12/21 -- SCOTUS receives appeals to block employer vaccine mandate; The erasure of liberty
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Thomas L. Knapp
Dec 21, 2021, 7:02:20 AM12/21/21
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 12/21/21
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https://liberty-intl.org/
Produced by the staff of Rational Review News Digest
https://news.rationalreview.com/
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Today's Freedom News:
1) SCOTUS receives appeals to block employer vaccine mandate
2) Tigrayan forces to pull out of nearby Ethiopian regions in ceasefire offer
3) Dow tumbles more than 400 points; S&P 500 posts worst three-day decline since September
4) Sudan: Medics say one murdered, more than 300 injured in suppression of anti-coup protests
5) NY: Disgraced former president sues Attorney General Letitia James in effort to halt further embarrassment
6) Lumber prices have spiked 95% in five weeks as supply issues arise following Canadian floods while demand stays strong
7) US Quidditch leagues set to pick new name in tantrum over JK Rowling saying things they don't like
8) France: UBS Appeals $2 Billion Bribe Demand at Supreme Court
9) Conservation groups to sue EPA over manatee deaths
10) US regime charges Russian businessman with acting like US intelligence agencies, Nancy Pelosi
11) Egypt: Leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah jailed for five years
12) DC: Schools investigating Holocaust lesson in which students told to play Hitler, simulate gravedigging
13) Japanese billionaire space tourist returns to Earth after 12-day stay on International Space Station
14) Global [sic] Celebration Follows Leftist [sic] Victory in Chile
15) Psaki whines about Manchin's "inexplicable reversal" on Biden's Big Basket of Boondoggles
16) It pleaseth the US crown to allow a few more people to work
17) Philippines: Super Typhoon Rai death toll surges
18) Canada: Quebec regime uses omicron variant as excuse to reimpose lockdown
19) OH: Good Samaritan answers woman's calls for help at grocery store, subdues purse-snatching suspect
20) EU approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The erasure of liberty
22) Collins Emails Spotlight Bureaucracy's Attempted Subjugation of Science and Scientists
23) The Rant I've Been Saving
24) Against Faucism
25) Omicron: The Lockdowners' Last Stand
26) China Is Not A Problem That Westerners Need To Solve
27) Competition in Electricity Markets
28) Fighting for Ukraine Is a Losing Proposition
29) Build Back Worse
30) Violence, fantasy and reality: Where does it go from here? Part 2
31) The importance of work and the benefits of honest labor
32) When Hypocrites Rule Washington and Washington Is Exempt from the World's Rules
33) No, Large-Scale Societies Don't Need Massive Inequalities
34) Pharmacists Stage Walkout in Early Unionization Effort
35) Why China won't invade Taiwan and Russia won't attack Ukraine
36) Process Totalitarianism
37) The Start of Something New?
38) Manchin and Abbott: A Tale of Two Patriots
39) Why Authoritarian Regimes Bother With Elections
40) Putin draws lines over NATO, Ukraine: Let the negotiations begin
41) The Fear of Those Still-Secret CIA Records on the JFK Assassination
42) The Pentagon's 20-Year Killing Spree Has Always Treated Civilians as Expendable
43) Regional Variations in COVID are SEASONAL, not Correlated with Party of the Governor
44) Democrats' Democracy Delusions
45) No, Senator Warren, Greed Is Not Causing Inflation
46) America Is About to Experience the Bullwhip Effect
47) The Myth of the Pay-Productivity Gap
48) Lack of money isn't California's problem
49) Running Scared from Inflation Is a Recipe for Ruining the Economy
50) Cowboys vs Indians: The Feud Between Musk and Warren
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 12/20/21
52) Free Talk Live, 12/20/21
53) EconTalk, 12/20/21
54) Kinsella On Liberty, episode 367
55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/20/21
56) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 544
57) Do You Buy That ...? 12/20/21
58) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 203
59) Commentary Podcast, 12/20/21
60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 12/20/21
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) SCOTUS receives appeals to block employer vaccine mandate
Source: CNN
"The Supreme Court Monday said it has received several appeals asking Justice Brett Kavanaugh to consider the Biden administration's requirement that large employers mandate their employees obtain a Covid-19 vaccine or submit to weekly testing. ... Business groups, religious nonprofits and Republican-led states want to freeze a federal appeals court decision from Friday that revived the mandate while the appeals process plays out. As an alternative argument, some of the parties say they want the court to step in now and hear arguments in the case, bypassing the normal appeals process. The legal papers are directed to Kavanaugh because he has jurisdiction over the appeals court that made the ruling. He is likely to refer the matter to the full court. The court asked for responses by December 30 to the mandate challengers' request." (12/20/21)
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/20/politics/supreme-court-kavanaugh-osha-vaccine-mandate-omicron/index.html
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2) Tigrayan forces to pull out of nearby Ethiopian regions in ceasefire offer
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"Tigrayan forces at war with Ethiopia's government have pledged to withdraw from neighbouring regions in the north of the country in a sudden step towards a possible ceasefire after more than a year of brutal conflict. Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) outside Tigray have been ordered to return to the region in a 'decisive opening for peace,' wrote Debretsion Gebremichael, the head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), to the United Nations in a letter dated Sunday. 'We propose an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by negotiations,' Gebremichael said, saying the TDF were withdrawing from the regions of Amhara and Afar. He demanded a raft of measures, including an immediate no-fly zone for hostile aircraft over Tigray and for arms embargos on Ethiopia and its recent ally Eritrea, whose forces have been engaged in the war that started last November." (12/20/21)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/20/tigrayan-forces-to-pull-out-of-nearby-ethiopian-regions-in-ceasefire-offer
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3) Dow tumbles more than 400 points; S&P 500 posts worst three-day decline since September
Source: MarketWatch
"The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest closing level in more than two weeks, while the S&P 500 posted its biggest three-day percent drop since Sept. 30, as [politically cultivated panic over] the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 raised fresh questions about the global outlook. The S&P 500 finished 52.62 points, or 1.1%, lower at 4,568.02. ... The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 433.28 points, or 1.2%, at 34,932.16 .... The Nasdaq Composite Index finished lower by 188.74 points, or 1.2%, at 14,980.94." (12/20/21)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-slide-nearly-300-points-as-market-worries-mount-11639972424
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4) Sudan: Medics say one murdered, more than 300 injured in suppression of anti-coup protests
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
"One man was shot dead in Sunday's protests against Sudan's military leaders in which scores of people were wounded in Khartoum and other cities, medics aligned with the protest movement said on Monday. The 28-year-old man was shot in the Sharg al-Nile area across the river from the capital Khartoum, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a statement. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Khartoum on Sunday against the Oct. 25 military coup, drawing volleys of tear gas and stun grenades from security forces. Protesters attempted to hold a sit-in outside the presidential palace, which they were able to reach for the first time following weeks of protests, but were dispersed after sundown. In a separate statement, the committee said that some 331 people were injured on Sunday, including two who had been shot in the head and dozens of others who had been injured by tear gas canisters." (12/20/21)
https://news.trust.org/item/20211220144726-hvvyr
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5) NY: Disgraced former president sues Attorney General Letitia James in effort to halt further embarrassment
Source: Fox News
"Former President Trump on Monday sued New York Attorney General Letitia James in federal court in an effort to halt her long-running civil investigation into his business practices. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of New York, argues that James'[s] inquiry into Trump's business dealings, which has lasted for more than two years, has violated the former president's constitutional rights. 'Letitia James targets President Trump with a callous disregard for the ethical and moral obligations she swore to abide by when she became Attorney General,' Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement Monday. 'She has short changed the state by commencing this partisan investigation and has forever tarnished the sanctity of her office,' Habba added." (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-sues-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-in-an-effort-to-halt-her-probe-into-trump-organization
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6) Lumber prices have spiked 95% in five weeks as supply issues arise following Canadian floods while demand stays strong
Source: Business Insider
"Lumber prices have nearly doubled over the past month, holding above the $1,000 mark as recent floods in Canada limited shipments while demand remains strong with US homebuilders staying busy. Lumber futures on a continuous contract basis have soared 95% since November 15 when prices started steadily climbing. On Monday, they reached $1,044 per thousand board feet compared with nearly $540 in mid-November. Lumber prices are still off their highs from May, when a surge sent prices above $1,700." (12/20/21)
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/lumber-prices-rally-supply-shortages-commodities-markets-demand-housing-2021-12
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7) US Quidditch leagues set to pick new name in tantrum over JK Rowling saying things they don't like
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Two US Quidditch leagues are to change their names in order to 'distance' themselves from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, following a trans row. Quidditch first appeared as a fictional sport, played by wizards on flying broomsticks, in her book series. The real-life version is a fast-paced contact sport, played by more than 450 teams in over 30 countries. ... In a joint statement first reported by The Times, US Quidditch (USQ) and Major League Quidditch (MLQ) said they would now decide on new names for the game. The newspaper said possible alternative options put forward by USQ include Quickball, Quicker, Quidstrike and Quadraball. The joint statement from USQ and MLQ said they hoped the name change would help them to 'continue to distance themselves from the works of JK Rowling', who they say 'has increasingly come under scrutiny for her anti-trans positions in recent years.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59726281
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8) France: UBS Appeals $2 Billion Bribe Demand at Supreme Court
Source: Bloomberg
"UBS Group AG appealed a court verdict that it helped wealthy French clients stash undeclared funds in Swiss accounts, prolonging a period of legal uncertainty in the seven-year old case. The Zurich-based bank filed an appeal with the French Supreme Court regarding the ruling, according to a statement on Monday. It had five days from the previous judgement last week to make the decision. A French appeal court last week ordered the bank to pay 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in penalties after it upheld a 2019 finding that UBS illegally laundered funds by providing customers with a range of services to hide assets from tax authorities. The main penalty breaks down as 800 million-euro damages [sic] award for the French state and a confiscation order of 1 billion euros." (12/20/21)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-20/ubs-says-it-will-appeal-2-billion-french-tax-evasion-penalty
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9) Conservation groups to sue EPA over manatee deaths
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
"Three conservation groups filed a formal notice on Monday of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency if it doesn't take steps to protect manatees from water pollution in Florida. Pollution-fueled algae blooms are cited as the cause of over half of the more than 1,000 manatee deaths in Florida this year, according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Manatee Club. The algae blooms killed thousands of acres of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon, which highlights the inadequacy of Florida's federally approved water quality standards, the groups said in the notice letter. They are asking the EPA to reinitiate consultation with Fish and Wildlife Service to reassess the standards. Monday's notice gives the agencies 60 days to address violations alleged in the letter before the groups file a lawsuit." (12/20/21)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Conservation-groups-to-sue-EPA-over-manatee-deaths-16717142.php
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10) US regime charges Russian businessman with acting like US intelligence agencies, Nancy Pelosi
Source: NBC News
"A Russian with close ties to the Kremlin decided to take a ski vacation to Switzerland with his family on his private jet. That was a big mistake, considering he was in the crosshairs of the FBI. Hacking and insider trading charges were unsealed Monday in Boston against Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin after the United States secured his extradition from Switzerland. He had been arrested after stepping off the plane in March. Russia had urged the Swiss government not to send him to the U.S., according to Russian state media. Klyushin owns M13, a Russian company that offers media monitoring and cybersecurity services. He is accused of making tens of millions of dollars with accomplices through insider trading, using hacked confidential information about American companies." (12/20/21)
https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/us-charges-russian-businessman-hacking-insider-trading-rcna9379
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11) Egypt: Leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah jailed for five years
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"An Egyptian court has sentenced leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to five years in prison after convicting him of spreading false news, his sister says. Human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer and blogger Mohammed 'Oxygen' Ibrahim were also jailed for four years on the same charge, Mona Seif tweeted. They have been detained since September 2019, when the authorities cracked down on rare anti-government protests. Human rights groups had called the charges spurious and the trial a sham. Human rights groups have accused President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's government of suppressing any form of dissent since he led the military's overthrow of his predecessor Mohammed Morsi in 2013. They say tens of thousands of government critics, including activists and human rights lawyers, have been detained arbitrarily. Amnesty International said Monday's verdict was a 'travesty of justice' while the Committee to Protect Journalists called it 'unacceptable.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59730354
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12) DC: Schools investigating Holocaust lesson in which students told to play Hitler, simulate gravedigging
Source: Fox News
"DC Public Schools tells Fox News on Monday it has launched an investigation after elementary students reportedly were instructed to re-enact the Holocaust, including portraying Adolf Hitler and 'digging ditches to serve as mass graves.' The lesson apparently given to third graders at the Watkins Elementary School library on Friday left the students 'traumatized,' according to one parent who spoke to Fox5 DC. 'Last week, we received a report of a classroom of students receiving a lesson that included portraying different perspectives of the Holocaust. Students should never be tasked with acting out any atrocity, especially genocide and war,' DC Public Schools told Fox News in a statement Monday. 'Additionally, there were allegations of a staff member using hate speech during the lesson, which is unacceptable and not tolerated at any of our schools.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/dc-schools-investigating-holocaust-lesson-report
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13) Japanese billionaire space tourist returns to Earth after 12-day stay on International Space Station
Source: Independent [UK]
"A Japanese billionaire and his production assistant have returned to Earth after spending 12 days aboard the International Space Station as the first self-funded space tourists to visit the orbiting outpost in more than a decade. The capsule carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, along with the space flight participants -- online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano -- landed on Earth around 10.1pm EST on Sunday (3.13am GMT on Monday) in Kazakhstan, Nasa noted in a statement. ... Maezawa had booked seats via the US-based company Space Adventures, which arranges rides for wealthy people. While exact ticket costs are unknown, Space Adventures had said they were in the range of $50m-$60m (£38m-£45m)." (12/20/21)
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/east-asia/japan-billionaire-yusaku-maezawa-iss-trip-b1979196.html
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14) Global [sic] Celebration Follows Leftist [sic] Victory in Chile
Source: Common Dreams
"Socialist Gabriel Boric's victory in Chile's high-stakes presidential election Sunday was hailed by progressives worldwide as an inspiring example of how a democratic groundswell can overcome deeply entrenched forces of reaction and chart a path toward a more just, equal, and sustainable future. Riding a massive wave of anger at Chile's neoliberal political establishment and the economic inequities it has perpetuated, Boric -- a 35-year-old former student activist -- handily defeated Jose Antonio Kast, a lawyer and politician whom one commentator characterized as 'easily as reactionary as far-right dictator Augusto Pinochet,' the leader of the U.S.-backed military junta that ruled Chile with an iron fist for nearly two decades. 'At last. The specter of Pinochet is removed from Chile,' declared former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, a co-founder of Progressive International, which sent members of its observatory to monitor the election and ensure fairness." (12/20/21)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/12/20/we-will-bury-neoliberalism-global-celebration-follows-leftist-victory-chile
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15) Psaki whines about Manchin's "inexplicable reversal" on Biden's Big Basket of Boondoggles
Source: CBS News
"White House press secretary Jen Psaki sharply criticized Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia for his decision to withdraw his support for President Biden's Build Back Better Act, saying Manchin's comments Sunday morning contradicted what he had told the president. On 'Fox News Sunday,' Manchin said he could not support the president's roughly $1.75 trillion plan. ... In response, Psaki issued a blistering statement of her own, accusing Manchin of violating a commitment to continue engaging in talks over the legislation." (12/20/21)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/manchin-biden-build-back-better-white-house-response/
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16) It pleaseth the US crown to allow a few more people to work
Source: Reuters
"The United States will make 20,000 additional visas available for seasonal, non-agricultural guest workers through March 31, including 6,500 visas for workers from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti, in an effort to encourage legal migration, a U.S. official told Reuters. The extra H-2B visas would be in addition to the annual allotment of 66,000 visas for the fiscal year, the official said, adding an announcement was set to be made Monday. The expansion of the H-2B visa program, used to employ landscapers, housekeepers, hotel employees and construction and carnival workers, among others, comes as the U.S. labor market continues to face shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic." (12/20/21)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/biden-raise-number-guest-worker-visas-with-more-haiti-central-america-2021-12-20/
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17) Philippines: Super Typhoon Rai death toll surges
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"At least 375 people are now known to have died after a powerful storm struck the Philippines on Thursday, police say. Super Typhoon Rai (with winds of about 195 km/hr) sent some 400,000 people running for safety when it hit the country's south-eastern islands. At least 500 people were injured and 56 others have been reported missing by local police. Rescue teams have described scenes of 'complete carnage.' But establishing the scale of the losses is difficult, as communication to a number of areas has been cut off. There are fears widespread landslides and flooding may have claimed more lives. 'Many areas have no power, no communications, very little water,' the chair of the Philippines Red Cross, Richard Gordon, told the BBC. 'There are some areas that look like it has been bombed worse than World War Two.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59714658
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18) Canada: Quebec regime uses omicron variant as excuse to reimpose lockdown
Source: Toronto Star [Canada]
"Amid rapidly growing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Quebec announced Monday it is bringing back tough new restrictions in an effort to stop the spread. Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé called the situation 'critical' as he announced that bars, movie theatres and entertainment venues will close as of 5 p.m. today, while restaurants will operate at reduced capacity and have to close at 10 p.m. ... Quebec reported 4,571 COVID-19 cases today, a new single day record since the beginning of the pandemic. The Health Department reported three more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and said there are 21 more people in hospital, bringing total hospitalizations to 397. There are 82 COVID-19 patients in intensive care, an increase of three." [editor's note: In what universe is fewer than 1 in every 21,000 people any kind of emergency? – TLK] (12/20/21)
https://www.thestar.com/politics/2021/12/20/public-health-measures-resume-in-quebec-today-to-curb-the-rise-of-covid-19-cases.html
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19) OH: Good Samaritan answers woman's calls for help at grocery store, subdues purse-snatching suspect
Source: Fox News
"A good Samaritan in Ohio received an award Thursday after he answered an 87-year-old woman's calls for help at a Kroger grocery store when a man snatched her purse in the checkout line earlier this month. Deshawn Pressley jumped into action on Dec. 5 and chased the purse-snatcher out of the store in Lemon Township and into the parking lot. Security footage shows Pressley taking down the suspect in the parking lot and making a citizen's arrest. For his heroic efforts, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones presented Pressley with the Citizen's Award on Thursday. Pressley was also reunited with Pat Goins, the woman whose purse was snatched." (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-good-samaritan-award-purse-snatcher-kroger
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20) EU approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Source: The Hill
"A European Union agency on Monday granted conditional authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax, making it the fifth coronavirus vaccine to be authorized for use in the EU. The two-dose immunization has been approved for use in the EU in people over the age of 18. ... Unlike the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines, which inject mRNA to teach the immune system how to identify the COVID-19 virus, Novavax's vaccine works by injecting a modified version of the spike proteins found on the surface of the virus. It also contains an 'adjuvant' that enhances the efficacy and immune response of the shot." [editor's note: I'm a volunteer in the US Phase 3 clinical trials for this vaccine – TLK] (12/20/21)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/586551-eu-approves-novavax-covid-19-vaccine
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The erasure of liberty
Source: spiked
by Brendan O'Neill
"Leo Varadkar has said the quiet part out loud. The Tanaiste (deputy prime minister) of Ireland has made it clear that we are now in a forever war with Covid and that one of the chief casualties will be freedom. ... Looking forward to the bleak, illiberal future Covid will allegedly force us to live under, Varadkar said that 'perhaps in advance of those winters and those variants, we should try to have periods of freedom and give people a bit of a break ...' Periods of freedom. Those three words should worry everyone. They capture, possibly better than any other utterance from a member of the political class over the past 21 months, just what a historic reorganisation of society we are currently living through." (12/20/21)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/12/20/the-erasure-of-liberty/
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22) Collins Emails Spotlight Bureaucracy's Attempted Subjugation of Science and Scientists
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"I'm reminded of something William F. Buckley, Jr. said about the 1964 presidential election, which US Senator Barry Goldwater lost to President Lyndon Baines Johnson: 'They told me if I voted for Goldwater we'd be at war in Vietnam in six months and I did and we were.' I supported the Great Barrington Declaration -- and hundreds of thousands died. Not because US policymakers implemented the Declaration's recommendations, but either because of, or in spite of, US policymakers following the recommendations of [NIH director Francis] Collins, [NIAID director Anthony] Fauci, and others. The question isn't which set of recommendations would have produced better outcomes. It's whether science should be reduced to the status of handmaid to bureaucratic diktat, with scientists whose findings don't support that diktat marginalized through the influence of those same bureaucrats." (12/20/21)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16493
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23) The Rant I've Been Saving
Source: WendyMcElroy.com
by Brad
"'Flatten the curve' wasn't about reducing the number of cases, it was about spreading that number out over a longer time, so that the peak was not so high. The area under the curve -- the total number of cases -- would remain roughly the same. The idea was to buy time, so that capacity could be built; stocks of masks and PPE and ventilators and tests and such could be acquired; and medical facilities and personnel could be expanded. Or so the theory went, for this most radical of interventions, which was never supposed to be more than a one-time exigency for a short period. (Two weeks!) We all bought that theory, and it worked. The first wave was manageable. And the bureaucrats and powers-that-be learned exactly the wrong lesson from that national experiment. ... We bought them time ... and they pissed it away. Instead of more doctors and ICU beds, we got lockdowns and mandates." (12/20/21)
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.11865
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24) Against Faucism
Source: Reason
by Robby Soave
"Last week, the CEOs of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines told Congress that they do not think mask requirements make much sense on airplanes, where the air filtration systems are superior to what is typically found in an intensive care unit. ... Unwilling to let anyone undermine the case for keeping a government mandate in place, White House coronavirus advisor Anthony Fauci threw cold water on the idea. 'You have to be wearing a mask on a plane,' he said bluntly on television Sunday. ... This is Faucism distilled down to its very essence. For the government health bureaucrats who have given themselves sole authority over vast sectors of American life .... All that matters is the calculus of the most risk-averse people: unelected public health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)." (12/20/21)
https://reason.com/2021/12/20/against-faucism/
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25) Omicron: The Lockdowners' Last Stand
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
"Just as President Biden's unconstitutional vaccination mandates were being ripped up by the courts, authoritarian politicians, public health bureaucrats, and the mainstream media, announced a new Covid variant to justify another round of lockdowns and restrictions. The things that didn't work last time would be a good idea to do again this time, they claim. For these authoritarians, the timing of omicron's emergence was perfect. ... Omicron is spreading and vaccines are not stopping it. Thus far nearly half of omicron infections are asymptomatic. Some experts are predicting that omicron will spell the end of Covid-19. But we know that as long as people like Fauci are around, Covid-19 will never end. Unless, of course, we repudiate the charlatans and profiteers and reclaim our liberty!" (12/20/21)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/omicron-the-lockdowners-last-stand
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26) China Is Not A Problem That Westerners Need To Solve
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"I used be mad that the US is circling the planet with hundreds of military bases and slaughtering people by the millions in imperialist wars and destroying any nation which disobeys it but then someone informed me that China is building stuff in Africa which is clearly far worse. ... 'China is going to take over and give me a social credit score' is the new 'Muslims are going to take over and impose Sharia law.' ... 'Of course there's a lot of propaganda about China, but it's still definitely a threat.' 'How do you know that?' 'Oh my god dude, it's all over the news!' ... I'm comfortable holding my positions on China even when I'm getting hate mobbed for them on Twitter because I already saw all that with Russia and was completely vindicated." (12/20/21)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2021/12/20/china-is-not-a-problem-that-westerners-need-to-solve-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix/
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27) Competition in Electricity Markets
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Jakob Puckett
"Electricity is vital to all aspects of modern life, making it important that policymakers and citizens understand the laws and regulations governing it. This paper gives an overview of how electricity gets from a fuel source to your home and business, how electricity markets operate, and what policies different states have implemented to reduce electricity prices for their citizens. The report argues that Missouri lawmakers can lower electricity prices by embracing competition and allowing Missourians to choose from competing electric suppliers." [summary -- full paper available as PDF download] (12/20/21)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/energy/competition-in-electricity-markets/
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28) Fighting for Ukraine Is a Losing Proposition
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
"The worst thing that the U.S. could do would be to make a security guarantee for a country where it has no vital interests. If it honored the guarantee, it could end up fighting a costly war that it didn't need to fight. If it made the guarantee and then thought better of it later, it would still be a humiliation when the bluff was called. The wiser course is to engage with Russia and discuss which of its proposals the U.S. and its allies can take seriously and which ones they will not." (12/20/21)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/fighting-for-ukraine-is-a-losing
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29) Build Back Worse
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Davis Hunt
"Predictably, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth following Joe Manchin's firm no when asked if would vote for Biden's Build Back Better Act. Expressing concerns about inflation, particularly as it regards energy prices, Manchin appears to have made the correct call if we are to judge the $550 billion dollars in the plan outlaid for 'green energy' initiatives by the fruits born of similar initiatives across the pond in Europe. There hasn't yet been a substantive rebuttal of Manchin's position aside from various cries that 'this isn't Democracy' noting that West Virginia makes up a tiny portion of the US population and various accusations of Manchin 'violating the trust of the American people.'" (12/20/21)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/no-154-jason-zachary-on-federal-overreach/
-----
30) Violence, fantasy and reality: Where does it go from here? Part 2
Source: Living Freedom
by Claire Wolfe
"There's a pattern in the lead-up to internal warfare. I don't know if it's the pattern, but it's certainly a typical one: 1. An 'us against them' attitude becomes intractable; 2. Urban crime not only soars, but becomes (in some eyes) justified; 3. Crime moves into the suburbs (again, justified; that's where the no-good richfolk live and they have insurance to protect them, anyhow); 4. Then crime moves onto the highways, where no one is safe from hijackings, roadblocks, and random killings. 5. Troops are called out to 'keep peace,' but either it's too late for peace or the troops themselves commit and provoke worse violence. And round and round it goes until everything implodes. All the while, right from the beginning, some political faction is either actively encouraging the violence or taking advantage of it to gain power. No, usually several factions are doing the encouraging and taking advantage." (12/20/21)
https://www.clairewolfe.com/blog/2021/12/20/violence-fantasy-and-reality-where-does-it-go-from-here-part-ii/
-----
31) The importance of work and the benefits of honest labor
Source: Fox News
by Victor Davis Hanson
"The United States was founded on the idea of the inherent nobility of work. A nation of free, self-sufficient homesteaders believed their hard labor could ensure their prosperity, liberty and autonomy. Through our 233 years as a nation, the American national ethic, our various religions, even our popular culture stressed the character-building nature of labor -- and its pathway to personal self-sufficiency and a prosperous and powerful nation of industrious citizens. When World War II broke out on Sept. 1, 1939, an isolationist, underemployed and neutral America was still in the throes of serial Depression-era recessions. Its military was undermanned and nearly unarmed. Yet 80 years ago, after entering the war on Dec. 11, 1941, in the aftermath of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans (men and women, teenagers and the elderly, all races and religions) worked nonstop, 24-7 as no nation has before or since." (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/americans-work-benefits-honest-labor-victor-davis-hanson
-----
32) When Hypocrites Rule Washington and Washington Is Exempt from the World's Rules
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
"It is evident that Washington will never hold itself accountable. Neither, it seems, will the US media. Which, unfortunately, appears to leave the job to armed foreigners, including, unfortunately, the Russians and Chinese. That isn't in America's interest, but then, promiscuous war-making by Washington isn't in America's interest either." (12/20/21)
https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2021/12/19/when-hypocrites-rule-washington-and-washington-is-exempt-from-the-worlds-rules/
-----
33) No, Large-Scale Societies Don't Need Massive Inequalities
Source: Jacobin
by Astra Taylor
Interview with David Wendgrow: "The popular narrative goes that history is governed by evolutionary forces. While there are exceptions to every rule, its broad sweep pushes in a general direction that is predictable and obvious. Before the rise of agriculture, humans lived in small egalitarian bands. It's been downhill ever since, as our species trends increasingly toward domination and arbitrary hierarchy. Belief in this story about humanity it isn't confined to either side of the political spectrum. But is the narrative true? World-renowned archaeologist David Wengrow of University College London says no." (12/20/21)
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/12/wengrow-interview-graeber-dawn-of-everything-urbanism-hunter-gatherers-agriculture/
-----
34) Pharmacists Stage Walkout in Early Unionization Effort
Source: The American Prospect
by Mike Elk
"Today, a fledgling independent union of pharmacists is launching the first-ever nationwide walkout of these critical health care workers. After being forced to work on the pandemic front lines distributing medicines to millions of sick COVID patients, including hundreds of millions of vaccines, pharmacists have had enough, and are fighting back in unprecedented ways. 'So many pharmacists are just really under so much stress,' says Dr. Shane Jerominski, whose Facebook page 'The Accidental Pharmacist' has 93,000 followers, many of whom are part of the growing independent union effort. 'Right now without a union, their concerns are falling on deaf ears ... between the script volume with COVID, and these COVID tests, COVID vaccinations, flu vaccinations, there's always more work with less help.'" (12/20/21)
https://prospect.org/labor/pharmacists-stage-walkout-in-early-unionization-effort/
-----
35) Why China won't invade Taiwan and Russia won't attack Ukraine
Source: The Hill
by Harlan Ullman
"Since the end for World War II, the United States has fallen victim to exaggerating national security threats while ignoring others that proved more dangerous. Perhaps the memory of the interwar years and appeasement of Nazi Germany and fascist Japan became embedded in America's DNA. The alleged missile gap of the late 1950s and early 1960s turned out to be decisively in America's favor; Vietnam was never vital to halting non-existent monolithic communism; Saddam Hussein never had weapons of mass destruction; imposing democracy in the greater Middle East was a mirage; and today, intelligence warnings of a Russian assault into Ukraine with 175,000 soldiers, and generals and admirals fretting over a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, exemplify these exaggerations." (12/20/21)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/586492-why-china-wont-invade-taiwan-and-russia-wont-attack-ukraine
-----
36) Process Totalitarianism
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by ZH
"When people think of totalitarianism they think of an all-controlling leader who dictates their wishes to bureaucrats and prefects, which are then carried out with ruthless efficiency. ... Instead of rule from above, process totalitarianism rules through bureaucratic process, the outcome of which is more or less determined. The state sets up processes which can only result in a small range of outcomes. It doesn't matter whether we agree or disagree with these processes or outcomes; the point is that the state, and not democratic governance, control these processes and are thus able to achieve certain predictable ends, ends which reinforce state power." (12/20/21)
https://c4ss.org/content/55661
-----
37) The Start of Something New?
Source: Heartland Institute
by Daniel Sutter
"Americans have long seen college as a path to a better life and held higher education in high esteem. This is changing rapidly, with a strong political divide emerging. Republicans are now highly skeptical of both the above propositions. This month witnessed a potential watershed moment for higher ed with the announcement of a new university dedicated to free inquiry, the University of Austin." (12/20/21)
https://blog.heartland.org/2021/12/the-start-of-something-new/
-----
38) Manchin and Abbott: A Tale of Two Patriots
Source: Town Hall
by Tom Tradup
"Two elected officials (from different parts of America) emerged this weekend as the kind of patriots which are in too short supply these days, but both offered a ray of hope for our future. First, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia just earned the thanks of every right-thinking man, woman, and child in America. Because on Sunday, Manchin essentially killed the ridiculous, bloated and unnecessary $2-trillion grab-bag of ultraLeftist spending scams called Joe Biden's 'Build Back Better' plan. (By the way, like so much of Biden's past career, he plagiarized the 'Build Back Better' terminology from British prime minister Boris Johnson, who early in 2020 unveiled a so-called 'Build Back Greener' plan which went nowhere, so he switched the name to 'Build Back Better.' Joe Biden then simply stole the name, but I digress.)" (12/20/21)
https://townhall.com/columnists/tomtradup/2021/12/20/manchin-and-abbott-a-tale-of-two-patriots-n2600822
-----
39) Why Authoritarian Regimes Bother With Elections
Source: The Atlantic
by Timothy McLaughlin
"In November 2019, Nixie Lam suffered the same fate as nearly all of her pro-Beijing compatriots running in Hong Kong's local elections. The two-term district councillor was roundly defeated by a prodemocracy candidate whose campaign had been buoyed by months of sustained protests. ... A couple of years after her defeat, Lam was tapped to run in Sunday's legislative-council elections, the city's mini-Parliament, and she accepted. When I met with her last week, she seemed confident in her chances at a political comeback on a bigger stage -- and with good reason. After 2019's near wipeout, the central government on the mainland didn't just change the rules of Hong Kong's political game. Like a petulant child tired of losing, Beijing tossed the entire thing into the garbage bin." [editor's note: Sort of like the two wings of the establishment uniparty in the US does periodically? – TLK] (12/20/21)
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/12/hong-kong-stunt-election-democracy/621071/
-----
40) Putin draws lines over NATO, Ukraine: Let the negotiations begin
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Rajan Menon and Benjamin H Friedman
"The virtual meeting between President Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on December 7 didn't resolve the crisis that began when Russian forces massed around Ukraine's border, where they currently remain. But Biden's readiness to engage in further talks with Russia in order to reach an unspecified 'accommodation' provides an opportunity for diplomacy to avert a looming disaster. Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's border has two objectives -- one is to force a settlement, on its terms, between Kyiv and the Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east, in line with the February 12, 2015, Minsk II Agreement. Moscow's second but more immediate goal is to pressure NATO to meet a list of demands ..." (12/20/21)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/12/20/determined-diplomacy-can-prevent-war-in-eastern-europe/
-----
41) The Fear of Those Still-Secret CIA Records on the JFK Assassination
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"One of the amusing aspects of the ongoing controversy over those still-secret CIA records relating to the Kennedy assassination has been the reaction of lone-nut theorists. Hardly any of them, if any at all, are publicly calling on President Biden to disclose those records now rather than delaying disclosure for another year. What's up with that? Surely, lone-nut theorists don't really buy into the 'national security' rationale for keeping 58-year-old records relating to the assassination secret from the American people. I don't know of anyone who really buys into that rationale. After all, what do they think will happen if those records are suddenly disclosed -- that the Cuban communist army will invade Miami and start moving up the coast toward Washington?" (12/20/21)
https://www.fff.org/2021/12/20/the-fear-of-those-still-secret-cia-records-on-the-jfk-assassination/
-----
42) The Pentagon's 20-Year Killing Spree Has Always Treated Civilians as Expendable
Source: Common Dreams
by Norman Solomon
"Top U.S. officials want us to believe that the Pentagon carefully spares civilian lives while making war overseas. The notion is pleasant. And with high-tech killing far from home, the physical and psychological distances have made it even easier to believe recent claims that American warfare has become 'humane.' Such pretenses should be grimly laughable to anyone who has read high-quality journalism from eyewitness reporters like Anand Gopal and Nick Turse. For instance, Gopal's article for The New Yorker in September, 'The Other Afghan Women,' is an in-depth, devastating piece that exposes the slaughter and terror systematically inflicted on rural residents of Afghanistan by the U.S. Air Force." (12/20/21)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/12/20/pentagons-20-year-killing-spree-has-always-treated-civilians-expendable
-----
43) Regional Variations in COVID are SEASONAL, not Correlated with Party of the Governor
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
"Three months ago the south was a hotspot and all these other places were moderately dormant. The prior attempts to attribute that earlier southern hotspot to party affiliation of the governors now seems about as valid as the Boxers blaming Chinese droughts on Christian missionaries (I like the Boxer analogy because the cornonabro's confidence that crappy paper and cloth masks will protect them from the virus reminds me of the Boxer's beliefs that special exercises and spells would make them immune to bullets)." (12/20/21)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2021/12/regional-variations-in-covid-are-seasonal-not-correlated-with-party-of-the-governor.html
-----
44) Democrats' Democracy Delusions
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
"Hillary's delusion is not hers alone. After a second glass of Chardonnay, the faithful will insist Hillary did win the popular vote, which counts as actually winning by Clinton's math. They'll tell you Hillary did not win only because Trump cheated or the Russians helped. ... Granting Hillary a pass for using her delusion to sell merch, one would have hoped the whole thing would have gone away with the election of Joe Biden. Democrats, you won! And you got the House! You can right all wrongs! Instead, the delusions continue, as the entire party seems in the grip of political Alzheimer's." (12/20/21)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/democrats-shoddy-campaign-for-democracy/
-----
45) No, Senator Warren, Greed Is Not Causing Inflation
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Daniel Lacalle
"Senator Elizabeth Warren recently stated that rising prices were due to corporations increasing their profits. 'This isn't about inflation, this is about price gouging for these guys.' It is simply incorrect. No, corporations have not doubled their profits, and rising prices are not due to the evildoings of businesses. If evil corporations are to blame for rising prices in 2021, as Elizabeth Warren says, I imagine that they were magnanimous and generous corporations when there was low or no inflation, right? Inflation is the tax of the poor. It destroys the purchasing power of wages and engulfs the little savings that workers accumulate. The rich can protect themselves by investing in real assets, real estate and financial, the poor cannot. Inflation is not a coincidence, it is a policy." (12/20/21)
https://mises.org/wire/no-sen-warren-greed-not-causing-inflation
-----
46) America Is About to Experience the Bullwhip Effect
Source: American Consequences
by Kim Iskyan
"Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, evades Nazis, saves the world, gets the girl, and wields a mean bullwhip. That's a single-tailed whip made of braided strips of leather (or, if you're not the epitome of Indiana Jones cool, nylon) usually used to control livestock... or, in Indiana's case, to ward off a ferocious lion and then swing across a chasm in the earth. And as I'll explain ... the American economy is about to experience the economic equivalent of the crack of Indiana Jones'[s] favored weapon, in what's called the 'bullwhip effect.' What this means is that we're going to soon see post-Christmas sales that will make Black Friday and Cyber Monday look like high-priced sidewalk sales by comparison, and, secondly, all this talk about inflation (just now the highest since 1982) fade like snow on a 70-degree day." (12/20/21)
https://americanconsequences.com/america-is-about-to-experience-the-bullwhip-effect/
-----
47) The Myth of the Pay-Productivity Gap
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Craig Duddy
"Economists and politicians alike have alleged, particularly in more recent years, that since 1973 there has been an effective separation between pay and productivity. This talking point has been embraced by crony policymakers, anti-banking hard money advocates and socialists. However, no matter how much universal endorsement a talking point gets, it will never serve to justify it. The supposed pay and productivity gap is, in reality, a prime example of faulty statistics and sets a bad precedent for acceptable methodology." (12/20/21)
https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-pay-productivity-gap/
-----
48) Lack of money isn't California's problem
Source: Orange County Register
by Jon Coupal
"The 40-year-old myth that Proposition 13 gutted education spending was never true to begin with, despite the progressive narrative, but now it has been exposed as utter fantasy. According to the federal government's National Center for Education Statistics, in inflation-adjusted constant dollars, per-pupil spending in California for public elementary and secondary schools rose from $5,675 in 1969-70, to $7,377 in 1979-80, to $9,121 in 1989-90. For 2017-18, the most recent year for which statistics are available, per-pupil spending for K-12 public schools was $13,129, the highest ever. ... So no, California's schools aren't hurting for cash as the foes of Prop. 13 would like you to believe. What California's schools are hurting for is accountability. And as two recent news items show, it starts at the top." (12/20/21)
https://www.ocregister.com/2021/12/19/lack-of-money-isnt-californias-problem/
-----
49) Running Scared from Inflation Is a Recipe for Ruining the Economy
Source: In These Times
by Max B Sawicky
"Last month, I wrote a story in these pages discounting the burgeoning hype over inflation. Yet this hype persists. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has repeatedly invoked the inflationary threat to oppose President Biden's massive Build Back Better (BBB) legislative package. And on December 11, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board duly awarded Manchin a cookie, proclaiming his vindication. In the words of Richard Nixon, let me say this about that. You may have heard that 'war is the continuation of politics by other means,' a quote credited to Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz. Well, anti-inflation policy is the continuation of class war by other means. In the current case, the specter of inflation is being spuriously invoked to block Biden's social spending initiatives." (12/16/21)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/inflation-build-back-better-manchin-biden-oil-prices-supply-chain
-----
50) Cowboys vs Indians: The Feud Between Musk and Warren
Source: The Libertarian Republic
by Squiggly Line Guy
"Elon Musk is a man who moves things. He's moved us into the commercial space age with SpaceX. He's moved us into the electric vehicle age with Tesla Motors. He's been known to move the stock and crypto markets with mere tweets. Now it appears that Musk may sway political campaigns--an avenue he's been traditionally quiet about. It all started when Time Magazine named Elon Musk as Time Person of the Year for 2021. They cited his advancements in electric vehicles and renewable energy, as well as SpaceX shuttling astronauts to and from the International Space Station for a fraction of the traditional cost. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts took this opportunity to kick start her 2024 re-election campaign. While she doesn't have an opponent yet, in order to get that early start on fundraising, she's currently running a campaign against her usual bogeymen -- billionaires." (12/19/21)
https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/cowboys-vs-indians-the-feud-between-musk-and-warren/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 12/20/21
Source: Reason
"A Reality Check on Coronavirus, Congress, and Elon Musk's Taxes." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://reason.com/podcast/2021/12/20/a-reality-check-on-coronavirus-congress-and-elon-musks-taxes/
-----
52) Free Talk Live, 12/20/21
Source: Free Talk Live
"Keene Tyrants :: NYC Tyrant-Elect :: NY to implement quarantine camps? :: Sit-Ins :: Mark Edge Attacking Free State Project :: Veteran Arrested in NYC Panera Bread :: Wuhan Theories." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/20/21)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2021-12-20
-----
53) EconTalk, 12/20/21
Source: EconTalk
"Michael Munger on Constitutions." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/20/21)
https://www.econtalk.org/michael-munger-on-constitutions/
-----
54) Kinsella On Liberty, episode 367
Source: StephanKinsella.com
"Disenthrall with Patrick Smith: Fisking Strangerous Thoughts' Critique of 'Intellectual Communism.'" [Flash audio or MP3] (12/20/21)
https://www.stephankinsella.com/paf-podcast/kol367-disenthrall-fisking-intellectual-communism/
-----
55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/20/21
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
"As wrongthinkers, we tend to be less concerned with the approval of the crowd. Even so, it's sobering to consider what is considered mainstream thought today." [various formats] (12/202/21)
https://thebryanhydeshow.podbean.com/e/2021-december-20-the-bryan-hyde-show-hour-one/
-----
56) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 544
Source: Lions of Liberty
"Sayulita Superspreader Supershow! feat. Robbie the Fire & Friends." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/sayulita-superspreader-supershow
-----
57) Do You Buy That ...? 12/20/21
Source: FiveThirtyEight
"The Redistricting Process Will Hurt Democrats?" [Flash video] (12/20/21)
https://fivethirtyeight.com/videos/do-you-buy-that-the-redistricting-process-will-hurt-democrats/
-----
58) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 203
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Understanding Conflict in Ethiopia." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-203-understanding-conflict-in-ethiopia/
-----
59) Commentary Podcast, 12/20/21
Source: Commentary
"The New Stupid Party (It's Not the GOP)." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://www.commentary.org/john-podhoretz/the-new-stupid-party-its-not-the-gop/
-----
60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 12/20/21
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"Busted! The Great Fauci/NIH Anti-Science Conspiracy!" [Flash video] (12/20/21)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/busted-the-great-faucinih-anti-science-conspiracy
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Today's Freedom News:
1) SCOTUS receives appeals to block employer vaccine mandate
2) Tigrayan forces to pull out of nearby Ethiopian regions in ceasefire offer
3) Dow tumbles more than 400 points; S&P 500 posts worst three-day decline since September
4) Sudan: Medics say one murdered, more than 300 injured in suppression of anti-coup protests
5) NY: Disgraced former president sues Attorney General Letitia James in effort to halt further embarrassment
6) Lumber prices have spiked 95% in five weeks as supply issues arise following Canadian floods while demand stays strong
7) US Quidditch leagues set to pick new name in tantrum over JK Rowling saying things they don't like
8) France: UBS Appeals $2 Billion Bribe Demand at Supreme Court
9) Conservation groups to sue EPA over manatee deaths
10) US regime charges Russian businessman with acting like US intelligence agencies, Nancy Pelosi
11) Egypt: Leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah jailed for five years
12) DC: Schools investigating Holocaust lesson in which students told to play Hitler, simulate gravedigging
13) Japanese billionaire space tourist returns to Earth after 12-day stay on International Space Station
14) Global [sic] Celebration Follows Leftist [sic] Victory in Chile
15) Psaki whines about Manchin's "inexplicable reversal" on Biden's Big Basket of Boondoggles
16) It pleaseth the US crown to allow a few more people to work
17) Philippines: Super Typhoon Rai death toll surges
18) Canada: Quebec regime uses omicron variant as excuse to reimpose lockdown
19) OH: Good Samaritan answers woman's calls for help at grocery store, subdues purse-snatching suspect
20) EU approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) The erasure of liberty
22) Collins Emails Spotlight Bureaucracy's Attempted Subjugation of Science and Scientists
23) The Rant I've Been Saving
24) Against Faucism
25) Omicron: The Lockdowners' Last Stand
26) China Is Not A Problem That Westerners Need To Solve
27) Competition in Electricity Markets
28) Fighting for Ukraine Is a Losing Proposition
29) Build Back Worse
30) Violence, fantasy and reality: Where does it go from here? Part 2
31) The importance of work and the benefits of honest labor
32) When Hypocrites Rule Washington and Washington Is Exempt from the World's Rules
33) No, Large-Scale Societies Don't Need Massive Inequalities
34) Pharmacists Stage Walkout in Early Unionization Effort
35) Why China won't invade Taiwan and Russia won't attack Ukraine
36) Process Totalitarianism
37) The Start of Something New?
38) Manchin and Abbott: A Tale of Two Patriots
39) Why Authoritarian Regimes Bother With Elections
40) Putin draws lines over NATO, Ukraine: Let the negotiations begin
41) The Fear of Those Still-Secret CIA Records on the JFK Assassination
42) The Pentagon's 20-Year Killing Spree Has Always Treated Civilians as Expendable
43) Regional Variations in COVID are SEASONAL, not Correlated with Party of the Governor
44) Democrats' Democracy Delusions
45) No, Senator Warren, Greed Is Not Causing Inflation
46) America Is About to Experience the Bullwhip Effect
47) The Myth of the Pay-Productivity Gap
48) Lack of money isn't California's problem
49) Running Scared from Inflation Is a Recipe for Ruining the Economy
50) Cowboys vs Indians: The Feud Between Musk and Warren
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Reason Roundtable, 12/20/21
52) Free Talk Live, 12/20/21
53) EconTalk, 12/20/21
54) Kinsella On Liberty, episode 367
55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/20/21
56) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 544
57) Do You Buy That ...? 12/20/21
58) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 203
59) Commentary Podcast, 12/20/21
60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 12/20/21
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) SCOTUS receives appeals to block employer vaccine mandate
Source: CNN
"The Supreme Court Monday said it has received several appeals asking Justice Brett Kavanaugh to consider the Biden administration's requirement that large employers mandate their employees obtain a Covid-19 vaccine or submit to weekly testing. ... Business groups, religious nonprofits and Republican-led states want to freeze a federal appeals court decision from Friday that revived the mandate while the appeals process plays out. As an alternative argument, some of the parties say they want the court to step in now and hear arguments in the case, bypassing the normal appeals process. The legal papers are directed to Kavanaugh because he has jurisdiction over the appeals court that made the ruling. He is likely to refer the matter to the full court. The court asked for responses by December 30 to the mandate challengers' request." (12/20/21)
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/20/politics/supreme-court-kavanaugh-osha-vaccine-mandate-omicron/index.html
-----
2) Tigrayan forces to pull out of nearby Ethiopian regions in ceasefire offer
Source: The Guardian [UK]
"Tigrayan forces at war with Ethiopia's government have pledged to withdraw from neighbouring regions in the north of the country in a sudden step towards a possible ceasefire after more than a year of brutal conflict. Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) outside Tigray have been ordered to return to the region in a 'decisive opening for peace,' wrote Debretsion Gebremichael, the head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), to the United Nations in a letter dated Sunday. 'We propose an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by negotiations,' Gebremichael said, saying the TDF were withdrawing from the regions of Amhara and Afar. He demanded a raft of measures, including an immediate no-fly zone for hostile aircraft over Tigray and for arms embargos on Ethiopia and its recent ally Eritrea, whose forces have been engaged in the war that started last November." (12/20/21)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/20/tigrayan-forces-to-pull-out-of-nearby-ethiopian-regions-in-ceasefire-offer
-----
3) Dow tumbles more than 400 points; S&P 500 posts worst three-day decline since September
Source: MarketWatch
"The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest closing level in more than two weeks, while the S&P 500 posted its biggest three-day percent drop since Sept. 30, as [politically cultivated panic over] the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 raised fresh questions about the global outlook. The S&P 500 finished 52.62 points, or 1.1%, lower at 4,568.02. ... The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 433.28 points, or 1.2%, at 34,932.16 .... The Nasdaq Composite Index finished lower by 188.74 points, or 1.2%, at 14,980.94." (12/20/21)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-slide-nearly-300-points-as-market-worries-mount-11639972424
-----
4) Sudan: Medics say one murdered, more than 300 injured in suppression of anti-coup protests
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
"One man was shot dead in Sunday's protests against Sudan's military leaders in which scores of people were wounded in Khartoum and other cities, medics aligned with the protest movement said on Monday. The 28-year-old man was shot in the Sharg al-Nile area across the river from the capital Khartoum, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a statement. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Khartoum on Sunday against the Oct. 25 military coup, drawing volleys of tear gas and stun grenades from security forces. Protesters attempted to hold a sit-in outside the presidential palace, which they were able to reach for the first time following weeks of protests, but were dispersed after sundown. In a separate statement, the committee said that some 331 people were injured on Sunday, including two who had been shot in the head and dozens of others who had been injured by tear gas canisters." (12/20/21)
https://news.trust.org/item/20211220144726-hvvyr
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5) NY: Disgraced former president sues Attorney General Letitia James in effort to halt further embarrassment
Source: Fox News
"Former President Trump on Monday sued New York Attorney General Letitia James in federal court in an effort to halt her long-running civil investigation into his business practices. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of New York, argues that James'[s] inquiry into Trump's business dealings, which has lasted for more than two years, has violated the former president's constitutional rights. 'Letitia James targets President Trump with a callous disregard for the ethical and moral obligations she swore to abide by when she became Attorney General,' Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement Monday. 'She has short changed the state by commencing this partisan investigation and has forever tarnished the sanctity of her office,' Habba added." (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-sues-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-in-an-effort-to-halt-her-probe-into-trump-organization
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6) Lumber prices have spiked 95% in five weeks as supply issues arise following Canadian floods while demand stays strong
Source: Business Insider
"Lumber prices have nearly doubled over the past month, holding above the $1,000 mark as recent floods in Canada limited shipments while demand remains strong with US homebuilders staying busy. Lumber futures on a continuous contract basis have soared 95% since November 15 when prices started steadily climbing. On Monday, they reached $1,044 per thousand board feet compared with nearly $540 in mid-November. Lumber prices are still off their highs from May, when a surge sent prices above $1,700." (12/20/21)
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/lumber-prices-rally-supply-shortages-commodities-markets-demand-housing-2021-12
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7) US Quidditch leagues set to pick new name in tantrum over JK Rowling saying things they don't like
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"Two US Quidditch leagues are to change their names in order to 'distance' themselves from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, following a trans row. Quidditch first appeared as a fictional sport, played by wizards on flying broomsticks, in her book series. The real-life version is a fast-paced contact sport, played by more than 450 teams in over 30 countries. ... In a joint statement first reported by The Times, US Quidditch (USQ) and Major League Quidditch (MLQ) said they would now decide on new names for the game. The newspaper said possible alternative options put forward by USQ include Quickball, Quicker, Quidstrike and Quadraball. The joint statement from USQ and MLQ said they hoped the name change would help them to 'continue to distance themselves from the works of JK Rowling', who they say 'has increasingly come under scrutiny for her anti-trans positions in recent years.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59726281
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8) France: UBS Appeals $2 Billion Bribe Demand at Supreme Court
Source: Bloomberg
"UBS Group AG appealed a court verdict that it helped wealthy French clients stash undeclared funds in Swiss accounts, prolonging a period of legal uncertainty in the seven-year old case. The Zurich-based bank filed an appeal with the French Supreme Court regarding the ruling, according to a statement on Monday. It had five days from the previous judgement last week to make the decision. A French appeal court last week ordered the bank to pay 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in penalties after it upheld a 2019 finding that UBS illegally laundered funds by providing customers with a range of services to hide assets from tax authorities. The main penalty breaks down as 800 million-euro damages [sic] award for the French state and a confiscation order of 1 billion euros." (12/20/21)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-20/ubs-says-it-will-appeal-2-billion-french-tax-evasion-penalty
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9) Conservation groups to sue EPA over manatee deaths
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
"Three conservation groups filed a formal notice on Monday of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency if it doesn't take steps to protect manatees from water pollution in Florida. Pollution-fueled algae blooms are cited as the cause of over half of the more than 1,000 manatee deaths in Florida this year, according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Manatee Club. The algae blooms killed thousands of acres of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon, which highlights the inadequacy of Florida's federally approved water quality standards, the groups said in the notice letter. They are asking the EPA to reinitiate consultation with Fish and Wildlife Service to reassess the standards. Monday's notice gives the agencies 60 days to address violations alleged in the letter before the groups file a lawsuit." (12/20/21)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Conservation-groups-to-sue-EPA-over-manatee-deaths-16717142.php
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10) US regime charges Russian businessman with acting like US intelligence agencies, Nancy Pelosi
Source: NBC News
"A Russian with close ties to the Kremlin decided to take a ski vacation to Switzerland with his family on his private jet. That was a big mistake, considering he was in the crosshairs of the FBI. Hacking and insider trading charges were unsealed Monday in Boston against Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin after the United States secured his extradition from Switzerland. He had been arrested after stepping off the plane in March. Russia had urged the Swiss government not to send him to the U.S., according to Russian state media. Klyushin owns M13, a Russian company that offers media monitoring and cybersecurity services. He is accused of making tens of millions of dollars with accomplices through insider trading, using hacked confidential information about American companies." (12/20/21)
https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/us-charges-russian-businessman-hacking-insider-trading-rcna9379
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11) Egypt: Leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah jailed for five years
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"An Egyptian court has sentenced leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to five years in prison after convicting him of spreading false news, his sister says. Human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer and blogger Mohammed 'Oxygen' Ibrahim were also jailed for four years on the same charge, Mona Seif tweeted. They have been detained since September 2019, when the authorities cracked down on rare anti-government protests. Human rights groups had called the charges spurious and the trial a sham. Human rights groups have accused President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's government of suppressing any form of dissent since he led the military's overthrow of his predecessor Mohammed Morsi in 2013. They say tens of thousands of government critics, including activists and human rights lawyers, have been detained arbitrarily. Amnesty International said Monday's verdict was a 'travesty of justice' while the Committee to Protect Journalists called it 'unacceptable.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59730354
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12) DC: Schools investigating Holocaust lesson in which students told to play Hitler, simulate gravedigging
Source: Fox News
"DC Public Schools tells Fox News on Monday it has launched an investigation after elementary students reportedly were instructed to re-enact the Holocaust, including portraying Adolf Hitler and 'digging ditches to serve as mass graves.' The lesson apparently given to third graders at the Watkins Elementary School library on Friday left the students 'traumatized,' according to one parent who spoke to Fox5 DC. 'Last week, we received a report of a classroom of students receiving a lesson that included portraying different perspectives of the Holocaust. Students should never be tasked with acting out any atrocity, especially genocide and war,' DC Public Schools told Fox News in a statement Monday. 'Additionally, there were allegations of a staff member using hate speech during the lesson, which is unacceptable and not tolerated at any of our schools.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/dc-schools-investigating-holocaust-lesson-report
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13) Japanese billionaire space tourist returns to Earth after 12-day stay on International Space Station
Source: Independent [UK]
"A Japanese billionaire and his production assistant have returned to Earth after spending 12 days aboard the International Space Station as the first self-funded space tourists to visit the orbiting outpost in more than a decade. The capsule carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, along with the space flight participants -- online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano -- landed on Earth around 10.1pm EST on Sunday (3.13am GMT on Monday) in Kazakhstan, Nasa noted in a statement. ... Maezawa had booked seats via the US-based company Space Adventures, which arranges rides for wealthy people. While exact ticket costs are unknown, Space Adventures had said they were in the range of $50m-$60m (£38m-£45m)." (12/20/21)
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/east-asia/japan-billionaire-yusaku-maezawa-iss-trip-b1979196.html
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14) Global [sic] Celebration Follows Leftist [sic] Victory in Chile
Source: Common Dreams
"Socialist Gabriel Boric's victory in Chile's high-stakes presidential election Sunday was hailed by progressives worldwide as an inspiring example of how a democratic groundswell can overcome deeply entrenched forces of reaction and chart a path toward a more just, equal, and sustainable future. Riding a massive wave of anger at Chile's neoliberal political establishment and the economic inequities it has perpetuated, Boric -- a 35-year-old former student activist -- handily defeated Jose Antonio Kast, a lawyer and politician whom one commentator characterized as 'easily as reactionary as far-right dictator Augusto Pinochet,' the leader of the U.S.-backed military junta that ruled Chile with an iron fist for nearly two decades. 'At last. The specter of Pinochet is removed from Chile,' declared former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, a co-founder of Progressive International, which sent members of its observatory to monitor the election and ensure fairness." (12/20/21)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/12/20/we-will-bury-neoliberalism-global-celebration-follows-leftist-victory-chile
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15) Psaki whines about Manchin's "inexplicable reversal" on Biden's Big Basket of Boondoggles
Source: CBS News
"White House press secretary Jen Psaki sharply criticized Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia for his decision to withdraw his support for President Biden's Build Back Better Act, saying Manchin's comments Sunday morning contradicted what he had told the president. On 'Fox News Sunday,' Manchin said he could not support the president's roughly $1.75 trillion plan. ... In response, Psaki issued a blistering statement of her own, accusing Manchin of violating a commitment to continue engaging in talks over the legislation." (12/20/21)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/manchin-biden-build-back-better-white-house-response/
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16) It pleaseth the US crown to allow a few more people to work
Source: Reuters
"The United States will make 20,000 additional visas available for seasonal, non-agricultural guest workers through March 31, including 6,500 visas for workers from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti, in an effort to encourage legal migration, a U.S. official told Reuters. The extra H-2B visas would be in addition to the annual allotment of 66,000 visas for the fiscal year, the official said, adding an announcement was set to be made Monday. The expansion of the H-2B visa program, used to employ landscapers, housekeepers, hotel employees and construction and carnival workers, among others, comes as the U.S. labor market continues to face shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic." (12/20/21)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/biden-raise-number-guest-worker-visas-with-more-haiti-central-america-2021-12-20/
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17) Philippines: Super Typhoon Rai death toll surges
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
"At least 375 people are now known to have died after a powerful storm struck the Philippines on Thursday, police say. Super Typhoon Rai (with winds of about 195 km/hr) sent some 400,000 people running for safety when it hit the country's south-eastern islands. At least 500 people were injured and 56 others have been reported missing by local police. Rescue teams have described scenes of 'complete carnage.' But establishing the scale of the losses is difficult, as communication to a number of areas has been cut off. There are fears widespread landslides and flooding may have claimed more lives. 'Many areas have no power, no communications, very little water,' the chair of the Philippines Red Cross, Richard Gordon, told the BBC. 'There are some areas that look like it has been bombed worse than World War Two.'" (12/20/21)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59714658
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18) Canada: Quebec regime uses omicron variant as excuse to reimpose lockdown
Source: Toronto Star [Canada]
"Amid rapidly growing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Quebec announced Monday it is bringing back tough new restrictions in an effort to stop the spread. Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé called the situation 'critical' as he announced that bars, movie theatres and entertainment venues will close as of 5 p.m. today, while restaurants will operate at reduced capacity and have to close at 10 p.m. ... Quebec reported 4,571 COVID-19 cases today, a new single day record since the beginning of the pandemic. The Health Department reported three more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and said there are 21 more people in hospital, bringing total hospitalizations to 397. There are 82 COVID-19 patients in intensive care, an increase of three." [editor's note: In what universe is fewer than 1 in every 21,000 people any kind of emergency? – TLK] (12/20/21)
https://www.thestar.com/politics/2021/12/20/public-health-measures-resume-in-quebec-today-to-curb-the-rise-of-covid-19-cases.html
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19) OH: Good Samaritan answers woman's calls for help at grocery store, subdues purse-snatching suspect
Source: Fox News
"A good Samaritan in Ohio received an award Thursday after he answered an 87-year-old woman's calls for help at a Kroger grocery store when a man snatched her purse in the checkout line earlier this month. Deshawn Pressley jumped into action on Dec. 5 and chased the purse-snatcher out of the store in Lemon Township and into the parking lot. Security footage shows Pressley taking down the suspect in the parking lot and making a citizen's arrest. For his heroic efforts, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones presented Pressley with the Citizen's Award on Thursday. Pressley was also reunited with Pat Goins, the woman whose purse was snatched." (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-good-samaritan-award-purse-snatcher-kroger
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20) EU approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Source: The Hill
"A European Union agency on Monday granted conditional authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax, making it the fifth coronavirus vaccine to be authorized for use in the EU. The two-dose immunization has been approved for use in the EU in people over the age of 18. ... Unlike the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines, which inject mRNA to teach the immune system how to identify the COVID-19 virus, Novavax's vaccine works by injecting a modified version of the spike proteins found on the surface of the virus. It also contains an 'adjuvant' that enhances the efficacy and immune response of the shot." [editor's note: I'm a volunteer in the US Phase 3 clinical trials for this vaccine – TLK] (12/20/21)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/586551-eu-approves-novavax-covid-19-vaccine
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) The erasure of liberty
Source: spiked
by Brendan O'Neill
"Leo Varadkar has said the quiet part out loud. The Tanaiste (deputy prime minister) of Ireland has made it clear that we are now in a forever war with Covid and that one of the chief casualties will be freedom. ... Looking forward to the bleak, illiberal future Covid will allegedly force us to live under, Varadkar said that 'perhaps in advance of those winters and those variants, we should try to have periods of freedom and give people a bit of a break ...' Periods of freedom. Those three words should worry everyone. They capture, possibly better than any other utterance from a member of the political class over the past 21 months, just what a historic reorganisation of society we are currently living through." (12/20/21)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/12/20/the-erasure-of-liberty/
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22) Collins Emails Spotlight Bureaucracy's Attempted Subjugation of Science and Scientists
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
"I'm reminded of something William F. Buckley, Jr. said about the 1964 presidential election, which US Senator Barry Goldwater lost to President Lyndon Baines Johnson: 'They told me if I voted for Goldwater we'd be at war in Vietnam in six months and I did and we were.' I supported the Great Barrington Declaration -- and hundreds of thousands died. Not because US policymakers implemented the Declaration's recommendations, but either because of, or in spite of, US policymakers following the recommendations of [NIH director Francis] Collins, [NIAID director Anthony] Fauci, and others. The question isn't which set of recommendations would have produced better outcomes. It's whether science should be reduced to the status of handmaid to bureaucratic diktat, with scientists whose findings don't support that diktat marginalized through the influence of those same bureaucrats." (12/20/21)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/16493
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23) The Rant I've Been Saving
Source: WendyMcElroy.com
by Brad
"'Flatten the curve' wasn't about reducing the number of cases, it was about spreading that number out over a longer time, so that the peak was not so high. The area under the curve -- the total number of cases -- would remain roughly the same. The idea was to buy time, so that capacity could be built; stocks of masks and PPE and ventilators and tests and such could be acquired; and medical facilities and personnel could be expanded. Or so the theory went, for this most radical of interventions, which was never supposed to be more than a one-time exigency for a short period. (Two weeks!) We all bought that theory, and it worked. The first wave was manageable. And the bureaucrats and powers-that-be learned exactly the wrong lesson from that national experiment. ... We bought them time ... and they pissed it away. Instead of more doctors and ICU beds, we got lockdowns and mandates." (12/20/21)
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.11865
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24) Against Faucism
Source: Reason
by Robby Soave
"Last week, the CEOs of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines told Congress that they do not think mask requirements make much sense on airplanes, where the air filtration systems are superior to what is typically found in an intensive care unit. ... Unwilling to let anyone undermine the case for keeping a government mandate in place, White House coronavirus advisor Anthony Fauci threw cold water on the idea. 'You have to be wearing a mask on a plane,' he said bluntly on television Sunday. ... This is Faucism distilled down to its very essence. For the government health bureaucrats who have given themselves sole authority over vast sectors of American life .... All that matters is the calculus of the most risk-averse people: unelected public health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)." (12/20/21)
https://reason.com/2021/12/20/against-faucism/
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25) Omicron: The Lockdowners' Last Stand
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
"Just as President Biden's unconstitutional vaccination mandates were being ripped up by the courts, authoritarian politicians, public health bureaucrats, and the mainstream media, announced a new Covid variant to justify another round of lockdowns and restrictions. The things that didn't work last time would be a good idea to do again this time, they claim. For these authoritarians, the timing of omicron's emergence was perfect. ... Omicron is spreading and vaccines are not stopping it. Thus far nearly half of omicron infections are asymptomatic. Some experts are predicting that omicron will spell the end of Covid-19. But we know that as long as people like Fauci are around, Covid-19 will never end. Unless, of course, we repudiate the charlatans and profiteers and reclaim our liberty!" (12/20/21)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/omicron-the-lockdowners-last-stand
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26) China Is Not A Problem That Westerners Need To Solve
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
"I used be mad that the US is circling the planet with hundreds of military bases and slaughtering people by the millions in imperialist wars and destroying any nation which disobeys it but then someone informed me that China is building stuff in Africa which is clearly far worse. ... 'China is going to take over and give me a social credit score' is the new 'Muslims are going to take over and impose Sharia law.' ... 'Of course there's a lot of propaganda about China, but it's still definitely a threat.' 'How do you know that?' 'Oh my god dude, it's all over the news!' ... I'm comfortable holding my positions on China even when I'm getting hate mobbed for them on Twitter because I already saw all that with Russia and was completely vindicated." (12/20/21)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2021/12/20/china-is-not-a-problem-that-westerners-need-to-solve-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix/
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27) Competition in Electricity Markets
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Jakob Puckett
"Electricity is vital to all aspects of modern life, making it important that policymakers and citizens understand the laws and regulations governing it. This paper gives an overview of how electricity gets from a fuel source to your home and business, how electricity markets operate, and what policies different states have implemented to reduce electricity prices for their citizens. The report argues that Missouri lawmakers can lower electricity prices by embracing competition and allowing Missourians to choose from competing electric suppliers." [summary -- full paper available as PDF download] (12/20/21)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/energy/competition-in-electricity-markets/
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28) Fighting for Ukraine Is a Losing Proposition
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
"The worst thing that the U.S. could do would be to make a security guarantee for a country where it has no vital interests. If it honored the guarantee, it could end up fighting a costly war that it didn't need to fight. If it made the guarantee and then thought better of it later, it would still be a humiliation when the bluff was called. The wiser course is to engage with Russia and discuss which of its proposals the U.S. and its allies can take seriously and which ones they will not." (12/20/21)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/fighting-for-ukraine-is-a-losing
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29) Build Back Worse
Source: The Pamphleteer
by Davis Hunt
"Predictably, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth following Joe Manchin's firm no when asked if would vote for Biden's Build Back Better Act. Expressing concerns about inflation, particularly as it regards energy prices, Manchin appears to have made the correct call if we are to judge the $550 billion dollars in the plan outlaid for 'green energy' initiatives by the fruits born of similar initiatives across the pond in Europe. There hasn't yet been a substantive rebuttal of Manchin's position aside from various cries that 'this isn't Democracy' noting that West Virginia makes up a tiny portion of the US population and various accusations of Manchin 'violating the trust of the American people.'" (12/20/21)
https://pamphleteer.co/newsletter/no-154-jason-zachary-on-federal-overreach/
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30) Violence, fantasy and reality: Where does it go from here? Part 2
Source: Living Freedom
by Claire Wolfe
"There's a pattern in the lead-up to internal warfare. I don't know if it's the pattern, but it's certainly a typical one: 1. An 'us against them' attitude becomes intractable; 2. Urban crime not only soars, but becomes (in some eyes) justified; 3. Crime moves into the suburbs (again, justified; that's where the no-good richfolk live and they have insurance to protect them, anyhow); 4. Then crime moves onto the highways, where no one is safe from hijackings, roadblocks, and random killings. 5. Troops are called out to 'keep peace,' but either it's too late for peace or the troops themselves commit and provoke worse violence. And round and round it goes until everything implodes. All the while, right from the beginning, some political faction is either actively encouraging the violence or taking advantage of it to gain power. No, usually several factions are doing the encouraging and taking advantage." (12/20/21)
https://www.clairewolfe.com/blog/2021/12/20/violence-fantasy-and-reality-where-does-it-go-from-here-part-ii/
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31) The importance of work and the benefits of honest labor
Source: Fox News
by Victor Davis Hanson
"The United States was founded on the idea of the inherent nobility of work. A nation of free, self-sufficient homesteaders believed their hard labor could ensure their prosperity, liberty and autonomy. Through our 233 years as a nation, the American national ethic, our various religions, even our popular culture stressed the character-building nature of labor -- and its pathway to personal self-sufficiency and a prosperous and powerful nation of industrious citizens. When World War II broke out on Sept. 1, 1939, an isolationist, underemployed and neutral America was still in the throes of serial Depression-era recessions. Its military was undermanned and nearly unarmed. Yet 80 years ago, after entering the war on Dec. 11, 1941, in the aftermath of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans (men and women, teenagers and the elderly, all races and religions) worked nonstop, 24-7 as no nation has before or since." (12/20/21)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/americans-work-benefits-honest-labor-victor-davis-hanson
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32) When Hypocrites Rule Washington and Washington Is Exempt from the World's Rules
Source: Antiwar.com
by Doug Bandow
"It is evident that Washington will never hold itself accountable. Neither, it seems, will the US media. Which, unfortunately, appears to leave the job to armed foreigners, including, unfortunately, the Russians and Chinese. That isn't in America's interest, but then, promiscuous war-making by Washington isn't in America's interest either." (12/20/21)
https://original.antiwar.com/doug-bandow/2021/12/19/when-hypocrites-rule-washington-and-washington-is-exempt-from-the-worlds-rules/
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33) No, Large-Scale Societies Don't Need Massive Inequalities
Source: Jacobin
by Astra Taylor
Interview with David Wendgrow: "The popular narrative goes that history is governed by evolutionary forces. While there are exceptions to every rule, its broad sweep pushes in a general direction that is predictable and obvious. Before the rise of agriculture, humans lived in small egalitarian bands. It's been downhill ever since, as our species trends increasingly toward domination and arbitrary hierarchy. Belief in this story about humanity it isn't confined to either side of the political spectrum. But is the narrative true? World-renowned archaeologist David Wengrow of University College London says no." (12/20/21)
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/12/wengrow-interview-graeber-dawn-of-everything-urbanism-hunter-gatherers-agriculture/
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34) Pharmacists Stage Walkout in Early Unionization Effort
Source: The American Prospect
by Mike Elk
"Today, a fledgling independent union of pharmacists is launching the first-ever nationwide walkout of these critical health care workers. After being forced to work on the pandemic front lines distributing medicines to millions of sick COVID patients, including hundreds of millions of vaccines, pharmacists have had enough, and are fighting back in unprecedented ways. 'So many pharmacists are just really under so much stress,' says Dr. Shane Jerominski, whose Facebook page 'The Accidental Pharmacist' has 93,000 followers, many of whom are part of the growing independent union effort. 'Right now without a union, their concerns are falling on deaf ears ... between the script volume with COVID, and these COVID tests, COVID vaccinations, flu vaccinations, there's always more work with less help.'" (12/20/21)
https://prospect.org/labor/pharmacists-stage-walkout-in-early-unionization-effort/
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35) Why China won't invade Taiwan and Russia won't attack Ukraine
Source: The Hill
by Harlan Ullman
"Since the end for World War II, the United States has fallen victim to exaggerating national security threats while ignoring others that proved more dangerous. Perhaps the memory of the interwar years and appeasement of Nazi Germany and fascist Japan became embedded in America's DNA. The alleged missile gap of the late 1950s and early 1960s turned out to be decisively in America's favor; Vietnam was never vital to halting non-existent monolithic communism; Saddam Hussein never had weapons of mass destruction; imposing democracy in the greater Middle East was a mirage; and today, intelligence warnings of a Russian assault into Ukraine with 175,000 soldiers, and generals and admirals fretting over a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, exemplify these exaggerations." (12/20/21)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/586492-why-china-wont-invade-taiwan-and-russia-wont-attack-ukraine
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36) Process Totalitarianism
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by ZH
"When people think of totalitarianism they think of an all-controlling leader who dictates their wishes to bureaucrats and prefects, which are then carried out with ruthless efficiency. ... Instead of rule from above, process totalitarianism rules through bureaucratic process, the outcome of which is more or less determined. The state sets up processes which can only result in a small range of outcomes. It doesn't matter whether we agree or disagree with these processes or outcomes; the point is that the state, and not democratic governance, control these processes and are thus able to achieve certain predictable ends, ends which reinforce state power." (12/20/21)
https://c4ss.org/content/55661
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37) The Start of Something New?
Source: Heartland Institute
by Daniel Sutter
"Americans have long seen college as a path to a better life and held higher education in high esteem. This is changing rapidly, with a strong political divide emerging. Republicans are now highly skeptical of both the above propositions. This month witnessed a potential watershed moment for higher ed with the announcement of a new university dedicated to free inquiry, the University of Austin." (12/20/21)
https://blog.heartland.org/2021/12/the-start-of-something-new/
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38) Manchin and Abbott: A Tale of Two Patriots
Source: Town Hall
by Tom Tradup
"Two elected officials (from different parts of America) emerged this weekend as the kind of patriots which are in too short supply these days, but both offered a ray of hope for our future. First, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia just earned the thanks of every right-thinking man, woman, and child in America. Because on Sunday, Manchin essentially killed the ridiculous, bloated and unnecessary $2-trillion grab-bag of ultraLeftist spending scams called Joe Biden's 'Build Back Better' plan. (By the way, like so much of Biden's past career, he plagiarized the 'Build Back Better' terminology from British prime minister Boris Johnson, who early in 2020 unveiled a so-called 'Build Back Greener' plan which went nowhere, so he switched the name to 'Build Back Better.' Joe Biden then simply stole the name, but I digress.)" (12/20/21)
https://townhall.com/columnists/tomtradup/2021/12/20/manchin-and-abbott-a-tale-of-two-patriots-n2600822
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39) Why Authoritarian Regimes Bother With Elections
Source: The Atlantic
by Timothy McLaughlin
"In November 2019, Nixie Lam suffered the same fate as nearly all of her pro-Beijing compatriots running in Hong Kong's local elections. The two-term district councillor was roundly defeated by a prodemocracy candidate whose campaign had been buoyed by months of sustained protests. ... A couple of years after her defeat, Lam was tapped to run in Sunday's legislative-council elections, the city's mini-Parliament, and she accepted. When I met with her last week, she seemed confident in her chances at a political comeback on a bigger stage -- and with good reason. After 2019's near wipeout, the central government on the mainland didn't just change the rules of Hong Kong's political game. Like a petulant child tired of losing, Beijing tossed the entire thing into the garbage bin." [editor's note: Sort of like the two wings of the establishment uniparty in the US does periodically? – TLK] (12/20/21)
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/12/hong-kong-stunt-election-democracy/621071/
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40) Putin draws lines over NATO, Ukraine: Let the negotiations begin
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Rajan Menon and Benjamin H Friedman
"The virtual meeting between President Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on December 7 didn't resolve the crisis that began when Russian forces massed around Ukraine's border, where they currently remain. But Biden's readiness to engage in further talks with Russia in order to reach an unspecified 'accommodation' provides an opportunity for diplomacy to avert a looming disaster. Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's border has two objectives -- one is to force a settlement, on its terms, between Kyiv and the Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east, in line with the February 12, 2015, Minsk II Agreement. Moscow's second but more immediate goal is to pressure NATO to meet a list of demands ..." (12/20/21)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/12/20/determined-diplomacy-can-prevent-war-in-eastern-europe/
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41) The Fear of Those Still-Secret CIA Records on the JFK Assassination
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
"One of the amusing aspects of the ongoing controversy over those still-secret CIA records relating to the Kennedy assassination has been the reaction of lone-nut theorists. Hardly any of them, if any at all, are publicly calling on President Biden to disclose those records now rather than delaying disclosure for another year. What's up with that? Surely, lone-nut theorists don't really buy into the 'national security' rationale for keeping 58-year-old records relating to the assassination secret from the American people. I don't know of anyone who really buys into that rationale. After all, what do they think will happen if those records are suddenly disclosed -- that the Cuban communist army will invade Miami and start moving up the coast toward Washington?" (12/20/21)
https://www.fff.org/2021/12/20/the-fear-of-those-still-secret-cia-records-on-the-jfk-assassination/
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42) The Pentagon's 20-Year Killing Spree Has Always Treated Civilians as Expendable
Source: Common Dreams
by Norman Solomon
"Top U.S. officials want us to believe that the Pentagon carefully spares civilian lives while making war overseas. The notion is pleasant. And with high-tech killing far from home, the physical and psychological distances have made it even easier to believe recent claims that American warfare has become 'humane.' Such pretenses should be grimly laughable to anyone who has read high-quality journalism from eyewitness reporters like Anand Gopal and Nick Turse. For instance, Gopal's article for The New Yorker in September, 'The Other Afghan Women,' is an in-depth, devastating piece that exposes the slaughter and terror systematically inflicted on rural residents of Afghanistan by the U.S. Air Force." (12/20/21)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/12/20/pentagons-20-year-killing-spree-has-always-treated-civilians-expendable
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43) Regional Variations in COVID are SEASONAL, not Correlated with Party of the Governor
Source: Coyote Blog
by Warren Meyer
"Three months ago the south was a hotspot and all these other places were moderately dormant. The prior attempts to attribute that earlier southern hotspot to party affiliation of the governors now seems about as valid as the Boxers blaming Chinese droughts on Christian missionaries (I like the Boxer analogy because the cornonabro's confidence that crappy paper and cloth masks will protect them from the virus reminds me of the Boxer's beliefs that special exercises and spells would make them immune to bullets)." (12/20/21)
https://coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2021/12/regional-variations-in-covid-are-seasonal-not-correlated-with-party-of-the-governor.html
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44) Democrats' Democracy Delusions
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
"Hillary's delusion is not hers alone. After a second glass of Chardonnay, the faithful will insist Hillary did win the popular vote, which counts as actually winning by Clinton's math. They'll tell you Hillary did not win only because Trump cheated or the Russians helped. ... Granting Hillary a pass for using her delusion to sell merch, one would have hoped the whole thing would have gone away with the election of Joe Biden. Democrats, you won! And you got the House! You can right all wrongs! Instead, the delusions continue, as the entire party seems in the grip of political Alzheimer's." (12/20/21)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/democrats-shoddy-campaign-for-democracy/
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45) No, Senator Warren, Greed Is Not Causing Inflation
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Daniel Lacalle
"Senator Elizabeth Warren recently stated that rising prices were due to corporations increasing their profits. 'This isn't about inflation, this is about price gouging for these guys.' It is simply incorrect. No, corporations have not doubled their profits, and rising prices are not due to the evildoings of businesses. If evil corporations are to blame for rising prices in 2021, as Elizabeth Warren says, I imagine that they were magnanimous and generous corporations when there was low or no inflation, right? Inflation is the tax of the poor. It destroys the purchasing power of wages and engulfs the little savings that workers accumulate. The rich can protect themselves by investing in real assets, real estate and financial, the poor cannot. Inflation is not a coincidence, it is a policy." (12/20/21)
https://mises.org/wire/no-sen-warren-greed-not-causing-inflation
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46) America Is About to Experience the Bullwhip Effect
Source: American Consequences
by Kim Iskyan
"Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, evades Nazis, saves the world, gets the girl, and wields a mean bullwhip. That's a single-tailed whip made of braided strips of leather (or, if you're not the epitome of Indiana Jones cool, nylon) usually used to control livestock... or, in Indiana's case, to ward off a ferocious lion and then swing across a chasm in the earth. And as I'll explain ... the American economy is about to experience the economic equivalent of the crack of Indiana Jones'[s] favored weapon, in what's called the 'bullwhip effect.' What this means is that we're going to soon see post-Christmas sales that will make Black Friday and Cyber Monday look like high-priced sidewalk sales by comparison, and, secondly, all this talk about inflation (just now the highest since 1982) fade like snow on a 70-degree day." (12/20/21)
https://americanconsequences.com/america-is-about-to-experience-the-bullwhip-effect/
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47) The Myth of the Pay-Productivity Gap
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Craig Duddy
"Economists and politicians alike have alleged, particularly in more recent years, that since 1973 there has been an effective separation between pay and productivity. This talking point has been embraced by crony policymakers, anti-banking hard money advocates and socialists. However, no matter how much universal endorsement a talking point gets, it will never serve to justify it. The supposed pay and productivity gap is, in reality, a prime example of faulty statistics and sets a bad precedent for acceptable methodology." (12/20/21)
https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-pay-productivity-gap/
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48) Lack of money isn't California's problem
Source: Orange County Register
by Jon Coupal
"The 40-year-old myth that Proposition 13 gutted education spending was never true to begin with, despite the progressive narrative, but now it has been exposed as utter fantasy. According to the federal government's National Center for Education Statistics, in inflation-adjusted constant dollars, per-pupil spending in California for public elementary and secondary schools rose from $5,675 in 1969-70, to $7,377 in 1979-80, to $9,121 in 1989-90. For 2017-18, the most recent year for which statistics are available, per-pupil spending for K-12 public schools was $13,129, the highest ever. ... So no, California's schools aren't hurting for cash as the foes of Prop. 13 would like you to believe. What California's schools are hurting for is accountability. And as two recent news items show, it starts at the top." (12/20/21)
https://www.ocregister.com/2021/12/19/lack-of-money-isnt-californias-problem/
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49) Running Scared from Inflation Is a Recipe for Ruining the Economy
Source: In These Times
by Max B Sawicky
"Last month, I wrote a story in these pages discounting the burgeoning hype over inflation. Yet this hype persists. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has repeatedly invoked the inflationary threat to oppose President Biden's massive Build Back Better (BBB) legislative package. And on December 11, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board duly awarded Manchin a cookie, proclaiming his vindication. In the words of Richard Nixon, let me say this about that. You may have heard that 'war is the continuation of politics by other means,' a quote credited to Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz. Well, anti-inflation policy is the continuation of class war by other means. In the current case, the specter of inflation is being spuriously invoked to block Biden's social spending initiatives." (12/16/21)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/inflation-build-back-better-manchin-biden-oil-prices-supply-chain
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50) Cowboys vs Indians: The Feud Between Musk and Warren
Source: The Libertarian Republic
by Squiggly Line Guy
"Elon Musk is a man who moves things. He's moved us into the commercial space age with SpaceX. He's moved us into the electric vehicle age with Tesla Motors. He's been known to move the stock and crypto markets with mere tweets. Now it appears that Musk may sway political campaigns--an avenue he's been traditionally quiet about. It all started when Time Magazine named Elon Musk as Time Person of the Year for 2021. They cited his advancements in electric vehicles and renewable energy, as well as SpaceX shuttling astronauts to and from the International Space Station for a fraction of the traditional cost. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts took this opportunity to kick start her 2024 re-election campaign. While she doesn't have an opponent yet, in order to get that early start on fundraising, she's currently running a campaign against her usual bogeymen -- billionaires." (12/19/21)
https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/cowboys-vs-indians-the-feud-between-musk-and-warren/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Reason Roundtable, 12/20/21
Source: Reason
"A Reality Check on Coronavirus, Congress, and Elon Musk's Taxes." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://reason.com/podcast/2021/12/20/a-reality-check-on-coronavirus-congress-and-elon-musks-taxes/
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52) Free Talk Live, 12/20/21
Source: Free Talk Live
"Keene Tyrants :: NYC Tyrant-Elect :: NY to implement quarantine camps? :: Sit-Ins :: Mark Edge Attacking Free State Project :: Veteran Arrested in NYC Panera Bread :: Wuhan Theories." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/20/21)
https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/free-talk-live-2021-12-20
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53) EconTalk, 12/20/21
Source: EconTalk
"Michael Munger on Constitutions." [Flash audio or MP3] (12/20/21)
https://www.econtalk.org/michael-munger-on-constitutions/
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54) Kinsella On Liberty, episode 367
Source: StephanKinsella.com
"Disenthrall with Patrick Smith: Fisking Strangerous Thoughts' Critique of 'Intellectual Communism.'" [Flash audio or MP3] (12/20/21)
https://www.stephankinsella.com/paf-podcast/kol367-disenthrall-fisking-intellectual-communism/
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55) The Bryan Hyde Show, 12/20/21
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
"As wrongthinkers, we tend to be less concerned with the approval of the crowd. Even so, it's sobering to consider what is considered mainstream thought today." [various formats] (12/202/21)
https://thebryanhydeshow.podbean.com/e/2021-december-20-the-bryan-hyde-show-hour-one/
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56) Lions of Liberty Podcast, episode 544
Source: Lions of Liberty
"Sayulita Superspreader Supershow! feat. Robbie the Fire & Friends." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/sayulita-superspreader-supershow
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57) Do You Buy That ...? 12/20/21
Source: FiveThirtyEight
"The Redistricting Process Will Hurt Democrats?" [Flash video] (12/20/21)
https://fivethirtyeight.com/videos/do-you-buy-that-the-redistricting-process-will-hurt-democrats/
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58) Conflicts Of Interest, episode 203
Source: Libertarian Institute
"Understanding Conflict in Ethiopia." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/kyle/coi-203-understanding-conflict-in-ethiopia/
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59) Commentary Podcast, 12/20/21
Source: Commentary
"The New Stupid Party (It's Not the GOP)." [various formats] (12/20/21)
https://www.commentary.org/john-podhoretz/the-new-stupid-party-its-not-the-gop/
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60) Ron Paul Liberty Report, 12/20/21
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
"Busted! The Great Fauci/NIH Anti-Science Conspiracy!" [Flash video] (12/20/21)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/busted-the-great-faucinih-anti-science-conspiracy
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