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When he was in the US Senate, President Biden was famous for taking Amtrak home to Wilmington, Delaware, each night and he often was called “Amtrak Joe” for his enthusiasm about passenger rail. Indeed, people who live in the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston find rail travel—whether it be from Amtrak or other passenger lines—to be a regular part of life.
Can political polarization be used for good?
The average political commentator often argues that unity is the highest virtue for any polity. Polarization is constantly lamented and is perceived as a sign of a deteriorating political environment. In fairness, a polarized political climate is not exactly hospitable toward productive political discourse. Against the backdrop of a divided culture, politics tends to devolve into performance art and cheap renditions of political theater.
On March 11, 2021, US president Biden introduced his $1.9 trillion covid-19 stimulus plan. The president also announced a plan of more than $2 trillion to rebuild US infrastructure, which includes repairing roads and bridges, as well as expanding access to long-term care services under Medicaid, building schools, and expanding internet access across the US.
[Chapter 13 of Rothbard’s newly edited and released Conceived in Liberty, vol. 5, The New Republic: 1784–1791.]
[Originally printed in Facts and Comments (1902)]
Were anyone to call me dishonest or untruthful he would touch me to the quick. Were he to say that I am unpatriotic, he would leave me unmoved. “What, then, have you no love of country?” That is a question not to be answered in a breath.
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There is likely no more loathsome federal bureaucrat than the aptly named Louis DeJoy, who, despite supposedly being a successful businessman, has the surefire winner of a business plan to resurrect the United States Postal Service (USPS)—raise prices and slow service. Sounds perfect.
The zaïre lived an interesting life.
The zaïre was the basic unit of currency for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Zaire (it’s back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; I’ll just call it Zaire for ease) from 1967 until 1997. Seventy-three of the 79 series of zaïre banknotes featured Ziarian dictator, CIA stooge, and world champion kleptocrat Joseph-Desire Mobuto.
Stories depicting the savagery of cancel culture are becoming increasingly popular. As expected, many invoke political correctness as the genesis of this development. But rather than looking for simple explanations, we must ponder why people conform to politically correct opinions. In truth, conformity has a biological basis.
