The 2018 murder rate is down from the previous two years, but higher than we’ve seen in 6 of the past 10 years. Last year’s murder rate is the same as 2015. And 2009! And yet I keep hearing every year that violence is down. So what’s this trend? And sort of related, why do…
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For well over a century, “progressives” have a proud tradition of not only exposing what is best for other people (often correctly, I might add) but also thinking they know what other people believe (often incorrectly). There’s a paternalism inherent to the progressive movement that can come awfully close to racism (or at least a…
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Forbes came out with a list of the 10 most conservative and liberal cities in America. Top ten conservative, in rank order: Mesa Oklahoma City Virginia beach colorado springs Jacksonville Arlington, TX Anaheim Omaha Tulsa Aurora Top ten liberal, in rank order: San Fran DC Seattle Oakland Boston Minneapolis Detroit NYC Buffalo Baltimore I’m not…
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I’ve got over 2,500 posts on this blog. But I can’t help but notice I’ve only posted six times in the past three months. That is a record low. So what have I been doing? Well, I do have a job. But also I’ve been on twitter a lot more. See, writing is work. And…
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Good God, I haven’t posted in a while. Well, I still get paid. Here I am on Glenn Loury’s Bloggingheads TV today, talking about the issues I discuss here. Anyway, what to post about next? I don’t want to be let the perfect post be the enemy of the good. This is hardly an important…
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[This relates to my previous post] Years ago, like when I was 13, I was with my father, driving from NYC to Chicago, on a baseball road trip (he drove). Between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, we spent one night in Johnstown, PA. (Remember the Johnstown Flood!). After watching the Johnston Jonnies play baseball, we had dinner…
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John McWhorter on the developing taboo of using the phrase “black-on-black crime.” (Spoiler alert: “We need to nip the burgeoning of this new and useless taboo in the bud with all deliberate speed.”): “What’s wrong is to refer to black on black crime as evidence of something uniquely pathological about black people. … [But] to…
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This is not the usual message I’d expect from a man whose armed son was just killed by police, provoking a bit of burning in Milwaukee: What are we gonna do now? Everyone playing their part in this city, blaming the white guy or whatever, and we know what they’re doing. Like, already I feel…
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Lois Beckett in the Guardian: But black Americans in neighborhoods that see constant gun violence do try to make their voices heard, in protests like the one Truehill helped organize: community led, often small and largely ignored by news organizations. Thirty people showed up on Friday, most of them black men and women in their…
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From the Times: Two teenagers were killed and at least 18 people were wounded early Monday when attackers raked a crowd with gunfire outside a nightclub here that had been hosting a party for young people, the authorities said. Sound familiar? Yeah, because it is. But this isn’t even the main story of the day.…
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