“Yearning Steven, Searching Yusuf”

This spec documentary treatment was written for Radical Media in 2013.

On July 21, 2013, Yusuf Islam turned sixty-five – according to the solar calendar. On the Islamic lunar calendar, he turned sixty-seven.

Yusuf has long straddled two worlds, sometimes working to reconcile them, sometimes working to keep them apart. His latest project, the musical Moonshadow, attempts both. Part autobiography, part fantasy, part Steven Georgiou, part Cat Stevens, part Yusuf Islam, the musical reflects the yearning and searching that is Steven and Yusuf. Continue reading ““Yearning Steven, Searching Yusuf””

Happy To Be A New Contributor To TrumpForPrison.org

“Tweets, Improvised Remarks, and Other Ways Donald J. Trump Abuses Reason”

Happy to Have New Work on TheFreeThinkTank.com!

Click on The FreeThinkTank logo below to read the latest contribution.

“The Adventures of Pancho the Pony: The Joerimeter” (Story 3)

Boing!

“WHO ARE YOU?”

Pancho’s eyes flew open. What in the world? He looked around, but didn’t see anything.

Boing!

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

What was that? Sounded like it was coming from the barn aisle outside his door.

Boing!

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

An enormous block head briefly appeared over the top of Pancho’s stall door. He caught a glimpse of brown brindle ears and an accompanying eye patch over a white coat. Then the block head disappeared. Continue reading ““The Adventures of Pancho the Pony: The Joerimeter” (Story 3)”

TFT

You can find my contribution to The Freethink Tank here. The Freethink Tank is an online magazine devoted to all sorts of cultural issues and topics, from economics to religion.

“The Adventures of Pancho the Pony: Pancho’s Dream” (Story 2)

“You could hardly hear the announcer over all the cheers,” Pancho said breathlessly. “As I galloped into the stadium, everyone went wild. They were screaming, ‘Pan-CHO! Pan-CHO!’ and U-S-A! U-S-A!’ It was amazing.”

Al, who had been engaged in a post-breakfast cleaning, wasn’t really listening. “You don’t say,” he responded distractedly. He threw in a few, ‘Ohs,’ and ‘Mhmms,’ for good measure.

“The pressure was so heavy, I thought for a second I’d never get off the ground. It was down to me, after all. I was the team anchor, and I was the only one from our side who had a clear round, so I was jumping off for the gold! And you know, I’m pretty much golden-colored, myself, so, you know.” Continue reading ““The Adventures of Pancho the Pony: Pancho’s Dream” (Story 2)”

“The Adventures of Pancho the Pony: A Brand New Day” (Story 1)

The morning sun peeked over the distant trees, stretching its rays through the top half of the open barn doors. It wasn’t long before Pancho felt the relaxing warmth work its way through his shaggy golden coat, all the way down to his skin. He sighed with pleasure and stretched out on his bed of fresh shavings.

Ponies like Pancho – all horses, really – don’t lie down very often. They sleep standing up, since they need to be ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. But Pancho got tired easily, and he had learned that lying down was a respite from the pain he felt in his left front hoof when he stood for long periods of time.

He was just thinking about how lovely the sunshine felt on his neck when the warmth suddenly disappeared. He had a feeling someone was watching him, and he was right. As he opened an eye, a small black and white blob came into view. It was a cat, perched on the lip of Pancho’s Dutch stall door – and this cat was deliberately hogging up his sunspot!

Pancho snorted and gingerly raised himself up. “Hey”! he called out. “Hey, you.” Continue reading ““The Adventures of Pancho the Pony: A Brand New Day” (Story 1)”

Conflicts of Interest, Ethics, and Donald J. Trump

The U.S Office of Government Ethics was established in 1978 through the Ethics in Government Act. It “provides overall leadership and oversight of the executive branch ethics program designed to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest.” Apparently the Trump White House has not welcomed such oversight. Consequently, the office’s director, Walter M. Schaub, Jr., announced he would resign on July 19, 2017 stating, “In working with the current administration, it has become clear that we need to strengthen the ethics program.”

Even prior to Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States, the OGE anticipated his potential conflicts of interest, encouraging the President-Elect to divest himself of his businesses. That did not happen. Other ethics issues arose, but Trump has been recalcitrant about addressing them. These issues highlight a distinction between what the law and ethics separately require.[1] Think about it this way: what’s legal is not always ethical. For example, there is no law requiring U.S. presidential candidates or sitting presidents to disclose their tax returns. It is, however, not the norm, and for good reason. Continue reading “Conflicts of Interest, Ethics, and Donald J. Trump”

“Mr. Robot and Philosophy” is here!

Thank you, Rachel Robison and Richard Greene for the opportunity to contribute to “Mr. Robot and Philosophy”!

Cover of the new book from Open Court Press

Research Projects for Non-Academic Readers

The following are snippets of topics I either am researching or plan to research:

1) What philosophers have to say about truth: a brief history

2) Causation and climate change: why the concept of causation is essential to understanding the concept of climate change

3) What philosophers have to say about the mind:

a) artificial intelligence and personhood;

b) consciousness, identity, and “the singularity”;

c) non-human animals as persons

4) What philosophers have to say about corporate personhood: philosophical approaches to legal personhood (and whether or not a corporation can be a moral person)

5) What philosophers have to say about rights: a focus on abortion

6) The phenomenology of human dignity: How the subjective experience of the self yields the concept of my moral worth