❝Occasionally I wandered in where I was not wanted and gave truthful answers. Sometimes I even did it deliberately. A little disruption now can prevent disaster later.❞
“The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, continue to cast a long shadow over American life. Twenty years later, at home and abroad, the world is more chaotic and less free because the U.S. government exploited our fear to erode our liberties and launch two disastrous foreign wars.
“2020 was an ugly year and so far, 2021 doesn’t look any prettier.
With mass lockdowns still enacted, businesses failing by the hundreds of thousands, rising suicides and drug overdoses, and a pandemic that still has yet to subside, things may seem bleak.
Surprisingly, the 1984 comedy classic “Ghostbusters” can teach us a lot about the situation we’re stuck in and how we can get out of it.
Hint: More government is not the answer.”
One rule of thumb is that all things being equal (which they usually aren't), the side working to control who gets to speak is the one you should worry about.
“Thou shalt not dissent” should a be red flag with a siren.“…if you had showed this ad or the Tesco ad to anyone this time last year, December 2019, they would either be terrified or would either have laughed it off, thinking it was a ridiculous parody of humanity.”
“The government is a big trap designed to keep people in its orbit.
You are supposed to work within the context the government provides to live your life, make money, and affect social change.
Or you're at least supposed to be too afraid of the government to step out of line.
But even rebelling against the government directly is part of the trap. It means you have accepted the importance of the government-- that it is capable of controlling you.
Harry Browne identified different "traps" like these that we fall into in his 1973 book, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.”
“The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2020, also known as the EARN IT Act, is a dangerous bill introduced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. If it becomes law, it will end private communication on the internet.
The EARN IT Act is part of a long history of using sex panics to expand state power. If we fall for it this time we may effectively end freedom of expression and open communication on the internet as we know it.EARN IT threatens website providers’ and other intermediaries’ ability to provide end-to-end encrypted services. End-to-end encryption is critical to ensuring private communication and often personal safety.Like so many of the save-the-children bills before it, EARN IT will not combat child sexual exploitation, but it will be the largest expansion of state surveillance powers in recent history, eliminating private communication on the internet."Tip of the hat to The Honest Courtesan.“This song was played frequently on KVIL in Dallas back in 1980. Until today, I had feared that this song was lost. When i came across a recorded performance today I was elated! It is a wonderful song of patriotism that this country really needs! Please watch it and share it with your friends and help revive the song!”
“Political activists have started to take over newsrooms, forcing out people who hold “offensive” opinions.
Where is all the intolerance coming from?”
“In the years following the Civil War, Booker T. Washington devoted his life to helping blacks transition out of slavery and into freedom. While his ideas were never fully embraced in his time, today, more than a century later, they remain strikingly relevant. Derryck Green from Project 21 explains.”
“The 2020 graduating class faces challenges unlike any class before it. Uncertainty looms at every turn: job prospects, social interactions, and many other aspects of “normal life” once taken for granted. So what lessons can be learned from this unparalleled situation? Dennis Prager offers three.”
Biden tries to define away ongoing supply chain crisis, declare victory
“New queuing system has alleviated port congestion without addressing distribution bottlenecks causing shortages; reduced number of vessels anchored offshore reflect dispersal of ships, not unloading.”
Democrats celebrate gas prices dropping two cents
NW adds: …after doubling.
Meta asks users to send nudes
NW adds: Why should ANYONE trust Facebook, even if they have a new name?
Regulator Beware
“Will FTC chairwoman Lina Khan’s aggressive posture invite a judicial rebuke?”
The Power of Regular People
“Like facts, juries are stubborn things.”
The great nudge
“Government, Big Tech and the media are all trying to nudge us into adopting the ‘right’ behaviour.”
No Time to Lose
“Bill de Blasio’s last financial plan portends a day of reckoning for Eric Adams.”
The north-east has been abandoned
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The north-east has been abandoned
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UK
Last Friday and into the early hours of Saturday morning, Storm Arwen wreaked havoc throughout north-east England. Easily the most severe weather event to hit the UK since Storm Desmond in 2015, 100 miles-per-hour winds uprooted trees, overturned lorries and destroyed power lines. It resulted in the loss of electrical power to over 200,000 homes – including, for a few hours, my own. Three people lost their lives.”
Next Step for the Parents’ Movement: Curriculum Transparency
“Parents have a right to know what’s being taught to their children.”
DOJ Opens Investigation Into Andrew Cuomo and His Executive Chamber
“The DOJ is already investigating Cuomo over his memoir and policies that led to the deaths of so many elderly people in nursing homes.”
Judicial Watch Suing on Behalf of Teacher Claiming She Was Fired for Social Media Posts About Critical Race Theory“Kari MacRae was viciously targeted and unlawfully fired as a teacher because she exercised her First Amendment rights to criticize critical race theory”
Doctors Warn New Medical School Guidance Would Lead to Unqualified Physicians and Unscientific Medicine
“Accreditation guidelines call meritocracy 'malignant,' suggest genetic screening is racist”
Senate sinks deeper into quagmire of dysfunction
“The upper chamber's always had a flair for the dramatic. But as Democrats push deadlines to their limits, Republicans have exploited the chance to obstruct.”
Joe Biden Adds Another Lie to the List, Remains a Legend in His Own Mind
“This lump of mediocrity has managed to be wrong about essentially every foreign policy issue of the last 50 years, and yet he still pretends he’s some strategic hotshot. Case in point? Today, the president added another lie to the list, claiming he served as a “liaison” during Israel’s Six-Day War. The problem? That’s not a thing that happened.”
As U.S. Retailers Struggle Against Smash-and-Grab Flash Mobs, Liberals Blame ‘White Supremacy’
NW adds: We're at the point where victims of Designated Victim Status can no longer be held accountable for their own actions.
Views collide as Blinken, Lavrov discuss Ukraine
“Warnings, demands and disagreement pervaded a meeting of top US and Russian diplomats in Stockholm.”
Qualcomm’s new always-on smartphone camera is a potential privacy nightmare
“Next year’s Android smartphones will be watching you”
Added innumerate to lexicon.
Added Julian factor to lexicon.
Added table stakes to lexicon.
Minor update to racism definition.
Updated polygamy definition in lexicon and added references to polygyny.
Added Ides of Diana to ACT.
Edited pagan entry at lexicon.