Venezuelans are fleeing the country in boats to escape the economic collapse. And as Stephen Green notes, the author of the piece at the NYT can’t be bothered to ascribe the disaster to its cause. Nope, it’s just “bad luck.”
Kafka In Palm Beach County
We’re having to deal with a bizarre situation with a house we own in Lake Worth, Florida. The Building Department is demanding that we close a permit, and threatening to fine us a grand a day until we do so. Fun fact: The permit was opened at the time the house was built, two owners prior, and we have no idea what it’s for, and neither does the Building Department, but they’re demanding that we take care of it and have it inspected anyway. It seems to basically be an extortion scheme by a money-hungry local government. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get them to cease and desist pro se? Or know someone who would take it pro bono?
The Common Cold
Are we on the verge of a cure? That would be nice.
My Defamation Lawsuit
It is now the second anniversary of arguments before the DC Court of Appeals. Jonathan Adler has some thoughts.
Sweet Home Alabama
Their tears are delicious.
200 Losers Getting Together
Funny how much media coverage it’s getting. I could see it if it was 200,000, but come on.
The Philosophical Divide In Space
Go read this whole thread.
So Trump's science advisor says they are stripping NASA's earth sci division so they can focus on "exploration" ie colonization of space
— Dr. Chanda ?? (@IBJIYONGI) November 23, 2016
On record, @DNLee5 and I told y'all that white supremacist capitalists had a vision of "exploration" in mind and it was NOT Star Trek
— Dr. Chanda ?? (@IBJIYONGI) November 23, 2016
As I wrote a year and a half ago:
…we have to be ready for that debate. There is a moral case to be made for settling space by humanity, warts and all, and we have to be prepared to make it.
I think that many in the space community underestimate the depth of this cultural divide. And they’ve already deployed the race card against human expansion into the solar system.
The FCC
Will Trump abolish it?
It would be nice. I can think of a large number of federal agencies that wouldn’t be much missed, except by the rent seekers they support.
Cuomo’s Top Aides
…are indicted on sweeping corruption charges. But as is pointed out, unlike Chris Christie, Cuomo is a Democrat, so it’s just a “local news story.”
And I agree that that Bharara is a bulldog, and very likely to eventually get to Her Highness herself, regardless of what Trump wants, or what Sessions wants (I can’t imagine the latter calling him off at this point). He is doing the job that Comey refused to do. I don’t really care whether or not she ends up wearing orange (though I know a lot of people who’ve handled classified information who think she should), but her crimes should be put on the public record, just as Nixon’s were, before there should be any consideration of a pardon.
“Fake News”
No, the real problem is dumb news:
Media is a product. Firms that provide this product are servicing a need, and we’d only be kidding ourselves to claim news consumers desire only to be informed. This isn’t a matter of simple bias confirmation. News outlets have begun to cater not just to partisans but the minimally informed for whom fleeting and shareable controversies provide a sense of feeling informed. What media consumers reward outlets for are rarely deeply reported stories on matters related to consequential items of public policy. What takes off are emotionally stimulating stories that don’t require of their readers any background knowledge to fully understand them and to opine on them.
This kind of entry-level politics is not a new phenomenon, and its victims are bipartisan. Colin Kaepernick, the Black Lives Matter movement, college-age adults devolving into their childlike selves, or pretentious celebrities politicizing otherwise apolitical events; for the right, these and other similar stories masquerade as and suffice for intellectual stimulation and political engagement. The left is similarly plagued by mock controversies. The faces printed on American currency notes, minority representation in film adaptations of comic books, and astrophysicists insensitive enough to announce feats of human engineering while wearing shirts with cartoon depictions of scantily clad women on them. This isn’t politics but, for many, it’s close enough.
These are emotionally gratifying confirmations of tribal moiety. They provide readers a chance to affirm and demonstrate clannish loyalty. They are attractive to media organizations because they allow them to forgo the five sentences of exposition that are required to understand any subject of objective policy relevance—sentences that, in some cases, news outlets literally cannot afford.
This is a continuing product of our failed public-education system and academia. But then, perhaps it’s not a failure — it might be exactly what people running those institutions have been trying to achieve.