My Blogs

He was born in 1965, so was likely too young to be noticed among the revolutionary forces against Generalissimo Salazar.  Or maybe he was just studying in school and practicing foreign languages. His American English is perfect. I suspect also his British. Given his life experience, I have no doubt about his French and German.  My test for American fluency is ‘Did you get my joke?’  He got everyone.   Alvim is the first generation after the ‘Abril Revolution’ of 1974. He woul

So an Artificial Intelligence Expert I saw on Colbert’s Late Night program, says that AI will never become the ‘Singularity’ of The Terminator Movie  series because it does not have a physical mind, and therefore can never attain self-consciousness.    AI is only ‘software,’ a physical mind is required for awareness.  In short, a pigeon is more intelligent that an AI computer – the pigeon can also play table tennis – as demonstrated by B.F. Skinner.  However, I would never tr

Lesson Set: On the White Board reads this question:  “Is there a difference between ‘Contempt of’ and ‘Contempt for Congress?’” If so, please elaborate on how to delineate the difference.  Three paragraphs required. 15 minutes to complete. Then discuss among yourselves. According to Wikipedia  the Criminal Statue of ‘Contempt of Congress’ is as follows: “In the late 1790s, declaring contempt of Congress was considered an "implied power" of the legislature , in a similar manne

Sadly, President Trump exhibits all the negative characteristics of President Theodore Roosevelt, and none of the positive ones.

Mr. Jefferson:   Thank you for your contributions to United States Independence. The Declaration of Independence is particularly well composed, although the list of ‘complaints’ might have been a bit lengthy.   Did we really need to include: “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and condit

It’s easy to be a pessimist today. It’s much harder—but much more rewarding—to be a pragmatist. "Fixing America: Essays on Domestic and Foreign Policy"  is a book for those who still believe in the promise of this country. Author James Matthew Sawatzki argues that we are analyzing our problems incorrectly, which is why our solutions keep failing. By identifying the true  root causes of policy failures, he suggests practical steps that could actually work. This isn't a book of

We all feel it. The polarization, the endless shouting matches, and the sinking feeling that nothing actually gets solved . But what if the solutions aren't as complicated as politicians pretend they are? In his bold new book, "Fixing America: Essays on Domestic and Foreign Policy,"  James Matthew Sawatzki doesn't just complain about the problems—he offers a blueprint for fixing them. Sawatzki isn't a Washington insider. He’s a veteran educator who spent 38 years teaching his

James Matthew Sawatzki spent nearly four decades in the classroom, winning the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching History . Now, he’s retired, but he hasn’t stopped teaching. He’s just changed his classroom—to the entire American public. His new book, "Fixing America,"  reads like the most engaging civics class you never had. Sawatzki uses his deep knowledge of history to contextually analyze today's headlines, proving that our current crises aren't unprecedented, an