In any conflict between good and bad, you ought to of course pick the good. In any conflict between bad and bad, you ought not to pick either. Instead, you ought to root for their mutual destruction. All of this … Continue reading
“Manipulative” people are ones who lie or imply their motives for doing something are other than what they are. It’s not effective to be manipulative. Manipulation only “works” to the degree that your victim is not paying attention. Yet think … Continue reading
The government has only been able to come up with fewer than half of the Swine flu vaccines it guaranteed to have for the flu season. Its response is to declare a public health emergency so that government officials will … Continue reading
The FCC wants to take ownership of the Internet through something dubious called “net neutrality.” You can be sure that once the government is involved, there will be nothing neutral about it. Obama’s head of the FCC talks about wanting … Continue reading
A website reader writes in: “I’m 64 and disabled. I’ve had two major surgeries to my back and hip performed by the VA in the past two years, and am satisfied with the care, other than purchases of medical ‘supplies’ … Continue reading
America’s foreign policy today is “engagement.” Our policy is to talk to all foreign enemies, including mortal ones, such as the dictatorship of Iran, who threaten our physical safety and that of our allies. “Engagement” is the language of couples … Continue reading
Q: I’m an atheist and my family are all true believers. How can I convince them not to believe in God. A: If someone else believes in God and you don’t, you can’t convince them there is no God. This … Continue reading
Hurrying is the alleged short-cut to competence. You don’t get an effective result by rushing. You get an effective result by being conscientious and accurate. More and more instances of doing something competently lead to greater and greater efficiency. But … Continue reading
Freedom of speech is the most important thing. It’s everything. Without free expression of ideas, there’s no competition among ideas. The irrational wins over the rational only where there is no free speech. So long as people can counter with … Continue reading
Just because you don’t like to think of yourself as exhibiting a certain characteristic doesn’t mean you aren’t. Being objective about yourself means being honest. It means being willing to consider that a particular action or attitude of yours conflicts … Continue reading
Nobody wants to be used. But what does this term really mean? Some people say they’re being used merely because someone else gets something out of their personal encounter. But there’s nothing wrong with self-interest. Every encounter, whether business or … Continue reading
A liberal staff member from a liberal newspaper recently replied to a column I wrote on why Obama should not have the Nobel Prize by telling me the following: “Get a life.” That’s interesting. If life is the standard of … Continue reading