Hysteria and paranoia aside, what’s wrong with the book? Salam engages in extreme reverse engineering, where even the most favorable facts about immigration somehow become extra reasons to oppose it.
Tag: america
Randolph Bourne
Bourne packed a lot of ideas into his short life, and did much writing for someone who was repeatedly canned for being so forthright with his ideas. Today, his legacy includes the Randolph Bourne Institute and its instrument, Antiwar.com. Furthermore, Bourne is famous for the very durable quote, “War is the health of the State.”
The Missing Planks
Prominent presidential candidates are advancing proposals that frankly horrify me. Should we dismember big tech firms? Or just give every American adult $1000 a month? Rather than critique these awful ideas, I’d rather ponder the Dog that Did Not Bark – moderate, common-sense proposals that no major candidate is likely to advocate. Just a few that have been on my mind lately…
The World’s Largest Socialist Economy
Who has the largest military system in the history of the human race? And who has the largest corporate welfare system to support the industrial arm of that military? Who has the largest public schooling program in the world? Could it be China, or India? I don’t know, but let me know if you are aware of real evidence that it is not the USA.
Jonathan Haidt: The Coddling of The American Mind (1h2m)
This episode features a lecture by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt from 2018. He addresses the subject of his new book — The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure — in which he investigates the causes of our current confusion, conflict and polarization and offers solutions for individuals and institutions to flourish amidst our differences. Purchase books by Jonathan Haidt on Amazon here.
Will Elizabeth Warren Take on the Biggest Monopoly of All?
For a “progressive” presidential candidate, US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is remarkably, well, conservative. Her proposals are neither new nor of the “democratic socialist” variety. In fact, her aim is, as Matthew Yglesias puts it at Vox, “to save capitalism” with stock proposals from the first half of the last century.
Some Men Just Want to Watch Mexico Burn
If you share this romantic vision, you might even welcome my analysis: “Yes, I’m inspired by revolutionary idealism. At least they tried.” Yet calmly considered, this romantic vision is inexcusable. Launching a bloody war without even asking, “How likely is this war to improve the world?” is as “romantic” as drunk driving at a playground. Giving revolutionaries credit for “trying” is ridiculous. If you combine brutality with wishful thinking about the consequences, your real goal isn’t to make those consequences a reality. Your real goal is just to exercise brutality.
Chelsea Manning: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Again
One of the 21st century’s greatest heroines is behind bars again, held in contempt by federal judge Claude M. Hilton for refusing to help prosecutors trump up charges against the journalists who published information she paid dearly for giving them.
Don’t Panic: The Retail Apocalypse Isn’t Disaster, It’s Progress
Nearly 30 years after it became widely publicly accessible, the Internet is in the final stages of killing off physical retail as we once knew it. But it’s not killing the economy.
The Shadow Factory
All units (individuals) have agenda. Each human will try to attach her agenda to the agenda at the highest levels attainable — for instance, in The Shadow Factory, the top set of agenda is that of the White House (nominally authored by George W. Bush, truly by Dick Cheney), a lower but very high set of agenda for the NSA, expressed by and through General Mike Hayden.