Posts

The High Cost of Leaving

-
A fundamental tension in the modern U.S. labor market is the distinction between freedom of choice and economic necessity. The same data point—workers staying in unwanted jobs to keep health insurance—can be framed as either a contradiction, i.e., as “forced,” or a rational choice, as “incentivized,” depending on the underlying economic point-of-view. Here is an outline of how these two perspectives interpret the same reality, specifically regarding the hard economic numbers published recently, versus the soft polling data: I. The Incentivized Perspective (Neoclassical Economics) From this viewpoint the worker is making a rational, utility maximization decision. 1. The Benefit as Compensation: Health insurance is not a trap, but a high-value component of total compensation, often worth 20–30% of a worker's salary. For a worker with chronic conditions, leaving an employer plan might mean facing a 75% premium hike, or being denied coverage entirely. 2. Risk Mitigation: Staying is a h...
Read more

Crime & Punishment

-
Chapter VII The door was as before opened a tiny crack, and again two  sharp and suspicious eyes stared at him out of the darkness.  Then Raskolnikov lost his head and nearly made a great  mistake. Fearing the old woman would be frightened by their being alone, and not hoping that the sight of him would disarm her suspicions, he took hold of the door and drew it towards him to prevent the old woman from attempting to shut it again. Seeing this she did not pull the door back, but she did not let go the handle so that he almost dragged her out with it on to the stairs. Seeing that she was standing in the doorway not allowing him to pass, he advanced straight upon her. She stepped back in alarm, tried to say something, but seemed unable to speak and stared with open eyes at him. ‘Good evening, Alyona Ivanovna,’ he began, trying to speak easily, but his voice would not obey him, it broke and shook. ‘I have come … I have brought something … but we’d better come in … to the lig...
Read more

A Bloody Harvest

-
The poster at the center of this discussion is not merely a piece of historical propaganda; it is a silent, haunting memorial to a nation’s self-inflicted wound, and a key to the human side of the historical, economic, and political circumstances of the Bolshevik revolution, not as a story of evil, but as a story of a nation that lost its way in a dream of a perfect state. Unlike the jagged, frenetic, and aggressive agitprop imagery typical of the Bolshevik style—images designed to incite rage and resentment—this 1920 work by Aleksandr Zelensky is strikingly different. Its composition is calm, almost reverent. The muscular hand holding the sickle rests gently upon an open book. The typography is clean, the geometry balanced. It does not scream; it whispers a promise of order, productivity, and enlightenment. To see it for the first time is a discovery that opens a new vista on the Bolshevik era. The poster’s message is one of profound, almost tragic, logic: "To Have More, One Must...
Read more

State Capitalism v. Private Capitalism

-
I. The State as the Primary Market Participant and Allocator of Wealth Thesis: The Chinese Economy of Control and Compromise is "Advanced Capitalism" The Chinese economic system operates on a logic of state-directed stability, where the government acts not merely as a referee, but as the primary market participant. As evidenced by the July 20, 2026, market crash, the system relies on reactive intervention to maintain confidence. Mechanism: When investor hesitation threatens the "social stability" of the market, the Central Committee deploys the "National Team" (e.g., China Reform Holdings, China Chengtong) to make seed purchases. In the recent crisis, these entities injected 60 billion yuan to arrest a 10 trillion yuan sell-off. Philosophy: This is a form of social-democratic allocation. The state, representing the collective citizenry in a one-party system, signals that "if it is good for the government, it is good for the investor." This create...
Read more

It Can't Happen Here

-
Topic: How the Wisconsin "Freakout" Confirms the End of Democratic Unity The sudden withdrawal of Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez in Wisconsin was not an isolated incident of campaign mismanagement. It was the detonation of a long-simmering powder keg. When combined with the recent ouster of Platner and the earlier seismic shifts in New York City triggered by Mamdani, a clear, undeniable pattern emerges: the Democratic Party is no longer just "struggling" with internal disagreements. It is undergoing a formal, structural schism that the establishment can no longer "paper over" with donor pressure, or media spin. The Pattern: From NYC to WI to the Midwest, the trajectory of this split has been methodical and escalating. The shock was New York City. The "Mamdani effect" marked the first major breach. Here, the establishment’s attempt to suppress a progressive challenger failed, signaling that the "electability" argument was losing its ...
Read more

Judicial Rage

-
A Moot Court Response to the Hawaii Supreme Court’s "Independent" Outburst Jonathan Turley’s recent criticism of the Hawaii Supreme Court hits on a tension that has long simmered beneath the surface of American jurisprudence: the collision between judicial restraint and judicial activism. In his July 18, 2026, blog post, “No Mahalo for You,” J. Turley dissects the Hawaii Supreme Court’s unanimous but rhetorically unhinged decision in State v. Granillo, where Justice Todd W. Eddins labeled the U.S. Supreme Court “de facto racists” and “hubristic originalists.” As a former participant in the comment sections of his blog, Res Ipsa Loquitur, I attempted to engage in the kind of moot court debate he so skillfully stages. But as the discourse went off the rails, the comment forum felt less like a seminar and more like a shouting match. Therefore, I am moving my reading of his arguments to this space to offer a more structured, original restatement of the argument, treating the rece...
Read more

Chat with Moses

-
If a man discovers his wife involved in sexual relations "in flagrante" is it grounds for justifiable homicide? In the Philippines, catching a spouse in adultery in flagrante delicto is not grounds for justifiable homicide (which would result in complete exemption from criminal liability), but rather qualifies as exceptional circumstances under Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code.  Legal Classification: The act is considered felonious (a crime), but the law grants a privilege that reduces the penalty from murder or homicide to destierro (banishment).  Requisites: To invoke this provision, the husband must surprise his wife in the act of sexual intercourse with another person and kill them in the act or immediately thereafter.  Rationale: The law acknowledges the vindication of a man’s honor and the enormous provocation, but requires the act to be driven by an impulse of passion rather than revenge or premeditation.  Distinction: If the killing occurs after a signif...
Read more