Topic: Media

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

Economic Education, Media

In Defense of the Tom Cruise Rant

– December 25, 2020

“It’s sad that businesses must waste time, money and brain space on compliance, but businesses ultimately must be bloodless and ideology-blind in pursuit of profits. Thank goodness they must.” ~ John Tamny

Economic Education, Media, Monetary Policy

Pornhub: Victim of Visa and Mastercard Censorship or Money Laundering Risk?

– December 19, 2020

“Pornhub’s deplatforming is so controversial, in part, because it appears to be arbitrary. It was the New York Times that ultimately served as the fuse, not Visa or Mastercard internal checks.” ~ J.P. Koning

Authoritarianism, Government, Media

There is a More Beautiful Melody than Fear

– December 9, 2020

“A more beautiful melody would be the songs of liberty that remind us how human beings flourish and what free people can achieve. Such songs must be plentiful and unforgettable, or the sirens’ calls of authoritarians will rule the day during a social mood winter.” ~ Barry Brownstein

Crisis, Media, Science

The Censorship of Dr. Briand

– December 1, 2020

“The main problem with all of this goes far beyond Dr. Briand’s research. This is all representative of an unproductive orthodoxy that exists around Covid-19. An orthodoxy that has a set view on how to think and how to respond to the virus.” ~ Ethan Yang

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Media

The Media’s Covid War on the Dakotas

– November 27, 2020

“What’s driving the anti-Dakotas vendetta is that the mainstream media overwhelmingly support authoritarian measures and governors of both states have resisted them. It’s all about politics, sensationalism, and possibly envy.” ~ Michael Fumento

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

Crisis, Media, Science

A Contagion of Hatred and Hysteria

– November 1, 2020

“The simple truth is that Covid-19 will not just go away if we continue to impose enough meaningless restrictions on ourselves. And the longer we fail to recognise this, the worse will be the permanent economic damage — the brunt of which, again, will be borne by the disadvantaged and the young.” ~ Dr. Sunetra Gupta

Crisis, History, Media

Covid As a Source of Election Interference

– October 31, 2020

“There are so many other ways to interfere in an election than to tamper with voting machines – manipulating perceptions of Covid is just one of them.” ~ Micha Gartz

Crisis, Media, Policy, Science

The Inconsistent Messaging Behind Lockdowns

– October 22, 2020

“We would all be better off if an honest and principled conversation can take place. If lockdowns are found to be undesirable based on all the various considerations from the science to the economics, then we can move on to more productive conversations. There is no need to flip flop, censor, misconstrue, confuse, or otherwise argue as if this were some political debate where winning is more important than the truth.” ~ Ethan Yang

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Media, Public Choice and Public Policy

The Strange Advent of Lockdown Denialism

– October 20, 2020

“As the latest repackaging of this epidemiological bill of goods gains traction in our public discourse, the world has but one viable pathway out of the present social, economic, and medical hellscape. And that is to meet the lockdowners with a resounding no.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Healthcare, Media, Science

The Fake Signature Canard

– October 15, 2020

“As the data show, the lockdowners’ troll campaign accounted for almost half of the fake submissions – the very definition of an attempt to manufacture a news story. While they likely thought they scored an internet victory of some sort by cynically deflecting attention away from the disastrous public health effects of their own botched pandemic response, all they achieved was putting their own increasingly desperate tactics on full public display.” ~ Phillip W. Magness