The Republic

Critical reflections on the issues of our republic (and a few others).

Chapter 2011 – Notes on the US Default

July 30, 2011

So we’re broke, or nearly there. Here’s a few brief thoughts: If congress get’s paid and the troops do not, we should ask for a majority vote of the armed services and send Congress to the front lines. Remember, that the debt ceiling has nothing to do with spending any more or any less money. [...]

Porn for Philanthropy

February 16, 2011

I have this idea that pornography should be more philanthropic. Here’s the premise: There’s a lot of us looking at a lot of pornography. We are, for whatever reasons, ignoring all issues of morality, seeking it out. Why not, then, tether that pornography with something philanthropic? The idea came to me from some simple data. I get [...]

Adorable Ransom

February 15, 2011

I saw this ad on Amazon from the ASPCA. Of course, you see these all the time, sometimes even on the television. And they all go the same way. ”Help us save this animal.” And we look at how cute and sad it is. Who wouldn’t want to save this dog? I get that animals [...]

Racist MythBusters

February 11, 2011

Are Mexican’s lazy? Are the French always rude? How well endowed are your black friends, really? I didn’t get a chance to discuss these myths with Myth Buster, Jaime Hyneman, the other night at a Q&A with him that I attended (by “didn’t get a chance” I mean I didn’t dare to even stand within [...]

#nopromo

February 4, 2011

Forget #nohomo, the linguistic phenomenon of undermining any potentially homosexual overtones. (As in, “I love the Rock, #nohomo.) Because one of the real issues we face today isn’t about one’s sense of self-confidence, or even homo-phobia, it’s narcissism. All modern social media depends on the ever increasing need of people to show off, in one way or another. [...]

Goat Solves AIDS

February 1, 2011

There aren’t enough problems in the world that can be solved by giving someone a goat. I mean, camon’, imagine if, “hmm, better just buy a ton of goats,” was the answer to some of the more widely publisized world dilemmas. How would goats solve these problems? Breast Cancer? Goat will fix it. Because goats [...]

The Future of the Groupon

February 1, 2011

The Groupon business model cannot last. Firstly, there are too many Groupons: Google, Living Social, Yelp, RetialMeNot, Yahoo, DealGooder, SFweekly, and on, and on, and on. I’m getting like seven “daily deals” a day, minimum. The math can’t last and here is why: The number of offered daily deals is growing exponentially, while there are [...]

Baby Boomers of the Tramp Stamp Generation

January 27, 2011

The real draw of the “Baby Boomers” notion is in watching a massive generation shift from one phase of their life to the others. The hippies are all retiring, for example. For them, this means pot-heads getting older, Hendrix becoming very classic rock, and civil-rights feeling less like an issue, more like a history lesson. [...]

The History and Future of Friendship

January 13, 2011

In the beginning, nobody had more than two friends. Indeed, having even three friends was considered terribly unwise; the logic being that, though one could keep an eye on two people quite easily during a gazelle hunt, one was never too sure where the devil that third fellow had gone. More often than not, due [...]

Islamagood

January 12, 2011

Islam needs to become the next great exercise fad. It wont work to expect regular American folks to slowly develop a tolerance, understanding, and appreciation for it and its myriad followers. We need a gimmick. Because America doesn’t like to understand; it likes to respond. We need it sold to us, placed on shelves at [...]

No One Needs A New Computer

December 20, 2010

It’s a toy. Let’s start there and everything else will be easier. Nobody – not even you – needs a new computer. I, especially, do not. I’ll always remember when my buddy asked for a laptop one year. His dad had money so he was the sort who could want something, could ask for it [...]

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repealed: The Beginning of the Queer Strike?

December 18, 2010

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” begin its process of finally being repealed today in the senate. And some senators, McCain especially, are crying out that this is bad news for the military. They say that this will cause distractions on the battlefield, that it will endanger lives. My question: do they really thing things will just [...]

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