Nov 19

USA TODAY Reports that Government spends hundreds of millions on propaganda

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Trusters of expansive government routinely seek to gut the First Amendment and allow the government to have more control over political messaging.

The recurring claim is that political messaging funded by the private sector “buys” elections and produces undue influence.

But total spending by government on political messaging almost certainly DWARFS total spending on political campaigns by private-sector interests.

The USA TODAY reports today that a SINGLE government “propaganda contractor” (their words) named Leonie Industries has been paid “more than” $423 million for propaganda IN AFGHANISTAN ALONE since 2008. Tom Vanden Brook, “Propaganda contractor dumped by U.S. Army,” USA TODAY, Nov. 19, 2015 at 6A.

The article adds that there is little evidence that these hundreds of millions of dollars accomplished anything!

Nov 18

More than half of American households cannot scrape together $400

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Frightening statistic in a new book: “HOW THE OTHER HALF BANKS,” by Mehrsa Baradaran. Government studies show that more than half of U.S. households cannot come up with $400 to cover a medical emergency without borrowing.

Almost TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS lack enough savings to get by for three months.

The book details the plight of America’s “unbanked.” Those millions without bank accounts or investments.

According to Ben McLannahan, who reviewed the book for the FINANCIAL TIMES, the unbanked actually spend much more of their total income on interest payments than do those with bank accounts. “The average unbanked family earning $25,000 a year spends more on finance [via payday loans and pawnshops, mostly] than it does on food.”

Years of government policies which punish saving, business-launching and investment have created a nation of dependents.

Nov 18

U.S. is Now Fighting to Keep its Overtaxed Corporations from Fleeing High Taxes

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Two years ago, Burger King merged with Canada’s Tim Hortons chain and declared its merged corporation a Canadian company. The move saved Burger King and its long-suffering shareholders many millions annually in corporate taxes.

The U.S.–once the flagship of world commerce and capitalism–now has the highest corporate tax rate on the surface of the earth. (At least among first-world countries.)

American Corporations are fleeing, seeking to merge with foreign corporations and declare themselves subject to foreign (meaning LOWER) taxation, and in many cases, NEVER LAUNCHING AT ALL.

The corporate form is widely attacked. But it is the business model for the little guy; it allows the poor to invest in business and compete with the rich.

Now we read that the U.S. government may try to stop U.S.-based Pfizer from purchasing Ireland-based Allergan–just because the purchase might help Pfizer pay Irish-level (meaning lower) corporate taxes.

The Financial Times reported the story yesterday. See here.

Nov 17

In Wake of Paris Attacks, U.S. Government Renews Attempts to Ban Encryption

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Just a month ago, the WASHINGTON POST printed an expose’ on the U.S. government’s consistent attempts to ban ‘encryption’–meaning any tech device with password encoding prohibiting the government from gaining access to digital content. The government’s highest officials seemed to concede that they did not have the constitutional authority–or enough popular support–for a ban on encryption.

But now, according to WIRED, government control freaks are again calling for legislation or policies which lay all digital information at their feet. WIRED.com is reporting that current and former CIA directors are blaming Edward Snowden for the recent Paris attacks, and calling for all technology to be open to the all-seeing eye of the state. See here.

According to WIRED, both former CIA deputy director Michael Morell and current CIA Director John Brennan have already tried to blame Edward Snowden for the Paris attacks and suggested that the U.S. government should be given the ‘keys’ to unlock every digital door on earth.

For years, the cult of the omnipotent state has sought to require that government have a ‘backdoor’ into all computers, cell phones and tech devices. The overarching goal of the government is to ban the sale or possession of any computer device that the government’s investigators cannot search through.

It is noteworthy that the Washington Post story seemed to predict a major terrorist attack. Robert S. Litt, general counsel in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, sent an email just 3 months ago saying that although “the legislative environment [for passing a law that forces decryption and backdoors] is very hostile today, it could turn in the event of a terrorist attack or criminal event where strong encryption can be shown to have hindered law enforcement.”

Nov 16

While ANTARCTIC ice is at an all-time high, ARCTIC ice is at only a 10-year high

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Satellites have only been in the sky for about 25 years or so. And their measurements of the world’s ice coverage show that ice in ANTARCTICA is at the highest level ever measured.

While NASA admits this, its postings have suggested that ice totals in the northern hemisphere are declining. See here.But Danish data reveal that ice has been growing above the Arctic Circle as well. In fact, after 2015’s hot summer in the northern hemisphere, north polar ice is AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL (FOR THE DATE) SINCE 2004. See here.

Nov 15

Frequency of 90-degree days has plummeted

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Steven Goddard’s ever-informative “Real Science” Blog has recently tracked a startling phenomenon: the sharp reduction in frequency of 90-degree summer days across the U.S. See here.

In the mountainous counties of Montana, for example, we have had two consecutive summers in which temps did not approach 100 degrees even once.

There were only a handful of 90-degree days this summer in Park and Gallatin Counties, and I recall only one or two 90-degree days during the summer of 2014.

Nov 15

Government admits that severe weather deaths are at a 22-year low

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It is a frequent claim by climate socialists that manmade CO2 emissions are causing more severe or bizarre weather.

Now NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) admits that deaths due to severe weather are at a 22-year low in the U.S. See here.

Only 333 people died from severe weather in 2014.

Deaths from cold were double the number of deaths from heat (see graph).

Nov 14

Conrad Black: the U.S. Justice Department is the World’s Largest Racketeering Organization

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Canadian publisher and investor Conrad Black interviews Mark Steyn.

Conrad Black describes the U.S. Justice Department as the world’s largest organized crime organization.

As evidence of the collapse of America’s criminal courts, Black discusses the conviction rates of the U.S., Canada, and the UK:

99 percent conviction rate in the U.S.

61 percent in Ontario, Candada.

Conviction rates in the 50 percentile range in the United Kingdom.

Nov 14

Upcoming Courses in Washington, D.C.

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Lysander Spooner University will be offering two courses in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the Fully Informed Jury Association next week.

Wednesday, November 18, 1:00 pm. The Sociology of Trial by Jury: This course will be located at the 2015 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, the largest anti-drug-war conference in the world. Dr. Roger Roots will be offering a 25-question exam, followed by a lecture on the topic. The course will be located at the Fully Informed Jury Association table at the event.

Friday, November 20, 2015, 1:00 pm. The Sociology of the War on Drugs: This course will be conducted at the Fully Informed Jury table at the 2015 International Drug Policy Reform Conference.

The location for the 2015 International Drug Policy Reform Conference at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202 (just over the Potomac River from the Washington Monument.

Nov 13

Self-driving cars are already safer than human-driven cars

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On a per-mile basis, the automobile is the safest form of land transportation ever invented. See here. It is often said that planes are safer than cars; but on a per-trip or per-hour basis, cars are even safer than planes.

Yet governments, for a century, have burdened car travel with reams of unnecessary rules and regulations. Untold thousands if not millions of people have been violently pulled over while driving by government police.

Today, several private companies are developing driverless cars. These cars will almost certainly be safer than human-driven cars.

No one knows precisely; but there may be hundreds of such cars already on roadways in California, Michigan and elsewhere.

Here is a story out of San Jose, California of a driverless car being pulled over by a cop for driving too slow. (In fact, the car was moving at an entirely legal and proper speed; the nosy cop had nothing better to do than interrupt the car’s travel.)

No ticket was given, and the Google Self-Driving Car Project said that “After 1.2 million miles of autonomous driving (that’s the human equivalent of 90 years of driving experience), we’re proud to say we’ve never been ticketed!”