Authoritarianism
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Unmasking Paul Krugman’s Misrepresentation of Ayn Rand
“Ayn Rand’s way of individual freedom and free markets, at the end of the day, is the better one to be concerned about for saving lives in the face of the coronavirus, while the real killer in all this has been and is the misguided and harmful political paternalism for which Paul Krugman keeps so…
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Defining Despotism Down
“The failure of iron fist policies should be the storyline of the 2020 election but instead Biden and much of the media want to double down on repression. Can the votes that are cast in the coming week close the authoritarian Pandora’s Boxes that have opened across the nation? Or will conniving invocations of ‘data…
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Who Deserves Your Trust in the COVID Debate?
“Ask yourself, who deserves your trust? I would argue that anti-lockdowners are today’s abolitionists — people willing to take up an unpopular cause at incredible risk. Lockdowners may currently be ‘popular,’ but they are on the wrong side of history.” ~ Stacey Rudin
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Minority Rights
“With ballots no longer secret (and hence again alienable) in many states, the Electoral College under siege, and the independence of the Supreme Court threatened, minorities tremble with trepidation. Barring disunion or a return to states rights, the only real question now is, who shall be the next minority? Besides our heroic Covid-19 survivors that…
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A Comprehensive Case Against Lockdowns: How Dr. Ari Joffe Changed His Mind
“We must open up society to save many more lives than we can by attempting to avoid every case (or even most cases) of COVID-19. It is past time to take an effortful pause, calibrate our response to the true risk, make rational cost-benefit analyses of the trade-offs, and end the lockdown groupthink.” ~ Ari…
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“Choose Your Liar” Democracy
“In the short run, the political game is rigged so that winners capture far more power than many, if not most, Americans would willingly cede to them and vastly more than the Constitution permits. But citizens can reduce the hazards they face by remembering that winning votes never redeemed a rascal. The winner of next…
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The Return of the Flagellants
“In England in the 14th century, when the marauding Flagellants came to town, good members of the community found these people amusing and rather ridiculous, and otherwise they went about their lives, having fun and building a better and more prosperous society. Let those who desire to suffer to be free to do so. As…
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The Death and Life of the Great Third Place
“We might also emerge from this bizarre Orwellian dystopia with a renewed appreciation for Main Street, community, and the third spaces. These places define normal and make us who we are. We support them because they support us in more ways than we realize. Perhaps we took these places for granted. Never again.” ~ Brad…
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Mindlessness Fuels Tyranny
“The Great Barrington Declaration demonstrates a willingness to consider new information and broaden the context for setting policy. Those who want to sell us centralized ‘hatchet’ solutions prefer a public lulled to mindlessness by one narrative. The mindless will follow instructions. If many people continue to look towards one perspective only, without broadening the context,…
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Thomas Friedman Remains Rather Smitten With Authoritarianism
“Better than Friedman’s authoritarianism is choice. Really, who needs to be told to be careful if a virus is spreading that might make us sick, or if we’re very old (according to the New York Times) might in very rare circumstances kill us? If something threatens, the logical answer is yet again freedom. Sadly the…
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•
Unmasking Paul Krugman’s Misrepresentation of Ayn Rand
“Ayn Rand’s way of individual freedom and free markets, at the end of the day, is the better one to be concerned about for saving lives in the face of the coronavirus, while the real killer in all this has been and is the misguided and harmful political paternalism for which Paul Krugman keeps so…
-
•
Defining Despotism Down
“The failure of iron fist policies should be the storyline of the 2020 election but instead Biden and much of the media want to double down on repression. Can the votes that are cast in the coming week close the authoritarian Pandora’s Boxes that have opened across the nation? Or will conniving invocations of ‘data…
-
•
Who Deserves Your Trust in the COVID Debate?
“Ask yourself, who deserves your trust? I would argue that anti-lockdowners are today’s abolitionists — people willing to take up an unpopular cause at incredible risk. Lockdowners may currently be ‘popular,’ but they are on the wrong side of history.” ~ Stacey Rudin
-
•
Minority Rights
“With ballots no longer secret (and hence again alienable) in many states, the Electoral College under siege, and the independence of the Supreme Court threatened, minorities tremble with trepidation. Barring disunion or a return to states rights, the only real question now is, who shall be the next minority? Besides our heroic Covid-19 survivors that…
-
•
A Comprehensive Case Against Lockdowns: How Dr. Ari Joffe Changed His Mind
“We must open up society to save many more lives than we can by attempting to avoid every case (or even most cases) of COVID-19. It is past time to take an effortful pause, calibrate our response to the true risk, make rational cost-benefit analyses of the trade-offs, and end the lockdown groupthink.” ~ Ari…
-
•
“Choose Your Liar” Democracy
“In the short run, the political game is rigged so that winners capture far more power than many, if not most, Americans would willingly cede to them and vastly more than the Constitution permits. But citizens can reduce the hazards they face by remembering that winning votes never redeemed a rascal. The winner of next…
-
•
The Return of the Flagellants
“In England in the 14th century, when the marauding Flagellants came to town, good members of the community found these people amusing and rather ridiculous, and otherwise they went about their lives, having fun and building a better and more prosperous society. Let those who desire to suffer to be free to do so. As…
-
•
The Death and Life of the Great Third Place
“We might also emerge from this bizarre Orwellian dystopia with a renewed appreciation for Main Street, community, and the third spaces. These places define normal and make us who we are. We support them because they support us in more ways than we realize. Perhaps we took these places for granted. Never again.” ~ Brad…
-
•
Mindlessness Fuels Tyranny
“The Great Barrington Declaration demonstrates a willingness to consider new information and broaden the context for setting policy. Those who want to sell us centralized ‘hatchet’ solutions prefer a public lulled to mindlessness by one narrative. The mindless will follow instructions. If many people continue to look towards one perspective only, without broadening the context,…
-
•
Thomas Friedman Remains Rather Smitten With Authoritarianism
“Better than Friedman’s authoritarianism is choice. Really, who needs to be told to be careful if a virus is spreading that might make us sick, or if we’re very old (according to the New York Times) might in very rare circumstances kill us? If something threatens, the logical answer is yet again freedom. Sadly the…