American Empire provides bread, circuses, and all the toys we (think we) need, stolen from other countries and future generations. I can understand why people are reluctant to abandon the empire. In exchange for inhabiting a cubicle, you get to…
Bad Company's Shooting Star blares over the PA system. Don't you know, yeah, yeah The hour is late as the game enters the top of the ninth inning. The home team has held the Industrialists scoreless, and leads by a…
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. (Arthur Schopenhauer, one of my philosophical heroes) ______________________ Based on recent comments in this space, and also in…
The industrial economy, that is. On the brink, yet again. The real economy -- not the born-again exuberance in the world's stock markets -- is stalling as the effects of easy money wear off. Indeed, investor fund flows haven't been…
1. In yet another reason to keep those shows on the air, reality TV breeds new body ideals. 2. It'll take a lot of rats to clothe plus-size models in the latest fashion accessory. 3. Encouraging us to keep the…
Actually, to counter singer/songwriter Billy Joel, we did start this FIRE. Not you and me, of course, but our culture. The U.S. industrial economy is all about Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate. The FIRE is about to run its course,…
Like global climate change, peak oil represents a predicament, not a problem. There is no politically viable solution to either of these great challenges. Political solutions require economic growth, forever, and therefore no significant sacrifice on the behalf of the…