July 25, 2021

The Left Allows No Deviation From Orthodoxy

July 25, 2021/ Francis Menton

The United States is currently subject to a sharp political divide between the left and the right, with just around half of the country on each side.
The two sides obviously differ in the government policies that they advocate, but there is another difference that I think is even more important. The right, or at least most of it, welcomes differences of opinion, while the left allows no dissent from the orthodoxy of the moment.
An op-ed by Ben Shapiro in today’s New York Post provides several notable examples. But this one best illustrates the left/right divide on tolerance of dissent:

July 22, 2021

Chinese Virus Retrospective: The Shame Of Our Public Health "Experts"

July 22, 2021/ Francis Menton

It’s been over a year since I’ve commented on the question of whether the response to the Chinese Virus has been appropriate versus overblown. (See this post from July 6, 2020.). Now, with most of the population vaccinated, and the pandemic hopefully winding down, it’s time to take stock of where we are.
During the year and a half since the cases of Covid-19 began to emerge, we have endured seemingly interminable stay-at-home orders and recommendations, “lockdowns,” business closures, millions thrown out of work, school closures, “social distancing,” mask mandates, the cancelation of all in-person social events, concerts, theater, and on and on. And we’re not done even yet.
Just today I rode the subway in New York, where the mask mandate is still in place (although the compliance rate is finally dropping significantly). Even now, most office workers in New York have not returned to the office. The business districts remain semi-deserted, although they are beginning to awaken.
All this has come about by the edicts of our public health authorities and “experts,” who have done everything in their power to scare the bejeezus out of us.
Was all that appropriate? Absolutely not.

July 20, 2021

July 20, 2021/ Francis Menton

By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about “Critical Race Theory” over the last few months. But what’s the big deal? Why are so many people of the sort to not usually be politically engaged now suddenly up in arms?
The Democratic Party media have quickly adopted a narrative that the whole thing is no big deal — just teaching kids about the honest racial history of the country. See for example this piece from NBC News on July 1, headline “Teaching critical race theory isn't happening in classrooms, teachers say in survey.” Excerpt:
“We’re saying, ‘What is the fuss about?’” said Lynn Daniel, a ninth-grade English teacher in the Phoenix area. “We don’t get it. This objection is being pushed upon us, and it’s not even happening in our classes. I don’t understand it.”
Try to find out exactly what propaganda your kids are getting fed in school, and it’s not so easy. But a reader sends along a link to the website of something called the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Check this out. If your eyes haven’t been opened already, this will likely do it.

July 17, 2021

July 17, 2021/ Francis Menton

Further to Jane’s post a couple of days ago about the political conversion of her friend Jackie (“Interview With Jackie,” July 14), I thought that readers might be interested in a similar story involving a somewhat more public resident of Manhattan named Maud Maron. Maron was the subject of a post by Bari Weiss at her Substack site on July 12, with the title “A Witch Trial at the Legal Aid Society.”
Maron’s story gives a good indication of just how difficult it is to think independently and break free of the Manhattan groupthink, particularly if you want to have any kind of public profile.
Weiss’s post contains substantial biographical information about Maron that paints her as being, until recently, a rather typical left-wing Manhattan Democrat.

July 14, 2021

July 14, 2021/ Jane Menton

I’ve known Jackie for at least a decade. I met her while she was working at a local gym as a personal trainer, a grueling 12 hour/day job. A few years ago, she was experiencing burnout and decided to move to Spain to teach English in primary school.
We reconnected a few weeks ago after not speaking for a few years. As we were catching up it became clear to me that several of her political opinions had changed. I remembered her as a typical New York liberal and now she sounded like … a libertarian.
Jackie didn’t hesitate to share how the combination of living abroad in a country with a more socialized economy, plus the global turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic, had completely transformed her political views. She described it as a multi-year political awakening. There were several turning points and several steps.
I asked if she would be willing to share her experience and she readily agreed. The following essay consists of excerpts from an interview we did, edited for length and clarity.

July 13, 2021

July 13, 2021/ Francis Menton

In our freedom-based economic system, we are accustomed to economic growth of a percent or two or three every year. How does that happen?
Every person with a private business quickly catches on that they can make a little more money if they can just figure out how to make the product a little better, or a little more efficiently, or with slightly less input material or labor. Millions of people working independently on this project in the aggregate deliver a little economic growth most every year.
Meanwhile, socialism follows the incentive system of the bureaucracy. If you are the business manager, your superior in the central planning bureau headquarters has no idea whether the product you are making is any good or not. Your way to get ahead is to convince that guy that you need a bigger budget and more staff to accomplish your mission.
Each year you use more people and more materials to produce less and lower quality product. In the aggregate, the economy is shrinking,