Joe Biden Only Ostensibly “Has a Plan” for Everything
The Left - “The Left needs a candidate who really believes in its preferred policies and is not just giving lip service in an attempt to gain its votes.” 6/4/2020
The Left - “The Left needs a candidate who really believes in its preferred policies and is not just giving lip service in an attempt to gain its votes.” 6/4/2020Republicans Do Still Buy Sneakers
The Left - “And so, in an age of divisive politics, Nike had suddenly found a way to embrace and commodify protest; they would have a free marketing base like no other…” 6/3/2020
The Left - “And so, in an age of divisive politics, Nike had suddenly found a way to embrace and commodify protest; they would have a free marketing base like no other…” 6/3/2020Liberals Are Not Immune from the Pull of Authority
The Right - “My two cents is that respect for authority is neither a particularly conservative nor liberal trait. Rather, conservatives and liberals hold reverence for different categories of authority and the actors that operate within those spheres.” 6/2/2020
The Right - “My two cents is that respect for authority is neither a particularly conservative nor liberal trait. Rather, conservatives and liberals hold reverence for different categories of authority and the actors that operate within those spheres.” 6/2/2020Amid Widespread Unrest, Conservatives Must Respond Correctly
The Center - “When criticizing this violent upheaval, will [conservatives] go for the low-hanging fruit and come up with absurd, cheap explanations for what is going on? Or, will they engage in serious reflection to prevent this from happening again?” 6/2/2020
The Center - “When criticizing this violent upheaval, will [conservatives] go for the low-hanging fruit and come up with absurd, cheap explanations for what is going on? Or, will they engage in serious reflection to prevent this from happening again?” 6/2/2020Will Words Win the Day: Jargon and the Pandemic
The Center - “So, how do doctors, scientists, and everyday people traverse the COVID-19 landscape, where each passing day seems to provide new information and new “theories” about our current predicament?” 5/26/2020
The Center - “So, how do doctors, scientists, and everyday people traverse the COVID-19 landscape, where each passing day seems to provide new information and new “theories” about our current predicament?” 5/26/2020Joe Biden’s “You Ain’t Black” Comment Is Deeply Concerning
The Center - “I can only hope that in this election African American voters cast their ballots on the basis of what each candidate proposes—and not on the basis of what they think their racial essence ought to be. That is what real liberation is all about.” 5/22/2020
The Center - “I can only hope that in this election African American voters cast their ballots on the basis of what each candidate proposes—and not on the basis of what they think their racial essence ought to be. That is what real liberation is all about.” 5/22/2020How Feasible Is Mexico’s Re-Opening Plan?
The Left - “According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCDE), Mexico is the country within the organization that has the lowest levels of testing: at 0.4 tests per thousand inhabitants.” 5/21/2020
The Left - “According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCDE), Mexico is the country within the organization that has the lowest levels of testing: at 0.4 tests per thousand inhabitants.” 5/21/2020To “The Last Dance’s” Critics, At Least Michael Jordan Isn’t a Hypocrite
The Center - “Basketball fans endlessly discuss whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time. The jury may still be out on that one, but in my book, off-court James is definitely the lesser man.” 5/20/2020
The Center - “Basketball fans endlessly discuss whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time. The jury may still be out on that one, but in my book, off-court James is definitely the lesser man.” 5/20/2020Is the Recent Coup Attempt in Venezuela Just the Beginning?
The Center - “So, it may seem as if the recent failed expedition against Maduro is a major blunder. However, I would like to think that this is only the beginning, and that those Rambo wannabes may have actually sparked a greater desire for liberation among Venezuelans.” 5/13/2020
The Center - “So, it may seem as if the recent failed expedition against Maduro is a major blunder. However, I would like to think that this is only the beginning, and that those Rambo wannabes may have actually sparked a greater desire for liberation among Venezuelans.” 5/13/2020Understanding Belarus’ Upcoming Presidential Election
The Left - “Belarusian independence would become, however, a package of unfulfilled promises. 5/9/2020
The Left - “Belarusian independence would become, however, a package of unfulfilled promises. 5/9/2020The Coronavirus Must Alter Our “Normal Way of Life” Going Forward
The Left - “If the global social discourse continues to be one where we ignore what does not directly affect us, then when the next global emergency occurs, governments will fail people again.” 5/8/2020
The Left - “If the global social discourse continues to be one where we ignore what does not directly affect us, then when the next global emergency occurs, governments will fail people again.” 5/8/2020Given Tara Reade’s Allegation, the Left Should Reconsider Support for Biden
The Left - “It should be deeply disturbing for voters on the Left of the Democratic Party to vote for a candidate who, not only is likely to have sexually assaulted a woman—but who used a position of power to do it and get away with it for years.” 5/7/2020
The Left - “It should be deeply disturbing for voters on the Left of the Democratic Party to vote for a candidate who, not only is likely to have sexually assaulted a woman—but who used a position of power to do it and get away with it for years.” 5/7/2020America’s Pastime in the Age of Coronavirus
The Left - “Embodying much of the American spirit, baseball once again finds itself on the frontline, being utilized for political gains, with any rebuke of the MLB’s return likely to be chalked up as un-American or—worse still—shouted down as a commie act.” 5/7/2020
The Left - “Embodying much of the American spirit, baseball once again finds itself on the frontline, being utilized for political gains, with any rebuke of the MLB’s return likely to be chalked up as un-American or—worse still—shouted down as a commie act.” 5/7/2020Applying Coronavirus-style Problem Solving to Climate Change
The Right - “It’s by some cruel twist of fate that both the virus and climate change appear to be treatable by the deceleration of society.” 5/6/2020
The Right - “It’s by some cruel twist of fate that both the virus and climate change appear to be treatable by the deceleration of society.” 5/6/2020Why China Is Unlikely to Dominate the Globe
The Center - “While the United States offers a conception of universal human rights and democracy—and while the Soviet Union offered the idea of achieving global communism—China lacks a universalist narrative or imperial mission.” 5/2/2020
The Center - “While the United States offers a conception of universal human rights and democracy—and while the Soviet Union offered the idea of achieving global communism—China lacks a universalist narrative or imperial mission.” 5/2/2020Higher Education Was Already in Trouble Before the Coronavirus
The Right - “The pandemic, while it has undeniably worsened the outlook for many institutions, has only exacerbated and brought into sharper relief some of the extant forces threatening to pop the higher education bubble.” 5/1/2020
The Right - “The pandemic, while it has undeniably worsened the outlook for many institutions, has only exacerbated and brought into sharper relief some of the extant forces threatening to pop the higher education bubble.” 5/1/2020Herodotus and Long-Standing Problems in Anthropology
The Center - “Regrettably, in more recent times, anthropology (and the humanities in general) has placed excessive, imbalanced value on emic.” 4/27/2020
The Center - “Regrettably, in more recent times, anthropology (and the humanities in general) has placed excessive, imbalanced value on emic.” 4/27/2020The Coronavirus Response Does Not Take Place in a Vacuum
The Center - “Similarly, University of Zurich researchers in 2015—using data from the time of the Great Recession—estimated that unemployment causes 45,000 suicides per year.” 4/24/2020
The Center - “Similarly, University of Zurich researchers in 2015—using data from the time of the Great Recession—estimated that unemployment causes 45,000 suicides per year.” 4/24/2020Principles and the Virus
The Right - “I know of no law forbidding our vanquishing of COVID-19; the knowledge of how to do so is therefore discoverable, and our foe is extinguishable.” 4/23/2020
The Right - “I know of no law forbidding our vanquishing of COVID-19; the knowledge of how to do so is therefore discoverable, and our foe is extinguishable.” 4/23/2020Slavoj Žižek’s Approach—And Progressives Need Not Fall in Line
The Left - “Žižek’s position was essentially that he could either support Hillary Clinton and, thus, perpetuate the Democratic Party’s impotence—or support Donald Trump and hope that a new Left emerges.” 4/22/2020
The Left - “Žižek’s position was essentially that he could either support Hillary Clinton and, thus, perpetuate the Democratic Party’s impotence—or support Donald Trump and hope that a new Left emerges.” 4/22/2020Why the Inequality Debate Just Goes ‘Round and ‘Round
The Center - “And here, perhaps lies the problem: the single tax’s indiscriminate generosity is its undoing. You cannot offer both sides what they want without dissolving the distinction between them.” 4/22/2020
The Center - “And here, perhaps lies the problem: the single tax’s indiscriminate generosity is its undoing. You cannot offer both sides what they want without dissolving the distinction between them.” 4/22/2020Has the Media Been Partner to a Widespread Mishandling of the Coronavirus?
The Center - “Reports about do-not-resuscitate orders being contemplated by hospitals began overwhelming the airwaves until Dr. Deborah Birx directly and publicly disputed these claims.” 4/21/2020
The Center - “Reports about do-not-resuscitate orders being contemplated by hospitals began overwhelming the airwaves until Dr. Deborah Birx directly and publicly disputed these claims.” 4/21/2020The New York Times’ “1619 Project” Was a Long Time Coming
The Center - “More recently, The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones has gone on an antiracism crusade by coming up with the 1619 Project.” 4/20/2020
The Center - “More recently, The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones has gone on an antiracism crusade by coming up with the 1619 Project.” 4/20/2020Civil Liberties Still Matter, Even During a Pandemic
The Right - “However, reconceptualizing fundamental rights is a serious matter. As such, we must guard against measures such as these continuing to shape our civic life, politics, and economies—even long after this pandemic has passed.” 4/15/2020
The Right - “However, reconceptualizing fundamental rights is a serious matter. As such, we must guard against measures such as these continuing to shape our civic life, politics, and economies—even long after this pandemic has passed.” 4/15/2020When Gender Violence Outpaces the Coronavirus in Mexico
The Left - “What similarities we have are dwarfed, however, by an immense difference. At the beginning of April, Ana Paola—at the age of 13—was raped and killed in her home in Nogales, while I write this safely from between the covers.” 4/13/2020
The Left - “What similarities we have are dwarfed, however, by an immense difference. At the beginning of April, Ana Paola—at the age of 13—was raped and killed in her home in Nogales, while I write this safely from between the covers.” 4/13/2020A Good Friday Reflection: Who Killed Jesus?
The Center - “In telling their foundational story, the evangelists sought Rome’s favor by portraying Pilate and Roman authorities in a more benevolent light, thus representing Jews as the real culprits in Jesus’ death.” 4/9/2020
The Center - “In telling their foundational story, the evangelists sought Rome’s favor by portraying Pilate and Roman authorities in a more benevolent light, thus representing Jews as the real culprits in Jesus’ death.” 4/9/2020When Jordan Peterson’s Defenders Selectively Use History
The Left - “Both Tavana and Peterson have expressed support for capitalism and Western civilization without ever addressing the atrocities committed in their name.” 4/5/2020
The Left - “Both Tavana and Peterson have expressed support for capitalism and Western civilization without ever addressing the atrocities committed in their name.” 4/5/2020Why Demographics Are Not Destiny
The Right - “Both the Left and the Right are wrong that demographics are fundamental to the political future of America (or of any other society). Demographics are not destiny.” 4/3/2020
The Right - “Both the Left and the Right are wrong that demographics are fundamental to the political future of America (or of any other society). Demographics are not destiny.” 4/3/2020How the Coronavirus in Mexico Is Exacerbated by Inequality
The Center - “A governor declared that the disease was for rich people only and that it did not affect the poor. As such, how could we possibly expect Mexican citizens to react seriously to this pandemic when its government was behaving like this?” 4/3/2020
The Center - “A governor declared that the disease was for rich people only and that it did not affect the poor. As such, how could we possibly expect Mexican citizens to react seriously to this pandemic when its government was behaving like this?” 4/3/2020There Is No Free Lunch: Landlords Are Not Leeches
The Center - We should support rent moratoriums—but not because landlords are ruthlessly exploiting a pandemic. 4/2/2020
The Center - We should support rent moratoriums—but not because landlords are ruthlessly exploiting a pandemic. 4/2/2020What Netflix’s “Tiger King” Teaches Us about Race and Class in America
The Center - “The United States needs a reality check. Yes, race has been a major issue in the country’s history. But class matters, and we must never forget that.” 4/2/2020
The Center - “The United States needs a reality check. Yes, race has been a major issue in the country’s history. But class matters, and we must never forget that.” 4/2/2020How Libertarians View the Coronavirus Crisis
The Right - “For those of us who don’t want to go fully off-grid but concern ourselves with the expansion of the state, what might a pandemic response look like?” 4/1/2020
The Right - “For those of us who don’t want to go fully off-grid but concern ourselves with the expansion of the state, what might a pandemic response look like?” 4/1/2020On the Passing of Albert Uderzo (And What Postcolonialists Might Learn from Him)
The Center - “Uderzo’s approach to postcolonial criticism was much more nuanced and effective. Perhaps it takes a simple comic book illustrator to accomplish the job that overly sophisticated scholars fail to do.” 3/30/2020
The Center - “Uderzo’s approach to postcolonial criticism was much more nuanced and effective. Perhaps it takes a simple comic book illustrator to accomplish the job that overly sophisticated scholars fail to do.” 3/30/2020To Slow the Coronavirus, We Need Messages of Egoism—Not Altruism
The Center - “In the time of a silent but dangerous virus, we need to rely upon the individual’s self-preservation instinct to save other lives.“ 3/29/2020
The Center - “In the time of a silent but dangerous virus, we need to rely upon the individual’s self-preservation instinct to save other lives.“ 3/29/2020The Misleading Claim that Bernie Sanders Is a “Hypocrite”
The Left - “Actually, Sanders status as a millionaire should calm and console those who believe that he thinks that all wealthy people are evil. His wealth should convince those people that he does believe in a free-market system.” 3/27/2020
The Left - “Actually, Sanders status as a millionaire should calm and console those who believe that he thinks that all wealthy people are evil. His wealth should convince those people that he does believe in a free-market system.” 3/27/2020