Politics
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Lies, Damned Lies… and Political Lies

Peter Corning's picture
Peter Corning
February 02, 2018

The famed British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is reputed to have said "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." His wry comment (later quoted by Mark Twain) was intended to call attention to how easily we can be misled by spurious precision.  Perhaps this is what inspired Darrell Huff’s classic small book, How to Lie with Statistics.

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World Views
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Ayn Rand Versus Plato

Peter Corning's picture
Peter Corning
January 30, 2018

Plato’s great dialogue, the Republic, written more than 2000 years ago, remains one of the most influential works about social justice ever written.  The twentieth century novelist and social philosopher Ayn Rand, perhaps the most influential conservative/ libertarian voice of the present day, had a radically different vision.  So, it might be useful to do a brief comparison between Plato and Ayn Rand.

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Spirituality
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Silence

Erasmus's picture
Erasmus
January 30, 2018

Your names always went together, or maybe after 30 years of marriage, one remembers the names like that, like salt and pepper. You can imagine the surprise and shock when I got the news- actually delayed news. I received a message late at night/early morning, telling me to please phone, it’s not good news, it is devastating news.

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Business
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How are large corporations like Walmart handing out tax windfalls to the people?

PR for People Team
January 29, 2018

How are  large corporations handing out tax windfalls to the people? In a surprise move that shows how Walmart plans to redistribute part of their windfall from corporate tax cuts with their employees, they have fired thousands of Sam Club employees nationally. 

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Tech
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The Digital View of Making It

Dean Landsman's picture
Dean Landsman
January 29, 2018

“Making it” can take on many meanings. To some it can be as simple as having a job in a field of their choice. To others, rising to the top of the field of their choice would be making it.  Another variation would be attaining a certain position in that field.

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Comedy
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Jersey City Has a New Room, Style Advice and More

Jeffrey Gurian's picture
Jeffrey Gurian
January 26, 2018
Jersey City Has a New Room, An Ex Comic Has Style Advice For Comedians, Plus News From Ian Fidance, and More
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Tech
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Your Camera's Shutter

William Lulow's picture
William Lulow
January 23, 2018

Note: At the risk of sounding too “scientific” I thought this little lesson might help the average photographer understand more about how the camera actually works.

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World Views
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The Biosocial Contract, Part 2: Some Policy Implications

Peter Corning's picture
Peter Corning
January 21, 2018
 
An ideology without a concrete, programmatic plan for how to realize its objectives is merely rhetoric, or fantasy, or perhaps even sophistry.  It’s only when you spell out the social, economic and political implications of your vision that you allow its merits, and practicality (and political viability) to be tested in the real world.  Marxism was extremely vague and permitted the likes of Lenin, Stalin, and Mao to fashion their own political agendas.  Modern libertarianism, likewise, comes in a bewildering array of sometimes contradictory views.  Some libertarians seem to take a piecemeal approach (in this country at least), focusing on such specific political issues as legalizing marijuana, gay/lesbian/transgender rights, Obamacare, etc.
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