02/02 -- Myanmar: Coup forces hold civilian regime pols in "open-air detention centre"; Biden's Orders Continue the Presidency's Slide Toward Elective Monarchy
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Thomas L. Knapp
2021年2月2日 上午8:28:502021/2/2
收件者：Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 02/02/21
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Presented by the Liberty International
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Myanmar: Coup forces hold civilian regime pols in "open-air detention centre"
2) SpaceX announces first mission to space with all-civilian crew
3) Uganda: Wine calls on court to nullify election result
4) China: WHO team in Wuhan hold "good discussions" with regime-approved "counterparts"
5) Trump's new impeachment lawyers plan to argue that Constitution is unconstitutional and history never happened
6) Democrats to Force McCarthy's Hand on Removing the Representative from the Great State of Cuckoo for Coco Puffs From Committee Seats
7) Erdogan says Turkey needs new constitution
8) Australian Greens nominate Assange for Nobel Peace Prize
9) EU extortionists appeal Apple tax ruling, whine that it's "contradictory"
10) PA: State agency bungles ballot referendum for child sex victims
11) Pope denounces violence against women, demands protection
12) IL: Chicago Teachers Face Strike or Lockout Over Refusal to do Their Jobs
13) Kudlow: Government shouldn't intervene in GameStop trading frenzy
14) Israel: 20,000 break rules to attend funeral of orthodox rabbi as regime extends lockdown
15) Brazil: Bolsonaro victories in Congress seen thwarting impeachment
16) OR: Fake "drug decriminalization" law goes into effect
17) Young men accuse Lincoln Project co-founder of harassment
18) Australia: Pol talks up Bing as replacement if he manages to drive Google out of the country
19) CA: Newsom, unions clash over whether teachers should do their jobs
20) NY: Video released of Rochester cops handcuffing, using chemical weapons on, nine-year-old
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Biden's Orders Continue the Presidency's Slide Toward Elective Monarchy
22) Robert Higgs: A Birthday Appreciation
23) The National Security State Shields One of Its Own Miscreants -- Again
24) Media Fear-Mongering With Zero Education Value
25) The Imperial Presidency Under Joe Biden
26) When Hawks Advocate a Human Rights-Oriented Foreign Policy, You Know It Isn't About Human Rights
27) What's Really Behind the "GameStop Bubble"
28) Administrative Costs of a Carbon Tax
29) Business Should Fight Back Against Controls
30) "The Argument in the Pocket" Move: Bullying Behavior in Political Theory
31) The Political Game on the Pandemic
32) Beware of fake sex work decriminalization, aka the Nordic Model
33) Understanding Modern Monetary Theory, part 1
34) Our Oligarchs' Crisis Of Confidence
35) The real mile markers on the journey to adulthood
36) Government's Money Monopoly and the "Great Reset"
37) Fallacy #13: The Argument From Authority
38) Executive Exuberance
39) Constitutionalizing Interstate Relations: The Temptation of the Dark Side
40) Revolution Isn't Microsurgery, It's A Long Road Trip
41) Trumpism is Exactly Who Many of US Are
42) Will Trump's Hawkishness on China Become Joe Biden's "New Normal?"
43) Propaganda's Progression
44) Relation between minimum wage and unemployment
45) What Trump's Prosecution Omits
46) Black Americans' COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy? Blame Uncle Sam.
47) Libertarian Terrorists?
48) Where Did All The Bellwether Counties Go?
49) The totalitarian creep of hate speech laws
50) GameStop Lets You See the Matrix
51) Quantum Vibe, 02/01/21
52) Biden Civil Rights Appointee Has Dubious Record
53) Who are the stupid ones? New gun bill in Congress
54) You Can't Hurt Hedge Funds By Acting Exactly Like Them
55) How the national security state has come to dominate a "civilian" government
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
56) Reason Roundtable, 02/01/21
57) Free Man Beyond The Wall, episode 532
58) Commentary Podcast, 02/01/21
59) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/01/21
60) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 65
61) EconTalk, 02/01/21
62) Deconstructed, 02/01/21
63) The Brian Nichols Show, episode 193
64) Kick the Puppy, season 2, episode 4
65) The Jimmy Carter Years
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Myanmar: Coup forces hold civilian regime pols in "open-air detention centre"
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
"Hundreds of members of Myanmar's Parliament remained confined in 'an open-air detention centre' in the country's capital on Tuesday, a day after the military seized power and detained senior politicians including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. One of the legislators told the Associated Press news agency he and some 400 other parliament members were able to talk to one another inside their government housing complex and communicate with their constituencies by phone but were not allowed to leave the compound in Naypyidaw. ... The coup took place hours before legislators from across country were due to attend the opening of the new parliamentary session." (02/02/21)
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2) SpaceX announces first mission to space with all-civilian crew
Source: NBC News
"SpaceX announced plans Monday for the first all-civilian mission to space, a major milestone for private spaceflight and the nascent space tourism industry. The mission aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will feature a four-person crew led by Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, a Pennsylvania-based payment processing company. The flight is expected to launch sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, according to SpaceX. ... Private citizens have flown to space before, but these space tourists typically paid to hitch rides into orbit alongside trained NASA astronauts or Russian cosmonauts. Isaacman's flight will be the first time a crew made up entirely of private citizens will venture into space. The crewmembers will undergo training by SpaceX, including mission simulations for emergency preparedness and how to handle orbital mechanics during their flight." (02/01/21)
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3) Uganda: Wine calls on court to nullify election result
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"The Ugandan opposition leader and presidential challenger Bobi Wine has filed a petition at the country's highest court to challenge the re-election of Yoweri Museveni in last month's polls. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, wants the supreme court in the capital, Kampala, to nullify the victory of Museveni in the 14 January poll. Museveni, 76, who has ruled Uganda without pause since seizing control in 1986, when he helped to end years of tyranny under Idi Amin and Milton Obote, claimed a sixth five-year term, extending his rule to four decades, according to official results. ... Wine, a 38-year-old reggae star, said he was the winner of the election and has alleged the military was stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for people and chasing voters away from polling stations." (02/01/21)
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4) China: WHO team in Wuhan hold "good discussions" with regime-approved "counterparts"
Source: Reuters
"A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday visited the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China's central region of Hubei, where the outbreak emerged in late 2019. The group of independent experts spent about 4-1/2 hours on its longest site visit since completing two weeks of quarantine on Thursday, and did not speak to waiting journalists. But a WHO official in Geneva said that they had held 'very good discussions' with their Chinese counterparts. The WHO, which has sought to manage expectations for the mission, has said its members would be limited to visits organised by their Chinese hosts and have no contact with community members, because of health curbs. The group has so far also visited hospitals where early cases were detected, markets, and an exhibition on the battle with the outbreak in the provincial capital of Wuhan." (02/01/21)
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5) Trump's new impeachment lawyers plan to argue that Constitution is unconstitutional and history never happened
Source: USA Today
"Former President Donald Trump's legal team are expected to use an argument at his impeachment trial next week that is already supported by the majority of Senate Republicans in charge of his fate: That the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer the commander in chief. But still unclear is whether they've entirely jettisoned Trump's allegations of election fraud, an issue that led to a rift with Trump's prior legal team. Trump and his first set of lawyers parted ways over trial strategy over the weekend. ... the original attorneys wanted to stress that the Senate should not hold a trial of a former officeholder, and that Trump's comments during a Jan. 6 rally did not incite the mob that led a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol." (02/01/21)
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6) Democrats to Force McCarthy's Hand on Removing the Representative from the Great State of Cuckoo for Coco Puffs From Committee Seats
Source: Newsweek
"Democrats are taking the task of removing GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia from House Committees into their own hands. Greene, whose has publicly promoted QAnon conspiracy theories and made baseless claims about the Sandy Hook shooting and 9/11, in addition to anti-Semitic and Islamophobic rhetoric, was named to the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee. Democrats have been enraged by the congresswoman's behavior, which has also included supporting violent threats against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats prior to her election. On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer gave House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy an ultimatum, according to Politico. The same report said that Hoyer told McCarthy he must coordinate a Republican-led effort to remove Greene from her committees or Democrats would take the matter to the House floor." (02/01/21)
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7) Erdogan says Turkey needs new constitution
Source: ABC News
"In an unexpected comment Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of the need to draft a new and 'civilian' constitution for Turkey. During a televised speech following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan recalled that the country's last two constitutions -- enacted in 1961 and 1982 -- were drafted following military coups, and contained 'indelible' traces of the 'military tutelage.' Erdogan said the new constitution should be a 'civilian' one, but didn't elaborate. ... In 2018, Turkey transitioned from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential system that concentrated most powers in the hands of the president. The transition came following a referendum that amended several articles of the 1982 Constitution." (02/01/21)
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8) Australian Greens nominate Assange for Nobel Peace Prize
Source: Change.org
[editor's note: This is the site of a petition to free Julian Assange and prevent his extradition to the US. The "news" is an update on the petition site noting that two Green Party members of Australia's Senate have nominated Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize. I included it in today's news feed both because I didn't find any fresh "straight news" stories on it but consider it news, and because I hope you'll sign the petition – TLK] (02/01/21)
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9) EU extortionists appeal Apple tax ruling, whine that it's "contradictory"
Source: Bloomberg
"The European Union is seeking to overturn Apple Inc.'s victory in a 13 billion-euro ($15.7 billion) tax dispute, saying judges used 'contradictory reasoning' when they found that the company's Irish units weren't liable for huge payments. A summary of the appeal published Monday shows the EU's determination to challenge the critical July court judgment. The decision was a dramatic setback to Commissioner Margrethe Vestager's probes of national tax rulings that she says were an illegal subsidy for some large multinational firms. Slapping Apple with a multi-billion order in 2016 was a landmark case for Vestager, showing she had no fear of upsetting the world's most valuable tech company or the U.S. Treasury. The move helped fuel an EU push to close tax loopholes that allowed some multinational companies to legally pay less tax in Europe." (02/01/21)
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10) PA: State agency bungles ballot referendum for child sex victims
Source: NBC Philadelphia
"Some victims of child sexual abuse might have to wait two years or more to pursue legal claims because of a major bureaucratic bungle that prompted angry denunciations across the political spectrum Monday and the resignation of Pennsylvania's top state elections official. A proposed state constitutional amendment allowing lawsuits for otherwise outdated claims was not advertised as required and so cannot appear on the ballot this spring, the Wolf administration disclosed. The Pennsylvania Department of State in a news release called it 'simple human error' and apologized, saying the mistake was discovered late last week. As a result, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is leaving her job, and both the inspector general and the Legislature will be looking into the matter." (02/01/21)
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11) Pope denounces violence against women, demands protection
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
"Pope Francis is denouncing the verbal, physical, psychological and sexual violence that women endure and is demanding greater protections for them. Francis dedicated his February prayer intentions to female victims of violence, and said those who commit such abuses are cowards. 'It's shocking how many women are beaten, insulted, and raped,' he said. 'The various forms of ill-treatment that many women suffer are acts of cowardice and a degradation of all humanity. Of men and of all humanity.' He praised those women who 'dare to break their silence' to seek help and said the church can't look away." [editor's note: Okay, "beaten ... and raped" are to be condemned outright, but putting "insulted" in the middle might be undercutting that message a bit – SAT] (02/01/21)
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12) IL: Chicago Teachers Face Strike or Lockout Over Refusal to do Their Jobs
Source: US News & World Report
"Chicago teachers appeared headed on Monday for a strike or lockout over their latest dispute with the third-largest U.S. school district after the two sides failed to reach an deal on a COVID-19 safety [sic] plan even as they vowed to keep talking. The Chicago Public Schools late on Sunday told the parents of 67,000 pre-kindergarten, special education, elementary and middle school students who were scheduled to attend in-person classes on Monday to keep their children at home after it could not reach an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union. ... Tension between the two sides grew in recent days after rank-and-file members voted in favor of staying remote and not going back to their schools until their [demands] are met. The union has threatened to stop working altogether, form picket lines and strike if the district retaliates against any members who fail to report to school buildings." (02/01/21)
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13) Kudlow: Government shouldn't intervene in GameStop trading frenzy
Source: Fox News
"Larry Kudlow, former top economic adviser to Donald Trump, told 'Varney & Co.' on Monday that he 'absolutely' does not think the government should intervene in the GameStop trading frenzy. 'I don't mind looking into it, whatever that means, but I don't really see what the issues are,' Kudlow told host Stuart Varney. 'I don't want to see more federal government regulations of these markets.' He added that 'if there are issues here, let the exchanges deal with the issues, let the private exchanges deal with the issues. I don't want the federal government mucking around with a lot of crazy class warfare.'" (02/01/21)
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14) Israel: 20,000 break rules to attend funeral of orthodox rabbi as regime extends lockdown
Source: Independent [UK]
"Huge numbers of people gathered for the funerals of two prominent rabbis in Jerusalem at the weekend, flouting the coronavirus restrictions announced by the government as the country entered a third national lockdown. On Sunday, the first public funeral carried out was of Rabbi Meshulam Soloveitchik, the head of the Brisk yeshiva in Jerusalem, who died at the age of 99 after months of illness and Covid-19 infection. News images showed his coffin carried through the city of Jerusalem surrounded by a crowd of thousands who arrived to pay homage, the latest in a number of incidents where ultra-orthodox communities in the country ignored the pandemic restrictions. ... The Netanyahu-led coalition government is set to further extend the national lockdown after a vote in favour by the cabinet on Sunday." (02/01/21)
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15) Brazil: Bolsonaro victories in Congress seen thwarting impeachment
Source: Associated Press
"A lawmaker supported by President Jair Bolsonaro was elected head of Brazil's Senate on Monday, a victory for the conservative leader's effort to head off a potential impeachment effort. ... The Senate approved Sen. Rodrigo Pacheco of the center-right Democrats party, with the backing of 57 out of 78 votes, beating Sen. Simone Tebet of another center-right party, the Movement for Brazilian Democracy. Pacheco promised to keep the Senate independent during his term. Opponents of the president, who is midway through a four-year term, have been staging street demonstrations to demand his ouster over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit Brazil hard." (02/01/21)
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16) OR: Fake "drug decriminalization" law goes into effect
Source: KOIN 6 News
"Starting Monday, user amounts of illegal drugs will be decriminalized [sic] in the state of Oregon. Voters passed Measure 110 in November. It reclassifies personal drug possession to a Class E violation with a maximum $100 fine. People caught with user-amounts of drugs could get the fine waived by completing a health assessment, during which they could be connected with treatment, recovery and housing services -- though there is no criminal penalty for failing to pay the fine. Those services would also be expanded under Measure 110 and funded with a large chunk of marijuana tax revenue." [editor's note: "We're going to fine you and try to bully you into 'treatment'" isn't decriminalization. Decriminalization is leaving people alone instead of pretending what they eat, drink, smoke, inject, or otherwise ingest is anyone's business but theirs – TLK] (02/01/21)
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17) Young men accuse Lincoln Project co-founder of harassment
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"The prominent anti-Trump Lincoln Project has disavowed its co-founder John Weaver after several men accused him of sending them overtly sexual and unsolicited messages. At least one man was underage when Mr Weaver allegedly first made contact. In a statement, the Republican group labelled the 61-year-old 'a predator, a liar and an abuser.' Without admitting specifics, Mr Weaver apologised for the pain he caused by 'living a deeply closeted life.' ... He is married to a woman (his second wife) and the couple has two kids. After the online magazine The American Conservative reported allegations last month, he admitted his actions to US media outlet Axios." [editor's note: So "sending messages" is now being equated to physical assault? – SAT] [additional editor's note: Not in this excerpt, it isn't – TLK] (02/01/21)
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18) Australia: Pol talks up Bing as replacement if he manages to drive Google out of the country
Source: Seattle Times
"Australia's prime minister said on Monday that Microsoft is confident it can fill the void if Google carries out its threat [sic] to remove its search engine from Australia. A Google executive told a Senate hearing last month that it would likely make its search engine unavailable in Australia if the government goes ahead with a draft law that would make tech giants pay for news content. ... The mandatory code of conduct proposed by the government aims to make Google and Facebook pay Australian media companies fairly [sic] for [promoting] news content the tech giants [index at] news sites. There are no plans to make smaller search engines such as Bing pay for linking users to Australian news, but the government has not ruled that option out." (02/01/21)
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19) CA: Newsom, unions clash over whether teachers should do their jobs
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
"An effort to reopen California schools is foundering, stoking frustrations across America's most populous state from parents eager to get their children back in classrooms and a governor who wants them there. Parents and behavioral experts say many schoolchildren are feeling helpless or depressed and need a classroom setting to improve their mental health. An exasperated Gov. Gavin Newsom told school officials last week to 'pack it up' if they fail to resume in-person classes soon. Teacher unions say they won't send their members into an unsafe [sic] environment. They want all teachers vaccinated before returning to the classroom." (02/01/21)
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20) NY: Video released of Rochester cops handcuffing, using chemical weapons on, nine-year-old
Source: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
"Two police body-cam videos were released Sunday morning showing a distraught 9-year-old girl being apprehended, handcuffed and put in the back of a Rochester Police Department patrol car and sprayed with a chemical 'irritant' by an officer after disobeying commands to put her feet in the car. ... A total of nine officers and RPD supervisors ended up responding to an Avenue B home around 3:30 p.m. Friday for 'family trouble' involving a possible stolen vehicle. During the call, the officers were approached by the girl's mother, her custodial parent. She told an officer she feared that her daughter would harm herself and others. ... Police said the girl -- who during the episode repeatedly cried out for her father -- disobeyed multiple commands to put her feet in the car. A Rochester police officer was then 'required' to spray an 'irritant' in the handcuffed girl's face, the department said Saturday." (01/31/21)
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Biden's Orders Continue the Presidency's Slide Toward Elective Monarchy
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
"Under Coolidge and Hoover, most executive orders applied to such matters as civil service rules. However, by the 1960s, the majority were policy-specific, filling the role of legislation. Issuing orders is easy; persuading lawmakers to pass your bills is difficult and time-consuming. As a result, unilateral action is tempting even for critics of such governance. 'A polarized, narrowly divided Congress may offer Mr. Biden little choice but to employ executive actions or see his entire agenda held hostage,' the Times sniffed while objecting to the practice. For its part, the Biden administration makes no secret of its impatience with normal legislative channels. ... If the refusal of lawmakers to enact a president's policies is justification for unilateral executive action, then a slide toward elective monarchy is inevitable. And that's exactly what seems to be happening." (02/01/21)
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22) Robert Higgs: A Birthday Appreciation
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Art Carden
"As a young man aged 32, Julius Caesar is supposed to have wept before a statue of Alexander the Great, despondent over the fact that by that age Alexander had conquered a vast empire while Caesar had done nothing of note. It's hard not to have the same reaction looking at the prodigious output of the economic historian Robert Higgs, who turns 77 years old today." (02/01/21)
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23) The National Security State Shields One of Its Own Miscreants -- Again
Source: Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter
"While national security insiders are routinely given the kid‐glove treatment that Sandy Berger, David Petraeus, and Kevin Clinesmith received, the experiences of whistleblowers who dare expose even the most blatant misdeeds by those agencies are very different indeed." (02/01/21)
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24) Media Fear-Mongering With Zero Education Value
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
"For most of the past year I have been hammering on the media for their destructive COVID fear-mongering. By always cherry-picking the most alarmist opinion on every topic, and filling articles with carefully calibrated fear-provoking language, they have made us all dumber. Let me give you one example. For literally months, day after day, our AZ papers have been screaming that emergency rooms are filling up and telling the public they may soon be lying untreated on some hallway floor or not allowed into a hospital at all. ... The implication in the media is always that a 80% full ICU plus the equivalent of 30% of the beds with new COVID patients = zero capacity and people dying with no treatment. But that is clearly not what happens." (02/01/21)
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25) The Imperial Presidency Under Joe Biden
Source: Common Dreams
by Tom Engelhardt
"Joe Biden's got a problem -- and so do I. And so, in fact, do we. At 76 years old, you'd think I'd experienced it all when it comes to this country and its presidencies. Or most of it, anyway. I've been around since Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. Born on July 20, 1944, I'm a little 'young' to remember him, though I was a war baby in an era when Congress still sometimes declared war before America made it. ... I doubt it's happenstantial that the vibrantly imperial, yet still domestically democratic, country that elected the young John F. Kennedy would, 60 years later, elect a 78-year-old to replace a 74-year-old in the White House. Joe Biden will, in turn, join forces with the 80-year-old Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, while butting heads with the 78-year-old Minority Leader of the Senate ..." (02/01/21)
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26) When Hawks Advocate a Human Rights-Oriented Foreign Policy, You Know It Isn't About Human Rights
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
"Foreign policy tends to be complicated and messy. International issues create an explosive imbroglio mixing economic, political, and security controversies. Human rights upsets almost every calculation since America's friends can be even crueler than its foes. The Trump administration cared not at all about humanitarian issues. Political prisoners were only convenient weapons, useful against adversaries but forgotten with allies. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's cynicism was exceeded only by his sanctimony when it came to the issue. Members of the Biden administration care more about such issues but have little credibility to preach to the world." (02/01/21)
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27) What's Really Behind the "GameStop Bubble"
Source: American Consequences
by Corey McLaughlin
"Boy, this GameStop story escalated quickly ... 'The rise of the short squeezes' against a few Wall Street hedge funds' most heavily shorted companies, and the world's most left-for-dead companies, has captured the investing world's attention and gone mainstream too. Jon Stewart, the former host of The Daily Show and a noted (and welcome, in our opinion) political influencer in recent years, has joined Twitter because of it, to defend those darn kids that started all the 'trouble' -- and to dig at Wall Street for messing with their 'win.' I saw cable-news networks spending 20 minutes at a time talking about it the other night. People are interested, and for good reason, if you ask me." (02/01/21)
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28) Administrative Costs of a Carbon Tax
Source: Niskanen Center
by Shuting Pomerlau
"Policy analysis of a carbon tax typically focuses on several main components: the tax base (type of greenhouse gases taxed), the tax rate, the tax revenue and its distribution, the tax's net effect on the economy, the implications for existing regulations, etc. There is scant literature, however, on the likely administrative burden of a U.S. carbon tax. This is not surprising as administrative costs are difficult to measure, and there has not been a federal carbon price policy in the United States. This paper analyzes the administrative burden of a U.S. carbon tax by offering a conceptual analysis of the complexity of taxation in general, comparing that complexity across common types of taxes, and drawing insights from the administrative burden of traditional excise taxes and a value-added tax." [summary -- full paper available as PDF download] (02/01/21)
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29) Business Should Fight Back Against Controls
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Donald J Boudreaux
"The April 1974 issue of Reason contains a newly relevant essay -- 'Fighting Back Against Controls' -- by the late Henry Manne (who twelve years later became Dean of the law school at George Mason University). In this essay, which is derived from a speech given to a group of business executives, Manne bemoaned the political and public response to the nationwide fuel shortages that swept through the United States starting in late 1973. What makes this essay newly relevant is its applicability to the political and public response to today's pandemic. The parallels are notable. ... Then as now, reality threw humanity a curveball. But instead of dealing with war-disrupted oil supplies intelligently and calmly, fear mongering by the media became de rigueur." (02/01/21)
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30) "The Argument in the Pocket" Move: Bullying Behavior in Political Theory
Source: 200-Proof Liberals
by Jason Brennan
"[T]heorists often make a move I like to call 'the argument in the pocket.' What I mean by this is that instead of stating their argument, they sort of hint or gesture toward the idea that they have an argument hidden in their jacket pockets, but haven't quite shown it to you. They'll say things that are the equivalent of, 'You know, like Arendt said,' and then you, the reader or listener, are supposed to fill in the blanks. This sort of move creates the appearance of depth and erudition, and thrusts the responsibility for making the argument onto the reader or listener. It insulates the theorist from criticism, because the theorist maintains plausible deniability for any objection the listener/reader might make ... and further, it insulates them all while trying to make it seem like the reader is the dumb one ..." (02/01/21)
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31) The Political Game on the Pandemic
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"After the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, progressives (i.e., 'liberals') used it as a game to point out all the things that President Trump and his administration were doing wrong to address the crisis. Hardly a day went by without some leftist pointing out the faults and failures of Trump's efforts. Now that Joe Biden is president, you can bet your bottom dollar that the same thing is now going to happen in reverse. Conservatives are going to have a field day pointing out all the faults and foibles of the Biden administration as it attempts to deal with the pandemic. You're already witnessing this phenomenon with respect to the distribution of the virus vaccine. Even some libertarians have gotten into this political game, spending time pointing out all the debacles and failures of, first, Trump, and now Biden, in addressing the crisis." (02/01/21)
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32) Beware of fake sex work decriminalization, aka the Nordic Model
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
"There's been a ton of great momentum toward sex work decriminalization lately. Last year marked the first time a majority of voters said they approve of decriminalizing sex work. Voters join credible experts from across the ideological spectrum .... Realizing that they've lost the experts and public opinion, prohibitionists are starting to call partial prohibition 'decriminalization' in order to confuse voters and gain support. The Nordic Model calls for decriminalizing the sale of sex. But, it calls for arresting and charging clients and anyone who helps or does business with us, including landlords, Uber drivers, etc. In fact it criminalizes everything we need to do to work safely, including advertising and communicating with other sex workers." (02/01/21)
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33) Understanding Modern Monetary Theory, part 1
Source: EconLog
by Scott Sumner
"In recent years, a heterodox model called 'Modern Monetary Theory' (MMT) has gained adherents. For those who follow the policy debate in the media, this theory is most often associated with advocates of expansionary fiscal policy, perhaps financed by money creation. A federal jobs guarantee is another important MMT policy idea. But theories are about more than real world policies, and it is important to understand the theoretical model that underlies these policy recommendations. Mainstream economists have been somewhat dismissive of MMT, even where they might agree with particular MMT fiscal policies in the special case of a 'liquidity trap,' that is, in a world of zero interest rates. Brad DeLong complained that the model is mislabeled, that it is neither modern, nor about money, nor a theory." (02/01/21)
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34) Our Oligarchs' Crisis Of Confidence
Source: The American Conservative
by Declan Leary
"Let's not attribute to malice that which can be explained by an insecure elite stumbling back into a tenuous grasp on power." (02/01/21)
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35) The real mile markers on the journey to adulthood
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Noelle Swan
"My 21st birthday fell just five days after my wedding day. Giddy with the thought that we had finally crossed the threshold to adulthood, my new husband and I boarded a train for Newport, Rhode Island. It was November in New England, hardly honeymoon weather, but we had a cozy timeshare. We spent the week doing 'adult' things like eating out and boutique shopping. I bought a pet beta fish, Coby. By the end of the week, we had maxed out our credit cards. My husband's parents had to pick us up and drive us back to our Boston apartment; I held Coby on my lap the whole way home. So much for that magical transformation we had anticipated. Over the years we came to realize that growth and maturity aren't door prizes waiting at any particular birthday or ceremony." (01/29/21)
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36) Government's Money Monopoly and the "Great Reset"
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Thorsten Polleit
"The unbacked paper money system is an economically and socially destructive system -- with far-reaching and harmful economic and social consequences beyond what most people would imagine. Fiat money is inflationary; it benefits some at the expense of many others; it causes boom-and-bust cycles; it corrupts the morality of society; it will ultimately end in a major bust; and it leads to overindebtedness. ... in an oligarchic democracy, it becomes possible for the political and corporate 'elites' to effectively run the show, enforcing their favored political, economic, and social concept with joint forces. Against this backdrop, the buzzwords 'Great Transformation,' 'Great Reset,' and 'new world order' seem to be the brainchildren of today's political and corporate elites, meant to replace what little is left of the free market system and install a so-called command economic system ..." (02/01/21)
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37) Fallacy #13: The Argument From Authority
Source: Freeman's Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg
"Our fallacy #4 was the appeal to authority, the claim that being authorized makes things right. We noted a similar fallacy in our #8, the naturalist fallacy, a claim that time creates authority and truth. For today's fallacy, however, I want to turn these around: Not third parties referring to authority, but authority itself telling us what's right. And so I'm calling this fallacy, the argument from authority." (02/01/21)
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38) Executive Exuberance
Source: The Racinian
by Dave Kristopeit
"The transition has taken place. We have a new sitting president. The change of power ended up all being a rather quiet affair considering the predictions that were made of mass violence in the capital and in state capitals everywhere. There were 25,000 troops stationed in DC for the inauguration to stomp down any violence that might occur. Nothing major happened. ... unless you consider that in his first 12 days in office President Biden has signed 25 executive orders, 10 Presidential memos and 4 proclamations. They have the full effect of the law but have not gone through the constitutionally provided process for becoming law. Your congressman has not voted on them or debated them. Nor has your senator. Nor has any court of the land said that they were legal and binding. There is no authority in the constitution to issue these orders. And yet they are law." (02/01/21)
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39) Constitutionalizing Interstate Relations: The Temptation of the Dark Side
Source: Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
by William Baude
What does the Constitution have to say about interstate relations? Well, it depends on how you ask. One of the main topics in interstate relations is the question of what is called choice of law, which sounds very technical but fundamentally is the question of who governs -- that is, which state gets to govern any given transaction. The same kind of question comes up at the federal level -- federal law versus state law -- but it is dealt with by the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which makes clear that if a federal law is constitutional, it is controlling. But there is no Supremacy Clause for state law, which has forced people who worry about this question to look harder and elsewhere for some sort of hint about which state is supposed to govern which transaction." [PDF] (Winter 2021)
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40) Revolution Isn't Microsurgery, It's A Long Road Trip
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"Every day it seems like there's more sectarian fighting within the online left than the day before. Maybe it's because lockdowns and social distancing have largely cut us off from in-person interactions. Maybe it's because generations of government psyops geared at stopping socialism and activist groups have left us all paranoid and hostile. Maybe it's because of increased infiltration and propaganda as a dying empire approaches crunch time. Maybe we just tend to be a bit more neurotic than other ideological groups. Maybe it's a mixture. It feels like a state of paralysis." (02/01/21)
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41) Trumpism is Exactly Who Many of US Are
Source: CounterPunch
by Mark Ashwill
"During the dark years of Trump and MAGA madness, I often heard from disbelieving and exasperated colleagues that this is not who we are as US Americans, an attempt to invoke the country's 'better angels' .... Trump, widely acknowledged by rational people with a knowledge of US presidential history as one of the worst presidents in the history of the republic, received 74,222,958 votes, or 46.8%, of the votes cast in the 2020 election against Joe Biden. This is irrefutable evidence that this is exactly who we are, or at least half of all voters. There are any number of reasons why someone would cast a vote for such an incompetent, unqualified, and ignorant buffoon who is experiencing obvious cognitive decline to boot." (02/01/21)
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42) Will Trump's Hawkishness on China Become Joe Biden's "New Normal?"
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Connor Freeman
"Since 2020, Americans have been implored, even trained, to accept fiat realities at home that would not so long ago have seemed inconceivable. The 'new normal' includes arbitrary lockdowns, curfews, censorship, the burgeoning domestic terror war, and a de facto government economic assault on small businesses, the poor, and the middle class. The American people have been encouraged to wear two masks and binge Tiger King on Netflix instead of rightfully objecting to this faux humanitarian tyranny. Now it seems the ruling class is preparing us to not only accept but support an ever intensifying, hostile stance against China. This other potentially catastrophic 'new normal' is rapidly morphing into a war footing." (02/01/21)
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43) Propaganda's Progression
Source: Foreign Policy
by Angela R Pashayan
"Over the years, misinformation campaigns have changed. Here's why the latest are so difficult to stamp out." [editor's note: See what Pashayan did there? She buried some propaganda in a supposed analysis of propaganda. I wonder if the intent was to see whether anyone noticed, or if the assumption was that no one would – TLK] (02/01/21)
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44) Relation between minimum wage and unemployment
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
"Some economists are of the view that the increase in the minimum wage could cause an increase in unemployment. Other economists think that the increase is unlikely to harm the labour market. Hence, they are of the view that raising the minimum wage could lift the workers living standards." (02/01/21)
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45) What Trump's Prosecution Omits
Source: The American Prospect
by Jules Bernstein
"'You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.' So said President Donald Trump on September 26, 2019, speaking about the person who'd provided information to the whistleblower concerning Trump's phone conversation with the president of Ukraine, which was the basis for Trump's first impeachment. During his four years in the White House, Trump repeatedly charged more than two dozen individuals and entities with committing treason. His targets included President Obama, then potential Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and Democrats generally .... He found The New York Times similarly traitorous: 'The Times never should have done that, because really what they've done is virtually, you know it's treason.'" (02/01/21)
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46) Black Americans' COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy? Blame Uncle Sam.
Source: Independent Institute
by Abigail R Hall Blanco
"Given the long history of medical mistreatment at the hands of the U.S. government and health professionals, it should come as no surprise that some [b]Black Americans are a little more than reluctant to trust officials when they tell them the new COVID-19 vaccine is safe. The U.S. government is now reaping what it's long sown." (02/01/21)
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47) Libertarian Terrorists?
Source: Campaign For Liberty
by Ron Paul
"The idea that libertarianism creates terrorists is absurd. Libertarians support the non-aggression principle, so they reject using force to advance their political goals. They rely instead on peaceful persuasion. Libertarianism is being attacked because it does not support just reforming a few government policies. Instead, it presents a formidable intellectual challenge to the entire welfare-warfare state. The ultimate goal of those pushing for a crackdown on 'domestic terrorism' is to make people unwilling to even consider 'radical' ideas -- to make people so afraid of certain ideas that they refuse to even give those ideas a fair hearing." (02/01/21)
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48) Where Did All The Bellwether Counties Go?
Source: FiveThirtyEight
by Ryan Matsumoto & Elena Mejia
"From 1980 to 2016, 19 counties voted for the winner of the presidential election every single time. The most impressive of those was Valencia County, New Mexico, which voted for the victor in every presidential election from 1952 to 2016. But in 2020, 18 of these 19 'bellwether counties' voted for former President Donald Trump. Just one -- Clallam County, Washington -- voted for President Joe Biden. The Trump era made us rethink a lot about politics and elections in America, including the counties that are useful barometers of the national political environment. And like so many electoral trends, demographics play a major role in explaining why these once-bellwether counties finally missed the mark in 2020." (02/01/21)
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49) The totalitarian creep of hate speech laws
Source: spiked
by Radomir Tylecote
"UK home secretary Priti Patel's recently announced intention to reform so-called hate-speech laws is most welcome. At the Free Speech Union, we have been calling for this for a while -- especially because demands for even greater speech control have increased over the past year. But some of the most extreme demands for censorship now come from quangos the government itself sponsors. Like cultural 'sockpuppets,' these organisations are paid by the state to find reasons to control even more of our lives. ... A totalitarian state cannot tolerate privacy, even and especially within the family, the last redoubt of dissent. Hate-speech laws do not yet cover what you say in the privacy of your own home -- you can't be prosecuted for stirring up hatred at your dining table or in the bedroom. The [Law Commission], however, finds this idea of privacy intolerable." (02/01/21)
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50) GameStop Lets You See the Matrix
Source: Town Hall
by Kurt Schlichter
"There's nothing more tiresome than hackneyed references to The Matrix, except for the constant propaganda we're hosed down with by the Establishment and its media lackeys about how everything is groovy in our totally free, free enterprise paradise of freedom and happiness and more freedom. Some of us have been woke for a while, having realized the undeniable truth that the system is rigged for the benefit of a garbage ruling class, whose sole accomplishment is to perpetuate a paradigm in which they maintain power and prestige by controlling institutions they didn't create or build. ... These oligarch overseers rely on us to toil in their figurative fields while they sit on their figurative porches, sipping locally-sourced figurative mint juleps. I say burn it all down and rebuild America into what it is supposed to be, that is, what they tell us it is when they lie to us." (02/01/21)
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51) Quantum Vibe, 02/01/21
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott Bieser
Cartoon. (02/01/21)
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52) Biden Civil Rights Appointee Has Dubious Record
Source: WendyMcElroy.com
by James Baresel
"For over fifteen years Columbia University law professor Suzanne Goldberg has intermittently hovered around the fringes of major news stories. In 2003 she nearly achieved 15 minutes of fame as co-council in the Lawrence v. Texas case that saw the Supreme Court contradict its own precedents and declare a law against sodomy unconstitutional. Just over 10 years later she was a special advisor to her university's president on matters of sexual assault during one of the first high profile controversies over academic institutions' responses to rape allegations. Now Joe Biden has appointed her assistant secretary of the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. Goldberg's new position only sounds obscure. In fact it means she will be acting director of the OCR, responsible for planning and implementing the thousand and one details needed to translate a broad agenda into practical action ..." (01/31/21)
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53) Who are the stupid ones? New gun bill in Congress
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
"[T]he law (if it is passed) is designed to be a law which which you and I CANNOT comply, and which will make it impossible to meet the requirements to register a gun, provide ANY margin of security for that weapon, or afford to own one. ... It is indeed a hoplophobe's (and hoploclast's) wet dream. Which, together with the stupidity of congress-critturs and their staff, make it totally impossible to enforce if it ever does pass. The Canadian experience shows that." (01/31/21)
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54) You Can't Hurt Hedge Funds By Acting Exactly Like Them
Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan
"The spectacle of watching the entire professional investing class and the financial media descend into a panicked frenzy thanks to a bunch of Reddit-fueled waves of stock-pumping has certainly been entertaining. If its goal is to laugh at a particular hedge fund momentarily losing a ton of money for the weirdest imaginable reason, it is a success. As a populist uprising trying to change Wall Street, though, it is a big waste of time. You can't fix Wall Street by becoming it." (02/01/21)
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55) How the national security state has come to dominate a "civilian" government
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Mandy Smithberger & William Hartnung
"This month's insurrection at the Capitol revealed the dismal failure of the Capitol Police and the Department of Defense to use their expertise and resources to thwart a clear and present danger to our democracy. As the government reform group Public Citizen tweeted, 'If you're spending $740,000,000,000 annually on 'defense' but fascists dressed for the renaissance fair can still storm the Capitol as they please, maybe it's time to rethink national security?' At a time of acute concern about the health of our democracy, any such rethinking must, among other things, focus on strengthening the authority of civilians and civilian institutions over the military in an American world where almost the only subject the two parties in Congress can agree on is putting up ever more money for the Pentagon." (01/31/21)
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
56) Reason Roundtable, 02/01/21
Source: Reason
"Don't Wait For (Any More) Disasters To Adopt Libertarian Values." [various formats] (02/01/21)
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57) Free Man Beyond The Wall, episode 532
Source: Free Man Beyond The Wall
"How 'The Monopoly On Violence' Leads To 'America's Police Crisis.'" [various formats] (02/01/21)
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58) Commentary Podcast, 02/01/21
Source: Commentary
"Will Biden Play 'Let's Make a Deal?'" [various formats] (02/01/21)
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59) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 02/01/21
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"CDC Now Demands TWO Masks -- Science ... Or Tyranny?" [Flash video] (02/01/21)
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60) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 65
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Biden Saves New Start But Pushes Anti-Russia Myths." [various formats] (02/01/21)
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61) EconTalk, 02/01/21
Source: EconTalk
"Michael McCullough on the Kindness of Strangers." [various formats] (02/01/21)
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62) Deconstructed, 02/01/21
Source: The Intercept
"Could the For The People Act Save American Democracy?" [various formats] (02/01/21)
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63) The Brian Nichols Show, episode 193
Source: We Are Libertarians
"Making Pennsylvania More Free -- Pennsylvania Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate Joe Soloski." [various formats] (02/01/21)
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64) Kick the Puppy, season 2, episode 4
Source: Attack The System
"Game Stop vs Wall Street, Robinhood, micro-revolts in the United States, Dodger Stadium's COVID-19 vaccination site temporarily shut down after protesters gather at entrance, Robinhood was supposed to be for the little guy, Citadel, aristocrats pretending to be friends with the peasants ..." [Flash audio] (01/31/21)
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65) The Jimmy Carter Years
Source: Libertarian Instiutte
"Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism -- Video Adaptation, Chapter One." [Flash video] (01/31/21)
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