Iran again. Or not.

The New Neo Posted on by

I’m not planning to write anything lengthy on the Iran talks until something definitive happens. If it ever does. For example, this sort of back-and-forth dueling narratives has happened over and over, and has happened again:

The U.S.-Iran summit in Switzerland has run into trouble on its third day, with both sides making conflicting claims. A day after Vice President JD Vance hailed a ‘major milestone’ in talks, declaring Iran had agreed to allow United Nations inspectors back into the country, the Iranian negotiators denied the claim.

There’s much more at the link, if you’re interested.

Law roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

Lots of news on the law front:

(1) More indictments regarding the widespread fraud that’s been going on:

“Since June 8, we’ve charged 455 defendants across 56, like I said a minute ago, US attorney’s offices and 45 US states and territories, as alleged in the various indictments,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “These individuals participated in healthcare fraud schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care programs.”

The scope of the fraud is tremendous. And that’s only the people who’ve been located; is it the tip of an iceberg? If so, it’s a very large tip.

[Dr. Mehmet] Oz mentioned that the fraud team identified these cases using tools that previous administrations rarely used.

“We use administrative muscle to push things through, and we are closing loopholes that fraudsters have avoided and been exploiting for years,” stated Oz. “Those days are over.”

Something tells me that previous administrations weren’t interested in closing those loopholes.

(2) Finally, some real consequences for Antifa violence.

I’m referring to this [emphasis mine]:

Eight people were sentenced to prison June 23, 2026, in connection with the nonfatal shooting of an Alvarado police officer outside the Prairieland Detention Center July 4, 2025. Authorities have called it the first-ever federal terrorism case associated with “antifa.”

Prairieland ICE detention center shooter Benjamin Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison Tuesday, with others getting 30 years or more for their role in a July 4, 2025 immigration protest turned violent.

Song was convicted of attempted murder for shooting and injuring an Alvarado police officer outside the Prairieland Detention Center during the demonstration.

U.S. District Judges Mark Pittman and Reed O’Connor also sentenced seven others, who were convicted in March of playing a role in the nonfatal shooting of Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross outside the ICE facility as part of an “antifa” cell.

What’s with the scare quotes around “antifa,” and why isn’t the word capitalized? Note the Wiki entry for the group; it begins this way:

Antifa is a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement.

It calls itself “anti-fascist” and in fact that’s what its name stands for. But it’s an Orwellian name. Antifa defines who the fascists are, and for instance ICE gets the label according to Antifa.

More from Wiki:

Antifa political activism includes nonviolent methods of direct action such as poster and flyer campaigns, mutual aid, speeches, protest marches, community organizing and digital activism. Some others use tactics like doxing, harassment, violence, and property damage.

Mostly peaceful – except when it’s not.

More:

Supporters of the movement aim to combat far-right extremists, including neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

Like ICE – and other groups designated as evil fascists by that other noble anti-fascist group, the SPLC.

(3) And in Merry Olde England:

Leaders of the nationalist group Raise the Colours have agreed to stop hoisting England flags on lamp-posts in Oxfordshire after the local authority secured a high court injunction against the campaign. …

The Raise the Colours campaign has been putting up flags across the country since August last year, the court heard. Bridge, who like the other defendants was representing himself, told the court the council were using “bullying tactics” but he agreed to the proposed terms of the injunction.

He said: “It is a sad day for the flag of our country and what it represents.”

(4) Two more people have been charged in a terrorist plot:

The FBI has identified two additional suspects in the alleged plot targeting the UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., bringing the total number of publicly identified defendants to seven.

Newly unsealed court records identify Missouri resident Jordan W. Rincker and Washington state resident William Lee Spartacus Falkner as alleged members of the conspiracy. Prosecutors say Rincker allegedly helped fund and facilitate the operation, while Falkner allegedly discussed procuring and operating drones intended for use in the attack.

Five suspects previously were charged in the case in recent days. Investigators allege the group planned to use explosive-laden drones to trigger a mass evacuation of the June 14 event before directing fleeing crowds toward prepositioned shooters. FBI officials previously told Fox News Digital that a “second wave” was then expected to target the White House gate.

I wondered whether this was a case of possible entrapment – or at least including the participation of an FBI agent posing as a member. I don’t see any report that this was a factor; the article says the following:

The plot was allegedly disrupted after the mother of Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio defendant in the case, called in a tip to the FBI.

A seizure of Proper’s phone helped investigators identify other members of the alleged network.

(5) A SCOTUS ruling on immigration:

In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court held that border officers do not need clear and convincing evidence that a returning lawful permanent resident committed a crime before treating the resident as an applicant for admission and vacated the 2nd Circuit’s decision. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the dissent, in which Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor joined.

In his opinion, Thomas emphasizes that the statute operates in two stages:

Can the Government regard the person as seeking admission? (This only requires that the person committed one of the listed crimes.)
Can the Government actually remove the alien? (Yes, if the Government can prove the alien’s inadmissibility — Lau’s guilty plea supplies that proof.)

Colombia had an election

The New Neo Posted on by

There seems to be a political trend in Latin America towards the right, and Colombia has just joined it:

The latest: Abelardo de la Espriella’s victory in Colombia’s presidential election after President Donald Trump endorsed him.

De la Espriella beat left-winger Iván Cepeda by vowing to crack down on crime and corruption and to rescue the economy, in part by cooperating with Team Trump.

His supporters even wore hats that read “Make Colombia Great Again.”

Milei of Argentina has led the way, and it’s been noticed. Other Latin American countries who have since turned to the right or at least the center in elections: Chile, Peru, Honduras, Bolivia and Costa Rica. Venezuela is a question mark and the jury is still out; it hasn’t had an election, but things may be looking up there economically (see this) after the Maduro capture.

And of course Cuba hangs in the balance:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a fresh round of sanctions on the Cuban regime on Tuesday.

Rubio designated five entities generating revenue for the current Cuban regime, including three associated with the previously designated Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), and one member of the extended Castro family. …

Rubio’s Tuesday announcement expands upon what was already the most significant package of U.S. sanctions on Cuban entities in decades.

Note on comments

The New Neo Posted on by

I’m taking my time to implement a new process for comments, studying the alternatives as well as collecting data on trolls and bots. So there won’t be a change today, although there probably will be one some time this week or next. I’m still not sure, so don’t worry about it for now.

But at the moment my leading candidate for the new comment process should be very easy for regular commenters here. Just fill in the information you’ve been using right along: username and email address, even if the email address is fake; as long as it’s the email address you’ve been using to comment here right along, there shouldn’t be any difficulty. Apparently I can grandfather all the previous commenters in and there won’t be a problem. Your very first comment under the new system will be held in moderation until it’s approved. That could take a few hours, but after that first comment you can comment as before and don’t have to register or go through the process again.

I will make an announcement prior to instituting the new policy and I’ll explain once more.

Say buh-bye to Starmer

The New Neo Posted on by

And hello to Andy Burnham.

Starmer showed more emotion in his leavetaking than I’m aware of him showing before in public life. But I think he may be the only one crying:

Sir Keir Starmer choked up as he announced his resignation as UK prime minister Monday — less than two years after the Labour Party stormed to a landslide general election win.

Starmer, 63, set out a timetable to stand down after coming under mounting pressure following last month’s local elections, in which the governing Labour Party lost over 1,000 seats.

The prime minister announced his intention to step down after admitting the Labour Party was questioning whether he could lead it into the next general election, which must be held before July 2029 …

This represents a change of personnel rather than anything else:

Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, is the overwhelming favorite to succeed Starmer.

He defeated Reform UK by almost 20 percentage points in last week’s by-election in the pro-Brexit northwest England constituency of Makerfield. …

Starmer’s popularity has plunged after repeated missteps and U-turns on policies such as welfare reform, as well as his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

The Labour government has also failed to deliver promised economic growth and ease a longstanding cost-of-living crisis.

And yet, Labour will remain in charge. And who is Andy Burnham?:

Until last week, Burnham had been the Mayor of Manchester, Britain’s fifth largest city, for about a decade. He stepped down from that role to stand in a local by-election last week, easily clinching the seat in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, to become the local Member of Parliament in the House of Commons.

This was almost certainly no coincidence; Burnham stepped down and ran for the seat in order to pave the way for replacing Starmer. The seat he won makes it interesting:

Burnham’s recent victory in the Makerfield by-election was significant not only as it cleared his potential path to the premiership, however, but because he won decisively in exactly the type of constituency Labour has struggled to hold onto in recent years.

The seat is predominantly white British, traditionally working-class, post-industrial and voted heavily to leave the European Union in the 2016 “Brexit” referendum. Communities like Makerfield across the U.K. were considered Labour heartlands for decades, but they have become increasingly contested as many voters drift toward right-wing, populist parties such as Reform UK.

Burnham has spent years positioning himself as a viable alternative to Starmer, criticizing Labour’s leadership at moments of weakness while carefully cultivating his own national profile.

How Burnham would differ from Starmer as a national — and international leader — isn’t exactly clear.

Indeed. My guess is that it’s mostly a stylistic difference:

[Supporters] portray him as an authentic voice for post-industrial Britain — a man who understands communities that feel neglected by London. His “everyman” presentation and his easy communication style, they argue, contrasts with the rigidness and technocratic approach to politics that former government lawyer Starmer never managed to shed.

Critics argue, however, that Burnham has failed to make clear his views on some of the most defining issues of the day.

And that is no accident.

Reflections on the Reflecting Pool

The New Neo Posted on by

As commenter “physicsguy” writes:

Report on my leftist friends: they are obsessed with the Reflecting pool and algae growth there. They see it as evidence of what an idiot Trump is and how it’s all his fault.

For many, the fact that Trump still draws breath is an affront, and evidence of what an idiot he is. However, as far as the Reflecting Pool renovations go, there have been arrests of five people for sabotage – although the NBC article I just linked says the arrests are “with no evidence so far.” There’s more information on that at this article:

As of June 21, the identity of one person who was arrested has emerged.

David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was arrested by U.S. Park Police on June 19 and charged with misdemeanor destruction of government property, the Washington Post first reported. Hearn did not immediately return USA TODAY’s request to speak on June 21.

Hearn told the Post he reached into the Reflecting Pool and was able to “grab” the end of a “flapping piece,” but didn’t remove it.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” the 67-year-old told the outlet. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

U.S. Park Police did not return USA TODAY’s request for comment. When asked what they know about the arrests, D.C. Metro Police told USA TODAY to contact U.S. Park Police.

Aside from Hearn, it’s unclear who else has been arrested or what charges they might be facing. Trump said law enforcement is currently investigating.

The office of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment on the alleged arrests.

Speaking to Peter Doocy on Fox News’ “Sunday Briefing,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that “anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the Reflecting Pool will face the criminal justice system in DC.”

Pirro stopped short of commenting on arrests, or saying anyone had been arrested, but did say several citations have been issued related to the Reflecting Pool, and that those citations will be prosecuted to the full extent.

I, for one, can manage without a whole lot more detail at this point.

I find the following quite interesting, though, and could serve as something to let Facebook friends know:

Algae has resurfaced in the reflecting pool periodically over the years — including immediately after it reopened from its last major renovation in 2012, forcing the National Park Service to drain it, refill it and recalibrate its ozone level. And in 2019, crews had to drain four million gallons from the pool to fix a broken water line that had algae growing in it.

An Interior Department spokesperson told NPR over email that algae and other contaminants have “long plagued the Reflecting Pool since 1922,” pointing to the Obama-era renovation as an example.

You might want to highlight the words “Obama-era renovation.” It turns out that there was a more expensive renovation during the Obama administration and it didn’t go very well. You might suggest they take a trip back in time and look at this from August of 2012:

The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall reopened Friday after a two-year, $34 million reconstruction, completing the largest National Park Service project funded by President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. …

Now the pool has been reengineered with a circulation and filtration system. Instead of using city drinking water, it draws river water from the nearby Tidal Basin, which will save 20 million gallons of drinking water each year.

The pool is shallower — only 3 feet at its deepest point — to save water, and its bottom is tinted grey to make the water darker and more reflective of the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument. …

For two years, the massive reconstruction project shut down a large swath of the National Mall as the old pool was removed.

Sounds familiar, except it took two years and was far more expensive than Trump’s renovations (reported to have been about 14 million) – although it sounds as though what Obama did was more extensive in terms of landscaping. And what was the result of the Obama changes? Why, algae, naturally. From October of 2012, about a month after the pool was first opened after the renovation:

The newly-renovated reflecting pool was drained of water this week after ABC7 reported that unsightly algae and scum was creeping into it.

It comes less than two weeks after the algae was discovered growing on the water, something that isn’t supposed to happen after the multimillion dollar renovation.

The algae was noticed at one end of the reflecting pool in late September. It almost completely covered the surface of the water.

The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall reopened at the end of August after a two-year, $34 million reconstruction. It was the largest National Park Service project funded by President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package.

Here’s the explanation for the algae at that time:

The Park Service says the Tidal Basin water isn’t chemically treated. Instead, it’s treated with ozone. The level of ozone, however, needs to be adjusted to prevent the algae from forming, but tweaking the levels post-bloom and trying to skim it off wasn’t working fast enough.

“Because we didn’t have it right at the beginning, the algae established itself,” says Carol Johnson, spokesperson for the National Park Service. “Algae doubles in size every four hours so it is a formidable foe.”

I have little doubt that Trump’s Obama-admiring critics will have the creativity to come up a reason why that is so different, and why Obama is brilliant while Trump is still an idiot. But to me, the whole thing indicates that the Reflecting Pool seems to want to grow algae.

More on the present situation, including some scientific background:

The Trump administration is using a mix of mitigation strategies, including pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to kill the algae.

The Interior Department says hydrogen peroxide is a “milder treatment than chlorine and is used in spas and specialty pools like natural swimming pools,” adding “there are no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment.”

Workers are also deploying what the department calls “high-tech nanobubble ozone technology” to neutralize algae and other pathogens in the pool.

I wish them good luck:

Rosalina Stancheva Christova, a professor of aquatic ecology at George Mason University in Virginia, took water samples from the pool on Tuesday. She confirmed the algae belongs to the genus Desmodesmus, which she said is “growing in excessive amounts” but is not toxic or harmful.

Christova says this kind of common green algae is found all over the region, especially this time of year. The reflecting pool in particular provides “excellent conditions” for algae growth, she said: shallow, stagnant water, strong sunlight and no shade.

“It could happen every single summer,” she added. “But it seems that the disturbance of the pond during the renovations [is] accelerating this process.”

It’s happened before, it will happen again – but it’s all Trump’s fault.

ADDENDUM:

Whoopi Goldberg says that the Reflecting Pool never had algae before.

And that Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

I’m contemplating some changes for the comments here

The New Neo Posted on by

No doubt regular readers have noticed a lot of recent troll activity here. It’s not the first time and not the first troll, so I’ve long thought about the issue. One possible solution is to tweak the comment system slightly to discourage trolls.

This is one of the few blogs of any decent size that still has unrestricted comments. In other words, most blogs either have registration or something like disqus. From the start, I’ve always valued comments and I’ve wanted to keep the process very easy here, and I’ve done so. But there’s a price to pay when it’s too easy.

So I think that some time in the next few days I’ll institute a new system. There are many from which to choose, so I’m not sure which one I’ll use yet because I’m not sure which will offer the best balance of protection versus ease of use.

I’m sorry to do this, but my intent is not to burden you with anything onerous. It will probably require an initial registration with an email address, and I’ll probably exclude hotmail accounts although I think I may be able to grandfather some hotmail accounts in for regular commenters here who have used that kind of account in the past. On your first registration, your first comment would be held in moderation till I approve it. But after that first time you wouldn’t have to go through registration again and you’ll just be able to comment as before and your comments will appear as before.

Any opinions or suggestions on this are welcome.

[ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention that I will not use disqus. I find it very annoying, and there are actually plenty of trolls on disqus.]

[ADDENDUM II:

Here’s a further explanation on how this would actually work. It changes very little, actually. You use the exact same information as before. Nothing is different except that I have to approve your very first comment. After that, you comment just as before.

It does not require that I send an email to your email address, for example. The email address merely has to be consistent with the same one you’ve always used here. Only I know what that address is (and I already know it), and of course you know it. No one else has access to it. It doesn’t have to be functional.

For new commenters, I might end up requiring a functioning email address. I will do that if I find there are a lot of trolls. But for old established commenters, it just needs to be the email address that person has always used plus the name that person has always used.]

Roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) I haven’t written yet about Obama’s much-critiqued presidential center. But it’s about what you’d expect: the most expensive ever. I’m not a big fan of the presidential center/library concept anyway; we used to do just fine without them. See this, though:

Just about unreadable even in closeup:

The words are from Obama’s speech at Selma. How ironic, given that Obama did much to hinder race relations in this country.

(2) Oh her way out, Tulsi Gabbard released documents related to Fauci and COVID:

Today, on my final day as Director of National Intelligence, I’m releasing never-before-seen communications and documents exposing how Dr. Fauci provided millions in US taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, worked with politicized elements within the Intelligence Community to suppress the truth about his actions and hide the virus’ lab-leak origins, and lied to Congress while under oath in 2024. It’s time you know the truth.

Seems to me we already knew that. But it’s good to have more documentation. I am fairly confident that the left will ignore it. Fauci was a real hero of theirs.

(3) Strait of Hormuz, open or closed? Here’s what CENTCOM says:

But Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, later said: “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”

Fifty-five commercial ships traveled through the strait on Saturday, according to the U.S. Central Command, the largest number of ships in a single day since early in the war, though still far below the 130 daily prewar average. It was not clear whether traffic had changed after Iran’s warnings.

Despite the fighting in Lebanon and the renewed Iranian threats to shipping, the next stage of U.S.-Iran talks appeared ready to start.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace …

(4) A Medicare fraud big guy is returned, and the scope of his crimes is impressive:

Herbert Leon Kimble, who pleaded guilty to orchestrating one of the largest Medicare fraud schemes ever prosecuted in the United States and then simply didn’t show up for sentencing, has been arrested in the Philippines and returned to face justice. The FBI had offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

According to the FBI, Kimble’s scheme generated more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare charges and victimized thousands of beneficiaries, many of them elderly Americans who trusted the healthcare system.

The arrest marks the second capture from the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list, which launched on June 4, 2026, and initially featured eight fugitives accused of major fraud offenses.

Note the extended timeframe:

Herbert Leon Kimble was apprehended in the Philippines and is now back in the United States, on the run since 2024 after he allegedly orchestrated a $1.2 billion healthcare fraud conspiracy that targeted the Medicare system, particularly elderly victims, from 2014 to 2019.

And what did the fraud involve, specifically? “Marketing and distribution of unnecessary orthopedic braces”. A billion dollars worth of them, apparently. Think big.

Here’s a lot more about Kimble. He’s from Chicago but operated in part from the Philippines, which explains his fleeing there:

Herbert Leon Kimble was involved in a large-scale healthcare fraud conspiracy that targeted the Medicare system through the improper marketing and distribution of durable medical equipment (DME), particularly orthopedic braces. He operated a sophisticated call-center-based operation, beginning around 2014 and continuing to March 2019, that served as the marketing engine for a nationwide fraud scheme in which individuals contacted call centers in the Philippines, telemedicine providers, DME suppliers (the billers), and orthopedic brace suppliers (the drop shippers). His operations focused primarily on initiating contact with Medicare beneficiaries and persuading them to request orthopedic braces for pain relief, which were frequently unnecessary and prescribed through telemedicine consultations that often lacked legitimate medical evaluation. The prescriptions were then sold to DME companies, Kimble-affiliated suppliers would ship the braces, and the DME companies billed Medicare for reimbursement. His fraudulent healthcare enterprise resulted in more than $1.2 billion in Medicare charges and affected thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom were elderly victims.

(5) Is Starmer on the way out? I’ve asked that question before, and he seems quite tenacious. But here’s another report:

Starmer is weighing his political future as cabinet ministers push him to make way for Andy Burnham following Burnham’s decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election. Starmer’s net favorability has collapsed to -46, with 69 percent of Britons viewing him unfavorably. Reform UK leads Labour by seven points. The governing party of Britain is being routed, and its own cabinet knows it.

Who is Andy Burnham, and why is he doing better?:

Polls suggest Labour would run six points better under Burnham. A former cabinet minister and mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, Burnham acknowledged what Starmer never could: that Labour lost touch with the people it claims to represent, on immigration, on the cost of living, on who the rules actually apply to. Compared to a prime minister who spent two years telling working-class Britain its concerns were misinformed, acknowledging the anger was enough. …

With 79 percent of voters telling pollsters they know little or nothing about Burnham, Starmer is betting that obscurity disqualifies his rival, while his own rating sits at -46.

So Burnham is the proverbial blank slate, Labour version.

Suicidal empathy

The New Neo Posted on by

I mentioned Gad Saad’s new book the other day, and I thought I’d highlight it here. It’s called Suicidal Empathy. Catchy title, isn’t it?

I’ve watched many of Saad’s YouTube videos, and he’s a no-nonsense guy, a Jew who was raised in Lebanon and whose family was one of the last to leave. He’s been living in Canada although I think he’s in the US now. At any rate, here’s something about his book, from the description at Amazon:

In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique of maladaptively irrational altruism that has gripped our culture. This mind parasite hijacked the empathy module of our progressive elite, leading to a catastrophic miscalibration of moral priorities. The results are everywhere: from coddling violent criminals to protecting rapists to branding self-defense as toxic behavior. We are witnessing a civilization in rapid decline. Lunatic policies are instituted because we prioritize the feelings of ostensibly marginalized groups over The Truth, criminals over victims, and squatters over homeowners. This is not humane; it’s an active dismantling of the pillars that keep us safe and free.

Saad is a professor, but he seems to be very realistic as well. His thesis makes me think of Robert Frost – yes, that Robert Frost. For example, this post of mine from 2019 contains the following thoughts from Frost:

Frost was convinced that the conflict between justice and mercy in human affairs is an eternal and universal moral problem of humanity, and not merely a contemporary political partisan concern…

With these facts in mind Frost’s criticism of the New Deal as “nothing but an outbreak of mass mercy,” is clearly more than mere partisan politics. In 1936, in the midst of attacks on [his collection of poetry] A Further Range by the political Left, Frost wrote to Ferner Nuhn, a young New Deal acquaintance and friend of Henry Wallace, that “strict justice is basic” for a free society, and freedom implied that some people succeeded and others failed. The winners reaped the rewards of their talents and efforts, but what about the losers? Frost acknowledged that government “must do something for the losers. It must show them mercy. Justice first and mercy second. The trouble with some of your crowd is that it would have mercy first. The struggle to win is still the best tonic. . . . Mercy . . . is another word for socialism.” Frost believed that what was commonly called “distributive justice,” the attempt to spread the wealth of society to the masses, through graduated in-come taxes and other such devices, was really distributive mercy misnamed.

Frost was writing about socialism in 1936, whereas Saad is writing more generally. But the principle is much the same. Empathy – similar to Frost’s mercy – is part of human nature and definitely has its uses. But taken to an extreme, and misapplied, it is dangerous and can lead to either failure of an economic system or cultural suicide or literal deaths, as well as restraints on liberty in the name of kindness.