Thugs and Criminals

https://mises.org/blog/economists-are-new-astrologers

This paragraph explains why I believe the Austrian School Economics is fundamentally superior to Chicago School Economic in terms of pure economic theory:

“It appears that Levinovitz hasn’t quite grasped the full consequences of the argument he has espoused; namely that because economics models are mostly useless and cannot predict the future with any sort of certainty, then centrally directing an economy would be effectively like flying blind. The failure of economic models to pan out is simply more proof of the pretense of knowledge. And it’s not more knowledge that we need, it’s more humility. The humility to know that ‘wise’ bureaucrats are not the best at directing a market — market participants themselves are.”

Note I am not advocating against studying the world through the lens of Chicago School Economics.  Instead, I am adamant that we shouldn’t try to drive the economy with this information.

Free Markets > Public Policy

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/bionic-mosquito/where-is-the-outrage/

This is why Antifa is just as bad as neo-Nazis.

“No, little Jack Harris, you just need to stop associating with criminals and thugs.”

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/no_author/us-wars-killed-4-million-muslims/

Western Wars Have killed 4 million Muslims since 1990. I can’t possibly understand why Muslims sometimes try to kill Americans.

Maybe we should stop being thugs and criminals …

Which Group Is Worse? Both

I refuse to accept that common people don’t see the media bias. 

CLEAR EXAMPLE:

Charlottesville headlines read something similar to this: “White Nationalists Get Violent,” or “One Death Caused By Alt-right Protest,” or “Nazi Fascist Protest Ends in Violence.” 

Contrast Charlottesville headlines with headlines from the latest events in Berkeley, generally proclaiming: “Antifa Protests at Alt-Right Rally,” or “Conservative Rally Becomes Violent.”

We can argue about which group is at fault or “who started it” as if we are children, but you cannot deny that Charlottesville headlines definitively assign blame to the alt-right while Berkeley headlines remain ambiguous as to fault. 

Let’s be clear:

1                     1 American ideals embody nothing for which the neo-Nazis stand for. 

2                     2 American ideals embody nothing for which Antifa stands for.

3                     3 Both neo-Nazis and Antifa are hate groups.

4                     4 Both neo-Nazis and Antifa utilize completely fascist “efforts” to “eradicate” fascism. 

1. Free Markets 2. Get out of Afghanistan

http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/

Mises Institute > Cato Institute > Niskanen Center.  No questions asked.  Mises is the only of the three that is truly committed to an unwavering intellectual consistency.  Cato has some beltway insiders. Niskanen is full blown classical liberal.  Not much libertarian about them.

https://fee.org/articles/afghanistan-and-the-sunk-cost-fallacy/

Brittany Hunter with an insightful view of the sunk cost fallacies efforts to keep us at war in Afghanistan.

“It is this belief that we are already in too deep, so we might as well double-down and keep going … 

Trump’s plan for Afghanistan is no different.  It almost sounds as if Trump has put little to no effort into studying the issue of American foreign policy. The mission he spells out is the same mission we have been engaged in for years, and it just doesn’t work.  

If we get out of Afghanistan now and don’t ever look back, America will still have to deal with the 2,386 deaths and the 20,049 wounded military personnel resulting from our presence in the country. These numbers are dismal and depressing, but they can always get worse. 

Staying in this war will only double, if not triple or quadruple these numbers. There is nothing to be gained and everything to be lost. Yet, just like that ridiculously expensive dress I purchased and forced myself to continue wearing, Trump is effectively multiplying the negative repercussions of war.”

The Constitution Is Fallible but Worked in Some Moderate Sense for 225 Years. The Last 17 are Absolutely Disgusting in Regard to The Greatest Libertarian Document Ever Created

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/no_author/taliban-tried-surrender/

The Taliban surrendered.  We did not accept.  We were stupid.  And now Trump is doubling down on the same war.  Can you say, “INSANITY?”

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/legal-origin-state-secrets-doctrine/

“A free society cannot last where even the possibility of justice is foreclosed, where a citizen is prevented from looking to the legal system for redress. The state secrets privilege makes a mockery of genuine judicial scrutiny and makes American less safe, not more.”

I think our founding fathers had it right with the separation of powers.

https://fee.org/articles/money-is-the-real-social-contract/

“Perfect currencies do not exist. As the brainchild of fallible humans, monies are bound to constantly face primal temptations. Failing to find such an illusory ideal, the freedom to choose currencies is the best guarantee of having sound money in a free society.”

Individual freedom > state control ALWAYS!

Get Out of Afghanistan

https://theintercept.com/2017/08/22/donald-trump-new-afghanistan-plan-promises-more-killing-and-little-else/

As simple as it seems, Trump does not understand this basic premise: If you kill people, their families and friends tend to not like you.  So much for fighting terrorism.  Get out of Afghanistan.

“But in Afghanistan, Trump’s plan for more killing — and little else —ignores a crucial point: The frenzied pace of killing under the Bush administration was what led to a nearly defeated Taliban’s resurgence, bogging the U.S. down in an endless war. Trump is either forgetting the mistakes of recent U.S. history in Afghanistan or, worse, he simply doesn’t care.”

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/08/22/nkys-gop-rep-thomas-massie-rips-trump-afghan-policy-tweetstorm/588901001/

Read Thomas Massie’s tweets on Afghanistan.  We don’t have the money to fight these wars.  This is precisely why so many people in America are struggling. We pay to build other nations (I know this is counter to what Trump claims this war is for) and keep our own poor on welfare. Get out of Afghanistan.

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-looked-at-eclipse-without-glasses-6-times-1029427267592

This is the dumb world we live in.  A headline counting the number of times President Trump looked at the sun during the eclipse.  MSNBC is every bit as bad as CNN.  On a scale from 1-100, with 100 being the highest quality news that is helpful, nonpartisan and informative, I put both under 10 and Fox at a 10 even. 

https://fee.org/articles/amazon-destroys-jobs-really/

“For a president to openly condemn a company for outperforming the competition is antithetical to the free market that Trump pretends to support.”

Shame on Trump.

“Unfortunately for Trump, he has chosen to attack a mighty monument of consumerism. Amazon’s services are just too good and too plentiful to fall victim to Trump’s attacks. In fact, Amazon Prime’s 80 million subscribers outnumber the 57.6 million people who voted in the 2016 election. Sorry President Trump, consumers have already voted with their dollars and they choose Amazon.”

Watch out Trump.

https://mises.org/blog/ron-paul-reacts-trumps-afghanistan-speech

Read this twitter stream  I’m certainly with Ron Paul on this one.

“Terrorism is one thing, but what about massive collateral damage?  Killing civilians creates more terrorism.  Round and round we go.”

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/no_author/natural-disasters-really-natural/

An interesting theory that most “natural” disasters really are the fault of governments.

“There’s nothing “natural” about corruption and mismanagement. That’s what’s really responsible for most disasters, and that’s what really caused the flooding in New Orleans in 2005, and in 2017.”

How Did We Get Here?

http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2017/08/fifty_years_ago.html

Yikes, a 180 degree flip with China from 50 years ago.

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/irrelevancy-trumps-cabinet-picks/

Laurence Vance on Trump’s cabinet.

“The federal government is an invasive, parasitical, inefficient, bungling, destructive monstrosity with no resemblance to the very limited government envisioned by the Founders.

The solution is not to get conservatives, ‘libertarian-leaning’ Republicans, businessmen, intelligent people (Trump has boasted that his cabinet has by far the highest IQ of any cabinet ever assembled), or the ‘right’ people to be in charge of the government’s departments, agencies, bureaus, corporations, commissions, administrations, authorities, boards, and programs. The solution is not to make government more efficient, streamline departments, slow the growth of government, reduce waste, reorganize bureaus, improve government effectiveness, enact a sequester, reform agencies, balance the budget, consolidate agencies, eliminate redundancies, or restructure programs.

The solution is to limit government to its legitimate and constitutional functions by eliminating, abolishing, shutting down, and canceling illegitimate and unconstitutional government agencies, programs, and regulations. Whoever heads government agencies, manages government programs, and issues government regulations is irrelevant if he is not charged with dismantling, ending, and rescinding them.”

I agree with Laurence Vance!

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/eric-margolis/miracle-in-syria/

“But Four Paws had achieved the impossible and shone a beacon of humanity into the boiling darkness of Syria’s civil war.”

Awesome animal rescue from the abandoned Aleppo zoo.  I think we can all use a beacon of humanity.

AV àMy world-view must be in polar opposition to essentially to most Americans.  I hate Trump, and no, I realize that is not an isolated opinion.  Where I differ from most is here - I like him a bit more after the press conferences we have seen this past week, not less.  If you disagree, watch what he actually says and familiarize yourself with the racist, fascist despicable Antifa. They are every single bit as bad as the KKK.  Both groups are completely and utterly morally despicable.

Trump's Afghanistan Mistake

Trump is a fool.  We should immediately pull out of Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea (yes we are there) Yemen and more.  We are creating more terrorists the more bombs we drop.  Scott Horton is the person I think has the most knowledge on the situation in Afghanistan.  He has recently published a new book Fool's Errand. The website below accompanies the book.  Take a look at the maps.  The maps give an incomplete yet informative view as to why we can never win the war.  There are simply too many factions, ethnicities, religions and more that constitute the Afghani mountains.  These people are armed to the teeth and don't like Americans because we have bombed them and destroyed so much of the country.

https://foolserrand.us/maps/