Utopia, you are standing in it!

I believe a reader recommended the book I highlight below, which I’ve just finished. It’s written by two sociologists who take a sociological rather than a polemic approach to their topic, so that they analyze both Right- and Left-wing instances of victimhood. (As we all know, both Christians and conservatives often paint themselves as beleaguered victims.) In the end, though, the main topic is the pervasiveness of victimhood culture on college campuses, which means mostly the Left.

Campbell and Manning explain why campuses seem to have become the focus of this culture (I won’t explain that here), and contrast it with two other forms of culture that have existed over history. One is “Honor Culture” (the culture of the Old South, some Muslim societies, and many street gangs), in which individuals are expected to be offended by insults and take matters into their own hands, meting out what they consider…

About five weeks ago I highlighted a new book by Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning, which you can buy (or see a preview) at the link below. It’s by two sociologists, and although there may be a bit much academic sociology for the general reader, there are lots of references to back up their statements.

I thought the book worth reading because I firmly believe that much of intersectional and authoritarian Leftism is a form of solipsism rather than a call for social justice—a way of calling attention to yourself (there’s nobody so demanding of empathy as a self-styled victim) to set you apart from others. That’s not to say that there are no victims, for of course bigotry persists in this world, but it’s hard to explain how those who are fully entitled and “privileged” nevertheless try to place themselves as high as possible on the victim hierarchy, and…

The wedding of HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been announced to take place in May at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. 

One of the biggest speculations concerning the marriage is what Peerage Title the couple will receive. It has become the tradition with Her Majesty, the Queen, to elevate a member of the Royal Family to the Peerage by granting them a title of Nobility on their wedding day. Prince Andrew was created Duke of York at his wedding, Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex at his wedding, and Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge at his; therefore it is logical to assume Prince Harry will also be granted a Peerage Title on his wedding day. 

But which one? The odds on favorite seems to be Duke of Sussex, followed by Duke of Clarence. There are also other options. The Dukedoms of Albany and Cumberland have…

I hesitate to call this to your attention, because I think everybody who follows this website should read John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, which constitutes the best argument in print for free speech—including “hate speech”. However, if you don’t have the time or inclination, the Heterodox Academy has put out an illustrated version consisting solely of Chapter 2: the heart of Mill’s argument.

Although you can buy it on Kindle or get an expensive hardcover version, you can also get a free downloadable 48-page pdf by clicking on the screenshot below:

As the HA page notes, “Editors Richard Reeves (a biographer of Mill) and Jon Haidt (a social psychologist) have written a brief introduction to link Mill and his time to the issues of our time, and
artist Dave Cicirelli has created 16 gorgeous original illustrations that amplify the power of Mill’s metaphors and arguments.

There’s also a free…

I almost feel guilty when I criticize the garbled economic thoughts of Pope Francis. After all, he was influenced by Peronist ideology as a youngster, so he was probably a lost cause from the beginning.

Moreover, Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell have already dissected his irrational ramblings on economics and explained that free markets are better for the poor. Especially when compared to government dependency.

But since Pope Francis just attacked tax havens, and I consider myself the world’s foremost defender of these low-tax jurisdictions, I can’t resist adding my two cents. Here’s what the Wall Street Journal just reported about the Pope’s ideological opposition to market-friendly tax systems.

The Vatican denounced the use of offshore tax havens… The document, which was released jointly by the Vatican’s offices for Catholic doctrine and social justice, echoed past warnings by Pope Francis over the dangers of unbridled capitalism. …The teaching document, which was personally approved by…

13 Oct 1868 – THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALIA.

The “Federation Drought”, 1895-1902

Many of Australia’s worst droughts occur when one or two very dry years follow several years of generally below average rainfall. Such was the case in the so-called “Federation drought”, which began in the mid 1890s and reached its devastating climax in late 1901 and 1902.

The five years leading up to Federation (January 1901) saw intermittent dry spells over most of the country, particularly in 1897 and 1899; in most of Queensland, dry conditions were virtually unbroken from 1897. Most other parts of the country had reasonable rain in 1900 and early 1901, but with the coming of spring 1901 very dry weather set in across eastern Australia. By February 1902 concerns were expressed about Sydney’s water supply, and the New South Wales Government declared 26 February a day of “humiliation and prayer” for rain in that state. Similar declarations were made in Queensland in…

Democrats operate on “talking points” which are supplied by their wordsmiths.  They depend on controlling the conversation, and if many speak in the same words, their “talking point” dominates. The more it is repeated, the stronger it becomes. It is, of course, all about power and control. It’s simply pure propaganda, a weapon in their political goal.

Whoever sends out the “talking points” managed to screw up rather badly yesterday, attempting to turn Israel’s celebration of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the legitimate capitol of their country by moving our embassy there into a negative. Trump was wrecking the “Peace  Plan.” President Trump has sent Jared Kushner and Ivanka to Jerusalem as his representatives. Of course Hamas, the terrorist organization that controls Gaza, arranged a major demonstration, hoping to breach the wall and kill large numbers of Jews. Hamas pays residents of Gaza to demonstrate, and women and…

Presbyterian Support Northern is hosting a series of lectures on different aspects relevant to the wellbeing of children.  The first lectures were given by Australian Labor MP, and former economics professor, Andrew Leigh.  I wrote about his lectures here.

I was asked to speak on something around productivity and the wellbeing of children (thus there are huge areas highly relevant to child wellbeing that I simply don’t touch on).  This was how my talk opened.

Imagine a country in which the average age at death was only about 45, 6 per cent of children died before their first birthday, and another 1.5 per cent before they turned five.  Not many children are vaccinated.

Most kids get to primary school –  in fact it is compulsory –  but only a minority attend secondary school.  By age 15 not much more than 15 per cent of young people are still at…

This essay was originally published as part of a forum on the success sequence sponsored by the Cato Institute, featuring Michael Tanner, Isabel Sawhill, and Brad Wilcox.

The success sequence is often (mistakenly) attributed to the 2009 book Creating an Opportunity Society by the Brookings Institution’s Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill. “First comes education,” they wrote. “Then comes a stable job that pays a decent wage, made decent by the addition of wage supplements and work supports if necessary. Finally comes marriage, followed by children.” They called for “marketing campaigns and educational programs to change social norms: to bring back the success sequence as the expected path for young Americans.”

The only issue here is marriage, as the rest is obvious to everyone. And in that regard this model of social change is wholly unproven and without precedent. Seat belt laws and anti-smoking campaigns, always cited by success sequence advocates…

‘Green’ job promises nothing more than hot air.

Remember all those stories about the wind & solar industries providing millions of groovy, well-paid ‘green’ jobs – as secure as Fort Knox? No?

Sure, you’ll hear those pitching RE promise loads of ‘sustainable’ jobs, as they wail about dreaded ‘uncertainty’ – causing bankers to baulk and investors to flee; and as they demand (with menaces) that governments maintain essential, massive and endless subsidies until the end of time.

But, this is the same crowd who tell us that the ‘transition’ to nature’s wonder fuels is ‘inevitable’ and that they’re not really getting any subsidies at all.

There are a few inescapable truths: cut subsidies to wind and solar power and the jobs those ‘industries’ have ‘created’ evaporate like snow in Summer. Funny about that!

Bloodbath in the German solar “industry” — without subsidies 80,000 solar jobs are gone
Jo Nova Blog
Jo…

poster “Keep out malaria mosquitoes repair your torn screens”. U.S. Public Health Service, 1941–45

While malaria historically claimed millions of African lives, it did not hold back the continent’s economic development. That is one of the findings of new research by Emilio Depetris-Chauvin (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) and David Weil (Brown University), published in the Economic Journal.

Their study uses data on the prevalence of the gene that causes sickle cell disease to estimate death rates from malaria for the period before the Second World War. They find that in parts of Africa with high malaria transmission, one in ten children died from malaria or sickle cell disease before reaching adulthood – a death rate more than twice the current burden of malaria in these regions.

According to the World Health Organization, the malaria mortality rate declined by 29% between 2010 and 2015. This was a major…

Today, during Mental Health Awareness Week, we hear from Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of the Commons 1832-1886 Section and the Victorian Commons blog. She explains the legislation that bound MPs suffering with prolonged periods of mental illness from 1886 until legislative reform in 2013…

In 1886 Parliament passed the first piece of legislation dealing directly with the mental health of its members, the Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act, which received Royal Assent on 10 May. This measure, which passed with very little debate, laid out the procedure to be followed in cases where an MP was ‘received, or committed into, or detained in any asylum, house, or other place as a lunatic’. After being informed that an MP was in this position, the Speaker would send two commissioners of lunacy (or the equivalent Irish or Scottish officials) to visit and examine the MP. They would report to…