This is an essay I wrote for admission to a Masonic lodge.                Opinions differ about what human rights are.  The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was championed by Eleanor Roosevelt, has 30 articles.  The Declaration of Independence famous statement that “all men are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that […]

I know I’ve been away for awhile between my last post and the one before that.  Hope you had a good time on the 4th.  There has been some podcasts in conjunction with the holiday.  The first was on NPR’s science Friday where Dr. Edward Frenkel discusses how understanding math enables citizens to better question […]

In 2006 Australian author Rhonda Byrne published a self improvement book which became an international best seller followed by a movie.  A friend suggested I read her book called The Secret.  I’ve had similar suggestions before from friends who want to improve my life who have all meant well.  The book presents a pretty simple […]

Chris Hayes at The Nation Magazine and at Up with Chris Hayes on MSNBC has written a book called Twilight of the Elites: America After the Meritocracy on how ivory tower elites alienate the rest of the American Public on all sides of the political spectrum.  That discussion which can be seen above with the […]