This is a fascinating and mesmerizing video of how the Top 10 Country GDPs have changed over the last 60 years.
Great moments in government overreach and nanny statism
Because it’s better for the homeless to starve than to have day-old bread.
The Kansas City Health Department threw away and poured bleach on food meant for homeless people.
The food was going to be distributed by a group called Free Hot Soup KC. The Kansas City Star said that the food, which included home-cooked chili, foil wrapped sandwiches and vats of soup, was destroyed on Sunday, November 5, during a coordinated sting at several parks where volunteers had gathered. The Health Department said the group did not have a permit and was putting people at risk.
Video of the day: Why trade deficits, the most misunderstood economic statistic, don’t matter. At all!
Economist Dan Mitchell explains the simple, but frequently misunderstood, economic reality that trade deficits don’t matter.
Well done!
The Shame of Socialism: Surging Wealth Inequality Is A Happy Sign That Life Is Becoming Much More Convenient
From John Tamny’s Forbes article “Surging Wealth Inequality Is A Happy Sign That Life Is Becoming Much More Convenient“:
The shame of socialism is that the wildly talented are restrained from profitably improving the lives of the people around them, and perhaps continents away. Thinking about life two hundred years ago, distance was a severely limiting factor for the talented when it came to making things better for everyone. No doubt there were people with skills similar to those of the richest Americans today, and some became very well-to-do by early 19th century standards. But they didn’t become staggeringly rich simply because a lack of technology limited the ability of the ‘1 percenters’ of the early 19th century to touch the U.S. (and the world) with their genius. Limited technology has socialistic qualities in the outcome sense for it restraining the brilliant from improving the lives of others while getting rich for doing just that.
……
The commercial seers who get the future right will grow stunningly rich for being right. The more convenient life is, the more unequal are the living. But as opposed to a sign of hardship, the happier truth is that life is truly cruel when the talented aren’t getting rich. That’s when we know that no one is devising ways to make our lives easier, cheaper, healthier, more productive, and everything else good. Life without rising inequality is very much like life would be with socialism.
Bureaucrats Consider Shutting Down Informal Play School for 2-Year-Olds Because It’s Too Safe
From Lenore Skenazy’s article in Reason “Bureaucrats Consider Shutting Down Informal Play School for 2-Year-Olds Because It’s Too Safe”:
Bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. may make it impossible for an informal parent group to meet. For 45 years, parents have brought their two-year-olds to the Lutheran Church of the Reformation as part of a cooperative play school endeavor. It’s a chance to socialize with other haggard moms and (presumably some) dads dealing with the terrible twos, and it’s volunteer run. But as Karin Lips, mom of a baby she hopes will join the club in two years, writes in The Washington Post:
On Sept. 7, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education investigators inspected a playgroup of toddlers to assess whether the cooperative was an illegal daycare. The investigators issued Capitol Hill Cooperative Play School parents a “statement of deficiencies,” alleging that the Capitol Hill Cooperative Play School was violating the regulations that apply to a “child development facility.”
The problem—which isn’t actually a problem, unless you define it as such—is that because the play group has some rules and requirements, including the fact that parents must submit emergency contact forms, as well as tell the group when their kid is sick, the play group is not a play group but a “child development facility.” And child development facilities are subject to regulation and licensing by the government.
As Lips points out, this actually creates an incentive for parent-run play groups to be less safe, because if they don’t have rules about emergency contact info, and how to evacuate and such, they are considered officially “informal” and can go on their merry, possibly slipshod, way.
….
Take a step back and you see a group of people—toddlers and parents—enjoying themselves. They’re meeting, playing, and perfectly content. But another group is trying to butt in and end the fun—and the convenience. Just who’s acting like a two-year-old?
The real cost of a 2018 Thanksgiving dinner is lowest since 2010 and 26% lower than 1986
From the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) on the cost of a classic holiday meal, “Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Down for Third Straight Year“:
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 33rd annual survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $48.90, or less than $5.00 per person. This is a 22-cent decrease from last year’s average of $49.12. “Since 2015, the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner has declined steadily and is now at the lowest level since 2010,” said AFBF Chief Economist Dr. John Newton.
The featured food on most Thanksgiving tables – the turkey – cost slightly less than last year, coming in at $21.71 for a 16-pound bird. That’s roughly $1.36 per pound, down 3 percent from last year. The survey results show that retail turkey prices are the lowest since 2014. “Thanks to an ample supply, turkey remains affordable for consumers, which helps keep the overall cost of the dinner reasonably priced as well,” Newton said.
A total of 166 volunteer shoppers checked prices at grocery stores in 37 states for this year’s survey. Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers are asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals, such as spending $50 and receiving a free turkey. Shoppers with an eye for bargains in all areas of the country should be able to purchase individual menu items at prices comparable to the Farm Bureau survey averages. Farm Bureau’s survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.
Sorry, feminists, men are better at Scrabble (and geography and math)
That’s the title (except for the parentheses) of Heather Mac Donald’s op-ed in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal:
Since the World Scrabble Championship began in 1991, all winners have been male. The North American Scrabble Championship has had one female winner (in 1987) since its founding in 1978. All eight finalists in this year’s French World Scrabble Championships were men.
Competitive Scrabble constitutes a natural experiment for testing the feminist worldview. According to feminist dogma, males and females are identical in their aptitudes and interests. If men dominate certain data-based, abstract fields like engineering, physics and math, that imbalance must, by definition, be the result of sexism—whether a patriarchal culture that discourages girls from math or implicit bias in the hiring process.
But there are no cultural expectations that discourage females from memorizing dictionaries—a typical strategy of competitive Scrabble players, often in a foreign language that the player doesn’t speak. Girls are as free as boys to lap up vocabulary. Nor are there misogynist gatekeepers to keep females out of Scrabble play; the game, usually first learned at home, is open to all. According to Hasbro, 83% of recreational Scrabble players 25 to 54 are female.
Championship Scrabble, however, rewards typically male obsessions: strategy, math, a passion for competition, and a drive to memorize facts. Feminists will need to employ circular logic to conjure forth a discriminatory barrier in Scrabble: Males’ excellence at a certain activity itself keeps females out. But that leaves unanswered the question of how males came to excel at Scrabble—or any other abstract, competitive activity—in the first place.
The National Geographic Geography Bee shows similar results. Since 1989, boys have won 27 times, girls twice. Nothing prevents or discourages girls from vacuuming up the details of an atlas. But the National Geographic Society has already been sued for discriminating against girls based on that winner ratio alone, as economist Mark Perry has noted. Expect a similar attack on Mattel, sponsor of the World Scrabble Championship, if the Scrabble numbers become widely known.
Feminists have persuaded policy makers that only patriarchal inequity can explain the male dominance of Silicon Valley and of pure research. The archetypal male science geek, ignoring the demands of ordinary life so he can solve a physics problem or write code, is out of sight, out of mind. But the same maniacal pursuit of mastery that leads someone to spend every waking moment poring over a dictionary to prepare for a Scrabble tournament has also led to the computer revolution and to the West’s conquest of disease and natural disaster. Diverting time and resources from actual STEM research into gender politics is reckless when China is becoming increasingly competitive with the U.S. in technology.
It’s time to face reality about differences between males and females. Let the chips fall where they may.
Education where students pay tuition via an income-share agreement
Brilliant. Here the institution has skin in the game. In the current educational-industrial complex, there are no consequences for graduating failures.
From TechCrunch:
The Lambda School currently offers students a six-month intensive course in computer science, with all its lectures and classes delivered online but live and interactive (rather than pre-recorded and self-paced) — for which they’re asking students to pay as little as nothing up front.
If students choose to pay nothing up front, payment comes later — but only once they have a job earning more than $50,000. Then they pay 17 per cent of their income for two years (up to a maximum of $30k).
What Lambda School is all about in 60 seconds. What are you waiting for? pic.twitter.com/eQDXBtkKZj
— Lambda School (@LambdaSchool) November 9, 2018
Question of the Day
If a president can’t change immigration law by executive order then what is DACA?
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 31, 2018
Don’t Nuke Me, Bro!
In response to Dem. Rep. Swaqlwell’s call to nuke gun owners who don’t turn their weapons over to the government.
Don't nuke me bro. @RepSwalwell
— Razor (@hale_razor) November 17, 2018
Congressman demands surrendering rights or Americans can get nuked: meh
— Razor (@hale_razor) November 16, 2018
President kicks grandstanding diva out of press room: DICTATOR TRAMPLING RIGHTS THROUGH UNCONSTITUTIONAL FORCE
Nothing makes a statement against gun violence like mass murder from a nuclear bomb.
— Razor (@hale_razor) November 17, 2018
"Why do you need guns to protect you from a tyrannical government." -people in the political party with a congressman willing to nuke Americans
— Razor (@hale_razor) November 17, 2018
Swalwell Warns Gun Owners: Government Could Nuke Them If They Don’t Comply With Potential Gun Ban
This is a doozie. Well, at least he’s honest about it.
Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell suggested on Friday that the U.S. government could use nuclear weapons on its own citizens if they fight back against firearm confiscation.
Right-wing internet personality Joe Biggs tweeted at Swalwell in response to a May reportthat Swalwell wants to ban “military-style semiautomatic assault weapons” and prosecute gun owners who did not turn in their newly-banned weapons.
Biggs promised any such legislation would provoke a “war” between gun owners and the government, writing, “You’re outta your f*****g mind if you think I’ll give up my rights and give the gov [sic] all the power.”
So basically @RepSwalwell wants a war. Because that’s what you would get. You’re outta your fucking mind if you think I’ll give up my rights and give the gov all the power. https://t.co/bK1GVyjFej
— Joe Biggs (@Rambobiggs) November 16, 2018
And it would be a short war my friend. The government has nukes. Too many of them. But they’re legit. I’m sure if we talked we could find common ground to protect our families and communities.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) November 16, 2018
So our government would nuke its own country in order to take guns? Wow
— Joe Biggs (@Rambobiggs) November 16, 2018
Don’t be so dramatic. No one is nuking anyone or threatening that. I’m telling you this is not the 18th Century. The argument that you would go to war with your government if an assault weapons ban was in place is ludicrous and inflames the gun debate. Which is what you want. https://t.co/oX0rY7Nbs1
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) November 16, 2018
https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/16/swalwell-gun-owners-nukes/
Northeast officials on hot seat as season’s 1st storm cripples region
Remember the days when we were told that snow would be a thing of the past?
No longer. Now global warming causes harsher, colder, snowier winters.
Global warming can cause anything, even contradictory things.
TRENTON, N.J. – Public officials were on the defensive Friday after the season’s first, surprisingly strong snowstorm stranded thousands of motorists for hours and forced some students to stay overnight in their schools.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said “lousy” forecasts were partly to blame. He took a pounding on social media from people complaining about his handling of Thursday’s storm, including one of his highest-profile constituents. Former Republican Gov. Chris Christie tweeted at Murphy that it took him nearly six hours to travel roughly 30 miles . Murphy didn’t respond directly to his predecessor.
“Clearly we could have done better and we will do better,” Murphy said.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/16/northeast-officials-on-hot-seat-as-seasons-1st-sto/
Supreme Court to hear arguments in census dispute
Can the government be forced to ask questions (and not ask questions) so that it benefits one political party over the other?
The Supreme Court says it will hear arguments over the evidence a federal judge can consider in the lawsuit concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman is currently presiding over a trial in New York to determine if Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross acted legally when he decided to include the citizenship question on the decennial census for the first time since 1950.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/16/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-in-census-dispute/
As Florida recount wraps up, Democrat Gillum concedes
Looks like the Democrats just couldn’t find any more lost ballot boxes.
They obviously underestimated how many they’d need.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Democrat Andrew Gillum ended his hard-fought campaign for Florida governor on Saturday, just hours before counties must turn in their official results following days of recounting ballots.
Gillum, in a video that he posted on Facebook, congratulated Republican Ron DeSantis but vowed to remain politically active although he gave no clues as his future plans. His term as Tallahassee mayor ends next week.
“This has been the journey of our lives,” said Gillum, who appeared in the video with his wife, R. Jai Gillum. “Although nobody wanted to be governor more than me, this was not just about an election cycle. This was about creating the kind of change in this state that really allows the voices of everyday people to show up again in our government.”
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/17/as-florida-recount-wraps-up-democrat-gillum-conced/
Idaho unemployment remains at 2.7 percent
Demonstrates what a solid economy Idaho has.
BOISE – Idaho’s unemployment is holding steady at 2.7 percent.
The Idaho Department of Labor on Friday said the state’s unemployment rate in October was the same as September and is the 14th consecutive month at or below 3 percent.
The agency said the number of people in the state age 16 or older working or looking for work is at 853,444.
The agency said total employment is 830,616, and that 22,828 people are seeking work. The labor force participation rate is 63.5 percent.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/16/idaho-unemployment-remains-at-27-percent/
Betsy DeVos changes campus sexual misconduct rules
Education secretary moves to strengthen rights of the accused, give colleges more flexibility in cases
No longer carte blanche #TrustWomen #TrustButVerify
“Throughout this process, my focus was, is, and always will be on ensuring that every student can learn in a safe and nurturing environment,” DeVos said in a statement. “That starts with having clear policies and fair processes that every student can rely on.
“Every survivor of sexual violence must be taken seriously, and every student accused of sexual misconduct must know that guilt is not predetermined,” she said. “We can, and must, condemn sexual violence and punish those who perpetrate it, while ensuring a fair grievance process. Those are not mutually exclusive ideas. They are the very essence of how Americans understand justice to function.”