Jun 08

Government university now bans “harsh” text messages

It is mostly forgotten that government colleges were originally launched for three reasons: (1) to provide access for poor people to higher education, (2) to counteract the supposed tendency of private (mostly church-owned) colleges to stifle speech and expression, and (3) to provide for more ‘public interest’ scientific research and education, which supposedly wasn’t being adequately provided by private-religious-owned institutions.

Today it has been shown that government universities fail to achieve–and actively obstruct–all three goals. Government colleges are temples of state worship, promoting a constant stream of elitist, socialist ideology and ‘science’ which exalts the state.

Any American becomes immediately less free upon walking onto a government college campus.

Costs such as parking and meals are often double what is charged elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Now the University of West Alabama–a government university–is imposing a Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment Policy which outlaws harassment such as “conduct that disrupts the educational environment of the university.” Conduct that the university has defined as harassment includes “harsh text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.”See here.

Of course, the policy conflicts with settled and binding Supreme Court precedent regarding freedom of speech and expression.

Jun 01

Climate change apocalypticists can’t convince the insurance industry to believe; so now they seek to force the industry to pay up

The latest imposition

For several years, promoters of catastrophic-manmade-global-warming-by-CO2 hysteria have sought to get the insurance industry to recognize that ‘climate change is real.’

Two years ago, on-again,-off-again-world’s-richest-man Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire-Hathaway (which owns or controls several large insurers including Geico) authored a statement on the subject in his annual investment letter. Buffet noted that most insurance policies are for 1-year terms and that the insurance industry will surely be able to adjust its premiums to address any alleged problems posed by future climate change.

(By the way, climate-related property damage, deaths, and insurance claims (per capita, adjusted for inflation) have been going steadily DOWN for years, while atmospheric CO2 levels have steadily increased.) Crop yields have been going steadily up; crop losses from weather (adjusted for inflation and per-capita) have gone steadily down.)

Buffett’s letter enraged the apocalypticists, who generally demand that the world become socialist to address the allegedly looming threat of manmade global warming.

Now climate-change apocalypticists are demanding that state insurance regulators impose rules upon the industry forcing the industry to pay for “green energy” schemes. Such impositions will of course be passed on to consumers who pay the premiums.

California’s State Insurance Commissioner is said to be mulling just such a new rule.

Stay tuned!

May 27

Algerian gets 10-year sentence for protesting a financial law

An Algerian blogger named Merzoug Touati was sentenced last week to 10 years imprisonment for providing intelligence to “agents of a foreign power” likely to damage Algeria.

In January 2017, Touati was arrested after he posted an online video interview with an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman and a Facebook post in which he called for protests against a new financial law.

May 23

Tens of thousands flee socialist Illinois

Illinois was once an international flagship of capitalism, freedom, commerce and manufacturing.

Today the bloated government of Illinois has raised taxes so high that tens of thousands have fled for freer pastures in each of the past several years. See here.

One couple is quoted saying that by moving to Tennessee, they managed to take back 25 percent of their income.

Illinois’ government workers live like royalty among starving peasants. The State now spends so much on retirement pensions for its “workers” that the budget for RETIRED Illinois college professors is higher than the budget for the current entire state university system. See here. (And many Illinois government retirees take their padded pensions and retire elsewhere, such as in lower-tax Florida, Nevada or Texas.)

Illinois government is panicking at the exodus of productive people, and planning to raise taxes even further on those who stay.

Recently the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune–which, like most ‘mainstream’ news editorial boards has cheered government growth for years–conceded that living in Illinois makes no financial sense.

May 19

“Beware of the day we get arms”: Iranian protesters chant as government shuts off internet and cell service

Deadly protests in the southern Iranian city of Kazerun have followed the government’s killing of two protesters and the arrests of many others.

“After anti-riot forces were dispatched to the city from Shiraz, the people charged at them and hand-to-hand clashes ensued,”
Iranian protesters, angry at government corruption, have gathered outside an Iranian police station. The protesters reportedly vow not to leave until those falsely arrested are released.

“Beware of the day we get arms,” they reportedly chanted. See here.

The Iranian government–which controls the internet and cell service–has shut off both in an effort to quell the uprising.

May 19

Over half of all witnesses testifying before congressional committees are government-funded; and almost all request more funding

Over half the witnesses testifying before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives [are] funded directly by the federal taxpayer. In 1995, 35 percent of witnesses were federal employees; of the remaining “public” witnesses, one of every three was a government grant recipient. Grant recipients testified during the 104th Congress roughly 6,000 times: 3,000 times a year, or an average of a dozen times every working day.

And the vast majority of witnesses before such committees ask for more government money as the solution to every problem. See here.

May 18

Australian professor fired by government university for global warming skepticism

James Cook University, a public university and the second oldest university in Queensland, Australia, has fired Professor Peter Ridd for climate skepticism and related “misconduct.” See here.

May 18

Social Security impoverishes: One-third of Americans have less than $5,000 saved for retirement.

A new study by Northwestern Mutual finds that one-third of Americans have less than $5,000 set aside for retirement.

21% of Americans have no retirement savings at all.

SOCIAL SECURITY TO BLAME

Many workers don’t save for the future because they assume they can live on Social Security. But that’s a dangerous, misguided assumption. In a best-case scenario, Social Security will replace about 40% of the average earner’s pre-retirement income. Most seniors, however, need double that amount to live comfortably.

See here.

May 18

Tens of thousands secretly arrested, detained in Chinese indoctrination camps

There are reports that tens–and perhaps hundreds–of Chinese muslims are being held in secret Chinese “indoctrination camps” in the far-western reaches of China.

Most appear to be arrested secretly, without warrant or court process, ans whisked away to the secret camps, where they are often tortured.

Detainees are made to denounce their religious beliefs and swear allegiance to the Communist Party and the Chinese government.

May 16

Deputy who cowered at school shooting will retire with $104,000 pension at age 55

Scott Peterson, the 55-year-old deputy who reportedly cowered outside while an alleged school shooter allegedly murdered dozens inside a Parkland, Florida school, will reportedly receive a six-figure pension for the rest of his life. See here.

Peterson retired in disgrace but is due to collect more than $104,000 a year plus benefits.

Peterson is typical of growing numbers of massively paid, millionaire government bureaucrats who appear to manifest hatred and contempt for private-sector Americans.

Two of the largest recent mass-slaughters of Americans were reportedly committed by retired or undercover government agents. Steven Paddock, a millionaire IRS worker, is said to have opened fire on hundreds of country music listeners in Las Vegas in October 2017. Omar Mateen, an undercover FBI asset, reportedly murdered 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June 2016.