Pluralistic: 22 Feb 2022


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Pluralistic: 21 Feb 2022


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We Should Not Endure a King

Antitrust is a political cause, not an economic one

Cartoon depiction of John D. Rockefeller wearing a crown with the names of rail lines that he effectively controlled
Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library

If we will not endure a King as a political power we should not endure a King over the production, transportation, and sale of the necessaries of life. If we would not submit to an emperor we should not submit to an autocrat of trade with power to prevent competition and to fix the price of any commodity. — Senator John Sherman, 1890, arguing for the passage of the Sherman Act

Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. — Frank Wilhoit, Crooked Timber

Whoever has the gold makes the rules. — Johnny Hart, The Wizard of Id.

People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. — Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

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Pluralistic: 18 Feb 2022


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Pluralistic: 17 Feb 2022


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Pluralistic: 16 Feb 2022


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Pluralistic: 15 Feb 2022


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Pluralistic: 13 Feb 2022


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An Open Letter to Pixsy CEO Kain Jones, Who Keeps Sending Me Legal Threats

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.

Image: Tobias Bomm, CC BY 2.0 (modified)

Background

In January, I published an article describing how a company called Pixsy sent me repeated legal threats in a bid to get me to pay $600 for a Creative Commons image I’d used. Pixsy falsely claimed that I had violated the Creative Commons license by failing to correctly attribute it to its creator, the photographer Nenad Stojkovic. After I challenged them on this, they apologized and withdrew the threats, but refused to answer any of my questions about how this happened or how their business operates (Stojkovic also failed to answer multiple messages seeking clarification).

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