Topic: Art and Culture

Rename the Cuomo Bridge for Covid Victims

– March 2, 2021

“I empathize with those desiring that the name of the 3.1 mile bridge should revert to Tappan Zee; other recommendations would undoubtedly include renaming the structure for a deceased serviceman or woman, the 9/11 attack victims, or a different New York State Governor. (DeWitt Clinton, who facilitated the building of the Erie Canal, often comes up.) But I disagree with all of those.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Art and Culture, Media, Philosophy

As Tom Brady Reaches His 10th Super Bowl, Does Inequality Still Bother You?

– January 28, 2021

“The unequal elevate those around them. Does anyone think the Patriots would have missed the playoffs had Brady stayed? Does anyone think the Buccaneers would be in the Super Bowl without Brady? Let’s be serious.” ~ John Tamny

Art and Culture, Crisis, History

Catastrophe Is All Around Us

– January 5, 2021

“After two weeks, there was still time to undo major parts of the damage of lockdowns. After 10 months, not so much. There will be loss of life for many years to come plus population-wide psychological, social, and economic damage. The catastrophe has not been averted. It is far worse than any of us could ever have imagined at this time last year. Our governments are the pathogens that have done this to us.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Art and Culture, Authoritarianism, Media

Hollywood’s “Illiberal Left”

– December 30, 2020

“Cancellation runs counter to its own goals. If we hope to live by the best ideals that we know of, cancellation prevents us from discovering the full suite of options, instead committing us to the way things already are. And if the aim is to shut down undesirable viewpoints and convert folks to more honorable causes, why pursue the most polarizing approach imaginable, rather than having an open and honest debate?” ~ Fiona Harrigan

Art and Culture, Crisis

Five Times this Year the New York Times Accidentally Told the Truth

– December 29, 2020

“The paper of record in 2020 shifted dramatically to the most illiberal stance possible on the virus, pushing for full lockdowns, and ignoring or burying any information that might contradict the case for this unprecedented experiment in social and economic control. This article highlights the exceptions.” ~Jeffrey Tucker

Art and Culture, Crisis

The Thanksgiving Rebellion of 2020

– November 25, 2020

“This bureaucratic hydra of federal, state, and local governments tried to delete Thanksgiving. And this is at a time of unprecedented sadness and depression when people are most in need of family and companionship. This is absolutely cruel. What the heck has become of us? Well, Americans being Americans, they rebelled.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Art and Culture, Media, Technology

How Bad is Our Social Dilemma?

– November 25, 2020

“What critics refer to when they say ‘This time is the same’ isn’t that television, newspapers, or cars revolutionized our societies in the exact same way that social media are doing, but that we found ways to deal with them. Live with them. Constrain them. Even if Harris doesn’t seem to think so, we can learn to live with these new technologies.” ~ Joakim Book

Art and Culture, Economic Education, Free Markets

Without Permissionless Innovation, Would we Really Love Rock & Roll?

– November 24, 2020

“Even if you think the ‘Queen of Noise’ produces nothing but noise, her success in a world of permissionless innovation is a good reason to love rock & roll.” ~ Art Carden

Art and Culture, Economic Education, Video

Lockdowns: The Great Debate

– November 6, 2020

Tonight, the Journal of the American Medical Association is finally permitting some debate on lockdowns on their very influential YouTube channel. The debate will be between Harvard’s lockdown architect Dr. Marc Lipsitch and Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya of Stanford, one of three primary authors of the Great Barrington Declaration. It will be moderated by Dr. Howard Bauchner, who is the editor of JAMA and a busy podcaster who hosts regular video updates from Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Art and Culture, Books, History

White Supremacy No, Enlightenment Superiority Yes

– October 29, 2020

“Progress isn’t automatic, and worse, regress can happen. We must understand and promote Enlightenment ideas and practices: Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress.” ~ Warren C. Gibson

Art and Culture, Free Markets, Media

News You Can’t Abuse

– September 22, 2020

“A news outlet that posted a bond with a third party that would be forfeited if it insisted on publishing anything factually wrong, or crossed the line between journalism and punditry, could create the sort of trust that people once had in the New York Times and other papers of record, all of which essentially posted informal bonds backed by their reputations and expected future profitability.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Art and Culture, Authoritarianism, Crisis, Free Markets

Pathological and Parochial Altruism in the Age of Fear

– August 20, 2020

“A healthy altruism already resides in the concepts of liberty, free markets, free trade, and exchanges that are beneficial to each individual. If in the spirit of entrepreneurship, the defectors from the status quo, the disruptors and ingenious can rise up to challenge the “new normal” and break away from the cult of blind obedience and pathological altruism, then there is still hope.” ~ Lucio Saverio Eastman