A Fictional Anti-Descartes

 Descartes in his Discourse on Method (1637) argued that he could have absolute and foundational certainty of his own existence via his famous “Cogito ergo sum,”  “I think, therefore I am.” He later, in the Meditations on First Philosophy (1640), refined the argument. He decided that his existence was not a matter of therefore, that is of inference, at all. Instead, it was an immediate, indubitable realization. “I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that I mentally conceive it.”

A recent Netflix series is to the contrary.

Has Trump Violated the Titles of Nobility Clause?

 

You may be wondering, as I am, whether President Trump’s announcement “Long live the king” with a picture of the President wearing a crown, violates  Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution.  “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States. . . .”  

Will Trump's Disapproval Rate Ever Fall Bellow 50% During His 2nd Term?

My instincts tell me that it would be impossible. All signs are that he will be an historically awful president. Yet, we have just seen a stunning demonstration of the power of right wing prapaganda. So it will be interesting, but maybe disheartening, to watch.  

Trump's Planned Use of the Alien Enemies Act

Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump: "On my first day back in the White House I will  . . .  invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers or cartel members from the United States, ending the scourge of illegal alien gang violence once and for all"

The question is just how the Alien Enemies Act could be used to deport aliens who are suspected (by whom, on what standard?) to be gang or cartel members or drug dealers.

Non-Citizen Voters and Excluded Citizen Voters

"[Speaker of the House] Johnson said it is a serious problem because even if a tiny percentage of noncitizens do vote, it could determine the outcome of an extremely close race. He noted that Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa won her seat back in 2020 by six votes."

Counting Pinecones: A Look at Consciousness

It was a bumper year for pinecones on a path I walk often. How many pinecones am I conscious of as I walk that path? As you may suspect, my interest in here is more a matter of consciousness, than of pinecones.

How will Supreme Court Justices uphold mandatory school posting of the Ten Commandments?

It seems a near certainty that there will issue from the Supreme Court an opinion that the State of Louisiana did not run afoul of the First Amendment of the US Constitution in ordering that a specific Ten Commandment text be prominently displayed in every public school in the state from kindergarten through university. There is room for hope that it will be a dissenting opinion, although recent Court behavior shrinks that room. Any opinion upholding the Louisiana Ten Commandments mandate will conflict dramatically with well-established First Amendment precedents. What could it look like?