Articles written by Steve Paulsson

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Politics, News & Issues > War in Iraq Analyzing Bush's decision to enter Iraq: 1 of 62
I am really, really tired of everyone treating this as an American political issue. It isn't: it's an Iraqi political issue. I don't like George Bush. I liked Stalin even less, but it was nice to have his support in defeating Hitler. The mess in Iraq was not caused by George Bush: it was caused by Saddam Hussein, and it has b... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Food & Agriculture The pros and cons of supporting local farmers in your region: 1 of 18
Like a moth to a flame, I'm always drawn to the unpopular side of any issue. So here are some arguments against local farming.- It's argued that local farming minimizes "food miles" - hauling food long distances is bad for the ennvironment. Against that, there is a development issue -third-world farmers deserve a chance to ma... More..
Sciences > Atmosphere & Weather Ways you can reduce global warming: 2 of 19
Personal solutions like recycling and driving a hybrid don't work because you need billions of people doing it to make a difference, and also because it's a feel-good solution. A case in point is my ex-wife, who hates-hates-hates SUVs and is so pleased with herself that she has a fire in the fireplace every night in the winte... More..
Sciences > Social Science (Other) Will written text survive as a communication medium?: 11 of 59
Will anything else survive? The Torah, aka the Old Testament, has been around for 3000 years: wait for new media to beat that record before jumping to conclusions.[Note: a reader quibbles that the Torah is the Pentateuch, not the Old Testament. Let me quibble back. Technically he is right: the Old Testament is the Tanach (sho... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Christian Doctrine & Issues The growing movement to suppress Christianity: 9 of 36
The problem isn't religion, it's credulity: people's tendency to believe things without proof, or even evidence, just because they satisfy some emotional need. The next problem is what Leon Festinger called "cognitive dissonance": people hate to admit that they're wrong, and the more obviously wrong they are, the more they ha... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Death Penalty Is the death penalty an effective crime deterrent?: 32 of 118
People say: "If you have killed, you deserve to die". But that's a slogan, not an argument. Most murderers aren't sentenced to death, so judges and juries don't generally agree with it. The Declaration of Independence disagrees, too: it says the right to life is "unalienable". That means it can't be taken away from you. And t... More..
Jobs & Careers > Jobs & Careers (Other) How to earn a million dollars in 6 months: 3 of 8
Not hard. You just have to get incredibly lucky, come up with an incredibly good idea, or do something illegal. Like set up good internet scam. There are even"meta-scams" nowadays. For example, there are a lot of sites that tell you you can make good money doing online surveys. You pay them $35 up front, with a "money-back gu... More..
Sciences > Ecology & Environment Almost free and low cost ways to produce electrical power: 3 of 8
Did anyone notice the MIT panel report that came out this week? They looked at geothermal power, and concluded that there was enough of it available in the US, at a depth of around 10km, to supply the whole country's electrical needs - in fact, at the present consumption rate, to last 2000 years. The deepest oil wells at the ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > War in Iraq Will Iraq ever form a legitimate government?: 14 of 27
What's illegitimate about the government it has now? It is internationally recognized by everyone, including the Arab states; it was democratically elected under a constitution adopted by popular vote; and even the Sunni politicians who don't like it have come around to realizing that contesting elections gets them a voice wh... More..
Politics, News & Issues > War in Iraq Should the US pull out its troops regardless of whether Iraq is ready to defend its people?: 90 of 164
Iraq has unfortunately turned into an American partisan issue: you are either pro-Bush and "pro-war" or anti-Bush and "anti-war". I'm not American, so I don't have a horse in your partisan race. But it seems to me that the only possible solution is a bipartisan one, and that depends on electing a president in 2008 who is as f... More..