Enjoying the view from Limbo
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” says the proverb. And so it is — or nearly so. For it would be more precise to say perceived necessity. That is, invention is born of the subjective sense of need, rather than only of actual, natural needs, a truth which may easily be observed by considering the kind of invention typical of our age, most...
In an interview on Book TV, Thomas Sowell explained that he was once asked whether he had ever tried to persuade America’s leading race hustlers to accept his anti-progressive views on racial politics and affirmative action, to which he answered, “I’m sure Jesse Jackson makes ten times what I make. How do you convince a man to reduce his income by ninety percent?”...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” As the human race has more than amply proved in recent times, Roosevelt’s warning was exactly correct — though not exactly in the sense that he intended.
For Roosevelt meant that men’s fear of paternalistic government and socialist legislation was the only thing preventing them from escaping economic depression…
Today, I received an e-mail from a good American friend who, after reassuring me (or himself) that he has reconciled himself to the ugly truth of his country’s current predicament, proceeded to offer his comments on the Afghanistan debacle, beginning with the observation that even with years of planning, no one could have done a better job of reducing and shaming America than...
From a student who likes to fire random “meaning of life” questions at me, I received an e-mail with this reflection: Even if I will die tomorrow, is it meaningful for me to learn something? If not, I don’t want to. My reply: To learn is to improve your soul. So your question also means, “Even if I will die tomorrow, is it...
The only nation-wide scientific analysis of the effects and effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine, conducted in Israel, shows that having previously contracted the coronavirus itself was and remains by far the best protection against future infection and illness with all known variants of the virus. In other words, the vaccines are not really working as the “experts” continuously allege, in defiance of all...
Vaccine-related deaths among healthy Koreans under age 30, though relatively rare (and even more rarely given full acknowledgment by the government), have already outstripped Covid-19-related deaths among the same cohort, which are almost non-existent; this in spite of the fact that more young people have had contact with the virus than been vaccinated. This reality does not stop the Korean government and the...
Give and take.-– Everything that makes you tired of your fellow human beings can also, if you remember to let it, make you more appreciative than ever of trees, birds, turtles, clouds, and the way an otter’s head pops out of the thick river grass. Start to finish.– The first fully formed appearance of the essence of what is usually called Western civilization occurred...
A terrible electrical storm passed directly over my neighborhood last night. The lightning was continuous and relentless, thunder claps following immediately upon each flash indicating the nearness of the storm’s center, and a driving rain providing a percussive undertone to the ongoing assault from above. The storm moved relatively slowly, bringing roughly forty-five minutes of full intensity before the audible distance between flashes...
Business tycoons. I am speaking here not of the small business owner, craftsman, or entrepreneur who builds a good idea into a means of making a good living. The healthy society needs such individuals, and indeed, in the healthiest community such people would perhaps represent the largest contingent of the mature adult population. I am speaking, rather, of the men for whom wealth-getting...
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