“This Saturday is the 250th anniversary of the first day of the 3,059-day war that birthed the modern world. Commemorating the April 19, 1775, skirmishes at Lexington Green and Concord Bridge begins a celebration that will culminate July 4, 2026. These almost 15 months will inflame the perpetual scolds who, examining this nation’s history with a disapproving squint, see little to celebrate. In the half-century since the bicentennial, however, many Americans have developed a deeper, sturdier patriotism. They have benefited from historians who demonstrate how mature minds can combine unblinking assessments of history’s inevitable mistakes, cruelties, tragedies and sorrows with gratitude for those who persevered, and reverence for what they achieved: a wonderful nation.” (04/16/25)
“Planners who want to ‘perfect’ society often resort to coercion to impose their preferred outcomes. The result has been unthinkable government violence and cruelty.” (04/16/25)
“Seven Republican Senators have joined together in a proposal that would limit the president’s authority to impose tariffs. If the Democrats in the Senate joined with the Republicans, they would have the votes needed to approve the bill. While they would face a certain presidential veto and other hurdles, it is a goal worth pursuing. The bill, the Trade Review Act of 2025, would sunset any tariffs after 60 days if they are not approved by Congress. It also gives Congress the authority to reverse any tariff before this deadline with a joint resolution of Congress. The bill also requires the president to promptly submit an explanation for whatever tariffs they do put in place. This proposal is solidly grounded, both as a general principle and also given the specific circumstances the country faces now following the tariffs recently imposed by President Trump.” (04/16/25)
“China’s playing hardball, and it’s not just about tariffs and the global economy: Our lives could be on the line. Soon after President Donald Trump announced his first round of tariffs on Chinese goods this month, China hit back by totally suspending its exports of rare-earth minerals and magnets, a key strategic monopoly. Those materials are essential to manufacture automobiles and electric vehicles, as well as America’s fighter jets, drones, robots — basically the next generation of war-fighting weaponry. China’s move puts a stranglehold on these industries, and threatens our national defense. Its next logical step is to cut off our medical supplies. China has a death grip on America’s generic-drug market, as well as on basic medical equipment that every hospital and doctor’s office relies on.” [editor’s note: When you pick a fight, don’t whine about losing – TLK] (04/15/25)
“If Chinese soldiers are fighting in the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, that is not the big story. The big story is the effect the claim could have on the possibility of peace.” (04/16/25)
“For the past couple of days, Mark Zuckerberg has been inside a D.C. courtroom reviewing more than a decade of email communications about his company, Meta. This is the last place Zuckerberg wanted to be; he literally visited the White House to lobby to get out of it, and offered $1 billion to settle. The effort failed, and we now know plenty about the ruthless tactics that Zuckerberg used to build his sprawling social media empire. And this exposure has already had a preventive effect: It’s why Meta’s control of public attention is likely to shrink over time, as competitors rise up that Meta won’t be able to buy. In a world without this aggressive antitrust enforcement, for example, Meta would have likely bought TikTok by now.” (04/16/25)
“The NASA Jet Propulsion Lab has ‘parted ways with’ — I’m guessing fired, despite the glowing words that attended the parting — DEI officer Neela Rajendra. The Free Beacon reports that NASA seems to have been nudged in this direction by a Beacon report that despite the anti-DEI policies of the new U.S. administration, the Jet Propulsion lab had tried to retain Rajendra by changing her title. She still had many of the same responsibilities, including managing ‘affinity groups’ like the Black Excellence Strategic Team. The propulsion lab is now replacing its DEI department with a new one called ‘Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success.’ Even assuming that race and gender consciousness are now no more — probably not a safe assumption — we may wonder why such a department, solely devoted to ‘excellence and success,’ is necessary.'” (04/16/25)
“For years, I’ve resisted deploying the word globalism with approbation because international cooperation is a good thing. Travel is glorious and so is the freedom to trade and migrate. How did the practice of freedom as it extends over national juridical lines come to be so widely loathed and disparaged? There is a complicated story here that speaks to entanglements between states, industry, finance, multinational government structures, and the control of a people over regimes.” (04/15/25)
