Why aren't elections being called for in Canada and the Netherlands? If the World Economic Forum is behind this - why aren't they asking for the same sort of reforms on China that they are trying to make Western nations make? The common sense answer you arrive at when asking these questions is very troubling.
Monday, August 15, 2022
The Espionage Act
Not sure if Liberals understand how truly dangerous a slippery slop having the FBI raid Donald Trump's home under the guise of a violation of the Espionage Act truly is. Remember it was not that long ago that Liberals were for repealing the Espionage Act:
Some news media commentators are finally coming to the realization that if the Espionage Act can be enforced against [Julian] Assange for what he did, it can be enforced against anyone in the press for revealing damaging inside information about the national-security establishment - i.e, the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA.
Add on top that the FBI may have also (knowingly?) taken confidential attorney-client information and information covered by Executive Privilege - you have the makings of a real Constitutional mess. What's to stop Donald Trump or any Republican from turning around and weaponizing the Espionage Act themselves to go after Joe Biden through Hunter Biden in January 2024? There's a lot more treasonous smoke in Hunter's laptop than in Mar-a-Lago.
Why stop at Joe and Hunter Biden? Remember those NYT false reports that Vladimir Putin was offering bounties for American military deaths in Afghanistan? Why not settle a score with the New York Times as well? General Miley undercutting the Commander in Chief by talking with the Chinese? The "Justice" Department waited 19 months to go after Trump - so the time frame is also out the window. No statue of limitations on treasonous acts.
The Democrats would be wise to repeal the Espionage Act now while they still have the votes because the gloves are bound to come off. They should remember - revenge is a dish best served cold.
How the US Government Fights Inflation
Ford will open up orders for the next wave of F-150 Lightning reservation holders this Thursday [August 11th], but those buying the electric pickup as of this weekend will need to dig deeper in their pockets. The automaker is bumping up the prices by between $4,200 and $8,900...
The Senate passed a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles and Ford announces that they will be raising their prices by an average of $7,500 - coincidence? They're "fighting" inflation for the big corporations - not for the average American family. Your tax dollars at work.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"There were many people who did not recognize Jesus or the Buddha, as there are and always has been many people who are drawn to false teachers. Egos are drawn to bigger egos." - Eckhart Tolle
"The mainstream media is not your friend. The culture is not your friend. The government is not your friend. Big business is not your friend." - Russell Brand
"The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible." - Salman Rushdie
"Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Mark Knopfler explains how he came up with this iconic song. Said it before but Knopfler is the most underrated artist of the last 50-years.
If Einstein Had The Internet
Interesting interview with Balaji Srinivasan who is one of the smartest guys going.
Interview is from last August but worth revisiting. Balaji makes some interesting points and observations such as how, "These new faiths replaced g-o-d with g-o-v, faiths which centered the State over God as the most powerful force on earth."
And how, "The NSA won't need to hack its way in, it'll get a front door. And then it will likely get hacked in turn, spraying all of your data over the internet."
Jordan Peterson and Eckhart Tolle - Comparing Two Teachers
Perhaps the best is to walk a middle way between the two. Put another way - adapt the phrase act locally (Tolle) but think globally (Peterson).
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"To complain is always nonacceptance of what is... When you complain, you make yourself a victim." - Eckhart Tolle
"I wouldn't give a tinker's damn for a man who isn't sometimes afraid. Fear's the spice that makes it interesting to go ahead." - Daniel Boone
"The happy man is one who is freed from both fear and desire because of the gift of reason." - Seneca
"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Farnam Street Knowledge
Machiavelli and the Four Princes of Pragmatism.
You have to both see and accept the world for how it really is.
Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
I say "mucho" to all my Hispanic friends. It means a lot to them. And to you I say please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. Gracias.
Every Mission to Mars in One Visualization
Basically USA 74 (%) - Russia 5 (%). And this is before Elon Musk and SpaceX.
USA! USA! USA!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Wisdom comes by facing the wind; fools let it carry them." - Daniel Boone
"If it's endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining." - Marcus Aurelius
"The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure, but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity." - Epicurus
"Negativity is never the optimum way of dealing with any situation." - Eckhart Tolle
Friday, August 12, 2022
A Well Deserved Honor
Well deserved but too bad they couldn't have announced this while Bill was still alive.
Woke Elites Control the Institutions Meant to Serve Us
Looking around, it seems pretty clear that this isn’t a problem just for BlackRock and the Democratic Party. All over America — and to a substantial degree, the world — institutions seem to be run on behalf of the people who control them rather than to support their missions or the people they’re supposed to serve.
Both BlackRock and the Democratic Party are like parasites who have taken over their hosts' bodies. The parasites are in most cases wealthy white woke activists (or at least wealthy whites who play activists for the camera but who are really in it for the graft).
One complaint is that Professor Reynolds doesn't mention the elephant in the room - the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese funds. Both BlackRock (especially) and the Democratic Party are flooded with Chinese money which colors all their decisions.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Negativity is never the optimum way of dealing with any situation." - Eckhart Tolle
"Harry Truman longed for a one-armed economist because then he wouldn't be able to say 'but on the other hand' because there'd be no other hand." - Russ Roberts
"I got food poisoning today. Don't know when I'm going to use it." - Stephen Wright
"The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Farnam Street Knowledge
Habits vs Goals: A Look at the Benefits of a Systematic Approach to Life.
"First we make our habits, then our habits make us." - Charles C. Nobel. So very true.
Meta's Chatbot Says the Company 'Exploits People'
This is hilarious. I don't think Meta's going to be a big success. Someone should have asked the chatbot about Meta's stock.
Also reminded of the quote of when someone tells you who they are - believe them. The chatbot may have just told the world what Meta (and Mark Zuckerberg) really are. I believe the chatbot.
HT Digg
Rare Skills
Morgan Housel on three rare but powerful skills.
All three are difficult to master but the first step is being aware they exist at all.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"To be free of time is to be free of the psychological need of past for your identity and future for your fulfillment." - Eckhart Tolle
"Can anxious though add a single day to your life?" - Jesus
"Despair, when not in response to absolute physical and moral defeat is, like war, the failure of imagination." - Adrienne Rich
"Be a philosopher, but, amidst all your philosophy, still be a man." - David Hume
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Interesting Analysis from Russian Defense Expert
An interesting interview of a Russian military expert. He does not paint a rosy picture for Mother Russia. The Russian weapons are not as good as what Ukraine is being supplied with, there aren't enough infantry, and there's no air superiority.
In fact, the underestimation of the enemy played a cruel joke on us.
My prediction is that Vladimir Putin knows he's in a quagmire but he also knows Joe Biden is weak. Putin will probably negotiate a peace treaty that allows Russia to keep some of the territory currently occupied and Biden will go along with that in order to have some sort of political "victory." The Ukrainians will be forced to live with the terms since they are no longer "the current thing." This probably comes to pass after the November elections.
Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
As Stephen Wright said, "It's a small world but I'd hate to paint it." Please Subscribe, hit the Like button and share with others. And I thank you.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"All middle-class citizens of education have a common belief that the tendencies towards centralization and paternalism must be halted and reversed." - Dwight Eisenhower July 1949
"Never confuse education with intelligence, you can have a PhD and still be an idiot." - Richard Feynman
"The cyclone derives its power from a calm center. So does a person." - Norman Vincent Peale
"If someone despises me. That's their problem." - Marcus Aurelius
Tuesday, August 09, 2022
Why Are Gas Prices Falling?
Article looks into the possible reasons why gas prices have started to fall over recent weeks. While I agree with the idea that prices are falling because of a drop in demand (people are driving less) - I have major issues with much of the reasoning.
First off - the article never addresses why gas prices have doubled since July of 2020. To truly understand why prices are falling you must first understand why prices doubled in the first place.
Second the example of a family renting an RV for vacation is pure ivory tower BS. In the real world higher gas prices coupled with across the board inflation (the word inflation does not appear anywhere in the article) mean people's budgets are stretched thin and people are driving less. Yes many people are doing "staycations" instead of vacations but many families are also forced to take second jobs to make ends meet with no vacations at all.
At least the BS excuse of higher gas prices are somehow Vladimir Putin's fault seems to have been dropped by all involved. If Putin was to blame for higher prices - shouldn't Russia - not Joe Biden get credit for the dropping prices now?
HT Instapundit
Apples and Oranges: A Critique of Utilitarianism
Today also happens to be the release date for Robert's new book Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us. I previously read, and greatly enjoyed, Roberts How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life. I've added Wild Problems to my book list.
Russ is host of the podcast EconTalk which I also greatly enjoy. Russ seems to me at this point to be a great friend who I've never met (if that makes sense).
David McCullough
David McCullough has passed away aged 89. Always enjoyed the story of how David McCullough started as a historian. Basically, McCullough was interested in finding out some information on the Johnstown flood and was surprised to find that there wasn't any books on the subject. So McCullough took it upon himself to write a book on the flood and was a historian ever since.
Writing was always an interest of McCullough as his first job out of college was working as an editorial assistant at Sports Illustrated. In his honor - here are what I consider his top 5 books.
1. Truman
2. John Adams
3. 1776
4. Mornings on Horseback
5. The Johnstown Flood
I know that his The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal was a National Book Award winner but I could just never get through it even though I tried three separate times. That's why it didn't make the top 5.
He was an American original and for many the voice of American history.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Best shrew fact is that they shrink their brains by 20% in winter to save energy. How long before the environmental movement demands we do the same?" - Matt Ridley
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong in the broken places." - Ernest Hemingway
"Why anyone would expect better decisions to be made by third parties who pay no price for being wrong is one of the mysteries of our time." - Thomas Sowell
"Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself." - Marcus Aurelius
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