Mar 05
Never in American history has the federal government had more power over the health and medical care of the American people.
And life expectancy has gone down for the past two consecutive years, as American health care choices are increasingly choked and controlled by government.
But the government “Center for Disease Control” is now seeking even more money and power–with the claim that the decreasing life expectancy is due to the “opioid crisis.” See here.
Mar 05
High taxes, cops and other government “workers” everywhere, and life-choking regulations have made California the most miserable place to live in the U.S. See here.
California has America’s largest and most powerful “environmental protection” agencies yet has the worst environment. Drinking water quality, air quality and total toxic chemical pollution per square mile are the worst in the country. “The ranking also considers how much each state puts its citizens at risk for long-term, chronic health effects from pollution,” the study said.
Feb 27
The curse of government planning should be wished only on a hated enemy.
Just 25 years ago, Venezuelans were the healthiest and wealthiest people in Latin America. Then they voted for socialism.
Now, with government distributing and controlling all goods in Venezuelan society, People die in knife fights in food lines. Lifesaving medicines are scarce or unobtainable. Children walk the streets as prostitutes.
Now there is news that Venezuelan inmates must eat rats and insects to avoid starvation. See here.
Feb 26
Last year the governments of several California cities sued Exxon for supposed-predicted-future damage from “climate change.”
The cities all claim their streets, bridges and other infrastructures will be damaged horribly by the actions of the fossil fuel company.
But it appears the California cities are committing securities fraud.
The same city governments have never mentioned these supposed future calamities to their own bond investors.
In fact, Exxon’s lawyers have found statements by city representatives that the representatives were “unable to predict” if future flooding from “climate change” might occur. See here.
Feb 19
Government claims about climate change seem to be closely linked to government claims about “campaign finance.”
Every claim of campaign finance reformers is untrue. Election outcomes are barely correlated with campaign ad spending; and to the extent there is any correlation, it is likely that political success (or perceived likely success) CAUSES the spending rather than the other way around.
In each of the past 5 national election cycles, the “side” (if you regard Democrats and Republicans as different sides) which spent the most money LOST.
And then there are claims that “corporate” involvement in politics skews election outcomes in favor of the rich. In fact, corporations are a business model for the little guy; if corporations were abolished, the super rich would have a far greater monopoly on speech and press.
Another prevailing theme among campaign finance reformers is that “millionaires and billionaires” in the private sector are defeating sound policymaking in the area of “climate change policy” by thwarting the will of the masses.
The reality is almost precisely opposite.
Recent polling shows that just 2 percent of voters say that “climate change” or other environmental concerns are the issues that drive their votes.
Climate change is quintessentially an issue only for wealthy government-entrenched elites.
Feb 19
The entire 1966 North Korean World Cup soccer squad were arrested and thrown into a concentration camp for failing to bring about national glory. See here.
The British news site “THE SUN” documents the plight of ‘underperforming’ athletes in the socialist hellhole.
Detainees who underperform at international sports competitions–and their coaches–face the prospect of lengthy or even lifelong confinement in prison and work camps.
Many accounts describe torture, starvation, and inmates trapping mice and insects for survival food.
Feb 13
The Soviet government took over productive prosperous farms and replaced the skilled, hard-working farmers with loyal government supporters.
The government supporters proved to be horrible farmers, and millions of Russians died of starvation in the aftermath.
The U.S. government Postal Service has a monopoly on the delivery of first-class mail. The government operation charges more than twice what private firms would charge, and has every advantage in the marketplace. The Postal Service pays no property, income, or corporate taxes, and YET LOSES 5 BILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
Now there is news that oil-rich Venezuela–the very country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves underground–cannot seem to produce much oil under socialist central planning.
The people of Venezuela are starving and in dire need of the goods and services their government promised them (such as food, shelter, medicine and clothing).
But government fails at everything it promises–with the possible exception of violence, bloodshed and property destruction. (And it is likely the private sector could deliver even those things more efficiently than government.)
Feb 07
The New York Times recently published an expose on the struggles of many mid-size “mainstream” newspapers. The headline: “A West Virginia Newspaper Won Journalism’s Top Award. Now It’s Filed for Bankruptcy.”
The story details the struggles of the “Charleston Gazette-Mail,” a typical “mainstream” rag whose reporter Eric Eyre won the Pulitzer Prize last year for “his reporting on the state’s [West Virginia’s] opioid crisis.” (Mr. Eyre “exposed drug companies that had flooded West Virginia with painkillers while flouting state laws.”)
Much of the Times story repeats the myth that “mainstream” news sources are some necessary foil against “corruption.”
But the “corruption” “exposed” by such mainstream journalists invariably points in only one direction: away from the most powerful governmental offices and in the direction of poorer, less-powerful businesses or private actors.
Only occasionally do “mainstream” journalists pursue government officials; generally when those officials are anti-socialist or otherwise oppose central planning or the “progressive agenda.”
The Charleston Gazette-Mail, like so many others, is unable to attract paying readers to its stale, pro-government news and commentary.
The most dangerous occupation in the world is anti-government journalism; the safest in the world is pro-government journalism.
Feb 06
“Mainstream,” or government-supporting “news” outlets are dying. Readers and viewers won’t line up to listen to pro-government drivel.
In investigation after investigation, many “mainstream” news media sources have been found to be secretly subsidized by government officials and agencies.
Now there is further sad news for “Newsweek,” the news magazine which formerly had hundreds of thousands of readers. See here.
Recently the management at Newsweek fired numerous editors and reporters. There are reports of severe financial instability.
Feb 05
The world’s government-funded colleges and universities produce and promote a steady stream of pro-government propaganda masquerading as “science” or “the humanities.”
Last August Professor Peter Ridd said the unsayable — that we can no longer trust scientific institutions.
“The basic problem is that we can no longer trust the scientific organisations like the Australian Institute of Marine Science, even things like the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies – a lot of this is stuff is coming out, the science is coming out not properly checked, tested or replicated and this is a great shame because we really need to be able to trust our scientific institutions and the fact is I do not think we can any more.”
His employer, James Cook University, the largest government university in Queensland, Australia has now CENSURED him and ordered him to be silent, effectively to stop him criticizing the current state of science or scientific institutions.
University officials accused Ridd of not acting in a “collegial” manner.
The University also ordered Ridd not to publicly mention he has been censured!
Ironically, Ridd had submitted a peer-reviewed paper on exactly this topic, which was published a few months later in November in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.
