There’s a non-trivial chance that Americans are rushing headlong into a horror we haven’t seen since the Civil War — mass starvation — or, at the very least, malnutrition on a scale we haven’t suffered since the Great Depression.
Tag: america
If It’s Wrong to Steal Your Wallet…
“Suppose I threaten to shoot you unless you do what I want. Are you free?” At least one person in the audience dodged the question, but everyone knew “No” was the correct answer. This then led straight to Leiter’s next question: “Suppose I threaten to starve you unless you do what I want. Are you free?”
Congress Declares Itself Non-Essential
Around the US, “essential” workers are going to work everyday and doing their jobs, COVID-19 pandemic or not. Factory workers are producing things. Truck and delivery drivers are transporting those things. Grocery store employees and food service workers are making sure food reaches our tables. Congress, not so much.
Decarceration: COVID-19 is Opportunity Knocking
On March 23, 14 US Senators from both major political parties asked US Attorney General William Barr and Michael Carvajal, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, to “transfer non-violent offenders who are at high risk for suffering complications from COVID-19 to home confinement.” The question: If the prisoners in question pose no threat of violence, why were they sent to jail or prison in the first place?
Open Borders: Now Do You See What We’re Missing?
If people were free to take a job anywhere on Earth, humanity would have more agriculture, more manufacturing, more services. We would have more restaurants, more homes, more elder care. We would have more doctors and more janitors, more meal delivery and more cars to deliver the meals. If coronavirus can eliminate 90% of the restaurant business, open borders can add 90% to the restaurant business. You’ve seen the former with your own eyes, so you should have no trouble seeing the latter with the eye of the mind.
Keep Healthy Habits, Help Others
The phrase “May you live in interesting times” is said to be a curse. I’m not certain it is. Would you rather be bored to death? Times can be interesting, but — when you’re ready for whatever life throws at you — not cursed. This too will pass. You’ll be fine when all is said and done. There are lessons in all this. Smart people will learn and remember these lessons; others will stay clueless.
COVID-19: What Would Rosie The Riveter Do?
Our politicians are thoroughly enjoying their extended Mussolini cosplay holiday, but their “lockdown” orders and such are merely feeding their egos, not starving the virus.
OFCCP vs. Oracle
Three days before Barack Obama left office, his Department of Labor served a complaint against Oracle America, Inc., alleging gross systemic discrimination in both its hiring practices and its pay practices. Specifically, it claims that Oracle discriminates against non-Asians in hiring for sixty-nine job titles, and discriminates against women, Asians, and African-Americans in pay for eighty job titles.
Ransacked American Grocery Stores Are Still Pretty Amazing
The other night I made my first post-lockdown grocery store run. And I’ll admit it was a bit unsettling. It was strange seeing a security guard. It was strange wearing a mask. It was strange feeling a sort of fear of my fellow shoppers. And it was really strange and disturbing to see shelves stripped of goods. The whole experience of going grocery shopping became a bit nerve-wracking.
Radley Balko: The Militarized Police State (40m)
This episode features a talk by investigative journalist Radley Balko from 2013. Balko looks at the increasing militarization of American police forces.