No Magic Pills

They were buying candy bars, soda pop, a case of beer, two cartons of cigarettes and multiple kinds of lottery tickets. All non-essential items, but who am I to judge? Still, some of their purchases caught my attention, and since they were taking so long to check out, I had plenty of time to think.

Can Socialists Actually Learn Anything?

I raised, in our after-Mass Bible study group — contrary to some Protestant claims, Catholics actually do read the Bible! — a theological question: can God, who is omniscient, learn? My question was inspired by this: God, being all powerful, cannot be hurt, but by taking human form, Jesus suffered the agony of the crucifixion, …

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Water Wars Were Supposed to Be Here by Now. AI May Have Other Plans.

Twenty years ago, military planners and policy experts warned that the wars of the future would be fought over water. The wars never came—at least not in the way we expected. Today, however, a new competitor is entering the fight for one of humanity’s most precious resources: artificial intelligence. As massive data centers consume vast amounts of power and cooling water, rivers, lakes, and aquifers are becoming strategic assets once again. The future battle for water may not involve tanks and soldiers, but corporations, regulators, and communities struggling to determine who gets access to the fuel that powers the digital age. Perhaps the water warriors of the early 2000s weren’t wrong. They were simply ahead of their time.

The United States of Mammon

Most Americans would laugh at the idea of worshipping a golden calf. Then they spend forty years organizing their lives around debt, career advancement, asset accumulation, and the approval of “the economy.” Solomon warned that the borrower becomes servant to the lender. Jesus warned that no one can serve both God and Mammon. The old gods demanded temples, priests, and sacrifices. The modern god simply asks for your time, your attention, your family, your peace, and eventually your identity. The question isn’t whether modern society worships. The question is whether we’ve mistaken our servant for our master.