In September I looked at the proportion of Marsden Fund grants that go towards actual science over time. The summary was: 200820172023Science88%80%72%Humanities8%11%13%Maori3%5%8%Identity1%2%5%Political0%3%2% We now have 2024 grants, and the big winner is of course anything to do with Maori. 2008201720232024Science88%80%72%73%Humanities8%11%13%7%Maori3%5%8%17%Identity1%2%5%3%Political0%3%2%1% Some examples include: We all aspire for a future that is fair, just and sustainable.…
Marsden Fund goes even more woke
Marsden Fund goes even more woke
15 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, politics - New Zealand Tags: conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
PNAS publishes an opinion piece arguing that the politicization of science is bad (contradicting the NAS President’s views)
13 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: affirmative action, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left

I’m actually surprised that the article below was published in The Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS), one of the more high-quality science journals, just a tad below Science and Nature in prestige. It has had a reputation for being “progressive” (e.g., woke), one that I discussed last year when Steve Pinker had […]
PNAS publishes an opinion piece arguing that the politicization of science is bad (contradicting the NAS President’s views)
Ananish Chaudhuri: The sheer lunacy of contemporary progressive politics or How I became a right-wing extremist
11 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, economics of pandemics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
With Kemi Badenoch taking over the leadership of Tories in the UK, newspapers have been replete with how this represents a radical turn to the right. Similar headlines appeared when Labour was booted from power in New Zealand. There was a time when I would have thought: “Shame. Why can’t these people not be more…
Ananish Chaudhuri: The sheer lunacy of contemporary progressive politics or How I became a right-wing extremist
Politics of identity politics proved
05 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics Tags: British politics, free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
The UK Conservative Party has a new leader : . . . On Saturday the Conservatives elected Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch as their leader to propel them to victory at the next general election. . . Born in Wimbledon, southwest London in 1980, after her parents decided she should be born in Britain with the best […]
Politics of identity politics proved
Quotation of the Day…
04 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, economics of slavery, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Tweet… is from page 390 of the 2016 second edition of Thomas Sowell’s excellent volume Wealth, Poverty and Politics (footnotes deleted; original emphases): People who seek to find blame, as distinct from causation, often also seek a localized source of evil to blame. Professor Paul Krugman, for example, refers to slavery as “America’s original sin.”…
Quotation of the Day…
The left hate grassroots organisations that they don’t own
04 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in election campaigns, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The hysterical smears continue. Some on the left live in a fictional world where only organisations they agree with are grass roots organisations, and when an organisation succeeds they disagree with, their minds are so limited they think it must be due to overseas big money. Funnily enough they never scrutinise the organisations they like. […]
The left hate grassroots organisations that they don’t own
Bezos on endorsements
01 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, Freedom of the press, political correctness, regressive left
Jeff Bezos writes: In the annual public surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress. But in this year’s Gallup poll, we have managed to fall below Congress. Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not […]
Bezos on endorsements
“Why We Influenced the 2020 Elections”: Facebook Files Reveal the Coordinated Effort to Bury the Laptop Story
01 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election, 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

Recently, I spoke at an event about my book, “The Indispensable Right,” at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Appearing on the panel with me was a New York University professor and one of the Facebook board members directing “content moderation.” We had a sharp disagreement over the record of Meta/Facebook on censorship, which I […]
“Why We Influenced the 2020 Elections”: Facebook Files Reveal the Coordinated Effort to Bury the Laptop Story
Trans is Now An Issue in the US Election
29 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

We must not publish a study that says we’re harming children because people who say we’re harming children will use the study as evidence that we’re harming children, which might make it difficult for us to continue harming children. I did not think that would be the case because it’s a Culture War issue and […]
Trans is Now An Issue in the US Election
Vegas, CSICon, sex and nooz
27 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, discrimination, gender, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, war and peace Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, Gaza Strip, Iran, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination, war against terror

I’ve been busy at the CSICon conference, which included giving my own 30-minute presentation this morning. I had to modify it to take into account the misguided views of Steve Novella, who gave a talk yesterday about “When Skeptics Disagree.” It turned out to be largely a diatribe about how sex in humans is not […]
Vegas, CSICon, sex and nooz
Liberals are Losing their Minds over Elon Musk
16 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

Below is my column in The Hill on the Musk mania now sweeping over the media with pundits and politicians unleashing unhinged attacks on the billionaire. In an Age of Rage, Musk is now eclipsing Donald Trump as Public Enemy No. 1. It began with his stance against censorship. Here is the column:
Liberals are Losing their Minds over Elon Musk
Gervais gets it right
16 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

Cleese on ‘woke’
13 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, movies, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, television Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
John Cleese says woke people want to be right even if they don’t know why:
Cleese on ‘woke’
Colorado Supreme Court Dismisses Another Lawsuit Against Masterpiece Cakeshop
13 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination

In prior columns, academic articles, and my book, “The Indispensable Right, I discuss the never-ending litigation targeting Jack Phillips, the Christian baker who declined to make cakes that violated his religious beliefs. Phillips continues to be the subject of continuing lawsuits despite the Supreme Court upholding his right to decline to make expressive products […]
Colorado Supreme Court Dismisses Another Lawsuit Against Masterpiece Cakeshop
Zero remorse
12 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left
The Herald reports: A pharmacist and transgender refugee who was convicted last month for pouring tomato juice over the head of anti-transgender rights activist Posie Parker – prompting the controversial British speaker to promptly leave New Zealand over safety fears – returned to a courtroom today as her lawyer asked to have the conviction rescinded. … He acknowledged there was a degree of […]
Zero remorse
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