Reading the various reports, articles, and opinions as well as the various TV reports about Covid-19, one would think it’s either much ado about nothing, Captain Trips (of The Stand) come to life, or somewhere between those two extremes.
It hasn’t been easy trying to parse fact from fiction, separating the factual ‘wheat’ from the mythical ‘chaff’ of hysteria, ignorance, and fear.
Is the coronavirus the next Black Plague or Spanish Flu? Is it nothing more than just another influenza?
It is not just another version of the flu as it has some different characteristics outside what is usually seen with influenza, one of the biggest being that those infected with it are contagious about seven days before symptoms appear. With flu, a patient isn’t infectious until they become symptomatic, generally speaking.
Covid-19 is airborne and can also be spread through feces. Flu can be spread through droplets when someone sneezes, coughs, or through contact with the virus on a surface which is then transferred to the nose, mouth, or eyes.
At the moment the mortality rate appears to be higher than the typical influenza outbreak, with flu usually having a mortality rate around 1% or less. Covid-19 has shown a mortality rate of about 3.3% in China (assuming we can believe the numbers from the Chinese government). It’s even higher in Iran, of all places.
So what should we believe about the coronavirus?
First, that it isn’t as bad as the Spanish Flu.
Second, it isn’t the flu though it has many of the same symptoms.
Third, screening isn’t as effective as it is for other illnesses like this due to its ability to be spread while an infected patient is asymptomatic, hence quarantines of those potentially exposed until after the incubation period.
Fourth, it has infected a lot of medical caregivers, particularly in China. I don’t know if the infection rate is higher for Covid-19 among medical personnel than other viral diseases.
I think the best advice is to not overreact, but don’t ignore what’s happening either. There are precautions that can be taken, basically the same ones we hear every flu season: wash your hands regularly, cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm rather than into your hand, and clean regularly touched surfaces with disinfectants as often as is practical. And should you become sick, stay home. Don’t be a ‘hero’ by going to work when you’re sick. You aren’t doing anyone any favors by infecting your co-workers.
2/26/2020
Do We Need Re-education Programs To Help Blue State Refugees Adapt?
I pulled this out of a response I made on Disqus some time ago, something I think would help refugees from Blue states adapt to their new homes.
One of the big worries many folks have (including me) is that folks “from away” have a propensity to try to recreate the places from which they fled, not understanding that many of the things they believe are necessary to have in their towns or states are the very things that helped turned their former homes into places that were no longer livable. Why would they come to a place they see as a refuge and try to turn it into the very place they fled? It is something I have pondered about and commented upon many times over the years.
Much of this comes from a letter I received from the late William Loeb decades ago, as well as an idea that University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds put forth as a means of reducing this problem.
One of the big worries many folks have (including me) is that folks “from away” have a propensity to try to recreate the places from which they fled, not understanding that many of the things they believe are necessary to have in their towns or states are the very things that helped turned their former homes into places that were no longer livable. Why would they come to a place they see as a refuge and try to turn it into the very place they fled? It is something I have pondered about and commented upon many times over the years.
Much of this comes from a letter I received from the late William Loeb decades ago, as well as an idea that University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds put forth as a means of reducing this problem.
Much of this could be prevented if we follow the late William Loeb's suggestion or Professor Glenn Reynolds' idea of a re-orientation camp/Welcome Wagon - places where newcomers must go to learn "How Things Are Done In Your New Home State And Why" and "Gun Free Zones Kill, Not Law-Abiding Gun Owners" and just as importantly, "The State Ain't Your Mommy Or Daddy, So Grow Up And Be A Self-Reliant Adult". Perhaps some basic "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" and "Don't Expect Your Neighbor To Pay For The Things You Think Are Needs But Are Really Just Nice-To-Haves" classes should be thrown in as well. Perhaps throw in some seminars about "When They Say 'It's For The Children', They Are Lying To You And Want More Of Your Money And More Control Over Your Life So Don't Let Them". Probably two of the most important lessons newcomers will have to learn is this one: "We Don't Care How You Did Things Back Where You Came From. You're Here Now." and this one: "If Things Were So Great Back Where You Came From, Why Are You Here? Maybe You Should Go Back There."We see it here all the time, with folks moving here “from away” wanting to change everything here into something resembling the place they left.
If they can't pass the tests that will be mandatory after taking all the classes and seminars, they will have to go back where they came from because they won't be fit enough to be released among the populace.
2/23/2020
Thoughts On A Sunday
The deep freeze temperatures we have experienced have receded, being replaced with temperatures in the 40’s yesterday and today, and temps in the 50’s tomorrow. I expect we’ll see a lot of melting of ice and snow accumulated over the past few weeks, just in time to make room for more snow and ice. (Statistically, March is the snowiest month of the year here in New England.)
I have witnessed this first hand.
Much of American industry is looking to retain older workers because it is difficult to replace them, they have a deep understanding of their jobs, and most importantly, they show up. They don’t have issues with kids or heavy social lives like so many younger adults.
Another business related issue, that being problems with the supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 virus, is making the headlines.
I’ve been seeing that with my company, with some of our suppliers in China being unable to deliver parts ordered some time ago. Originally many of them were supposed to reopen on February 14th, but for those located in Wuhan that has been delayed for an indefinite period.
This does not bode well as the Chinese government sources have been saying one thing and our suppliers have been telling us something else. I have more reason to believe our suppliers rather than the official government line.
You know it’s getting bad (and stupid) when students at a Catholic school (Kennedy Catholic High School in Seattle, Washington) protest that their religious high school is too Catholic and too religious.
Say what?
Have any of you noticed something missing at the Democrat debates? I have to admit that I didn’t until it was pointed out to me.
That missing something?
There are no American flags evident. Not one.
One has to wonder: What message is the DNC is sending?
I doubt it is an oversight on their part.
Is the #Tradwife movement gaining momentum?
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the sun is shining, the temperatures are getting warmer, and where there is going to be a lot of snow and ice melting over the next few days.
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I have witnessed this first hand.
Much of American industry is looking to retain older workers because it is difficult to replace them, they have a deep understanding of their jobs, and most importantly, they show up. They don’t have issues with kids or heavy social lives like so many younger adults.
According to the US Department of Labor, since March 2018 US monthly job vacancies have outnumbered unemployed job seekers. As the baby boomers reach retirement, it seems there are not enough millennials in the jobs pipeline ready to step in.I have seen that on more than one occasion in a number of companies in my neck of the woods. I expect it will become more common going forward.
"We have a labour shortage and it's going to be a problem for the next couple of decades as the boomers leave the workforce," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
So, one answer for companies struggling to find staff is to ask workers...to put off retirement.
********************
Another business related issue, that being problems with the supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 virus, is making the headlines.
I’ve been seeing that with my company, with some of our suppliers in China being unable to deliver parts ordered some time ago. Originally many of them were supposed to reopen on February 14th, but for those located in Wuhan that has been delayed for an indefinite period.
This does not bode well as the Chinese government sources have been saying one thing and our suppliers have been telling us something else. I have more reason to believe our suppliers rather than the official government line.
********************
You know it’s getting bad (and stupid) when students at a Catholic school (Kennedy Catholic High School in Seattle, Washington) protest that their religious high school is too Catholic and too religious.
Say what?
Over in Seattle, Washington, some students attending a Catholic private religious high school think they know better than everyone else about what Catholicism teaches because they’re abject degenerate idiots.Sounds like good advice to me.
--snip--
GUYS. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN CATHOLICISM DO NOT GO TO A CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
********************
Have any of you noticed something missing at the Democrat debates? I have to admit that I didn’t until it was pointed out to me.
That missing something?
There are no American flags evident. Not one.
One has to wonder: What message is the DNC is sending?
I doubt it is an oversight on their part.
********************
Is the #Tradwife movement gaining momentum?
In a culture that has championed feminism, the Women’s March, #MeToo, and national campaigns to close the gender pay gap, life as a full-time homemaker seems anything but progressive. And yet, the growing #TradWife social media movement celebrates the classic domestic female as its role model.While I have no thoughts on this movement either way (the WP Mom was not a traditional housewife my any means), I would think that people would support any woman who chose to fulfill such a role. However, that has not been the case, as seen in the quote above. So much for tolerance for other people’s choices or their way of life.
The movement, often illustrated with 1950s posters of apple-cheeked housewives brandishing vacuums or serving their husbands dinner, consists of a growing multitude of women who proclaim their choice to be “traditional” wives by staying at home and fulfilling household duties rather than pursuing a career outside the home.
Not surprisingly, the trend has met fierce backlash. Critics have called it backwards, dangerous, and even racist. The reactions generally claim either that misogynistic males are hypnotizing their wives into submission, or that women who somehow prefer domestic life are spreading an insidious message that hinders the female crusade for equality.
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And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the sun is shining, the temperatures are getting warmer, and where there is going to be a lot of snow and ice melting over the next few days.
2/22/2020
From The Archives - Liberalism Versus Conservatism
The following post has come to use via the Weekend Pundit archives, posted originally back in October of 2013. Not much seems to have changed since then other than the definition of “liberal”. For the following piece, “liberal” should be replaced with “progressive” as classic liberals aren't anything like those describing themselves as liberals today.
It seems I'm not the only one that understands one basic truth about the difference between liberals and conservatives when it comes to the human condition.
Dinesh D'Souza writes about political speech and how it differs between liberalism and conservatism. One of the more common differences is the outlook on equality. For liberals it's all about equality of outcome. For conservatives it's about equality of opportunity. The former is almost impossible to achieve unless the desired outcome is to make sure everyone is equally miserable, destitute, and terrorized by the powers-that-be. The latter is difficult as it requires constant vigilance, but it is possible to achieve as we've seen more than once in our own history.
Equality of outcome usually entails embracing the lowest common denominator, something that has always failed. Despite claims that they want to 'pull everyone up to a higher level', in practice liberals tend to pull everyone down to a level no one wants to inhabit. Competition is eliminated because it might hurt someone's feelings or self-esteem. (Self-esteem is vastly overrated. There are plenty of people on death row that have great self-esteem, so it's no measure of success.) It's a great system for discouraging anyone from trying to better themselves because there is no reward for doing so. Instead such ambition is punished and diminished. The results are predictable (at least to non-liberals), disappointing, and baffling to the very people who implemented the system.
Equality of opportunity almost always results in a better outcome. Even failure can have positive results as it can often spur people on to greater efforts. (Ask any successful entrepreneur or business owner and you'll find that almost all of them failed at some point, in some cases more than once.) In the long run everyone benefits, both socially and financially, even the failures.
But one of the biggest differences between the two political camps is their understanding of human nature. To put it simply, liberals don't understand it and conservatives do.
=+=+=+=+=+=
It seems I'm not the only one that understands one basic truth about the difference between liberals and conservatives when it comes to the human condition.
Dinesh D'Souza writes about political speech and how it differs between liberalism and conservatism. One of the more common differences is the outlook on equality. For liberals it's all about equality of outcome. For conservatives it's about equality of opportunity. The former is almost impossible to achieve unless the desired outcome is to make sure everyone is equally miserable, destitute, and terrorized by the powers-that-be. The latter is difficult as it requires constant vigilance, but it is possible to achieve as we've seen more than once in our own history.
Equality of outcome usually entails embracing the lowest common denominator, something that has always failed. Despite claims that they want to 'pull everyone up to a higher level', in practice liberals tend to pull everyone down to a level no one wants to inhabit. Competition is eliminated because it might hurt someone's feelings or self-esteem. (Self-esteem is vastly overrated. There are plenty of people on death row that have great self-esteem, so it's no measure of success.) It's a great system for discouraging anyone from trying to better themselves because there is no reward for doing so. Instead such ambition is punished and diminished. The results are predictable (at least to non-liberals), disappointing, and baffling to the very people who implemented the system.
Equality of opportunity almost always results in a better outcome. Even failure can have positive results as it can often spur people on to greater efforts. (Ask any successful entrepreneur or business owner and you'll find that almost all of them failed at some point, in some cases more than once.) In the long run everyone benefits, both socially and financially, even the failures.
But one of the biggest differences between the two political camps is their understanding of human nature. To put it simply, liberals don't understand it and conservatives do.
At root, conservatives and liberals have two different conceptions of human nature that cause them to see the world so differently. Liberals tend to believe in Rousseau’s proposition that human nature is intrinsically good. Therefore they believe that people who fail or do bad things are not acting out of laziness or wickedness; rather, society put them in this unfortunate position. Since people are innately good, liberals hold that the great conflicts in the world are not the result of good versus evil; rather they arise out of terrible misunderstandings that can be corrected through ongoing conversation and through the mediation of groups like the United Nations. Finally the liberal’s high opinion of human nature leads to the view that if you give people autonomy they will use their freedom well.Unfortunately the liberal trust that deep down inside everyone is good has been disproven time and again throughout history. There are too many examples of people who were so effin' evil that no amount of feel good platitudes and singing “Kumbaya” can fix them. You can't explain away those like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and many others by blaming it on society. Even 'innocent' children show their savage side when left to their own devices. How do you explain the bullying committed by kids from otherwise good homes, bullying that is cruel to an extreme? If people were innately good such a thing would be rare. But given the opportunity kids will hoist the Jolly Roger and 'pillage and plunder' their way through their peers without giving a damn about the consequences. And with no restraints and no real consequences it can become something right out of The Lord Of The Flies. Conservatives understand this. Liberals do not, and it seems all of their policies are based upon that lack of understanding. It also explains why so many of their policies fail to meet expectations, and in too many cases, make things worse than if they did nothing.
Conservatives know better. Conservatives recognize that there are two principles in human nature—good and evil—and these are in constant conflict. Given the warped timber of humanity, conservatives seek a social structure that helps to bring out the best in human nature and suppress man’s lower or base impulses. Conservatives support capitalism because it is a way of steering our natural pursuit of self-interest toward the material betterment of society at large. Conservatives insist that there are evil regimes and destructive forces in the world that cannot be talked out of their nefarious objectives; force is an indispensable element of international relations. Finally conservatives support autonomy when it is attached to personal responsibility—when people are held accountable for their actions—but they also believe in the indispensability of moral incubators (the family, civic institutions) that are aimed at instructing people to choose virtue over vice.
2/19/2020
Bernie Sanders Assaulted In Reno
It seems that political violence in the US is spreading. So reports the nation’s new Newspaper of Record, in this case about an assault on Democrat Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
RENO, NV—Bernie Sanders supporters were shocked today when they saw him hobble into a campaign event looking quite battered and covered in one hundred-dollar bills. Sanders claims this was the result of an attack by a group of billionaires.Indeed.
Sanders said he was out in the streets of Reno at 2 a.m. to purchase a can of beans to eat when suddenly he was approached by two billionaires in ski masks and expensive tailored suits who shouted, “This is billionaire country!” The billionaires began pelting Sanders with stacks of one hundred dollar bills while yelling derogatory things at him, like, “You’re just a millionaire; that’s only one step above being poor!”
“Billionaires are a menace!” yelled a shaking Sanders to a crowd of supporters. “They’re after me, and they must be stopped!”
Some have questioned the details of the attack, as it was extremely unusual for Sanders to still be up at 2 a.m., since he usually goes to bed at 6 p.m. after his 4 p.m. dinner. Still, police are questioning all nearby billionaires, and unfortunately, most of them don’t have alibis, as billionaires do tend to disappear at night, either to fight crime as costumed vigilantes or to manage hedge funds.
2/16/2020
Thoughts On A Sunday
It was a chilly morning here at The Gulch yesterday morning, hitting -8ºF and reaching 17ºF as a high. It was nice and sunny all day, giving an impression it was warmer than it really was. At least there was little, if any wind, which made it less biting that it otherwise might have been.
It was quite a bit warmer today, promoting some melting of the ice and packed snow from our last bit of winter weather.
On more than one occasion I have covered issues dealing with the cable/satellite TV industry, how the content providers determine what the cable/satellite companies will charge for video programming, cable/satellite companies dropping some providers, the imbalance between the number of channels received in a customer’s home and the number of channels actually watched, and the increasing number of people dropping their cable/satellite subscriptions in favor of a streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, CBS All Access, Disney+, and a host of other services.
Yet another blow to cable/satellite pay TV services is the decrease in the number of channels coming into homes. “...the average number of channels received by U.S. TV households fell precipitously to 179.5 in 2019 from 191.8 in 2018.” However, the prices charged to subscribers either remained the same or rose.
This does not bode well for the Pyrite State.
Half of California’s registered voters said they have either given serous or some thought to leaving the state.
It’s not surprising considering the hostile business and political environment.
The state’s Republicans have come to feel like second-class citizens, shut out of much of the political process, particularly in light of the state’s so-called “Jungle Primary” system which leads most state office elections to see one Democrat running against another Democrat.
Much of the middle class cites the high cost of housing as another factor motivating them to leave. That can be laid at the feet of highly restrictive housing and zoning laws that make it unattractive to build anything other than higher end housing. Some cities, like San Francisco, are so restrictive it can take years to get construction of housing approved and just as long to get the requisite permits to start construction. That restricts the supply of housing and also drives the cost of that new housing up because any developer is going to build housing that gives them enough return on investment to offset the cost of getting the housing approved.
High taxes is another reason for so many considering leaving the state.
One has to wonder if a tipping point will be reached and California will see its bigger businesses and wealthier residents leaving the state, and with it, its tax base.
This ought to fill people working for Michael Bloomberg with paranoia. In this case, righteous paranoia.
Pro -Bernie Blogger Warns People Who Work For Bloomberg: "It's very important for us to create a black list of every operative who works on the Bloomberg campaign"
Gee, I’m hearing echos of the KGB in a statement like that. Then again Bernie is a Bolshevik.
The nation’s former “Newspaper of Record”, the New York Times and the UK’s The Guardian, have slammed President Trump for rolling back over-the-top environmental regulations, but it has backfired on them because the International Energy Agency issued a report showing the US saw the largest decline in energy-related CO2 emissions in 2019 on a country basis – a fall of 140 Mt, or 2.9%, to 4.8 Gt. US emissions are now down almost 1 Gt from their peak in the year 2000.
From the NYT:
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather is up-and-down, one set of school February vacations start, and Monday has returned all too soon even though it is a holiday.
It was quite a bit warmer today, promoting some melting of the ice and packed snow from our last bit of winter weather.
********************
On more than one occasion I have covered issues dealing with the cable/satellite TV industry, how the content providers determine what the cable/satellite companies will charge for video programming, cable/satellite companies dropping some providers, the imbalance between the number of channels received in a customer’s home and the number of channels actually watched, and the increasing number of people dropping their cable/satellite subscriptions in favor of a streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, CBS All Access, Disney+, and a host of other services.
Yet another blow to cable/satellite pay TV services is the decrease in the number of channels coming into homes. “...the average number of channels received by U.S. TV households fell precipitously to 179.5 in 2019 from 191.8 in 2018.” However, the prices charged to subscribers either remained the same or rose.
While the average number of channels received has been declining since it peaked in 2005, 2019's 6.5% decline was a pronounced drop.The traditional linear TV business model is coming apart as content providers keep jacking up prices and cable/satellite TV companies keep shedding customers.
It could reflect that American households are cutting back on their subscription TV channel packages, especially as more of them move to premium and ad-supported OTT subscription services, but whatever the case, it is notable and something to keep an eye on.
********************
This does not bode well for the Pyrite State.
Half of California’s registered voters said they have either given serous or some thought to leaving the state.
It’s not surprising considering the hostile business and political environment.
The state’s Republicans have come to feel like second-class citizens, shut out of much of the political process, particularly in light of the state’s so-called “Jungle Primary” system which leads most state office elections to see one Democrat running against another Democrat.
Much of the middle class cites the high cost of housing as another factor motivating them to leave. That can be laid at the feet of highly restrictive housing and zoning laws that make it unattractive to build anything other than higher end housing. Some cities, like San Francisco, are so restrictive it can take years to get construction of housing approved and just as long to get the requisite permits to start construction. That restricts the supply of housing and also drives the cost of that new housing up because any developer is going to build housing that gives them enough return on investment to offset the cost of getting the housing approved.
High taxes is another reason for so many considering leaving the state.
California, which has the highest income tax rates in the U.S., is already losing residents to lower-tax states.It’s not just income taxes but business taxes that have increased the burden upon California businesses.
As previously reported by FOX Business, more than 86,160 Golden State residents left for Texas in 2018, and 68,516 went to Arizona. More than 55,460 left for Washington, and more than 50,700 went to Nevada. Of those top four destinations, three have no state income tax. Arizona does, but rates are significantly lower than in California.
According to IRS data, California lost about $8 billion in 2018 thanks to the outflow of residents.
One has to wonder if a tipping point will be reached and California will see its bigger businesses and wealthier residents leaving the state, and with it, its tax base.
********************
This ought to fill people working for Michael Bloomberg with paranoia. In this case, righteous paranoia.
Pro -Bernie Blogger Warns People Who Work For Bloomberg: "It's very important for us to create a black list of every operative who works on the Bloomberg campaign"
Gee, I’m hearing echos of the KGB in a statement like that. Then again Bernie is a Bolshevik.
********************
The nation’s former “Newspaper of Record”, the New York Times and the UK’s The Guardian, have slammed President Trump for rolling back over-the-top environmental regulations, but it has backfired on them because the International Energy Agency issued a report showing the US saw the largest decline in energy-related CO2 emissions in 2019 on a country basis – a fall of 140 Mt, or 2.9%, to 4.8 Gt. US emissions are now down almost 1 Gt from their peak in the year 2000.
From the NYT:
"President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration, with help from Republicans in Congress, has often targeted environmental rules it sees as burdensome to the fossil fuel industry and other big businesses."It’s interesting that we can get rid of over-reaching environmental regulations and still have cleaner air and water while decreasing our CO2 emissions, and doing it better than any of the nations participating in the Paris Accords.
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And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather is up-and-down, one set of school February vacations start, and Monday has returned all too soon even though it is a holiday.
2/15/2020
Socialism - A Lesson In Failure That Must Learned Again...And Again
I have lost count of how many times I have written on the subject of socialism and hwy it has been an abject failure over the past 400 years its history. (Yes, it existed long before the likes of Marx or Engels codified it.) Since the lessons of those failures have been devoutly ignored or explained away, it is tried again and again. The problem is that the results are always the same – economic damage leading to collapse, poverty, misery, and in many cases, tyranny. It is a living example of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result this time.
Every time it fails the same excuses are offered - “Outside forces inimical to socialism worked to destroy it” or “The right people weren’t in charge” or “True socialism has never been tried” or “The people refused to embrace socialism and give of themselves fully.” There’s always some excuse for why it failed except for “It just doesn’t work and never will.”
There is an explanation for why “it just doesn’t work” and it can be expressed in two words.
Human nature.
Socialism ignores human nature, tries to go against it, and as such it always fails. Any system that ignores human nature fails. Socialism assumes that it will appeal to the better nature of the people, but it does just the opposite, something Winston Churchill understood all too well.
Churchill had the advantage of having seen socialism decades after Blatchford’s support of it, support based upon ignorance and wishful thinking. He saw first hand the privations, the misery, the tyranny. He knew that Chesterton was right and that there was no utopia to be brought into being through socialism. It would create only Hell on Earth.
Since Churchill’s time we have seen the socialist experiment tried again...and again. We have seen it fail again...and again. The Soviet Union, one of the biggest and longest experiments in socialism failed after 74 years. China, brought under the power of socialism in 1949, was an economic basket case until it learned the lesson of the Soviet Union’s dissolution, abandoned socialism and embraced capitalism, though keeping its tyrannical government. Vietnam did pretty much the same thing. Cambodia was taken by the Khmer Rouge, converted into an agrarian socialist ‘utopia’, killing off a third of its population in a purge of ‘anti-socialist forces’, and then came apart when the Khmer Rouge were driven from power. (It still hasn’t recovered from those dark days.) Cuba is a basket case and has been since 1961. Nicaragua escaped socialism in the 80’s, but was pulled back into it and has become a backwater as a result. Venezuela embraced socialism and went from being the wealthiest nation in South America to the poorest as socialism dismantled its economy, infrastructure, agriculture, schools, government institutions, and created nothing but misery among its citizens.
We have heard proponents of socialism pointing to the Nordic nations as examples of socialism done right, but those very same nations will tell you that they aren’t socialists as they embrace none of the economic tenets of socialism, have no control of the economy, nor do they want it. They are welfare states, providing many services but taxing their populace at very high rates. But they are finding the level of services they are providing is taking an increasingly large toll on their economy and have been backing away from many of the social programs they have provided. Even their “Socialist Lite” system is starting to run out of other people’s money and isn’t sustainable.
We’re going to keep hearing about the wonderful “benefits” of socialism here in the US, particularly in light of the ongoing Presidential campaigns, even though some the candidates and their supporters won’t call it that. It’s best that we keep in mind the miserable record of socialism and its various flavors, and stay as far away from it as we can. Otherwise we could end up being the next example of how it doesn’t work.
I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to live in an America like that described in Kurt Schlicter’s People’s Republic.
Every time it fails the same excuses are offered - “Outside forces inimical to socialism worked to destroy it” or “The right people weren’t in charge” or “True socialism has never been tried” or “The people refused to embrace socialism and give of themselves fully.” There’s always some excuse for why it failed except for “It just doesn’t work and never will.”
There is an explanation for why “it just doesn’t work” and it can be expressed in two words.
Human nature.
Socialism ignores human nature, tries to go against it, and as such it always fails. Any system that ignores human nature fails. Socialism assumes that it will appeal to the better nature of the people, but it does just the opposite, something Winston Churchill understood all too well.
“Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.”Churchill had read the the back and forth between Robert Blatchford, a committed socialist and founder of the socialist weekly newspaper The Clarion, and Gilbert Keith Chesterton, a “30-year-old near-nobody” who took Blatchford’s call to socialism as a challenge, writing a number of responses to Blatchford’s calls for socialism, dismantling each of his arguments and pointing out that he had no understanding of what drove people, i.e. human nature.
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
Churchill had the advantage of having seen socialism decades after Blatchford’s support of it, support based upon ignorance and wishful thinking. He saw first hand the privations, the misery, the tyranny. He knew that Chesterton was right and that there was no utopia to be brought into being through socialism. It would create only Hell on Earth.
Since Churchill’s time we have seen the socialist experiment tried again...and again. We have seen it fail again...and again. The Soviet Union, one of the biggest and longest experiments in socialism failed after 74 years. China, brought under the power of socialism in 1949, was an economic basket case until it learned the lesson of the Soviet Union’s dissolution, abandoned socialism and embraced capitalism, though keeping its tyrannical government. Vietnam did pretty much the same thing. Cambodia was taken by the Khmer Rouge, converted into an agrarian socialist ‘utopia’, killing off a third of its population in a purge of ‘anti-socialist forces’, and then came apart when the Khmer Rouge were driven from power. (It still hasn’t recovered from those dark days.) Cuba is a basket case and has been since 1961. Nicaragua escaped socialism in the 80’s, but was pulled back into it and has become a backwater as a result. Venezuela embraced socialism and went from being the wealthiest nation in South America to the poorest as socialism dismantled its economy, infrastructure, agriculture, schools, government institutions, and created nothing but misery among its citizens.
We have heard proponents of socialism pointing to the Nordic nations as examples of socialism done right, but those very same nations will tell you that they aren’t socialists as they embrace none of the economic tenets of socialism, have no control of the economy, nor do they want it. They are welfare states, providing many services but taxing their populace at very high rates. But they are finding the level of services they are providing is taking an increasingly large toll on their economy and have been backing away from many of the social programs they have provided. Even their “Socialist Lite” system is starting to run out of other people’s money and isn’t sustainable.
We’re going to keep hearing about the wonderful “benefits” of socialism here in the US, particularly in light of the ongoing Presidential campaigns, even though some the candidates and their supporters won’t call it that. It’s best that we keep in mind the miserable record of socialism and its various flavors, and stay as far away from it as we can. Otherwise we could end up being the next example of how it doesn’t work.
I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to live in an America like that described in Kurt Schlicter’s People’s Republic.
2/13/2020
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
These days it’s rare that people don’t worry about what they say, write, or think at the workplace. Everything and anything can be misconstrued as racist/sexist/whateverist by an overly sensitive co-worker and cost someone their job, or worse, their entire career, their reputation, their home, and their family.
As bad as it is, it’s about to get worse.
In the near future it isn’t just your co-worker you have to worry about, but a new surveillance system that can be used to analyze everything you do, say, write, and perhaps think. Call it “ ‘1984’ meets ‘The Office’ ”.
NOT.
This will end up being misused and it’s going to backfire, causing more problems than this technology is supposed to solve.
As bad as it is, it’s about to get worse.
In the near future it isn’t just your co-worker you have to worry about, but a new surveillance system that can be used to analyze everything you do, say, write, and perhaps think. Call it “ ‘1984’ meets ‘The Office’ ”.
One minute you are contemplating your next vacation, the next you click on Facebook and see adverts for hotels and cheap flights. Coincidence? Surely. But what about that smart speaker in your kitchen? It doesn’t just play music and provide an on-demand weather forecast. It hears about the groceries that need replenishing, the cat’s trip to the vet, and, of course, your vacation plans.It’s already bad enough in a lot of workplaces and these folks want to make the paranoia and distrust that exists in those businesses and crank the level up to “11”. That’s going to work.
Now imagine what such a listening device could do in the workplace. The whispered conversation about difficulties with your latest project is automatically reported to your manager. The half hour spent discussing child care arrangements is sent to Human Resources. And what about the things you don’t say: the colleague you don’t greet in the morning, the co-worker you never ask to join you for coffee? These non-conversations are likewise noted and filed away to be discussed at your next appraisal.
--snip--
This yet-to-be-invented machine is already being heralded for its potential to revolutionize equality and diversity in the workplace by alerting users to instances of implicit bias. It will record verbal and nonverbal cues, as well as the “physiological signals” shared between members of a team. Then, having noted and analyzed all these tiny interactions and non-interactions, the speaker will make recommendations for improving inclusivity and productivity.
To any sane person, this is a truly terrifying prospect – not because we arrive at the office each morning desperate to dole out racist and sexist abuse to our colleagues, but because of the opposite: we want to get on with our jobs and get on with our co-workers. We know that a spying machine, watching, listening, monitoring, and advising, is far more likely to interrupt our work and fuel dissent than it is to increase productivity.
NOT.
This will end up being misused and it’s going to backfire, causing more problems than this technology is supposed to solve.
2/09/2020
Thoughts On A Sunday
It was below zero here at The Gulch this morning, something that added insult to injury as the snow, sleet and freezing rain mix we got on Friday is now a solid frozen mass. That means those who did not get out early enough to shovel and scrape before everything froze solid will have to live with the ice and ‘stubble’ until things thaw out.
The TDS is strong in this one.
Apparently MSNBC anchor Katy Tur has absolutely no understanding of the US Constitution and that Senators represent their states and not a Congressional District. Each state is represented by two senators, regardless of whether they are large or small. There are 50 states and 100 senators. That isn’t going to change. The Founders set it up that way to help balance the House, which has Congressional Districts of roughly equal populations. That’s why some states have more House Representatives than others. This is something that bothers Tur to no end, particularly in regard to the Senate’s vote to acquit President Trump. Her ‘cure’ for the Senate? Gerrymandering.
The analysis of this past Friday’s Democrat Debate shows that the front-runners didn’t do so well, with some of them ganging up on Bernie for his pie-in-the-sky Medicare-for-All plans without any thought about how to pay for it other than “We’ll figure it out later.”
Yeah, that’s worked out so well in the past.
Yet another member of the inclusive, tolerant, ‘diverse’ Left showed his true colors when he tried to run down workers at a Republican voter registration tent at the parking lot in front of a Walmart in Jacksonville, Florida. After driving through the tent, the driver of the van got out, took video of the scene, flipped off the registration workers, got back into his van and drove off.
Class act, that one.
The James Hodgkinson wannabe, one Gregory Timm, was later arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Timm was charge with Aggravated Assault, Criminal Mischief, and Driving While Driver’s License Suspended. Other charges may be forthcoming.
This clown is a real winner. One has to wonder how many others like Timm and Hodgkinson are out there, planning further mayhem.
These climate change alarmist a**holes have gone too far!
They’re now claiming that climate change is going to affect the global Oreo supply.
This. Means. WAR!
I saw this over at Sarah Hoyt’s, and it’s something I have always known but never put into words.
I can agree with this wholeheartedly.
When You Lose, Say Little. When You Win, Say Less.
As much as I like Donald Trump, there are times when I wish he would followed this rule.
This is how you do not tow your car out of ditch.
First, I would have towed the car from the front.
Second, I would have attached the tow line to the front of the tow vehicle and had it back up because then the driver could see what was happening to the car it was towing out of the ditch.
But that’s just me.
It’s time for the climate alarmists and their offspring to stop just talking the talk. It’s time for them to walk the walk.
If they don’t practice what they preach then we can safely ignore them
To paraphrase the Instaprof, “We’ll start listening to those who keep telling us there’s a climate crisis when they start acting like there’s a climate crisis.” At the moment that isn’t happening. It seems to me that too many of them expect everyone else to make the sacrifices necessary to “save” the planet.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where there’s more snow on the way, the New Hampshire Primary is Tuesday, and where the bleating pols and their media sycophants will be gone the day after that.
********************
The TDS is strong in this one.
Apparently MSNBC anchor Katy Tur has absolutely no understanding of the US Constitution and that Senators represent their states and not a Congressional District. Each state is represented by two senators, regardless of whether they are large or small. There are 50 states and 100 senators. That isn’t going to change. The Founders set it up that way to help balance the House, which has Congressional Districts of roughly equal populations. That’s why some states have more House Representatives than others. This is something that bothers Tur to no end, particularly in regard to the Senate’s vote to acquit President Trump. Her ‘cure’ for the Senate? Gerrymandering.
...Tur wondered what could be done to prevent Republicans from winning statewide elections for U.S. Senate seats across the country: “So what’s the resolution to that? Is gerrymandering something that would help improve the situation? Is – how does that sort of divide promote consensus in the Senate or even in the House?”What, you mean Democrats might actually have to go out and campaign, garner votes, and win elections?
Bump was forced to awkwardly correct her and explain the obvious: “Well, I mean, the only resolution – gerrymandering is not going to do anything because in the Senate we’re talking about states, right? You can’t gerrymander states.” He then delivered more tough news: “The only solution is for Democrats to appeal to voters in those states.”
********************
The analysis of this past Friday’s Democrat Debate shows that the front-runners didn’t do so well, with some of them ganging up on Bernie for his pie-in-the-sky Medicare-for-All plans without any thought about how to pay for it other than “We’ll figure it out later.”
Yeah, that’s worked out so well in the past.
********************
Yet another member of the inclusive, tolerant, ‘diverse’ Left showed his true colors when he tried to run down workers at a Republican voter registration tent at the parking lot in front of a Walmart in Jacksonville, Florida. After driving through the tent, the driver of the van got out, took video of the scene, flipped off the registration workers, got back into his van and drove off.
Class act, that one.
The James Hodgkinson wannabe, one Gregory Timm, was later arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Timm was charge with Aggravated Assault, Criminal Mischief, and Driving While Driver’s License Suspended. Other charges may be forthcoming.
This clown is a real winner. One has to wonder how many others like Timm and Hodgkinson are out there, planning further mayhem.
********************
These climate change alarmist a**holes have gone too far!
They’re now claiming that climate change is going to affect the global Oreo supply.
This. Means. WAR!
********************
I saw this over at Sarah Hoyt’s, and it’s something I have always known but never put into words.
The Asymmetric Bullshit Rule: The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.As they say up here in northern New England: Ayuh.
********************
I can agree with this wholeheartedly.
When You Lose, Say Little. When You Win, Say Less.
As much as I like Donald Trump, there are times when I wish he would followed this rule.
********************
This is how you do not tow your car out of ditch.
First, I would have towed the car from the front.
Second, I would have attached the tow line to the front of the tow vehicle and had it back up because then the driver could see what was happening to the car it was towing out of the ditch.
But that’s just me.
********************
It’s time for the climate alarmists and their offspring to stop just talking the talk. It’s time for them to walk the walk.
If they don’t practice what they preach then we can safely ignore them
To paraphrase the Instaprof, “We’ll start listening to those who keep telling us there’s a climate crisis when they start acting like there’s a climate crisis.” At the moment that isn’t happening. It seems to me that too many of them expect everyone else to make the sacrifices necessary to “save” the planet.
********************
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where there’s more snow on the way, the New Hampshire Primary is Tuesday, and where the bleating pols and their media sycophants will be gone the day after that.
2/07/2020
Democrat Debate Reaction
I made an effort to watch the Democrat Presidential Debate in New Hampshire tonight. I lasted about 40 minutes and I had to turn it off. I was getting too angry listening to the outright lies, fabrications, and a ton of wishful thinking masquerading as deep thought and wisdom. It seems every single candidate thinks the economy is broken and needs to be fixed. Of course, by ‘fixed’, they mean returning to tried and true regulations and economic policies guaranteed to damage the economy and return us to the bad old days of the Obama economy.
Three of the candidates want to plunge us back into recession by banning fracking, one of the biggest drivers of our economic recovery. It seems they don’t care if that action does so because “it’s for our own good.” Of course these same candidates are insulated from the effects of such a recession because they’re wealthy. The average Janes and Joes will be the ones paying the price, something these candidates are choosing to ignore for the same “it’s for our own good” reason.
There’s a push for Medicare For All, yet none of candidates pushing for it seem willing to discuss how it will be funded.
But it was Steyer’s self serving and arrogant rant against Trump that finally drove me to turn off the TV.
Three of the candidates want to plunge us back into recession by banning fracking, one of the biggest drivers of our economic recovery. It seems they don’t care if that action does so because “it’s for our own good.” Of course these same candidates are insulated from the effects of such a recession because they’re wealthy. The average Janes and Joes will be the ones paying the price, something these candidates are choosing to ignore for the same “it’s for our own good” reason.
There’s a push for Medicare For All, yet none of candidates pushing for it seem willing to discuss how it will be funded.
But it was Steyer’s self serving and arrogant rant against Trump that finally drove me to turn off the TV.
2/04/2020
State Of The Union 2020
I’ve been thinking this State Of The Union address is going to be interesting in more than one way, particularly in light the Democrats’ Impeachment debacle and the Iowa Caucuses fiasco. If nothing else I think we’ll see many of the Democrat Presidential hopefuls see some of the campaign issues become moot.
Some have been trying to use the “horrible” economy as an issue despite the fact that the economy is strong in so many areas.
That AOC and Mad Max Waters won’t be attending the SOTU is a plus.
Right out of the box the President brought up the strength of the economy and how it is uplifting everyone (except maybe for the Democrat hopefuls).
Interesting to see the Democrats sitting silently, refusing to react to the good economic news as they know they won’t be able use the economy as a campaign issue to hammer Trump. Sour grapes, I guess.
Minority unemployment at record lows. Majority of new jobs created taken by women. Pension funds and 401(k)’s seeing record gains.
The bottom half of households in our nation have seen their net worth grow by 47%—more than three times faster than the top 1%. (Something the Democrats don’t seem to like very much.)
Energy independence, something else the Democrats don’t like. “Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far.”
“America is the place where the action is.”
NAFTA is gone and replaced by USMCA agreement. Jobs are coming back to the US.
A trade agreement with China!
Pelosi looks like she’s about to vomit.
Space Force created.
Brigadier General McGee – Tuskegee Airman.
School choice!
Better tech curriculum in all high schools
Improve health insurance, price transparency, preserve Medicare and Social Security.
“We will never allow socialism to destroy American health care.”
More than a few Congressional Democrats constantly shaking their heads. Perhaps they are seeing their career dissipation lights flashing in the corner of their eyes?
Overdose deaths down for first time in years.
A tribute to Rush Limbaugh. Melania placing the Medal of Freedom around Rush’s neck.
Wants legislation to ban late-term abortions.
Rebuild America’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, highways, high speed Internet for rural America.
Ban sanctuary cities/states from shielding criminal illegal aliens and allow victims of such illegal aliens to sue the sanctuary cities/states.
Nancy does not look happy.
Large number of federal judges (187) appointed including Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
Will work to protect the right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Wants America to return to the moon and be first nation to plant its flag on the surface of Mars.
Battle radical Islamic terrorism, have wiped out ISIS caliphate, and killed ISIS leader.
Wants to bring our troops back home from the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Nice touch by bringing Amy Williams husband home from Afghanistan and surprising her in the gallery.
Making America Greater Than Before!
Wow!!
Some have been trying to use the “horrible” economy as an issue despite the fact that the economy is strong in so many areas.
That AOC and Mad Max Waters won’t be attending the SOTU is a plus.
+++++
Right out of the box the President brought up the strength of the economy and how it is uplifting everyone (except maybe for the Democrat hopefuls).
Interesting to see the Democrats sitting silently, refusing to react to the good economic news as they know they won’t be able use the economy as a campaign issue to hammer Trump. Sour grapes, I guess.
Minority unemployment at record lows. Majority of new jobs created taken by women. Pension funds and 401(k)’s seeing record gains.
The bottom half of households in our nation have seen their net worth grow by 47%—more than three times faster than the top 1%. (Something the Democrats don’t seem to like very much.)
Energy independence, something else the Democrats don’t like. “Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far.”
“America is the place where the action is.”
NAFTA is gone and replaced by USMCA agreement. Jobs are coming back to the US.
A trade agreement with China!
Pelosi looks like she’s about to vomit.
Space Force created.
Brigadier General McGee – Tuskegee Airman.
School choice!
Better tech curriculum in all high schools
Improve health insurance, price transparency, preserve Medicare and Social Security.
“We will never allow socialism to destroy American health care.”
More than a few Congressional Democrats constantly shaking their heads. Perhaps they are seeing their career dissipation lights flashing in the corner of their eyes?
Overdose deaths down for first time in years.
A tribute to Rush Limbaugh. Melania placing the Medal of Freedom around Rush’s neck.
Wants legislation to ban late-term abortions.
Rebuild America’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, highways, high speed Internet for rural America.
Ban sanctuary cities/states from shielding criminal illegal aliens and allow victims of such illegal aliens to sue the sanctuary cities/states.
Nancy does not look happy.
Large number of federal judges (187) appointed including Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
Will work to protect the right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Wants America to return to the moon and be first nation to plant its flag on the surface of Mars.
Battle radical Islamic terrorism, have wiped out ISIS caliphate, and killed ISIS leader.
Wants to bring our troops back home from the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Nice touch by bringing Amy Williams husband home from Afghanistan and surprising her in the gallery.
Making America Greater Than Before!
+++++
Wow!!
2/02/2020
Thoughts On A Sunday
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and I can honestly say I will be watching the game more for the commercials than to support either of the teams playing.
I admit I am leaning towards the 49ers seeing as their quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, was the second string quarterback for the Patriots and did very well for the Pats when Tom Brady had been suspended for the first four games of the season due to the bogus Deflategate controversy. (The Patriots won the SuperBowl that season, their fifth, a well deserved slap in the face to NFL Commissioner Goodell.)
The coronavirus is at the top of the news and Glenn Reynolds has collected a number of coronavirus stories ranging from the predicted spread and fatalities to its effects on tourism to the Chinese government silencing doctors in China.
Since this whole thing started I keep hearing Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear The Reaper running through my mind. I’m just waiting for someone to start mentioning either The Walking Dude, Mother Abigail or ads for Flu Buddy.
I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the impeachment farce is just about over. It’s been a sham from day one.
What’s worse is the House only did a little of the work they needed to do to build a solid case. There are only two reasons I can think of to explain that:
1. The Democrats knew that they had nothing but tried to build a case on a foundation of sand because they hated Donald Trump that much, or...
2. To paraphrase something seen on Facebook, “They didn’t do their work and they got mad when someone else wouldn’t do it for them.”
In the case of the second possible explanation, it would explain why the House Managers pushed so hard to get the Senate to call witnesses and allow submission of ‘new’ evidence. The House didn’t do its job during the Impeachment Inquiry and wanted the Senate to do it for them. They got pissed off when the Senate said “No”.
I think both explanations work as Pelosi pushed to get a vote to the House before Christmas which didn’t leave much time for the inquiry to do its job. Because of that, they had a poorly investigated case based upon conjecture, innuendo, and wishful thinking. The Democrats got exactly what they deserved.
To give you an idea of just how bad TDS has infected Congressional Democrats, they have already vowed to continue their “investigations” of Trump after he’s acquitted.
This is going to come back to bite them this coming November.
Powerline gives us some photos of the Brexit celebrations in the UK. I am happy for our British brethren now that they will be free of the bureaucratic BS from Brussels. I figure a UK-US trade deal will help cement the UK’s freedom from the EU.
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where we await the Super Bowl, more winter weather, and an early spring.
I admit I am leaning towards the 49ers seeing as their quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, was the second string quarterback for the Patriots and did very well for the Pats when Tom Brady had been suspended for the first four games of the season due to the bogus Deflategate controversy. (The Patriots won the SuperBowl that season, their fifth, a well deserved slap in the face to NFL Commissioner Goodell.)
********************
The coronavirus is at the top of the news and Glenn Reynolds has collected a number of coronavirus stories ranging from the predicted spread and fatalities to its effects on tourism to the Chinese government silencing doctors in China.
Since this whole thing started I keep hearing Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear The Reaper running through my mind. I’m just waiting for someone to start mentioning either The Walking Dude, Mother Abigail or ads for Flu Buddy.
********************
I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the impeachment farce is just about over. It’s been a sham from day one.
What’s worse is the House only did a little of the work they needed to do to build a solid case. There are only two reasons I can think of to explain that:
1. The Democrats knew that they had nothing but tried to build a case on a foundation of sand because they hated Donald Trump that much, or...
2. To paraphrase something seen on Facebook, “They didn’t do their work and they got mad when someone else wouldn’t do it for them.”
In the case of the second possible explanation, it would explain why the House Managers pushed so hard to get the Senate to call witnesses and allow submission of ‘new’ evidence. The House didn’t do its job during the Impeachment Inquiry and wanted the Senate to do it for them. They got pissed off when the Senate said “No”.
I think both explanations work as Pelosi pushed to get a vote to the House before Christmas which didn’t leave much time for the inquiry to do its job. Because of that, they had a poorly investigated case based upon conjecture, innuendo, and wishful thinking. The Democrats got exactly what they deserved.
********************
To give you an idea of just how bad TDS has infected Congressional Democrats, they have already vowed to continue their “investigations” of Trump after he’s acquitted.
This is going to come back to bite them this coming November.
As if they haven’t given Team Trump and the GOP enough material for campaign commercials and converted enough voters over from voting Democrat/not voting Trump to voting Trump, they want more.They can focus all they want on Ukraine, but there’s no “there” there. I doubt they can go after him in regard to Ukraine again because double jeopardy applies. But let them waste their time as it means they won’t be paying attention to things the rest of the House will be taking care of.
President Donald Trump’s scrutiny by Congress won’t end with his expected acquittal in the Senate. House Democrats have a list of inquiries they plan to pursue when the impeachment saga is over.
“The investigations and oversight will continue,” said Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York, head of the Oversight and Reform Committee, the lead investigative panel in the House. “We’ve got several cases.”
Democratic-led committees in the House will keep seeking a wide range of evidence and testimony as they look into Trump’s administration, his policies and his businesses and finances. They also plan to keep a focus on his conduct in dealing with Ukraine.
********************
Powerline gives us some photos of the Brexit celebrations in the UK. I am happy for our British brethren now that they will be free of the bureaucratic BS from Brussels. I figure a UK-US trade deal will help cement the UK’s freedom from the EU.
********************
And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where we await the Super Bowl, more winter weather, and an early spring.
2/01/2020
More Money Isn't The Answer
The ongoing debate about public education centers around funding, with the usual refrain being “We need more money to make sure our kids get a good education!” But time and again it has been found that funding in and of itself is not an indicator of how well any public school system educates the children. Even the liberal Brookings Institute has found that money is not the biggest indicator of the success of any school system.
We don’t need to take the word of any think tanks or teacher unions or school administrators that the only fix for our failing public education system is increasing amounts of tax money. There’s real world proof they are wrong.
The proof?
Vermont.
Ninety-three Vermont towns (36 percent of its 255 municipalities) have no government-run school at all. What do these towns handle education of their children?
The results of that school choice? Though costs are similar to other schools in the Green Mountain State, the outcomes are better.
This is something I wish the supporters of school choice in my home state would use as a means of slapping down the public school lobbyists that have been fighting hard against, working to prevent taxpayer money from being used to allow parents to choose where their children will be educated.
I suggest you Read The Whole Thing.
We don’t need to take the word of any think tanks or teacher unions or school administrators that the only fix for our failing public education system is increasing amounts of tax money. There’s real world proof they are wrong.
The proof?
Vermont.
Ninety-three Vermont towns (36 percent of its 255 municipalities) have no government-run school at all. What do these towns handle education of their children?
In these towns, the funds local governments expect to spend per pupil are instead given directly to the parents of school-age children.Imagine that. School choice in liberal Vermont.
This method gives lower- and middle-income parents the same superpower wealthy families have always had: school choice. Kids aren’t assigned to public schools by zip code – instead, parents have the ability to put their kids in school anywhere, to buy the educational experience best suited to each child. If that decision doesn’t work out, they can change it the following year and try a school that might better fit their child’s needs.
The results of that school choice? Though costs are similar to other schools in the Green Mountain State, the outcomes are better.
This is something I wish the supporters of school choice in my home state would use as a means of slapping down the public school lobbyists that have been fighting hard against, working to prevent taxpayer money from being used to allow parents to choose where their children will be educated.
I suggest you Read The Whole Thing.
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