Over the course of a long weekend very recently, I found myself afforded the opportunity for a lovely visit to Hilton Head, SC with my very dear roomies (well, two of them least; the other was at some minor prior engagement, “wedding-related,” he says).  If “pleasure” and “merriment” are the aim, one could do far […]

The other day I read a Wall Street Journal piece about EU tariffs on U.S. goods that (thankfully) never came to be. It reminded me about the Trump administration’s departure from U.S. policy for the last few decades which generally aimed to increase free trade. The Biden administration has yet to make any strong changes […]

So says Jason Riley on this week’s Econtalk discussing race in America. I think he is correct; not that facts are unimportant, but if they don’t agree with the cultural narrative, they will be ignored. I also agree with his point that this is leading to a poisoning of race relations rather than an improvement. […]

“What the nomads are doing is not that different than what the pioneers did. I think Fern’s part of an American tradition. I think it’s great.” Fern lives in her van, which has broken down and she is unable to fix it. She arrives, via bus, at Dolly’s house. Her sister lives on a clean, […]

These days, it just seems that we are thoroughly unable to get through a political week without some inexplicable bout of duncery gracing the headlines of our news feeds. There’s a line from Pirates of the Carribbean in which Captain Jack says, “Me? I’m dishonest, and a dishonest man you can trust to be dishonest […]

Americans have seen a significant increase in violent crime last year despite many years of steady decline. Unfortunately, this year is on pace to keep the numbers up. Of course, some high profile recent events have brought the discussion to a national level, and many Americans are genuinely wrestling with different policy options to help […]

“Lawrence! What like Lawrence of Arabia?” So bellows Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the opening moments of Full Metal Jacket. But no, not this time, Gunny. It’s Trevor Lawrence, rather, who we’re discussing today. Football fans with any modicum of attention to the game will be familiar with his name and likely even more familiar with […]

Two weeks ago I received my 2nd dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. When you think about this, it is simply amazing–who could have imagined we’d be able to have multiple vaccines available and widely being implemented in under a year? Certainly some thought it would take years (if ever) to get to this point. We […]

You don’t have to care about Marvel movies to understand this post, but my wife and I were watching Falcon and The Winter Soldier last week, and something hit me the wrong way. The group of terrorists The Falcon is trying to stop believed the world was better off after Thanos snapped half of all […]

A democratic friend of mine asked me recently what educated progressive economists would point to in arguing for the minimum wage to be increased. I suggested to him that most are well aware that the minimum wage at some level is going to be harmful (which is why nobody is calling for a $100/hr min […]