Freedom

Continuing yesterday's post about Putin's goals, I've thought about this country's greatest weakness and strength. As much as I'd like to say our greatest strength is our people, I hold people around the world in every nation in high regard. Many of us came from other countries or our parents did. I think one of America's greatest strengths is something we can't take credit for, but we benefit from: our geography. The nation has a variety of climates and ecological zones. We enjoy near-tropics where we grow plentiful fruits and vegetables, a huge and fertile bread basket, and long coasts. Most of all, we have two huge oceans and two friendly nations that lack our population and resources bordering us. We don't have to worry…

The world is filled with inequality. Many people work to decrease it. Have you noticed that nearly everyone promoting equality is promoting it in a way that helps them? It makes sense on a personal level, but doesn't it seem to undermine them, suggesting that they are really helping themselves under the guise of helping everyone? Many women promote women earning more money. What fraction of women work---really work, spending serious time and money---to make dangerous workplaces safer for men, who are injured on the job over 90%? What fraction of women work to create shelters for abused men, who are often jailed themselves when they call police when women abuse them? Many men promote helping men in custody rights disfavoring men. What fraction of…

Immigration is a wedge issue in the U.S. It gets a lot of media attention. I'm going to admit that I don't understand the controversy around illegal immigration. If the nation decided on laws for how many immigrants to receive, why the support for people who came here illegally? Should the laws change? I would support laws changed through a reasonably democratic process. Otherwise, what's the point of immigration laws? Why not abolish immigration laws? Am I being cruel to ask? Am I neglecting what it feels like to come from another country? If allowing more people in is right in whatever sense, why don't we let them in legally? Even if it is right and we make it legal, should we limit immigration ever?…

Why do people say "Excel spreadsheet" instead of "spreadsheet"? They say "I'll email you an Excel spreadsheet," wasting words, while they would never say "I'll drive my Ford car to the store." The pattern is different than using names like Kleenex to mean a tissue. People say "Can you hand me a Kleenex," not "Can you hand me a Kleenex tissue." As a Linux user who dislikes proprietary software, I finished business school without using Excel. It isn't necessary. Libreoffice works and is free as in speech as well as in beer. I've used its spreadsheet program to do detailed discounted cash flows, pivot tables, and other complex stuff. I know serious power users find Excel essential. For most purposes Libreoffice does what Excel can't.…

From the New York Times (my emphasis): STOCKHOLM — "Sex must be voluntary — if it is not, then it is illegal." This is the straightforward language of a new Swedish law set to change the way rape and other sexual crimes are prosecuted in the country. It is the first law in the country that acknowledges sex without explicit consent as rape I normally don't write about this topic, but this law shocked me, at least as reported by the New York Times. This post is about legislation and how it's written. According to the Swedish government's page, "The responsibility of men and boys must be clarified." According to the director of an organization that promoted the legislation, "We need men to understand that…