The Best Coffee Shop in the People’s Green Socialist Republic of Santa Cruz, California

03/14/202103/13/2021 Jacques Delacroix Culture class, coffee, local government, local politics, Lulu Carpenter's, Pacific Avenue, public goods, Santa Cruz

At nine, two flows of humanity cross each other in front of Lulu Carpenter’s, the upscale coffee shop at the top of Pacific Avenue. Pacific Avenue is the main walking commercial thoroughfare, surprisingly well re-designed after the destruction 1989 earthquake. It’s nothing like the collection of cheap motels leading to the Boardwalk that greets the … Continue reading The Best Coffee Shop in the People’s Green Socialist Republic of Santa Cruz, California

And the Surfers Shall Lead the Revolution

01/24/202101/23/2021 Jacques Delacroix Culture, Current Events authoritarianism, civil liberty, coronavirus, local knowledge, Santa Cruz, surfing

The central coast of California where I live has been cursed and blessed by sunny weather this winter; it has also been blessed and cursed by unusually high waves. The curse of good weather when it should be raining, known as “drought,” is that it may feed into more horrendous forest fires next summer, same … Continue reading And the Surfers Shall Lead the Revolution

Madness Entitlement

11/15/201911/17/2019 Jacques Delacroix Culture, Current Events Andrea Petersen, higher education, immersion, learning, linguistics, signaling, study abroad

Most American undergraduates in four-year colleges want to study abroad for a while. (I think this is probably true. I would bet 75/25 for.) In 2019 (or 2018, not clear) 20% of American students were diagnosed with or treated for depression. I can’t vouch for this number. That’s from an article by Andrea Petersen in … Continue reading Madness Entitlement

Sweet Skateboard Tales

10/15/2016 Jacques Delacroix Culture, Liberty inventiveness, spontaneous order, West Cliff Drive

The words “skateboard” and “sweet” are seldom found together. Skateboarders tend to have a bad reputation because they are mostly male, because they act too male, and because of their lamentable fashion sense. Yet, many or most are both athletes and artists. They do things in the middle of my street of such perilous inventiveness … Continue reading Sweet Skateboard Tales

Revolution by Tiny Steps

07/30/2015 Jacques Delacroix Current Events ethnography, immigration, individualism

Now, the city council in the People’s Socialist Green Republic of Santa Cruz where I live does not do everything wrong, just many things, like making sleeping illegal. Many more of its decisions are just goofy, like red parking meters to donate to the homeless or declaring the city a “nuclear free zone.” Sometimes, however, … Continue reading Revolution by Tiny Steps

Morons of the World Unite!

06/28/2015 Jacques Delacroix History cognition, collectivism, Karl Marx, obstinate ignorance, public health, the Left

In 1848, before he really had really learned to think, Karl Marx emitted the famous call, “Workers of the World Unite!” That was in the “Communist Manifesto,” communism lite for those who move their lips when they read. The workers of the world never united. They continued enthusiastically to eviscerate one another in war as … Continue reading Morons of the World Unite!

A Tale of Two Cities (in Santa Cruz, California, USA)

05/20/201505/20/2015 Jacques Delacroix Current Events bureaucracy, civil liberty, costs, homeless, local government, local politics, Santa Cruz

There is a Veterans Hall right in downtown Santa Cruz. It’s called “Veterans Memorial,” says so on its facade. It’s next door to the US Post Office and across the street from a marble monument to those children of the county who participated in World War One or in World War Two. Every Wednesday morning, … Continue reading A Tale of Two Cities (in Santa Cruz, California, USA)

Order, Order, Order

02/08/201405/11/2015 Jacques Delacroix Current Events, Politics civil liberty, disorder, ethics, homeless, local government, order, regulations, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Harbor, unintended consequences, water restrictions

In the conventional wisdom, as you become older, you tend to like order more and more. That is, with age, one is supposed to become more “conservative” in the traditional sense of the term. Personally, I have escaped the curse. Instead, I find myself resenting more and more the growing imposition of petty rules by … Continue reading Order, Order, Order

Hermanos*

05/17/201212/21/2016 Jacques Delacroix Current Events Foreign Affairs, illegal immigration, immigration, Independent Review, libertarianism, Mexico, NAFTA, open borders, War on Drugs

This is a story about Mexicans but before I get to the topic, I need to make small political commentaries. Most of the time, I abstain from describing myself as a libertarian for several reasons. One is the current and recent libertarian leadership that I can’t stomach. Another, possibly more durable set of reasons for my … Continue reading Hermanos*