Rational Reflections from Dallas
Jim Henson and Kyle Busch lived in different worlds, but their deaths share a haunting pattern: two elite performers, still creating and competing, apparently trying to push through serious illness until it became catastrophic. Henson was only 53. Busch was just 41 and had won a race while reportedly already unwell. Their stories are tragic reminders that the very toughness we admire can become…
A new “te reo Māori only” cafe in Rotorua has generated enormous media attention and praise from activists and cultural commentators. But from a business perspective, it may be making a fatal mistake: deliberately shrinking its customer base. Hospitality businesses succeed by making customers feel comfortable, welcomed and included — not anxious about saying the wrong thing or failing a cultural…
More than a quarter of New Zealanders now feel alienated from the political system, and nearly half want it fundamentally changed. The usual explanation points to economic reform, but that misses the deeper issue. New Zealand changed its political system in the 1990s, promising greater representation and trust. If alienation is rising despite that, it is time to ask whether MMP has delivered on…
New Zealand’s foreign policy debate is asking the wrong question. The issue is not whether it is time to “break up” with America, but whether we have noticed that the relationship, in its old form, ended long ago. For decades, we have mistaken rhetoric for strategy and independence for capability. The result is a country that speaks loudly but carries little weight — and is increasingly treated…
A response to Brian Easton s post It Aint Easy Being Small on Point of Order> Brian Easton is right about one thing: New Zealand is small. Where he goes wrong—consistently, and consequentially—is in treating smallness as a justification for lower ambition, weaker competition, and heavier regulation. Smallness does not doom a country to mediocrity. Some of [ ] The post Thinking Small Is How You…
A post I wrote for Facebook on 12/14/2025> The events at Bondi Beach this week are horrifying — an act of antisemitic terror in a place synonymous with openness, celebration, and public life. Like many, I’ve been sitting with the question of what, if anything, can be meaningfully said in the aftermath. I lived in [ ] The post Bondi Beach, Antisemitism, and Moral Clarity appeared first on The…
Eight states. 2,500 miles. One learner driver. One manual Mini. We left Seattle at 5am after Thanksgiving and made it to Texas in 36 hours — nearly ran out of gas in Snowville, coasted to the pump on fumes, pushed the Mini by hand, and laughed harder than we’d breathed in hours. Penelope gained all her driving hours. I gained a deeper appreciation for learning, patience, and adventure. The post…
Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 February 2002 Dr Belinda Medlyn (Letters, February 21) audaciously accuses Dr Stone (Letters, February 20) of lying about whether or not snow is melting on the summit of Kilimanjaro. By using different sets of dates they are both able to support their hypotheses and reach different conclusions. [ ] The post Stemming the tide of alarm over rising…
(A response to Christ Trotter s Ruins of the White House’s East Wing symbolise the passing of an old order and the arrival of a new one ) Chris, this is some world-class melodrama. We’re talking about replacing a set of bland 1940s office spaces with a privately funded ballroom, not detonating the Constitution. Presidents have been knocking [ ] The post When Renovations Become Revolutions (Only in…
A response to SC Johnson CEO H Fisk Johnson s post on LinkedIn I admire any CEO who wants to tackle plastic waste. But saying the only way forward is regulation is a counsel of convenience, not courage. 1) If CEOs agree, act—don’t outsource willpower to Washington. You sit on a CEO coalition that already spans [ ] The post You don t need a law to lead on plastic waste appeared first on The Kerrant…