“I Stand With Ukraine” is quite a popular phrase at the moment. But, for the most part, it’s a pretty hollow expression. It’s basically a show of approval, and certainly there’s a lot to approve of in how the people…
Background: You Don’t Owe Past Generations Anything
The past has no rights that the future is bound to respect. They had their time, and now it’s gone. Every year, new people are born and old people die. And when you die, your rights die with you. And…
My Way: Calls For “Unity” Are Inherently Autocratic
This focus on “unity” and “divisiveness” is flat-out unhealthy for a democracy and really needs to stop. “Unity” just means “you all should do what I want”. What else could it mean? The person calling for unity is never offering…
Endemic Failure: Rapid COVID Tests Don’t Work Very Well
The cornerstone of any “endemic COVID” concept, including California’s newly-announced not-yet-a-plan, will have to be testing. Lots and lots of testing. And more effective testing than we’ve managed to do so far. For example, the local school district runs weekly…
Endemic: Just Another Word For “Giving Up”
Newsom’s grabbing for the brass ring before the ride stops. Again. Today’s infuriating headline is “California to unveil shift to ‘endemic’ approach to coronavirus“. Endemic. So, for those of you who haven’t been paying attention, “endemic” means accepting the disease…
Don’t Stop Now: Riding the Pandemic Tiger
It’s appropriate that we just entered The Year of The Tiger, since apparently a whole lot of folks need reminding about what “riding a tiger” means. ‘He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount’. And he damn well should be. One thing about…
Let’s Do This: Cap and Trade For Reals
Any of y’all who think human-made climate change is a hoax should probably just click away to somewhere else right about now. Cause it’s very, very real. And accepting that is kinda necessary for this discussion. TL;DR: as Bender would…
Water, Water Everywhere: Mass Desalination Is Already Necessary
I haven’t made any secret of the fact that I live in California, so it shouldn’t be surprising that drought is on my mind a lot lately. California is very, very dry. This is normal-ish: the parts of California that…
Just Stop It: This “Pandemic Of The Unvaccinated” Stuff Is Nonsense
This has been bugging me for a few weeks: Stop calling it a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”; that’s just not true. And it’s not helpful. It’s very much still a pandemic of everyone. First, it’s still a pandemic: That’s the…
Background: Privilege Discourse Is Incoherent
“Privilege” could be a useful concept, but with the way it’s used in modern discourse it’s just not. At its base, “privilege” is a really simple concept. It just means “stuff that one group has which another group doesn’t”. Simple.…