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Frederick Douglass on immigration

Warning: No poker content. Last night I started reading this book: I bought it, after it had sat on my Amazon wish list for a long time, because I was reminded about Douglass by Donald Trump's embarrassing reference to him yesterday. I'll mostly read it in order, but I first turned to an 1869 speech Douglass gave about immigration, since that's a hot topic these days. He was specifically reacting to the anti-Chinese fervor that was then in the news. The US had signed some sort of agreement with China to let workers in temporarily, but not permanently, and would not let them become citizens. I'm quite radically in favor of immigration, viewing a right to roam freely about the globe as one of the natural rights of man; the movement of people should be as unrestrained as the movement of goods and ideas. With a few pragmatic qualifications, I am, therefore, an advocate for open borders. I was delighted to find that Douglass basically shared that viewpoint. His speech here i...

Grandfather Mountain

Once a month, Nina and I set aside a whole day to spend together doing something fun or adventurous (ideally, both). Today we drove to Grandfather Mountain , a privately owned preserve about 80 miles from Asheville. It's a lovely place, with stunning views in every direction. It's been a while since I bragged about the beauty of western North Carolina by sharing some photos, so let's fix that now. (Right click/open link in new tab to see them full size.) The aptly named Split Rock: Immediately adjacent to Split Rock is this one, which they call Sphinx Rock. Yes, the entire thing (estimated to weigh 4000 tons) is resting on the small rock under it. The Rickety Bridge of Certain Death. Well, that's what it felt like walking across. It's possible that's not its official name. Grandfather Mountain actually has several peaks on the same base. This is the tallest one, seen from one of the more accessible ones. Just a few random dramatic views: Here's a couple of s...