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Don’t ever forget 9/11

I was sitting in my home office not far from the Pentagon when it happened. The TV behind me had the sound lowered but I suddenly became aware of a major development. I reached for the remote and cranked up the audio. A plane had struck one of the twin towers in New York. TV anchors initially speculated it must have been a small plane that had run off course, but soon a much larger plane struck the building and then a second one hit the other tower. It quickly became clear America was under attack. I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon and went up on the roof to get a better look. My ...

Rent control still does not work well

In 2022, politicians in Minneapolis and St. Paul voted for rent control. I said that would lead to bigger problems. Was I right? My update video reveals what happened. St. Paul politicians pushed rent control, saying rent caps would stop “unfair profiteering.” But what the heck is “profiteering,” and how is it different from “profit”? Who decides what is “unfair”? The opportunity for profit is what persuades people to invest in things. And build things. If enough people invest in new housing, rents will stop shooting up. That’s just how markets work. ...

Progressive regression and the new medievalism

For most people, the story of the medieval world was one of cramped cities, constant violent crime and episodic outbreaks of deadly plagues — the dividends of unclean urban conditions, rotting food, fouled water, open sewage, and unchecked rats, fleas, and lice. Most of each day was spent simply trying to survive until the next. Castles and walls dotted the landscape to protect kingdoms from marauding tribes and foreign invaders. City gates were usually closed at dusk to keep out nocturnal marauders. Public executions drew massive crowds. And religious schisms and conflicts often ...

Remembering how Americans united after attacks of 9/11

“Never forget.” What did we mean, when we declared as a country that we would forever remember the events and lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001? What do those words mean to the people born afterward? They are Gen Z and Gen Alpha, now. All they know is what they read in history books, what ...

We’re living longer, but perhaps not always better

As Ohio’s population ages, the number of older adults who need at least a little help is increasing, while the number of people qualified to offer that help is dwindling. It’s a nationwide problem — by 2030, the number of Americans over age 65 will be greater than the number of those under 18. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, that problem is already evident in the Buckeye State, where the population has been aging since the 1990s. “Our health care is a triumph of human ingenuity, but while we’re living longer, we’re spending more years in less than good ...

What does ‘Never Forget’ mean?

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was a 12-year-old boy living in England. Because of the five-hour time difference, I first learned that something had happened as the school day drew to a close. It wasn’t until I got home later that afternoon that I saw the images of the Twin Towers burning thousands of miles away and watched them collapse in a hellish explosion of steel and concrete and glass and ash. And I just didn’t get it. Yes, I knew it was bad, and I knew it was unprecedented, and I knew it was scary, but as a child, I had absolutely no understanding of the gravity of what had just ...