2020 archive
If a Lie Falls on Facebook and No One Is There To Fact-Check It, Is It Really a Lie? 0
Facebook doesn’t want anyone to find the answer.
The Galt and the Lamers 0
Paul Krugman muses on the inimical effects of the Ayn Rand’s “Libertarian” mythos–which I consider to be little more than a rationale for soulless selfishness–on the common good. Here’s a bit:
But you also see a lot of libertarian rhetoric — a lot of talk about “freedom” and “personal responsibility.” Even politicians willing to say that people should cover their faces and avoid indoor gatherings refuse to use their power to impose rules to that effect, insisting that it should be a matter of individual choice.
Which is nonsense.
Many things should be matters of individual choice. The government has no business dictating your cultural tastes, your faith or what you decide to do with other consenting adults.
But refusing to wear a face covering during a pandemic, or insisting on mingling indoors with large groups, isn’t like following the church of your choice. It’s more like dumping raw sewage into a reservoir that supplies other people’s drinking water.
Relax 0
In the Des Moines Register, political science professor Evan Renfro reports that he has been receiving questions from persons concerned about the possibility of a civil war (his term) should Donald Trump lose the election. He says, not to worry.
Follow the link for his reasoning; I think you will find it an interesting perspective.
Aside:
I’ve heard no talk of the danger of a “civil war,” but I clearly do not move in the same circles. I would not, however, be surprised to see–er–heightened incivility.
A. Close Their Eyes, Click Their Heels Together, and Wait 0
Q. What is the Trump administration’s strategy for dealing with the pandemic?
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Ensure that birthday celebrations have occasion for politeness.
One more time, “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron.
Echoes of the Past 0
Alan Garfield reports on the unpleasant stirrings that Donald Trump has awakened in a survivor of the Holocaust.
Be forewarned, it’s uncomfortable reading.
QOTD 0
Kerry Greenwood, in the voice Tom Ventura:
I remember being bored. It was nice. I didn’t appreciate it at the time.
Greenwood, Kerry, Murder in the Dark (Scottsdale, AZ: Poisoned Pen Press, 2009), p. 5
