Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Howard’s rhetorical rabbit: review of Everyday Freedom, part 2 of 4
Note: Below I review Chapter 4 (pp. 24-35) of Philip K. Howard’s new book, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society, available here (Amazon). In my previous post, I restated Philip Howard’s tautological definition of freedom (“People must … Continue reading
Howard’s tautology: review of Everyday Freedom, part 1 of 4
Although Philip K. Howard’s new book, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society, is a slim work (for the record, it is just 84 pages long, not including the endnotes and acknowledgments, so it is even shorter than … Continue reading
PSA: Is Trump right about NATO?
File under: “Sorry, not sorry!” For the record, according to this NATO Press Release, only one-third of the countries in the NATO alliance are spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on their defense. The remaining two-thirds NATO members are … Continue reading
Wikipedia Wednesday: Philip K. Howard
I will be reviewing Mr Howard’s new book Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society in the days ahead; in the meantime, here is his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Howard
How did Adam Smith celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day?
By some accounts (see, for example, this one), the modern-day origins of Saint Valentine’s Day go back to the 14th Century, and according to this report in The Scotsman, this amorous occasion was celebrated in Scotland as far back as … Continue reading
And the winner is …: *The guests of ants*
Down below, on sidewalks, in fallen leaves, and across the forest floor, a covert invasion is taking place. Ant colonies, revered and studied for their complex collective behaviors, are being infiltrated by tiny organisms called myrmecophiles. Using incredibly sophisticated tactics, … Continue reading
Honorable mention: *Rethinking the great transition*
This weekend, I showcased two new books authored or edited by faculty at my home institution: Ty Matejowsky’s Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary (University of Alabama Press, 2022; see here) and David Head and Timothy Hemmis’s … Continue reading
The hypocrisy of Taylor Swift?
I hate to be that guy, but why do celebrities who fly on private jets like to lecture us little people about climate change? Exhibit A: Taylor Swift, who has called climate change one of the most “horrific situations that … Continue reading
IDC (Super Bowl LVIII edition)
Mark my words, very few people will remember this — not even the ads! — two years from now. I’m with these guys: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/10/584757764/there-is-a-competition-to-avoid-learning-who-won-the-super-bowl-for-some-reason

