Can Ignorance Be Excused?

Consider the word “ignorance.” Ignorance is, simply put, lack of knowledge or information. It differs from stupidity, or idiocy, or foolishness, in that it’s not a descriptor of a person, but merely of the information that a person possesses. As...

Rules For Rules

Consider this oddity. In New York, if you purchase one bagel at a bagel store, it is not subject to sales tax… provided you purchase it intact. A bagel with cream cheese, or butter, or even simply sliced in half is subject to sales tax. Why is this? Because an...

Language Thieves

Today I’m going to take issue with two phrases from contemporary political discourse: “wealth redistribution” and “gun buybacks.” Both are popular ideas on the Left, and both carry the same insidious deceit, one that is both wrong on its...

‘Red Flag’ Red Flags

The aftermath of every national-news shooting in America produces a standard refrain: People who are anti-gun make strident demands for more regulation, and people who are pro-gun resist such demands. The former insist we have to “do something” to address...

Globalized Idiocy

A friend shared a meme today. “Jamie,” sporting a hammer-and-sickle next to her name, posits a question about magically solving hunger, climate change, and broken homes by curtailing millionaires’ and billionaires’ power and money, and dares...