“Breaking News Alert: Joe Biden to resign so Kamala Harris can become first female president. OK, it hasn’t happened yet, but don’t be shocked if the president makes the dramatic move to improve his awful legacy. He’s already using every trick in the book to try to wipe away the Big Stink from his tenure, but nothing is working. Following the election, Biden has spent two months trying to get people to forget the last four years. The effort hit a cringe-inducing low this week when he awarded prestigious civilian medals to the undeserving likes of Liz Cheney, Hillary Clinton, George Soros and a list of left-leaning celebrities. The one consistency is that they all supported him. Instead of medals, they ought to get free psychiatric care. In the real world, Biden leaves office in utter disgrace.” (01/04/25)
“President-elect Donald Trump has made Ukraine peace talks a focus of his foreign policy, previously saying he’ll get a Ukraine deal ‘within 24 hours’ and readying his envoy Keith Kellogg for a fact finding/listening tour of Ukraine and European capitals first thing after inauguration. But Russian officials don’t appear all together convinced by ideas that Trump and his team have been putting out in circulation, suggesting a steep hill to climb regarding Ukraine negotiations. Namely, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov posits that some of these proposals, if implemented, will simply pass the war effort on to Europeans while failing to address the conflict’s root causes.” (01/03/25)
“Advertising has never been a popular thing amongst pundits. It is depicted as an attempt to manipulate consumers into desiring things they do not (or should not) need. Others depict it – as is often seen in series like Mad Men which was popular a decade ago – ‘selling dreams’ to consumers by perpetuating unrealistic standards of success and well-being tied to a product or a service. These criticisms have existed since the late nineteenth century, remaining largely unchanged except for the language and imagery used in public discourse. The most recent reiteration is President-elect Donald Trump’s prospective nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr.) who has been on the record as advocating for banning pharmaceutical companies from advertising on television.” (01/03/25)
“Of course, theoretically, all libertarians should be eagerly participating in this fun but important activity. Constantly, everywhere. Sadly some do not – instead being selective, and accepting way too much human authority. That is, any human authority. It is very easy to fall prey to the temptation to accept pronouncements of those in authority regarding the facts of the matter. What matter? Anything.” (01/03/25)
“Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the ForbesReal-Time billionaire list from December 31, 2024, the last day of market activity, there are 813 billionaires with combined wealth totaling $6.72 trillion. The total number of billionaires has remained constant at 813 when Forbes published their 38th annual World’s Billionaire List on April 2, 2024. But the combined wealth of U.S. billionaires increased over the last 9 months by $1 trillion, from $5.7 trillion at the beginning of April 2024 rising to $6.72 trillion at the end of 2024. The top five billionaires and their individual wealth are: * Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with $428 billion (up from $252.5 billion in September 2024). * Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $235.2 billion. Larry Ellison of Oracle fame moving into number three spot with $210.5 billion, surpassing Marc Zuckerberg. * Mark Zuckerberg of Meta with $204.4 billion. * Larry Page of Google, with $157.6 billion.” (01/04/25)
“In 1336, Milan was expanding to become one of the richest and most important cities in all of Europe. From the end of the 13th century, it was ruled by a powerful dynasty that would go on to found the Duchy of Milan, a major state that would remain intact until Napoleon’s armies swept across Europe centuries later. That year, Milan cemented its position as a burgeoning technological powerhouse by introducing ‘the first documented hour-striking clock in a public setting.’ … Until then, time was conceived not as fixed and linear, as a standardized grid within which to situate the tasks of daily life — rather the tasks of daily life were the clock, dictating and defining time rather than the inverse. The prevailing model of time was as something relativistic, informed by patterns in nature that were not rigid and unmoving.” (01/03/25)
“The European Commission announced on Saturday that all new electronic devices sold in the European Union (E.U.) must support USB-C charging. While this may seem convenient for today’s consumers, it will stifle innovation in the long run and discourage technology companies from developing superior forms of charging technology. … by making USB-C the common port and forcibly harmonizing the market for fast-charging technology in the E.U., firms won’t compete with each other based on charging technology and will consequently lack the incentive to invest in making it better. One might argue that USB-C is good enough and that there’s no plausible reason to require better charging technology. ‘So what if the iPhone 15 and later models use USB-C instead of a Lightning Cable?’ Such an argument reflects a failure of imagination.” (01/02/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Escaping from the matrix of the mainstream western worldview is like escaping from a cult: it starts with one tiny heresy. One small, secret thought that goes against all your indoctrination. Maybe it’s the realization that you’ve been lied to your whole life about Israel and Palestine. Maybe it had something to do with watching the mass media manufacture consent for the invasion of Iraq. Whatever it is, it starts out as a tiny little mental suspicion that the information sources you’ve been trusting to help form your understanding of the world might not be nearly as trustworthy as you’d been led to believe. If you talk to anyone who’s ever left a cult, they’ll generally tell you that it started out the same way for them.” (01/02/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Zachary Yost
“No doubt the vast majority of people who are celebrating his death had never even heard of Brian Thompson before he was gunned down. But basically all aspects of the health care system, including insurance companies, have a negative reputation among Americans. This industry is so vast and abstract that there is hardly one specific cause, person, or institution that can be blamed. As a result, when he was killed, Thompson was transformed from being just one of many important figures in an enormous industry to being its totemic representation onto whom millions could pour their frustrations. Unfortunately, these reactions are not really aberrations in human history. This is a primal human reaction that is devoid of logic.” (01/02/25)
“First, maybe AI will kill all humans. Some might consider this a deeper problem than wealth inequality — though I am constantly surprised how few people are in this group. Second, maybe AI will overturn the gameboard so thoroughly that normal property relations will lose all meaning. … Third, maybe governments will intervene. … Fourth, what about reproduction? Historically, family growth has cut many large fortunes down to size …. Fifth, what about space colonization? This will be a natural interest of post-singularity humans. Someone will have to divy up galactic property; someone will have to fund the colony ships; either way gives a chance for someone to think about wealth inequality on the ensuing colonies.” (01/02/25)
