Checking In

I have been neglecting you, dear readers, and for that I apologize. Swamped at work and more than a little sick is not quite an excuse. More to the point, I have been struggling my way through two different sets of ideas.

First, I have been pondering about the history of capitalism. This is a direct result of three or four years of listening to folks on the right telling me that this is a capitalist nation, that the Constitution so mandates, and the like. It seems to me that not only does ignorance abound on this point, but I have been unable to find anything written that I might point folks to. If any of you know of a brief history of capitalism in the US, please share. Otherwise I might be forced to write it.

Second, I have been musing over the parallels between how religious fundamentalists -- in this case, evangelical Christians -- read their holy books and how they want to read the Constitution of the United States. I'm not sure where to go with this, but at the very least there is an internal inconsistency with insisting on reading a document that clearly distances itself from any religion as if it were a seminal religious tract.

While I am pondering these questions, feel free to use my comment section to throw brickbats or talk amongst yourselves.