My Friend Leah—update 9

One of the problems with interacting with someone who is a lot smarter than you are is you are constantly reminded of the fact. It never stops. There are no weekends off. Leah is such a person.

We were chatting one day, and I suggested we read together Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. “Maybe in a couple years we could read it.” I am buried in Adam Smith studies at the moment; I am re-reading the Wealth of Nations, which is a thousand pages of eighteenth-century political economy. I am also reading books about Adam Smith, and will read his Lectures on Jurisprudence as well as re-read his Theory of Moral Sentiments. I have a lot on my plate.

Sartre’s magnum opus is 800 pages and at times a very (very) challenging read. It’s one of those books one should read a couple books on before tackling. Anyhoo, when I suggested this to Leah, she looked at me like I was an idiot and said, “Just read both.” “Um …,” I replied, “do you see what I am presently doing??” And she said it again, this time with greater emphasis: “Just read both!!” (We discussed this at some length, and the conversation never got past what you’ve already just read.)

Leah is frequently in pain, lonely, afraid. She has a head full of bad memories—the kind you cannot imagine. There is a small (very small) number of us who try our best to make her feel loved and safe. She is sometimes in agony, has trouble sleeping, and every day is a question mark.

Her sleep partner has for a couple years been her dog, Sophie (not real name). Sophie was a beautiful purebred with just a lovely temperament. Sadly, Sophie’s kidneys never developed properly and at the age of two, recently had to be put down. This was an unfair cruelty to Leah.

I said, “Your home needs cheer and joy, and I would get a puppy in that house as soon as possible.” Leah found a breeder in Ohio, and there is now a new puppy running around the house. He is a delight, about the cutest thing you have ever seen, and is all paws. He’s going to be a big boy. I have seen photos of his parents—who were show dogs—and, yes, he’s going to be big.

Despite the loss of Sophie, dare I say Leah’s been doing pretty well—at least to my eyes. I pointed this out to her and she cut me a look. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface. I’m of course aware of this.

She has shared journals from previous years and stays in the psych ward. They detail the torture she endured as a girl. As I have likely mentioned before, I bear no anger toward the individual who did this. It’s like being bitten by a rattle snake. Do you get angry at the snake? No. You might get angry at having been bitten, but the snake was just doing what poisonous snakes do.

I’m ashamed that I have in the past pondered the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas: “The blessed in the kingdom of heaven will see the punishments of the damned, in order that their bliss be more delightful for them.” I imagine him—and those who looked the other way—burning in hell.

If there is a heaven, it’s a place where people see what they did in life with perfect clarity. Their sins and the causing of pain in others are their own punishment. Plato said this. So did Aristotle. The Bible also says this (Jeremiah 2:19). As does the Quran.

But that puppy is so cute, I can barely stand it.

Puppy traffic is hard on carpet. So Leah bought a carpet shampooer. She went Bissell, but I use a Hoover for my carpet shampooing needs. (Like puppies, MS patients are also hard on carpet.) She says she read a crazy amount of reviews, and claims the Hoovers did not perform well. (An argument ensued; this is what we argue about.)

I then asked if she was using Zep carpet shampoo. No. What?? I cannot. So, I ordered her a jug of Zep. She said, “You’re strange. I love you, but you’re seriously strange.” I can’t sit idly by while someone is not using Zep!

Reading Smith’s Wealth of Nations and Sartre’s Being and Nothingness at the same time?? [sigh] Fine, I’ll be the dumb friend.

Archbishop Oscar Romero

I live by this, and all my students know this is the guiding principle to which I adhere.

If you're not familiar with Oscar Romero, maybe get that fixed.

Alice Cooper

 

I don’t expect anyone to “like” this. I don’t expect anyone to even like this. I just wanted it on my blog.

This is a performance by Alice Cooper in 1981 on the Tom Snyder Show. It is Alice at not only a career low point, but he is also battling severe (and I mean severe) alcoholism. He was a wreck at this point—in both departments. He put out about half a dozen albums from the late Seventies to the early Eighties. How? I have no idea.

I happened upon this clip by chance. I am a huge fan of Alice Cooper, and have been since about age 14. But this period always left me at a loss.

I watched the interview; he’s likable and funny as usual. So I watched one of the performances—this one—and it’s from an album that is not great. Yet, I watched it anyway. Then again. Then again.

I have probably watched the first two and a half minutes about 30-40 times. The facial expressions, the little vocal details. The studio version of the song—“Who Do You Think We Are?”—is a snore. But this live version is outstanding.

He must have felt awful. But it does not show in the interview or the performance. This is a case of Gregory sees something wonderful. (I can’t help what I see and hear.) But just maybe you’ll like it. Please let me know if you do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7LoKr9EyyI

One Year of the Inquiry

Public Opinion on Iran

Well, this is not terribly surprising. A healthy majority of Americans disagree with what is happening. It’s at least always 60 percent. Yet, Americans vote contrary to their interests. They feel one way, then they go to the polls leaving their thoughts and feelings at home. Most curious.

As for Iran, if they weren’t developing a nuclear weapon before—and there’s nothing to suggest they were—I would imagine they are now.

If you voted for the current administration, you voted for this. But some will say, “He promised he would not do this! He even criticized Obama for maybe thinking about it!” Yes, and he’s shown himself time and again to be a man of integrity?

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/02/politics/cnn-poll-59-of-americans-disapprove-of-iran-strikes-and-most-think-a-long-term-conflict-is-likely

Episode 19: Islam

Well, it’s been recorded. Finally. I think it turned out pretty well. It needs a lot of editing—poor Logan—but I think I covered everything I intended to cover regarding Islam and the Arabs. I prepped a good deal, but did not rehearse. So, it’s organically conversational—warts and all.

The next episode will have a relatively quick turnaround. I will simply be sharing my personal thoughts on religion.

And on March 7 the Inquiry turns one year old. My, my.

US Foreign Policy—20 Points

1. Power exists.

2. Power is “the ability to do something or act in a particular way.” It can also mean “a state or country, especially one viewed in terms of its international influence and military strength.”

3. After 1945 (WWII), the United States was the most powerful country in the world.

4. Its moment had arrived, and its expansionist tendencies could now be globalized.

5. Part of being the most powerful country in the world is to make sure other countries cooperate—especially small ones. Lack of cooperation will not be tolerated.

6. The US-Soviet contest, called the Cold War, was largely theater. The Soviet Union was in a distant second place.

7. Most of what you have seen in the movies is categorical nonsense.

8. Now that the United States had its villain, Uncle Sam could blame everything on Moscow and chalk it up to “national security.”

9. As of the 1950s, the Middle East became a place of great interest, largely due to its vast oil reserves. Oil is no longer a huge issue; weapons are the name of the game now.

10. The same intolerance for democracy is currently in place. It is and has been known the people of the Middle East would never like this arrangement. Too bad. Thugs are sponsored as leaders in the region—as they were under British-French colonialism. But the United States is in charge.

11. There is one country in the region that seemed aggressive and willing to do Uncle Sam’s bidding: Israel.

12. Israel is a mostly artificial country (well, they all are, but Israel more so) that up until recent decades was economically unviable. It excels at things like ethnic cleansing and attacking its neighbors, but as a nation state it is small and rather insignificant.

13. Israel’s GDP is just under Michigan’s—around $550 billion.

14. The United States has a GDP of $30 trillion.

15. The United States is the most powerful military power in human history.

16. It takes orders from nobody.

17. “Deterrence” and “credibility” are concepts in US foreign policy, which means Uncle Sam smashes a small country occasionally, merely to keep smaller states in line.

18. The Israel lobby, while influential, is merely pushing in the direction Uncle Sam is headed already. Does a mafia don need to be influenced that crime is the best option? (Does a country the economic size of Michigan push around a country over 50 times its size?)

19. Iran is a case of a country not cooperating (since 1979) and it has always aroused Uncle Sam’s wrath.

20. The trajectory of US foreign policy can be traced back to the country’s beginnings, and what we’re seeing with Iran is wholly unsurprising. The only surprising thing is the population always falls for this and always supports it.