About 19 years ago, around half-past dusk, in an average town in a nearby state, I was riding in the passenger seat while my wife-at-the-time drove. Pulling a particularly blatant act of poor driving in the middle of town, she made a left turn and cut off an approaching coproach. She seemed completely oblivious when I mentioned this error. Unsurprisingly, the gangster in question made a turn, followed, and stopped her.
Tag: peace
Give Up Comfort
What if we could let go of concern for our comfort? What if we could dive fully into the insecurity of the situation, and stay in the insecurity without needing to change it? It would transform our lives. It would transform us.
On Utah Politics II
It should be obvious to any observer of the recent Mormon Church’s interference in Utah politics that this organization is thoroughly opposed to anything resembling liberty.
Are We Sure It Can’t It Happen Here?
One runs a risk whenever one cites the 20th century’s great terror states while discussing current ominous developments in the western democracies. Apparent comparisons of the United States or western and central European countries to Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia will inevitably be hooted down with accusations of alarmist conspiracy-mongering and worse, shameful ahistoricity. Nevertheless, that must not keep us from noticing and pointing to contemporary events that bear an eerie resemblance, however slight, to things that went on in those totalitarian terror states.
Trump, Spinoza, and the Palestinian Refugees
Trump’s die-hard supporters like to say his extreme measures and tweets are merely opening moves in his art of deal-making. So let’s go with that: he’s holding five million desperate people hostage in order to convince the corrupt Palestinian Authority to take his deal. That’s reassuring.
The Fatal Flaw
Most Americans come to conclusions randomly. They believe what they read in the newspapers, depending upon which newspaper they read. They see the corruption, lying and cheating that goes on before their very eyes and haven’t the foggiest idea of what goes on behind the closed doors of government.
On Black on Black Crime
On a recent episode of the Tom Woods podcast, musician and libertarian Eric July lamented the attacks he’s received for being an outspoken libertarian. He’s often told that he’s no longer an authentic black man because he is not a leftist Democrat type.
A Case Against Optimizing Your Life
Many people I know are on a quest to optimize their lives — some of my favorite people in the world will spend days trying to perfect a productivity system, get things automated, or find the perfect software for anything they’re doing. They are on a continual search for the perfect diet, the perfect work routine, the perfect travel setup. Optimizing can take quite a bit of time and energy. What would happen if we let go of optimizing?
On Government Funding of Science
Neil deGrasse Tyson was on the Joe Rogan podcast recently. Therein he defended the need for government to fund scientific advancement. His argument was that many frontiers are neither accessible nor profitable for free enterprise until government paves the way. He’s probably not wrong, but that hardly constitutes a justification for government funding sourced by coercion.
Defining Anti-Semitism, Threatening Free Speech
In May the benign-sounding Anti-Semitism Awareness Act appeared before the U.S Congress “to provide for consideration a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.” No big deal? Let us see. S. 2940 is sponsored by Republican Sen. Tim Scott and has four co-sponsors: Republican Lindsey Graham and…