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?
Tag: police
An Indignity We Cannot Bear
I find the agenda and actions of the Democrats despicable. I find the agenda and actions of the Republicans despicable. What can a decent American do?
Sexual Assault vs. False Allegations
By modern definitions, I have been sexually assaulted. I have been grabbed, and groped in uncomfortable ways that were highly unwelcome. People have tried to kiss me that were unwelcome. Let me talk about some of the instances.
Badge Doesn’t Grant Extra Rights
A badge doesn’t grant extra rights. When the law acts as though it does by treating people differently based on whether or not they wear a badge, the law undermines its appearance of legitimacy.
It’s Too Late for Warlords
Many people have objected to libertarian anarchism on the grounds that absent the state, warlords would take over. But what is the state itself but a species of warlord?
Compulsory Schooling Laws: What if We Didn’t Have Them?
We should always be leery of laws passed “for our own good,” as if the state knows better. The history of compulsory schooling statutes is rife with paternalism, triggered by anti-immigrant sentiments in the mid-nineteenth century and fueled by a desire to shape people into a standard mold.
On Gun Policy
Gun control advocates like to talk about the “costs” of gun policy by citing homicide, suicide, and accidental gun death/injury statistics. Something about the concept of “costs” as it concerns issues like this doesn’t sit right with me.
Gratitude in an Unfree World
Above all, I am grateful for the people who have loved me and whom I have loved in return. My old friends have been loyal, my newer ones appreciative and kind. Very seldom have I been betrayed or abandoned. I have enjoyed relatively good physical health, with no major diseases or injuries in my life since infancy.
You Are Being Watched
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.
Political Boycotts with Taxpayer Money? Just Don’t Do It
All well and good. One nice thing about markets is that they’re hyper-democracies in which we all get to vote with our patronage, every day and with every purchase. Unfortunately, some people think they’re entitled to vote with other people’s dollars. Marshall Fisher, head of Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety, is one such.