Herbert Hoover and Moral Engineering

Yesterday (October 3, 2025), Heidi and I visited the Hoover–Minthorn House in Newberg, Oregon. The house, built in 1881 by Jesse Edwards, the Quaker founder of Newberg, stands behind a white picket fence, its clapboard walls repainted in pale yellow.  Murray Rothbard had already set my prejudice against Hoover, so the visit was a sardonicContinue reading “Herbert Hoover and Moral Engineering”

Anthony Barker

Anthony Barker died April 3, 2022. I was able to visit him the week prior. He had been released from the hospital to the assisted living facility that he shared with his wife, Betty. He was on hospice with a prognostication of three more months. Although he was thinner and frailer than I had everContinue reading “Anthony Barker”

Selling Confidence

To my ears, Trump is an inarticulate ignoramus with a heavy dose of meglomania. In a prior post, I linked to John McWhorter‘s analysis of Trump’s speech patterns. These YouTube clips summarize his conclusions: McWhorter elaborates in The Atlantic and concludes that Trump is a walking “hot mike” with no sensible filter. I agree. ButContinue reading “Selling Confidence”