Yearly Archives: 2025

Why is Trumpism still popular?

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged liberty psychology on by

In less than three months since he’s taken office, Donald Trump has imposed huge taxes by decree, harassed lawyers and judges, brought federal agencies into chaos, had people abducted from the streets without charges or access to legal counsel, antagonized America’s allies, and hinted at several acts of military aggression and conquest. The economy is already suffering from his actions and is likely to get a lot worse. In spite of this, his approval rating stands at close to 50%. Nearly half of registered voters, according to polls, approve of what he’s doing. Why?

In the past, I’ve discussed a couple of reasons. News media have abandoned objectivity. It’s hard to get just the facts. A second reason is the miserable state of education in the US. Schools turn out students who seldom read and lack critical thinking skills.

Here I’d like to talk about a third factor: the attitudes of the left.
(more…)

How surveys snoop on people’s locations

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged privacy technology on by

The “Religion for Breakfast” YouTube channel reported on a survey to determine how often people go to church, eliminating the need for self-reporting and the biases that go with it. The video focused on the numbers obtained, but the way the survey was conducted is disturbing and offers a warning about how much information phone applications collect and pass on to third parties.

According to the video, Dr. Devin Pope of the University of Chicago conducted this survey, obtaining information from people without their knowledge or consent. “Dr. Pope analyzed the movement patterns of 2.1 million Americans, tracking visits to religious buildings on their main day of worship. Think of it like instead of asking someone how often they go to the gym, you just check their gym’s key card records. But let’s pause because I know what you’re all thinking. How can he even know how often people go to a place of worship? Isn’t tracking cell phone data kind of — creepy?” (Yes, it is.)
(more…)

Spohr’s Des Heilands letzte Stunden

This entry was posted in Music and tagged music spohr on by

A new release of Spohr’s oratorio, Des Heilands letzte Stunden (the Savior’s last hours), is out from Carus-Verlag. The solo singers are Florian Sievers, Johanna Winkel, Maximilian Vogler, Arttu Kataja, Thomas E. Bauer, Felix Rathgeber, and Magnus Piontek. The chorus is the Kammerchor Stuttgart, and the orchestra the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. It covers the same ground as Bach’s Passions, from Judas’s betrayal of Jesus to his crucifixion. A booklet in English and German contains Johann Friedrich Rochlitz’ full text with a loose translation, as well as detailed notes.

This oratorio came after Die letzten Dinge, also with text by Rochlitz. It premiered in Kassel in 1835. The earlier oratorio is a disaster movie in music. This is a more introspective work. Unlike Bach’s Passions, this “passion oratorio” tells the story primarily from the perspective of Jesus’s followers. The numbers are mostly dedicated to showing their reactions to his capture, trial, and crucifixion. Bach tells the story from a cosmic perspective; Spohr’s oratorio gets very close to the people portrayed. Even Judas is somewhat sympathetic as he expresses his terror over the situation he’s gotten himself into.
(more…)

“Experts are divided”

This entry was posted in Commentary News and tagged journalism law on by

A Washington Post article header has drawn outrage on Bluesky. Here it is:

How Trump is blasting through norms and testing limits of his power
 
Experts say President Donald Trump’s actions have pushed the country into fraught territory. They are divided on whether he has breached constitutional guardrails.

That implies that a significant number of experts think Trump hasn’t “breached constitutional guardrails.” Who are these experts? The one person they cite is Steven Calabresi, a law professor at Northwestern University and co-chair of the Federalist Society. The article says:

He praised Trump’s embrace of a concept called the “unitary executive theory,” which posits that the president has supreme power over the executive branch, including the ability to remove officials.
 

In particular, Calabresi said, he was pleased with Trump’s moves to dismiss members of the Federal Trade Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.

(more…)

Trump goes after voters 1

This entry was posted in Commentary News and tagged law liberty on by

Donald Trump’s latest decree takes his power-grabbing to a new level. He has commanded the states to alter their laws to require proof of citizenship for voting. He has no legal authority at all to do this. The Constitution lets the states run elections; Congress has a limited ability to set requirements, and the president has no authority without an act of Congress. He is relying on intimidation of state officials and federal judges to get his way. Claiming the personal authority to decide who can vote is the action of a dictator or would-be dictator.
(more…)