The Balfour Declaration

November 2 marks the 100th Anniversary of Great Britain’s Balfour Declaration.  In 1917, PM Arthur James Balfour wrote a letter to Baron Walter Rothschild  declaring support for a Jewish homeland to be carved out from Arabic territory.  Why is it that the British feel so comfortable with this kind of mapmaking? 

Where’s the Forced Integration?

When I moved to Mexico a couple years ago, the Mexicans were in no way forced to integrate with me. They were free to deal with me or decline to deal with me. I am not aware of any who found my presence so objectionable that they wanted nothing to do with me, but well aware of many who have received me graciously and shown me all sorts of kindness.

Microsoft Corp. v. United States: Jeff Sessions Wants Open Borders, But Only for Police

In 2013, Microsoft refused to turn information from a customer’s email account over to law enforcement pursuant to a warrant in a narcotics investigation. The information, Microsoft noted, was stored on a server in Ireland. Ireland, as you may have learned in elementary school, is neither one of the fifty states nor a US territory.  It’s a sovereign state with its own laws. US search warrants carry no weight there.

Voluntary Law and Order

People are not all the same, and they make different choices because they have different values, circumstances, and levels of understanding. Sometimes those choices are peaceful and wise; sometimes they are not. So what are the best ways to promote good choices and cooperation while preventing and providing resolution for conflict?

Trump’s Americanized Fascism

Sure, Trump says: “In America, the people govern, the people rule, and the people are sovereign. I was elected not to take power, but to give power to the American people, where it belongs.” But that cliched claptrap cannot withstand scrutiny. “The people” neither govern nor rule. Only persons act, and only certain persons rule. There is no way everyone can rule — unless all people individually rule their own lives. That’s not what Trump means.