From Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments, now in its 257th year:

Let us suppose that the great empire of China, with all its myriads of inhabitants, was suddenly swallowed up by an earthquake, and let us consider how a man of humanity in Europe, who had no sort of connection with that part of the world, would be affected upon receiving intelligence of this dreadful calamity. He would, I imagine, first of all, express very strongly his sorrow for the misfortune of that unhappy people, he would make many melancholy reflections upon the precariousness of human life, and the vanity of all the labours of man, which could thus be annihilated in a moment. He would too, perhaps, if he was a man of speculation, enter into many reasonings concerning the effects which this disaster might produce upon the commerce of Europe, and the trade and business of the world in general. And when all this fine philosophy was over, when all these humane sentiments had been once fairly expressed, he would pursue his business or his pleasure, take his repose or his diversion, with the same ease and tranquillity, as if no such accident had happened. The most frivolous disaster which could befall himself would occasion a more real disturbance.

As of December 31, 2016 the total number of homicides for the year in Chicago stands at 793. The city is in position to rack up the highest number of homicides in more than twenty years. Chicago’s population was substantially larger then than now so Chicago’s homicide rate per 100,000 population is the highest since we started keeping records.

The homicides are concentrated in a small number of mostly black South and West Side neighborhoods. Most of the victims and the perpetrators are young, black men. The underlying cause of these homicides is street gangs and the social pathologies that foster them.

A specter is haunting the opinion writers of the United States and its name is “Despair”. From George Will:

Viewing 2016 in retrospect — doing so is unpleasant, but less so than was living through it — the year resembles a china shop after a visit from an especially maladroit bull. Because a law says “the state of California may not sell or display the Battle Flag of the Confederacy . . . or any similar image,” a painting of the 1864 Siege of Atlanta was banned from display at the Fresno County fair. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services churned out a 25-page policy statementabout “the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children’s development, learning, and wellness. ” That is, government should provide, as an act of grace — systematic grace — a role for parents in raising their children.

to Fareed Zakaria:

In the West, these two traditions — liberty and law on the one hand, and popular participation on the other — became intertwined, creating what we call liberal democracy. It was noticeable when I wrote the essay, and even clearer now, that in a number of countries — including Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Iraq and the Philippines — the two strands have come apart. Democracy persists (in many cases), but liberty is under siege. In these countries, the rich and varied inner stuffing of liberal democracy is vanishing, leaving just the outer, democratic shell.

What stunned me as this process unfolded was that laws and rules did little to stop this descent. Many countries had adopted fine constitutions, put in place elaborate checks and balances, and followed best practices from the advanced world. But in the end, liberal democracy was eroded anyway. It turns out that what sustains democracy is not simply legal safeguards and rules, but norms and practices — democratic behavior. This culture of liberal democracy is waning in the United States today.

to the editors of the Wall Street Journal:

Turkey and Russia announced Thursday that they have brokered a cease-fire between the Syrian regime and the non-radical opposition, with a peace conference to follow next month in Kazakhstan. This is a vultures’ peace, with the two authoritarian powers and Iran preparing to negotiate over the bloody carcass of Syria as they advance their strategic interests in the Middle East.

the tenor of their commentary has overwhelmingly turned to one of despair.

It is not anger or righteous indignation—those would call one to action and there are no exhortations in their writing.

I’m reminded of Robert Bolt’s words in A Man for All Seasons:

And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned around on you–where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast–man’s laws, not God’s–and if you cut them down…d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.”

or Hosea 8:

They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind.

God bless us every one.

This piece by Greg Watcher may open some readers’ eyes:

We all understand that the EPA is tasked with enforcing environmental laws. But does it really need a full-blown military-style police force? Congress granted the EPA police powers in 1988, but not with SWAT teams in mind. Even now, the agency says its Criminal Enforcement Program “enforces the nation’s laws by investigating cases, collecting evidence, conducting forensic analyses, and providing legal guidance to assist in the prosecution of criminal conduct that threatens people’s health and the environment.” Well yes, but also by midnight raids with Swat teams and attack dogs, confiscating private property, hauling people off to jail for accidentally spilling a barrel of oil, and other “enforcement” horrors.

During the period covered by the Open the Books report, EPA spent over $3 million on military equipment, including guns and ammo, tanks, drones, helicopters, camouflage, night-vision goggles, and other military hardware. And cops – EPA spent $715 million altogether on its Criminal Enforcement Program. APHIS spent even more – $4.77 million on guns, ammo, and military equipment, as well as the salaries and expenses of 140 cops. At EPA, there are almost 200 of these “Special Agents,” and the agency estimates that each one costs taxpayers $216,000 per year in salary, travel, equipment, training and other expenses.

Other agencies with military-style equipment and cops include the Department of Commerce, Internal Revenue Service, Food and Drug Administration, and the Smithsonian Institution (guards to protect museum artifacts are one thing, but drones, helicopters, and SWAT teams?). The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland has its own cops with a fleet of Crown Victoria police cars, as do the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Library of Congress, National Park Service, Forest Service, BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Fisheries Service, and even the Government Printing Office.

Or maybe not. Maybe most people think that the Government Printing Office should have its own military.

This being the turn of the year and all we’re starting to see a lot of “Best of…” lists. The best such list I’ve seen so far is Dan Drezner’s list of the best writing on political economy of 2016 at the Washington Post. It’s recommended reading even if don’t like economists or politicians.

Here’s his summary, located oddly enough at the end of his piece:

The overall tenor of the 2016 Albies is that the Whig theory of history is wrong.

I found Nicholas Pell’s op-ed in the Washington Post proclaiming the gospel that humanity is no better today than it was a century ago hopelessly confused:

Each time progressives invoke the current year, they give up an opportunity to rigorously defend their position and convince others to see their point of view. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prompted cheers in November 2015 when he answered a question about why gender parity was important in his administration by saying, “Because it’s 2015.” Similarly, Bustle, reflecting on Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointees, lamented, “It’s 2016 . . . and in this modern age, you might’ve thought we’d come further in terms of equality and diversity than, well, it now looks like we have.” Missing is any argument about why Trump shouldn’t have selected the people he nominated or why diversity is important.

For one thing he repeatedly confuses technological progress with moral progress. You are much more likely to survive a heart attack than you were a century ago. That isn’t a sign of moral progress but of technological progress. Medicine is a technology and technologies build upon the past so it isn’t surprising that a century’s worth of work, development, and enormous investment would yield some results.

Government, too, is a technology but for whatever reason it’s one more resistant to building upon the successes of the past than information technology, automotive technology, or medical technology. If there’s one thing that a life much of which was spent evaluating technology has taught me, it’s that the best technology does not always prevail.

Civilizational morality might be a technology, too, but I see no evidence that personal morality is. Mother Theresa’s notable morality will not make me more moral unless I elect to emulate her.

Besides, I think that Mr. Pell labors in vain. It’s too darned hard to improve on what G. K. Chesterton said on the very subject he attempts to address. Here are some examples:

My attitude toward progress has passed from antagonism to boredom. I have long ceased to argue with people who prefer Thursday to Wednesday because it is Thursday.

Progress is Providence without God. That is, it is a theory that everything has always perpetually gone right by accident. It is a sort of atheistic optimism, based on an everlasting coincidence far more miraculous than a miracle

Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to fit the vision, instead we are always changing the vision.

An imbecile habit has risen in modern controversy of saying that such and such a creed can be held in one age but cannot be held in another. Some dogma was credible in the 12th century, but is not credible in the 20th. You might as well say that a certain philosophy can be believed on Mondays, but cannot be believed on Tuesdays

For those who think that humanity has made aggregate moral progress, you might want to consider a few things. There are more people living in slavery now that at any time in human history. More people were killed in the last century by their own governments than the sum total of those who had been killed in previous centuries. The gap between the richest people and the poorest people is the greatest in human history.

The editors of the New York Times applaud the Obama Administration’s expulsion of officials in retaliation for Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee:

His latest response shows real teeth, chiefly in the form of sanctions on Russia’s two leading intelligence services, the F.S.B. and GRU, including four top officers of the military intelligence unit who the White House believes ordered those attacks. Mr. Obama also placed sanctions against a number of other individuals and companies, such as the Special Technology Center, which conducts signal intelligence.

Mr. Obama also expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives and barred Russian diplomats from using two recreational compounds in the United States. The White House said this action was specifically in response to a two-year pattern of harassment of American diplomats in Russia by Kremlin security personnel.

It will be interesting to see what the next shoe to drop will be. Although this might be it. It’s a Kremlin announcement that they don’t intend to retaliate in kind, gently mocking the Administration for retaliating against children (they implicitly characterize the “recreational compounds” mentioned above as areas for children), and inviting the children of American diplomats in Russia to Kremlin children’s New Year’s parties.

There’s a very good article at Nautilus on how basic research into the biology of chytrids, a particular group of fungi, has proven valuable in understanding mass die-offs of amphibians, bats, and oak trees.

I’m disappointed that no one, whether supporter or opponent of the president, took up the gauntlet I threw down the other day. “He either fears his fate too much, etc.”