I hadn’t realized what a piece of work he was.
Category Archives: Social Commentary
Paris Agreement Advocates
Glenn Reynolds says they should practice what they preach, by government force if necessary:
First, we need to tax the “blue zones.” That is, we need to impose steep taxes on property in coastal areas that will be flooded by the sea-level increases that global warming is supposed to bring. By discouraging people from living or building there now, we’ll save ourselves from big problems in the future. Sure it’ll drive down property values, but those values should go down — they’re values for property that’s going to be flooded anyway, remember?
Second, we need to ban taxpayer-funded air travel to conferences. State legislatures could ban reimbursement for travel outside their states; Congress could require that no federal grant money be spent on air travel to conferences and similar events. A lot of academic conferences would fail, but that’s a small price to pay for saving the planet. And besides, it will encourage the development of Internet-based conference alternatives. A whole new industry might result: Green jobs!
Donald Trump can strengthen America by dumping Paris agreement: Sen. Inhofe
Third, we need to ban private jet travel. At first I thought about just taxing it heavily, but with the planet at stake, that might not be enough. It’s nice that John Travolta can have his own Boeing 707, or that Leonardo DiCaprio can jet around the world speaking against climate change, but the carbon emissions involved set a bad example that outweighs anything he might say. So no more private jets. Bigshots will just have to fly commercial like everyone else, the way they did in the 1950s. (And sorry, Leo, but massive yachts have to go, too). Politicians, too, should have to fly commercial. No more government-funded “executive jets” for them.Fourth, we need a luxury tax on mansions. Any home more than twice the size of the average American home should be taxed at 25% of its value per year. Celebrities and the rich enjoy great powers of persuasion — but with great power comes great responsibility, and they have a great responsibility to set a good example for the rest of us on climate change!
As he says, it seems like a modest proposal.
Our Decades-Long Diet Experiment
We were all guinea pigs. Well, most of us, anyway. I gave it up in the nineties.
“The change in dietary advice to promote low-fat foods is perhaps the biggest mistake in modern medical history.”
And they still won’t fess up to it, and they’re still doing it with that disastrous school-lunch program. Betsy Devos should be doing something about that.
[Update a few minutes later]
Related, sort of: Did feminism cause the obesity epidemic? The fact that people aren’t cooking as much is certainly a factor, but I think the low-fat craze is probably more responsible.
Kathy Griffin
I’d never even heard of her before this, but here’s the best take so far: ISIS accuses her of cultural appropriation.
I too have been persecuting Kathy Griffin for years, by never even having heard of her.
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) June 2, 2017
A Health Tip
Don’t go swimming with a new tattoo.
I have a better idea. Don’t get a tattoo.
From A Former Drug Warrior
Michelle Malkin says it’s time to end the War on (Some) Drugs.
This really should be the conservative position. It’s a shame that she had to go through what she did with her daughter to come to it, though.
Mutually Assured Butthurt
Some good advice from Iowahawk.
I agree. Kathy Griffin should keep her job, and university administrators should lose theirs.
Mocking The Snowflakes
The media hates it.
Admittedly, many of them are snowflakes themselves. Or just flakes.
The Nutrition Tide Is Finally Turning
Eat fat to lose weight.
The Gender Warriors
They’re America’s new Puritans.
It’s worth noting that the American Left are in fact the ideological descendants of the people who originally populated New England from old England. It’s why Massachusetts and the northeast in general are such a blue region. The primary difference is merely what they’re puritanical about.