In response to [Israeli prime minister] Netanyahu’s claim that [Obama’s nuclear arms] deal [with Iran] will develop into an arms race in the Middle East, [Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne] Feinstein said that threat already exists. She said it is not … Continue reading
Category: Daily Dose of Reason
Why Society Needs Self-Interested Individualists
A visitor to DrHurd.com writes: Dear Dr. Hurd: In your argument for promoting rational selfishness against self-sacrifice, your comments like “choosing to have children or not to have children is selfish” indicate to me that you have missed a major … Continue reading
Brother, Can You Spare Another Trillion or Two?
It’s taken for granted that everyone has a right to a safety net, and that government must provide it. This unquestioned assumption rests on two ideas. Assumption # 1: We are all each other’s keepers, and the government has a … Continue reading
Hawks and Cranks
Long-time conservative Pat Buchanan and Fox News’ Sean Hannity had a disagreement about Iran the other night. It went like this: “You believe we can make a deal with the Iranians? You believe peace with the Iranians in our time?” … Continue reading
Capitalism, Socialism and the Psychology of Scarcity
A reader of mine recently made some very interesting comments, via Facebook: Well, Michael, as I am sure you know, the human brain evolved for survival on the African savannah, a place of extreme scarcity. As a result, we still … Continue reading
College Tuition “Debt Strike”
Sarah Dieffenbacher is on a debt strike. She’s refusing to make payments on the more than $100,000 in federal and private loans she says she owes for studies at a for-profit college that she now considers so worthless she doesn’t … Continue reading
Command-and-Control vs. Free Market: Doctors, the Choice is Yours
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that private medical providers that deliver residential care services in Idaho cannot sue the state in order to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates to deal with rising medical costs. The justices, on a 5-4 … Continue reading
Individual Rights: One Size Does Fit All
Whenever a government sets out to deny individual rights in favor of group rights, sooner or later, those denied their individual rights must fight back. One way to fight back? Demand your individual rights. The other way to fight back? … Continue reading
Israel vs. Iran: It’s the Economy, Stupid
Most people assume that the conflict between Israel and militant Islamic states is religious. Obviously, religion has a whole lot to do with it. But Israel, unlike Iran, is not a religiously totalitarian state. Israel is full of freedom, while … Continue reading
Could Psychiatry Have Stopped the French Alps Crash?
From AFP and Newsmax.com 3/28/15: The co-pilot who crashed a passenger jet into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, worried “health problems” would dash his dreams and vowed one day to do something to “change the whole system”, an … Continue reading
Fatal Attraction of Government (Thomas Sowell)
The fatal attraction of government is that it allows busybodies to impose decisions on others without paying any price themselves. That enables them to act as if there were no price, even when there are ruinous prices — paid by … Continue reading
Ohio Gov. John Kasich Demonstrates Why Republicans Are Losers
Republicans are losers. By “losers” I mean: They often lose elections (especially at the presidential level); and even when they win, nothing changes, despite their intentions. Taxes, government programs, government spending and debt, government regulations — they all keep growing … Continue reading