Unqualified Offerings

By Thoreau
I am indeed white, upper-middle class, educated, heterosexual, cis-gendered, US-born, Christian, able-bodied, male, etc. etc. etc.  I am well aware that some commentators out there are not amused by those of my privileged cohort who have finally gotten outraged at the TSA.  In my own defense, all I can say is that I was [...]

By Thoreau
Random thought:  If the US spent several months negotiating with a guy claiming to be a Taliban leader, and gave him a bunch of cash, all because they believed him, and then he turns out to be a con man, how do they know that those wedding parties really are terrorists?  How do they [...]

By Thoreau
I have in my introductory lab a student who cannot interpret graphs and doesn’t seem to understand equations on any level other than plug and chug.
This student is a senior.  Majoring in math.  And planning to teach high school math.
America, your problems in a nutshell.  Me, I might have to change careers once this [...]

By Thoreau
I agree with most of what Matt Yglesias and Chad Orzel are saying in their latest posts on security.  Chad’s point about electronic devices is an especially important one:  It’s an idiotic rule that doesn’t actually have any point whatsoever, but because it’s In The Name Of Safety you can’t question it.  I have [...]

The Bryan Caplan Pinata goes up early for your pre-holiday-rush whacking needs. I’m starting to think he’s just trolling, though. Even Bryan Caplan can’t be stupid enough to notice none of the missing steps in his . . . let’s be generous and call it an “argument.” Plus, pinatas are a birthday tradition, and justifying [...]