Gongol.com Archives: June 2020

Brian Gongol


June 3, 2020

News Hong Kong should have become a US state

Generally: Let refugees in. Specifically: Let lots of Hong Kong residents in before the window closes and China refuses to let them out. And broadly: Don't be surprised by a future populated by city-states. But to the question immediately at hand, the United States, the UK, Australia, and other countries of like philosophy ought to open the doors wide to the people of Hong Kong if they want out.

News "I'm against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop"

Senator Ben Sasse is right to say it. Whether you're an originalist, a textualist, a living-documentarian, or the ghost of Antonin Scalia himself, "the right of the people peaceably to assemble" doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room.

Threats and Hazards Who are the people with the weapons?

Scenes from DC include the grave observation that armed "law enforcement" members won't identify themselves. If anyone is purporting to represent Federal law enforcement without identification, then it's time for members of Congress to demand immediate answers. All Federal authority is ultimately accountable to the Article I branch.

Threats and Hazards Sen. Tom Cotton is at odds with the IRI

He serves as a member of the board at the International Republican Institute. But the Senator is clearly at odds with its honorable mission, particularly with his use of phrases like "no quarter". He should have the character to recalibrate his own words accordingly.

Weather and Disasters Massive cloud complex visible for hundreds of miles

Over Muscatine, visible from Dubuque, with a plume stretching all the way to Chicagoland

News Police shouldn't be all-purpose social workers

Conscientious citizens ought to pursue change on this matter within their own communities. Who would you call if you thought someone needed help not of the 911 variety? Asking police/fire/EMS to be jacks-of-all-trades isn't fair to them, nor to the people in need.


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