Media Watch

The storefronts are empty, the pension funds are hollow, and the ticker tape continues to roll. To the casual observer, the American economy is a marvel of modern resilience. To the autopsy surgeon, however, it is a body being systematically harvested for its parts. We are no longer living in a period of growth; we are witnessing a global fire sale of the remaining assets of a once-prosperous civilization. The tragedy of Sears —once the heartbeat of American retail—is not merely a story of bad management. It is a microcosm of the national condition. A venerable institution was stripped of its real estate, its brands were sold off, and its workforce was discarded, all while a few financial engineers extracted billions. This isn't "creative destruction"; it is the liquidation of the American foundation. The Great Uncoupling (1971–Present) The dismantling began in earnest a generation after 1972. When we severed the link between the dollar and gold, we didn’t just change a m...

  Sam Harris on his book, The Moral Landscape; How Science Can Determine Human Values. Appearance on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart October 4, 2010 The challenge we’re faced with is to create a global civilization based on shared values, economic, political and social goals. We have to begin giving similar answers to the most important questions in human life. We have to talk about morality and human values in the context of our growing scientific understanding of ourselves in the world. There is an intellectual and moral emergency. The only people in the world who think they have the right answers to moral questions are religious demagogues who think the universe is 6,000 years old. Everyone else thinks there’s something suspect about the concept of their moral truth. Morality and values clearly relate to human and animal well-being. Our well-being emerges out of the laws of nature. It’s fantastically complex. Genetics, neurobiology, psychology, sociology and economics and everyt...