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The Tragedy of Consciousness

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John is a friend of mine. When he was young, he wanted to be a lawyer with good pay and a happy family. He was never greedy, he only dreamed of stability.  He studied hard in high school, took AP classes, and got nearly straight A's. He went to a good university and studied hard. He graduated and went to law school in another good university. He always studied hard. He graduated. He got a job at a law firm as a public defender. He worked hard. The job wasn't working, the pay too low. He found his future wife. Together they decided to search for greener pastures. They moved out west. Another job as a public defender. Better pay, worse conditions. Moved again, this time to a peaceful suburb of a big city. He got married. Better pay, and no longer working in public defense. No more trips to the morgue to examine the bodies of murder victims. Now he prosecuted for the state. He worked hard. He got promoted. He got a raise. He bought a house with a big yard and a deck that overlook
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The Real Reason Americans Keep Their Guns

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Americans (most of them) are not crazy. The gun control debate has been heated and serious for over a hundred years and most educated Americans are intimately familiar with the various arguments of each side. But people outside the United States tend to misunderstand the pro-gun side.   Before I get to the main argument, I'll address what I think are the three main myths that many non-Americans believe about guns in the United States: 1. Guns put innocent people, especially children, in danger of being killed by accident.  Actually, each year, very very few children are killed in gun accidents.   For children aged 0-14, there are about 22 accidental gun deaths per year. For comparison, more than 800 kids drown every year.  2. Guns allow crazy people to carry out deadly, random attacks of terror. Maybe, but even statistically, random mass shootings represent less than 0.02% of all gun homicides. The vast, vast majority of gun deaths come from criminal violence and suicide.
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How History Repeats Itself

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For decades, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell recruited, groomed, raped, and sold young girls to the elite members of society. Epstein's flight records show a long list of prominent names. He was arrested but died in jail under mysterious circumstances. The only one to face trial over this network of abuse was his mistress, Maxwell.  As you read the story below, keep them in your mind. In the reign of Louis XIV, the French Monarch who ordered the building of the Palace of Versailles, life was good for the nobility. He threw massive parties in his opulent mansion, sometimes burning thousands of candles per night to light the festivities. There was dancing, drinking, gambling, and, of course, plenty of sex.  Louis was smart. He created a system of ranks that the nobles fought for. Those closest to him were honored in unusual ways. They were permitted to wear certain color clothing, they could sit closer to him, and- for the really lucky- they were allowed
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