Monthly Archives: September 2012

What if the Mayans were right? #172 –Robert M. Shelby, 9-23-12. [548 txt wds]

What if the mesoamerican calendar, as represented by the great Aztec stone disk in the Plaza de Mexico, were right about the end of human time? It need not be correct for mysterious, cosmic reasons. It may be right for a confluent combination of reasons perceived and understood by many individuals on this planet; reasons […]

Comment on Forum contents, 9-21-12. –Robert M. Shelby.

Hi, Marc! Today’s Forum page? [9-21-12] What a brilliantly explosive bombshell for people who can not only read but read their own and others’ readings at the same time! It’s too bad that a couple of our frequent writers seem to lack that ability. What a lucky coup, to find Jim Pugh sandwiched between Carolyn […]

Thoughts on bad reasoning. #171 –Robert M. Shelby, 9-20-12. [488 txt wds]

It intrigues me how people arrive at bad conclusions by a process of thinking which at face value seems staightforward and uncontorted yet proceeds from distorted premise. One can argue correctly from indefensible assumptions. When that happens, the results may seem valid but will actually be quite false or, what is just as bad, be […]

Republican mystery? Nope. (correction) #170–Robert M. Shelby, 9-16-12. [490 txt wds]

Mitt Romney may not be as empty souled and vacant minded as he looks to us, in the general public, but we have little information on what he really thinks or intends. To be sure, he is portrayed as having a fine capacity for caring service to fellow humans at least within his Mormon community. […]

Vampires and ghouls? #169 –Robert M. Shelby, 9-12-12. [338 txt wds]

Are you in right-wing denial? Do you doubt, or not care, that Romney has truly been a a vampire capitalist of the worst kind? I dare you to read Richard Eskow about his use of Bain Capital uncaringly to abuse the healthcare industry and damage the whole U.S. economy. See: <http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/sick-money-how-mitt-romneys-bain-investments-are-exploding-deficit-and-harming-our?akid=9378.315724.iQuhvv&rd=1&src=newsletter708628&t=1&paging=off> Do you doubt or […]

Naked Dollar, Iron Collar. #168 –Robert M. Shelby, 9-11-12. [474 txt wds]

This Tuesday morning, MSNBC carried Mitt Romney’s speech to the National Guard. He  showed such glowing radiance of revelation about his Polyanna view of U.S. military and its glorious impact on the dangerous world as he idealized it, that for ignorant listeners he totally obscured the many dark shadows beyond, around and behind his viewing […]

Utilities distinct from commodities. #167 –Robert M. Shelby, 0-3-12. [435 txt wds]

My previous essay, “Quick course in the facts,” #166, opens further considerations that some of our citizens can argue over pointlessly. Distinction must be drawn between social utilities and commodities. Though money is often treated as a commodity, it belongs in the more fundamental category of utility. Water and electricity are vital commodities, their channels […]

Quick course in the facts. –Robert M. Shelby, 9-3-12. [1249 txt wds]

General History and Social Evolution as conceived by 19th Century thinkers have long been discredited and abandoned by historiographers and anthropologists. There is no regular, inevitable sequence of culture levels or historic phases followed by all peoples and cultures everywhere, apart from movements from simple conditions to more complex, or under bad conditions, the reverse. […]

Beyond the glass struggle. #165 –Robert M. Shelby, 9-2-12. [456 txt wds]

After watching some long, in-depth interviews with David Maraniss, author of “Barack Obama, The Story,” on C-span 3, I am more aware than ever of the President’s complex background and integrative struggles through multiple stages of adaptation which he experienced and the rich, strong, personal identity he has accomplished through them. It has made me […]

Conventional Republicans?        –Robert M. Shelby, 8-31-12.  [590 txt wds]

The Republican Convention of 2012 shows us that conventional Republicans scarcely exist, anymore, but have been sucked backwards into the barest skeleton of their GOP traditional outlook. The mendacious unreality spoken by so many people at the podium highlights the fact that these unbright “too-far-right-ists” care more about winning than about truth. Fact is much […]