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New year, same problems as old year

The Romans set January as the first month of the year. Originally, March had been the start of the new year. But the early Roman kings, before the republic, moved it to coincide with Janus, a two-faced god who looked backward with an old face and forward with a young face. Julius Caesar realigned Roman governance around January being the start of a new year of governance. The reality, however, is it is arbitrary and we have all given great psychological importance to it. The pagans of Rome engaged in debauchery and resolutions for the new year — something modernity has embraced. The ...

The 21st century so far: a flop

As we reach the quarter-century mark, the 21st century has turned out a tragic disappointment. Hopes were high, leaving the world wars and Holocaust of the 20th century behind. Once, even globalization sounded good. If the 21st century were a Broadway show, it would be a flop, closed by now. The prelude was the Supreme Court giving George W. Bush the presidency by one vote, 5-4. The spark and carbonation of the Clinton era faded out, replaced by a Texan the media (read: Chris Matthews) decided they’d rather have a beer with than Al Gore. If you believe in foreshadowing as I do, ...

Scandalously stupid immigration system

Over Christmas, Elon Musk and his tech allies started a yeasty intra-MAGA debate over recruiting top immigrant talent to the United States and the role of the so-called H1B visa program. Musk is right that we should want to get exceptionally gifted people into the country, and the immigration hawks are right that the H1B program, which awards temporary visas to skilled immigrants, is scammy and poorly designed. This was a fascinating ideological and factional fight, but it was also over a relatively small-scale program that awards 85,000 visas a year. Left almost entirely ...

In short time, Carter left a lasting legacy

Jimmy Carter’s presidency began with a simple act meant to signal a new relationship between the people and their government: He and his wife, Rosalynn, got out of their limousine and walked a short part of the inaugural parade route, hand in hand. His time in office ended four years later with a spiteful gesture by the revolutionary government of Iran, which released 52 American hostages it had held for 444 days — but only when Mr. Carter was out of office, and at the very moment when his triumphant successor was delivering his inaugural address. It was the final insult of Mr. ...

Fear ‘Trump’s Censorship Arsenal’

Point and laugh at The Hollywood Reporter. After four years of Team Biden pressuring Big Tech to crush dissent on social media, not to mention Team Biden pressuring the news media to crush any word of President Joe Biden’s mental decline, they’re going to warn the world about Donald Trump and censorship. The silly headline on this silly article is “Trump’s Media Censorship Arsenal Is Growing.” Beware, says the subhead: “A new roadmap for the president-elect and his advisors to chill free speech has surfaced as he targets networks critical of him.” Nowhere in this ...

Biggest US fear speaks volumes

The issue that most kept Americans awake at night over the past year wasn’t health or work issues, or even relationship troubles. It was the corrupt establishment. A whopping 65 percent of Americans say that they’re more worried about “corrupt government officials” than even loved ones getting seriously sick or dying or not being able to afford life, according to the 2024 edition of Chapman University’s Survey of American Fears. And that figure hasn’t changed much from 2019, perennially topping the list. Even amid the nonstop Covid “disastertainment” of 2020/2021, ...