—Victor Davis Hanson
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"If and when fascism comes to America, it will not arrive with jackboots, stiff arms, and military uniforms. The attempt to suppress political opposition in anti-constitutional fashion, to regiment the economy by denying constitutionally protected freedoms, and the efforts to change the Constitution to reflect political utility, will come under the auspices of ‘equality,’ ‘fairness, ‘saving the planet, and ‘social justice—as a way to combat ‘climate change,’ ‘racism,’ ‘homophobia,’ and ‘sexism’.”
—Victor Davis Hanson Click here for the rest of this article. "There is NO “break-even” price at which unconventional oils become economically worthwhile, using honest accounting. Low EROEI sources only get harvested on the basis of market fraud and government subsidies/tax breaks and NOT because they can ever generate any profit in a sane market.”
To read this article, click here. In this episode, Dan Bongino interviews California congressman Devin Nunes about the biggest political scandal in US history.
Every year, friend-of-the-site David Collum writes a detailed “Year in Review” synopsis full of keen perspective and plenty of wit. This year’s is no exception. As with past years, he has graciously selected PeakProsperity.com as the site where it will be published in full. It’s quite longer than our usual posts, but worth the time to read in full. A downloadable pdf of the full article is available here, for those who prefer to do their power-reading offline. — cheers, Adam David B. Collum Betty R. Miller Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology – Cornell University Email: dbc6@cornell.edu – Twitter: @DavidBCollum Introduction“I hope David comes to his senses.” ~ Nassim Taleb (@nntaleb), best-selling author and Professor at NYU It is that time of year again when I sit down and, in a frenzied stream of subconsciousness, bang out my view of the world. It’s my 11th chronicling of human folly and anthropogenic global idiocy (AGI).1 It’s like when Forest Gump jogs: I start writing, go on too long, and then just stop. Forty years of writing about organic chemistry has taught me that you do not understand something till you finish writing about it. Constrained by time—you can’t write an annual synopsis in May—I have made sure to sacrifice quality not length. “Huge fan. Please continue to remain above the din.” ~ Guy Adami (@GuyAdami), trader and commentator on CNBC’s Fast Money *I am the din, Guy. Figure 1. An original by Candace E. Cornell (my wife) dedicated to Jeff Macke (my Bud and the Banksy of Wall Street).
There was a mad chemist named Dave His Year In Review is the rave With Epstein and Powell And repos most foul His comments are sure to be grave. @TheLimerickKing The writeup is a little different this year; there are fewer topics, especially on the finance side. Despite all the reading, sorting, and culling, I have little to add about Trump, impeachments, beltway politics, and swaths of the finance world. Our debts, pensions, and valuations were beyond repair last December; they have only gotten worse. The markets have been muffin-topping for too long; I am waiting for change and tired of being the Gail Dudek of the modern era. I also fought the Balrog way more than usual on a few topics just to get thumbless grasps. That pain is here for all to see. For the newcomers, I am a non-Easter Worshipping, openly white male who vaguely remembers being heterosexual. The first section is my first-ever authorized autobiography. This is for parents who think their kids are incorrigible idiots; that won’t change, but your kids might become functional. The Table of Contents follows, allowing you to cherry pick topics. Click here for the rest of this article. "EXCLUSIVE: Watch the unraveling of the biggest political scandal in US history. Travel with OAN’s Chanel Rion and Rudy Giuliani to Budapest and Kiev to capture explosive first-hand interviews with key Ukrainian officials highlighting DNC collaborated foreign interference into the 2016 presidential election. Hear the shocking first hand testimony of former Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin on why he was fired and what corruption he uncovered.
Watch all 3 parts FREE here.” "JUST AS WAS TRUE when the Mueller investigation closed without a single American being charged with criminally conspiring with Russia over the 2016 election, Wednesday’s issuance of the long-waited report from the Department of Justice’s Inspector General reveals that years of major claims and narratives from the U.S. media were utter frauds.
Before evaluating the media component of this scandal, the FBI’s gross abuse of its power – its serial deceit – is so grave and manifest that it requires little effort to demonstrate it. In sum, the IG Report documents multiple instances in which the FBI – in order to convince a FISA court to allow it spy on former Trump campaign operative Carter Page during the 2016 election – manipulated documents, concealed crucial exonerating evidence, and touted what it knew were unreliable if not outright false claims. If you don’t consider FBI lying, concealment of evidence, and manipulation of documents in order to spy on a U.S. citizen in the middle of a presidential campaign to be a major scandal, what is? But none of this is aberrational: the FBI still has its headquarters in a building named after J. Edgar Hoover – who constantly blackmailed elected officials with dossiers and tried to blackmail Martin Luther King into killing himself – because that’s what these security state agencies are. They are out-of-control, virtually unlimited police state factions that lie, abuse their spying and law enforcement powers, and subvert democracy and civic and political freedoms as a matter of course." Click here for the rest of this article. Constitutional Law professor Alan Dershowitz offers the following assessment:
NBC News In an exclusive interview, Attorney General William Barr spoke to NBC News' Pete Williams about the findings on the Justice Department Inspector General's report on the Russia investigation and his criticisms of the FBI. To The Point News
The Oasis for Rational Conservatives https://www.tothepointnews.com On Thanksgiving Day, Americans gather with their family and friends to celebrate the blessings that Providence has bestowed on their beloved country. A deep appreciation of these blessings involves understanding that they were earned. It is to understand the awesome truth of how “God helps those who help themselves” applies to the Mayflower Pilgrims and their First Thanksgiving at America’s birth. This is an appreciation and understanding of which those on the Left are incapable – for it would mean celebrating the capitalist freedom that made that original Thanksgiving possible. That made America possible. This no liberal, no Democrat, no leftie can do. Thus they must distort history instead. The distortion starts in Kindergarten, with the childish make-believe of your kid's school play portraying the noble Squanto teaching the helpless Pilgrims how to feed themselves. So let’s drop the curtain on the distortion and watch the real thing. Here it is. The real history of the Mayflower Pilgrims was recounted by their leader, William Bradford (1590-1657) in his book Of Plymouth Plantation, completed in 1647. It is from Bradford that we learn of Squanto, who did indeed show the Pilgrims how to "set" or plant corn (a new unfamiliar crop for them). Then we learn that the Pilgrims taught the Indians how to grow more corn than they ever had before: "The Indeans used to have nothing so much corne as they have since the English have stored them with their hoes, and seene their industrie in breaking up new grounds therwith." Reading the real history of the Pilgrims is so revelatory that I want you to see it at length. The Pilgrims landed in December 1620, suffered a horrible winter, figured out how to fish and hunt that spring and summer so that there may have been some sort of feast with friendly Indians in the fall of 1621 - although Bradford doesn't recount the incident. But by 1622 they were starving. There was no "Thanksgiving" that year. There was the next - for 1623 saw the Pilgrims in well-fed abundance, and thus was the year of the real First Thanksgiving. What made the difference? Here are Bradford's own words (albeit with modern spelling like "been" instead of "bene" - the original spelling is in the link above; the parentheses are his, the explanatory brackets are mine), describing Anno Dom.1623: “It may be thought strange that these people should fall to these extremities in so short a time, being left competently provided when the ship [the Mayflower] left them, and had an addition by that moyetie [portion] of corn that was got by trade, besides much they got of the Indians where they lived, by one means and other. It must needs be their great disorder, for they spent excessively whilst they had, or could get it. And after they began to come into wants, many sold away their clothes and bed coverings; others (so base were they) became servants to the Indians, and would cut them wood and fetch them water for a cap full of corn; others fell to plain stealing, both night and day, from the Indians, of which they grievously complained. In the end, they came to that misery that some starved and died with cold and hunger... All this while no supply was heard of, neither knew they when they might expect any. So they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop than they had done, that they might not still thus languish in misery. At length, after much debate of things, the Governor [Bradford] (with the advise of the chiefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular [plant corn on his own private land], and in that regard trust to them selves; in all other things to go on in the general way as before. And so [there was] assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end, only for present use (but made no division for inheritance), and ranged all boys and youth under some family. This had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted then other wise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better content. The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little-ones with them to set corn, which before they would allege weakness and inability; whom to have compelled would have been thought great tyranny and oppression. The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato's and other ancients applauded by some of later times -- that the taking away of property, and bringing in communities into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing, as if they were wiser than God. For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For the young-men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine [complain] that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children, with out any recompense. The strong, or man of parts, had no more in division [in amount] of victails [food] and clothes, than he that was weak and not able to do a quarter the other could; this was thought injustice. The aged and graver men to be ranked and equalized in labors, and victails, clothes, etc., with the meaner and younger sort, thought it some indignity and disrespect unto them. And for men's wives to be commanded to do service for other men, as dressing their meat, washing their clothes, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brook it. Upon the point all being to have alike, and all to do alike, they thought them selves in the like condition, and have as good as another; and so, if it did not cut off those relations that God hath set amongst men, yet it did at least much diminish and take of the mutual respects that should be preserved amongst them. And would have been worse if they had been men of another condition. Let none object this is men's corruption, and nothing to the course itself. I answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, God in his wisdom saw another course fitter for them... By the time harvest was come [fall 1623], instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God. And the effect of their particular planting was well seen, for all had, one way and other, pretty well to bring the year about, and some of the abler sort and more industrious had to spare, and sell to others, so as any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day [1647].” That is as effective a refutation of socialism and affirmation of capitalism as there has ever been. The Pilgrims were starving, stealing and begging from the Indians under a no private property/everybody work for the common good economy. They switch to a private property/everybody work for themselves economy, and within one season there is abundance for all. But how can Lefties and Democrats be thankful for this? They cannot and are not. Their goal is not abundance. Their goal is deprivation - for where there is deprivation there must be victims, victims who can be manipulated to acquire power. Bradford's history - the real history of Thanksgiving - is there in plain black and white, undeniable and irrefutable for anyone to see. It is the history that should be taught to our schoolchildren but is not. It is ignored and denied. It could be the very first time you yourself have ever seen Bradford's words. Liberals, Democrats, and members of America's Fascist Left may very well be enjoying this day - enjoying good food, good wine, good friends and family. Let's hope they are. We should not begrudge them this moment of good cheer. But what is impossible, or at least difficult for them is to enjoy being American, being thankful for America, to celebrate the abundance of America, the abundance of its material and spiritual well- being thanks to the private property capitalism that made the first Thanksgiving and all those that followed possible. Any celebration of theirs is always a yes...but thankfulness. "Yes, we have much to be thankful for on this day, but we must never forget what we did to the Indians and the slaves, that there is still too much poverty and racism in America, blah, blah, blah..." The purpose of Thanksgiving is to be thankful for being American. This is the day to celebrate the goodness of our country - the moral goodness, the moral decency of American institutions, American history, and the character of the American people. Without any buts. It's easy for conservatives to do this - it comes natural to us. It's the opposite for liberals, who relish and revel in incessant guilt-mongering - and can't celebrate a Thanksgiving with no buts. So this day, we can relish and revel in the capitalist freedom and abundance that Providence enabled the Pilgrims to choose, and create America thereby. As never before. Little more than three years ago, our freedom and abundance was threatened as never before by a Fascist Left determined to destroy it. And then, on November 8th, 2016, the wisdom of Winston Churchill proved true yet again: “You can always trust Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” With Donald Trump, Americans chose the embodiment of capitalist abundance over being impoverished wards of The State. Churchill defined Marxism, be it Socialism or Fascism, as “the gospel of envy.” It is the gospel that Obama, Hillary, the Enemedia, and all Democrats preach. It takes extreme moral courage to reject it. For as Churchill observed: “Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon.” Yet that moral courage is exactly what a majority of American voters demonstrated in November 2016. Only American voters could be so envy-free to elect so opulent a capitalist businessman who proudly flaunts his earned wealth rather than apologizing for it. One year from now, Americans will be called upon to demonstrate that same moral courage against the fascist gospel of envy. Now more than ever is the time to focus anew on all that we love about our country, to know that Providence has always smiled upon it - for we, like the Pilgrims have chosen capitalist freedom over socialist slavery. With that choice, the original Americans created a civilization out of the wilderness. With that choice, we Americans of today can rescue our civilization from the wilderness of the Fascist Democrat Left. That choice liberates us from their power-lust and make us impervious to the poison of anti- America hate that eats at all liberal souls. That is why we are what they are not: grateful for our country, for the very existence of America, for the priceless privilege of being an American. The future is now ours. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. In October 1944, Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises was a guest of honor in a gathering of business leaders at The California Club in Los Angeles. Introduced as “the most eminent and uncompromising defender of English liberty and the system of free enterprise,” the economist had already made a name for himself as an ardent critic of socialism.
He was one of the first economists to write that the Soviet system was destined to fall in his 1921 book “Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis.” He had also predicted the great depression, as he saw the problem developing as early as 1924. However, after fleeing the Nazis and arriving in New York, the Austrian economist found relatively little support among scholars and politicians, his message often obfuscated by colleagues who had a rosy view of socialist policies and who believed that the state was perfectly capable of managing the economy efficiently. These same economists and policymakers went on to push major changes to American society. And soon enough, California became the leader in this movement and one of the most progressive states in the country, as it embraced many policies and programs inspired by socialist and communist theories. And 75 years later, the leaders of the economics institute named after Mises recently gathered once again at the California Club, discussing what the prophetic economist would think of California—and America—today. Click here for the rest of this article. |
AuthorKevin Massengill is an entrepreneur, investor, and award winning Fortune 500 senior executive with a track record of massive business growth. Archives
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