Chaos and Order: A Review

A few months ago, I ran across the blog Chaos and Order (formerly called Philosophy and Madness), and I have been quite impressed with its content. It is produced by a guy by the name of Doug Dobbins and he seems to be a very astute philosopher. As one might assume from the title, its focus is completely different from this blog. An issue frequently arises in Dobbins' posts is the dissonance between the ubiquitous adversarial nature of the world and the need for harmony in society. This is the crux of the human paradox. I would advise anyone to take a look at this blog; it is well worth it.

US Goverment Debt Greater than Global GDP

RT reported last Tuesday that a report by James Hamilton out of the University of California San Diego has estimated that the Federal Government has accumulated $70 Trillion in unofficial debt. The World Bank calculations for Global GDP for 2012 is $71 Trillion. In short unofficial US debt is virtually equal to Global GDP.  It might be feasible for the US the clear its unofficial debt by subsuming the entire planet, but considering that the official debt is $12 Trillion and rapidly rising that option would solve the US's fiscal problems. To pay its debt off the US will need send explorers like Cpts. Kirk and Picard into the nether reaches of the Galaxy to rape and pillage as of yet unknown planets or devalue the dollar to such an extent that the ratio isn't ludicrous. The RT article can be found here.

Two American Families (Frontline)

This week PBS's Frontline released its ground breaking documentary following two blue collar families from Milwaukee over the past 22 years--"Two American Families." From the halcyon days of well paid industrial labor through the leaner years of the creation of Alan Greenspan's precariate to the economic non-existence of the Lesser Depression, Bill Moyers and Frontline trace the hardships and struggles of the once mighty American Middle Class.

They provide a front row seat to see first-hand the atomization of American culture through the eyes of "ordinary people" drawing a correlation between the macro level power-plays and politics and the micro level bills that are unmet, gutted communities, and hopelessness of the forsaken. Marx once said that the history of a family is the history of a nation. "Two American Families" is the story of the United States as the American Dream began to evaporate in the twilight of Empire.

Check it out on the PBS website, here, or tune into your local PBS station.

RT Op-Ed: Pain in the Brass

In an Op-Ed presented on RT several months ago, “Pain in the Brass: Petraeus Joins Sullied Trinity of Fallen Generals”, William Echols has written an exceptional analysis of Gen. Petraeus' fall from grace. He brings various pieces of puzzle together from break with tradition that was the Petraeus doctrine and ultimate failure to the willingness of the Obama doctrine to ride rough-shod over the American Brass.

With three four-star generals disgraced in as many years and the tale-tale signs that two more (Generals Allen and Ward) will have joined them on the chopping block in as many weeks, Echols' Op-Ed for RT lays bare questions that should be in the forefront of responsible journalism.