Recently, I heard a podcast on Planet Money about commodity traders and their role in world economics. The podcast interviewed the authors of “The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the traders who barter the earth’s resources.” It was an eye-opener for me, so I decided to read the book. The commodity trading business has […]
One anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory holds that thimerosal, an ethylmercury preservative once used in childhood vaccines, caused the dramatic increase in autism diagnoses in the past 20 years. In addition to the fact that the amount of ethylmercury in vaccines is miniscule and rapidly cleared from the body, thimerosal was discontinued in childhood vaccines back in […]
The death knell for creationism was sounded in the 19th century, with the recognition of an ancient earth and Darwin’s Origin of Species showing that all life on earth is related by descent. A particular obsession of creationists is the idea that humans and apes descended from a common ancestor. With the advent of protein […]
Trump is counting on his base not understanding that tariffs are a consumption tax. They make imported goods more expensive and allow domestic producers to jack up their prices by relieving competition. “[Douglas Holtz-Eakin] added that Trump was using the letters to demand attention, but, “In the end, these are letters to other countries about […]
I’m pale skinned and blue eyed, so UV-A and -B aren’t my friends. Back when I was in high school and college, I didn’t worry about that, even though the frequent sunburns were uncomfortable. By the time I was in my mid-20s, though, I was a user of sunscreen, and gradually, I avoided beaches and […]
Looks like if you want to set up a Ponzi scheme, you just have to call it “anti-woke.” Of course, the opposite of woke is asleep. “The complaint alleges that First Liberty founder Brant Frost IV misappropriated investor funds, making payments to himself and relatives of more than $5 million and used other funds for […]
Until this January, you might have thought that a gift for diplomacy would be high on the list of qualifications for an ambassadorship, even if it’s the US Ambassador to Malaysia. You’d be wrong. “Coverage of his nomination has largely focused on his openly misogynistic content and internet boasts about having “the body of a […]
You may have heard about the flooding in Texas and North Carolina during the past week. But that’s far from all. There’s a reason it’s called “global” climate change. “The disaster comes during a week in which extreme heat and extreme weather have battered the planet. Parts of northern Spain and southern France are burning […]
Trump has flip-flopped on deporting workers in the agriculture and hospitality sectors. But his Ag Secretary has it figured out. “There’s been a lot of noise in the last few days and a lot of questions about where the president stands and his vision for farm labor,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters during a […]
During the COVID pandemic, the livestock dewormer ivermectin gained notoriety as a treatment for COVID. Of course, there isn’t an atom of evidence that ivermectin is effective against coronavirus infections. But the fact that it was ridiculed by the scientific and medical communities proved, by the logic of anti-vaxxers, that it works. “Currently four states […]