Bob Edlin writes – PoO is intrigued by the case of the nurse who says he is extremely sorry for stealing a disabled patient’s debit card to fund his gambling proclivities. NewstalkZB reports He stole the debit card four times in October 2024 and made nine withdrawals, pocketing more than $4000 in cash for the […]
Nurse is suspended for stealing from a patient – but is that more forgivable than a Treaty breach?
Nurse is suspended for stealing from a patient – but is that more forgivable than a Treaty breach?
05 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational regulation, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Polynesian navigation and Indigenous “ways of knowing”
02 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, transport economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left
Jerry Coyne writes – One of the most-cited empirical achievements of indigenous peoples is the ability of Polynesians, Melanesians, and Micronesians to navigate their way across vast, unmarked expanses of the Pacific Ocean to get to small, uninhabited islands. How did they do it? And, regardless of their navigational methods, how many attempted voyages failed, […]
Polynesian navigation and Indigenous “ways of knowing”
John McWhorter goes back to antiwoke
28 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The other day I expressed dismay that NYT writer John McWhorter produced a piece heartily endorsing land acknowledgments (“LA”s). That was out of character for a man who got a lot of attention for his “antiprogressive” stands, encapsulated in his book Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America. My objection to the…
John McWhorter goes back to antiwoke
The Law Society has a problem
22 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
I blogged in March about an outrageous decision by a Law Society Standards Committee decision which fined Stephen Franks and Franks Ogilvy for the sin of “being lawyers”. I wrote: The Legal Complaints Review Officer overturned the decision, noting: The very purpose of a lawyer or firm sending a letter on behalf of a client…
The Law Society has a problem
Guest Post: Woke 1 was crazy. Are you ready for Woke 2?
22 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
A guest post by Alex Penk: “Woke 1” was crazy. Don’t take my word for it; that’s what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. The globally influential US politician made the comment when asked to explain some of her past positions, like defunding the police, and the internet went, well, crazy. But the most interesting thing is what the…
Guest Post: Woke 1 was crazy. Are you ready for Woke 2?
The Anti-Nazi Law
25 Sep 2026 1 Comment
in economic history, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law, free speech, political correctness
In the 1930s, New Jersey passed the most sweeping hate speech law in American history. [UPDATE: Originally erroneously posted under Eugene Volokh’s byline; this post is from guest-blogger Samantha Barbas.]
The Anti-Nazi Law
Abdul El-Sayed and the Piker Problem
29 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
There was a curious moment this week when Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed expressed shock that people were asking him…
Abdul El-Sayed and the Piker Problem
“The Cascade of Dysfunction That Helped Doom Jason Arday”
21 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
An excellent piece today by Jesse Singal in The Dispatch; the whole thing is worth reading, but here are some… The post “The Cascade of Dysfunction That Helped Doom Jason Arday” appeared first on Reason.com.
“The Cascade of Dysfunction That Helped Doom Jason Arday”
The folly of the DSA
12 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left
If you already think the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are bad, have a gander at this interview. An article in the Times of Israel (click screenshot below) summarizes a New Yorker interview, also on video (below), with Megan Romer, current co-chair of the DSA. As you know, DSA members or affiliates are winning important…
The folly of the DSA
Once again: why anti-Zionism is antisemitism
08 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
Of. course I’ll get raked for putting up this post, but I’m frankly sick of people denigrating others as “Zionists”, which in most cases is simply a euphemism for “people who are pro-Israel” or even “Jews”, so that “anti-Zionist” becomes a euphemism for “anti-Israel” or “antisemitic”. My contention, echoed by Natasha Hausdorff and Douglas Murray…
Once again: why anti-Zionism is antisemitism
The New McCarthys: Forty Percent of Professors Would Vote Against Hiring a Trump Voter
06 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
According to a new survey, roughly 40 percent of college faculty would “oppose hiring a Trump supporter.” The results of…
The New McCarthys: Forty Percent of Professors Would Vote Against Hiring a Trump Voter
My Quillette review of Steve Stewart-Williams’s new book on sex differences in humans
02 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left
Steve Stewart-Williams has recently published an informative and readable new book (link at the screenshot just below), and my 4000-word review of it for Quillette just appeared (click second screenshot below for the review): As I implied, my review is laudatory, with only a few (really one) reservations, which is minor. It’s not a “page…
My Quillette review of Steve Stewart-Williams’s new book on sex differences in humans
RODNEY HIDE: The Strange New Face of Women’s Empowerment
30 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of religion, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Here is a single image that captures the extent to which we are lost. Khadija Patel stands at the Palace of Westminster, recipient of the British Citizen Award 2026 for her “work empowering young women.” She is covered from head to toe. Only her eyes are visible. The official caption celebrates her as a champion…
RODNEY HIDE: The Strange New Face of Women’s Empowerment
Criminal “Villification”: Australia Court Upholds Conviction, Massive Fine, and Compelled Speech in Transgender Case
29 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
We have followed the evisceration of free speech values in the United Kingdom and other Western nations. Australia has been…
Criminal “Villification”: Australia Court Upholds Conviction, Massive Fine, and Compelled Speech in Transgender Case
Supreme Court upholds ban on trans-identified men participating in sports in public schools
03 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
In a decision split along ideological lines yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state bans on trans-identified boys and men competing in girl’s and women’s sports were Constitutionally legal. Although the judges were unanimous in arguing that those laws did not violate Civil Rights laws (Title IX that prohibits sex discrimination in education), they…
Supreme Court upholds ban on trans-identified men participating in sports in public schools
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