POLITICAL: We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones

Monday, February 6, 2023

https://bigthink.com/thinking/bonhoeffers-theory-stupidity-evil/?utm_campaign=weeklynewsletter&utm_source=rejoiner&utm_medium=email&utm_content=02%2F02%2F23+Smarter+Faster&rjnrid=1Qrp0MR

Thinking — January 26, 2023
Bonhoeffer’s “theory of stupidity”: We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones
Evil is easy to identify and fight against; not so with stupidity.
Credit: Giovanni Battista Recco, Annelisa Leinbach

Key Takeaways

  • When we know something or someone is evil, we can take steps to fight it.
  • With stupidity, it is much more difficult.
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer argues that stupidity is worse than evil because stupidity can be manipulated and used by evil.
  • He also argues that stupidity tends to go hand-in-hand with acquiring power — that is, being in power means we surrender our individual critical faculties. 

Jonny Thomson

*** begin quote ***

There’s an internet adage that goes, “Debating an idiot is like trying to play chess with a pigeon — it knocks the pieces over, craps on the board, and flies back to its flock to claim victory.” It’s funny and astute. It’s also deeply, depressingly worrying. Although we’d never say so, we all have people in our lives we think of as a bit dim — not necessarily about everything, but certainly about some things.

*** end quote ***

I never heard the internet adage before but it certainly hits the bulls eye.

I’m not sure how we overcome the stupidity of our fellow Americans.

Perhaps it’s the result of Gooferment Skrules that make “We, The Sheeple” so stupid?

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RANT: of course Russia didn’t do itu

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Top German Investigator: No Proof of Russian Involvement in Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/02/top-german-investigator-no-proof-of-russian-involvement-in-nord-stream-pipeline-blasts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=top-german-investigator-no-proof-of-russian-involvement-in-nord-stream-pipeline-blasts

why would they?

The US may not have done the deed but its fingerprints are all over it.

Argh!

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PEACE: Since the USA is funding the Ukraine side of the Russiian war, we should be able to enforce a peace

Sunday, February 5, 2023

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/01/karen-kwiatkowski/some-questions-for-our-congressmen-and-senators-on-ukraine/

Some Questions for Our Congressmen and Senators on Ukraine – LewRockwell
By Karen Kwiatkowski
January 27, 2023

*** begin quote ***

Dear Representative and Senators,

As we approach twelve months of the Russian SMO to end Kiev’s war on Russians of east and south Ukraine, and resolve the NATO head fake of Minsk II, it’s question and answer time for London, Washington, and Poland – and each of you.

The US Congress approved over $100 Billion in arms and aid to Ukraine in the past year. At the same time, Russian forces have secured 20% of the former Ukrainian landmass, nearly everything east of the Dneiper River, and have established not only a formidable defensive line, they have begun rebuilding political, economic, defense and civil society in the eastern Republics.

First question: What, in your opinion, will the next $100 Billion – gain for the United States?

*** end quote ***

Not much.

We need to put the kibosh on this war.

NOW!

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ECONOMICS: Axiom — Rent control makes everyone poor except politicians!

Saturday, February 4, 2023

https://jeffjacoby.com/26719/as-any-economist-can-tell-mayor-wu-rent-control

As any economist can tell Mayor Wu, rent control never works
by Jeff Jacoby
The Boston Globe
January 29, 2023

*** begin quote ***

From the other side of the aisle, the renowned conservative economist Thomas Sowell agrees. Rent control policies, he said in a 2019 interview, turn everyone into losers:

“The tenants lose because they can’t find a place to stay. Landlords lose because they don’t make the profit they would have made otherwise. The builders lose because there’s no demand for apartment buildings if no one can make a profit on them.” By and large, observed Sowell, politicians are the only class of people who come out ahead. “They get the reputation of being for the poor and the downtrodden [and] preventing the evil landlords from raising the rent.”

As if that isn’t enough, rent control is infamous among economists for other negative impacts. It exacerbates racial discrimination in housing. It multiplies bureaucracy. It disproportionately hurts those it is intended to help. And what is true in America is true everywhere. When rent control has been tried in other countries, from Canada to Germany to Sweden, the outcomes have been dismal. Even communist Vietnam abandoned rent control after its destructive impact became apparent.

*** end quote ***

Why do “we” have to keep reinventing the wheel?  “We, The Sheeple” should immediately give any politician or bureaucrat that mentions “rent control” the pitchfork and torches treatment.

Argh!

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GOLD: The Shrinking Trust Horizon will boost the value of gold

Friday, February 3, 2023

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/gold-and-shrinking-trust-horizon

Gold And The Shrinking Trust Horizon
Via John Rubino’s Substack,

*** begin quote ***

Last week I posted an article on the implosion of the official vaccine narrative.

That’s a controversial topic so not surprisingly it generated some heat on both sides. And a few readers expressed the wish that I’d stay in my lane (precious metals investing) and avoid venturing into unrelated and less well understood territory.

But believe it or not, the public health establishment losing its credibility is related to precious metals, via something called the trust horizon. It works like this: When things are good and the people in charge of big systems seem to be running them well, we’re content to trust the experts. We keep most of our money in banks, brokerage houses, and crypto wallets that exist for us only as websites. We buy produce that’s grown in a different hemisphere and shipped via boats, trains, and trucks to corporate chain grocery stores. We vaccinate ourselves and our kids according to the schedules set by the NIH or the CDC. We pop pills on our doctor’s orders without doing any research. We eat processed foods on the assumption that the FDA keeps them free of dangerous additives. And we believe what we see on cable news.

In other words, our trust horizon, defined as the distance from ourselves at which we’ll believe what we’re told, is global. We assume everything everywhere is working for our benefit and we’re thus willing to put our welfare in those distant hands.

*** end quote ***

So everytime the Gooferment screws up, “We, The Sheeple” trust it less.

Guess what happens when they realize that their wealth has been stolen by monetary inflation?

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POLITICAL: The media tries to sway the public perception

Thursday, February 2, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/let_criminal_faces_be_shown.html

February 1, 2023
Let Criminal Faces Be Shown
By Jeffrey Folks 

*** begin quote ***

Lying has consequences. In terms of the media depiction of blacks, the consequence is that society is less likely to face the problem that exists in the upbringing and childhood conditions of a large number of black Americans. Blacks commit murder at a rate of seven times that of whites, according to one source. But among young black males, murder rates are far higher, because 90.3% of homicides are committed by males, and because we are speaking of young men. Young black males between the ages of 14 and 35 constitute some 3% of the U.S. population, but this small demographic is responsible for nearly 50% of the murders. The demographic could be whittled down further by specifying location and income level. Middle-class blacks residing in affluent suburbs are generally not criminals. Nor, for that matter, are regularly employed working-class blacks.

*** end quote ***

It’s a social cost that makes racism “reasonable”.

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RANT: 2000 Mules’ massive election fraud gets no follow up?

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/05/the_riveting_2000_mules_proves_there_was_massive_election_fraud.html?utm_source=pocket_reader

May 8, 2022
The riveting ‘2000 Mules’ proves there was massive election fraud
By Andrea Widburg

*** begin quote ***

Dinesh D’Souza is an effective filmmaker and he didn’t disappoint with 2000 Mules, a riveting documentary examining the way leftist organizations used activists to stuff ballots in the 2020 election (and the 2020 Georgia run-off election that handed the Senate to the Democrats). However, after watching it, I felt there were some unanswered questions that also deserve scrutiny so I hope D’Souza follows up on these issues.

*** end quote ***

It would be nice if someone followed up.

Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.

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RANT: Tesla and other EV’s should be considered a national disgrace

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11668015/Devastating-photos-cobalt-mines-Democratic-Republic-Congo-power-Apple-Tesla-more.html

The shaming images that show where our iPhones, laptops and Tesla cars REALLY come from: The truth about the Congolese mines where kids are paid $2-a-day to dig for cobalt

  •     Images from the Shabara mine and others in the Democratic Republic of Congo show young children mining  
  •     They dig for cobalt, the chemical element that is used in almost every tech product on the market today 
  •     Apple, Tesla, Samsung and Microsoft are the other end of the complex supply chain  

By Jennifer Smith, Chief Reporter For Dailymail.Com
Published: 08:24 EST, 30 January 2023 | Updated: 09:14 EST, 30 January 2023

*** begin quote ***

For years, big tech companies like Apple and Tesla have assured the customers of their glossy stores and showrooms that all their goods are ethically sourced and sold. 

But a new series of images taken from inside mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 90 percent of the world’s cobalt is mined and used to make the batteries that power our tech-led lives, raise uncomfortable questions. 

Cobalt is the chemical element found in almost every tech gadget that uses a lithium-powered battery on the market today – a smartphone, tablet or laptop requires a few grams of it, while an electric vehicle requires 10kg.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but this is a national disgrace.  And, all EV’s should be scorned.

I’m speechless.

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ECONOMICS: Recongize reality and change the retirement age to 75 or 85?

Monday, January 30, 2023

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/raise-social-security-age-least-75

Raise The Social Security Age To (At Least) 75
by Tyler Durden
Sunday, Jan 29, 2023 – 06:30 PM
Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute

  • On January 10, the French government announced plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

*** begin quote ***

One thing raising the age has going for it is that it’s been done before. A 1983 change very gradually increased the full-benefits age from 65 to 67. That’s much too little, and even an increase to age 75 would be a mild reform. Other reforms, up to and including abolition, should include means-testing pensions and totally defederalizing and decentralizing the program. But it’s also easy to imagine the tidal wave of opposition from activists who vehemently oppose even a very mild reduction in Social Security payouts. Raising the age won’t make Social Security just, prudent, or wise. But cutting federal spending is always the right thing to do.

*** end quote ***

As horrific this change wood be, it’s needed to prevent economic catastrophe.

Time to unwind the Ponzi scheme.  Those, that are close to their retirement age (i.e., 55), don’t have enough working time to adjust to the loss or reduction in Social Security benefits.  And, don’t forget that there is a terrible age discrimination problem when workers turn 40, 50, or 55. So evidently, those under 40 are going to take a real haircut.

I doubt the current crop od politicians and bureaucrats have any stomach for the pain to be inflicted on themselves and the general population.

One thing is for sure, “they” can’t print their way out of this one.

—30—

On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 10:39 AM Luddite wrote:

“Back in the day” when I was making some decent coin, I was always pleased each year when I reached the maximum income required on SS withdrawals each month. I remember a couple of years when I received some big January bonuses that they stopped taking out SS in April! In my opinion, the easiest solution to preserving SS is to remove the cap on income. I understand that the reason we even have a problem is because the crooks raided the fund years ago and have never paid it back, but given the current situation I believe removing the cap is the easiest and least painful solution. What say you? (Also understanding that I just poked the libertarian’s cage!)

# – # – # – # – # 

Taxation is theft. 

Starting from that basic principle, “eliminating the cap” merely allows the current plundering to continue. 

A radical reform is required to truly correct the problem.  Will some get hurt, yup. 

To minimize the pain, the young should be excluded, the old exempted, and the middle get the full retirement age adjusted. 

Say a 40 goes from 69 to 80, 50 goes from 68 to 75, 55 from 68 to 70. 

Then in 40 years social security goes away.

It’s only fair way to unwind the ponzi scheme.

Yes, fiscal reality sucks.  Economics is the dismal science. And, TANSTAAFL (“There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch” From Robert Heinlein’s classic)!

Sigh.

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RANT: Big Pharma, Big Government and Big Media are all in bed with one another and “We, The Sheeple” get screwed

Sunday, January 29, 2023

https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/01/project-veritas-pfizer-video-and-the-new-triumvirate-big-pharma-big-government-and-big-media/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=project-veritas-pfizer-video-and-the-new-triumvirate-big-pharma-big-government-and-big-media

Project Veritas Pfizer Video and The New Triumvirate: Big Pharma, Big Government and Big Media

In Vino Veritas: Project Veritas undercover video with Pfizer executive goes viral on Twitter, but most of mainstream media is smothering the story.

Posted by Leslie Eastman Friday, January 27, 2023 at 07:00pm 47 Comments

*** begin quote ***

In ancient Rome, men who want to wield enormous influence and become fabulously wealthy while doing so would form triumvirates (e.g., the Marc Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian in 43 BC).

We are now living under a new triumvirate: Big Pharma, Big Government and Big Media.

Thanks to the now-unchained Twitter, a viral video from Project Vertias that purportedly shows a senior Pfizer employee talking about covid vaccine and “directed evolution” has spread widely social media.

However, despite the shocking revelations from that seemingly high-level executive, there has been no detailed, follow-up analysis on the content of the video by American news organizations.

*** end quote ***

Wonder what happens now?

Nothing!

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