Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
The more marijuana is consumed, the more evidence mounts up that it ruins lives. As more states legalize marijuana, and as popular culture increasingly treats the narcotic as though it were harmless, it becomes increasingly apparent that using it involves serious risks. Lawmakers should stop decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, and allow it only as prescribed, … Read more
Public school teachers and other culture warriors on the Left will insist that the symbols of their ascendant movement, such as the rainbow flag, pronouns in bios and introductions, and “HATE HAS NO PLACE” signs, are just simple, unobjectionable statements of tolerance and love. Wearing the rainbow flag ought not to be controversial, they argue. … Read more
Do you know what Joe Biden has in common with Kevin McCarthy? They both were elected. That means what it means—nothing more, to be sure, but nothing less, either. President Biden says he will not negotiate with congressional Republicans over a bill to increase the debt ceiling. This is preposterous and indefensible, for several reasons: … Read more
We do not live in a just world. Sometimes crime pays. The book of Job shows us that the righteous sometimes suffer for their righteousness. American politics, in particular, seems to reward the worst among us. The 2016 presidential election pitted Hillary Clinton — famous for her thirst for power, self-dealing, and disdain for anyone … Read more
Jews don’t need a heritage month, and neither does anyone else For some community members, it’s exactly what Jews have always wanted and needed. In 2006, following up on a resolution passed by Congress, President George W. Bush was the first to declare May to be Jewish American Heritage Month. His successors have happily done … Read more
While the eyes of the nation are on San Francisco’s proposal to pay every black person $5 million in reparations for an estimated total cost of $175 billion, Motor City won’t be left behind. Last year, 80% of Detroit voters in a 78% black city cast their ballots in support of a reparations commission. That … Read more
Washington, DC, needs an emergency supply of snazzy sandwich boards announcing, “Will Legislate for Food.” A hunger crisis on Capitol Hill gave congressional leaders no choice but to trample the Constitution. Thanks to a backroom deal, House members can now claim automatic reimbursement of $258 a night for lodging expenses and $79 a day for … Read more
[H]ere’s some financial takeaways I’d share with my younger self. 1. Take Out Smaller Student Loans In case you didn’t know, the whole student loan business is a mess. Like most people, I learned the hard way that loading up on student loans is great during college, but paying them off isn’t nearly as fun. … Read more
Angela Davis was a dedicated fangirl of Soviet dictator Leonid Brezhnev and cult leader Jim Jones. So why is she presented to children as a hero? Every day, my son, who is in seventh grade, sees a quotation from Angela Davis painted on his school’s wall: “Radical simply means grasping things at the root.” (The … Read more
When debating trans activists, it’s best not to use preferred pronouns or defensively emphasize one’s heartfelt sympathy for “trans people.” Doing so is playing into a trap. Much of what is intended as courtesy is interpreted as concession. And much of what is intended as a show of good faith is interpreted as weakness. Consider … Read more
Remember all the special interest giveaways in the Inflation Reduction Act? While it was doubtful that legislation would ever reduce inflation, it was a cornucopia of subsidies and tax credits to green energy companies. The GOP plan to demand cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling originally included many of these tax credits, but … Read more
The bad European decisions keep on coming. Earlier this month, Germany closed the last of its nuclear power plants. It did this after being obliged by the Ukraine crisis to fire up mothballed coal-powered electricity generation and deferring the planned closures of other coal plants. Annalena Baerbock has one eye on Moscow as Germany’s foreign … Read more
I’ve used my trusty Basic Garden Tool (BGT) for several years now, and it’s a very helpful weapon in the fight against garden weeds, as well as a great multi-purpose tool around the yard. Now, the Grandpa’s Weeder is great for long single-rooted weeds like dandelions, and that’s the very best tool for that type … Read more
New Hampshire’s uber-popular Republican governor Chris Sununu put it plainly on NBC’s Meet the Press: “Donald Trump is a loser.” Before that, Sununu had rightly rebuked all the pundits who say the GOP presidential nomination for 2024 is a done deal. “Most folks don’t decide who they are voting for until about three weeks before … Read more
Identity politics is best understood as a moral caste system. Buying into variants such as critical race theory means accepting that your actions matter less than your race, gender or sexuality. The promised liberation of identity politics imposes the collectivist understanding that nothing you do truly matters outside the constraints of your caste. Who you … Read more
Not only does pornography as a means of adultery prevention fail the religious test. It miserably fails the moral and realistic test as well. As Todd Friel of Wretched explains, Prager’s message is horrible for both men and women — first because it gives men permission to use porn, providing them an “out,” and second … Read more
You don’t have to love the Wall Street guys, but you should try to understand what it is they do and how that helps make the rest of us richer. If you want to build a factory, what are you going to do? Save your nickels? Have a bake sale? No, you are going to … Read more
Richard Tems was about as loyal a Trump supporter as you can get. The Bucks County businessman and GOP committeeman has fiercely defended former President Donald Trump in editorials, interviews with reporters, and conversations with anyone within earshot. He voted for Trump twice and believed he was the right president at the right time. However, … Read more
Medicare and Social Security are the two largest federal government programs that are also growing the fastest. They are fiscally unsustainable as currently structured. Medicare consists of four parts which provide inpatient care (Part A), outpatient care (Part B), prescription drug coverage (Part D), and subsidies for seniors to choose alternative health insurance providers through … Read more
Legislators in California are considering a bill that would allow state officials to separate children from their families without letting the parents know until after the fact. Government authorities could do this for children who struggle with gender identity problems but whose parents are not being “ affirming ” of their new identification as the … Read more
In my younger years, my mother bought a recording of the musical South Pacific. We kids played it so often that we learned most of the songs by heart. This past week, one of the songs, “Cockeyed Optimist,” as sung by Mitzi Gaynor, kept popping into my head. Here are a few lines: “I have … Read more
The Republican Party emerged from the wreckage of the Whig Party because the Republicans believed in something and the Whigs did not: When it came to the most important issue of the day—slavery—the Republicans had a firm position, if a painfully moderate one, while the Whigs could not quite figure out what they should think … Read more
[A]fter conversations with a dozen Appalachian physicians in their 60s and 70s, I propose a more comprehensive story that begins many decades before OxyContin was introduced. This story draws on the social, economic, and clinical traditions of a region that has long made its physicians uninhibited in their use of opioids — and its residents particularly susceptible … Read more
This life is too beautiful not to wail, and cry, and withdraw into silence when it ends. O Lord, I heard Thy report, and was afraid: I considered thy works, and was amazed. —Habakkuk 3:2 At my parish, on Good Friday, the priest and deacons wear black vestments. They wear them the same way that … Read more
The grossest thing in these United States of America at this moment is not Slate’s pornographic advice columns or Donald Trump’s post-indictment Festivus-style airing of grievances or people who use their speakerphones or play loud mobile-phone games in public without earphones or the Never-Ending Battle of the Drag Queens or anything like that: The grossest, … Read more