So as far as markets are concerned I’m a libertarian, but I have enough expertise in politics and history to understand that a free market ends up as monopoly unless you force them to be free. One of a few quotes that jumped out at me in Andy Greenberg’s Forbes (long-ish) interview with WikiLeaks’ Julian [...]
[1 Dec 2010]
And many slaveholding Southerners begin to realize that that means that many whites cannot afford to gain entry into the slaveholding system any more. A book published in 1857 by a white South Carolinian, a deep racist named Hinton R. Helper, argued that non-slaveholding Southern whites ought to wake up to their economic exploitation by [...]
[15 Nov 2010]
it’s increasingly obvious that western colonial expansion was about people wanting to get drunk, get high, and get rich. Jason to me in an instant message conversation after I mentioned that I had my first pisco sour last night. It’s a yummy drink. That’s also a true statement. Also see On sugar, rum and the [...]
[16 Jul 2010]
Historically, Mexican-Americans have generally been considered “white” in Texas; they served in white units of the segregated military, including the National Guard, and were allowed, during the Jim Crow years, to marry white (but not black) partners. In the early ’40s, the Texas Legislature even passed a “Caucasian Race Resolution,” which affirmed their status as [...]
[7 May 2010]
All true, but mean-spirited small-mindedness is part of our tradition, which brings us to Benjamin Franklin. In 1753, he called the German immigrants flocking to Pennsylvania “generally the most stupid sort of their own nation” and warned: “They will soon outnumber us (and we) will not, in my opinion, be able to preserve our language, [...]
[1 May 2010]
I first heard the story of the pact in late 2003. Protests against President Bertrand Aristide were rocking the small town of Petit-Goâve where I was volunteering for an international non-profit. My Haitian roommates explained that Aristide, as a poor Catholic priest, was involved in Voudou and had used the more violent lwa to build [...]
[15 Jan 2010]
This won’t be an earthquake post, although I think you should donate to Doctors Without Borders, Yéle Haiti, or the World Food Programme (all secular charities). Instead, this post is about Haiti and its relationship to the United States. A few items for your reading pleasure: UPDATE 2: Naomi Klein says beware of Haiti being [...]
[13 Jan 2010]
In many ways this story is far field from our contemporary debates about network management, file sharing, and the perils of protocol discrimination. But the main questions seem to remain the same—to what degree will we let Western Union then and ISPs now pick winners and losers on our communications backbone? And when do government [...]
[4 Dec 2009]
From Tony Horwitz’ The 9/11 of 1859 in today’s NYT. But perhaps he doesn’t need one. In 1859, John Brown sought not only to free slaves in Virginia but to terrorize the South and incite a broad conflict. In this he triumphed: panicked whites soon mobilized, militarized and marched double-quick toward secession. Brown’s raid didn’t [...]
[2 Dec 2009]