By Dave B.

​Recently, a Chinese scientist announced that he genetically engineered a set of twin girls to be resistant to HIV. By any definition, this is a miraculous breakthrough (assuming the claims are true; until his claims are peer-reviewed, I’m remaining in the skeptical camp). I personally don’t have any moral objection to genetically engineering anything, including people. However, I recognize that genetically engineering the human race, particularly now, isn’t just opening Pandora’s Box; it’s opening the box, dumping out all of its contents, and then smashing it on the floor. If people can be designed to be resistant to disease, they can also be designed for enhanced intelligence and designer physical characteristics. Human civilization just isn’t capable of dealing with the consequences of engineered superhumans, which is the inevitable (and likely near-term) result of this event. Here are a few reasons why:

By Dave B.

​Because I apparently hate myself, I still occasionally have conversations with supporters of President Trump and Senator Sanders. I know that I shouldn’t, but there’s a part of me that can’t resist studying people. Would you like to know what I’ve learned? The supporters of each man, despite apparently believing in different things, have the EXACT same flawed mental processes. It would be fascinating if it weren’t frightening.

By Dave B.

​It’s funny to me that people are freaking out now about Facebook’s use of personal data. There are people who rail against corporations all day, but who are now acting like Facebook betrayed their deepest trust, slept with their spouse, and burned down their home. Come on now. 

​Recently, President Trump has made headlines by calling for across the board 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum. He also suggested that trade wars are good and that the United States can easily win them. I’m not going to go into the math of why trade wars are bad for all parties and free trade is a net good. Instead, as a fan of free trade, I’m going to offer a compromise solution that I believe is both politically feasible and economically rational: free trade with free countries.