I recently renewed my Illinois driver's license, and included with the materials was an explanation about the option to submit an application that complied with REAL ID, the federal standard for a secure identification. I've always considered REAL ID to be yet another intrusive part of the post-9/11 War on Terror theater, so I didn't bother with it.A few days later, it was … [Read more...] about Congress Disappoints Me: REAL ID edition
Lost in Afghanistan
I'm pretty sure I don't have any smart ideas about what's happening in Afghanistan. I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to domestic issues like criminal justice, economics, and civil liberties, and I can find trustworthy sources of information about technical subjects such as climate change and epidemiology. But when it comes to foreign policy and Afghanistan, … [Read more...] about Lost in Afghanistan
The Iron Rules of Covid Lag
Time and again, with wave after wave of COVID-19, certain observations seem eternal:You can't test positive for COVID-19 until after you catch COVID-19, therefore Covid testing always lags behind the actual Covid infections, typically about 2 weeks.All other things being equal -- masking, distancing, lockdowns -- the more people that have COVID-19, the more people that will … [Read more...] about The Iron Rules of Covid Lag
Prohibitionists’ Hollow Remembrance of Sex Workers
June 2nd was International Whores' Day (or International Sex Workers' Day, if you prefer) and Mistress Matisse was pissed:International Whores' Day commemorates the occupation of Église Saint-Nizier church in Lyon, France by a bunch of sex workers who were even more pissed off than Mistress Matisse. Forced to work in secrecy by the police, they were increasingly the … [Read more...] about Prohibitionists’ Hollow Remembrance of Sex Workers
A Libertarian Responds to Policy Proposals
Hi, My name is Mark and I'm a libertarian. I've been seeing a lot of policy ideas coming from politicians lately, and I thought it might be an interesting exercise to give my libertarian-inspired analysis of a few of them.President Joseph BidenThe American Jobs Plan is going to create millions of good-paying jobs — jobs Americans can raise a family on — as my dad would … [Read more...] about A Libertarian Responds to Policy Proposals