Database Application Specialist, Independent Scholar, Student of Language
I occasionally run searches on Terrence Deacon to see whether any new essays or videos have become available. Today’s search surfaced an article at InsideHigherEd.com about the plagiarism charges made by Michael Lissack and others through the site TheTerryDeaconAffair.com. So … Continue reading →
Bill O’Reilly’s rhetoric is reaching incendiary levels in the wake of Barack Obama’s reelection. “Traditionalism” might have won, O’Reilly argues, if Romney had organized his campaign in opposition to Secular Progress, defined for his critically astute viewers as a movement … Continue reading →
The aspiration embodied in the statement “We the people” cast a long shadow in American and human history. William O. Douglas was very savvy in using the term “penumbras” to describe the extension of rights delineated in the Bill of … Continue reading →
Obama often hits home runs when giving big speeches. Last night’s speech at the Democratic convention wasn’t one of them… Maybe a stand up double compared to Romney’s bunt single last week. That’s not so bad, though. Obama’s turn at … Continue reading →
Timothy Eagan of the New York Times vents about evidence-challenged members of Congress (all Republicans) in a recent Opnionator blog post. I weighed in with this comment ( It hasn’t appeared after several hours, apparently because the site is having … Continue reading →
Old attitudes die hard, and especially the one about humans beings possessing properties that can’t be explained by biological evolution. A good example appeared recently at “The Stone,” a soap box for distinguished philosophers provided by The New York Times. … Continue reading →
These anti-abortion politicians would have a lot more credibility as advocates on behalf of innocent life if they weren’t such enthusiastic advocates of dropping bombs on other countries and such tolerant forgivers of the “collateral damage” that American wars and … Continue reading →
“All of these people should be after Obama and Holder!” Beneath the bluster, on this one O’Reilly is asking a fair question, and certainly an important one. The gist of the question, sobered up, is this: Given that the Occupiers … Continue reading →
I simply don’t have the time to keep up with all the twisted truths and outright lies that O’Reilly’s been spewing over the last few weeks. Tonight I had to react. While watching I simultaneously felt horror at his blatant … Continue reading →
O’Reilly hosted Richard Dawkins, who’s on a book tour promoting a science primer called “The Magic of Reality.” All the nearby bookstores have closed down, so I haven’t seen the book yet, but I’m aware that each chapter apparently opens … Continue reading →