Timothy McGettigan | The Socjournal – Part 3

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years of watching the U.S. is that government always precedes some big, mind numbing global intervention (war, invasion, occupation, nuclear bomb, etc. etc.) with some sort of diversion. Like any magician knows, you can do a lot by diverting someone’s attention. And so here we have the latest diversion, a magical invocation guaranteed to catch consciousness and steer it away from whatever is coming next. Keep an eye out. Something wicked this way comes. Ed.

Timothy McGettigan | May 10, 2011 | Comments 1

Implausible as it may seem, as the Fukushima Daiichi disaster has grown ever more cataclysmic, nuclear energy advocates have come out of the woodwork to tout the virtues of nuclear as a “safe” form of energy. Safe? Are you kidding me? Last night, rain containing measurable levels of radiation from Fukushima Daiichi fell on the […]

Timothy McGettigan | Apr 07, 2011 | Comments 25

A sociologist looks at energy. Not oil, not nuclear, but renewable. Solar panels, wind, geothermal, these are all part of a decentralization of power generation. When every home has its own energy generating power plant we won’t be dependent on big power producers. This may mean less mega profits for a few, but the decentralization and democratization of energy needs to happen.

Timothy McGettigan | Apr 06, 2011 | Comments 2

Colonel Muammar Gadhafi’s days as Libya’s overlord are fast coming to a close. For an astonishing 41 years the people of Libya have been subjected Gadhafi’s abusive reign. However, seizing upon the revolutionary fervor that is sweeping through North Africa, the Libyan people have surged into the streets to demand an immediate end to the Gadhafi regime. Three cheers for the good people of Libya!

Timothy McGettigan | Apr 05, 2011 | Comments 0

Libya is being torn apart by an intransigent tyrant who can’t see the writing on the wall. If Qaddafi can no longer remain in power, then he has decided to murder as many Libyans as possible before waltzing into retirement. Old habits die hard. Sensing that his comrade might be in hot water, Hugo Chavez […]

Timothy McGettigan | Mar 04, 2011 | Comments 0

In truth, Bill Gates probably isn’t an idiot. He did build one of the most successful software companies in the world after all. At the same time however his ability to prognosticate on post-secondary education seems questionable at best. The problems we, as university educators, face are well understood. We can’t do our jobs while the government is cutting our resources. This is like applying the logic of the assembly line to education. More product, less resources, more profit, less cost. Makes sense maybe in the business world but when we’re dealing with human minds does it pay to cut corners. If we want to remain competitive in a global economy, probably not.

Timothy McGettigan | Mar 02, 2011 | Comments 7

As Bob Dylan once sang, times they are changing. Finally it does appear to be that way. The Middle East has boiled over with grass roots, ground up revolution! It’s too soon to tell what’s going to happen, and the installation of a military dictatorship in Egypt doesn’t bode well for democracy, but things are certainly on the move. What will the powers that be do to contain the nascent democratic leanings. Only time will tell.

Timothy McGettigan | Feb 22, 2011 | Comments 0

BOOK REVIEW: Science, Evolution, and Creationism 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. [amazonify]0309105862[/amazonify]In an effort to extol the virtues of evolution, the National Academy of Sciences has published an updated version of Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008). In this brief, but colorful book, a coterie of prestigious scientists take readers on a whirlwind tour of the triumphant and tumultuous […]

Timothy McGettigan | Sep 14, 2010 | Comments 0

Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor. As Timothy McGettigan points out, the ideal of free market capitalism being good for the economy, and good for the world, is largely a myth. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of health care. When compared against, for example, Canada’s health care system, the US private system is more expensive and less effective. And despite the rhetoric, the US GOVERNMENT spends almost twice as much per capital on its “private” health care. In fact, the US spends more per capital on healthcare than any other developed nation despite its efficiency rhetoric! So why does a privately funded medical system cost more for the US taxpayer than a publically funded Canadian system? Inquiring minds want to know.

Timothy McGettigan | Jul 26, 2010 | Comments 1

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, Ben Bernanke, America’s leading scholar of the Great Depression, has been credited with saving the nation’s economy. As a reward for his sterling work, on August 25, 2009, President Obama appointed Ben Bernanke to a second term as the Chair of the Federal Reserve. Three cheers for […]

Timothy McGettigan | Jun 23, 2010 | Comments 0