I guess today’s theme is bigotry. I had no idea that Frank Sinatra was an outspoken opponent of bigotry, particularly anti-Semitism. In fact, there’s a Wikipedia article called “Frank Sinatra and Jewish activism“. Here’s an excerpt: Frank Sinatra was a strong supporter and activist for Jewish causes in the United States and Israel. According to Santopietro, Sinatra was a […]
Frank Sinatra’s anti-bigotry film, “The House I Live In”
Frank Sinatra’s anti-bigotry film, “The House I Live In”
01 Jan 2024 1 Comment
in movies Tags: racial discrimination
Jon Haidt on the rise of antisemitism on campus
25 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left

On his Substack site “After Babel,” social psychologist Jon Haidt, most of you know of, explains the rapid rise of antisemitism on American campuses. The piece is long and a bit repetitious, but well worth reading of a Christmas Eve. Click to read: I’ll just summarize his thesis and give some quotes. First, the problem: […]
Jon Haidt on the rise of antisemitism on campus
When Wokes and Racists Actually Agree on Everything
23 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in discrimination, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: affirmative action, Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Conor Friedersdorf (and Alexander Barvinok) on ideological coercion in American colleges
18 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left

The Atlantic‘s Conor Fridersdorf is a breath of fresh air among liberal woke media. He is in fact a liberal, but not a “progressive”, and in the new article below he reports one mathematician’s observations of how DEI has insinuated itself into academics, creating not only viewpoint homogeneity, but authoritarianism. Like my colleague Anna Krylov, […]
Conor Friedersdorf (and Alexander Barvinok) on ideological coercion in American colleges
Casey Costello’s maiden speech
15 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Casey Costello provided a welcome change of perspective in her maiden speech. . . . I talk of my tūpuna, and of my whānau not to qualify for some credentials to be recognised as Māori. I know who I am and my strength comes from who has gone before and who are with me now. […]
Casey Costello’s maiden speech
In a country supposedly infected by “white supremacy,” “white privilege” and “systemic racism” how did all of these non-white minority groups get to be SO successful in the US, outearning the typical White American household?
13 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in discrimination, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: racial discrimination
Chuck Schumer delivers Senate speech on antisemitism
04 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, The Holocaust
You can read Chuck Schumer’s recent op-ed in the NYT, “What American Jews fear most,“, or you can watch his 40-minute speech on the topic given in the Senate (video below). I recommend listening to the speech, of which the op-ed is a short distillation. Alternatively, read the transcript, which you can find here. Schumer […]
Chuck Schumer delivers Senate speech on antisemitism
‘Antisemitism’ is an ideological abstraction that leftists reject….
04 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left

… because it appears to refer to a certain type of person and behavior that their ideological purity tells them that they couldn’t be. They’re not the sorts of people who talk about ‘jewing down’ or believe in the inferiority of races and therefore, even while they’re smashing Jewish store windows and attacking a Holocaust […]
‘Antisemitism’ is an ideological abstraction that leftists reject….
The double irony of classes voluntarily segregated by race
01 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left

Here we have a news piece (not an op-ed) from a recent Wall Street Journal, reporting that a high school in the Chicago-adjacent town of Evanston, Illinois, is offering voluntarily race-segregated classes as a way to achieve “equity”. These classes, called “affinity classes”, are of course optional, because mandated race-segregated classes are illegal. The claim […]
The double irony of classes voluntarily segregated by race
Bari Weiss proposes ending DEI
11 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: affirmative action, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, sex discrimination
Bari Weiss, head of the Free Press, just published this article on her website, but it appeared in Tablet, in identical form, a few days ago. You can click on the headline below to read it, or go here to see it on her site. As the subheader on her FP article says, “It’s not […]
Bari Weiss proposes ending DEI
Roland Fryer on Race, Diversity, and Affirmative Action
11 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, discrimination, economic history, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: affirmative action, racial discrimination
The Democrats’ Anti-Semitism Problem | Wonder Land: WSJ Opinion
03 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
Sowell Exposes Social Justice Fallacies
27 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, discrimination, economic history, economics of crime, gender, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Thomas Sowell, urban economics Tags: gender wage gap, racial discrimination, sex discrimination

Matthew Lau reviews Thomas Sowell’s latest book Social Justice Fallacies in a Financial Post article: No sacred cows in Thomas Sowell’s takedown of social justice fallacies. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. In his latest book, renowned economist and author demolishes the myths that underpin the social justice movement. Thomas Sowell, age […]
Sowell Exposes Social Justice Fallacies
Jon Haidt on a new book, the silence of university leaders, self-censorship, and America’s loss of confidence in higher education
20 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education Tags: affirmative action, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, sex discrimination

UPDATE: See a positive review of this new book (as well as a related one by Yacha Mounk) at The Economist. This week, Jon Haidt’s short Substack piece (click on title screenshot below to read it), does four things: he introduces a new book, explains why University leaders remained largely silent (or waited a few […]
Jon Haidt on a new book, the silence of university leaders, self-censorship, and America’s loss of confidence in higher education
More “Social Justice Fallacies,” with Thomas Sowell | Uncommon Knowledge
29 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economic history, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, Thomas Sowell, unemployment Tags: racial discrimination, sex discrimination

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