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Must Reads For The Week 5/2/20

May 3, 2020

 

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON – CORONA, CALIFORNIA AND THE CLASSIC WORLD.

Click here if the video is taken down.

If you are shut in and have some time. Watch this interview. VDH is always insightful. If you don’t have time here are some highlights.

He is at his farm in California being interviewed by Peter Robinson. He starts out talking about what is going on in California literally right outside his window.

But the question from 19:24 to 22:33 sets up this response  (22:33 to 25:15)

“I think it’s important we don’t worship science on an alter…….”

“There is not going to be a magic bullet. Science is an evolutionary process that has a bad and a worse choice. But we want immediate and instant perfection”

“So if you tell somebody today, especially in the coastal corridors and elite global community, that if you’re not sixty and your in pretty good health, you’ve got a 99.9% chance of not dying from this virus. They will tell you, I’m can’t take that risk. Because one in a thousand is not good enough for me. Because I’m a blank, blank, blank, I’m a financier, I’m a college administrator, I’m a media elite and the world is so perfect I’m not going to risk it. And more importantly they are shielded.”

“And this is the central truth of this entire epidemic. who are the hero’s of this epidemic? I haven’t called my financial planner. I’ not helped at all by the Stanford Vice Provost of Diversity Inclusion. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think that Rachel Maddow is doing to save the United States. You know who is? Javier Lopez right now working in the almond fields. Or Joe Smith driving all night to Cosco to get toilet paper their by 6 am. Or the guy you call when your freezer blows up and you need food. And he sows up from Home Depot ad he doesn’t have a mask on and you say” Oh my God he doesn’t have a mask on,” because he’s breathing hard because he’s trying to get you a new freezer.”

“I think that’s been good. Because it really tells us that the essentials of life never change. they’re food, fuel, health, housing. And if you can’t get food. If you can’t go to a food market. If you can’t go to a Home Depot to fix something. If you can’t get fuel for your heating. You are not going to live. You can deal without all the other stuff.”

“There are people in the shadows that we neglected. We thought they were global losers and didn’t make it. I was thinking the other day, I was reading Richard the III, just for the heck of it, and I thought this must be a financial planner when a circuit breaker goes out or a baffle on his toilet doesn’t work he’ll say, “Handy man, Handy man, my kingdom for a handyman,”because he’s helpless.”

Starting at 25:20 he talks about China. Here is an excerpt:

“China is taking advantage of the crisis. China, my god, they have a better understanding of our mind than we do. They’re the most brilliant propagandists I’ve ever seen in there dealings with the western liberal mindset…..”

“…..People are starting to blame the Chinese. But remember the difference is that this media…..which is 93% negative to the Presidency, has been regurgitating Chinese talking points. And they’ve said this till were blue in the face that China is being blamed byTrump to deflect from his own culpability. That”s what they’re professing. We’re not getting through our media a dispassionate disinterested view of the threat China poses. I don’t think that’s going to be sustainable. You know why I don’t?”

“Because the modern left worships at the alter of the European Union. and the feel we want to be where the EU is in ten years. And The EUu is sick of China……because they have a much thinner margin of error in terms fuel supplies, GDP, unemployment and there very angry. And so are Canada, Australia, and Mexico. So I don’t see the propaganda is going to work indefinitely. And the other thing is the left wasn’t too worried about Chinese military domination or economic domination………They focused on human rights violations ad China has a whole potpourri of these…..”

“What I’m worried about most is not that we are going to decouple, because we are. But there are two things that really worry me. One is the process of decoupling. Sort of like a divorce…..there all happy after it’s over…..but during the process both sides lie and connive, and were not lying and conniving. I think the Chinese are not going to allow bank accounts to be unfrozen. They’re Not going to compensate companies for their factories and their investments or ay of the money thats stuck over there in China.”

” The second thing is yes we have to have pharmaceuticals. Yes we have to have rare earth minerals. Yes we have to have military technology. Yes we have to have medical supplies.”

but we have spent a large portion, percentage, of our K through 12 and our under graduate experience and our professional schools on what the Chinese would call “fluff”. Social science dash studies courses and we are not turning out the STEM (science, technology, engineering math) students or the math engineering people the we need to get a grip on these key enterprises…… I don’t think we’re prepared yet to be autonomous in the areas we need to be. And we are going to have to be careful because China has a hold over those supply chains.”

At 53:45 he is asked place the U.S, at this present moment in history, to a point the history of the Roman Empire. This is interesting. Watch the last few minutes. It is a really good summation of where we are today.

 

WALTER E. WILLIAMS – BENEFITS VS. COSTS AND COVID-19

I’ve written about this in two previous articles, Thoughts About Covid-19 Pandemic, Panic, Power, and Solutions? Or Trade Offs?

But Walter E. Williams does a better job at explaining things than most of us. Let him do what he does best.

Excerpts from the article:

“One of the first lessons in an economics class is everything has a cost.”

“That’s in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena where politicians talk about free stuff.”

“In our personal lives, decision-making involves weighing costs against benefits. Businessmen make the same calculation if they want to stay in business.”

“It’s an entirely different story for politicians running the government where any benefit, however minuscule, is often deemed to be worth any cost, however large.”

“Related to decision-making is the issue of being overly safe versus not safe enough. Sometimes, being as safe as one can be is worthless. A minor example: How many of us before driving our cars inspect the hydraulic brake system for damage?”

“We’d be safer if we did, but most of us just assume everything is OK and get into our car and drive away. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 40,000 Americans lose their lives each year because of highway fatalities. Virtually all those lives could be saved with a mandated 5 mph speed limit. Fortunately, we consider costs and rightfully conclude that saving those 40,000 lives aren’t worth the costs and inconvenience of a 5 mph mandate.”

“With the costs and benefits in mind, we might examine our government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first thing to keep in mind about any crisis, be it war, natural disasters or pandemics, is we should keep markets open and private incentives strong. Markets solve problems because they provide the right incentives to use resources effectively. Federal, state and local governments have ordered an unprecedented and disastrous shutdown of much of the U.S. economy in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”

“There’s a strictly health-related downside to the shutdown of the U.S. economy ignored by our leadership that has been argued by epidemiologist Dr. Knut Wittkowski, formerly the head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at Rockefeller University in New York City.”

“Wittkowski argues that the lockdown prolongs the development of the “herd immunity,” which is our only weapon in “exterminating” the novel coronavirus — outside of a vaccine that’s going to optimistically take 18 months or more to produce. He says we should focus on shielding the elderly and people with comorbidities while allowing the young and healthy to associate with one another in order to build up immunities.”

“Wittkowski says, “So, it’s very important to keep the schools open and kids mingling to spread the virus to get herd immunity as fast as possible, and then the elderly people, who should be separated, and the nursing homes should be closed during that time, can come back and meet their children and grandchildren after about 4 weeks when the virus has been exterminated.”

“The bottom line is that costs can be concealed but not eliminated. Moreover, if people only look at the benefits from a particular course of action, they will do just about anything, because everything has a benefit. Political hustlers and demagogues love promising benefits when the costs can easily be concealed. By the way, the best time to be wrong and persist in being wrong is when the costs of being wrong are borne by others.”

“The absolute worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, and possibly its most unrecoverable damage, is the massive power that Americans have given to their federal, state and local governments to regulate our lives in the name of protecting our health.”

“Taking back that power should be the most urgent component of our recovery efforts. It’s going to be challenging; once a politician, and his bureaucracy, gains power, he will fight tooth and nail to keep it.”

In the article it mentions Dr. Knut Wittkowski former head of The Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research design at Rockefeller University. Here is a link to the interview Leading Scientist Claims Lockdown And Quarantine Is A “Human Catastrophe“, at collective-evolution.com. I will put up the video here.

Here is the video.

Click here if it is taken down.

This is what happens when you don’t comply with the big government narrative. YouTube Censors Viral Video Of California Doctors Criticizing “Stat-At-Home” Order, at zerohedge.com.

 

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS ARE PROUD OF SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. KRISTI NOEM

Although Never Officially Shut Down, South Dakota Governor Unveils ‘Back To Normal’ Plan, by Tristan Justice, at thefederalist.com.

 

 

Excerpt from the video:

“I also noted that my role as it relates to public safety is something I take very seriously. But ultimately it is the people themselves that are primarily responsible for their safety,” They are the ones who are entrusted expansive freedoms. They are free to exercise their rights to work, worship, and to play or to stay at home and to conduct social distancing.”

“I’ve been very clear. As Governor, I did not dictate to the people of South Dakota. I did not tell you what activities you could do which ones were officially approved of or not approved of. I didn’t begin arresting or ticketing or fining individuals for exercising their rights. Nor am I going to do that today.”

“……In South Dakota in an unprecedented situation we find ourselves in today it publicly reveals the principles that we hold so dear. It is our people that makes us great. It is not our government……Our State motto is “Under God The People Rule”. That is what our system of government is all about. The people of South Dakota are the source of the power and the legitimacy of our government. Not the media. Not the politicians. Not political parties. That’s a healthy perspective for an elected official to keep in mind…...”

“The plan I’m unveiling today puts the power of the decision making into the hands of the people where it belongs…..I want to thank you for proving the wisdom of our founders by showing that people can and should be rusted to utilize the freedoms and liberties each and every day.“

The number of politicians that speak like this can be counted on one hand. This should give us hope that if we can find one who understands individual liberty and the proper role of government there has to be a few more. The good news is Governor Noem can inspire others to think like she does.

I was in awe when she said “The People of S.D. are the source of the power and the legitimacy of our government. Not the media. Not the politicians, Not political parties. That’s a healthy perspective for an elected official to keep in mind…”

This is masterful. She trusts the people with the burden of responsibility for leading themselves. It is powerful because people respond better when they have skin in the game. She also fires a not so subtle warning shot across the bow of tyrannical media, politicians and bureaucrats.

I have a great deal of respect for Gov. Noem. She is swimming against the current of progressive central planners. But she strikes me as someone who is tough enough to make it all the way upstream.

 

SATIRICAL HEADLINES

Scientists who Didn’t Predict A Single Thing Accurately For Last Two Months Confident They Know What The Weather Is Going To Be Like In 100 Years, at babylonbee.com.

“WORLD—Authorities in the scientific community who touted faulty COVID-19 models are “pretty confident” they know what the weather is going to be like in 100 years, sources confirmed Wednesday.”

“The scientists say they have settled on a climate model that confirms the earth’s average temperature will be either 1 million degrees Celsius or below freezing, give or take 1 million degrees.”

People Who Go Outside, California Prisons Release Thousands Of Felons To Make Room For Skaters, Surfers, at babylonbee.com.

“We need to free up those prison cells for the really dangerous people, like beachgoers,” said Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference.”

Food Supply Disaster Averted As Chick-Fil-A Miraculously Feeds Entire Nation With Just 5 Chicken Sandwiches, 2 Waffle Fries, at babylonbee.com.

Newly Mustachioed Bill DeBlasio Unveils Special Red Armbands For Police Enforcing Lockdown, at babylonbee.com.

 

CARTOONS

Political Cartoons by Mike Lester

Political Cartoons by Steve Breen

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Must Reads For The Week 3/9/19

March 11, 2019

“The coordination of men’s activities through central planning or through voluntary cooperation are roads going in very different directions, the first to serfdom and poverty, the second to freedom and plenty.” – F. A. Hayek

 

ECON STUFF

Putting American’s Huge $20.5 Trillion economy Into Perspective By Comparing US State GDPs To Entire Countries, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. Even with all the government intervention, our free market economy is the most productive in the world. Or put another way, what is left of our free market economy is the most productive in the world. How much more wealth and prosperity could our hampered market produce if Government taxes, regulation and debt were reduced?

Why The Boom-Bust Cycle Keeps Repeating, by Frank Shostak, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article: “The boom-bust cycle phenomenon is somehow linked to the modern world. But what is the link? The source of the recurring boom-bust cycles turns out to be the alleged “protector” of the economy — the central banks themselves.”

“A loose central bank monetary policy, which results in an expansion of money out of “thin air” sets in motion an exchange of nothing for something, which amounts to a diversion of real wealth from wealth-generating activities to non-wealth-generating activities.”

The Green New Deal Plus Modern Monetary Theory = Socialism, by Mark Hendrickson, at mises.org. Excerpt from thee article: “Thank you, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Green New Deal (GND) she has unveiled is most illuminating. It is now unmistakably clear that AOC, Bernie Sanders, and other democratic socialists in the Democratic Party don’t want “socialism lite” but rather they want the federal government to take control of the “commanding heights” of the economy. Although they may settle for the variant of socialism in which businesses remain nominally private, even as the government dictates what they must do, they plainly want central economic planning, albeit with a 10-year rather than five-year plan.”

“This is no exaggeration. The GND essentially calls for conscripting the American workforce and putting us to work in accordance with what the elite government planners want instead of what “we, the people” want. They propose to replace our market economy, in which privately owned businesses compete to see who can best supply the needs and wants of the people, with a command economy in which government is the master and citizens build what the planners say must be built.”

Government Spending Isn’t Always Inflationary, by Frank Shostak, at mises.org. Government spending what it steals from citizens in taxes is not inflationary. But it is an exchange of how the individual tax payer would have used the money (his production) for how a group of bureaucrats and politicians spend the money. The problem arises when our government spends more than it steals in taxes. The excess spending above what is stolen via taxes is funded by selling debt in the financial market. Inflation is caused when the Federal Reserve uses electronically printed counterfeit money to purchase government debt. It is an exchange of something for nothing.

China’t Slowdown Is Exposing The Cracks In The Global Economy, by Claudio Grass, at mises.org. China’s growth rate has been slowing because it was fake in the first place. China’s prosperity is a debt fueled bubble caused by the money printing of China’s central bank.

Excerpt from the article: “Overall, the problems faced by China were largely predictable. A nation buried under such mountains of debt would eventually have to confront the elephant in the room. Growth based on and fueled by credit is only an illusion and cannot be sustained. As reality comes knocking, China’s gloomy outlook should serve as a warning to investors in the West, where governments also attempted to use the very same methods to prop up their economies.”

The Brexit Betrayal: Democracy On The Brink, at zerohedge.com. Excerpt from the article:

“As the official deadline for leaving this European Superstate approaches, it seems that elected members of Parliament are determined to override the will of the British people in a capitulation that will mark the death knell of their freedom.”

“Will the U.K. forever be trapped in a political union with no hope of escape? Will the British Deplorables take to the streets to demand democracy be served? And is there any doubt remaining in the minds of the electorate that the government has its own agenda that must be served out as thin gruel in this ongoing saga?”

People Trade Nations Don’t, by Patrick Barron, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article:

“A world of peace and increasing prosperity depends upon strictly limiting the ability of governments to interfere in international trade through their central banks and legal tender laws. Eliminating both would expose many economic fallacies that purport to characterize international trade as a competition between nations with their own citizens either winners or losers depending upon whether they are net exporters (winners) or net importers (losers). Central banks not only are barriers to trade and prosperity, they are fomented of international tension and even war. Time to scrap them. Remember, the US did not have a central bank between the Age of Jackson–after President Andrew Jackson was successful in preventing the renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States in 1837–and just prior to the Great War in 1913 when the Federal Reserve System was founded. During this era, despite fighting a civil war, the US economy grew probably at the greatest rate of any economy in the history of the world.”

Which Degrees Will Earn You The Most (And The Least)? at zerohedge.com. Don’t become a debt serf by going into hock up to your neck for a worthless college degree. Check out the degrees that are worth the price of going to college.

Whole Foods Slashes Worker Hours Four Months After $15 Minimum Wage Increase, at zerohedge.com. Is anyone shocked by this. A businessman can only afford to pay labor more than what it produces for so long before he has to cut employees or reduce hours.

 

POLITICAL STUFF

House Passes Anti-Bigotry Resolution After Anti-Semitism Push Splits Party, at zerohedge.com. What? The Democrat party is split over the issue of Anti-Semitism? This should have been a no-brainer, shouldn’t it? Trying to juggle three balls is difficult. Trying to juggle four balls is exponentially more difficult than three. How difficult do you think it is to juggle all of the identity groups that the Democrat party has split us into?

National Association Of Black Journalists Elevates CNN To Special Media Monitoring List, by Kanya Stewart, at NABJ.org. The NABJ is concerned about CNN’s lack of black representation in the ranks of its executive news managers. Looks like the left is being hoisted on its own petard of social justice.

After Anti-Christian Animus, Colorado Stops Harassing Cake Baker, Joy Pullmann, at thefederalist.com. Here is an example of government using its power to force an individual to comply with the political correct way of thinking. Who has the resources to fight government when individuals in government are determined to get you? Ask Michael Flynn?

Mayor Claims She Was Hate Crime Victim After ‘Yellow, Sticky Substance’ Found On Car. Cops Have Simpler Explanation, by Dave Urbanski, at theblaze.com. When all you hear from the main stream media and leftist politicians is that racism exists around every corner, you would naturally jump to the conclusions that pollen covering your car would be a hate crime because it fits the politically correct narrative. You wouldn’t want to try to figure out what the sticky substance was before you made a claim of racism, would you?

Popular Defiance Will Kneecap Gun Laws In New Mexico, As It Has In Other States, by J.C. Tuccille, at reason.com. This is the real resistance against government tyranny.

Construction Begins On 30-Foot-High San Diego Border Wall, at zerohedge.com. We should ask Nancy Pelosi if it’s immoral to replace an existing wall with a wall that works better?

Forced Blood Draws & Implied Consent Laws Make A Mockery Of The Fourth Amendment, at zerohedge.com. This is another example of the break down of the rule of law. The break down starts with individuals in government who use its force to trample on individual rights. That is law breaking that citizens will eventually not accept.  Excerpt from the article:”All of those freedoms we cherish—the ones enshrined in the Constitution, the ones that affirm our right to free speech and assembly, due process, privacy, bodily integrity, the right to not have police seize our property without a warrant, or search and detain us without probable cause—amount to nothing when the government and its agents are allowed to disregard those prohibitions on government overreach at will.”

In Editor’s Note, The Washington Post Admits Early Covington Reporting Was Flawed. Sandmann’s Attorney Says That’s Not Good Enough, by Robbie Soave, at reason.com. The pattern of the main stream media is to jump to conclusions on stories without getting all the facts. Why do they do this? Because when something confirms their bias, they go with it because they don’t fear any consequences for their actions. I hope this kid wins this law suit.

Ocasio-Cortez Chief Of Staff Saikat Chakrabarti Hit With FEC Complaint, by S.A. Miller, at washingtontimes.com. Where ever there is a pile of money there is no limit to the number of people who are going to try to procure a portion of it. Nothing will happen to this guy. He will probably have to return the money and receive a slap on the wrist. Laws that are not enforced are not laws. Incentives matter.

Obama Wants To Train ‘A Million Barack And Michelles to Create Progressive Utopia, at zerohedge.com. Who is going to produce all the stuff in this progressive utopian world that exists in the minds of Barack and Michelle? As Walter E. Williams would say; “If you said tax payers, go to the head of the class”.

 

GLOBAL WARMING STUFF

Our Planet Is Not Fragile, by Walter E. Williams at jewishworldreview.com. Excerpt from the article:

“The people at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agree, saying that to avoid some of the most devastating impacts of climate change, the world must slash carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and completely decarbonize by 2050.”

“Such dire warnings are not new. In 1970, Harvard University biology professor George Wald, a Nobel laureate, predicted, “Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.” Also in 1970, Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University biologist, predicted in an article for The Progressive, “The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.”

“The year before, he had warned, “If I were a gambler, I would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000.” Despite such harebrained predictions, Ehrlich has won no fewer than 16 awards, including the 1990 Crafoord Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ highest award.”

Science Magazine Goes Nuts Over Happer Committee, by David Wojick, at cfact.org. Excerpt from the article:

“In case you missed it, the US National Security Council has floated a proposal to form a Presidential Committee that will take a hard look at some of the climate change alarmist reports coming out of the federal agencies. The effort is being led by physicist Will Happer, a well-known skeptic.”

“Not surprisingly, the climate alarmists are apoplectic at the very thought that a group of scientists might examine their cherished alarms. The prestigious magazine/journal “Science” has been a leader in expressing outrage, in a way that clearly shows that they have no idea what is going on.”

“When a supposedly great scientific publication cannot understand the situation it is worth a closer look. It turns out Science Mag is operating under a simple fallacy. We might even call it the “alarmist fallacy” since most alarmists fall for it……”

“The fallacy is obvious — alarmism is equated with climate science. The committee is not questioning climate science, whatever that might mean; it is questioning climate alarmism. The two are very different.”

“The fact is that alarmism is one interpretation of the vast body of research that climate scientists report, while skepticism is a contrary interpretation. In short there is a scientific debate. Skeptical scientists like Happer have a very good grasp of the actual science. What they object to is alarmism’s interpretation.”

When Bubbles Burst – Tesla, The Everything Cycle And The End Of Global Warming, by Tom Luongo, at tomluongo.me. Excerpt from the article:

“Religions die hard. It takes an orgy of evidence to change a person’s mind on a subject that is integral to their moral and ethical structure.”

“In the case of Tesla, the mania surrounding it over the past decade has been inextricably bound up with the hysteria of global warming.”

“……There’s is a religion based around basic human hubris — that we are far more impactful on the world than we actually are and our activities need to be reined in.”

“This comes from worshiping the environment as a substitute for traditional religions. Marx preached organized religion is the ‘opiate of the masses’ but people need religion of some form or another to bring meaning to their lives and guide their behavior.”

“So if they reject Christianity, for example, they will seek out a new thing to elevate and substitute for it.”

“The environment is definitely one of these substitute religions. In fact, modern environmentalism has all the trappings of a classic human religion.”

“We have our Satan, consumerism. It is the bastard child of capitalism since this version of environment-worship is rooted in Marxism.”

“We have the apocalypse story, Global Warming. We will literally destroy all life on the planet turning it into Venus. It’s the rapture for Gaia worshipers.”

“And we have the High Priest of Technocracy who will save us from ourselves, Elon Musk. He will put a solar panel on every roof, take us to Mars while we drive around, guilt-free in our luxury Teslas.”

“The problem with all of it, of course, is that it was all bought with debt and government largesse, itself a consumerist fantasy created out of the opulence that capitalism provided.”

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Long-Term Decline While Oil And Gas Production Increases, at instituteforenergyresearch.org. The little known secret is the fracking industry has reduced the cost of producing natural gas to a point that coal-fired power plants are being turned into natural gas power plants. Since natural gas burns cleaner than coal, our greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced. At the same time we have become the world leader in oil and natural gas production. This was all accomplished by the free market, without any help of government. In fact Obama tried to put as many chains as he could on the fracking industry but even the Great Barack couldn’t stop what happened.

California’s San Bernardino County Slams The Brakes On Big Solar Projects, at wind-watch.org. The fight is on. The people in San Bernardino County won this initial battle. But these environmentalists will never stop in their religious crusade to save the planet.

The Green New Deal Continues The War On Meat, by Jose Nino, at mises.org. Who should decide if I should eat meat? Me or a politician/bureaucrat? These petty tyrants are trying to force their religious beliefs on us. Not going to happen.

Wind Turbine Noise: Real Impacts On Neighbors, by Lisa Linowes, at masterresource.org. Interesting article about how the noise from these wind turbines affects people.

 

SATIRICAL HEADLINES

Ilhan Omar Withdraws Support From Bill To Save The Earth After Learning That’s Where Israel Is, at babylonbee.com.

Border Patrol Agent Calls Up Planned Parenthood To Get Helpful Pointers On Separating Children From Their Mothers, at babylonbee.com.

Joseph Stalin Posthumously Identifies As Strong Woman Of Color To Deflect Criticism Of Socialist Policies, at babylonbee.com.

Weird: All Of Google’s Self-Driving Cars Are Veering To The Left For Some Reason, at babylonbee.com

 

CARTOONS

From theburnngplatform.com.

 

Political Cartoons by Pat Cross

Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley

Political Cartoons by Robert Ariail

 

 

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Colleges = Leftest Indoctrination Camps

September 20, 2018

indoctrination ahead warning sign with children symbol

Warning to parents! College is the most dangerous place you can send your kid. And I’m not talking about physical danger. I’m talking about mental danger.

At some point you may not know your kid when he comes home. 18 years of raising your kid could be thrown away in no time at all. Your kid will be taught ‘what’ to think or else. Is your kid strong enough to stand up to the kind of pressure he will face from the Post-Modernist indoctrinators who teach in and run the Universities?

WALTER E. WILLIAMS ARTICLE

In this article, Colleges: A Force For Evil, Walter E. Williams states: “Many of the nation’s colleges have become a force for evil and a focal point for the destruction of traditional American values.”

“The threat of our future lies in the fact that today’s college students are tomorrow’s teachers, professors, judges, attorneys, legislators and policymakers. A recent Brookings Institution poll suggests that nearly half of college students believe that hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.”

“Leftists often say that the U.S. is the world’s worst country. But here are some empirical facts they might explain. According to a recent Gallup Poll, about 13 percent of the world’s adults – 630 million people – would like to move to another country. roughly 138 million would like to live in the U.S. -making us the No. 1 destination….”

Why would they want to come to America if it is as bad as the leftists say  it is?

JORDAN PETERSON VIDEO

Jordan Peterson goes into more detail in this great video, Dangerous People Are Teaching Your Kids, From Prager University

Excerpt from the video: “They are indoctrinating young minds throughout the west with their resentment-ridden ideology. They have made it their life’s mission to undermine western civilization itself which they regard as corrupt, oppressive and patriarchal….. You are supporting ideologies that claim that all truth is subjective, all sex differences are socially constructed and that western imperialism is the sole source of all third world problems. They are the post-modernists pushing progressive activism at a college near you.”

“To understand and oppose the post-modernists, the ideas by which they orient themselves must be clearly identified. First is their new unholy trinity of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Diversity is not defined by opinion but by race, ethnicity and sexual identity. Equity is no longer the laudable goal of equality of opportunity but the insistence of equality of outcome. Inclusion is the use of identity based quotas to achieve this misconceived state of equity. All of the classic rights of the west are to be secondary to these new values.”

“All these concepts originated with Karl Marx …… Marx viewed the world as a gigantic class struggle. The grasping rich against the desperate poor. But wherever his ideas were put into practice, in the USSR, China, Viet Nam and Cambodia, to name a few. Whole economies failed and tens of millions were killed.”

“We spent decades long cold war to stop the spread of those murderous notions. But they’re back in the new guise of identity politics. The corrupt ideas of the Post-Modern Neo-Marxists should be consigned to the dust bin of history. Instead we underwrite their continuance in the very institutions where the central ideas of the west should be transmitted across the generations. Unless we stop Post-Modernism, it will do to America and the Western world what it has already done to its universities.”

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Must Reads For The Week 7/7/18

July 7, 2018

“20lbs Of Human Waste” – Major Medical Convention Abandons San Francisco Citing Street Safety, at zerohedge.com. Has the increase in homeless camps, crime, drug use in public and human waste on the street reached its tipping point in San Francisco? Will the financial loss of companies taking their conventions to other cities be enough to make the cities progressive left government change course? Don’t bet on it. These central planners will probably continue, or double down, on the same policies that created these problems in the first place.

When The EPA Was Really Corrupt, by Julie Kelly, at amgreatness.com. Scott Pruitt has resigned as director of the EPA because of allegations of corruption. The corruption by EPA director Gina McCarthy during the Obama administration was worse. My point of bringing up the corruption under the previous director is to show that corruption exists under ‘your good guys’ or ‘our bad guys’, or under ‘our good guys’ or ‘your bad guys’. Both D’s and R’s are susceptible to corruption. And there is a greater chance for corruption to occur as the size and power of government increases. Who the lead and supporting actors are doesn’t matter. Corruption exists because of the nature of man.  So constraining “bad” behavior and incentivizing “good” behavior is the best we can hope for. The real question is; who decides what is ‘bad” and “good” behavior? The rule of law should decide these matters. The real problem arises when one EPA director’s corruption is good, and the others is bad, depending on whether you are waving the R or D flag. Corruption by individuals in power, no matter the party, should be dealt with legally not politically. The rule of law breaks down when the law doesn’t apply to everyone. No matter what their political status is at the moment.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Sides With Conservative Professor In Landmark Free-Speech Case, at zerohedge.com. The rule of law is upheld. The fact that the professor was conservative in this case is meaningless. Marquette University violated its contract with this professor which guaranteed him academic freedom.

Imran Awan Gets Sweetheart Plea Deal; DOJ Won’t Prosecute Alleged Spy Ring Cybercrimes, at zerohedge.com. How much evidence does the DOJ need to start the prosecution of an individual? Do individuals in the DOJ look at “who” is being charged, or do they just look at the evidence? Was the DOJ created to protect government insiders? It looks like the job of the DOJ is to protect the power of government from being questioned.

Hey, Democrats, The System Doesn’t Need To Be ‘Fixed’ Every Time You Lose An Election, by David Harsanyi, at thefederalist.com. Excerpt from the article: “If you’re under the impression that the system exists merely to facilitate your partisan agenda, it’s not surprising the you also believe it’s “broken” every time things don’t go your way. This is why so many Democrats argue that we should “fix” the Electoral College when they lose a presidential election and “fix” the filibuster when they run the Senate and not “fix” the Supreme Court when they don’t run the Senate.”

Graduating “With Honors” Becomes Meaningless As Colleges Hand Them Out Like Candy, at zerohedge.com. Increasing numbers of students are graduating with honors. If everyone is exceptional, everyone is average. Are college courses being dumbed down?  In this article titled Educational Fraud Continues, by Walter E. Williams, he talks about the educational fraud that exists in high schools. But here is an excerpt about college education: “Some of the greatest fraud occurs at the higher educational levels – colleges and universities. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70% of white high school graduates in 2016 enrolled in college, and 58% of black high school graduates enrolled in college. Here is my questions to you: If only 37% of white high school graduates test as college-ready, how come colleges are admitting 70% of them? And if roughly 17% of black high school graduates test as college-ready, how come colleges are admitting 58% of them? The bottom line is that colleges are admitting youngsters who have not mastered what used to be considered a ninth-grade level of proficiency in reading, writing and arithmetic. Very often, when they graduate from college, they still can’t master even a 12th-grade level of academic proficiency.”

How The United Kingdom Became A Police State, by Neema Parvini, at mises.org. Is this a look into our future? As mountains of laws and regulations keep increasing, anyone can be found to have broken some rule by the police state. Here is an excerpt from the article: It is clear that with less personal freedom and a bigger and more invasive state comes less personal responsibility and greater lawlessness. It is also clear that as he British state has become more tip-down in orientation than in its common-law past, it has levied increased coercive legislative power against the British people it supposedly serves. The state is now behaving in an openly Orwellian manner with near-explicit contempt for the public.”

Knives Are Too Sharp And Filing Them Down Is Solution To Soaring Violent Crime, Judge Says, at telegraph.co.uk. I thought this was an article from the Onion. This is an article from late May. I haven’t found anything to show this is a set up. Tell me if this judge’s rhetoric doesn’t sound like the same template that is used by the anti-gun left.

The Judge states, “A few of the blades carried by youths are so called ‘Rambo knives’ or samurai swords.”

“…it is very easy for any youth who wants to obtain a knife to take it from the kitchen drawer in his home or in the home of one of his friends.”

“As a result the most common knife a youth will take out is eight to ten inches, long and pointed, from his mother’s cutlery tray.”

He asked: “But why do we need eight-inch or ten-inch kitchen knives with points?”

“Butchers and fish mongers do, but how often, if at all, does a domestic chef use the point of an eight-inch or ten-inch knife? Rarely, if at all.”

“I would urge all those with any role in relation to knives….to consider preventing the sale of long pointed knives, except in rare, defined, circumstances, and replacing such knives with rounded ends.”

“It might even be that the police could organize a program whereby the owners of kitchen knives, which have been properly and lawfully bought for culinary purposes, could be taken somewhere to be modified, with the points being ground down into rounded ends.”

Wow! Sounds like the anti-gun left. The anti-knife left replaced the word gun with knife.

The State of New Jersey Just Signed Its Own Death Warrant, at zerohedge.com. New Jersey has lost tax revenue since it chased away high tax paying citizens after it increased the income tax several years ago. These people have moved to zero or low tax states. So what is their solution to the short fall? Increase taxes again. New York, Illinois and California are experiencing the same problem. People are voting on progressive left policies with their feet.

Watch: Neighbors Protest ICE As It Breaks Up Child Sex Trafficking Ring, by Juliana Knot, at thefederalist.com. The people on the coasts live in a media bubble and have no idea what the middle of the country thinks. These protesters don’t realize how ignorant they sound to the average person. Insiders on the coast think that the middle of the country lives in its own alternative media bubble. But they are mistaken. Why? Because the middle of the country is bombarded with the left spin via news papers, main stream media outlets, TV shows, hollywood and radio news at the top and bottom of every hour. We can’t escape the lefts narrative.

7 Months After Fake Flynn Story “Epic Mistake”, ABC Quietly Lets Brian Ross Go, at zerohedge.com. Brian Ross and all journalists level of credibility is directly related to the truthfulness of their reporting. The consumer of the news decides if a particular journalist is credible. In an unrelated article: Reporter Who Falsely Claimed Annapolis Shooter Wore MAGA Hat Resigns, by Andrew Kerr, at dailycaller.com. I don’t want these guys to “resign” (get asked to leave or else). Please stay and try to get your credibility back.  Here is the money quote from the article: “We need to be more vigilant than ever to be fair and accurate in a climate in which we are scrutinized and criticized,” said Wayne Phaneuf, the executive editor of the newspaper, in a statement.”

Let me translate this for you. “We used to get away with things like this all the time.  But the internet and alternative news sights have allowed critics to have a voice. Back in the good old days when we had our monopoly. This criticism was like a tree falling in the forest with no one there to hear it. It didn’t make a noise. In order to push our partisan agenda, we are going to have to find a more clandestine approach so we don’t get caught.”

OPEC’s Dilemma, by Daniel Lacalle, at mises.org. American Frackers have diminished the power of OPEC.

Visualizing The World’s Watersheds, at zerohedge.com. This is interesting. As Thomas Sowell has said before: “Nature discriminates wholesale.”

 

CARTOONS

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Must Reads For The Week 9/2/17

September 2, 2017

HURRICANE HARVEY OBSERVATIONS

“Price Gouging” = Political Rhetoric and/or Economic Ignorance!

Every time a disaster happens the term ‘price gouging’ is used to describe what happens to the pricing system when normal supply and demand is disrupted. The first rule of economics is scarcity. Man’s desires are unlimited while resources needed to satisfy these desires are scarce. This constraint of scarcity exists for any economic system, be it free market or any of the other centrally planned economic systems (socialist, communist, fascist, democratic socialist). The question we must ask is; which system best deals with this inherent constraint? In a free market, prices ration scarce resources to their most valued uses according to the subjective valuations of consumers. In a centrally planned economy, bureaucrats make the decisions on what is valuable and how scarce resources are to be rationed .

A natural disaster quickly shows how a free flow of prices conveys knowledge about where resources are needed most. Prices rising in the affected area constrains consumer demand for these scarce resources on the one hand and incentivize suppliers to bring scarce resources to the affected area on thee other. Prices coordinate supply and demand, and at the same time the coordination of supply and demand is revealed through changing prices. Price rise or fall incrementally during normal market conditions. But during disasters there are wide swings in prices.

The wild swing in prices allows political demagogues to prey on the economically ignorant. This free flow of market prices is called “Price Gouging”. Politicians win when they demagogue rising prices, and the people affected most by the disaster are hurt. Even though the people hurt most don’t realize it.

Here are some videos that explain the role of prices in a market economy.

Walter E. Williams.

John Stossel

Stossel vs. O’Reilly

This video proves Bill O’Reilly’s ignorance about economics. When he is losing the argument he cuts Stossel off and tries to play on emotion instead of logic. He then resorts to calling Stossel a ‘fascist’. These are the tactics of leftists.

People who are being charitable with their own time and money don’t need to be incentivized to “do the right thing” (supplying goods and services to the affected area). Rising prices incentivize, non charitable people (if that’s what you want to call them ), to supply much-needed goods and services to the affected area.

Gas Prices To Rise Even Faster As Tropical Storm Harvey Floods Texas, at usa.com. I heard a gentleman call into a talk show complaining about the rise in gas prices in his part of the country. He didn’t think the prices should go up since his area wasn’t affected by Harvey. This shows the economic ignorance of a vast majority of people in the country. At least 12% of the countries refining capacity is being disrupted by Harvey. Gasoline distribution infrastructure is also being disrupted. Economic law states when supply decreases against a fixed demand the price will increase. This increased price works to coordinate demand to the new reality of the decreased supply. This works to ration the scarce resource to its most valued use until supply can be brought back on-line. Allowing prices to rise allows the coordination of supply and demand to happen much faster than if prices were fixed by government.

Private Sector vs. Public Sector

Private Sector To The Rescue In Texas: Never Underestimate The Power Of The Private Sector To Rise Up To An Challenge, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediamblog. First responders are individuals on the scene at the moment something happens. Second responders are police, firemen or FEMA. In New Orleans people relied on Government to help them. In Texas people are relying on themselves to help each other. Big difference! Many people think order can only come from central planning from Government. They can’t conceive of order happening spontaneously by individuals voluntarily cooperating.

EPA Approves Emergency Fuel Waiver For Texas, at epa.gov. The best way government can help is to get out of the way. Since refineries are down, Texas will now be allowed to purchase gasoline that is banned for use in Texas by EPA regulations. But don’t worry the lifting of the ban will expire on September 15th. Why do we need such regulations in the first place?

Thanks To Markets, Houston’s Disaster Isn’t As Bad As It Might Have Been, by Christopher Westley, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article: “At the time of this writing, 26 Harvey-related deaths have been confirmed in the United States….. imagine what the death toll would have been if a similar storm slammed into comparable population centers in the Pacific Rim, Venezuela, or other outposts of the Third World. No doubt: They would be in the thousands…… What makes Houston different has to do with property rights institutions taking root and developing there over decades, making it a center for capital investment, because capital always flows to those areas where it is most secure. The continued increase in the quantity and quality of capital over time increases wealth, allowing its owners to afford better infrastructure and safety, relative to more benighted areas that attract less capital over time. To get an idea about the effects of decades of capital formation on Houston in 2017, consider the devastation that befell Galveston in 1900, when another Category 4 hurricane swept the Texas coast and claimed about 8,000 lives.”

Why Houston Doesn’t Need Federal Flood Relief, – In Four Charts, by Ryan McMaken, at mises.org. Let’s not promise federal tax dollars to be assigned for rebuilding Texas. The funds will be subject to crony political distribution. And where ever there is a pile of Federal dollars there will be no shortage of people, who don’t need the money, trying to appropriate it. Excerpt from the article: “This isn’t to say real sharing and kindness are a bad thing. It’s excellent that private charities have already been hard at work helping with the cleanup in Houston. If one wants to insist that governments be involved, there’s nothing stopping other states from handing over funds to Texas directly. The federal government need not be involved at all”

The Broken Window Fallacy Hasn’t Been Brought Up…. Yet!

Maybe we have won the war against ‘The Broken Window Fallacy‘. Usually after disasters like this we start to hear ‘experts’ talk about how the disaster will help the economy because of all the jobs created to replace and rebuild the things that were destroyed. I guess that sounds logical on its face, but if we remember our lessons from Frederic Bastiat we should look at what is seen, we should look at what is not seen. You will see the people employed in the rebuilding process. What you don’t see is what could have been done with all the resources, capital, time and labor used for the rebuild. The economy as a whole has less wealth because of a disaster. Everything that was destroyed has to be replaced just to get back to even par. If your car is destroyed. Not only do you not have a car, you won’t have what you could have purchased with the money used to replace your car. The economy as a whole, and you, are poorer by 1 car. The car was a useful good and was destroyed long before its normal replacement time. The broken window fallacy is simply the idea that consumption creates wealth. Production creates wealth. Consumption is the destruction of wealth.

Media / Politics

Fake News About Hurricane Harvey Is Why Americans Hate The Media, at thefederalist.com. This is just one example why the mainstream media has lost credibility.

Trump To Donate $1 Million To Texas Recovery, at cnn.com. I’m not a fan of people being public about their giving. Here is an excerpt from article: “President Donald Trump will donate $1 million of his fortune to recovery efforts in Texas……”

Hillary Clinton To Tell Audiences Her ‘Personal, Raw, Detailed and Surprisingly Funny Story’ In Nationwide Tour With Tickets Selling For Up To $1,200, at dailymail.co.uk. I wonder if Hillary is going to donate these proceeds to the recovery efforts in Texas? Or is she going to give some of he money donated to the Clinton Global Initiative for relief efforts in Texas? Oh! I forgot. Donations to the Clinton Global Initiative have dried up since Hillary lost the Election! Maybe Hillary and Bill will just have to give some of their fortune to the relief effort?

CARTOONS

From therightreason.net.

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Must Reads For The Week 8/5/17

August 4, 2017

Conflicting Visions, by Walter E. Williams, at jewishworldreview.com. Most people agree that certain problems exist. What people disagree about is where the solution will come from. Will the solution come from top down decisions by bureaucrats in government or will the solution come from individuals making decisions in a free market?

Schumer: ‘Our Founding Fathers Intended Congress To ‘Improve Our Healthcare System‘, at mrctv.org. I would normally say Chuck Schumer is a moron. But what really is going on is Chuck Schumer thinks a lot of us are morons. He thinks we will believe the load of crap he is trying to peddle.

In Obamacare Debate, Some Victims Matter More Than Others, by Mary Katharine Ham, at thefederalist.com. Instead of looking at the people who got (some subsidized) healthcare insurance under Obamacare, let’s look at the people who have been crushed by the exponential increase in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses because of the ‘Affordable’ Care Act aka Obamacare. These are the people who helped flip States toward Trump and away from Obamacare, in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and other States.

Why Single-Payer Will Only Make Health Care More Expensive, by Scott Ehrlich, at thefederalist.com. Single payer will decrease the supply of healthcare and increase the demand for healthcare. The cost will rise even though the bureaucrats will try to hid the cost by using tax payer dollars.

Rand Paul Blasts Senate Colleagues Over Healthcare: ‘They Are Just Afraid, at economicpolicyjournal.com. The Republicans are supposed to be the party of smaller Government and free markets. They obviously don’t believe that free markets produce better outcomes than government central planning or they would have repealed Obamacare.

Trump Axes Obama’s MyRA Retirement Accounts After $70 Million Of Taxpayer Funds Wasted, at zerohedge.com. MyRA was just another scheme allowing Government to get its hands on your money to fund the national debt.

Federal Indictments Alleges Chrysler And UAW Execs Stole Millions From Employee Training Programs, at zerohedge.com. The name of the UAW leader who was indicted is Alphons Iacobelli. You couldn’t make up a better name for a Union Leader than that.

In an Economy There Are Wealth Creators And Wealth Preventers. In California The Wealth Preventers Are Winning, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. Excerpt from the article: “The wealth preventers, i.e. environmental groups, trail lawyers, and Democrat politicians, hold the reins of power in California. they are all system wonks and are experts at gaming the system…..That California’s economy manages to function as well as it does in spite of the barriers placed in front of it is a tribute to the persistence, energy, and creativity of its wealth creators.”

California Ranchers Revolt after State Sets Aside 2 Million Acres For A Frog, at zerohedge.com. Here is an example of the above article. Environmentalists and Democrat politicians getting together to decrease the wealth of their state via environmental regulations.

Democrats’ Biggest Donor Urges Shift To Bernie’s Platform: “Being Never-Trump Is Not Nearly Enough, at zerohedge.com. We should hope the Dems go full Bernie so everyone can see socialism for what it really is.

P&G Slashed Digital Ad Spending, This Is What Happened Next, at zerohedge.com. Maybe digital advertisement isn’t as great as it was advertised.

Canada: What Happens When A Crime Victim Takes A Gun From A Criminal And Shoots Him? The Victim Goes To Jail, at johnrlottblogspot.com. Excerpt from the article: The victim faces charges of attempted murder, intent to discharge a firearm, intent to discharge a firearm when being reckless, careless use of a firearm, improper storage of a firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm knowing that possession is unauthorized, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.” Bureaucrats have no common sense.

Report: McMaster Let Susan Rice Keep Security Clearance After Unmasking, by Cortney O’Brien, at townhall.com. This is an example of the incestuous relationship the establishment, the insiders, the status quo, the swamp, the deep state, what ever you want to call them have with each other. Remember Sandy Berger? He got his security clearance back after stealing and destroying classified documents.

WSJ Asks “Who Paid For The Trump Dossier’?“, at zerohedge.com. Fusion GPS is a hired gun. So who paid for the discredited Fusion GPS Dossier?

‘Collusion’ Collapses: Dem Congressional Espionage Ring Takes Center Ring, by Clarice Feldman, at americanthinker.com. I agree. Let’s repeal the Special Counsel Law. Excerpt from the article: “Under the Constitution there are three ways to deal with official corruption: the ballot box, impeachment, or criminal prosecution.” The special counsel is a political tool. It is a way of keeping an issue in the headlines for years at the taxpayers expense.

6 Key Questions About RussiaGate, by Charles Hugh Smith, at oftwominds.com. Here are the six questions: “1) did Russia meddle in the 2016 U.S. election? 2) What federal laws or statutes were broken? 3) What standard of evidence/proof is required in a federal court to convict the accused? 4) If incontrovertible evidence of Russian meddling arose in 2016, why did the federal agencies under the Obama administration (Department of Justice, F.B.I. etc.) do anything? 5) Precisely what meddling occurred? 6) What evidence supports the claim that Russian meddling actually influenced the election?”

CARTOONS

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Must Reads For The Week 5/13/17

May 13, 2017

Why Tesla’s Solar Roof Is Just Another Giant Taxpayer Gift To Elon Musk, at zerohedge.com. Elon Musk is skilled at getting his hands on taxpayer money. He is nothing more than a welfare recipient. If a business isn’t profitable without taxpayer money, it shouldn’t exist. Taxpayer money shouldn’t be given to any businesses.

The Minimum Wage Eats Restaurants, at econoicpolicyjournal.com. As the minimum wage rises via government decree. Restaurants close. If these restaurant owners were as talented as Elon Musk, they would get taxpayer dollars from government to pay for the mandated minimum wage increase.

How Fed-Enabled Zombie Companies Crush Productivity Growth, at zerohedge.com. Excerpt from the article: “When lagging firms don’t go bust, they hog scarce resources and drag down productivity…..The survival of weak companies drags down average productivity, but the consequences for growth are even worse. Since such firms take up scarce resources, their prolonged survival (or their delayed restructuring) inflates wages relative to productivity, depresses market prices and undermines investment – all of which deters the expansion of productive companies, particularly startups, and amplifies the mismatch of skills.”

On The AFL-CIO’s Inflated 341-to-1 CEO-To-Worker Pay Ratio, And The Statistical Legerdemain Used To Produce It, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. When ‘fake stats’ are never analyzed they produce ‘fake news’. The media accepts ‘fake stats’ as long as they fit the media’s vision of the world.

How Capitalism is Setting Washerwomen Free, at fee.org. Excerpt from the article: “Has anything changed the world more than the internet? …….one invention – an engine of liberation – has had a far more powerful effect on daily lives. He means the washing machine…….the greatest invention of the industrial revolution. It freed women from the chore of laundry – or at least from spending one full day a week every week doing it.”

Would You Lease – To -Own A Pair Of Sneakers, by George Pickering, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article: “Unlikely as it is that debt-financed Air Jordans will touch off the next worldwide recession, they nevertheless offer a microcosm of the forces currently forming unsustainable bubbles in an increasing number of markets throughout the economy.”

Trade Ignorance and Demagoguery, by Walter E. Williams, at jewishworldreview.com. I wish Trump would sit down with Dr. Williams for a day and learn something about economics.

California, Illinois, and New York Keep Losing People to Other States, by Ryan McMaken, at mises.org. People are voting with their feet. High taxes, increasing regulations and the high cost of living are incentives that force people to escape to greener pastures.

The Most Dangerous Book On Economics Ever Written For Kids, at economicpolicyjournal.com. The left is propagandizing children into believing capitalism is bad and communism is good.

‘Hero’ Stopped Mass Murder By Crazed Bar Patron Who Was Armed To The Teeth, Police Say, at dallasnews.com. Gunman who killed sports bar manager is shot by concealed carry holder. Good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with gun.

Senate Hearing Summary: Everything you Thought You  Knew About Russia/Comey Just Got Destroyed, at zerohedge.com. Does anyone outside of the Washington establishment really think this is important? This is the political game of who can make the other side look bad. The people inside the beltway don’t understand how much people outside the beltway are sickened by the political game. We don’t want to play this game or watch this game played anymore.

CARTOON

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Walter E. Williams: “Liberty Is Not For Wimps”

March 22, 2017
Walter E. Williams

Walter E. Williams states in this article, Liberty Is Not For Wimps (read here): “Most Americans, whether liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican, do not show much understanding or respect for the principles of personal liberty. We criticize our political leaders, but we must recognize that their behavior simply reflects the values of people who elected them to office. That means we are all to blame for greater governmental control over our lives and a decline in personal liberty.”

Our founders told us that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Since WWII we have not been vigilant at all. We vote and go back to living our lives. Being informed and active is the most important part of eternal vigilance. Voting is something that happens on one day every two years.

Why have not seen the growth in the power of Government over our lives? Because it has been an incremental increase.

When you see yourself in the mirror everyday you don’t realize how much you have changed over the course of 20 years. When you see a picture of yourself from 20 years ago you ask; “Who is that person?”.

This is what has happened to the growth of Government and the loss of our individual liberty. Unfortunately the majority of the people haven’t been shown a ‘picture’ of what individual liberty originally looked like. Their only picture from their past is a picture of Government solutions to every problem.

These people have not been taught about individual liberty in our schools and universities. In fact they have been indoctrinated into thinking Government is the end all and be all. They have to be educated about individual liberty before they can make informed decisions.

LIBERTY DEFINED

Excerpt from the article: “My initial premise is that each of us owns himself. I am my private property, and you are yours. If we accept the notion of self-ownership, then certain acts can be deemed moral or immoral. Murder, rape and theft are immoral because those acts violate private property.”

“Most Americans accept that murder and rape are immoral, but we are ambivalent about theft. Theft can be defined as taking the rightful property of one American and giving it to another, to whom it does not belong. It is also theft to forcibly use one person to serve the purposes of another.”

“At least two-thirds of federal spending can be described as Congress’ Taking the rightful property of one American and giving it to another American, to whom it does not belong. So-called mandatory spending totaled $2.45 trillion in 2015. This, two-thirds of the federal budget goes toward Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, food assistance, unemployment and other programs and benefits that fall into the category of taking from some and giving to others. To condemn legalized theft is not an argument against taxes to finance the constitutionally mandated functions of the federal government; we are all obligated to pay or share of those.”

RIGHTS DEFINED

Excerpt from the article: “Many say that government spending guarantees one right or another. That’s nonsense. True rights exist simultaneously among people. That means that exercise of a right by one person does not impose an obligation on another. In other words, my rights to speech and travel impose no obligations on another except those of noninterference. For Congress to guarantee a right to healthcare, food assistance or any other good or service whether a person can afford it or not does diminish someone else’s rights – namely, their right to their earnings. Congress has no resources of its own. If Congress gives one person something that he did not earn, it necessarily requires Congress drive somebody else of something that he did earn.”

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Excerpt fro the article: “A very difficult liberty pill for many Americans to swallow is freedom of association. As with free speech, the true test for one’s commitment to freedom of association does not come when one permits people of voluntarily associate in ways that he deems acceptable.”

“The true test is when he permits people to associate in ways he deems offensive. If a golf club, fraternity of restaurant were not to admit me because I’m a black person, I would find it offensive, but it’s every organization’s right to associate freely.”

“On the other hand, a public library, public utility or public university does not have a right to refuse me service, because I am a taxpayer.”

CONCLUSION

Excerpt from the article: “The bottom line is that it takes a bold person to be for personal liberty, because you have to be able to cope with people saying things and engaging in voluntary acts that you deem offensive. LIBERTY IS NOT FOR WIMPS.”

It is our job to make the case for individual liberty. As I said earlier, people are not being taught about individual liberty in our schools and universities. If people are not curious enough to educate themselves, it is up to us to educate them.

Walter E. Williams has been ringing the bell for individual liberty his whole life. You don’t have to try to save the whole world. You just have to influence the people in your little part of the world. People are starting to be curious about what is going on. The election of Trump proves that people know there is something wrong with the status quo. These people represent fertile ground on which to plant the seeds of liberty.

 

Related Article: Walter E. Williams: The State Against Liberty, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: Walter E. Williams: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Exchange, or Seduction vs. Rape, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: Walter E. Williams Speaks About The Economics Of Liberty, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: Walter E. Williams: Are We Moving Toward More Personal Liberty of More Government Control Over Our Lives, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article: Walter E. Williams Talks About Individual Liberty, at austrianaddict.com.

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Let’s Fight Tyranny – Walter E. Williams

December 6, 2016

In a world of subjective value, there is a high cost of agreement. Our founders understood that voluntarily cooperate under general rules produced the highest amount of satisfaction for the most individuals. When people are forced into cooperating using Government power, the vast majority of people aren’t satisfied.

Our constitutional government put shackles on government power and made the individual sovereign. Politicians and government bureaucrats don’t want us to understand that the individual is the ultimate threat to state power. We need to wake up and claim it.

Walter E. Williams talks about the high cost in this article titled Let’s Fight Tyranny (click here). Here are some excerpts from the article.

“For more than a half-century, it has become abundantly clear that our nation faces increasing irreconcilable differences. At the root is the fact that there is one group of Americans who mostly want to be left alone and live according to the rule of law and the dictates of the U.S. constitution while another group of Americans wants to control the lives of others and ignore both the rule of law and constitutional restraints on the federal government. Should those Americans who favor the rule of law and constitutional government fight against or yield to those Americans who have contempt for the rule of law and constitutional government?”

“Some Americans  prefer to manage their own health care needs. Others wish to have the federal government dictate their health care. Some Americans want their earnings to be taxed only for the constitutionally mandated functions of the federal government, which are outlined in Article 1, Section 8 of   the Constitution. Others think American earnings should be taxed for anything on which Congress can muster a majority vote……The list of irreconcilable differences among the American people is nearly without end. These differences survive because of the timidity of those offended and the brute power of the federal government.”

“I think reconciliation is impossible; therefore, separation is the only long-term peaceful solution. Separation and independence do not require that liberty-loving Americans overthrow the federal government.”

“You say, “All those government acts that you say violate the rule of law and the Constitution have been ruled constitutional by the courts!” That’s true. The courts have twisted the Constitution, but Thomas Jefferson warned, “To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions (is) a very dangerous doctrine indeed and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.”

“State governors and legislators ought to summon up the courage our Founding Fathers had in their response to the fifth Congress’ Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. Written by Jefferson and James Madison, the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 stated that those states’ legislatures considered the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional……the several States…….are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government….and ….whensoever the general government assumes delegated powers, its acts are authoritative, void, and of no force.” The 10th amendment holds, “The powers not delegated to the U.S. by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

“The federal government should not be permitted to determine the scope of its own powers. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist No. 28, said, “The State government will, in all possible contingencies, afford complete security against invasions of the public liberty by the national authority.“
“Former slave Frederick Douglass advised: “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them. …. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” We Americans appear to have very limited endurance in the face of tyrannical oppression.“
RELATED ARTICLE FROM MISES.ORG
Here is another great article from mises.org titled Secede And Decentralize: An Open Letter To Clinton Supporters.
Here is an excerpt from the article:”What your feeling (Clinton supporters), this hopelessness, this feeling that you’re no longer represented, this feeling that people other than you are now able to dictate your way of life, this is all a result of the massive expansion of the Federal government. Elections have long ceased being voting for someone you think represents the lifestyle you want to live and are, in practice, an exercise on determining whether or not you get to impose you preferred lifestyle on someone else.”
“A weak federal government would produce little divisiveness because there is little to be divided over. A strong Federal government would produce significant divisiveness since there is much to be divided over. It also goes to say that an absolute government would create absolute division while the absence of government would not produce a division because there isn’t any risk of having your life dictated by distant populations.”

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Thomas Sowell: Black Votes Matter

August 1, 2016

Thomas Sowell explains political incentives when it comes to wooing black voters in this article titled “Black Votes Matter” (click here). Let’s read some excerpts from the article.

“Black votes matter to many politicians – more so than black lives. That is why such  politicians must  try to keep black voters fearful, angry and resentful. Racial harmony would be a political disaster for such politicians.”

“Racial polarization makes both the black population and the white population worse off, but it makes politicians who depend on black votes better off.”

“People who expected the election of President Barack Obama to lead to racial healing and a post-racial society failed to take account of the political reality that racial healing and a post-racial society would, at a minimum, reduce black voter turnout.”

“Hillary Clinton desperately needs black votes in this year’s close election. Promoting fear, anger and resentments among blacks – and , if possible, paranoia – serves her political interest. Barack Obama has mastered the art of keeping black voters aroused while keeping white voters soothed – thanks in part to the gullibility of much of the public, who mistake geniality and glib rhetoric for honesty and good will.”

“Obama has repeatedly put the weight and prestige of the presidency on the side of those who denounce the police before any facts are verified – and even after facts have come out, exposing the fraudulence of such claims as the claim that the “gentle giant’ Michael Brown said, “hands up, don’t shoot.”

“When a career race hustler like Al Sharpton, with a history of hoaxes, is a regular visitor and advisor to the White House, that is a reality that whites and blacks alike ignore at their peril.”

“Hillary Clinton plays the same political game of posing as a defender of blacks from enemies threatening them on all sides, as she tries to win an election that would amount to a third term of the Obama administration’s policies – most of which have left blacks worse off than before Obama took office.”

“The Ancient phrase, “By their fruits ye shall know them” has been replaced by the current notion that by their rhetoric you should judge them – and vote for them.”

“One of the key questions this election year is whether black lives matter more than black votes that can be won by racial charades that undermine and endanger those lives. The answer to that question will affect all Americans, because racial turmoil is to no one’s interest, except some politicians and race hustlers.”

 

Walter E. Williams: What Can Discrimination Explain?

In this related article, What Can Discrimination Explain? (click here), Walter E. Williams looks at racial discrimination to see how much blame it has for the plight of blacks. Here are some excerpts from the article:

“Racial discrimination is seen as the cause of many problems of black Americans. No one argues that racial discrimination does not exist or does not have effects. The relevant question, as far as policy and resource allocation are concerned, is: How much of what we see is caused by current racial discrimination?”

“Some argue that it is the “legacy of slavery” and societal racism that now explain the social pathology in many black neighborhoods…..When I was a youngster, during the 1940’s illegitimacy was around 15 percent. In the same period, about 80 percent of black children were born inside marriage……Today only a little over 30 percent of black children are raised in two-parent households. The importance of these and other statistics showing greater stability and less pathology among blacks in earlier periods is that they put a lie to today’s excuses. Namely, at a time when blacks were closer to slavery, faced far more discrimination, faced more poverty and had fewer opportunities, there was not the kind of social pathology and weak family structure we see today.”

“Intellectuals and political hustlers who blame the plight of so many blacks on poverty, racial discrimination and the “legacy of slavery” are complicit in the sodio-economic and moral decay. But one can earn money, prestige and power in the vistimhood game. As Booker T. Washington long ago observed, “there is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned  that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs – partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”

 

Related Article – Thomas Sowell: The Economics And Politics Of Race, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article – The ‘Disparate Impact’ Racket, by Thomas Sowell, at austrianaddict.com.

Related Article – Michelle Obama vs. Thomas Sowell On The Politics Of Race, at austrianaddict.com.

 

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