I got into an argument with a random person on X (where I lately spend too much of my time, I regret to admit) after having the audacity to “partly agree” with Glenn Greenwald’s take on the awful murder of Charlie Kirk. I did point out in my reply that Greenwald’s equating the Right and Left doesn’t quite pass muster — but the word “partly” set off my hot-headed interlocutor regardless.
Continue readingU.S. politics
My Case For Trump
A while back, some anonymous troll on X attempted to “roast” me for writing on January 7, 2021 that “Donald Trump has every right to be bitter and resentful.” He lifted a screenshot with those words from this piece and argued that, therefore, “your opinion has no value.” It’s a peculiar person indeed who distills this single sentence from a 1,200-word article absolutely scathing Trump for his actions the day before. Bad actors will never cease cherry-picking their way through our writings.
Continue readingThe “Manchurian” Candidate
I dislike imprecise analogies. But there’s something profoundly disturbing about the Kamala Harris presidential candidacy.
Continue readingAbout Cats, Dogs, Ducks, and Haitians
Trump clearly underperformed in this week’s debate, a view already expressed by yours truly on X during the event. That said, one topic in particular stood out as the sole exception, and that’s the issue of Trump accusing Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio of eating the locals’ pets there.
Continue readingWhere Do We Go From Here?
If the present coronavirus pandemic has exposed one thing in its wake, it is the fragility of our economic interconnectedness and the whirlwind events across the globe can spawn in our own backyard. Whether this crisis will be brought to an end tomorrow or come next Christmas, historians 250 years from now may look back upon this moment as the dawn of a new era.
Continue readingA Remarkable Exercise In Inanity. Review of Arthur C. Brooks’ “Love Your Enemies”
It has been my conviction for a while now that social media and the daily phony outrages they help spur are rewiring our brains as we speak and make us more stupid. (Ever been on Twitter? Yeah.) Moreover, reading the drivel passing for political insight on our feeds makes us desperate to avoid the latest spat involving President Trump when we talk to these Facebook philosophers at an uncle’s birthday party. Better to change the topic to, say, the Patriots’ ‘Deflate Gate’. It’s bound to get some voices raised, but at the end of the day that feels better than having to battle accusations of secretly cherishing Nazi sympathies.
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The Free Dutchman 