Safecracker

Good point, Ben. It has always seemed obvious to me that God — assuming He exists — has *reasons* for declaring certain things good and others bad. And if those reasons aren't arbitrary (theists insist they aren't) then they are within our grasp, even if we flounder here and there to get them right (which explains moral progress). The kicker: those reasons exist even if God does not.

There is an irony in the "false dilemma" reply to the Euthyphro because the apologist denies a genuine dilemma while replacing it with a false one of their own. Meta-ethical theorizing is not limited to subjective human invention on the one hand and divine commands on the other.

@NormOrnstein Norm, please tell us: what was the predicate on which the Mueller investigation was launched?

Brit, be better. Why don’t you start by reading the Mueller report and then read Marco Rubio’s Senate report. And then stop endorsing this as a phony scandal.

Replacement isn't a theory, Matt; it's a demonstrable trend that began in 1965 with Hart-Celler. Its goodness or badness is a separate issue. And the "conditions" that permit one to become wealthy reduce to the freedom to produce widgets or provide services the masses like. Lastly, you disingenuously conflate suicidal empathy with empathy. You're too smart not to know the difference.

My review of "Muskism" by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff for @jacobin jacobin.com/2026/03/musk-s…

Can't you guys make an elementary distinction between (a) Russian attempts to interfere in our elections (which always happens), and (b) actual collusion between Trump and Russia (which didn't happen)? Tell me: what was the predicate on which the Mueller investigation was launched? What evidence of an actual crime had been uncovered?

Every major finding of the Mueller Report about Russia's effort to help Trump win in 2016 was echoed by the Senate Intelligence Committee Report released by Marco Rubio.

I get the character defect argument, Conor. It's why DJT didn't get my vote in 16 or 20. But in 24 the alternative was unthinkable — a border that would remain open, rampant DEI throughout govt, trans insanity, etc. Consequently, many of us plugged our noses and hoped for the best. I'll never like the way DJT communicates, but I (and many others) like most of what he is delivering, policy-wise and around the world. Time will tell.

@AnnCoulter Your poor judgment to date should stop you from urging any more bad leaders on America.

We should run a Stephen Miller/Brandon Gill ticket for president.

@ScottMStedman Let's back up a little, Scott: can you tell us the predicate on which the Mueller investigation was launched? Remember: it needs to be evidence of an actual crime.

Concocted it out of thin air? Did she make Manafort share campaign data with Kilimnik? Did she tell Don Jr to say “I love it” to the offer of Russian government dirt? Did she have Michael Cohen negotiate with the Kremlin for Trump Tower? Did she send in Dmitri Simes to help craft Trump’s foreign policy?

Russiagate was a phony scandal* *if you ignore Trump’s inner circle secretly meeting with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Clinton, Trump’s campaign chairman sharing internal data with a Russian spy, another Russian spy infiltrating the NRA, a now indicted Russian government asset providing campaign advice, Trump secretly trying to build a Trump Tower Moscow, a Trump aide flying to Moscow and secretly meeting with a senior Russian oil/gas executive and government officials, multiple businessmen in Russia claiming the Kremlin had sexual dirt on Trump, a European professor with Kremlin ties telling a Trump aide Russia had emails on Clinton before their release, an Israeli social media manipulation expert who was working for the same oligarch to which Trump’s campaign chairman owned millions, pitching Trump Jr and Erik Prince on a plan to influence social media and

@FNC_Ladies_Rule @AndrewCMcCarthy @bdomenech Don't worry -- we won't confuse your confidence with facts or expertise.

@AndrewCMcCarthy @bdomenech and yet what did RUSSIA do for TRUMP! They hacked Hillary and the DNC and released those! Its clear TRUMP was in collusion (and still is) with RUSSIA

Fact: I relentlessly rebuked the Russiagate probe, beginning before Mueller's appointment - a response to @bdomenech - nationalreview.com/2026/03/fact-i…

The biggest problem with the Mueller investigation is that it had no predicate (evidence of an actual crime) — not when it began and not when it ended. That the FBI hid the Steele Dossier from the FISA court is even worse. Hate Trump all you want, but let us not bend rules to "get him" or anyone else ever again.

Absurd false equivalency. Yes, some Resistance types overstated Trump's alignment w/Putin, but Mueller himself did not. He conducted the investigation that Trump's wretched behavior forced on the nation, and he did so in a careful manner that pinpointed Trump's actual culpability

@BarackObama It was a disaster, Barak. Wake up. My family's Kaiser premiums almost doubled instantly. We got a nice letter from Kaiser explaining why, and they didn't really pull any punches. Surely you know all of this and more, so why pretend?

The day the Affordable Care Act passed was one of my proudest moments as president, because it meant that millions of Americans would have access to health care, some for the first time. The ACA also prevented insurance companies from denying people with pre-existing conditions coverage, allowed young people under the age of 26 to remain on their parents’ plan, expanded Medicaid, and so much more. But the ACA was always meant to be a first step. We still have to do more to expand access and make health care more affordable for everyone.

@willnever15 @charlesmurray @arcticinstincts I find that to be true only in the case of modern progressives. Centrists and center-right types still prefer the truth, even when it's unpleasant to hear.

@davemcomie @charlesmurray @arcticinstincts "Don't be mean" is a higher commandment for a regular person than "don't lie".

The Most Oppressed Group In History Is Actually Group IQ Differences Researchers

@charlesmurray @arcticinstincts IQ research seems to be the one area where academics continually reject the findings of those who actually work in the field. Everywhere else it's "trust the experts." Why is that? To a blue-collar grunt like me, it makes no sense.

@arcticinstincts A truth universally acknowledged.

@conor64 How will Voter ID steal any elections? Why does anyone oppose measures to increase election security?

The Save America Act is an attempt to steal the midterms by devising a pretext to keep American citizens with a right to vote from casting ballots under the guise of stopping voter fraud. It goes *far beyond* mere voter ID and destroys federalism. Dems *should* stop it

@nickgillespie We don't know what we don't know, Nick. Why not take reasonable measures so that we can have a higher degree of certainty in our election results? Otherwise we'll have pols like Stacy Abrams, Hillary, and DJT hollering about being robbed of an election.

And yet, without photo ID, our elections have been remarkably fraud-free. This fixation on a non-problem is weird and wasteful.

@newstart_2024 Polygyny existing in 80% of cultures is not the same thing as polygyny being the "norm." Monogamy has always been the norm, if only for reasons related to status.

Our species norm is polygyny: 80% of cultures historically let high-status men hoard wives while low-status men get nothing. Christianity (inherited from Rome) forced monogamy for 2000 years. Now we've mostly ditched it—and we're sliding back toward the old pattern. Louise Perry: Lifting the monogamous restriction produces worse outcomes—higher crime, domestic violence, economic inequality. Monogamy is better for women and low-status men. Monogamy isn't "natural"—it's an engineered cultural upgrade that tamed inequality and violence. Do you think monogamy is worth defending even if it's not the "default" human pattern? Or are we better off returning to the species norm? Your take 👇

@Rockprincess818 Did they air any of the footage?

Los Angeles Local news went to LAX and couldn’t find a single person upset about ICE at the airports.

@jessesingal All it shows it that ppl on both side can be A-holes.

Generally try to ignore DJT's posts (except the funny ones) but this one really does highlight the fraudulence of the whole... thing. MAGA was *gleefully* trying to ruin randos' lives for making tasteless Kirk deaths. For months! This movement has no genuine kernel of anything.

Matt, have you ever noticed how many arguments in defense of various forms of egalitarianism rest on "you didn't choose" — where you were born, your genetics or your environment, etc? While true, there is almost always a suppressed premise between those facts and the conclusion that is drawn. Enthymemes run amok.

@vagueviolet Roger Scruton, John Kekes, Ed Feser, and even George Will — all are worth reading.

are there any smart conservative authors (or at least centrist)?

@MattPolProf John Kekes is probably the most under-appreciated (and brilliant) defender of conservatism. Every book of his is a gem. Among contemporary conservative philosophers, Ed Feser is the one to watch. Political theory isn't his focus, but every single book of his is a home-run.

Roger Scruton, Harvey Mansfield, Patrick Deneen, Adrian Vermeule, Thomas Sowell