A Very Fast, Very Safe, Very SLIMM Nuclear Reactor

““One of the latest to emerge is the SLIMM – the Scalable LIquid Metal–cooled small Modular reactor. This is a fast reactor that uses liquid sodium (Na) to cool and exchange heat, and that generates 10 to 100 MW for many years, even decades, without refueling, depending on what power level is desired. It’s very smaller version, the VSLIMM, generates 1 to 10 MW.

Its designers, Drs. Mohamed S. El-Genk, Luis Palomino and Timothy Schriener from the University of New Mexico’s Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies in Albuquerque, describe it thus:

"Fully passive operation with no single point failure, cooled by natural circulation of sodium during operation and after shutdown, high negative temperature reactivity feedback and redundant control and safety shutdown, walk-away safe, long life without refueling, factory fabricated, assembled and sealed, shipped to the construction site by rail, truck, or barge, installed below ground to avoid direct impact by missiles or aircraft, and mounted on seismic oscillation bearings to resist earthquakes.”

The reactor has redundant and passive decay heat removal by heat pipes and natural circulation of ambient air.

In other words, it can’t melt down, is cheap to construct and only needs ordinary outside air to cool off if it does shut down quickly for any reason. With Na’s very low vapor pressure, the reactor operates below atmospheric pressure so there is no pressure vessel to worry about.””
     — James Conca

Tags: clipping ∙ thorium ∙ nuclear power ∙ reactor ∙ James Conca ∙ Mohamed S. El-Genk ∙ Luis Palomino ∙ Timothy Schriener ∙ University of New Mexico ∙ Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies

If we're going to have a conversation, these facts must be a part of that.

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Reason Online ∙ Ronald Bailey ∙ GDP ∙ Journal of Economic Growth ∙ regulations ∙ income ∙ John Dawson ∙ Appalachian State University ∙ John Seater ∙ North Carolina State ∙ Federal government

Biochar: A better start to rain forest restoration

““An indigenous farming technique that’s been around for thousands of years provides the basis for restoring rain forests stripped clear of trees by gold mining and other threats.

A carbon-based soil amendment called biochar is a cheap and effective way to support tree seedling survival during reforestation efforts in the Amazon rain forest, according to new research from Wake Forest University’s Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation (CINCIA).

Restoring and recovering rain forests has become increasingly important for combatting climate change, since these wide swaths of trees can absorb billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. The problem is particularly acute in areas mined for alluvial gold deposits, which devastate not only rain forest trees but also soils. High costs can be a huge barrier to replanting, fertilizing and nurturing trees to replace those lost in the rain forest.

The scientists found that using biochar combined with fertilizer significantly improved height and diameter growth of tree seedlings while also increasing the number of leaves the seedlings developed. The experiment, based in a Peruvian Amazon region called Madre de Dios, the heart of illegal gold mining trade in that country, used two tropical tree species: the fast-growing Guazuma crinita and Terminalia amazonia, a late successional tree often used as timber.””
     — Alicia Roberts

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Alicia Roberts ∙ Alicia Roberts ∙ biochar ∙ ecology ∙ CINCIA ∙ rain forest ∙ Amazon ∙ Wake Forest University ∙ cross posted ∙ Technopagan Yearnings

“Who Inflicts the Most Gun Violence in America?”

Tags: clipping ∙ John W. Whitehead ∙ gun control ∙ guns ∙ government ∙ Ferguson ∙ Missouri ∙ police ∙ America

The Poorest 20% of Americans Are Richer on Average Than Most Nations of Europe

““A groundbreaking study by Just Facts has discovered that after accounting for all income, charity, and non-cash welfare benefits like subsidized housing and Food Stamps—the poorest 20% of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries. This includes the majority of countries in the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including its European members. In other words, if the U.S. “poor” were a nation, it would be one of the world’s richest.

Notably, this study was reviewed by Dr. Henrique Schneider, professor of economics at Nordakademie University in Germany and the chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. After examining the source data and Just Facts’ methodology, he concluded: “This study is sound and conforms with academic standards. I personally think it provides valuable insight into poverty measures and adds considerably to this field of research.”””
     — James D. Agresti

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ James D. Agresti ∙ poor ∙ wealth ∙ wealth inequality ∙ America

Ocasio-Cortez’s Chief of Staff: Green New Deal About Changing Economy

““Saikat Chakrabarti, chief of staff for New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.), said that the Green New Deal was not about the climate, but rather about tearing down the economy and building a new one, according to a report from The Washington Post.

"The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all," Chakrabarti said, according to the Post. "Do you guys think of it as a climate thing? Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing."

Chakrabarti made the comments during a meeting with Sam Ricketts, the climate director for presidential candidate Jay Inslee.””
     — Graham Piro

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Graham Piro ∙ Mark Mills ∙ green new deal ∙ Nature ∙ Saikat Chakrabarti ∙ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ∙ Sam Ricketts ∙ Jay Inslee ∙ economy ∙ climate change

Physics of energy generation makes Polis’ 100 percent renewables goal unlikely

““Electric grids are complex networks and interconnections that rely on a steady supply of electricity, but that also must maintain extremely close control of the frequency of the alternating current.

America operates on 60 cycles per second, or 60 Hz. That grid frequency can vary only about 2 Hz in either direction, says Griffey. “These are small variations, but if it drops below that you start kicking off loads,” he said. “Bad things happen and your system crashes.”

The grid is so sensitive to these variations that power producers must provide both reserve capacity to deal with sudden load increases and “grid inertia” to keep the frequency stable.

“You have to have inertia on the system that helps buffer load changes, and inertia is provided by turbines that spin. Renewables don’t have inertia,” said Griffey.

Without the electrical inertia available from fuel-powered, constantly-spinning generators, the entire grid can crash unexpectedly if the wind stops blowing while the sun isn’t shining.

This means that renewables like wind and solar will always require backup generators to provide both inertia and reliable power to take up unexpected loads.

And how much backup is required increases with the amount of renewables in the system.

“The more intermittent capacity you have, or the more unreliable capacity you have, you actually have to increase that reserve margin to carry more backup,” Griffey said.

“In the case of an all-wind system you’re going to be carrying 90 percent, give or take, to back it up because [windmills] only provide 5 to 15% of equivalent capacity,” said Griffey.

By equivalent capacity Griffey means that the advertised theoretical capacity of a wind farm of say 30 megawatts, called the “nameplate capacity,” only ever actually produces a fraction of that amount, called the “efficiency factor.”

Other sources place the efficiency factor of wind generators between 25% and 40%.””
     — Scott Weiser

Tags: Scott Weiser ∙ clipping ∙ Charles Griffey ∙ electric grid ∙ alternating current ∙ 60 Hz ∙ reserve capacity ∙ renewable ∙ wind power ∙ solar power

This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1415225799/E20070520143152

Yahoo pulls the plug on fake profiles used by British police

It's hard to fault Yahoo! in this case.

““INTERNET companies including Yahoo! are hindering police investigations into child abuse by closing down the undercover identities used by officers to trap paedophiles.

British child protection police habitually pose as children online, using false profiles to ensnare abusers trying to groom girls and boys for sex.

But the companies say they will shut down all bogus identities on their sites even if they know they are being run to catch paedophiles.

“Everybody using our service, regardless of whether they are law enforcement agencies, has to abide by our terms of service and if they don’t we will close them down,” said Yahoo!.

Its terms of service state that all information used to make up a profile must be “true, accurate current and complete”.

The stipulations are intended to protect users from exploitation and abuse, but antiabuse campaigners say they are frustrating police sting operations on hardcore offenders.””

Why should police have special privileges not available to the general public? Why should a private company overlook abuses of services just because it is government agents?

Yes, I know it is that old saw about "protecting the children," but without that justification, doesn't Yahoo! owe it's customers protection from frauds online?

Posted: Sun - May 20, 2007 at 02:31 PM

Tags: clipping ∙ Yahoo! ∙ Britain ∙ police ∙ children ∙ pedophile ∙ paedophile ∙ identity fraud ∙ government ∙ agents ∙ protect the children

Trauma Informed Investigations Stole My Son’s Future

““If you’d have asked me before my son was accused of sexual misconduct, I would have said that trauma-informed investigations were a good idea. Living through the '90s as a female college student, then as a woman motivated to be successful in a male-dominated field, sexual harassment, inequality, and forcible rape happened. It still happens today. Then so many victims were afraid to come forward as they are now. However, in our rush for justice, we are bearing witness to the creation of a new class of victim on college campuses and in the criminal justice system. The innocent.

These new victims aren’t given the presumption of innocence. They aren’t entitled to know the accusation against them. Evidence is withheld from them and their lawyers. Police officers ask deceptively leading questions, and school investigators are both judge and jury making life-altering sanction decisions based on the presumption that a ‘victim’ never lies. ””
     — A. Pebble

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ justice ∙ A. Pebble ∙ sexual misconduct ∙ trauma-informed investigations ∙ sexual harassment ∙ inequality ∙ forcible rape ∙ victims ∙ college campuses ∙ criminal justice system ∙ innocent ∙ presumption of innocence ∙ evidence ∙ lawyers ∙ police officers ∙ investigators ∙ judge and jury

A Modest Proposal For US Slavery Reparations

““Since most of the Democratic Presidential aspirants have come out in favor of at least studying reparations for slavery, I wanted to offer a common sense proposal. I propose that slavery reparation be paid for by the single organization that had the most to do with the existence and protection of slavery in this country: the Democratic Party.””
     — Warren Meyer

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Warren Meyer ∙ reparations ∙ Democrat party ∙ slavery ∙ common sense

The American Old West: How Hollywood Made It “Wild” to Make Money & Advance Gun Control

““Hollywood has a clever way of distorting our perspective on history, and a great example of this is Western film – a movie genre we've all come to love. Cattle rustlers, guns blazing, outlaws running loose, and vigilantes dishing out vengeance indiscriminately. These scenes have become more synonymous with the American Frontier than Winchester and their "Cartridge That Won the West." But these fictional tales have produced more than entertainment for over a century; they've also contributed to an ongoing, subtle push for gun control, all while making Hollywood millions.

Revisionist history books tell us that the “Wild West” was an anarchic period of time that was not conducive to human prosperity. Images of a Hobbesian nightmare – a life that is brutish and short – are ingrained in our consciousness thanks to decades of public schooling and violent images on the silver screen which are light on actual history and heavy on creative license.

However, individuals who believe in liberty and developing their critical thinking faculties should be skeptical of most mainstream narratives regarding history, especially American history. After all, these narratives by and large have been created by Hollywood, a legacy institution that has historically advanced politically correct content with the support of Washington in order to perpetuate the cultural status quo.

When the curtain of political correctness that's been draped over this particular period of history is pulled back, we see a much more nuanced picture of the American Frontier. In fact, research by historians such as Peter J. Hill, Richard Shenkman, Roger D. McGrath, Terry Anderson, and W. Eugene Holland shows that this period was rather indicative of a “not so wild, Wild West.”

For the purposes of this article, the Wild West will now be referred to as the Old West. This is by no means a pedantic distinction, but rather an acknowledgment of the fact that this time period was not “wild” by any stretch of the imagination when compared to other chaotic periods in human history. Indeed, the Old West had its fair share of challenges for American settlers. But as we’ll see below, crafty settlers found ways through ingenuity and mutual cooperation - all done with very limited state interference - to create a stable order for generations to come.””
     read the rest at Ammo.com

Tags: clipping ∙ guns ∙ gun control ∙ Wild West ∙ Hollywood

Journalists Matt Taibbi and Aaron Maté explain how the Russiagate narrative helped Trump

““A sad irony is that the Russiagate narrative, which so many people clung to in an attempt to bring down Trump, only helped him. Actual occurrences that could have undermined Trump’s authority and damaged his reputation were ignored as much of the media and political class focused almost exclusively on a literal conspiracy theory that does not resonate with the voter base that stayed home on Election Day or the Obama-to-Trump voters. Surely, Trump has done awful things, coverage of which could get out the vote and galvanize opposition. But the Russiagate obsession perpetuated Trump’s narrative about being picked-on by a media that peddles fake news and a political elite that represents the status quo. Trump was able to come off, once again, as the outsider who takes on the establishment, which in turn persecutes him. And now that the Mueller report has said he didn’t collude with Russia, he’s celebrating.””
     — Katie Halper

Tags: clipping ∙ Katie Halper ∙ Matt Taibbi ∙ Aaron Maté ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Russiagate

Arizona Airport, Highways Shut Down; Flagstaff Receives Record Snow From Winter Storm Quiana

““Winter Storm Quiana continued to dump heavy snow on parts of Arizona Friday, prompting emergency declarations, closing schools across the region, shutting down interstates and bringing record snow to the Flagstaff area.

Flagstaff Pulliam Airport remained closed Friday morning, a day after reduced visibility forced its closure, KTAR reported. More than 38 inches of snow fell at the airport Wednesday into Friday, covering the runway.

With more than 35 inches of snow on Thursday alone, it was the snowiest single day on record for the city of Flagstaff. The heavy snowfall prompted city officials to declare a state of emergency.

>snip<

More than 300 flights were canceled Thursday at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, according to FlightAware.

Traffic on southbound Interstate 15 was being directed off the highway at Pimm, Nevada, because the road was closed from the state line to Bakersfield, California, until shortly after 3 p.m. local time.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said southbound U.S. 95, the other major route from Las Vegas to California, also closed because of hazardous road conditions and stuck vehicles. Traffic was being diverted back to Las Vegas at mile marker 35.

I-11 was closed at mile marker 2 south of Henderson because of the heavy snow.

Las Vegas saw its first measurable snowfall in more than a decade. Eight-tenths of an inch of accumulating snow was recorded Thursday at McCarran Airport, making it the fifth day this month the city has received some snow. Thursday was also the first time Vegas has received measurable snow since Dec. 17, 2008.

The last time Las Vegas received five days of snow in February was 1949, according to the National Weather Service.””
     — Pam Wright and Ron Brackett

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Pam Wright ∙ Ron Brackett ∙ Flagstaff ∙ Las Vegas ∙ Winter Storm Quiana ∙ Arizona ∙ Nevada ∙ snow ∙ Pulliam Airport ∙ McCarran International Airport ∙ 1949 ∙ National Weather Service

Government has power only to protect the rights of individuals.

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Eric Boehm ∙ L.A. Rams ∙ stadium ∙ Stan Kroenke ∙ NFL

The Nature of Sex

““If this sounds like a massive overreach, consider the fact that the proposed Equality Act — with 201 co-sponsors in the last Congress — isn’t simply a ban on discriminating against trans people in employment, housing, and public accommodations (an idea with a lot of support in the American public). It includes and rests upon a critical redefinition of what is known as “sex.” We usually think of this as simply male or female, on biological grounds (as opposed to a more cultural notion of gender). But the Equality Act would define “sex” as including “gender identity,” and defines “gender identity” thus: “gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or characteristics, regardless of the individual’s designated sex at birth.”””
     — Andrew Sullivan

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ Andrew Sullivan ∙ transgender ∙ Congress ∙ discrimination ∙ sex ∙ gender identity

GFC Lessons Not Learnt

““In reality, the real causes of the financial crisis lie deeper; to problems going back a century. In the early 20th century, the American government faced an alarming problem. The Russian Revolution of 1917 terrified government officials. They believed that to deter the rise of communism, more Americans needed to become invested in the system of private property: the best way to make the average American a good capitalist was to make him a homeowner.

The federal government thus began insuring bank mortgage lending, thereby expanding finance available for middle class consumers. But there was a catch: any new housing must be racially segregated to gain federal insurance. No insurance was to be extended to African-American purchasers or to white purchasers moving into African-American neighbourhoods. This practice, known as “redlining” of neighbourhoods, largely provided home ownership for whites while denying it for African-Americans.

Unable to own their own home and forced into poor quality neighbourhoods, African-Americans missed out on generations of wealth-building opportunities. As house prices rose over time, the gap between minority and white household wealth grew greater. So by the time President Bill Clinton was inaugurated in 1993, he faced a familiar problem—too few low-income and minority Americans owned their home. Clinton was under enormous pressure from housing activists to radically expand homeownership. Activist groups were particularly critical of banks’ strict underwriting standards for home loans, such as requiring high credit scores and solid downpayments. They claimed these higher standards disproportionately hurt low-income earners and minorities. Their answer was to wield the power of the federal government to force the mortgage market to loosen its underwriting standards, so that more and more marginal borrowers could qualify for a home loan. Prominent community activist Gale Cincotta made this clear, testifying before Congress in 1991, that “lenders will respond to the most conservative standards unless [federal government agencies] are aggressive and convincing in their efforts to expand historically narrow underwriting”.””
     — Daniel Press

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Daniel Press ∙ American ∙ goverment ∙ 20th Century ∙ Russian revolution ∙ Communism ∙ capitalists ∙ financial mess ∙ African-Americans ∙ segregation

Washington Forced Segregation on the Nation

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Richard Rothstein ∙ segregation ∙ 1940 ∙ Federal government ∙ African-Americans ∙ FHA ∙ civil rights

Occupy Your Bathroom

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ Todd Oppenheimer ∙ Gillette ∙ scam ∙ razor blade

NAU researchers combine satellite data and modeling to predict climate change

❝❝The discussion reveals that the grazing, predation and movement (among other activities) performed by animals of all types have important effects on the ecological nutrient movement and should therefore be included in ecosystem studies.

“Such zoogeochemical effects are not measured by current remote sensing, nor are they included in carbon cycle models. … This currently limits our ability to accurately calculate carbon budgets and predict future climate change,” the team wrote.

The discussion also suggests that the integration of animal spatial ecology, ecosystem modeling and remote sensing are needed to improve carbon cycle research. This methodology can also be used to predict how animals will react to changing climates and provide methods to preserve biodiversity.❞❞
     — Kaitlin Olson

Tags: guest content ∙ Kaitlin Olson ∙ clipping ∙ animals ∙ ecosytem ∙ carbon cycle ∙ biodiversity ∙ climate change

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Russell McLendon ∙ redwood ∙ trees ∙ clones ∙ Presidio ∙ San Francisco ∙ Archangel Ancient Tree Archive ∙ cross posted

“George H.W. Bush secretly sponsored a Filipino child for 10 years.”

Tags: Andrea Diaz ∙ clipping ∙ George H. W. Bush ∙ Philippines ∙ Compassion International ∙ Jim McGrath

Their arguments among each other lead to pluralism, the American religious virtue that no one wants to talk about.

Tags: clipping ∙ Rich Haridy ∙ Australia ∙ encryption

Monument Valley closed due to ‘cult activity'

Tags: clipping ∙ Krista Allen ∙ Monument Valley ∙ Navajo Nation ∙ Derek Broes ∙ Navajo Times ∙ YouTube ∙ Oljato ∙ James F. Adakai

“Trump everyone's hard passes then”

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ Santa Claus ∙ Derby ∙ Vermont ∙ Sandra Cortez ∙ Julie Gates

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ wallet ∙ Katie Egger Makris

“Trump everyone's hard passes then”

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Don Surber

Freedom means making mistakes and learning to deal with the consequences

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ Josh Hafner ∙ Batkid ∙ Miles Scott ∙ Make-A-Wish Foundation ∙ remission ∙ leukemia ∙ San Francisco

I despise guns. I really do.

Tags: GoodNewsNetwork ∙ guest content ∙ clipping ∙ sewage ∙ purple phototrophic bacteria ∙ energy ∙ light ∙ carbon ∙ organic waste ∙ hydrogen gas ∙ electricity ∙ extraction ∙ contaminants ∙ treatment plants

I despise guns. I really do.

Tags: GoodNewsNetwork ∙ guest content ∙ clipping ∙ Africa ∙ philanthropy ∙ homegrown ∙ Kenya ∙ Nigeria ∙ BBC World Service ∙ education ∙ healthcare ∙ Tsitsi Masiyiwa ∙ Higherlife Foundation ∙ self-sufficiency

Platform Or Publisher? How Big Tech Can Be Brought To Its Knees

““Either way — platform or publisher — Big Tech loses, as long as the government forces it to one side or the other. If platform, then the FAAGs have to tolerate thought criminals using their services, just as if they were a common carrier, like a telephone utility. If publisher, then Big Tech can be sued to kingdom come and charged with innumerable violations of federal law.””

Tags: clipping ∙ Facebook ∙ Amazon ∙ Apple ∙ Google ∙ big tech ∙ social media

The down side to wind power

““As the world begins its large-scale transition toward low-carbon energy sources, it is vital that the pros and cons of each type are well understood and the environmental impacts of renewable energy, small as they may be in comparison to coal and gas, are considered.

In two papers — published today in the journals Environmental Research Letters and Joule — Harvard University researchers find that the transition to wind or solar power in the U.S. would require five to 20 times more land than previously thought, and, if such large-scale wind farms were built, would warm average surface temperatures over the continental U.S. by 0.24 degrees Celsius.””
     — Leah Burrows

Tags: clipping ∙ Leah Burrows ∙ renewable ∙ coal power ∙ gas power ∙ Harvard

Trauma and Truth

““That idea—that the presumption of innocence, fundamental to common law, should be suspended for accusations of sexual assault—has been the cornerstone of the campus-rape bureaucracy; during the Kavanaugh hysteria, that conceit jumped out of the ivory tower into the world at large. It will be no easy task to put it back. In preparation for the next Salem witch trial-like ordeal, therefore, it is worth empirically rebutting the #BelieveSurvivors mandate, as well as its corollary: the claim that if most self-professed rape survivors in our patriarchal culture don’t report their assaults, that’s because the “social and emotional” costs are too high, as California congressman Ted Lieu explained on MSNBC last Sunday.””
     — Heather Mac Donald

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ City Journal ∙ Heather Mac Donald ∙ sexual assault ∙ Brett Kavanaugh ∙ witch hunt ∙ Ted Lieu

“Tim Berners-Lee tells us his radical new plan to upend the World Wide Web”

Tags: Katrina Booker ∙ clipping ∙ Tim Berners-Lee ∙ World Wide Web ∙ Facebook ∙ Google ∙ Amazon ∙ digital utopia ∙ internet activists ∙ Solid ∙ Inrupt ∙ Netscape ∙ individuals control their own data ∙ free and open

“Dangerous people.”

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Adam Mill ∙ sexual assault ∙ victim ∙ lie

Lauren Southern lets loose on organized libertarianism

Tags: clipping ∙ Brendan O'Neil ∙ Thomas DiLorenzo ∙ the resistance ∙ John McCain ∙ George W Bush ∙ Bill Clinton ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ Al Gore ∙ deep state ∙ Phoenix ∙ Washington D.C. ∙ Annapolis ∙ Keating Five ∙ maverick

Chinese government tries to target bloggers

Tags: clipping ∙ United States ∙ Original Vigil ∙ Cuba ∙ Egypt ∙ Tunisia ∙ Reporters Without Borders ∙ blogging ∙ free press ∙ Robert Menard ∙ Syria ∙ Mesud Hamid ∙ equal rights

It makes you wonder what all those repressive nations are really afraid of, doesn't it?

Tags: internet ∙ China ∙ Original Vigil ∙ censorship ∙ mass medium ∙ John Gilmore ∙ libertarian ∙ Sun Microsystems ∙ Time magazine ∙ distributed network ∙ connectivity ∙ information ∙ restrictions ∙ clipping

A new category and a story about defying government authority with the internet

Tags: China ∙ internet ∙ Original Vigil ∙ censorship ∙ OpenNet Initiative ∙ Harvard Law School ∙ University of Toronto ∙ Cambridge ∙ Oxford ∙ Berkman Center for Internet and Society ∙ John Palfrey ∙ clipping

This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1415225799/E20070313134228

Chinese government tries to target bloggers

Some will tell you that this article is bad news.

I don't agree.

What this tells me is despite ever increasing efforts to control the internet in China, it is slipping from government control and into the hands of individuals.

And the government is afraid. Very afraid.

Every time I look at articles about the internet and world wide web in China, I am amazed. It's self-organizing, capable of withstanding terrible tyranny, and incredibly adaptive.

The Chinese government can't put the genie back in the bottle.

Fun to watch them try though.

From shore to shore, let freedom ring.

Posted: Tue - March 13, 2007 at 01:42 PM

Tags: China ∙ internet ∙ Original Vigil ∙ goverment ∙ Chinese government ∙ clipping

This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1415225799/E20070210153538

A new category and a story about defying government authority with the internet

““Zhang's ban, which was reported by several Chinese newspapers, was regarded as extreme even by the censorship authorities in Beijing. But it was emblematic of the Communist Party's determination to retain control of what this country's 1.3 billion people see, hear and read despite the vast changes in other realms brought on by economic reform over the last two decades.

Ever since Mao Zedong brought the party to power in 1949, information, art and entertainment have been regarded here as government property, distributed to the public -- or not -- according to what party officials think best. But in recent years, as the number of online Chinese climbed to 137 million by the end of 2006, the Internet has challenged this power in many ways. Zhang's experience in Gedong dramatized how robust the challenge has become.

Eager to speed modernization, China's leaders have professed a desire to see people use the Web widely to seek knowledge and economic advantage. But they also have expressed determination to keep it under party control. The goal, they have said, is to keep Chinese away from sites deemed unfit because of pornographic or politically sensitive content -- or, in the case of Fangshan County, because they waste teenagers' time with frivolous games.

"Whether we can cope with the Internet is a matter that affects the development of socialist culture, the security of information and the stability of the state," President Hu Jintao said at a Politburo study session last month, according to the state-controlled press. Hu, who also heads the party, said the solution is not to deter development of the Web but to "nurture a healthy online culture."

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media watchdog group, said Hu's government has deployed "armies of informants and cyber-police" and sophisticated computer programs to prevent Chinese Internet users from connecting with sites the party disapproves of or reading postings that stray from political orthodoxy. Sifting the acceptable from the unacceptable costs China "an enormous amount," the group said, without providing a specific number.””

The kids are finding a way. It's games today, but tomorrow it will be political.

And if the kids are finding a way and there are enough of them to get attention, there are plenty of adults who you haven't heard about who are networking and doing their best to undermine all the restrictions.

Let freedom ring.

Posted: Sat - February 10, 2007 at 03:35 PM

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ goverment ∙ authority ∙ internet ∙ freedom ∙ Firefly ∙ Babylon 5 ∙ China ∙ Gedong ∙ Zhang ∙ Reporters Without Borders ∙ clipping

The Right to Discriminate

““The left has created a macabre myth that runs counter to the whole experience of mankind. The left has persuaded the gullible masses of America, including, sadly, most conservatives, that "discrimination" by individuals and businesses is wrong and that it violates the Constitution.

Precisely the opposite is true. All serious cognition and all honest moral judgments involve discrimination. When individuals and businesses are not free to discriminate, then the power to determine what is true and false and good and bad becomes the sole property of the state – or that even more odious creature, that lobotomized Frankenstein monster, "society."

Instead of diverse opinions and actions freely manifest, which are what happens when the state and society are denied the power to force a certain viewpoint down the throats of private citizens and enterprises, what happens is that all debate, all differences, and all individuality are crushed based upon what those who run the state or manipulate society deem sacrosanct.””
     — Bruce Walker

Tags: guest content ∙ clipping ∙ Bruce Walker ∙ discriminate ∙ left ∙ America ∙ Constitution ∙ individual ∙ business ∙ society ∙ diversity

“Delusions of Justice”

Tags: Joel Kotkin ∙ clipping ∙ anti-Semitism ∙ Holocaust ∙ France ∙ left-wing ∙ israel ∙ European ∙ BDS ∙ islamist ∙ anti-Zionism ∙ Arab ∙ Muslim ∙ Palestine ∙ Great Britain ∙ Labour Party ∙ Jeremy Corbyn

“3 disturbing facts about mass school shootings that change everything”

Tags: clipping ∙ Shaun Connell ∙ disturbing ∙ facts ∙ executions ∙ planners ∙ social ∙ Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

“Russiagate or Intelgate?”

Tags: clipping ∙ The Nation ∙ Stephen F. Cohen ∙ FBI ∙ Washington Post ∙ New York Times ∙ dossier ∙ John Brennan ∙ James Clapper ∙ James Comey ∙ Russiagate ∙ Intelgate

“Obama-era cash traced to Iran-backed terrorists”

Tags: clipping ∙ Bill Gertz ∙ guest content ∙ Iran ∙ Obama administration ∙ Yemen ∙ Donald Trump ∙ terrorists ∙ cash ∙ Houthi ∙ Hezbollah ∙ Quds Force

Rand Paul is right

““When Rand Paul took control of the Senate floor just before 6 p.m. Eastern, virtually every one of his Republican colleagues grimaced. Five years ago, they would have cheered him.

Paul's speech, which slowed attempts to pass a massive budget deal before the government shuts down at midnight, was a savaging of his party -- a party that appears to have turned 180 degrees from the deficit hawks of the mid 2010s who insisted that government spending was ballooning out of control and was crippling the country.

"When the Democrats are in power, Republicans appear to be the conservative party," Paul said at one point. "But when Republicans are in power, it seems there is no conservative party. The hypocrisy hangs in the air and chokes anyone with a sense of decency or intellectual honesty."

He is 100% right.

The simple fact is that Republicans in the Obama era defined themselves primarily as committed to reducing government spending and shrinking the nation's debt. The ur-document of that age was Paul Ryan's budget, in which he proudly touted the need to confront entitlement spending and make the hard cuts necessary to keep the country solvent for the foreseeable future.””
     — Chris Cillizza

Tags: Chris Cillizza ∙ clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Rand Paul ∙ CNN ∙ budget process ∙ Senate ∙ Democrats ∙ Republicans

“House Intel votes to release controversial surveillance memo to the public”

Tags: Alex Pappas ∙ House Intelligence Committee ∙ classified memo ∙ Devin Nunes ∙ DoJ ∙ Sarah Sanders ∙ Andrew McCabe ∙ clipping ∙ White House

Google’s New ‘Fact-Checker’ Is Partisan Garbage

““Now, you may believe that conservatives are hopeless liars in need of relentless correcting, so I’ll concede the point for argument’s sake. Even then, you’d have to admit it’s a small miracle that, according to Google’s search engine, not a single prominent liberal or mainstream site in the entire universe has ever uttered a dubious or questionable claim.””
     — David Harsanyi

Tags: clipping ∙ David Harsanyi ∙ Google ∙ conservative ∙ liberal ∙ dubious ∙ questionable

The White House Is Refuting A Shocker Of A Claim From A Top Democratic Senator

Oct. 23, 2013, 2:55 PM
““A claim from the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), drew denials from House Republican leadership and the White House on Wednesday.

Durbin claimed in a weekend Facebook post that a House GOP leader told President Barack Obama that the leader "cannot even stand to look at" him during a recent negotiation over the government shutdown and raising the nation's debt ceiling.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, flatly, that the exchange "did not happen."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner was baffled by Durbin's allegation.

"The Speaker certainly didn’t say that, and doesn’t recall anyone else doing so," Michael Steel, Boehner's spokesman, said in an email Wednesday morning.””
     — Brett LoGiurato

Tags: clipping ∙ Brett LoGiurato ∙ Tammy Bruce ∙ Dick Durbin ∙ Senate ∙ White House ∙ Jay Carney ∙ Barack Obama ∙ John Boehner ∙ Michael Steel

Of Crudeness and Truth

““Let’s state the obvious. Some countries are shitholes. To claim that this is racist is racist. They are not shitholes because of the color of the populace but because of bad ideas, corrupt governance, false religion, and broken culture. Further, most of the problems in these countries are generated at the top. Plenty of rank-and-file immigrants from such ruined venues ultimately make good Americans—witness those who came from 1840s potato-famine Ireland, a shithole if ever there was one! It takes caution and skill to separate the good from the bad.

For these very reasons, absurd immigration procedures like chain migration, lotteries, and unvetted entries are deeply destructive. They can lead to the sort of poor choices that create a Rotherham. Trump’s suggestions—to vet immigrants for pro-American ideas and skills that will help our country—are smart and reasonable and would clearly make the system better if implemented.

So, when it comes to the Great Shithole Controversy of 2018, my feeling is: I do not care, not even a little. I’m sorry that it takes someone like Trump to break the spell of silence the Left is forever weaving around us. I wish a man like Ronald Reagan would come along and accomplish the same thing with more wit and grace. But that was another culture. History deals the cards it deals; we just play them. Trump is what we’ve got.””
     — Andrew Klavan

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Andrew Klavan ∙ City Journal ∙ racist ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Ronald Reagan ∙ shitholes

“If You Think Haiti Is a Shithole, Then Blame America for Helping to Make It That Way”

Tags: clipping ∙ Tate Watkins ∙ shitholes ∙ guest content ∙ Hati ∙ United States ∙ occupation ∙ U.S. Marines ∙ chain gangs

“Work 50 minutes for meal at Tokyo eatery”

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Sekai Kobayashi ∙ Tokyo ∙ Japan ∙ restaurant

“Street Artist Trolls Golden Globes with ‘We All Knew’ Artwork”

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Sabo ∙ Harvey Weinstein ∙ Meryl Streep ∙ Golden Globe Awards ∙ Daniel Nussbaum

“The author of the explosive new Trump book says he can't be sure if parts of it are true”

Tags: Fire and Fury ∙ clipping ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Michael Wolff ∙ Kieran Corcoran

Family asked to remove 'offensive' Jesus sign from their Christmas display because it offended a neighbour

““A family has been asked to take down a sign with the name “Jesus” from their Christmas display, after a neighbour reportedly claimed it was offensive.

Mark and Lynn Wivell said their homeowner’s association had made the request after they put up the display outside their home in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

"As part of our Christmas decoration, we would display the name Jesus to point out to everyone that we in this family believe that the reason for the season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus," Mr Wivell told the FOX43 news channel.””
     — Henry Austin

Tags: clipping ∙ Henry Austin ∙ religion ∙ holiday display ∙ Christmas ∙ Adams County ∙ Mark and Lynn Wivell

“Why legal guns can’t be banned from (Delaware) state parks”

Tags: Craig Anderson ∙ Delaware ∙ guns ∙ state parks ∙ clipping ∙ maxims

U.N. Vote Rebukes U.S. for Jerusalem Move

““The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday for a resolution effectively rebuking U.S. President Donald Trump for recognizing the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and pledging to move the U.S. embassy there.

The vote came despite threats by Mr. Trump and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley that the U.S. would take punitive measures, such as reducing foreign aid and cutting contributions to the U.N., against countries voting in favor of the resolution.

The General Assembly resolution didn’t explicitly refer to the U.S., instead asserting that unilateral decisions such as Mr. Trump’s have no legal effect and must be rescinded. In the vote, 128 countries voted in favor and 9 against, with 35 abstaining.

“We will remember [the vote], when so many countries come calling on us to pay even more and to use our influence to their benefit,” Ms. Haley said during the General Assembly debate, adding the emergency meeting and the vote were signs of disrespect toward the U.S. for exercising its sovereignty by deciding to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. She said the vote wouldn’t affect Mr. Trump’s decision.””
     — Farnaz Fassihi

So let's talk about this.

The UN has absolutely no power to interfere with the internal affairs of any member nation.

In the past, the UN has meddled for "humanitarian reasons" or to prevent greater violence. That hasn't worked out well at all.

Most of the money and most of the military might of the UN comes from the United States. Overwhelmingly so. If the US decided to take it's toys and go home, not only would the UN have to move, but it's ability to act would be less than a fifth of what it is now.

Since it's founding, the UN has tried to steer the World towards one world government. American elites have pursued globalization along the lines of the European Union. But centralized unaccountable bureaucracies seldom work. That in turn leads to more government, more technocrats, and even less accountability. For the last thirty years, globalization has be the goal.

Trump is going to disrupt things.

Tags: Farnaz Fassihi ∙ clipping ∙ guest content ∙ United Nations ∙ European Union ∙ globalization ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Nikki Haley

Tea Company Exchanges Fair Trade Status For Giving Back Directly to their Farmers

““Tiesta Tea’s co-founders and marketing director just got back from installing a water well for our company’s hibiscus farmers in Nigeria.

Words can hardly describe the feeling of seeing thousands of villagers so genuinely happy to receive one of life’s basic necessities: water. Giving back directly to that community made a life-changing impact, not only for our farmers, but on our entire company.

To summarize our experience, we defied the US travel recommendations and traveled to northern Nigeria (Kano and Jigawa states), an area known for unrest and harsh conditions. With the Boko Haram activity in the region, we knew this would be a risky journey.

Our visas were denied through the typical US process. Driven by our determination to give back, however, we had to work with the Nigerian government directly to receive a visa upon arrival.

As a loose leaf tea company, we get all of our hibiscus from farmers in Jigawa, Nigeria, who produce the best hibiscus in the world. Nigeria is one of the few countries that can produce hibiscus because of the hot, dry climate required to grow it.

Learning that women and children spend up to 5 hours every day walking 2-3km to collect water to use for cooking, cleaning, and drinking, we recognized the opportunity to give back to our hibiscus farmers.””
     — Rachel Heinzinger

Tags: Rachel Heinzinger ∙ Boko Haram ∙ clipping ∙ Tiesta Tea ∙ water well ∙ hibiscus ∙ Nigeria

Funny how that only works if there is a liberal President

Tags: Christopher Carbone ∙ clipping ∙ Cameron Millar ∙ Edinburgh ∙ Scotland ∙ crowdfund ∙ bionic hand

“Marine's wife finds way to include deployed husband in touching Christmas card”

Tags: Ethan Sacks ∙ holiday ∙ Christmas card ∙ Marine ∙ Andrew Smith ∙ North Carolina ∙ clipping ∙ picture ∙ Andrea Smith ∙ Camp Lejeune ∙ Leslie Owen

Regular readers know that I've agreed and disagreed with Mrs. Bookworm before. She's one of my daily reads, and I am a semi-regular commenter at her site.

Well, she's done an excellent piece on The pathetic legacy of feminism’s Women’s Liberation Movement, Here's an excerpt.

““The Women’s Liberation Movement, that bridge between Second and Third Wave feminism, might be summed up as follows: We are women and, with enough government programs, public service announcements, and Planned Parenthood outlets, we can eventually be invincible!

Except after forty years of this “you are woman, you are strong, you are invincible” yadda, yadda, yadda talk, the daily sex scandals are revealing that the whole empowerment thing has been a sham. It turns out that, when confronted with an unprincipled alpha male, women are weak. Women do not fight back when these brutes sexually bully, humiliate, or assault them. Women are victims not warriors.””

The whole piece is worth your valuable time. And if you aren't a regular reader, give her a try. You may not always agree, but she does make you think.

Tags: Bookworm ∙ feminism ∙ Women’s Liberation Movement ∙ clipping ∙ guest content

This Glowing Blanket Is Designed to Ease Kids' Fear of the Dark

““Many kids have a security blanket they bring to bed with them every night, but sometimes, a regular blankie is no match for the monsters that invade their imaginations once the lights are off. Now there’s a glow-in-the-dark blanket designed to make children feel safer in bed, no night light required.

Dubbed the Force Field Cloak, the fleece blanket comes in several colorful, glowing patterns that remain invisible during the day. At night, you leave the blanket under a bright light for about 10 minutes, then the shining design will reveal itself in the dark. The glow lasts 8 to 10 hours, just long enough to get a child through the night.””
     — Michele Debczak

Tags: kids ∙ security blanket ∙ glow-in-the-dark ∙ clipping

A pet peeve

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ clipping ∙ skimmed ∙ John Flint ∙ Sonny Perdue ∙ Weston ∙ Florida ∙ Oliver Porter ∙ Sandy Sprints ∙ Georgia ∙ competition ∙ provide services

A pet peeve

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ ozone ∙ EPA ∙ Jeffrey R. Holmstead ∙ clipping ∙ skimmed ∙ cap-and-trade ∙ Bush administration

Computer security expert switches his company from Windows to Macintosh

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ clipping ∙ skimmed ∙ Financial Times ∙ Microsoft ∙ China ∙ censorship

“Scientists Create World’s First ‘Molecular Robot’ Capable Of Building Molecules”

Tags: skimmed ∙ clipping ∙ nanotech ∙ molecular robot ∙ David Leigh ∙ guest content ∙ science

Radley Balko makes a better case for free markets

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ clipping ∙ guest content ∙ skimmed ∙ Radley Balko ∙ TheAgitator

“LDS Church unveils charity vending machines on Temple Square”

Tags: Trent Toone ∙ LDS Church ∙ charity ∙ vending machines ∙ clipping

“Man Who Gave The Last Generator To A Crying Stranger Gets A Free One From Lowe's”

Tags: Lowe's ∙ Ramon Santiago ∙ Pam Brekke ∙ Hurricane Irma ∙ generator ∙ clipping

A panic is not an answer: We’re at imminent risk of turning this #metoo moment into a frenzied rush to blame all men

““Maybe so. But they could also hurt young women, who need the support and mentorship of male supervisors. In many industries, this means the kind of after-hours collaboration that has always advanced young men.

Unfortunately, a new puritanism seems to be ascendant. Timothy Noah of Politico suggests we could limit sexual harassment by making meetings with anyone behind closed doors a fireable offense.

Suddenly, office Christmas parties and happy hours are under a cloud. There is talk of replacing alcohol with game rooms.

Such suggestions are silly and infantilizing. We need rules to rid ourselves of creeps, not purge every workplace of all interpersonal risk.””
     — Christina Hoff Sommers

Tags: Christina Hoff Sommers ∙ sex harassment ∙ clipping ∙ guest content

The costs that the global warming alarmists don't want you to know about

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ clipping ∙ ethanol ∙ gasoline ∙ corn ∙ subsidies ∙ USDA ∙ Earth Policy Institute ∙ government screw-up ∙ guest content

Hidden costs in the popular environmental movement

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ clipping ∙ milk ∙ ethanol ∙ subsidies ∙ Rabobank Groep ∙ Larry Salathe ∙ Chicago Mercantile Exchange ∙ Erhard Richarts ∙ ZMP ∙ Chicago Board of Trade ∙ Joel Karlin ∙ alternative fuels ∙ government screw-up ∙ Sunni Marvillosa ∙ guest content

Will getting rid of incandescent bulbs really save that much energy?

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ clipping ∙ ethanol ∙ corn ∙ hunger ∙ guest content

The accusation becomes more important than the crime.

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ corn ∙ sugar cane ∙ biofuels ∙ soy ∙ Jörn Scharlemann ∙ William Laurance ∙ Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute ∙ Rainer Zah ∙ Empa Research Institute ∙ biodiversity ∙ forests ∙ farmland ∙ corn ethanol ∙ sugar cane ethanol ∙ soy diesel ∙ palm-oil diesel ∙ environmental impact ∙ clipping ∙ guest content

Were the genocidal remarks misinterpreted?

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ trade-offs ∙ compact florescent bulbs ∙ CFL bulbs ∙ mercury ∙ environmental crusade ∙ clipping ∙ guest content

This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1722892404/E20060405163316

Were the genocidal remarks misinterpreted?

It seems that that this is rapidly becoming a case of "he said, he said."

The controversy surrounds comments made during two recent speeches in which Pianka discussed the need for population control and the impending disease pandemic that might well just take care of it. Some heard the comments as simply a warning. To others, however, it sounded like Pianka was advocating the use of deadly viruses to kill off millions of people.

Pianka, who calls the latter interpretation nonsense, says the whole thing has blown out of proportion. Many, however, seem to be taking his critics seriously. Pianka said he is scheduled to meet with FBI officials today.

"Someone has reported me as a terrorist," he said. "They think I'm forming a cadre of people to release the airborne Ebola virus into the air. That I'm the leader and my students are the followers."

There's no denying that Pianka, even at first glance, seems a little eccentric.

His office, which he has inhabited for 38 years, is cluttered with books, stacks of paper, bones and even a few beers. There's a photo of him dressed like British naturalist Charles Darwin. Scattered pictures of lizards and a copy of his semi-autobiography, "The Lizard Man Speaks," reveal his area of expertise — lizards and evolutionary ecology. On his desk, he keeps a stuffed likeness of the Ebola virus that was sent to him by students who enjoyed his speeches.

He is particularly troubled by the recent explosion in the human population. He says we now take up about 50 percent of all livable space on Earth and that people should have no more than two children. Humans, and the way they've multiplied, are "no better than bacteria," he says.

Dr. Pinaka is not denying the remarks, just their interpretation. Without context, it's hard to say who is right. But it is certainly worth watching.

Posted: Wed - April 5, 2006 at 04:33 PM

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ Watch List ∙ Eric R. Pianka ∙ genocide ∙ FBI ∙ terrorism ∙ clipping ∙ guest content

“Keep It Simple And Stay Open: The Waffle House Storm Menu”

Tags: Uri Berliner ∙ clipping ∙ Waffle House

“Anheuser-Busch Stops Canning Beer To Can Water For Hurricane Harvey Victims”

Tags: clipping ∙ Anheuser-Busch ∙ Hurricane Harvey ∙ water

“How ‘Antifa’ Mirrors the ‘Alt-Right’”

Tags: Chris Hedges ∙ clipping ∙ Antifa ∙ alt-right ∙ violence

“Masked anarchists violently rout right-wing demonstrators in Berkeley”

Tags: Antifa ∙ clipping ∙ California ∙ Berkeley ∙ Lizzie Johnson ∙ Erin Allday ∙ Michael Cabanatuan ∙ Nanette Asimov ∙ Keith Griffith ∙ Donald Trump

“Cajun Navy's on the way: South Louisiana springs into action to help Texas amid Harvey floods”

Tags: clipping ∙ Cajun Navy ∙ Louisiana ∙ Texas ∙ Andrea Gallo ∙ Grace Toohey ∙ Baton Rouge ∙ Lafayette ∙ John Bel Edwards

“America’s Post-Charlottesville Nervous Breakdown Was Deliberately Induced”

Tags: clipping ∙ Federalist ∙ Stella Morabito

“Trump Defends White-Nationalist Protesters: 'Some Very Fine People on Both Sides'”

Tags: clipping ∙ The Atlantic ∙ Rosie Gray ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Charlottesville ∙ alt-left ∙ alt-right ∙ neo-Nazis ∙ white nationalists

“Cop Stops to Bust a Move With Senior Dancing Alone on the Street”

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ video ∙ senior ∙ Kim Lenz

“73% Say Freedom of Speech Worth Dying For”

Tags: clipping ∙ Saryn Chorney ∙ malamute ∙ cat ∙ Best Friends Animal Society ∙ Kanab ∙ Utah ∙ kittens

Never slaves & never Nazis

Tags: clipping ∙ Michael Reilly ∙ thorium ∙ Dave Mosher

73% Say Freedom of Speech Worth Dying For

❝❝A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that an overwhelming 85% of American Adults think giving people the right to free speech is more important than making sure no one is offended by what others say. Just eight percent (8%) think it’s more important to make sure no one gets offended.

>snip<

This shows little change from past surveying. Eighty-three percent (83%) think it is more important for the United States to guarantee freedom of speech than it is to make sure nothing is done to offend other nations and cultures.

Seventy-three percent (73%) agree with the famous line by the 18th century French author Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.” Only 10% disagree with that statement, but 17% are undecided.

Among Americans who agree with Voltaire, 93% rate freedom of speech as more important than making sure no one is offended. That compares to just 69% of those who disagree with the French author's maxim.❞❞

Tags: clipping ∙ Rasmussen Reports ∙ speech wars ∙ Voltaire

“The Taliban Tried To Surrender And The U.S. Rebuffed Them. Now Here We Are.”

Tags: clipping ∙ Afghanistan ∙ Ryan Grim ∙ Taliban ∙ Anand Gopal ∙ United States

“10-year-old boy delivers his baby brother and saves his life”

Tags: Scott Stump ∙ clipping ∙ Jayden Fontenot ∙ Ashly Moreau ∙ Sulphur ∙ Louisiana ∙ Kelsey Richard ∙ Francis Soileau

“Peanut Allergy Cured In Majority Of Children In 'Life-Changing' Immunotherapy Trial”

Tags: clipping ∙ peanut allergies

“Nazi-Hunting Fantasies Have Unhinged The Left”

Tags: clipping ∙ Robert Tracinski

“…guard even his enemy from oppression.”

Tags: Anne Coulter ∙ clipping ∙ fascists ∙ Antifa ∙ speech wars

“What to do with Confederate Statues?”

Tags: James Glaser ∙ statues ∙ clipping ∙ history ∙ Russia ∙ Moscow ∙ sculpture garden

“Small Town Gives Dogs Their Own Pool Day”

Tags: Allentown ∙ Pennsylvania ∙ dogs ∙ clipping ∙ skimmed

“Fighting Neo-Nazis and the Future of Free Expression”

Tags: Jeremy Malcolm ∙ Cindy Dohn ∙ Danny O’Brien ∙ Electonic Frontier Foundation ∙ speech wars ∙ First Amendment ∙ GoDaddy ∙ Google ∙ Cloudflare ∙ clipping

Florida County Bans Homework, Asks Parents To Read With Their Kids Instead

““Students in one Florida county will no longer have to do homework. Instead, parents are being asked to read to their children for at least 20 minutes a night.

Marion County School District Superintendent Heidi Maier issued a "no homework policy" for all 31 elementary schools in the district.

"Kids don't learn the way they used to," says Keven Christian of Marion County Schools. "And making them do meaningless or tedius homework assignments every night just really doesn't contribute to their learning."

Any parents who feel that they might have trouble fulfilling the reading request can receive additional support from school programs and resources.””

Tags: Florida ∙ Marion County ∙ Heidi Maier ∙ homework ∙ school district ∙ parents ∙ clipping

In ‘Momentous Milestone’, Pakistan Plants One Billion Trees Ahead of Schedule

““Pakistan’s northwestern province, Khyber Pakhtunkhaw (KPK), has planted an unprecedented 1 billion trees in just more than two years and surpassed an international commitment of restoring 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded land.

The massive effort aims to turn the tide on land degradation and loss in the mountainous, formerly forested KPK, which lies in the Hindu Kush mountain range.

Imran Khan, head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party governing the province, launched the reforestation campaign, dubbed “Billion Tree Tsunami,” in 2015.

The cricket-star-turned politician revealed to VOA that the goal of adding 1 billion trees by planting and natural regeneration has been achieved this month, well ahead of the original deadline of December 2017.

He says his party plans to organize a special event in Islamabad in late August to celebrate the successful completion of the project, and experts as well as foreign diplomats will be invited.

“We will show them by coordinates, on Google map you can go and see where these trees have been planted, 1 billion trees, this is now the model for the rest of Pakistan,” Khan said.””
     — Ayaz Gul

Tags: Ayaz Gul ∙ Pakistan ∙ Hindu Kush mountain range ∙ Imran Khan ∙ Billion Tree Tsunami ∙ clipping

““Why should a city, state, or federal government put statues in public parks? Doing so addresses no plausible market failure, while using taxpayers funds and, as demonstrated tragically over the past few weeks, generates controversy, polarization, and violence. Thus governments should take down all statues, regardless of their political implications.

This is not “erasing” history but instead leaving it where it belongs, in the hands of private actors and mechanisms. Historians, textbook authors, universities, learned societies, the History Channel, and many other individuals and organizations can all present their own views of history and battle for the hearts and minds of the public. Government statues are government putting its thumb on the scale, which is one step down the slippery slope of thought control.””
     — Jeffrey Miron, Statues

Tags: Jeffrey Miron ∙ statues ∙ government ∙ history ∙ thought control ∙ clipping

“1st Place Runner Collapses 50m Shy Of Finish Line, Gets Help From 2nd Place Runner”

Tags: clipping ∙ Rob Gomez ∙ Jesse Orach ∙ Maine ∙ finish line

“Friends surprise woman with parade on her final day of chemo”

Tags: clipping ∙ Brittany Loggins ∙ Amy Kleiner ∙ breast cancer ∙ Tera Kiser ∙ mastectomy ∙ chemotherapy ∙ parade ∙ family and friends ∙ Cincinnati ∙ Ohio

No law required people to march in protest.

Tags: clipping ∙ McKinley Corbley ∙ Illinois ∙ crash

“'Breakthrough' penny-sized nanochip pad is able to regrow organs and heal injuries”

Tags: clipping ∙ Henry Bodkin ∙ guest content ∙ damaged organs ∙ serious wounds ∙ tissue nanotransfection ∙ nanochips ∙ non-invasive procedure

“Why We Need Accountable Algorithms”

Tags: debt free ∙ Pennsylvania ∙ clipping ∙ guest content

“40 Ways the World Is Getting Better”

Tags: Marian Tupy ∙ Reason Online ∙ live longer ∙ higher incomes ∙ human progress ∙ clipping ∙ guest content ∙ human progress

When Richard Branson's airline won $945,000 from a lawsuit, he gave it all to his employees

““Three decades after after its launch, Virgin Atlantic is the second-largest UK carrier. "But it hasn't always been easy ... during those 33 years," the founder writes in a letter to his employees.

Most notably, when Branson's airline was trying to establish itself in the 1990s, British Airways ran what became known as the "dirty tricks" campaign.

"We had about four planes flying, and [British Airways] went to extraordinary lengths to put us out of business," recalls Branson on an episode of NPR's "How I Built This" podcast. "They had a team of people illegally accessing our computer information and ringing up our passengers and pretending that they were from Virgin, telling them that flights were cancelled and switching them onto BA."

Virgin took British Air to court and won $945,000 in damages, the largest libel settlement in UK history. Branson chose to invest the money back into his Virgin Atlantic team.

"It was Christmas time," he tells Raz. "It became known as the BA Christmas bonus — we distributed it to all our staff equally."””

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Virgin Atlantic ∙ Richard Branson ∙ employees ∙ British Airways

“Artist Brightens Up The Streets By Drawing Adorable Creatures”

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ David Zinn ∙ one of a kind drawings

Palo Alto Cracks Down On Neighborhood Churches

❝❝The city of Palo Alto is cracking down on churches that are trying to cut costs by subletting their space.

The clock is ticking for one church, which has been told all its tenants have to get out in a few weeks, or face severe fines.

The First Baptist Church has been on the same street corner in Palo Alto, serving the poor and needy, for 125 years.

But after a brief, informal meeting with city code enforcement officers earlier this year, Pastor Rick Mixon suddenly got a sternly worded letter from the city, telling him he must cease all non-religious activities, and that his tenants, which include a music school, a psychologist, and the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, to get out by August 17 or face severe fines.

Mixon said, “In order to operate here, to keep it looking good, looking nice in a nice neighborhood, we need to rent the space. It represents about a third of our budget right now.”

For years, the church has rented the space on the second floor to music classes, choirs, dance clubs, and hosted dinners and weddings.❞❞
     — Kiet Do

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Kiet Do ∙ Palo Alto ∙ First Baptist Church ∙ Rick Mixon ∙ music school ∙ psychologist ∙ Peninsula Peace and Justice Center ∙ music classes ∙ choirs ∙ dance clubs ∙ dinners ∙ weddings

This Mom Has Donated 5,000 Pints Of Breast Milk To Help Feed Premature Babies

““Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra has donated 5,000 pints of breast milk to help premature babies.

The 29-year-old mom from Beaverton, Oregon, spends an incredible 10 hours a day pumping around 1.75 gallons of milk - ten times the average woman.

Elizabeth has hyperlactation syndrome, which means she produces masses more milk than what is considered average. But she still manages to squeeze in feeding time for her own six-month-old daughter before generously giving the rest to those more needy than herself.

The milk goes to a milk bank for micro preemies, so 1oz can feed three or four babies. Elizabeth's milk has fed thousands of babies.””

Tags: clipping ∙ Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra ∙ breast milk ∙ premature babies ∙ Beaverton ∙ Oregon ∙ hyperlactation syndrome

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ Rochel Grone ∙ child ∙ shrieking ∙ firm hug

“8-Year-old Helps Buy New Wheelchair For His Best Buddy When Insurance Fails”

Tags: clipping ∙ McKinley Corbley ∙ Kamden Houshan ∙ Paul Burnett ∙ paraplegic ∙ wheelchair

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ Karl Bode ∙ net neutrality ∙ throttle ∙ Verizon Wireless ∙ T-Mobile ∙ Wall Street ∙ competition ∙ Sprint ∙ FCC ∙ reddit

“Commentary: Can the NOAA, NASA, EPA, Met Office, and British academia all be wrong about climate change?”

Tags: clipping ∙ Graham H. Seibert ∙ adjusted ∙ model ∙ climate change

Teen Who Lost Everything In Fire Spends His Last $40 On Firefighters

““An Alabama mom can't help but brag about her 15-year-old son Kenneth.

"In general, teenagers get a bad rap," Casie Bennett told AL.com. "My son is a good kid. He really is."

Earlier this month the Bennett family's house burned down and they lost everything. On the night of the fire, Kenneth returned from a friend's house to find volunteer firefighters battling to put out the blaze that had consumed his home.

Shockingly, the high school sophomore thought not of himself or his possessions, but of the firefighters. Their cooler, he noticed, was near empty.

Around 1am, after the fire was out, Kenneth went to a nearby gas station to buy a root beer. There he noticed some cases of water, so he handed the clerk $40, and took the water straight to the fire department.

That $40 was all Kenneth had left.

"He had been saving that money for his anniversary, the day after the fire," Casie explained to AL.com. "He wanted to take his girlfriend, Bailey, to Ruth's Chris."””

Tags: clipping ∙ Alabama ∙ Casie Bennett ∙ volunteer firefighters ∙ cases of water ∙ anniversary

Watch Mickey Mouse share magical news of adoption with these foster kids

““Tom and Courtney Gilmour had long planned for two big events: the adoption of their two foster children, and a trip to Disney World. By coincidence, just three days before leaving for Orlando, Florida, this past spring, a Pennsylvania court confirmed the Gilmours' adoption date.

Suddenly, their Disney vacation took on an extra-magical quality.

Janielle, 12, and Elijah, 10, had bounced around different foster homes their whole lives. Three years ago, they landed in the Gilmours' Portland home in eastern Pennsylvania.

Courtney Gilmour, 36, knew she wanted to adopt the brother and sister as soon as she met them. “We instantly connected," she told TODAY. "We blended as a family. It didn’t feel weird for a second. It felt natural."

But, as Gilmour explained, “the adoption system doesn’t work as fast as your heart does.” So the couple waited.

Finally, on April 7, the Pennsylvania court offered the Gilmours an official adoption date: May 24, 2017. Three days later, the family set off for Disney World.

The couple could barely contain their excitement, but they decided to wait until they arrived at the Magic Kingdom to share the wonderful news with the kids.””
     — Julia Curley

Tags: clipping ∙ Julia Curley ∙ Tom and Courtney Gilmour ∙ foster children ∙ Walt Disney World ∙ Orlando ∙ Florida ∙ Pennsylvania ∙ adoption

America's Media Meltdown

❝❝In the 2008 campaign, reporters ignored the close and disturbing relationships between the mostly unknown Obama and a cast of unsavory characters: his racist and anti-Semitic pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the neighborhood confidant and former terrorist Bill Ayers, and the wheeler-dealer and soon-to-be felon Tony Rezko.

Instead, journalists quickly started worshipping candidate Obama in a manner never quite seen before, not even in the days of the iconic liberal presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Newsweek editor Evan Thomas declared Obama to be a deity (“Obama's standing above the country, above the world, he’s sort of God.”) His very words were able to make the leg of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews “tingle.” His pants’ crease proved for David Brooks a talisman of his future greatness, along with the fact that the mellifluent Obama “talks like us.”

While a few journalists were aware of their cult-like worship, most were hooked and competed to outdo one another with embarrassing hagiographic praise. Upon election, Obama was summarily declared by one presidential historian and television pundit to the smartest man with the highest IQ ever to have been president.

Obama himself channeled the veneration, variously promising in god-like fashion to cool the planet and lower the seas, remarking that his own multifaceted expertise was greater than that of all of the various specialists who ran his campaign. For the next eight years, the media largely ignored what might charitably be called an historic overextension of presidential power and scandal not seen since the days of Richard Nixon’s presidency. A clique of journalists set up a private chat group, JournoList, through which they could channel ideas to promote the Obama progressive agenda.❞❞
     — Victor Davis Hanson

Tags: clipping ∙ Victor Davis Hanson ∙ Barack Obama ∙ Jeremiah Wright ∙ Bill Ayers ∙ Tony Rezko ∙ FDR ∙ JFK ∙ Newsweek ∙ Evan Thomas ∙ Chris Matthews ∙ David Brooks ∙ presidential power ∙ scandal ∙ Richard Nixon ∙ JournoList ∙ progressive

“The End of Cash; The End of Freedom”

Tags: clipping ∙ Ian Welsh ∙ government ∙ taxes ∙ cash ∙ freedom ∙ India ∙ cash business ∙ France ∙ terrorism ∙ electronic payments ∙ track ∙ control ∙ surveillance ∙ electronically ∙ PayPal ∙ Visa ∙ Mastercard ∙ Wikileaks ∙ Left

❝❝Are there any type of calls that are exempt from the robocall rules issued by the FCC or the FTC?

There are several exemptions. Calls made for debt collection, charitable solicitation, political causes or campaigns and surveys are all exempt from these rules. ❞❞
     — Marguerite Reardon, Why am I getting so many robocalls?

Tags: clipping ∙ Marguerite Reardon ∙ regulation ∙ FCC ∙ robocall ∙ short

“The First Self-Defense Studio in the Middle East that Teaches Women to Fight Back”

Tags: clipping ∙ McKinley Corbley ∙ women ∙ Middle East ∙ violence ∙ abuse ∙ SheFighter ∙ martial arts studio ∙ Jordan ∙ defend ∙ Lina Khalifeh ∙ Amman ∙ taekwondo ∙ boxing ∙ kung fu ∙ counseling

“Man Hires Homeless Man And Builds Park Stairs For $550 After City Estimates $65,000-$150,000 For The Project”

Tags: clipping ∙ Toronto ∙ Adi Astl ∙ Tom Riley Park ∙ Etobicoke ∙ CTV News

Boy grows his hair out to help kids with cancer — despite bullies who teased him

““An 11-year-old boy from Wales is on a mission to help people with cancer after meeting a young girl who had lost her hair due to chemotherapy.

Joshua Scott-Hill of Llanelli, a town on the country's southern coast, grew his hair for a year and a half so that it could be donated to make wigs for children with cancer. He was inspired after running into a girl with cancer, a daughter of one of his mother's friends, at a grocery store early last year, he and his mother told TODAY.

"He asked where her eyebrows were, and I was like, 'Oh no!'" his mom, Samantha Scott, 35, said.

"I was curious, so I asked her, and she said she was going through chemotherapy and that's why she lost her hair," Josh told TODAY.

Later, after talking to his mother, he decided to grow his hair long to help other children who have cancer.

Eighteen months later, Josh's hair had grown 10 inches. And on Saturday, he buzzed it all off, and donated the locks to an organization called Little Princess Trust, which makes real-hair wigs for boys and girls in the U.K. who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.””
     — Rheana Murray

Tags: clipping ∙ Rheana Murray ∙ chemotherapy ∙ Joshua Scott-Hill ∙ Llanelli ∙ Wales ∙ Little Princess Trust

“Ex-Con Skips Job Interview, Jumps Off Bus And Saves The Life Of Car Crash Victim”

Tags: clipping ∙ Aaron Tucker ∙ Bridgeport ∙ hero

“Net Neutrality Supporters Should Actually Hate the Regulations They're Endorsing”

Tags: clipping ∙ Andrea O'Sullivan ∙ FCC ∙ net neutrality ∙ Open Internet Order ∙ loophole ∙ ISP ∙ ISP filtering

Hungarian Gov’t Steps Up Fight Against George Soros

❝❝The campaign follows a series of moves to halt Soros’ operations in the country. The government argues that Soros is pushing for a one million migrant influx to Europe per year. It is now trying to impose legislation that would force NGOs in the country to reveal where their funding originates and the purpose for which the money was received.

“In Hungarian public life there is a single important element which is not transparent: Soros’s mafia-style network and its agent organizations,” Orban’s spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is why the government insisted that [the] parliament decide on making these organizations transparent, as the Hungarian people have the right to know who represents what and for what purpose.”

The frosty relationship between Orban and Soros reached an all-time low after Hungary passed education reforms in March that could threaten the future of the Soros-funded Central European University in Budapest. Soros lashed out at Orban, describing his “mafia state” as “one which maintains a facade of democracy.”❞❞
     — Jacob Bojesson

Tags: clipping ∙ Jacob Bojesson ∙ George Soros ∙ Viktor Orban ∙ Hungary ∙ mafia-style network ∙ Zoltan Kovacs ∙ Daily Caller ∙ transparent ∙ Central European University ∙ Budapest ∙ mafia state ∙ demoracy

Taxing Hospitals Is a Lousy Way to Fix Health Care

❝❝But if that’s the case, then the best solution is probably to stop subsidizing it, not to make the subsidy more complex. A lot of the current mess in the American health-care system can be traced back to the thicket of hidden subsidies and fiddling regulations we’ve enacted over the years, trying to fine-tune the system into some platonic ideal where nothing ever goes wrong and no one ever makes an unseemly amount of money. But fine tuning has not delivered us the platonic ideal of anything, except perhaps the word “dysfunction.” It might be time to step back and rethink our approach.

We might start by asking ourselves, “Why are hospitals tax exempt in the first place?” When the income tax was first levied, giving hospitals nonprofit status made sense, because these organizations did largely act as charities. Over the succeeding decades, however, the government decided that it didn’t want to rely on charities for charity care, and enacted a series of programs that financed such care with government dollars.

In an ideal world, perhaps hospitals would have gratefully accepted those dollars, and redirected the money they’d been spending on treating patients to cover gaps in the system, like dental care (woefully underprovided either by charity or government fiat). But we do not live in the ideal world. The difference between a charity hospital and its for-profit brethren has shrunk smaller and smaller, and by now, seems too small to justify treating them as charities.❞❞
     — Megan McArdle

Tags: clipping ∙ Megan McArdle ∙ subsidy ∙ healthcare ∙ hospital ∙ tax exempt ∙ charity

You can't get more racist than that.

Tags: clipping ∙ Dan Gorenstein ∙ healthcare ∙ Sherry Glied ∙ New York University ∙ Great Depression ∙ FDR ∙ National War Labor Board ∙ forbidden ∙ employer-sponsored insurance system

Authorities in Utah Seized Nearly $3 Million in Cash and Assets From Citizens Last Year

❝❝In one case highlighted by the Salt Lake Tribune, cops seized cars and other property—including "a $25 flashlight…a $4,000 mountain bike, a $2,500 motorcycle and a guitar autographed by Led Zeppelin worth $3,000"— and charged several people after a methamphetamine bust, prosecutors say.

Cops like to publicize such busts because it feeds a narrative that asset forfeiture is used primarily against big-time drug dealers. But they're rather out of the ordinary, the report shows.

Most forfeitures (69 percent) take place during traffic stops and most of the time only money is seized. According to the state report, cash was taken in 99 percent of forfeitures during 2016, with the median seizure amounting to only $1,031.

That means, in many cases, the amount seized was considerably less than four-figures. In one instance, the report shows, police took $16 from a motorist.❞
     — Eric Boehm

Tags: clipping ∙ Eric Boehm ∙ Utah ∙ asset forfeiture ∙ seize ∙ Salt Lake Tribune ∙ traffic stops

“Anonymous Woman Treats 25 Firefighters To Dinner”

Tags: clipping ∙ Colton Fire Department ∙ La Loma Hills ∙ California ∙ Denny's ∙ anonymous ∙ firefighters

“Southwest Pilot Showers His Millionth Passenger With Gifts, Pays For Her Ticket”

Tags: Suzy Strutner ∙ clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Southwest Airlines ∙ Denver ∙ Pittsburgh ∙ John Richie ∙ millionth passenger

George Soros is one of the most dangerous men alive.

Tags: Eun Kyung Kim ∙ clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Becky Turney ∙ Jacob Kilby ∙ San Diego ∙ Alaska ∙ Triston Green

Rip currents swept away a Florida family. Then beachgoers formed a human chain..

““When Jessica and Derek Simmons first saw the beachgoers pausing to stare toward the water, the young couple just assumed someone had spotted a shark.

It was Saturday evening, after all, peak summer season in Panama City Beach for overheated Florida tourists to cross paths with curious marine life. Then they noticed flashing lights by the boardwalk, a police truck on the sand and nearly a dozen bobbing heads about 100 yards beyond the beach, crying desperately for help.

Six members of a single family — four adults and two young boys — and four other swimmers had been swept away by powerful and deceptive rip currents churning below the water’s surface.

“These people are not drowning today,” Jessica Simmons thought, she told the Panama City News Herald. “It’s not happening. We’re going to get them out.”””
     — Katie Mettler

Tags: clipping ∙ Katie Mettler ∙ Jessica Simmons ∙ Derek Simmons ∙ Panama City Beach ∙ Florida ∙ swimmers ∙ Panama City News Herald

Rescue Pup Melts Hearts by Sharing its Good Fortune With Homeless Dog

““Lana the rescue dog may have a loving home to call her own, but she hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to live on the streets.

So when she saw a nearby homeless pup outside of her family’s home in Brazil, she decided to share her wealth with the foreign hound.””
     — McKinley Corbley

Tags: clipping ∙ picture ∙ McKinley Corbley ∙ GoodNewsNetwork ∙ rescue dog ∙ Brazil

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ John W. Whitehead ∙ government ∙ language of force ∙ freedom ∙ law and order

“The Tragedy of the Commons in the American Prison System”

Tags: clipping ∙ Mises Institute ∙ legislators ∙ police officers ∙ incentives ∙ courts ∙ judges ∙ prosecutors ∙ prison system ∙ drug warriors ∙ Bruce Benson ∙ David Rasmussen ∙ drug users ∙ mandatory minimum sentences

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ City Journal ∙ Oren Cass ∙ The Atlantic ∙ Robinson Meyer ∙ Mashable ∙ Andrew Freedman ∙ David Wallace-Wells ∙ New York magazine

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ Kurt Schlichter ∙ liberal ∙ President ∙ America ∙ Western Civilization ∙ immigrants ∙ refugee ∙ multicultural ∙ elites

“How Many Federal Agencies Exist? We Can't Drain The Swamp Until We Know”

Read More...

Tags: clipping ∙ Federal government ∙ Clyde Wayne Crews

Comments

“July 4, 2017 : Coldest July Temperature Ever Recorded In The Northern Hemisphere”

“Study Finds Temperature Adjustments Account For ‘Nearly All Of The Warming’ In Climate Data”

“Groups see climate science review as chance to undercut regulation”

“Since 2014, 400 Scientific Papers Affirm A Strong Sun-Climate Link”

“New Insights on the Physical Nature of the Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect Deduced from an Empirical Planetary Temperature Model”

Tags: clipping ∙ Valerie Volcovici ∙ Micheal Bastach ∙ climate ∙ climate change ∙ global surface temperature ∙ NASA ∙ NOAA ∙ UK’s Met Office ∙ skeptics ∙ warming trend ∙ EPA ∙ Myron Ebell ∙ Competitive Enterprise Institute ∙ Supreme Court ∙ Clean Air Act ∙ greenhouse gases ∙ Scott Pruitt ∙ Ned Nikolova ∙ Karl Zellerb

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ Jonathan Cook ∙ Syria ∙ Seymour Hersh ∙ media ∙ Bashar Assad ∙ sarin gas ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Russia

UW study finds Seattle’s minimum wage is costing jobs

❝❝The team concluded that the second jump had a far greater impact, boosting pay in low-wage jobs by about 3 percent since 2014 but also resulting in a 9 percent reduction in hours worked in such jobs. That resulted in a 6 percent drop in what employers collectively pay — and what workers earn — for those low-wage jobs.

>snip<

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray defended the minimum wage law, saying that “businesses across the city are competing for employees and our city is in the midst of a period of nearly unprecedented growth. Raising the minimum wage helps ensure more people who live and work in Seattle can share in our city’s success, and helps fight income inequality.”❞❞
     — Janet I. Tu

Tags: clipping ∙ Janet I. Tu ∙ low pay ∙ minimum wage

“In Congress, July 4, 1776”

Tags: clipping ∙ Perry Metzger ∙ and a pony ∙ minimum wage ∙ $175 per hour ∙ old-age pensions ∙ free health care ∙ weekly massage ∙ spa treatments

“Ten Basic Forms Of Fake News Used By Major Media”

Tags: clipping ∙ Jon Rappoport ∙ fake news

Which raises the question why should care be publicly funded?

Tags: clipping ∙ Kerry Jackson ∙ global warming ∙ climate alarmist ∙ Nature Geoscience ∙ Michael Mann ∙ Benjamin Santer ∙ carbon dioxide ∙ Michael Bastasch ∙ Ryan Maue ∙ Watts Up With That ∙ crisis

“Shrinkflation – Real Inflation Much Higher Than Reported”

Tags: clipping ∙ shrinkflation ∙ GoldCore ∙ economics

Government exists to protect freedom.

Tags: clipping ∙ Ryan Sabalow ∙ California ∙ gun rights ∙ gun ownership ∙ gun retailers ∙ sheriffs ∙ Tom Bosenko ∙ magazine ∙ 10 rounds

Black Guns Matter Preaches A Pro-Second Amendment Message in Minnesota

❝❝MINNEAPOLIS — “I’m a reformed scumbag from North Philly that tryin’ to do the right thing,” was a powerful statement that quieted a small conference room in Hotel Minneapolis.

Maj Toure, the founder of Black Guns Matter, made his way to the Twin Cities for a long weekend to spread his message to black communities.

Appearing on the Twin Cities radio show, “Black Republican Black Democrat,” Toure said that he created Black Guns Matter because he was “tired” of seeing his friends die at the hands of police officers and the hands of one another.

His message is simple. Educating everyone, but especially people of color, about their second amendment rights, gun safety, and encouraging a community stigmatized by gun violence to own guns to protect themselves.❞❞
     — Preya Samsundar

Tags: clipping ∙ Second Amendment ∙ Preya Samsundar ∙ Maj Toure ∙ Black Guns Matter ∙ Twin Citie ∙ gun rights ∙ gun safety ∙ gun violence

How The EU’s Data Grab Could Affect You

❝❝The EU is poised to grab personal data in a way that could impact people around the globe. Information is power; it is power over your life and almost always includes a raid upon your wealth. The control of information is particularly important to cryptocurrencies because, unlike cash, they leave a transaction trail that makes privacy more difficult and imperative. Without privacy, it is not clear how liberating bitcoin can be for the individual.

A headline in New Europe (June 12) captures the purpose of the upcoming data grab in the EU: “The office of the European Public Prosecutor [EPPO] promises a new era has dawned in the EU for fighting financial crime.” Financial crime refers to the movement of wealth upon which a government frowns. It includes wealth rescued from confiscatory areas like Greece and the purchase of ‘unapproved’ services like sex. Financial crimes that do not involve theft or fraud are simply people who take control of their own financial choices.

The New Europe article further explains, “Every year, at least 50 billion euros of revenues from VAT are lost for national budgets all over Europe through cross-border fraud.” Taxes. The article could not be clearer about the EPPO being a tax grab. The word “terrorism” may be thrown into every second sentence but, in this content, it is a synonym of “tax collection.” The EU states do not want money to flow over borders and away from their reach. And, since nothing flows quite so smoothly as cryptocurrency, it will be targeted.❞❞
     — Wendy McElroy

Tags: clipping ∙ Wendy McElroy ∙ EU ∙ personal data ∙ privacy ∙ cryptocurrencies ∙ cash ∙ transaction trail ∙ financial crime ∙ movement of wealth ∙ VAT ∙ taxation

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: Sierra Club ∙ clipping ∙ Andrew Follet ∙ Nikhil Swaminathan ∙ people of color ∙ Grist ∙ Aaron Mair

“Nothing To Be Proud Of”

Tags: clipping ∙ Reason Online ∙ Nick Gillespie ∙ CIA ∙ LSD ∙ Anthony Lappé ∙ drug prohibition ∙ '60s drug counterculture ∙ War on Drugs ∙ heroin epidemics ∙ drug policy ∙ U.S. foreign policy ∙ Southeast Asia ∙ Central America ∙ Afghanistan ∙ prohibition

“How I missed the point of bitcoin”

“Congress considers bill greatly expanding feds’ power to seize your money, Bitcoin, and property”

Tags: clipping ∙ bitcoin ∙ dark web ∙ censorship-resistance ∙ Marc Hochstein ∙ Congress ∙ seize ∙ money ∙ property ∙ Charles Grassley ∙ Dianne Feinstein ∙ John Cornyn ∙ Sheldon Whitehouse ∙ monetary instruments ∙ blank check ∙ criminal activity ∙ Justin Haskins

“Nothing To Be Proud Of”

Tags: clipping ∙ Seattle ∙ Pride ∙ Stonewall riots ∙ 1969 ∙ black trans sex workers ∙ drag sex workers ∙ white, vanilla cisgender people ∙ LGBT ∙ queer ∙ institutions ∙ Maggie McNeill

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: special counsel ∙ clipping ∙ climate ∙ Robert Mueller ∙ Rod Rosenstein ∙ 2016 election ∙ Donald Trump ∙ critical infrastructure ∙ Obama Administration ∙ colluded ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ Clinton campaign ∙ Loretta Lynch ∙ Indiana ∙ voting machines ∙ hack ∙ Phoenix ∙ Bill Clinton ∙ ☆

“Juries Can Acquit the Guilty, 9th Circuit Says, but 'There Is No Right to Nullification'”

Tags: jury nullification ∙ 9th Circuit Court ∙ clipping ∙ three boxes for freedom ∙ ballot box ∙ jury box ∙ ammo box ∙ FIJA

Soros, Clinton-Linked Teneo Among Donors to McCain Institute

❝❝Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain in 2012 turned over nearly $9 million in unspent funds from his failed 2008 presidential campaign to a new foundation bearing his name, the McCain Institute for International Leadership.

The institute is intended to serve as a “legacy” for McCain and “is dedicated to advancing human rights, dignity, democracy and freedom.” It is a tax-exempt non-profit foundation with assets valued at $8.1 million and associated with Arizona State University.

>snip<

Critics worry that the institute’s donors and McCain’s personal leadership in the organization’s exclusive “Sedona Forum” bear an uncanny resemblance to the glitzy Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) that annually co-mingled special interests and powerful political players in alleged pay-to-play schemes.

The institute has accepted contributions of as much as $100,000 from billionaire liberal activist-funder George Soros and from Teneo, a for-profit company co-founded by Doug Band, former President Bill Clinton’s “bag man.” Teneo has long helped enrich Clinton through lucrative speaking and business deals.❞❞

Cindy McCain: Crony Philanthropist

❝❝It turns out the "freedom, democracy, and human rights" institute launched by Cindy and Sen. John McCain is supported by large donations from entities known for persistent rights violations, including Saudi Arabia, a U.S. defense contractor selling smart bombs to the Saudis, and a Moroccan mining company occupying land in Northwest Africa.

In fact, examining McCain's philanthropic record reveals a long history of personal abuse of nonprofit resources, shady connections, and shoddy work. For years, McCain has been playing the role of crony philanthropist, and now she is poised to bring her dubious advocacy to the highest levels of government.❞❞

Tags: Arizona ∙ clipping ∙ John McCain ∙ Cindy McCain ∙ McCain Institute for International Leadership

“Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend.”

““A law found to discriminate based on viewpoint is an “egregious form of content discrimination,” which is “presumptively unconstitutional.” … A law that can be directed against speech found offensive to some portion of the public can be turned against minority and dissenting views to the detriment of all. The First Amendment does not entrust that power to the government’s benevolence. Instead, our reliance must be on the substantial safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society.””
     — Justice Anthony Kennedy

Tags: Supreme Court ∙ clipping ∙ First Amendment ∙ offensive ∙ Anthony Kennedy

““Stop making everything a moral issue.””
     — Don Surber, How to save the USA in six words

Tags: Don Surber ∙ moral justification ∙ clipping

“Before Lois Lerner Targeted The Tea Party, She Helped The Clinton Foundation”

Tags: Mark Tapscott ∙ Lois Lerner ∙ Tea Party ∙ Clinton Foundation ∙ IRS ∙ The Daily Caller ∙ clipping

”Deep State Leaks Highly Classified Info to Washington Post to Smear President Trump”

“Trump: I had ‘absolute right’ to share ‘facts’ with Russia”

Tags: fake news ∙ clipping ∙ picture ∙ Kristina Wong ∙ H.R. McMaster ∙ White House ∙ President ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Sergey Lavrov ∙ Sergei Kislyak ∙ Yaron Steinbuch ∙ Russia ∙ ISIS ∙ terrorism ∙ Harry S Truman

“Detroit Cops Raid an Innocent Family's Home at Gunpoint on Bogus Sex-Trafficking Tip”

Tags: Elizabeth Nolan Brown ∙ clipping ∙ Noel Navarete ∙ Isaias Navarete ∙ Maria Navarete ∙ warrant

“Jury renders not guilty verdict in gun crime, but defendant still imprisoned”

Tags: Tony Galli ∙ clipping ∙ gun ∙ Ozaukee County ∙ Damien Payne ∙ Megan Heath ∙ David Wickesberg

This 1998 classic was published by the Cato Institute

Tags: clipping ∙ C.J. Ciaramella ∙ James Slatic ∙ San Diego District Attorney's Office ∙ asset forfeiture

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: Chris Perez ∙ clipping ∙ Bret Stephens ∙ climate skeptic ∙ science

Climate of Complete Certainty

❝❝Well, not entirely. As Andrew Revkin wrote last year about his storied career as an environmental reporter at The Times, “I saw a widening gap between what scientists had been learning about global warming and what advocates were claiming as they pushed ever harder to pass climate legislation.” The science was generally scrupulous. The boosters who claimed its authority weren’t.

Anyone who has read the 2014 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change knows that, while the modest (0.85 degrees Celsius, or about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit) warming of the Northern Hemisphere since 1880 is indisputable, as is the human influence on that warming, much else that passes as accepted fact is really a matter of probabilities. That’s especially true of the sophisticated but fallible models and simulations by which scientists attempt to peer into the climate future. To say this isn’t to deny science. It’s to acknowledge it honestly.

By now I can almost hear the heads exploding. They shouldn’t, because there’s another lesson here — this one for anyone who wants to advance the cause of good climate policy. As Revkin wisely noted, hyperbole about climate “not only didn’t fit the science at the time but could even be counterproductive if the hope was to engage a distracted public.”

Let me put it another way. Claiming total certainty about the science traduces the spirit of science and creates openings for doubt whenever a climate claim proves wrong. Demanding abrupt and expensive changes in public policy raises fair questions about ideological intentions. Censoriously asserting one’s moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.❞❞
     — Bret Stephens

Tags: Bret Stephens ∙ clipping ∙ climate change ∙ climate models ∙ Andrew Revkin ∙ IPCC ∙ science

And this would be a bad thing how?

Tags: Mary Kay Linge ∙ climate ∙ climate models ∙ EPA ∙ science ∙ propaganda ∙ clipping

The Bad Manners of the Campus Left

❝❝What the hooligans last Thursday at my lecture in Colorado were objecting to was a very different kind of invasion—a peaceful, voluntary offering of ideas they were unaware of, didn’t want to hear, and thought it was their right to prevent others from hearing. Their intent was to intimidate, to harass, to silence, to dominate. This is not conduct that a citadel of education should tolerate for an instant.

Interesting, isn’t it, that what some go to college for, others find “offensive.” As I watched the incident occur, I thought to myself, “I’m standing in a taxpayer-funded institution of supposedly ‘higher’ education, not a Khmer Rouge re-education camp, for crying out loud!”❞❞
     — Lawrence W. Reed

Tags: Lawrence W. Reed ∙ college ∙ offensive ∙ Colorado ∙ clipping

What ‘Snowflakes’ Get Right About Free Speech

““Instead of defining freedom of expression as guaranteeing the robust debate from which the truth emerges, Lyotard focused on the asymmetry of different positions when personal experience is challenged by abstract arguments. His extreme example was Holocaust denial, where invidious but often well-publicized cranks confronted survivors with the absurd challenge to produce incontrovertible eyewitness evidence of their experience of the killing machines set up by the Nazis to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Not only was such evidence unavailable, but it also challenged the Jewish survivors to produce evidence of their own legitimacy in a discourse that had systematically denied their humanity.

Lyotard shifted attention away from the content of free speech to the way certain topics restrict speech as a public good. Some things are unmentionable and undebatable, but not because they offend the sensibilities of the sheltered young. Some topics, such as claims that some human beings are by definition inferior to others, or illegal or unworthy of legal standing, are not open to debate because such people cannot debate them on the same terms.

The recent student demonstrations at Auburn against Spencer’s visit — as well as protests on other campuses against Charles Murray, Milo Yiannopoulos and others — should be understood as an attempt to ensure the conditions of free speech for a greater group of people, rather than censorship. Liberal free-speech advocates rush to point out that the views of these individuals must be heard first to be rejected. But this is not the case. Universities invite speakers not chiefly to present otherwise unavailable discoveries, but to present to the public views they have presented elsewhere. When those views invalidate the humanity of some people, they restrict speech as a public good.””
     — Ulrich Baer

h/t Bookworm Room

Tags: Jean-François Lyotard ∙ Holocaust denial ∙ Auburn University ∙ Richard Spencer ∙ Charles Murray ∙ Milo Yiannopoulos ∙ Ulrich Baer ∙ clipping

“In defense of the offensive“ & “A microcosm of the maddening mix of Progressive hate, ignorance, and nonsense at an American college”

Tags: Jacob Hill ∙ UC Berkeley ∙ anti-Semitism ∙ Charles Murray ∙ speech wars ∙ Bookworm ∙ Bill Maher ∙ Goerge Eliot ∙ offensive ∙ clipping

Feds knew of 700 Wells Fargo whistleblower cases in 2010

❝❝America's chief federal banking regulator admits it failed to act on numerous "red flags" at Wells Fargo that could have stopped the fake account scandal years earlier.

One particularly alarming red flag that went unheeded: In January 2010, the regulator was aware of "700 cases of whistleblower complaints" about Wells Fargo's sales tactics.

An internal review published on Wednesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found that the regulator didn't live up to its responsibilities. The report found that oversight of Wells Fargo (WFC) was "untimely and ineffective" and federal examiners overseeing the bank "missed" several opportunities to uncover the problems that led to the creation of millions of fake accounts❞❞
     — Matt Egan

Tags: Wells Fargo ∙ Matt Egan ∙ whistleblower ∙ FedGovs ∙ 2010 ∙ clipping

“Court Rules Facebook Can’t Challenge Demands for User Data (and Can’t Tell Users)”

Tags: Facebook ∙ gag order ∙ kangaroo court ∙ Constitutional ∙ clipping

r/libertarian vs r/socialism

Tags: clipping ∙ DEA ∙ Chuck Rosenberg ∙ Justin Gardner ∙ War on Drugs ∙ drug policy ∙ drug dealing

Rand Paul: Trump needs Congress to authorize military action in Syria

❝❝Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday night that President Trump needs congressional authorization for military action in Syria after Trump ordered an airstrike in retaliation for a deadly chemical attack earlier this week.

"While we all condemn the atrocities in Syria, the United States was not attacked," Paul said in a statement shortly after reports that the U.S. had launched more than 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles against an airfield in Syria.

"The President needs congressional authorization for military action as required by the Constitution, and I call on him to come to Congress for a proper debate," Paul said. "Our prior interventions in this region have done nothing to make us safer, and Syria will be no different."❞❞
     — Brooke Seipel

Tags: Donald Trump ∙ Syria ∙ Rand Paul ∙ attacks ∙ Brooke Seipel ∙ The Hill ∙ lost in the noise ∙ clipping

“Democrats Ask Teachers To Destroy Books Written By ‘Climate Deniers’”

Tags: Andrew Follett ∙ Daily Caller ∙ Heartland Institute ∙ thou shalt not dissent ∙ Democrats ∙ Bobby Scott ∙ Raúl M. Grijalva ∙ Eddie Bernice Johnson ∙ trash the book ∙ Craig D. Idso ∙ Robert M. Carter ∙ Fred Singer ∙ clipping

IRS Seized $17 Million From Innocent Business Owners Using Asset Forfeiture

❝❝The IRS seized more than $17 million from innocent business owners over a two-year period using obscure anti-money laundering rules and civil asset forfeiture, compromising the rights of individuals and their businesses, a government watchdog has found.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report Tuesday detailing how, between 2012 and 2014, IRS investigators seized hundreds of bank accounts from business owners based on nothing but a suspicious pattern of deposits. In more than 90 percent of those cases, the money was completely legal. The report also found that investigators violated internal policies when conducting interviews, failed to notify individuals of their rights, and improperly bargained to resolve civil cases.❞❞
     — C.J. Ciaramella

Tags: civil forfeiture ∙ rights ∙ IRS ∙ Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration ∙ C.J. Ciaramella ∙ clipping

“Former US Attorney: Susan Rice Ordeblurb Spy Agencies To Produce ‘Detailed Spreadsheets’ Involving Trump”

Tags: Daily Caller ∙ Barack Obama ∙ Susan Rice ∙ Joseph diGenova ∙ spy agencies ∙ spreadsheets ∙ phone calls ∙ clipping

“CNN Goes On Rampage Against Susan Rice Bombshell, Instructs Viewers To Ignore Story”

Tags: CNN ∙ Susan Rice ∙ Grabien News ∙ Don Lemon ∙ Devin Nunes ∙ Alisyn Camerota ∙ John McCain ∙ clipping

J Scott Armstrong: Fewer Than 1 Percent Of Papers in Scientific Journals Follow Scientific Method

❝❝According to Armstrong, very little of the forecasting in climate change debate adheres to these criteria. “For example, for disclosure, we were working on polar bear [population] forecasts, and we were asked to review the government’s polar bear forecast. We asked, ‘could you send us the data’ and they said ‘No’… So we had to do it without knowing what the data were.”

According to Armstrong, forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) violate all eight criteria.

“Why is this all happening? Nobody asks them!” said Armstrong, who says that people who submit papers to journals are not required to follow the scientific method. “You send something to a journal and they don’t tell you what you have to do. They don’t say ‘here’s what science is, here’s how to do it.'”

Digging deeper into their motivations, Armstrong pointed to the wealth of incentives for publishing papers with politically convenient rather than scientific conclusions.

“They’re rewarded for doing non-scientific research. One of my favourite examples is testing statistical significance – that’s invalid. It’s been over 100 years we’ve been fighting the fight against that. Even its inventor thought it wasn’t going to amount to anything. You can be rewarded then, for following an invalid [method].”

“They cheat. If you don’t get statistically significant results, then you throw out variables, add variables, [and] eventually you get what you want.”

“My big thing is advocacy. People are asked to come up with certain answers, and in our whole field that’s been a general movement ever since I’ve been here, and it just gets worse every year. And the reason is funded research.”❞❞
     — Allum Bokhari

Tags: skimmed ∙ clipping ∙ J. Scott Armstrong ∙ Allum Bokhari ∙ climate change ∙ forecast ∙ scientific method ∙ incentives ∙ politically convenient ∙ non-scientific research

Maine is poised to make it a lot harder for police to steal your stuff

❝❝Civil asset forfeiture is a national problem, and a big one. In 2014, for the first time in recorded history, police in the United States seized more money and property through civil asset forfeiture than all burglars and thieves combined. Making matters worse, civil asset forfeiture has been known to disproportionately impact African Americans and Latinos, creating significant barriers to opportunity in their communities. According to a study in Oklahoma, nearly two thirds of seizures come from racial minorities, representing a significant disparity.❞❞
     — Payton Alexander

Tags: skimmed ∙ clipping ∙ Payton Alexander ∙ civil forfeiture

Rep. Mo Brooks files bill to repeal Obamacare

❝❝Effective as of Dec. 31, 2017, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.❞❞
     — U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks

Tags: skimmed ∙ clipping ∙ Obamacare ∙ Mo Brooks ∙ House Freedom Caucus ∙ American Health Care Act ∙ Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

“There's No Other Way to Say It: Minimum Wage Laws Are Racist"

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Tags: skimmed ∙ minimum wage ∙ racist ∙ clipping ∙ African-Americans

Comments

“We’re Under Attack"

Tags: skimmed ∙ blacklist ∙ Naked Capitalism ∙ Yves Smith ∙ clipping

Washington Post Disgracefully Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist From a New, Hidden, and Very Shady Group

Tags: skimmed ∙ Ben Norton ∙ Glenn Greenwald ∙ Washington Post ∙ Russian disinformation ∙ WikiLeaks ∙ Drudge Report ∙ Truthout ∙ Black Agenda Repor ∙ Truthdig ∙ Naked Capitalism ∙ Antiwar.com ∙ Ron Paul Institute ∙ blacklist ∙ clipping

“Leaked Documents Reveal Expansive Soros Funding to Manipulate Federal Elections”

Tags: George Soros ∙ League of Women Voters. ∙ New York Times ∙ J. Christian Adams ∙ skimmed ∙ clipping

“Scott and Shackleton logbooks prove Antarctic sea ice is not shrinking… ”

Tags: environmental crusade ∙ global warming ∙ Anartic ice ∙ skimmed ∙ clipping

Dear Media: Please Stop Normalizing the Alt-Right

❝❝For Jew-hating racists, the attention means they can playact as a viable and popular movement with pull in Washington. In return, many in the media get to confirm their own biases and treat white supremacy as if it were the secret ingredient to Republican success.

Meanwhile, this obsessive coverage of the alt-right not only helps mainstream a small movement but it's also exactly what the bigots need and want to grow.

Check out the coverage of this weekend's National Policy Institute conference in Washington. As far as I can tell, these pseudointellectual xenophobic bull sessions have been going on for years, featuring many of the same names. These people have generally been given the attention they deserve, which is to say exceptionally little. If you read this week's headlines, though, you would have thought the German American Bund had packed 22,000 cheering fascists into the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.❞❞

Tags: skimmed ∙ alt-right ∙ racists ∙ media failure ∙ clipping

Buying Reform

❝❝Charged with promoting campaign-finance reform when he joined Pew in the mid-1990s, Treglia came up with a three-pronged strategy: 1) pursue an expansive agenda through incremental reforms, 2) pay for a handful of "experts" all over the country with foundation money and 3) create fake business, minority and religious groups to pound the table for reform.

"The target audience for all this activity was 535 people in Washington," Treglia says — 100 in the Senate, 435 in the House. "The idea was to create an impression that a mass movement was afoot — that everywhere they looked, in academic institutions, in the business community, in religious groups, in ethnic groups, everywhere, people were talking about reform."

It's a stark admission, but perhaps Treglia should be thanked for his candor.

>snip<

But this money didn't come from little old ladies making do with cat food so they could send a $20 check to Common Cause. The vast majority of this money — $123 million, 88 percent of the total — came from just eight liberal foundations.

These foundations were: the Pew Charitable Trusts ($40.1 million), the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy ($17.6 million), the Carnegie Corporation of New York ($14.1 million), the Joyce Foundation ($13.5 million), George Soros' Open Society Institute ($12.6 million), the Jerome Kohlberg Trust ($11.3 million), the Ford Foundation ($8.8 million) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ($5.2 million).

Not exactly all household names, but the left-wing groups that these foundations support may be more familiar: the Earth Action Network, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, the Public Citizen Foundation, the Feminist Majority Foundation . . .

What did this liberal foundation crowd buy with its $123 million?

For starters, a stable of supposedly independent pro-reform groups, with Orwellian names you may have heard in the press: the Center for Public Integrity, the William J. Brennan Center for Justice, Democracy 21 and so on.

Plus, favorable press coverage. Here, the story — as laid out in the Political Money Line report — gets really ugly.❞❞

Tags: skimmed ∙ 2005 ∙ Sean Treglia ∙ campaign finance reform ∙ Watch List ∙ Congress ∙ Pew Charitable Trusts ∙ Schumann Center for Media and Democracy ∙ Carnegie Corporation of New York ∙ Joyce Foundation ∙ George Soros ∙ Open Society Institute ∙ Jerome Kohlberg Trust ∙ Ford Foundation ∙ John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ∙ Earth Action Network ∙ NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund ∙ People for the American Way ∙ Planned Parenthood ∙ ublic Citizen Foundation ∙ Feminist Majority Foundation ∙ Center for Public Integrity ∙ William J. Brennan Center for Justice ∙ Democracy 21 ∙ clipping

“A libertarian tech revolt”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Sam Rolley ∙ political correctness ∙ YouTube ∙ Twitter ∙ censorship ∙ clipping

“The Real War on Science”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Left ∙ Right ∙ mixing science and politics ∙ conservative ∙ Friedrich Hayek ∙ fatal conceit ∙ central planners ∙ traditional institutions ∙ natural rights ∙ power of the state ∙ scientific socialism ∙ Herbert Croly ∙ eugenics movement ∙ Theodore Roosevelt ∙ Woodrow Wilson ∙ Margaret Sanger ∙ clipping

“America Called Bullshit on the Cult of Clinton”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Brendan O'Neill ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Clinton cult ∙ true believers ∙ Trump supporters ∙ Lena Dunham ∙ Virginia Heffernan ∙ Athena ∙ clipping

“Fashion Designers Are Boycotting Melania Trump. Shouldn't Bakers and Florists Have the Same Right?”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Stephanie Slade ∙ boycott ∙ associational freedom ∙ Sophie Theallet ∙ Melania Trump ∙ Michelle Obama ∙ bakery owners ∙ photographers ∙ wedding vendors ∙ Barronelle Stutzman ∙ Arlene's Flowers ∙ Washington state ∙ short ∙ clipping

“Hate Crimes, Hoaxes, and Hyperbole”

Tags: Elizabeth Nolan Brown ∙ violence ∙ Trump supporters ∙ LGBT ∙ Jewish ∙ misinformation ∙ Southern Poverty Law Center ∙ America ∙ skimmed ∙ short ∙ clipping

‟Ignore the Mob—Long Live the Electoral College”

Tags: skimmed ∙ David Harsanyi ∙ electoral college ∙ President ∙ Vice President ∙ politicos ∙ scaremonger ∙ Senate ∙ Congress ∙ Barack Obama ∙ Donald Trump ∙ clipping

“You Are Still Crying Wolf”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Scott Alexander ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Republican ∙ catastrophic distraction ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ Satanist ∙ clipping

There's no incentive to make it better

Tags: electoral college ∙ Democrats ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Clinton supporters ∙ harass ∙ skimmed ∙ clipping

I've every reason to fight religious discrimination.

Tags: Reason Online ∙ California ∙ secession ∙ #CalExit ∙ state government ∙ skimmed ∙ clipping

Tiny Homes Banned in U.S. at Increasing Rate as Govt Criminalizes Sustainable Living

❝❝As the corporatocracy tightens its grip on the masses – finding ever more ways to funnel wealth to the top – humanity responds in a number of ways, including the rising popularity of tiny houses.

These dwellings, typically defined as less than 500 square feet, are a way for people to break free of mortgages, taxes, utility bills and the general trappings of “stuff.” They’re especially attractive to millennials and retirees, or those seeking to live off-grid.

But government and corporations depend on rampant consumerism and people being connected to the grid.

Seeking actual freedom through minimalist living should seem like a natural fit for the American dream, but the reality is that many governments around the country either ban tiny homes or force them to be connected to the utility grid.❞❞

Tags: skimmed ∙ sustainable ∙ tiny houses ∙ government ∙ corporatism ∙ consumerism ∙ grid ∙ stupid laws ∙ minimalist ∙ freedom ∙ clipping

Memo To The Next President: We Can Grow A Lot Faster

❝❝The idea that there is some kind of inevitable decline in productivity, he says, is nonsense: "Experience and formal analysis tell us clearly that innovation and productivity happen where there is rule of law, simple and predictable regulation, property rights, reasonable taxation, an open and competitive economy, and decent public infrastructure," Cochrane wrote recently. "These politicians do have ample control over, and ample opportunity to screw up."

Presidents, working with Congress, can have an enormous impact on the things that matter.

So what matters? A kind of consensus is emerging among some economists that significant barriers to growth exist — and that they can be swept away. Doing so could push the long-term growth path back above 3% -- creating millions of new jobs and higher incomes at the same time.❞❞

Tags: skimmed ∙ decline ∙ productivity ∙ innovation ∙ productivity ∙ rule of law ∙ regulation ∙ property rights ∙ taxation ∙ President ∙ Congress ∙ clipping

“Alt-Right Nativists Launch Witch Hunt Against Chobani Yogurt Founder For Helping Refugees”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Chobani Yogurt ∙ Hamdi Ulukaya ∙ refugee ∙ migrants ∙ immigrants ∙ immigration ∙ Syria ∙ immigrant success story ∙ feta cheese ∙ kosher yogurt ∙ Long Island ∙ New York ∙ Twin Falls ∙ Idaho ∙ Syracuse ∙ Colgate University ∙ clipping

Entirely too funny.

Tags: skimmed ∙ migrants ∙ immigration ∙ WWII ∙ Scandinavian ∙ Sweden ∙ police resignations ∙ asylum ∙ refugee ∙ crime ∙ sex assaults ∙ drug dealing ∙ children carrying weapons ∙ clipping

Entirely too funny.

Tags: skimmed ∙ Forbes ∙ Institute For Justice ∙ Med-West Distribution ∙ California ∙ Nick Sibilla ∙ San Diego ∙ civil forfeiture ∙ DEA ∙ medical marijuana ∙ James Slatic ∙ clipping

This classic 1867 piece has lessons for today.

For length reasons, this entry has it's own page.

Tags: The Last Ditch ∙ Tom Paine ∙ Brexit ∙ UK ∙ Parliament ∙ skimmed ∙ clipping

“The Russian Bogeyman”

Tags: skimmed ∙ parents ∙ daughter ∙ police ∙ criminal prosecution ∙ evidence ∙ clipping

“German Streets Descend into Lawlessness”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Ivanka Trump ∙ Nordstrom ∙ Donald Trump ∙ political correctness ∙ enlightenment ∙ election ∙ clipping

“Wind Farms Cause Sleep Loss, Stress and Anxiety, Government Review Finds”

Tags: skimmed ∙ wind farms ∙ turbine ∙ clipping

“…Like Soviet-Era Bullies”

Tags: skimmed ∙ Russia ∙ Syria ∙ America ∙ zero-sum ∙ bombing ∙ Vladimir Putin ∙ clipping

She doesn’t think the law should apply to her.

Tags: skimmed ∙ immigration ∙ migrants ∙ Germany ∙ violent crime ∙ rape ∙ assault ∙ stabbing ∙ home invasion ∙ robbery ∙ burglary ∙ drug trafficking ∙ Angela Merkel ∙ Africa ∙ Asia ∙ Middle East ∙ vetted ∙ clipping

People had their trust stolen and now they are almost ready to smash.

Tags: Tim Newman ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ Clinton e-mail ∙ politicisation ∙ Barack Obama ∙ IRS ∙ CIA ∙ Pentagon ∙ FBI ∙ Clinton Foundation ∙ Republic ∙ clipping

“…Like Soviet-Era Bullies”

Tags: skimmed ∙ LGBT ∙ gay ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Cincinnati ∙ thought police ∙ election ∙ clipping

Rigged? In What Way Is This Election NOT Rigged?

❝❝The political and media elites are outraged beyond measure by Donald Trump’s charge that the election could be rigged. How dare he suggest such a thing, they say, for the system is as honest as the day is long!

It shows he knows he is going to lose, they say. It shows that he has no faith in the American system, and is really a fascist at heart.

In reality, it shows no such thing, but it does show that a conversation about whether this election -- and the political system in general -- is rigged is one that the elites most desperately do not want to have.

And that is why we must have it.

And, if we’re going to have it in an honest fashion, the question should be framed not as “Is the system rigged?” but as “In what way is the system not rigged?”❞❞

HT Bookworm.

Tags: election ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ rigged ∙ elites ∙ skimmed ∙ Democrat ∙ Republican ∙ clipping

Freedom loving YouTube channel

Tags: betrayal ∙ Ute ∙ Navajo ∙ skimmed ∙ Utah ∙ H.R.5780 ∙ Rob Bishop ∙ Jason Chaffetz ∙ Mike Lee ∙ Shaun Chapoose ∙ Utah Navajo Trust Fund ∙ Davis Filfred ∙ Republic ∙ clipping

❝A century ago in the U.S., government at all levels took up about 8 percent of the economy. Now it takes up about 40 percent. It regulates everything from the size of beverage containers to what questions must not be asked in job interviews.

How can people be expected to keep up with it all?

Seavey points out that it's backward to expect them to try. Instead of just looking at the complicated mess government makes, we need to review the basic rules that got us here.

Instead of the rule being "government knows best" or "vote for the best leader," says Seavey, what if the basic legal rules were just: no assault, no theft, no fraud? Then most waste and bureaucracy that we fight about year after year wouldn't exist in the first place.

To most people, it sounds easier to leave big policy decisions—about complex things like wages, food production and roads—to government. Having to make our own decisions about everything and trade for everything in the marketplace sounds complicated.❞

Both the review and the book are worth your time.

Tags: skimmed ∙ liberty argument ∙ clipping ∙ John Stossel

Maybe it's not about making Americans safer.

Tags: Brexit ∙ free trade ∙ Warren Meyer ∙ racism ∙ skimmed ∙ UK ∙ clipping

““The sky is not falling, and when the dust settles, Britain's decision may very well prove to be a pivotal event in the reshaping of global relationships and trade that will, in the final analysis, benefit all of us.””
     — Gary Johnson, You Can Look at Brexit as a ‘Catastrophe’ or an ‘Opportunity’

Tags: Brexit ∙ libertarian ∙ Gary Johnson ∙ free trade ∙ skimmed ∙ UK ∙ clipping

Get that? The science is settled. Don't question the dogma. Thou shalt not dissent!

Tags: liberty ∙ Muhammad Ali ∙ clipping

Large companies shift power and responsibility away from local operations

Tags: thou shalt not dissent ∙ environmental crusade ∙ skimmed ∙ blasphemy ∙ attorney general ∙ subpoena ∙ clipping

❝A key part of President Obama’s legacy will be the fed’s unprecedented collection of sensitive data on Americans by race. The government is prying into our most personal information at the most local levels, all for the purpose of “racial and economic justice.”

Unbeknown to most Americans, Obama’s racial bean counters are furiously mining data on their health, home loans, credit cards, places of work, neighborhoods, even how their kids are disciplined in school — all to document “inequalities” between minorities and whites.

This Orwellian-style stockpile of statistics includes a vast and permanent network of discrimination databases, which Obama already is using to make “disparate impact” cases against: banks that don’t make enough prime loans to minorities; schools that suspend too many blacks; cities that don’t offer enough Section 8 and other low-income housing for minorities; and employers who turn down African-Americans for jobs due to criminal backgrounds.❞

❝Now even ZIP codes are racist, and according to this race-obsessed administration, you're racist for living in a suburban area with little public housing. And it plans to change that.

In what may be the most ambitious social-engineering project undertaken by the federal government, the administration is mapping every neighborhood in America by race. The stated purpose is to use the data to compel local officials to loosen zoning laws and build more public housing, thereby offering more poor inner-city minorities better opportunities for housing and education.

But the unstated purpose is forced racial integration. The suburbs are just too white for Obama and his race-mongering social engineers. They think they "geospatially discriminate" against minorities, never mind that more and more middle-class blacks are flocking to them on their own.

The ham-handed government project is led by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last week it proposed new rules requiring counties and other entities receiving federal grant dollars to "affirmatively further fair housing" in the suburbs for minorities. Grantees who fail to comply will be denied federal funding.

At the same time, HUD is pressuring suburban landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers.❞

Tags: racism ∙ Imperious Leader ∙ race database ∙ victimhood ∙ race housing ∙ clipping

Over the past few years I’ve been accused of white privilege and male privilege.

I’ve been told that my ideas reveal my unconscious bias.

I’ve been told that simply by living my life as I choose, I force others into a world that isn’t fair.

I’ve been told that I can’t quote people if they don’t match my skin color.

I’ve been told that my ideas of justice are antiquated.

I’ve been told that my words are code words for other ideas.

I’ve been told that I must watch carefully lest I hurt someone.

I think those people lied.

I think that by limiting the topics we discuss, those people seek power.

I think that’s why they choose the words we’re “allowed” to say.

I think that’s why they redefine the words as needed.

I think that’s why they pick the people who are allowed to talk.

I am tired of it.

Chris Hernandez had a great piece at The Federalist.

““Yes, f*** your trauma. My sympathy for your suffering, whether that suffering was real or imaginary, ended when you demanded I change my life to avoid bringing up your bad memories. You don’t seem to have figured this out, but there is no “I must never be reminded of a negative experience” expectation in any culture anywhere on earth.

If your psyche is so fragile you fall apart when someone inadvertently reminds you of “trauma,” especially if that trauma consisted of you overreacting to a self-interpreted racial slur, you need therapy. You belong on a psychiatrist’s couch, not in college dictating what the rest of society can’t do, say, or think. Get your own head right before you try to run other people’s lives. If you expect everyone around you to cater to your neurosis, forever, you’re what I’d call a “failure at life,” doomed to perpetual disappointment.

Oh, I should add: f** my trauma, too. I must be old-fashioned, but I always thought coming to terms with pain was part of growing up. I’ve never expected anyone to not knock on my door because it reminds me of that terrifying morning decades ago. I’ve never blown up at anyone for startling me with a camera flash (I’ve never even mentioned it to anyone who did). I’ve never expected anyone to not talk about Iraq or Afghanistan around me, even though some memories still hurt. I don’t need trigger warnings because a book might remind me of a murder victim I’ve seen.””

So I am going to call those folks on their victimhood. And I am not going to be nice.

I’m not responsible for their trigger moments. I won’t guard their safe spaces.

It’s time for people to grow up and take responsibility.

Or die waiting for someone to take care of them out of pity.

Power by victimhood depends on the other guy’s guilt.

I thought I had a lot more to say on this. But it’s pretty simple really.

I won’t feed the victimhood anymore.

Tags: victimhood ∙ power over ∙ trauma ∙ growing up ∙ privilege ∙ skimmed ∙ Chris Hernandez ∙ The Federalist Papers ∙ speech wars ∙ clipping ∙ white privilege ∙ male privilege ∙ unconscious bias

Douglas Adams Passing Day

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ John Kerry ∙ Iraq ∙ short ∙ skimmed ∙ clipping