We are ruled by the dumbest and most incompetent people among us — and we have a system which allows stupid and irresponsible people to force the costs of their idiocy onto smarter and wiser people. Can we get away with that? Yes, for quite some time. But we eventually reach a point at which the dumbest of the dumb — who are habitual liars and mentally ill fools — lead us to the disasters and destruction that some of us have seen coming for years. We are approaching that point. And yet most of the idiots around us still wave their rhetorical banners of support for the evil people who are leading us to ruin — and all of them point their fingers at someone else, never noticing that their own enthusiastic support of evil is to blame. When things finally fall apart, blame yourself for your blindness to the evil, not whoever happens to be in power when it happens.
Briefly: Please be patient while we upgrade the site a bit
I’ve been making some changes to the site lately and there are more changes coming in the days ahead, so don’t be surprised if you some small differences. This is not a wholesale redesign, but rather the addition of some features. Since they’re smarter than I am, I’ve put Oliver and Alex in charge of the technical work, which you can see in this action photo from the control room of our media complex. I recently added a series of landing pages for readers who randomly discover the site from an Internet search. I’ve also changed the YouTube link at the top of the page to go to the new YouTube channel for video essays that reflect things I’ve already published here. (Here’s a little bit about both of the YouTube channels I’m working on.) In addition, I’m trying to move away from using Instagram, so I’m experimenting with photo plug-ins that will eventually allow me to host the pictures — cats, dogs, sunsets, whatever — that I often take. So don’t be surprised to see more changes. Thanks for your patience. Let’s hope Alex and Oliver know what they’re doing.
New YouTube channel launched for video versions of my essays
I’ve experimented with doing YouTube videos several times in the last few years and I can now tell you about the latest experiment.
For months, I’ve been working on a video series about some of the ideas I’m most passionate about, but this is something different. This channel will feature video essays that mirror many of the articles I publish here.
So far, it just has a brief intro and video versions of two recent essays. I have no idea whether enough people on YouTube will be interested in something of this sort, but we’ll find out. I literally just uploaded the two essays minutes ago, so almost nobody knows yet that the channel exists.

Briefly: Suicide reminds me that we don’t always know other people’s issues
Briefly: Nature’s beauty connects us to something greater than we are
Briefly: It’s National Dog Day, so celebrate your favorite canine now
Briefly: Film festival announcement for 2019 makes me nostalgic for 2005
Briefly: It’s when my ego is quiet that I lose my fears of going my own way
Briefly: The cats are slowly getting back to normal; thanks for your concern
Self-compassion is difficult when harsh inner judge condemns you
Dishonesty runs rampant when partisanship matters more than truth