A source close to the governor has indicated that another emergency order will be issued in the next few days, changing the state motto from Live Free or Die (which is now obsolete) to Public Health Trumps Everything (a direct quote from the governor, which more accurately reflects the new reality within the state).
Ian Underwood
Enhancing our political immune system
Consider the COVID-19 virus. Or any virus, really. But not what it does. Rather, how it works. Very briefly, it works by exploiting a general-purpose mechanism that your cells use to build the proteins that make up and operate your body.
E-m-e-r-g-e-n-c-y, that spells…
In The Stand, by Stephen King, a simple-minded character named Tom Cullen knows how to spell just one word, so he uses it for everything. ‘M-O-O-N’, that spells ‘ready’. ‘M-O-O-N’, that spells ‘Nebraska’. And so on. I’ve been reminded of that a lot lately, as the state government issues self-contradictory rules as fast as they … Read more
Now we’re just haggling
People think we’re playing a game called ‘slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus’. And we are. But at the same time, we’re also playing another game called ‘setting precedents’.
What would YOU do?
I’ve seen a few different people asking: What would you do if you were in the governor’s shoes now? For anyone who’s interested, here’s my answer.
Finding Nemo (Judex in Sua Causa)
I recently had a conversation with someone in which he claimed that the judiciary is independent of the rest of government, and therefore it’s okay for that part of the government to decide whether other parts of the same government are exceeding their constitutional authority.
Emergency measures: A special kind of blindness
Right now, if you want to claim that the government is overstepping the limits placed on it by the constitution that created it, you have to make that claim in court.
Emergency measures: Choosing sides
A lot of people don’t believe this, but it is possible to be concerned about slowing the spread of COVID-19 and also be concerned about slowing the erosion of fundamental liberties through unconstitutional emergency measures.
School Refunding
There’s constant discussion about the problems with how we fund schools. Should they be funded locally, or at a state level? Should funding be distributed as an entitlement, or as assistance? Should the money be given to schools, or to parents? What taxes should be levied on whom, in what way, and for how much? But none of these discussions address the fundamental problem with the way we fund schools.
The Pre-Emptive Veto
There’s a lot of talk lately about how the House wasted time on some pointless reprimands, and consequently everything is behind schedule. However, this represents a small fraction of a much larger slice of time that gets wasted in every session, but especially in sessions — like the current one — where the legislative and executive branches are controlled by different parties.
The Education ‘System’
You never hear people talking about ‘the food system’. Why is that? Because there isn’t one. I mean, we have the USDA, which mostly exists to make it harder for smaller producers of food to compete with larger producers of food. But there is no Secretary of Food, no Commissioner of Food, no Food Czar, and so on.
The Undemocratic Democratic Party
Non-Democrats are having fun criticizing the undemocratic nature of the party’s presidential nomination process — from the large numbers of super-delegates who are free to ignore primary results, to the frequent rule changes that seem to be designed to keep certain candidates from appearing in debates. But such criticism ignores some crucial points.
HB721, The Private School Harassment Bill
Imagine a rule requiring every vegetarian restaurant to be ready to serve meat dishes, but not because anyone currently goes there looking for meat dishes, or plans to. Meat eaters would obviously be better off at other restaurants, of which there is no shortage.
But I can’t teach my child…
When you talk to people about educating their children outside of traditional schools, one of the things you’re likely to hear is some variation of ‘But I can’t teach my children’ math, or chemistry, or music, or some other subjects that they aren’t familiar with. And while they may be right, they’re also wrong.
Amendment 2 and Article 83
It’s not uncommon to hear people say things like ‘the state has a duty to educate children’. But this strikes me as backwards. To see why, consider the striking correspondence between the words of the 2nd Amendment in the federal constitution, and the words of Article 83 in the New Hampshire Constitution.
Charter schools: Red herrings
In a recent editorial about how school choice and charter schools ‘put public school funding at risk’, Donald Cohen waves three red herrings, hoping to distract you from the real issues at hand. They come up a lot, so they’re worth looking at more closely.
Crazy or crazier?
Ideally, the legislature would go through all the RSAs and repeal the statutes that punish vices (which are really just offenses against oneself) and sins (which are really just offenses against one’s god).
School funding: How much is enough?
There is a question that should be asked of anyone who wants to make a case for increasing the amount that we spend on public schools. Usually, they just say that the amount needed is ‘more than it is now’.
But how much more?
Under the new ordinance, illegal ‘immigrants’ driving without a license in Cambridge will not be getting arrested.
City councilors in Cambridge Massachusetts have a new, “Welcoming Community Ordinance.” It was passed last week. They say it formalizes existing policy. Under the new ordinance, illegal ‘immigrants’ driving without a license in Cambridge will not be getting arrested.
Schools: First do no harm
Every once in a while, you come across a simple idea, or a simple question, that changes how you think about almost everything. Paul Goodman once asked a question like that, which is most easily illustrated with a simple curve.