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I want to organize a series of conversations. Dialogs, even. Two opposing viewpoints, me in the middle.

The idea is to let one party speak, while the other two listen and genuinely try to understand where the other person is coming from, what their fears are, their desires, their values, and their thinking. The goal is not to figure out where they're right or wrong, but only to fully understand their point of view, with an open and curious mind and an open, caring heart. Then we turn to the...

These people are scary!

"By Any Means Necessary". What does that mean? It sounds like violence to me. I'm not a fan of violence. I do not think it solves the problems.

And "No free speech for fascists"? I'm pretty sure that's not how free speech works. Speech is either free for all, or it's not free at all.

I draw the line at direct threats of violence. Those are not allowed.

Everything else must be allowed. Why? Not allowing people to speak their beliefs only serves to drive it...

I had no idea. Check it out!

Love caveatemp's comment on this video:

"You may have been high but you've never been Alan Watts drinking green tea in the bushes high."

ROTFL :)

I'm one of those people that first of all didn't think Trump was going to get elected, until I went upstate on November 7th and saw the large number of lawn signs for Trump, and virtually none for Hillary. I'm also one of those people who thought he'd be out by now, and who's following along in the riveting TV show that is the Russia investigating.

This talk by CIA whistleblower Kevin Shipp gives another perspective entirely.

He says the whole Russia investigation is the intelligence...

Simon Black writes:

This is one of the biggest stories of our time: the middle class… especially the lower middle class… is being decimated.

A strong middle class has long been the hallmark of modern western civilization.

In fact, history shows that throughout many dominant empires, from ancient Rome to the British Empire, a robust middle class is essential to maintain a durable society.

Where the middle class is strong and growing, civilization flourishes.

And where the middle...

I've written a page about my current project, which I've dubbed Politics 2.0 for now.

Check it out.

I'm reading Jonathan Haidt's book The Righteous Mind, and it's helping me understand conservatives a lot better.

Haidt breaks down the five innate moral "taste receptors":

1. care/harm
2. fairness/cheating
3. loyalty/betrayal
4. authority/subversion
5. sanctity/degradation

People on the left like to focus on victims, people who have suffered harm. They want to care for them. The right want to care for members of their own group who have shown loyalty, such as soldiers.

The left see fairness as...

Brad Feld a few years ago:

I spent this weekend at LindzonPalooza. Once a year Howard Lindzon gets together a bunch of his friends at the intersection of financing, tech, media, and entrepreneurship, we descend on The Del in Coronada, and have an awesome 48 hours together. Many interesting and stimulating things were said, but one I remember was from Peter Pham over dinner. It was a simple line, “why do we teach languages in junior high and high school but not a...

Abraham Lincoln:

As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.' We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except negroes.' When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of...