Category: Politics
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Is Western civilization collapsing?
A perennial topic for me (and many of us) is the notion that there is a deep malaise in Western civilization. There are, it seems to me, three main camps on the question, “Is Western civilization collapsing?” 1. The conservative position. “Yes. And it’s a horrible thing. For one thing, elites have basically stopped reproducing.…
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I joined a homeschooling legal defense association
Actually, I joined the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association (as a rank-and-file paying member). Authoritarianism is on the march, and while homeschooling has enjoyed a golden age in the last couple decades, having achieved both acceptance (even a measure of prestige) and legal freedom, I’m worried that that might be changing. It isn’t any particular event,…
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I am informed; you are misinformed; and the government should do something about this problem
Poynter, the famous journalism thinktank, has published “A guide to anti-misinformation actions around the world.” This sort of thing is mostly interesting not just for the particular facts it gathers but also for the assumptions and categories it takes for granted. The word “misinformation” is thrown around, as are “hate speech” and “fake news.” The…
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The New York Times comes out against free speech
According to a front page New York Times news (not opinion) article by Adam Liptak (“Weaponizing the First Amendment: How Free Speech Became a Conservative Cudgel”), we must adopt a stance of skepticism toward all this talk of free speech, if we wish to be sophisticated and sensitive, as all good Times readers aspire to…
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Why do smart people say such stupid things about politics?
Hey to all my friends who are smart people. (And if you wonder whether this “who” is restrictive or nonrestrictive, you may be one of my smart friends.) When Thoreau said, “Simplify,” he was not talking about your political positions. The truth is complex. You know this. You are capable of doing professional work (programming,…