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Ernest Partridge's Internet Publications

(Normally published at several websites)

 

Visitors are invited, in fact URGED, to copy and distribute these essays at will. I ask only that you acknowledge the author (Ernest Partridge) and source (www.igc.org/gadfly), and include the notice: "Copyright [year of publication] by Ernest Partridge."

Use of copyrighted material that generates income will require both permission of this author and a royalty fee.

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From March, 1998 (when I launched this website) through 2016, I wrote and published 270 original essays for the internet.  Many of these essays dealt with timely and newsworthy issues that have since faded from public memory and relevance.  I have excluded many those essays from this list, retaining a few that continue to have some historical interest.  The complete list of internet essays can be found at the chronological listing at the bottom of this page.

Broken links will be indicated with a pound sign: #.  Over the years, many links have been lost.  All were originally valid. 

 

Internet Essays Listed by Topic

 

Author's Choice Russia and the New Cold War The Crisis Imperialism, Foreign Relations, Iraq War The Media The Elections G. W. Bush and the Bush Administration Barack Obama and the Obama Administration Progressivism / Liberalism

Republicans -- Right Wing Libertarianism Civil Liberties -- Dissent Moral Issues -- The Law Science, Philosophy and Education Economics The Environment  Lies -- Propaganda -- Corruption The Culture War -- The Religious Right

(Chronological Order Follows Below the Topics)
 

Author's Choice

 

War, Peace, Global Issues

"We are at war!" Oh, Really? Some Questions. (October 13, 2017)
Unwrapping the Russia Enigma  (September 28, 2017)
An Open Letter to Rachel Maddow (May 18, 2017)
Vladimir Putin as Emanuel Goldstein  (April 5, 2017)
Trump Aides Talked to Russians?  Big Deal!  (March 8, 2017)
In the Throes of a National Hissy-Fit  (January 11, 2017)
A Martian View of the New Cold War  (October 4, 2016)
On Behalf of Islam.  (July 20, 2016)
Let's End The New Cold War Before it Heat's Up  (March 5, 2015)
Bungling Toward Oblivion: A Letter to my Friends in Russia (July, 2014)
Thinking Like a Russian (March, 2014)
Russia -- An Appreciation  (March, 2014)
The Malleable World of the Neo-Cons (February, 2007)
What About the Russians?  Personal Encounters   (June, 2006)
Swords Into Plowshares   (May, 2006)
The 9/11 Conspiracy: A Skeptic’s View   (April, 2006)
The View from Abroad: A Personal Reflection  (February, 2006)
Now We Are the Redcoats  (September, 2003)
 

Science, Religion and Philosophy 

Why Should We Trust the Scientist? (May 15, 2017)
Farewell to Mormonism: No Regrets.  (July 17, 2014)
"That's Just Your Opinion"  (July, 2008)
On the Morality of Science,  (May, 2007)
Do You Believe in God?" (April, 2006)
Through a Glass, Darkly (November, 2005)
"Creationism" and the Devolution of the Intellect   (January, 2005)
Junk Psychology  (June, 2002)
 

Morality and the Law

Property Rights and Public Accommodations (July, 2010)
Morality as a Plus-Sum Game:  Why Libertarianism Fails as a Social Policy  (April, 2010)
Evil as the Absence of Empathy   (July, 2008)
Prices and Values  (August, 2005)  
A Defense of Moral Relativism (November, 2005)  
Good for Each, Bad for All  (June, 2004)  
Consumer or Citizen?   (October, 2003)
The Paradoxical Right to Life  (January, 2003)
 On Patriotism   (February, 2003) 
 

Politics and Economics

Ayn Rand's Excellent Proposal (March, 2010)
If It's Good for General Motors, Is it Good for the Rest of Us?  (May 18, 2010)
Why Liberals are Not Libertarians  (November, 2008)
On Behalf of the Tea Bag Brigades: A Proposal   (April, 2009)
"The Left"  (March, 2009)
Theory vs. Reality: Why Market Absolutism Fails (December, 2008)
The Great Regression -- And The Road Back   (March, 2008)
Market Failure: The Back of the Invisible Hand  (June, 2007) 
A Failed Experiment  (June, 2007)
Liberals and Libertarians  (May, 2007)
The Public Interest and the Limits of Volunteerism  (December, 2006)
The Scorpion, The Frog, and The Corporation (September, 2006)
Randville, Rawlsburg, and New Orleans (September, 2005)
Who Lost New Orleans?   (September, 2005)
Right vs. Left: The Elements   (March, 2005) 
"Shut Up!," They Explain  (February, 2005)
A Letter to a Republican Friend    (August, 2004)
Privatized Hell   (June, 2003)  
Conscience of a Conservative   (April, 2003)
 

Media

Adieu, the Progressive Internet?  (November 14, 2016)
Nolo Contendere (May, 2010)
Kristolnicht: The Decline of The New York Times  (January, 2008)
Pity the Poor Mainstream Media!  (May, 2008)
All The News that Fits the Bush Agenda  (August, 2006)
The Dragon at the Gate: The Media Problem  (January, 2003) 
 

Environment, Climate and Survival

How to Talk to a Climate Change Denier  (November, 2013)
Fruit Flies in a Bottle  (September, 2010)
A Convenient Delusion  (December, 2009)
The Road to Catastrophe   (October 14, 2008)
Last Chance for Civilization  (May, 2005)
"Creationism" and the Devolution of the Intellect (August, 2002)
 

Culture, Society and History

Why Should I Pay for Someone Else's Education?  (April, 2005)
The Banalization of Genius  (April, 2000)
Touch Football and Television  (April, 2007) 
Where Are Our Heroes Today? ( (June, 2006)
Hinges of History   (July, 2005)
 

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Complete Listing

 

Russia and the New Cold War

"We are at war!" Oh, Really? Some Questions.  (October13, 2017)
Unwrapping the Russia Enigma  (September 28, 2017)
An Open Letter to Rachel Maddow (May 18, 2017)
Vladimir Putin as Emanuel Goldstein  (April 5, 2017)
Trump Aides Talked to Russians?  Big Deal!   (March 28, 2017)
In the Throes of a National Hissy-Fit  (January 11, 2017)
A Martian View of the New Cold War  (October 4, 2016)
Let's End The New Cold War Before it Heats Up   (March 5, 2015)
Bungling Toward Oblivion: A Letter to my Friends in Russia (July, 2014)
Thinking Like a Russian (March, 2014)
Russia -- An Appreciation (March, 2014)
The War Trap  (December, 2009)
OmiGawd, Not Another Cold War!  A Letter to My Friends in Russia (September, 2008)
Oh What a Lovely (Cold) War  (March, 2007)
What About the Russians?  Personal Encounters   (June, 2006)

For more of The Gadfly's Publications about Russia, See "News From The Russian Environment."

 

The Crisis

American, Inc. is Here: Get With the Program  (January, 2010)
A New Day Dawning   (June 3, 2008)
The Great Regression -- And The Road Back    (March 4, 2008)
TO: The Free World – FROM: The American People – RE: HELP! (October 23, 2007)
We've Seen All This Before  (August, 2007)
Where Are Our Heroes Today? (June, 2006)
The 9/11 Conspiracy: A Skeptic’s View   (April 25, 2006)
The Erosion of Trust  (January 10, 2006) 
The Sleeping Giant Stirs  (November 8, 2005)
The Illusion of Normality (October, 2005)
The Late, Great, American Republic (July, 2003)
Where are the Grownups?  (June, 2003)
Can an Entire Country Go Mad?  (April, 2003)
Blissful Ignorance (May, 2001)
Where's the Outrage?  (June, 2002)
 

 

Peace, War, Imperialism, Foreign Relations

On Behalf of Islam.  (July 20, 2016)
Twenty-Twenty Hindsight, Blinded Foresight  (November, 2007)
Is the Public Finally Beginning to "Get It"? (May, 2007)
Only Americans Can Restore America's Honor  (January, 2007)
O Canada!  (August, 2006)
Swords Into Plowshares  (May, 2006)
The View from Abroad: A Personal Reflection  (February, 2006)
The Indelible Evil of the Iraq War (December, 2004)
Now We Are the Redcoats  (September, 2003)
Thoughts on the Eve of a Disaster  (March, 2003)
The View from Wonderland   (March, 2003)
The Vulnerable Giant  (May, 2004)
Forgive U.S. our Trespasses  (May, 2002)
Why Do They Hate Us So Much?  (November, 2001)
The Holy Land  (November, 2001)
Devouring the Seed Grain (August, 1999)
 

The Media

Adieu, the Progressive Internet?  (November 14, 2016)
Самиздат Американский -- The American Samizdat  (April 11, 2011)
The Big Lie  (April, 2011)
Nolo Contendere (May, 2010)
Gotcha!  (May, 2008)
Pity the Poor Mainstream Media!  (May, 2008)
Kristolnicht: The Decline of The New York Times  (January, 2008)
Snobocracy: When “The Right People” Run Washington  (December, 2006)
Valerie Plame and the Incredible Shrinking Cover Story  (March, 2007)
Mainstream Media to Bloggers: Bug Off  (January, 2007)
All The News that Fits the Bush Agenda  (August, 2006)
The Wayward Media  (July, 2005)
Pravda on the Potomac  (September, 2004))
The Dragon at the Gate: The Media Problem  (January, 2003)
Don't Give Up on the  Media  (January, 2004)
If it Burns, it Earns  (November, 2003)
After the Internet  (September, 2003)
About Those Polls  (March, 2002)
The American Samizdat  (??? 2002)
The Press and Party Symbiosis  (November, 2002)
Post-Modern Politics (April, 2001)
The Hijacked Election (November, 2000)
 

The Elections

R. I. P. American Democracy  (October 26, 2012)
Take the Money and Run  (March 2009)
A Battle is Won, but the War Remains  (January 6, 2009)
Election 2008: Who Decides?  The People or the Programmers?  (October, 2008)
"Country First?" -- The Question of Loyalty  (October 21, 2008)
The Fix is In.  (August, 2008)
The American People are Beginning To Get It  (November, 2007)
Election Fraud: Where’s the Outrage?  (July, 2007)
And Now What? (November, 2006)
Debunking the Debunker  (June, 2006)
An Appearance of Guilt  (March, 2006)
The Gulliberal Problem  (January, 2006)
“Evidence? We Don’t Want Your Stinkin’ Evidence!”  (January, 2006)
In 2006, Election Fraud is the Keystone Issue (January, 2006)
"Shut Up!," They Explain  (February, 2005)
Has the Case for Election Fraud been Refuted?  (January, 2005) 
The Democrats as "The Washington Generals"  (December, 2004)
Why we must not "Get Over It"  (November, 2004) 
Do We Still Have a Democracy?  (November, 2004)
Defeating a "Touch-Screen" Theft of the Election  (November, 2004)
The Greatest Story Never Told (March, 2003)
Don't Just Get Mad, Get Smart  (April, 2002)
Taking Stock   (December, 2002)
The Hijacked Election (November, 2000)
About the 2000 Election  (Several Essays) (November 2000)

 

Barack Obama and the Obama Administration

A Man for the Season  (November 18, 2008)
Act Two: The Struggle Continues  (December 2, 2008)
A Battle is Won, but the War Remains  (January 6, 2009)
 

George W. Bush and the Bush Administration

The Unraveling, At Last?  (December, 2007)
Impeachment: Winning by Losing  (March, 2007)
Perception is Reality  (February 21, 2006)
Bird Flu is Real, and You are On Your Own  (November, 2005)
Who Lost New Orleans?  (September, 2005) 
The Bombs in the Basement   (August, 2005) 
 Hinges of History  (July, 2005)
The Fall of the House of Bush (June, 2005)
A Master Morality  (March, 2005)
Something's Gotta Give   (January, 2005)
Bush's "Gut" (October, 2004)
Henry and George  (June, 2004)
The cover-up that's worse than the crime (February, 2004) 
Despotism by Accident  (September 2002)
Reflections on "Black Tuesday" (9/11) (October, 2001)
 

Progressivism / Liberalism / Democrats

Mythbusting  (August 6, 2016)
Stewart Lee Udall -- 1920-2010.  A Personal Memoir  (March 24, 2010)
"The Left"  (March 2009)
In a Financial Emergency, Who Do you Call?  The Democrats! (September, 2008)
Liberals and Libertarians  (May, 2007)
The Public Interest and the Limits of Volunteerism  (December, 2006)
Why Won't the Progressives Get Their Act Together?  (October, 2006)
The Democrats: Missing in Action  (March, 2006)
Right and Left: In a Nutshell  (March, 2006) 
Randville, Rawlsburg, and New Orleans  (September, 2005)
Right vs. Left: The Elements  (March, 2005) 
The Language Trap  (February, 2005)
Good for Each, Bad for All (June, 2004) 
Strategies for Underdogs  (January, 2003)
On Patriotism  (February, 2003) 
Conscience of a Conservative  (April, 2002)
Consumer or Citizen?  (October, 2003)
Taking Stock  (December, 2002)
Mr. DeLay Goes to Washington  (March, 2002) 
Don't Just Get Mad, Get Smart  (March, 2002)
On Civic Friendship (May, 2000) 
 

Republicans -- Right Wing

Don't Ridicule the Tea Baggers -- Recruit Them  (January 2, 2010)
On Behalf of the Tea Bag Brigades: A Proposal (April 16, 2009)
The Road to Catastrophe (October, 2008)
My Encounter with William F. Buckley, Jr. (March, 2008)
A Failed Experiment (June, 2007)
The Malleable World of the Neo-Cons (February, 2007)
Right and Left: In a Nutshell.  (March, 2006) 
A Master Morality (March, 2005)
For Tax Refuseniks: A Modest Proposal (March, 2005)
Letter to a Republican Friend (August, 2004)
Suckers for Jesus. (aka: "How Would Jesus Vote?") (August, 2004)
Dear CEO: Is This Really What You Want? (March, 2003)
Junk Psychology  (June, 2002)
The State Religion  (January, 2002) 
Kill the Umpire  (September, 2001) 
 

Libertarianism

A Dim View of Libertarianism -- Six Essays.  (October, 2011
Property Rights and Public Accommodations (July, 2010)
Ayn Rand's Excellent Proposal  (March 3, 2010)
Why Liberals are Not Libertarians (November, 2008)
Privatization: The Key to the Coming Solar Age (April, 2008)
Climate Reality Bites the Libertarians  (April 8, 2008)
Privatized Hell Revisited. (November, 2007)
Liberals and Libertarians  (May, 2007)
Randville, Rawlsburg, and New Orleans (September, 2005)
Who Lost New Orleans? (September, 2005)
Privatized Hell (June, 2003)
 

Civil Liberties -- Dissent

Dissent: What's in it for You  (September, 2007)
On "Hating America"  (June, 2003)
Moscow on the Potomac  (November, 2002) 
Junk History as Legal Precedent  (January, 2002)
On Patriotism (January, 2002)
Free to Agree  (December, 2001)
 

Moral Issues and The Law

America as a Free Fire Zone.  (February, 2011)
Property Rights and Public Accommodations (July, 2010)
Morality as a Plus-Sum Game.  (April, 2010)
Evil as the Absence of Empathy  (July, 2008)
The Gulag Comes to America: The Don Siegelman Case  (January 29, 2008)
Jose Padilla's Fate -- and Ours  (August, 2007)
Touch Football and Television   (April 2007)
A Defense of Moral Relativism (November, 2005) 
Prices and Values (August, 2005) 
When the Law Goes Flat  (July, 2004) 
John Rawls -- A Tribute  (March, 2004)
The Paradoxical "Right to Life"  (January, 2003) 
What Would Jesus Do?  (October, 2002) 
Junk Psychology  (June, 2002)
Junk History as Legal Precedent  (January, 2002)
Reflections on the Gurney (Capital Punishment)  (March, 1999)
Round Up the Usual Suspects (Gun Control) (May, 1999)

 

Science, Philosophy, Religion and Education

Farewell to Mormonism: No Regrets.  (July 17, 2014)
Debate Creationism vs. Evolution?  Why Bother?  (February, 2014)
"That's Just Your Opinion"  (July, 2008)
On the Morality of Science,  (May, 2007)
Touch Football and Television  (April, 2007)
Do You Believe in God?" (April, 2006)
Through a Glass, Darkly (November, 2005)
Why Should I Pay for Someone Else's Education?  (April, 2005)
"Creationism" and the Devolution of the Intellect  (February, 2005)
Is Science Just Another Dogma?  (July, 2002)  
President of Fantasyland: Bush v. Science  (May, 2002)
John Rawls -- A Tribute  (December, 2002)
The Banalization of Genius  (April, 2000)
Global Defense  (March, 2000)
In Defense of Research Universities (February, 1999)
Why Be Reasonable? (March, 1998)
Yes, Virginia, There is a Real World  (1996)

 

Economics

If It's Good for General Motors, Is it Good for the Rest of Us?  (May 18, 2010)
On Behalf of the "Tea Bag Brigades:" A Proposal   (April, 2009)
Theory vs. Reality: Why Market Fundamentalism Fails  (December 16, 2008)
In a Financial Crisis, Who Do You Call? The Democrats!  (September 23, 2008)
The Outsourcing Tragedy (August 5, 2008)
Reverse Henry Fordism (June, 2008)
Market Failure: The Back of the Invisible Hand (June, 2007)
The Public Interest and the Limits of Volunteerism  (December, 2006)
The Scorpion, The Frog, and The Corporation (September, 2006)
Prices and Values  (August, 2005) 
Something's Gotta Give  (January, 2005)
Symbionts and Parasites  (September, 2004) 
In the Deep Voodoo  (October, 2002)
The Oil Trap (August, 2002)
Flunking Econ. 101  (July, 2001) 
The Deserving Rich? (February, 2001) 
Sucker Economics (November, 1999)
The New Alchemy.  (July, 1999)  
Two Lessons from Russia (October, 1998)

The Environment

How to Talk to a Climate Change Denier  (November, 2013)
Nuclear Power -- Not Now, Not Ever  (March, 2011)
Fruit Flies in a Bottle  (September, 2010)
A Convenient Delusion (December, 2009)
Climate Reality Bites the Libertarians (April, 2008) 
The California Wildfires and Right-Wing Smoke   (November, 2007)
Global Engineering and Climate Change  (October, 2007)
Last Chance for Civilization  (May, 2005)
Whose Trees Are These? (January 2005) 
The Environmental Fire Sale (July 2004)
Garrett Hardin -- A Tribute (October, 2003)
If It Burns, It Earns  (October, 2003)
Elegy for a Ponderosa Pine Tree  (August, 2003)
Northern Exposure  (September, 2002)
The Oil Trap (August, 2002)
Global Defense  (March, 2002)
My Seven Years as a Corporate Token (August, 2001)
Blissful Ignorance  (May, 2001)
Is Everything "Natural"?  (September, 2000)
Put Down that Monkey Wrench! (July, 2000)
 

Lies -- Propaganda -- Corruption

The Big Lie  (April, 2011)
"That's Just Your Opinion"  (June, 2008)
Newspeak and the Corruption of Politics  (April, 2006)
The Language Trap  (February, 2005)
Political Propaganda:  Selling Lies Like Cigarettes    (July, 2004) 
A Modest Proposal  (February, 2003)
Newspeak Lives!  (December, 2002)
Blissful Ignorance (May, 2001)
A Bribe by Any Other Name  (April, 2001)
 

The Culture War -- The Religious Right

Farewell to Mormonism: No Regrets.  (July 17, 2014)
About this "Mormonism" Thing  (December, 2007)
"Do You Believe in God?"  April, 2007
Through a Glass, Darkly  (November, 2005)
What a Friend We Have in Jesus  (May, 2005)   (May, 2005) 
Suckers for Jesus (How Would Jesus Vote?)   August, 2004) 
What Would Jesus Do? (October, 2002) 
President of Fantasyland: Bush v. Science  (May, 2002)
One Nation, Under God, Divisible  (March, 2002) 
Warriors of the Lord  (November, 2001)
The Holy Land  (November, 2001)

 

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Chronological Listing of Essays

These essays, most of which originate at The Crisis Papers (after November, 2002)
are normally published at many other progressive websites 

 

2015 -- 2017

Oct. 13, 2017 Sept. 28, 2017 May 15, 2017 May 8, 2017 April 5, 2017 March 28, 2017 Jan. 11, 2017 Nov. 14, 2016 Nov. 4, 2016 Oct. 4, 2016 Aug, 6, 2016 Feb. 20, 2016 May 13, 2015 March 5, 2015

"We are at war!" Oh, Really? Some Questions. Unwrapping the Russia Enigma Why Should We Trust the Scientist? An Open Letter to Rachel Maddow Vladimir Putin as Emanuel Goldstein Trump Aides Talked to Russians?  Big Deal!  In the Throes of a National Hissy-Fit Adieu, the Progressive Internet? Cyber War -- From Trifle to Catastrophe A Martian View of the New Cold War Mythbusting On Behalf of Islam Whose "Liberty"?  Whose "Freedom"? Let's End The New Cold War Before it Heats Up

 

2011 -- 2014

July 17, 2014 July 2, 2014 March 15, 2014 March 11, 2014 Feb. 20, 2014 Nov. 6, 2013 Dec. 28, 2012 Oct. 26, 2012 April 11, 2011 April 12, 2011 March 28, 2011 Feb. 23, 2011

Farewell to Mormonism: No Regrets. Bungling Toward Oblivion: A Letter to my Friends in Russia Russia -- An Appreciation Thinking Like a Russian Debate Creationism vs. Evolution?  Why Bother? How to Talk to a Climate Change Denier Romney, Mormonism and "The Religious Test" R. I. P. American Democracy The Big Lie Самиздат Американский -- The American Samizdat Nuclear Power -- Not Now, Not Ever America as a Free Fire Zone

 

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

Nov. 11  Oct. 7 October Sept. 23 Sept. 2  Aug. 19  July 7  June 30  June 23  June 9  April 28 April 21 April 14 Mar 31 Mar 20 Mar 13 Mar 6 Feb 27 Feb 6 Jan 30 Jan. 16

If it Burns, it Earns Consumer or Citizen? Garrett Hardin -- A Tribute After the Internet Now We Are the Redcoats Elegy for a Ponderosa Pine Tree The Late, Great, American Republic On "Hating America" Privatized Hell Where are the Grownups? Conscience of a Conservative Can an Entire Country Go Mad? Blissful Ignorance The Greatest Story Never Told Thoughts on the Eve of a Disaster The View from Wonderland    Dear CEO: Is This Really What You Want?  A Modest Proposal    On Patriotism The Paradoxical "Right to Life" Strategies for Underdogs

2002

December Dec. 29 Dec. 19 Dec. 5 Nov. 19 Oct. 16 Oct.  3 Sept. 20 Sept. July    4 June 17 June 10 May 31 May 23 May 7 May 7 April 9 March 26 March 17 March 14 March 10 March 8 February Feb. 12 Jan. 22 Jan. 20 Jan. 10

John Rawls -- A Tribute A Bribe by Any Other Name   Newspeak Lives! Taking Stock Moscow on the Potomac In the Deep Voodoo  What Would Jesus Do?   Despotism by Accident   Northern Exposure Is Science Just Another Dogma?   Junk Psychology   Where's the Outrage?   Flunking Econ. 101   The Paradoxical "Right to Life"   Forgive U.S. our Trespasses President of Fantasyland: Bush v. Science Don't Just Get Mad, Get Smart   One Nation, Under God, Divisible   About Those Polls   Following the Light   Global Defense   Mr. DeLay Goes to Washington  The Press and Party Symbiosis The Deserving Rich?  The New Alchemy   Junk History as Legal Precedent   The State Religion

1998 -- 2001

Dec. 31 Dec.  6 November Oct. 24 October Sept. 24 Sept.  7 August July February	2001 Free to Agree   Warriors of the Lord Why Do They Hate Us So Much? The Holy Land Reflections on "Black Tuesday" (9/11) Liberty Swap  Kill the Umpire  My Seven Years as a Corporate Token Flunking Econ. 101  The Deserving Rich?
November September July April	2000 About the 2000 Election  (Several Essays) Is Everything "Natural"?  Put Down that Monkey Wrench! The Banalization of Genius
November August March February	1999 Sucker Economics Devouring the Seed Grain Reflections on the Gurney (Capital Punishment)   In Defense of Research Universities
October May March	1998 Two Lessons from Russia Round Up the Usual Suspects (Gun Control) Why Be Reasonable?

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