Published inRemainders·4 days agoMember-onlyStrung hams: free speech and social mediaLast week, I raised my objections to the attempts in Congress to ban TikTok on the claim that the site is a threat to national security or to individual privacy or to our precious bodily fluids or some such. But various elements of the U.S. government are not done with…Murthy V Missouri3 min readMurthy V Missouri3 min read
Published inRemainders·Mar 18, 2024Member-onlyTikTok, security, and the hammer of CongressAccording to a saying, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. This bit of folk wisdom has had many variants over the years, going back at least to an English magazine in 1868 that described the consequence of giving a boy a hammer and chisel…Tiktok3 min readTiktok3 min read
Published inRemainders·Mar 11, 2024Member-onlyBootstraps: a story in the Cochrane-Lile GalaxyA pulsating alarm stabbed into Jim’s ears, and he flung his hands up to the side of his head. “Turn that thing off!” Silence replaced the electronic screeches, a deep silence that only comes when noise ceases in an instant. And then the lights went out — the overhead lights…Fiction13 min readFiction13 min read
Published inRemainders·Mar 4, 2024Member-onlyThe Oscars: an exercise in futilityI am informed by my current favorite search engine — SearXNG, since it works with my VPN and does not track me — that the ninety-sixth award show of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be held on Sunday, the 10th of March of this year. This…Oscars 20243 min readOscars 20243 min read
Published inInsufficient Faith·Feb 26, 2024Member-onlyThe Bible as filterAs I have explained before, I listen to Christian radio from time to time to hear what my enemies are thinking. I do not mean to suggest that all Christians are my enemies. Perhaps in other countries or on obscure stations, the liberal or progressive adherents to that religion are…Biblical Worldview5 min readBiblical Worldview5 min read
Published inInsufficient Faith·Feb 19, 2024Member-onlyThe parallel lives of C.S. Lewis and Christopher HitchensIn the spirit of Plutarch, I wish here to compare two public intellectuals who were established professionals in separate fields, but who became famous for their advocacy in the subject of religion: C.S. Lewis and Christopher Hitchens. The parallels are both surprising and obvious to anyone who knows their work…Cs Lewis3 min readCs Lewis3 min read
Published inRemainders·Feb 12, 2024Member-onlyThe leadership of celebrityI have been forced to acknowledge that some American football thing happened this weekend. I would gladly have ignored it and gone on about my business, but others keep dragging me in. As I understand it, some singer is dating one of the athletes, a titillation that has naturally stirred…Celebrity3 min readCelebrity3 min read
Published inRemainders·Feb 5, 2024Member-onlyThe trudge of progressI grew up with a rotary telephone. This is not to say that I am all that old — and the A.A.R.P. is welcome to use the junk mail they keep sending me to have a personal relationship with themselves. My family switched to dial-pad devices sometime after the breakup…Technology3 min readTechnology3 min read
Published inRemainders·Jan 29, 2024Member-onlyWhat words meanI dislike using my telephone to compose texts. I would say that I hate the process, but at the moment, the occasions for doing so are blessedly infrequent — mostly when I am using Twitter and do not have access to my desktop computer. My displeasure in this activity does…Words3 min readWords3 min read
Published inRemainders·Jan 22, 2024Member-onlyE pluribus unum?Vlad Vexler, a moral and political philosopher who shares his musings on YouTube, recently posted a video on the question of whether the actions of individuals decide history, a discussion that contrasted the individualist and collectivist positions — it is individual persons who act vs. all of us being carried…Individualism4 min readIndividualism4 min read