Freedom Four

A Friday Hodgepodge

1. "Trump's Latest Visa Crackdown Is a Spectacular Own Goal," by Agustina Vergara Cid (The Telegraph):

This sort of unpredictable, arbitrary rule is not proper for a free country. Businesses need a clear, objective legal landscape to operate in. They should be able to hire who they want and make their own decisions, not depend on the government's approval nor have to pay exorbitant tolls to hire workers. People's lives shouldn't be upended overnight by a government edict.

While the fee may face legal challenges, the message is clear: the American government wants to keep talented foreign workers out and wants to further constrain businesses' freedom to hire. While the fee might not directly affect me, my life will be worse off if America stops welcoming foreign talent, who bring untold innovation and productivity to my and everyone's lives. An American system should encourage that, not deter it.

500 words/2 minutes

2. "What Happened to ABC and Jimmy Kimmel Wasn't Censorship. It Was Worse.," by Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer (Orange County Register):

We live in an increasingly tribal age, where members of one tribe are unfortunately comfortable, even eager, to use government coercion to silence their perceived opponents and enemies. To this day far too few people who identify as on the political left object to the Biden administration's violation of the First Amendment rights of Facebook and its millions of users. After all, they tell themselves, it was for a "good cause," stopping the spread of misinformation; it was in "the public interest."

And now far too few people who identify as on the political right object to the Trump administration's violation of the First Amendment rights of ABC and its millions of viewers. It's for a "good cause," they tell themselves, stopping the spread of Jimmy Kimmel's misinformation; it's in "the public interest."

If we don't want to lose our freedom, we must abandon these tribal loyalties. Now is the time to push back in defense of free speech -- as strongly and as publicly as the gangsters on the left and right are threatening to revoke it.

850 words/3 minutes

3. "The Retraction of a Paper on Apple Cider Vinegar Shows How Good Science Can Work," by Paul Hsieh (Forbes):

Although the paper passed the usual pre-publication review by the journal editors, the many eyes of the broader scientific community were able to raise concerns that revealed problems with the original claim. This is strength of good scientific process -- not a weakness. Having many thoughtful and appropriately critical minds looking at an important problem is an excellent way to best reach the truth. When done right, the scientific method is a self-correcting process.

525 words/2 minutes

4. "ACIP's Thimerosal Vote: The Committee Has Lost Its Value to Medicine," by Amesh Adalja (Medpage Today):

While my position of not repeatedly vaccinating truly low-risk people against COVID is not very controversial, Kennedy has created unnecessary confusion and controversy. This is consistent with his apparent aim to upend the entire vaccine ecosystem in the U.S., as he seems to see no value in vaccination.

The ideal policy is one in which anyone who wishes to be vaccinated against COVID is able to be (without barriers or deterrents to vaccination), with targeted recommendations to the high-risk, which includes healthy children ages 6 months to 2 years and pregnant women as codified by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In our current environment, clear and science-based recommendations from government health agencies have become scarce and there is likelihood that greater morbidity and mortality will be the result.

850 words/3 minutes

-- CAV