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Looking back at Heinlein's Future History - coming true before our eyes.
This one is so pertinent and important, I tried to find a more public
venue for it. But one of the tragic consequences of the Trump Era is the
decay of op-ed journalism -- everyone recycling the same whines. I'll
speak more of this, at the end. But now -- this just can't be put off,
any longer. Prepare to go wide-eyed! == A chilling forecast: accurate
down to the last detail == You can sway a tho
Economic Inequality: opportunity vs outcomes
Our last posting -- extensively shared by thousands -- offered long,
verbatim quotations from epic science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein,
revealing his amazing prophecy of an America falling into perilous
failure mode. Now let's back off from our immediate crisis and try some
perspective. == The Equality Problem == This article - Is Inequality
Inevitable? — asks a fair enough question, whose
Facing a future of technologic wonders: Artificial Intelligence
Don't be demoralized; we've faced waves of anti-science mania before.
Today, let's assume we decide to resume being a boldly confident,
ever-ambitious, scientific and technological civilization, in which
children believe they can be better than their parents... but parents
make that goal hard to achieve, in the best way, because we're improving
too! Okay then, consider some innovations that will
Mar 16
Shifting views on immigration
In 1939, the infamous ship St. Louis limped around the Atlantic and
Caribbean with over 900 German Jews on board. Arm-twisted by the Nazis,
but also shamefully, the United States and Cuba both refused sanctuary
to the refugees. Eventually the ship returned to Germany and most of the
passengers on board were eventually killed during the Holocaust. Bard
College professor an director of the Hannah A
Mar 14
Science Fiction: Into the future
Let's take a pause to envision how science fiction makes a difference.
First by pointing at the rocks that lie in wait, downstream, that might
yet be avoided. Second, by shining light upon the possible -- on things
that we might want, or the people we choose to become. And finally...
... the category of I told you so. Rubbing our Cassandra warnings in the
faces of those who just didn't listen! Ve
Mar 10
Inconvenient facts: The future of news.. and "otherness" has been stolen!
I recently spoke (via Beam robot) at a conference on “The Future of
News Media” hosted by the Institute For The Future (IFTF), in San
Francisco. An erudite gathering of concerned men and women from around
the world discussed problems of Fake News, declining advertising
revenues, state interference, self-censorship, and the web’s tendency to
corral individuals into self-isolated pocket universes t
Mar 06
Which crisis will we face next?
All right, here is the danger I fear most right now. The heads of four
world powers desperately fear democracy in their own nations. All four
want to trigger war between the United States and Iran. A while back, I
did a round-up regarding international affairs and their calamitous
bungling, in recent weeks. But I left you with the impression that war
with Iran might happen because of “stumbling,”
Feb 28
Economics under Trump
Please. We have one hope. That a civilization built by pragmatic
idealists -- who used fact-grounded skills to craft a nation and a
gradually better society -- can somehow use facts to save it. We will
win this on two fronts: (1) by steadily peeling away from the rabid
confederacy more adult Americans, one by one... and (2) by showing
die-hard confeds that their self-interest does not lie with th
Feb 25
Revenge of the Deep State?
" Deep State " is a buzz phrase that's been around. It stands for the
obstinate obstruction that political reformers may face - even when they
win elections - from a nation's civil servants, bureaucrats,
contractors, influential stakeholders and - especially - the security
apparatus. The term was used for many years on the left , citing the
last moderate Republican president, Dwight Eisenhower, w
Feb 22
Trump's Divided America This reporter tried hard, for a week to live life with no reference to the President (read Farhad Manjoo in The NY Times ). But this mother of storms exceeds any combination of known attention storms. Sci fi offers a simple explanation. He is an attention vampire. However many hate him... however little he actually accomplishes... an attention vampire will flourish as ever-more humans look atThe Vigilant Citizen
Mar 21
Katy Perry Accused of Witchcraft by Nuns As She Wins Court Battle to Buy Their Former Convent
This post Katy Perry Accused of Witchcraft by Nuns As She Wins Court
Battle to Buy Their Former Convent appeared first on The Vigilant
Citizen . Two nuns who are strongly opposed to Katy Perry purchasing
their former convent accused Katy Perry of witchcraft and of “selling
her soul to the devil”. They really don’t want her to move in there. The
singer whose last single was about people being too
Symbolic Pics of the Month 03/17
This post Symbolic Pics of the Month 03/17 appeared first on The
Vigilant Citizen . In this edition of SPOTM: Emma Watson, Gigi Hadid,
Bella Hadid, a triceratops and some inappropriate stuff happening at the
Kid’s Choice Awards. Emma Watson is an “It” celeb at this particular
moment and, of course, the media attention comes with a bunch of
symbolic stuff (even photo “leaks”). Some controversy sur
The Vigilant Citizen Forums Are Back … For Good!
This post The Vigilant Citizen Forums Are Back … For Good! appeared
first on The Vigilant Citizen . It took some time and effort, but The
Vigilant Citizen are back online – and they’ve been greatly improved.
The VC Forums were taken offline a few months ago due to several issues
that could not be fixed without drastic modifications. The main issue
was that s that occurred on the forums sometimes
Mar 10
New Wikileaks Dump About CIA Hacking Sheds Light On the Mysterious Death of Michael Hastings
This post New Wikileaks Dump About CIA Hacking Sheds Light On the
Mysterious Death of Michael Hastings appeared first on The Vigilant
Citizen . The latest Wikileaks dump is said to be the “biggest exposure
of CIA spying secrets ever”. It reveals how the agency hacks into
consumer products to turn them into spying devices … and how it can even
remotely take control of cars. Entitled Vault 7: CIA H
Katy Perry’s “Chained to the Rhythm” Sells an Elite-Friendly “Revolution”
This post Katy Perry’s “Chained to the Rhythm” Sells an Elite-Friendly
“Revolution” appeared first on The Vigilant Citizen . “Chained to the
Rhythm” is your typical Katy Perry pop song but with a slight subversive
twist. However, there is intense “double think” going on here. Indeed,
the “rebellion” presented by the video is actually accepting the global
elite’s agenda that has been pushed for ye
Feb 28
Witches Worldwide Target Trump in Mass Occult Ritual
This post Witches Worldwide Target Trump in Mass Occult Ritual appeared
first on The Vigilant Citizen . On the evening of February 24th, at the
stroke of midnight, witches worldwide will engage in a mass occult
ritual to “bind Trump and all those who abet him”. I am always surprised
by the surrealist article titles I sometimes witness myself typing. But
this is happening. And it is serious. Occul
Kanye West Has Reportedly Suffered From Memory Loss Since His Forced Hospitalization
This post Kanye West Has Reportedly Suffered From Memory Loss Since His
Forced Hospitalization appeared first on The Vigilant Citizen .
According to a longtime friend, Kanye West is “slowly recovering his
memory” since his forced hospitalization in November 2016. What truly
happened to Kanye while he was taken away for 10 days? Although his
album Life of Pablo was nominated for eight Grammy award
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