Author Archives: BigBill

About BigBill

Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.

How are we doing so far?

Posted on June 9, 2017 by BigBill

We’re well past the current administration’s first 100 days in office. There was a lot of blather about his “accomplishments” (or really, lack thereof) during that period. Of course it’s an arbitrary number and historically pretty meaningless, but for some … Continue reading →

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Can he really be that dumb?

Posted on May 17, 2017 by BigBill

When Dan Quayle was Vice President (under Bush the Elder) he made a number of gaffes that seemed to indicate he was dumb as a post; the most memorable when he “corrected” a sixth grader for misspelling “potato” in a … Continue reading →

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Fact vs ideology

Posted on May 7, 2017 by BigBill

The House Republicans passed their “repeal and replace” bill last Thursday. This is the most current travesty that’s been foisted on the American people since Trump and his band of morons got elected. Their push to eliminate one of Obama’s … Continue reading →

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Payday, retribution or its own reward?

Posted on April 27, 2017 by BigBill

During my cab ride to the Miami airport this week I had a very pleasant conversation with my driver. (I am making a point that it was a nice conversation because in writing this it’s not possible to get right the … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and philosophy | Leave a comment

The difference of a split second

Posted on April 11, 2017 by BigBill

My brother Jim was skiing in Colorado in early March and some guy on a snowboard ran into him, knocking him down. When he hit the snow, Jim’s leg (femur head, actually) was broken, his arm dislocated and the shoulder … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, General commentary on the world as I see it... | Leave a comment

It’s both worse and better.

Posted on April 6, 2017 by BigBill

Trump and his band of clowns (the scary kind, not the fun type) have been in power for a little over 2 months now and it’s turning out to be both worse and much better than I thought. Worse because … Continue reading →

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An old debate, redux

Posted on April 2, 2017 by BigBill

My friend Mark and I had a discussion the last time we were together that somehow devolved into free will vs determinism. This is a topic of philosophers since, well, forever, and of course Mark and I weren’t going to … Continue reading →

Posted in General commentary on the world as I see it..., Religion and philosophy | Leave a comment

Anti-intellectualism

Posted on March 20, 2017 by BigBill

In my last post I explored where I think the current denigration of intellectual rigor may have come from (I think it has its roots in the American rejection of British class distinctions and a more egalitarian, personal-opportunity model). But … Continue reading →

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How did “elite” come to be “elitism”?

Posted on March 15, 2017 by BigBill

I’ve commented in several posts here how concerned I am at what appears to be a devaluing of intellect and the loss of critical thinking skills. These are obviously not the same thing, but I think they are related, and … Continue reading →

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Small talk and mutual respect

Posted on March 11, 2017 by BigBill

I’m not especially good at small talk. No, that’s not right; I suck at it. It’s not that I find it boring; it’s that I can never think of stuff to say in casual conversation if I don’t know the … Continue reading →

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