanently poor in the United States it’s because you suck with money” ( video , DailyWire article ). Shapiro: Yes, and then the principal of the school interrupted me and said I "went too far" and told the kids they were all free to leave. Student: Right. What does it mean to "suck with money"? What is this skill that all poor people lack?  Shapiro: It means...
Read more

The Forever War, Dexter Filkins

At a time when trust in the American news media is at historic lows, The Forever War is a demonstration of the invaluable journalism that is so necessary for being informed about the world and makes democracy possible. Before reading this book I knew almost nothing about my country’s war in Iraq and I didn’t know how little I knew. The way the US was operating in Iraq, its agendas and processes, the personalities entrusted with the success or failure of the project, the enemies we faced, the experience of Iraqi civilians caught in the conflict, the potential or lack thereof for installing a Democracy in the wake of Saddam Hussein, the reality of the conflict on the ground, the causalities of the conflict, the experience of our troops, etc.  The book covers the initial invasion of Iraq until 2008, so it doesn't speak directly to the rise of ISIS in Iraq, but it gives invaluable context necessary for understanding why ISIS happened. The book opens with the author’s experien...
Read more