Maslow's Political Blog

Of the handful of books which have changed my life, The Next 100 Years , written in 2009, by George Friedman remains one of my favorites.  Not only do I think it is an extraordinary book, but it is also the only book of which I say I have a favorite chapter (Chapter 3) 1 .  It contains a straightforward observation about computers, from which Friedman draws some extraordinary conclusions. “The computer is based on binary logic… To a computer, everything is a number, from a letter on a screen to a bit of music. Everything is reduced to zeros and ones...  It is a powerful and seductive tool. Yet it operates using a logic that lacks other, more complex, elements of reason. The computer focuses ruthlessly on things that can be represented in numbers. By doing so, it also seduces people into thinking that other aspects of knowledge are either unreal or unimportant. The computer treats reason as an instrument for achieving things, not for contemplating things. It narrows d...

Even if the entirety of the Epstein files are released, it will change nothing. I don't mean because "they" will "win" and avoid justice.  But because, given what has already been released, it's clear there's no evidence of an elite pedophile sex trafficking ring.  There's plenty of embarrassing information, and  evidence of crimes , but nothing pointing to a large conspiracy to unmask. But, boy, do we wish there was!  It would be exciting to live during a time of big change.  The Big Bads of the world are revealed, defeated, and something new arises to take its place.  We get to be in the struggle.  Our names go down in history.  In a decadent time, we finally get something that matters.  Our lives can have BIG meaning, rather than eking out an existence which consists of work, community, and leisure. But work, community, and leisure are the cornerstones of life. Work provides us money, which is needed to live comfortably in society....