Blog Roundup

A Friday Hodgepodge

1. "Celebrating Work," by Janna Woiceshyn (How to be Profitable and Moral):

On Labor Day, I celebrate work. I am a little off the original purpose of this holiday, as it was initiated at the end of the 19th century by labor unions to celebrate workers and the union movement. However, there isn't anything to praise, much less to celebrate, about today's collectivist labor unions that are blindly clinging to their 'entitlements', ignoring the reality of global division of labor and trade.

Work, on the other hand, is a crucially important value. When productive, work gives us not only the material means of survival and enjoyment of life, but also self-esteem and a central purpose that helps prioritize the rest of our values also and makes them achievable.

750 words/3 minutes

2. "Alexander Hamilton," (book review) by Bookish Babe (Bookish Babe):

For someone who developed The Federalist Papers in getting Americans to support the Constitution, its a testament to his intelligence, and his respect for setting the foundations of this new nation, and getting it right. From reading this biography I got the sense Hamilton always felt the need to prove himself. Coming from an impoverished background gave him a sort of complex which fueled his ambition. I find that admirable, and one main reason why I respect this man so much. Yet he was a hothead who would not always listen to reason. It should be noted Hamilton was only 49 years old when he died from a gunshot wound from dueling against his political nemesis Aaron Burr. At the time this bizarre relic was slowly being phased out with local legislation as well as cultural changes.

525 words/2 minutes

3. "What President Trump Should Have (And Easily Could Have) Said on Saturday, August 12, 2017," (2017) by Alexander Marriott (The Republican Observer):

We were scheduled to have a meeting today about the status of Veterans in our country, and the new bi-partisan bill supporting their ability to seek the best medical care available in our country, but events have superseded the schedule. Today we stand with the people of Charlottesville, Virginia who simply want to live in peace and make decisions for themselves without being harassed by reprehensible outsiders. The United States, which the most illustrious of my predecessors beautifully wrote in 1790, "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance" and will never be the home or domain of vile collectivist ideologies that we have spilled blood and treasure to eradicate at home and abroad--be they racist, fascist, communist, or religious.

340 words/1 minute

4. "American Found Guilty of Murder and Multiple Rapes," by Harry Binswanger (Value for Value):

People reading the latter [headline] are highly unlikely to realize that they are being manipulated. But they are: the headlines about illegal immigrants are cherry-picked by the anti-immigrationists.

The statistics are irrelevant: you can't punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty.

If 1 out of 10 illegal immigrants commits felonies (a ratio that has to be much too high, but let's assume it is right), it provides zero justification for interfering with the freedom of the other 9 out of 10.

350 words/1 minute

-- CAV