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I have written on the topic of merit before but wish here to approach the subject from a slightly different angle. That is, how it is related to compensation.

First, merit can never be properly assessed by others since it is an individual affair and the efforts of the individual can never be objectively weighed by outsiders, or compared to the efforts of others.

It might be appropriate here to recall that merit is ascribed to the efforts an individual makes to put to best use the talents and...

Considered in a certain light, the amazing progress of the human race, notwithstanding a few tragic setbacks, can be understood as the discovery of, and the constant improvements to what might best be referred to as 'Force Multipliers'. I should think the term would be clear in its meaning.

Simple examples of physical 'force multipliers' are pulleys, fulcrum and lever, steam, internal combustion, electricity, the internet.

There are 'force multipliers' in other areas of our lives which may be...

Much mischief and worse often results from initiatives and policies which are mistakenly aimed at the expressions (branches) of a problem, rather than at its cause (root).

Over the last year I have been banned from Facebook (two different accounts) and one other platform (a dating site). In neither case was an explanation given. I suppose that is because I never did anything which would cause a sane or unbiased person or group of people to ban me. At the risk of being called a conspiracy theorist, it has occurred to me that there may be some behind the scenes efforts to minimize the visibility of people holding viewpoints which are not consistent with the...

I came across a Japanese word the other day which describes one feature of my personality quite accurately. “Tsundoku” . It describes anyone who purchases more books than they are realistically able to read.

I have given away hundreds and hundreds of books, and currently have in my possession more books than I shall ever be able to read in my lifetime.

The only diversity that matters is the only one not tolerated. That is intellectual or ideological diversity.

To argue against central planning is not to argue against planning anymore than arguing against a monopoly postal service is arguing against mail.

A clever person can come up with good answers but only a highly intelligent person can come up with good questions.

Few people have understood the importance of language to the health of a society as did George Orwell. In his 'Politics and the English Language' Orwell makes a convincing case that many of society's ills can only be corrected by restoring the English language to its proper usage. I think he has it exactly right. In my experience, people who use the English language poorly are most often those also on the wrong side of important issues. I don't believe this is a coincidence.

Language usage and foolish thinking reinforce one another in a vicious cycle. The more our language is debased and corrupted, the more foolish we become and the more foolish we become, the more debased and corrupted our language becomes. And so, on and on it goes.

One can only wonder if it is possible to have fruitful political or policy discussions when most people have never learned or been taught to think for themselves but have instead been taught what to think.

The use of phrases such as 'follow the science' and 'listen to the experts' ratcheted up dramatically during the Covid-19 psyop.

The concept is far from new however. Its earliest iteration was probably Plato's 'Philosopher Kings' concept which he laid out in 'The Republic'.

These were people groomed to be experts in the rule of people and were to be given absolute control over the population.

In all such cases the 'will' of the people is little, if at all considered.

Instead the purported...

We hear a good deal today regarding 'sustainability', by which is meant 'the ability to maintain or support a condition, process, or system over time, defined by meeting present needs without compromising future generations, balancing environmental health, economic viability, and social equity (the three pillars) to ensure long-term thriving for people and the planet.'

I think the term and its purported intentions are laudable.

As is the case so often however, the devil is in the...

I ran across an interesting concept earlier today, 'Stereotype threat'. Essentially it means that people often underperform because there are negative stereotypes of their ethnic or racial group.

And, while the construct is illegitimate, it is popular among academics who consider themselves social justice crusaders.

“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. “Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does.” They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect...

Diversity is one of those words which demands a specific context to be evaluated. The type of diversity the authoritarians favor is superficial, innate and inherent.

Freedom lovers favor diversity of opinion and positions on social matters.

Only the later type is worthy of honoring.

Diversity is most certainly not a strength of the west. Quite the opposite in fact. It should rather be considered a dilution of the merits of the west (which enabled it to surpass all other cultures) by the introduction of inferior people and their culture.

One needn't be a tin foil hatted conspiracy theorist to conclude that the wars in Ukraine and other places provide a convenient distraction intended to prevent the predominantly white populations of the west from noticing how their societies and their civilization at large are being hollowed out and destroyed by domestic public policy decisions.

I believe it was Milton Friedman who observed that you cannot have a welfare state and open borders if you wish to survive as a nation.

This is precisely the predicament we find ourselves in today.

We have millions on welfare who are still allowed to vote, and consequently vote for more welfare, or redistribution.

In the last decade, and increasingly so under the Biden administration, millions of 3rd world people (certainly not the best or brightest) have entered the country illegally, obtained...

Nothing is better than an honest search for truth, and nothing is worse than the stubborn obsession with being right.