Maslow's Hierarchies of Matters - October 2025
Before we get started, I want to highlight something Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, because as a guy who wants to be known as tough, it's odd. He's speaking of the suspected drug smugglers we've been killing (murdering?) in the ocean: “These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda,” the defense secretary tweeted on Tuesday, “and they will be treated the same.” Obviously, he's invoking Al-Qaeda because they are a modern classic American enemy. Who likes those guys? Easy sympathy points! But if these narco-terrorists have killed more Americans (putting aside whether that's the best measure of badness) shouldn't our reaction against them be greater? He's got a pundit's mind but he is in a practical job. A qualified Secretary of Defense would have spoken more precisely, not for tough-guy theatrics. OK, now to the main event! What were the MAIN things that mattered in October? What was, and wasn't, worth our valuable atte...