The Trump administration and its apologists are quick to point out that Barack Obama was as willing as Donald Trump himself to tear-gas desperate people trying to protect themselves by crossing America’s southern border. So he was, though many will refuse to believe it. But that raises an interesting question: if every horrible thing Trump has done so far was also done by Obama, why do Trump and his fans hate the former White House occupant so much?
Tag: health
I’ll Keep My Loopholes, Thank You
As bad as partisanship’s reputation may be, bipartisanship is far worse. When working together, the old, fossilized political parties make it clear it isn’t “The Right” vs. “The Left;” it’s government colluding against the rest of us.
Feeling Progress vs. the Pride of Having Progressed
One of the healthiest feelings in the world is the feeling you get when you are growing toward a goal, toward unity, toward integrity, toward excellence, truth, and beauty. One of the most satisfying feelings in the world is the feeling of having progressed. Choose the former.
Scott Gottlieb’s Nicotine Nazism Will Kill Kids, Not Save Them
On November 15, US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced new measures regulating the sale of products that seem to reduce the negative health impacts of nicotine addiction — in the name of protecting children from those health impacts. Oddly, Gottlieb also announced a plan to dramatically increase the availability and variety of flavored cigarettes — in the name of banning them.
Why Teen Suicide Is Lower in States That Have More School Choice
Freedom is the precursor to happiness. When we’re free, we feel in control of our lives and able to direct our own path. If we’re unhappy, we can make changes and make different choices. If we are not free, we cannot make these choices. We cannot be our own agents, and so we suffer. This suffering due to lack of freedom is becoming increasingly apparent throughout our mandatory system of mass schooling.
Train Your Mind Using the Puppy Method
The mind can be trained to do almost anything. It can be trained, for example, to get used to any situation, like sitting in silence for a long time, or concentrating on a task. However, usually we’re training our minds to do what we don’t want: be distracted, give in to cravings and urges, complain, avoid discomfort, procrastinate.
D.C. Bureaucrats Are Trying to Make Parents Get a License to Let Children Play Together
Let’s say you and some of your friends decide to gather your young children together a couple of days a week for a few hours of free play. Maybe you switch off who leads the gaggle of kids each week, allowing for some shared free time and flexibility. Sounds like a great arrangement for all, right? Your kids get to play freely with their friends, and you get some occasional free babysitting. According to government officials in Washington, DC, arrangements like this are violations of the law. They are cracking down on what they call an illegal “child development facility” operating without a license.
The Pittsburgh Double Bind: Presidents Shouldn’t Be So Important
If we’re going to have a president, why not keep him or her in Washington — at a desk with a stack of paperwork, away from television cameras and smartphones — instead of centering every aspect of public life around his or her actions and utterances?
Inside the Moderate Mind
A progressive immigration activist recently told me that every election year, moderate Democrats urge him to shut up. Moderate Democrats clearly consider immigration a losing issue. But according to my source, they’re also quite self-righteous about their shushing. Which makes me wonder: What’s going on inside the mind of the moderate Democrat?
Optimality versus Fire
Public choice economists have long argued that conventional economists hold markets to far higher standards than they hold government. Markets “fail” unless they’re optimal. Governments “succeed” unless they’re on fire.