AOC

Do not be distracted by the Democratic Socialism business. AOC is as much a socialist as Bernie, which is to say, she is not. Neither of them are. They’re centrist politicians whose positions track with the majority of Americans.

I know America prefers her presidents male, White, and rich, and who cater to the class they come from. But having someone on Pennsylvania Avenue who is for things like Medicare for all would be nice, no?

I’m not distracted by tokenism. It would be nice to have a female Puerto Rican-American in the White House, for sure. But I do not think being this or that has inherent value. One can be White and rich and be an excellent executive. Likewise, one can be Black and be an awful human being (talking about you, Clarence and Condoleezza). That said, AOC would indeed bring a breath of fresh air to the position. 

As for her politics, anyone who has read this blog for a few minutes knows that what gets branded as “progressive” in this country is not. There is nothing progressive about everyone having healthcare. Nothing. Most of the developed world has universal healthcare. Borrowing from German chancellor Otto von Bismarck is progressive?

Into the bargain, she is for workers’ rights—including a $15 federal minimum wage—poverty reduction, and sound policy on the environment. She also has a reasonable approach to immigration, but this is not a priority item for me; concern is generally racist and ultra-nationalist. I advocate for open borders, but I’m not so naive as to think this will catch on anytime soon.

We have already tried a president who makes sexual remarks about his daughter, ridicules people with disabilities, and talks about women like they’re property. Don’t get me wrong: I do not think for one second criticizing Trump is a political position. Medicare for all is a political position. It’s high time Americans voted their interests and not the interests of people who wouldn’t wipe their shoes on them. 

Do I think AOC has a chance? That is entirely up to us.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/15/will-aoc-run-for-president

Episode 22: Death

Michael and I discuss death. And Potsie Weber, and Spinal Tap, and proctology, and Chevy Chase, and Alice Cooper.

 

Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn was a national treasure. He was a historian who wrote the immensely popular A People’s History of the United States. When I read it years ago, it took me a long time, because I kept giving my copy away: “Here, you really need to read this!”

I’m not sure how many copies I went through, but it was a few. And it’s that good. It is American history told from the positions of the slaves, from the factory worker, from those who suffered racist policy.

Some might roll their eyes and assume this is just a bunch of leftist mumbo-jumbo. It is not; it is careful scholarship. The version of history we are accustomed to is told from the perspective of power. Many Americans know we lost 58,000 service personnel in Vietnam; most do not know, or even consider the fact, that Vietnam lost 2-3 million people.

Yes, change has occurred. We have rethought Christopher Columbus. But most of our thinking is oriented toward power. An educated population is a threat. Therefore a palatable version of the country’s history is presented in the classroom. Is this a conspiracy? Teachers are presenting sanitized versions of the history under the watchful eye of secret police? No.

It starts when we’re children. A certain way of thinking is absorbed by children. This thinking was provided them by adults. Why do you think America got “sucked into” Vietnam? Because that is what was drilled into your head. Because we do not want to think of our country committing crimes. And that is the issue.

We conflate the population with the machinery of state. We look at the flag, thinking “I am America.” Children in droning unity, hands over hearts, say the pledge of allegiance every morning. “[W]ith liberty and justice for all.”

“I am America.” The flag means “me.” If the flag does something bad, I did something bad. If the flag kills innocent people, I killed innocent people. “And I’ll be damned if someone’s gonna accuse me of bad things. I am a good person! And therefore American must be good!”

Tribal thinking runs deep in American culture. If people get angry about police brutality? The Thin-Blue Line flags come out, saying “Leave White people alone!” If gay people, who have been treated like dirt for forever, have a pride parade? We begin seeing straight-pride parades cropping up. Black Lives Matter? All Lives Matter.

Why cannot people get on the side of those being abused and oppressed and killed? Why does the switch get flipped to a tribal reaction? “No one criticizes White people!” The thinking here is “I am White, I must be the one being criticized.” “I don’t have privilege!”

Zinn even goes through the history of how the power elite saw common cause being found between Black slaves and White indentured servants. Can’t have that. Solidarity? That had to be prevented. And it was. Many racist concepts used by White people today can trace their genesis to this chapter in America’s past.

Reading Zinn’s book can, dare I say, help encourage you to become a better person. We all need to be better people.

Why do I get the feeling someone just read that and thought, “I don’t!”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/06/howard-zinn-the-peoples-historian-book
 

Groceries

 

I guess I’ll just keep saying it. The nation is not divided, and most Americans want the same thing.

The polling data reveal that about two-thirds of Americans are in agreement on just about all political issues.

According to this Guardian article:

“When asked to describe what a better life in three to five years would look like, 60% of Americans said they wanted greater financial security … with 90% of respondents listing [groceries] as their top cost-of-living concern….”

Most Americans are in-sync with the Progressive Caucus. Most Americans are “liberal.” Most Americans are progressive.

Yet, they vote for the wealthy being handed free money. They vote for the working class and working poor getting squeezed.

The current president has spent $40 billion on the war with Iran. He seems disinterested with the plight of the working class and working poor.

According to the Silver Bulletin, “21 percent of Americans strongly approve of the job [Trump’s] doing.”

Almost 60 percent disapprove.

Why, might we ask, did you vote for him? You’re disappointed now?

Did something change?

https://t.ly/qhjlh

Frozen Binomials!

 

I have recently become obsessed with pairs of words that appear in a specific order, called frozen binomials. There are lists of them online; I just wanted to do my own. I have come up with an inventory of frozen binomials, which is in no way comprehensive.

I did not include sequential pairs, e.g., search and destroy. One searches then destroys. Same with smash and grab, catch and release, divide and conquer.

I also did not include smaller-to-greater pairs, e.g. nickel and dime.

Friend Michael did a few during a brief phone call.

Feel free to suggest some I missed—of which there are many.

• Apples and oranges
• Biscuits and gravy
• Black and white
• Bread and butter
• Brick and mortar
• Brother and sister
• Cars and trucks
• Cats and dogs
• Cinnamon and sugar
• Coffee or tea
• Cook and clean
• Cookies and milk
• Cops and robbers
• Country and Western
• Cowboys and Indians
• Cuts and bruises
• Dollars and cents
• East and west
• Fire and brimstone
• Frankincense and myrrh
• Fruits and vegetables
• Good and evil
• Ham and eggs
• Hammer and chisel
• Hammer and nails
• Hammer and tongs
• Hands and knees
• Hit or miss
• Horse and buggy
• Hot and cold
• Hugs and kisses
• Ketchup and mustard
• Left and right
• Lemon and lime
• Loud and clear
• Man and wife
• Meat and potatoes
• Moan and groan
• Mr. and Mrs.
• North or south
• Oil and water
• Paper or plastic
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Pen and pencil
• Pipes and cigars
• Piss and moan
• Pots and pans
• Salt and pepper
• Sand and surf
• Shoes and socks
• Sick and tired
• Soap and water
• Song and dance
• Stars and stripes
• Sticks and stones
• Surf and turf
• Tea or coffee
• This or that
• Thunder and lightening
• Tooth and nail
• Up and down
• Vinegar and oil
• Vitamins and minerals
• Wear and tear

Intelligence

 This keeps coming up lately. I continue to bump into the subject of intelligence and IQ. In personal conversation, in shows I am watching, etc.

I wrote this essay last year and wanted to share it again (see below).

As I tell my students, IQ is three inches on a twelve-inch ruler. It generally means you’re good at math, chess, standardized tests, and so on. There is then intellectual intelligence. This means you can read Plato and have something to say about it; you can navigate concepts and come up with insights.

There are other types of intelligence, such as moral intelligence. One can have more than one. For instance, one can have a high IQ and a high moral intelligence.

This is not a case where everyone gets a trophy. Intelligence is biological. Some people are tall. Some people are strong. Some people are good looking. And some people are “smart.” Some people are not tall. Some are not good looking. Take my meaning?

But do not despair: Everyone is good at something. All have talents and abilities, and some things just come easy.

IQ is not the measure of intelligence. It is a measure of intelligence. In this culture, if you do well on the SAT, you’re smart. Congratulations! Those clowns in MENSA would love to have you. The rest of us are dummies? [wrong-answer buzzer]

And I find this interesting: What makes one smart is the ability to excel at what is presently being pushed. STEM has basically become a religion. So, to be able to excel at STEM-related subjects is to be smart. What those hippies are doing in the English Department? Poetry has no value, biochemistry does. Therefore, it’s concluded that an aptitude for biochemistry = smart. An aptitude for reading poetry and producing incisive analysis = not smart.

This culture has interesting priorities.

https://www.gregoryharms.com/essays-20251121 

Funeral Parlor Etiquette

 

 

 

Wakes and funerals are hard. Losing those we love is a painful experience for all involved. I have unfortunately been to many, many of them. I could not give you a number. 

And with my extensive experience has come a few observations. I thought I’d share a few (four) etiquette suggestions to help maybe make this difficult experience smoother, easier, and more refined.

1. Please put on a collared shirt and maybe iron it. I know Americans are not fussy about clothing and appearance, but when there’s a dead body in the room, perhaps dial it up a notch. I have seen people at wakes who looked like they were going to a beach party. Make an effort, FFS.

2. Keep the line moving. You’re not there to tell your life story. You’re not at a cocktail party. Share your sadness and move along to paying your respects. This is why you’re there. The world does not revolve around you. And chances are, your conversation is vapid anyway, because you’re trying to be either entertaining or deep. You’re likely neither.

3. Don’t try to be deep. You’re probably not. Please, do not say things like “Everything happens for a reason.” It does not. There is nothing cosmic or preordained about the person being deceased. Does God kill people because he’s bored? I rather doubt it. Of course, some will say “God works in mysterious ways.” When I hear this, I think of Roman statesman Cicero: “Mystery is the wisdom of blockheads.” Just say your sorry, that you feel bad, and keep the line moving.

4. Do not start talking about the person you just lost. The day belongs to the family and the bereaved. No one wants to hear “We just lost my aunt.” Nobody—in that context—cares. Again, just say you’re sorry, that you feel bad, and keep the line moving.