Introduction: So let me begin by noting that I am going to be discussing what I think is going on, which is quite distinct from what I think ought to be going on. If we were dealing with what I thought ought to be happening, Frédéric Bastiat would be the Secretary of the Treasury. That …
John the Baptist’s Yard Sign
Introduction: A few days ago, I replied to Thabiti’s initial post about how he felt constrained to support Hillary as the lesser of two evils. He was kind enough to issue a rejoinder here, and now with the tennis ball over here in front of me again, I suppose it is my turn. Before getting …
On Dodging the Flaming Hailstones
Introduction: So I think it would be fair to say that I have been pounding away at Trump for lo these many months. Now that the primary season is over, and each major party is now stuck with its nominee, people are starting to coalesce (or not) behind somebody. I mentioned yesterday that Wayne Grudem …
The #NeverTrump Card
Getting Some Distance: Let us try to tear ourselves away from the gaudy spectacle that is American politics right now, and work through the theological logic of voting. I know that it is hard to tear ourselves away from the gaudy spectacle, which resembles nothing so much as a circus wagon full of mutant monkeys …
It Is Gold Paint, Actually, Not Actual Gold
Having gotten through what we all believe to have been one of the wildest political seasons ever, such that we are all checking our watches and starting to gather our stuff so that we might go, it suddenly dawns on us that the circus orchestra has only just finished the overture. There is a lot …
Who Swears To His Own Hurt
So I wrote that I was grateful for the fact that Cruz did not endorse Donald Trump. I still am grateful. But I also have noticed, online and in personal conversations, that a number of people (who are not Trump fans) are arguing that Cruz should be rejected for good over this because he was …
Thankful
So Ted Cruz refrained from endorsing Donald Trump last night, and so my respect for him remains high. I appreciate it deeply. If he had endorsed Trump, then my support for Cruz would have gone the way of the woolly mammoth. The pressure on Cruz to cave must have been enormous, as can be ascertained …
Among the First Responders
Brussels is only 200 miles from London. I live 2,500 miles from Washington, D.C. Perhaps you see where this is going. We are living in a time of enormous upheaval. Some of it is good, lots of it is bad, and all of it is challenging. The Brexit exit was one of the good things, …
The Latest Trumpadoo
Introduction: So here are a few random thoughts on the latest iteration of our great republican hokey pokey. Have you ever read color commentary on res publicae hoci poci, to use Cato’s oft abused phrase? Well, that’s all anybody reads anymore, right? But here goes anyhow. Shock and Aw, Shucks: The first thing to say, …
President Boaty McBoatface
Let us discourse for a moment on the high perils of popular democracy. A recent example of this was what happened when British authorities decided to allow an entity called “the Internet” to name a newly built polar research vessel. The returns were overwhelming — the name, if the public’s wisdom was to be consulted, …