This week, American astronauts returned to earth. Their trip to the space station was the first manned launch from the U.S. in 10 years. By NASA? No. Of course, not.
Tag: contract
Firing and the Left
Over the last decade, many leftists have not just moderated their former stance against firing. They have become enthusiastic advocates of firing people they dislike. “He’s performing his job adequately, so you have no right to fire him” has strangely morphed into a right-wing view.
A Modest Proposal for Compromise on “Confederate” Military Bases
Don’t rename those “Confederate” bases. Instead, shut them down. Completely. Move or destroy the weapons, move or discharge the troops, and sell the real estate (with contract clauses forbidding use of the bases’ names or namesakes in subsequent uses).
Abolish The Police (and Then What?)
The completely rational idea of abolishing the police scares some people. They think “But who would I call if someone is breaking into my house in the middle of the night?” Chances are, if that’s happening, it’s a wrong-address police raid and you’re about to be killed, and calling more police to the scene isn’t going to help you. I’m sorry if this news upsets you, but you need to face reality eventually. On the off-chance it’s a freelance thug breaking in, you have better options than calling the police even now.
What I’m Thinking
1. Getting people to be rational about politics is an uphill battle during the best of times. During a global hysteria, it’s hopeless. 2. Due to this doleful realization, I refrained from discussing the lockdown when it first emerged. The best course, I deemed, was to wait for readers to simmer down. 3. Since many have now simmered down, here’s what I was thinking three months ago.
Too Terrified to Talk About It
In absolute terms, most people remain terrified of coronavirus, so it’s hardly surprising that sexual harassment worries them less. The fact that sexual harassment accusations actually worry the average respondent even more than coronavirus, however, suggests that most workers really are living in fear during normal times.
Social Anxiety, #MeToo, and COVID-19
The last two months, I’ve spent many extra hours walking and biking. Encountering other people outdoors – and watching all parties avoid each other like lepers – is an eerie experience. Few human societies have ever made severe social anxiety so blatant. Viewing strangers with fear is the new normal.
Reflections on the Krikorian-Caplan Soho Forum Debate
Thanks again to Gene Epstein and Reason for sponsoring last week’s immigration debate between myself and Mark Krikorian. Thanks to Mark, too, for debating before an unsympathetic audience. The resolution, you may recall, was: The current pandemic makes it all the more necessary for the federal government to tighten restrictions on immigration. Here are my extra thoughts on the exchange.
What We Would Now Know, If Demagogues Didn’t Rule Every Country on Earth
About six months after the rise of COVID-19, humanity still doesn’t know the answers to a long list of critical questions. Yet amazingly, we have a straightforward and ethically unimpeachable way to decisively answer all of these questions – and countless more. The method is: paid voluntary human experimentation.
The Freedom of the Blue Collar Worker
Tradesmen, contractors, and blue collar workers hold the jobs no one seems to want. They get paid less generally than some office desk jockeys, and they may never be rich enough to own yachts or mansions. But they are free in a way few corporate employees are.