Looking for Things Not Seen Things Not Seen is a place for writing and thinking about life, culture, and politics. I’ve given this place that name because it takes a good bit of imagination to believe that life in this world can be—and should be—better for everyone, and that we should do something about it. Share this: Tweet





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Book Review: Universal Basic Income: For and Against Though the riots and protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd have pushed discussion of everything else—including COVID-19 and the precarious economy—to the back burner, one topic that is sure to come to the fore, especially if the unprecedented unemployment caused by the shutdowns doesn’t quickly return to pre-COVID levels, is that of a Universal Basic Income. Share this: Tweet





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The Perils of an American Jesus Christianity, like much else in contemporary American society, has become highly politicized and culturally fragmented, with large segments of the faithful finding themselves affiliated—sometimes by choice, sometimes not—with the predominant political ideologies of liberalism and conservatism…are either of these options correct, or is there a third way? Share this: Tweet





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Movie Review: Green Book More than a week after the Oscars broadcast, it already feels kind of odd that this little movie caused such a stir, but it really is a signal of how bizarrely hyper-politicized the cultural left is these days. Though it’s by no means a great movie, it’s worth watching, not only for the acting, but for some understated reasons about how economics bring people together. Share this: Tweet





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Movie Review: Vice The Oscars are Sunday, and here is my review of one of the best picture nominees, Vice, which was originally published at LewRockwell.com: Share this: Tweet





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Movie review: Little Pink House If you’ve heard the terms “eminent domain” or “takings,” but aren’t that familiar with what they mean, Little Pink House is a good place to start. Share this: Tweet





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In Praise of Dead Presidents Some impertinent fellows on the Internet have been calling George Bush the Keyser Söze of post-World War II America, referring to the character in the 1996 film The Usual Suspects who, while hiding in plain sight, had a hand in a vast number of spectacular crimes. George Bush pulled off a far more difficult trick—but he had more help, didn’t he? Share this: Tweet





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Rejoining the Libertarian Party with the Mises Caucus After seven years as an LP activist in Ohio, I decided to quit the party in 2017, but the emergence of the Mises Caucus has prompted me to rejoin. With “pragmatic” Libertarians gathering behind Bill Weld—who’s merely a more polite, more boring version of John McCain or Hillary Clinton—the Mises Caucus can, and I think will, help steer the LP back to its principled roots—but its members need to know what they’re getting into. Share this: Tweet





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Sicario’s Deep-State Villain One could make a case that, as Thanos, the Malthusian “Mad Titan” who obliterated half of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Josh Brolin has portrayed the most prolific villain in movie history. However, his turn as Matt Graver, the CIA “special activities” agent in Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) and its far superior progenitor, Sicario (2015) is far more sinister simply because men who use that sort of power for evil, unlike Thanos, actually exist. Share this: Tweet





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