Backwaters are comforting, misleading, and very dangerous

There’s been a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment lately, expressed in English only laws, antipathy to a projected Islamic Cultural Center, and Arizona’s effort to enforce the immigration laws with a desert twist. Let’s focus today on fears of people who don’t speak English.

Islamic Cultural Center

I find the rhetoric about the Islamic Cultural Center scary.

Rebuild the Northeast, and America

We stopped last time with three important observations: First, government built the Northeast and government tore it down. Second, revitalizing the northeast depends on identifying and supporting the comparative advantages of the states, the region and the nation. And third, each problem creates opportunities.

Geopolitics and Development

The Founders of this country wrote the Constitution and passed the Northwest Ordinance at almost the same time. It is fascinating to see the geopolitical implications of what they did, how Eisenhower changed it, the impact on New York State, and the implications for state politics.

Overkill

More than two centuries ago, Jeremy Bentham explained the virtues of moderation. If you cut off people’s heads for the most minor infraction, you encourage the petty thief to kill.