“Some analysts put the ‘Golden Rule’ at the heart of ethics, saying ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ But it has its problems. Someone with a bad leg might want others to help them upstairs, but be themselves incapable of doing the same to others. I might help a blind person across the road, but I don’t want anyone to do that for me. Far more valid is the negative of that Golden Rule: ‘Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourselves.’ I don’t want others to injure me or to take my stuff, so I don’t do that to them. … It has turned out in practice that nations that embrace liberty have been more successful economically.” (02/25/25)
“On the day before the third anniversary of the brutal, lawless invasion of Ukraine, ‘Fox News Sunday’ host Shannon Bream pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on whether it’s ‘fair to say’ that Russia’s attack was unprovoked. Hegseth responded that it’s ‘fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.’ This is a good illustration of the difference between a complicated question and the complications of answering a simple question honestly. The answer to the question ‘Does this dress make me look fat?’ may be simple enough, but answering it honestly can be quite difficult in some circumstances. Hegseth is hardly the only prominent Republican official who has dodged the question since the president outrageously claimed that Ukraine ‘started’ the war.” [editor’s note: Apparently Goldber believes history began on February 24, 2022 – TLK] (02/25/25)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by William Hartung & Ashley Gate
“On February 10, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order that directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to pause the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The FCPA was the first law in modern history to ban a country’s own citizens and companies from bribing foreign officials. Citing the law as one of the ‘excessive barriers to American commerce abroad’, President Trump has instructed the attorney general to (at her discretion) ‘cease the initiation of any new FCPA investigations or enforcement actions.’ … This move by the Trump administration to pause enforcement of the foreign bribery law now and allow it to be put on the shelf later risks a revival of the pre-1970s period, when bribery was a routine practice among major U.S. arms contractors.” (02/25/25)
“The psychedelic underground was a niche subculture, with its own rituals, terminology and sacred sites, its heroes, and its Dionysian ethics of altered states, blurred boundaries, and psychedelic polyamory. When harm, misconduct, rapes, or deaths occurred, they were rarely reported and generally accepted. This was the jungle, literal or metaphorical. What’s happened in the last five years is this underground has gone overground and attracted millions of newbies, and it’s now set to become part of mainstream U.S. mental healthcare. The question is: can psychedelic culture shed the Dionysian ethics of the underground and become professionalized, bureaucratized and normal? What would be gained by that? And what lost?” (02/25/25)
“Friendship in America is in steep decline: We’re more disconnected from each other than ever, and the gulf between us is only growing. Does it matter? It does. We know that friendships are good for us. People with stronger social interactions live longer than those without, according to a study published last week in the UK’s Nature Medicine journal. Living with a partner, for example, is as good for physical health as regular exercise, researchers found, and having non-related friends to confide in also extends lifespan. Loneliness is a silent killer. A US surgeon general’s report from 2023 found it as dangerous as smoking, ‘associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death’ — while upward of 60% of Americans feel lonely on a regular basis, surveys have found. Along with the impact on personal well-being, the trend is dangerous for America itself.” (02/24/25)
“According to the preliminary results of the Bundestag, or parliamentary, elections, the extreme right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the second-strongest force in Germany. It now has 20.8% of the vote, doubling its result compared to the last election. The conservative CDU/CSU got 28.5%. The Social Democrats and the Greens, who have been in government so far, were punished, receiving 16.4 and 11.6% of the vote, respectively. However, the party Die Linke was able to achieve a success. For a long time, it was stuck in polls well below the 5%, which is the mark to enter the Bundestag. But in a final sprint, it was able to significantly increase the result and garner 8.7%. Above all, strong speeches by Member of Parliament Heidi Reichinnek against the anti-migration agenda of all other parties and for real social change were able to mobilize.” (02/25/25)
“Anyone who’s been to Japan will tell you about its incredible levels of public order, safety, and cleanliness. When I went to Japan for the first time this summer, I assumed the Japanophiles were exaggerating, but I was blown away. From the remotest villages to the centers of the densest cities, every single street was immaculately clean, every public bathroom in perfect condition, every convenience store well-stocked and staffed by happy, smiling employees. There wasn’t a hint of danger or sketchiness even in the middle of the night, and not a single homeless person to be seen anywhere. I couldn’t believe how nice it was everywhere, so I resolved to see if I could find anywhere in Japan that wasn’t perfect. When I Googled ‘worst neighborhood in Japan,’ one result popped up more than any other: Kamagasaki, Osaka. When I went to Osaka, I had to check it out for myself.” (02/25/25)
“President Donald Trump’s net job approval average, in both the Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight averages, has slid about 7 points over the first month of his second term, leaving his approval rating just barely above his disapproval. This is a historically bad beginning for a presidency. The only worse example is Donald Trump’s first presidency. Who cares about poll numbers anymore, you might ask. Congressional Republicans should. They are on the ballot next year, and the GOP could easily lose control of the House. If Trump does not defy political gravity, he could drag them down, as he did in his first term. Presidential polling honeymoons always end, but rarely so fast.” (02/25/25)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“Just as today, in the years following World War II the United States faced a national debt exceeding 100% of GDP. Yet, by the early 1970s, that figure had fallen to around 30%. Many policymakers and commentators today point back at this period as proof that economic growth and sound fiscal policies can solve America’s current debt crisis. But can we really ‘grow our way out’ of today’s $36.4 trillion national debt the way we did after the war? The numbers suggest otherwise.” (02/25/25)
