At The Objective Standard, Aaron Briley addresses the anti-American ideas underlying Black Lives Matter. Many seem to regard BLM as a humanitarian organization that fights on behalf of the downtrodden—as a nonviolent movement dedicated to protecting the rights of vulnerable citizens. However, this is not true. Founders and leaders of the organization advocate an ideology…
The Guardian has an article on the border wall that touches on a deeper, and equally divisive issue: drug prohibition. A former customs agent is quoted: ” “You got to ask yourself: why are all the drugs and illegal immigrants coming through? Why? Because of the demand for illegal drugs and illegal labour, not much…
The hypocrisy of many Republicans regarding the use of eminent domain to build Trump’s border wall has been pointed out by many. Sen. Michael Bennet (D–Colo.), recently took them to task on the floor of the Senate. ___ Texas legislators have introduced two bills that would allow property owners to be compensated for diminished property…
How Informed are Voters? A recent survey found that American voters are generally misinformed on a wide range of political issues. The report stated, “On average, voters gave the correct answer 40% of the time, gave an incorrect answer 53% of the time, and said they were unsure 7% of the time. A majority of…
Competing Values The Houston Chronicle recently profiled a couple who have installed synthetic turf in their Houston Heights yard. They were tired of re-sodding their yard, and joined a growing number of property owners turning to artificial grass. It was a decision that they thought best for them. But the Heights is one of Houston’s…
Close Public Libraries Permanently Nearly a year after Harvey flooded many of Houston’s public libraries, six remain closed and virtually no repairs have been performed at the others. The city is still waiting for insurance money and FEMA checks. Now would be a good time to consider closing down the entire public library system. There…
Immigration and the Welfare State Immigration is a complex and emotional topic. But often the discussion gets sidetracked. A few recent threads on Facebook among my friends illustrates this. Many expressed no problem with individuals coming to America to make a better life. They just don’t want them mooching off of productive citizens by using…
The Echo Chamber I have recently been giving a lot of thought to the “echo chamber”–the tendency of people to associate primarily with people who share their views. As a result, the information they receive on political issues generally conforms with their beliefs. It becomes a form of political tribalism. While studies have come to…
Mismatched Curtains Sometimes, the inanity of government regulations knows no bounds. As an example, Mildred Bryant, a resident of Pagedale, Missouri, was fined for having mismatched curtains. This might seem absurd, and it is, but in principle it is no different from hundreds of other regulations that control how individuals use their property. For example,…