May 10

Thousands of pictures of naked defendants found on judge’s computer

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The practice of American law has increasingly departed from its original adversarial model. Over the past century, courts have increasingly favored the state over the citizenry.

Here is a story of an Arkansas judge who apparently got into the practice of demanding that male defendants report to his house for “community service.”

“[The pictures] depict young men, many naked who are in various poses inside the judge’s home and outside in his yard,” the letter states, adding that many of the men had received checks from the judge and had appeared before him as defendants.

Even with this evidence, it is probably an even bet whether this judge will even be criminally charged with any offense.

May 10

New Jersey troopers arrest woman for remaining silent–then advise her of her right to remain silent!

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The inquisitors of the Spanish Inquisition generally began their interrogations with a single question: “Do you know why we’ve summoned you here today?”

The goal behind such questions was to get the hapless subject to admit to heresy or blasphemy.

Nothing has changed since the 1300s

Today it has become customary for troopers who pull over drivers to begin their questioning with the question, “Do you know why I stopped you today?”

The purpose–as always–is to get drivers to incriminate themselves. The officers hope to obtain a response that they can use against the driver in the event the driver challenges the ticket in court.

Here is an amazing story (and video) of New Jersey cops ARRESTING a driver for refusing to answer the question, “Do you know why I pulled you over?”

The driver happened to be a lawyer. She is now suing the New Jersey officers for violating her civil rights. See here.

May 10

Sowell: American schooling delivers uninterrupted worship of the state from kindergarten to grad school

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Thomas Sowell is out with a column describing the sorry state of intellectual intolerance at most of America’s government-supported colleges and universities.

Sowell says that colleges have always leaned “left” (code for pro-government). But a dissenting voice could at least survive on the campuses of the 1950s and ’60s.

Today one can literally go from kindergarten to becoming a graduate student seeking a Ph.D., without ever hearing a vision of the world that conflicts with the vision of the left.

May 09

Venezuela Continues Downward Spiral

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There has never been a famine in a capitalist country; famines and massive die-offs from starvation only occur in socialist countries.

Here is a detailed Bloomberg News Service report about the economic collapse of socialist Venezuela. “Catastrophe is the new normal.”

Amazingly, Venezuela has THE WORLD’S LARGEST OIL RESERVES. Yet the country is plagued by massive electrical outages.

(Of course, if the power of the private sector were unleashed, the electrical problems would end within a week; but the impoverished people of Venezuela are ruled by a fanatical socialist philosophy.)

May 09

Yellowstone County Court Clerk Criticizes Corrupt Judges; Billings Gazette Calls for her Defeat

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Today’s ‘mainstream’ newspapers are dying a slow death; their content overwhelmingly supports the empowerment of government.

It is probable that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of newspaper stories published in America’s daily newspapers over the past decades have simply been rewritten government press releases.

The Billings Gazette, a relentless pro-government newspaper covering eastern and central Montana, has recently published stories noting that current Yellowstone County (Billings) Clerk of Court Kristie Boelter has posted on Facebook that some judges are corrupt.

As if on cue, the Gazette now says the County needs a new clerk of court. See here. (The Gazette also alleges that the Clerk’s office has lost court files and misplaced papers.)

May 08

Egyptian teenager arrested for street satire

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Egyptian government officials have arrested a teenage comedian who criticized government. See here.

May 07

Egyptian court sentences journalists to death

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Journalism in favor of government has always been one of the safest occupations in the world.

Journalism disfavored by government has always been one of the world’s most dangerous occupations.

Now there is news that an Egyptian court has sentenced three journalists to death for supposedly reporting facts that undermined Egypt’s “national security.”

Thankfully, the journalists are in hiding outside Egypt. They were tried, convicted and sentenced in absentia.

May 07

Government slave plantation health care generating more ‘group doctor visits’

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Every government program designed to help poor people get health care produces the opposite effect: Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare all subsidize artificial demand, causing prices to rise.

If government withdrew its evil tentacles from health care, medical prices would quickly adjust downward and quality would quickly adjust upward.

Markets always win.

Now the New York Times has published a story about the growth of ‘group doctor visits’ in which one doctor meets with and treats numerous patients at once.

Of course, such group doctor treatments violate doctor-patient privilege and fundamental rules of medical privacy and confidentiality; but such innovations are one way that markets are working to function in spite of the government’s massive regulatory obstacles.

May 05

Tennessee requires 300 hours of government training to shampoo hair

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The poor in today’s America are getting poorer all the time, relative to the rest of American society.

The reason is government regulation, which keeps poor people from being free to pursue rewarding careers or to otherwise be productive.

Many states require licenses for people to enter even the simplest professions such as barbering, managing a hot dog cart or arranging flowers.

Here is a story about the State of Tennessee, which requires cosmetologists to take 300 hours of government-sanctioned training (at a cost of thousands of dollars) to offer shampoo services.

Those who wash hair without a license face up to six months in prison and a $500 criminal fine, or a $1,000 civil penalty.

May 05

Update: Glacier Park’s ‘Gone by 2030’ Web Pages are Still Up; They Are Sticking to their Guns

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by Roger I. Roots

Yesterday, May 5, 2016, I posted and promoted a story indicating that the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) appears to be removing webpages claiming that all glaciers will melt away from Glacier National Park by the year 2030–just 14 years from now.

I have since been informed that the USGS has recently relocated their climate-change-oriented sites, and that this relocation occurred recently enough that search engines were not finding them.

My brother Alex Roots notified me that the USGS site contains a blurb indicating the Agency is updating its websites. The government’s repeat photography project (which shows old photos of glaciers–taken at undisclosed calendar dates in past decades–juxtaposed against more recent photos of the glaciers taken in the first or second weeks of September) is still available and is linked to a page indicating the project has become a ‘museum’ type site. See here.

My post from yesterday circulated widely (as I sent it to Anthony Watts of the world’s highest-traffic climate website https://wattsupwiththat.com/. The story ultimately found its way to USGS inboxes.

This morning I received a friendly email from Suzanna C. Soileau, Physical Scientist at USGS-NOROCK in Bozeman, Montana. She assures me that the USGS is not hiding its previous climate change web pages. Soileau alerted me to the following USGS sites which focus on climate change.

Climate Change in Mountain Ecosystem (CCME) program: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock/science/climate-change-mountain-ecosystems-ccme

Retreat of Glacier in Glacier NP: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock/science/retreat-glaciers-glacier-national-park

Repeat Photography Project: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock/science/repeat-photography-project

It appears that catastrophic climate change will continue to be a major focus of GNP’s visitor promotion.

Stay tuned!
(I’m still waiting for someone to take me up on my $5,000 bet that glaciers will still exist at GNP in 2030.) See here.