Appropriate Emotions In A Time Of Pandemic And Riots

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  • The year 2020 to date has certainly brought more than its share of bad news. First was the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to government ordered lockdowns, steep forced business contraction, and 20 or so million people suddenly unemployed. Then, just as things started to reopen a little, we had the death of George Floyd on May 25, followed by widespread violent “demonstrations” (aka riots) that continue even today, more than two months later, in cities like Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Chicago; San Francisco; Denver; and several others.

  • So how should a respectable member of society be feeling about these things?

  • This is another one of those many issues on which Americans divide sharply into two camps. . . .

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A Visit To The Local Bookstore

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A Visit To The Local Bookstore

Up here a few dozen leagues north of New York City, sometimes it can get a little boring. Perhaps a good book about current events might keep the mind occupied. Fortunately, there is a generally well-stocked independent book store not far away. It has recently re-opened after a substantial hiatus. I thought, perhaps I can go over there and score a copy of something interesting — for example, Thomas Sowell’s new book “Charter Schools and Their Enemies”; or perhaps Iain Murray’s “The Socialist Temptation.”

Just inside the front door there was a table piled with copies of the featured current releases: . . .

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To What Extent Do Illegal Aliens Get Counted In The U.S. Census?

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  • The 2020 census is moving towards its conclusion. A few days ago (July 21) President Trump took the occasion to weigh in with an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Commerce, when he reports the census results to the President, to provide sufficient information to enable the President to exclude from the “apportionment base” reported to Congress any “aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status under the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

  • Cue the usual outrage on the left. (E.g. from AlterNet.com, “Legal experts slam Trump’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ attempt to corrupt the census”; New York Times: “States Sue Trump Over Order to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants From U.S. House Seat Counts.”).

  • I suspect your reaction might be something different, like: What? Are you telling me that up until now they have been counting illegal aliens in the census for purposes of apportioning representation in Congress? How can that possibly be right? Do illegal aliens get representation in Congress even though they not only cannot vote, but also are not even here legally and are subject to deportation at any time?

  • Yes, that is exactly what the situation has been up to now. . . .

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Mainstream Media Polls: Yet More Gaslighting?

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  • If you read the mainstream media, you would find it hard to believe that Trump has any chance of winning re-election in November. But then again, they had me utterly persuaded the same was true in 2016. I honestly don’t know what will happen this fall, but I’m not convinced anyone in the media knows either.

  • Over the past few years, once-reliable news sources have shown a stunning inability to deviate from a predetermined narrative even in light of contrary evidence (see: Manhattan Contrarian gaslighting roundup here). Who’s to say that isn’t happening in this situation?

  • And it doesn’t help inspire confidence that the tone of many of the articles I’ve read is downright gleeful.

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Manhattan Contrarian Gaslighting Roundup

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  • Several readers have invited me to weigh in on the phenomenon of “gaslighting.” So here goes.

  • The term “gaslighting” suddenly became ubiquitous in the past couple of years, mostly in the discussions of political events; but I couldn’t even figure out from context what it meant. Finally I had to look it up. Apparently, it is a term that has been around for a while in the field of psychology. Here’s a definition from Medical News Today:

  • Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious, and unable to trust themselves.

  • But how does the term apply to political news? . . .

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New York In Financial Fantasyland

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  • The blue state progressive political model consists of an endless list of government spending and redistribution programs, expected shortly to deliver perfect fairness and justice among all people, all financed by an assumed ever-increasing gusher of tax revenues.

  • Then along comes the coronavirus: the productive economy gets intentionally suppressed, tax revenues plummet, and then what?

  • Are we now expected to cut back on the government programs so recently touted as the sine qua non of human moral advancement? Worse, are public servants — those selfless individuals giving their lives to the righteous cause of human advancement through government spending — now to be laid off? Or have their pay or benefits reduced?

  • All of the blue states are currently facing this circumstance to greater or lesser degree, but none more so than my home state of New York.

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