Dec 30

Today’s News 30th December 2021

  • Alternate Reality Traps Democrats In World Of Dumb
    Alternate Reality Traps Democrats In World Of Dumb

    Authored by Peter Van Buren via WeMeantWell.com,

    In early December Hillary Clinton appeared on the Today show to read aloud her never-used victory speech from 2016. The scene was bizarre, Clinton tearing up as she read in first-person, present tense about becoming the first woman president, something which in real life did not happen.

    She then layered on another alternate reality, one in which President Hillary travels back in time to tell her dead mother “your daughter will grow up and become the president of the United States.”

    She glowed; she was hearing applause that never happened.

    The unreality of it all was leavened somewhat by the reveal Hillary is selling a video “masterclass” on resilience and the speech is somehow an example of that. While this may be just another example of a Clinton grift, like selling a Bill and Hillary Bass-o-Matic, the thing that stands out is never before has a Democrat loser been reanimated from the grave like Hillary. Al Gore and Michael Dukakis are two of those people you Google to see if they are still alive, and even an attention hound like John Kerry pretends his own presidential wipe out never even happened. A good political rule of thumb is to usher your losers off stage (or make them ambassadors.) Instead, Hillary was on the flagship Today show, not a late night infomercial where garbage like “masterclasses” in resilience usually is peddled.

    But Hillary’s delusional take is not hers alone. After a second White Claw the faithful will insist Hillary did win the popular vote, which counts as actually winning in Clinton Math. They’ll quickly tell you Hillary only lost because Trump cheated or the Russians helped. The Dems and the media so believed that Trump did not actually win-win that they spent his entire term in office trying (unsuccessfully) to negate him, impeach him, prosecute him, or just magically wish him away with a fan-fiction interpretation of the 25th Amendment which presupposed Mike Pence was more evil then they were. The high point of the delusion was Russiagate, a saga entirely made-to-order by the Clinton team and fluffed by the media. It’s one thing to self-righteously say “Not my president” (some MSM pundits would add an asterisk to the word president* when referring to Trump) but it is delusional to say “and he can’t be yours, either.”

    With Hillary granted a pass because she is using her defeat delusion to sell merch, one would have hoped the whole thing would have gone away with the election of Joe Biden.

    Democrats, you won!

    And you got the House!

    You can right all wrongs!

    Instead, the delusions just continue, an entire party seeming in the grip of political Alzheimer’s.

    One delusion is Trump will be pre-defeated ahead of 2024 by a mythical…  something. This has been kicking around since Trump won in 2016, the idea that he’ll soon go to jail over taxes, property valuations in New York, or one of his lady victims successfully suing him. Sure, the IRS has had Trump’s taxes for decades, there is at worst a civil penalty in property valuation tomfoolery, and all those victims only seem to end up dragging Dems deeper into the mud of hypocrisy as we’re told to believe all women except those who accuse Uncle Joe of getting a little handsy. Dems, if this is your best, your best won’t do.

    Nah, that stuff is just chum in the water while the Grand Illusion is tweaked.

    That one is a dramatic statement democracy is dying in America and only defeating Trump (again, once was not enough) will save it.

    It is a big ask to a weary voting block because:

    a) it is untrue;

    b) the only evidence lies in a made-up retelling of the Capitol riot and

    c) the Democrats won in 2020 in an election, something which strongly suggests democracy did its job.

    The rebuttal that January 6 was just a rehearsal is fact-free, and after all, real Nazis only needed one crack at burning down the Reichstag.

    One can find examples of the delusion almost by throwing darts at the Internet, but a concise one is MSNBC meat puppet Brian Williams’ farewell address.

    Williams of course earned America’s trust as a journalist by constantly lying throughout his career, usually in ways that suggested he was studlier than the Rock. Williams said:

    “I will wake up tomorrow in the America of the year 2021, a nation unrecognizable to those who came before us and fought to protect it, which is what you must do now. They’ve decided to burn it all down with us inside… But the darkness on the edge of town has spread to the main roads and highways and neighborhoods… Grown men and women who swore an oath to our Constitution, elected by their constituents, possessing the kinds of college degrees I could only dream of, have decided to join the mob.”

    First of course, an acknowledgement Williams plagiarized the phrase, “darkness on the edge of town,” from Bruce Springsteen, himself given over to the delusion because even as he pals around with Barack Obama all the characters from his songs now vote Republican.

    If you haven’t guessed it, Williams is referring to the delusion that the Capitol riot was the seminal event of American democracy. Williams, like others, believes Hillary won in 2016, that the Trump years saw America held prisoner, and that Trump spun up a mob on January 6 to overturn the election and remain in the White House as dictator. That none of that happened, and in fact could never have happened, matters not if you believe in it hard enough.

    Williams is far from alone.

    “Democracy will be on trial in 2024,” the Atlantic’s Barton Gellman writes.

    “American democracy is tottering,” warns Vox.

    “Can American democracy escape the doom loop?” says one Salon piece.

    “If America really surrenders to fascism, then what?” asks another.

    “If Merrick Garland Doesn’t Charge Trump and His Coup Plotters, Our Democracy Is Toast,” says the Daily Beast.

    “Are we doomed?” writes the once sentient George Packer.

    Packer actually imagines “A blue militia sacks Trump National Golf Club Bedminster; a red militia storms Oberlin College. The new president takes power in a state of siege.” Google up as many examples as you want, they are as common as anti-anxiety meds should be on Brian Williams’ night stand. Even Hillary has weighed in, warning “[2024] is a make-or-break point. Are we going to give in to all these lies and this disinformation and this organized effort to undermine our rule of law and our institutions, or are we going to stand up to it?”

    Charles Blow in the NYT seems to take the prize, in an article headlined “We’re Edging Closer to Civil War.” Blow claims “this war won’t be only about the subjugation of black people but also about the subjugation of all who challenge the white racist patriarchy. It will seek to push back against all the ‘others’: black people, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, LGBTQ people and, yes, women, particularly liberal ones.”

    So looking ahead to the democracy dies in the darkness delusion which appears to be the centerpiece of the Democratic campaign of 2024, Americans must be tutored to believe the Capitol riot was part of a massive conspiracy involving Trump, hoping to end democracy in the United States by overturning the 2020 election results via some means no one is able to articulate.

    All that could have happened was Congress delayed its largely ceremonial blessing of the electoral college results for a day, assuming they just did not convene the afternoon of January 6 somewhere else besides the chaotic Capitol.

    There is no realistic scenario that could have changed anything that mattered, and no evidence of any national-scale conspiracy underlaying the riot. It was just a bunch of angry people who got out of control for a couple of hours then went home to wait on being arrested months later. None of the rioters has been charged with treason or terrorism, mostly just trespassing. None of the arrested claimed they acted under any organized structure set in place by Trump or anyone else. In their trials each basically said the same, things got out of hand.

    After selling voters that something that did not happen happened, the Democrats must then explain how after four years in power they have not really done much to bulk up democracy except whine about stuff that’s unfair, such as Republican gerrymandering (but not Democratic gerrymandering) and Republican poll watchers (but not Democratic poll watchers) and Republicans not accepting election results (but not Democrats like Stacey Adams not accepting election results.) Never mind out-and-out garbage like the same court system is racist when it acquits one shooter and on-the-mark when it finds another guilty based on the races of shooter and victim. Voters will also have to buy in to the Democratic delusion all the bad stuff they said Trump was gonna do but did not do — LGBT concentration camps, war with Iran, fascism — will for certain happen the next time.

    Elect us to save democracy, say the delusional Democrats, ignoring the reality that democracy is bumbling along pretty much as it was intended to do. The Dem line would all make more sense if Trump had appeared bare chested at the Biden inauguration atop an M1 tank or something, but that is the nature of delusion.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 23:30

  • First AI Murder Attempt? Alexa Tells Child To Touch Live Outlet With Penny
    First AI Murder Attempt? Alexa Tells Child To Touch Live Outlet With Penny

    Alexa is a virtual assistant technology designed by Amazon to improve human lives, but that wasn’t the case this past weekend when the device told a 10-year-old girl to touch a live electrical plug with a penny. 

    Twitter user “Kristin Livdahl” tweeted on Dec. 26, “OMFG My 10 year old just asked Alexa on our Echo for a challenge and this is what she said.” 

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    The Echo smart speaker Alexa responded to the 10-year-old child with a “challenge to do” that said, “plug in a phone charger about halfway into a wall outlet, then touch a penny to the exposed prongs.” 

    On Wednesday, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that an error within Alexa has been fixed. 

    The dangerous activity, known as “the penny challenge,” began on TikTok and other social media platforms about a year ago. The outcome of the challenge could be potentially life-threatening. 

    Twitter users who responded to Livdahl’s tweet were shocked about Alexa’s recommendation. 

    One person said, “There is literally no reason to have an “Alexa” in your house. This should tell you that if it wasn’t already obvious.”

    “Clearly AMZN’s algorithm realized that by suggesting this challenge customers will later have to buy a lot of stuff to replace everything after the house burned down,” another person said. 

    We noted days ago that Alexa is a money-losing division for Amazon… 

    Luckily the child didn’t complete the challenge as Livdahl intervened. What if this was the first AI murder attempt? It sounds like something out of the dystopic television series “Black Mirror.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 23:10

  • Gov't Can't Be Trusted With Cellphone Tracking Amid Pandemic: Former Ontario Privacy Commissioner
    Gov’t Can’t Be Trusted With Cellphone Tracking Amid Pandemic: Former Ontario Privacy Commissioner

    Authored by Noé Chartier via The Epoch Times,

    Ontario’s former privacy commissioner is sounding the alarm about the government’s tracking of cellphone data to inform policy, after it was revealed last week that a federal agency has been analyzing the movements of Canadians since the onset of the pandemic.

    “It concerns me enormously that this would enable the government to collect more and more information,” Ann Cavoukian told The Epoch Times.

    “I do not want to [see] a trend where the government is consistently doing this and starting now. You can’t trust the government.”

    Cavoukian, who served as Ontario’s privacy commissioner from 1997 to 2014, is founder of the advocacy group Global Privacy & Security by Design and heads the Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence at Ryerson University.

    “In March 2020, [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau said that tracking cellphone users was not being considered. Well, they did it, PHAC’s been doing it, and they want to do it even more,” Cavoukian said.

    First reported by Blacklock’s Reporter last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has since confirmed has been using cellphone data to conduct analysis of Canadians’ anonymized movements in the context of the pandemic, and plans on expanding the program to other health issues and continuing it until 2026.

    “[Officials] say ‘as soon as the emergency is over, we’re going to return to privacy.’ They don’t. The privacy invasive measures that are introduced during emergencies, pandemics, etc., often continue well after the emergency is over,” said Cavoukian.

    She believes PHAC wanted to “keep this under wraps … because they know people do not want to have their mobile devices tracked.”

    Part of the data used by PHAC was obtained through Telus’s Data for Good program between March and October.

    Cavoukian said she’s not worried about the Telus data because they “take privacy very seriously,” noting that the company has obtained certification for various products and services five times through the Privacy by Design program she runs at Ryerson University.

    However, she said she’s concerned about other data sources used by PHAC that are unknown.

    Other cellphone data PHAC accessed came from the Communications Research Centre (CRC), a little-known organization under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada which specializes in wireless research and big data analytics.

    “In partnership with CRC, PHAC has been producing report summaries to look at how movement trends of the Canadian population have changed over the course of the pandemic, including identifying new patterns to help direct public health messaging, planning and policy development,” PHAC said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

    The health agency said it “did not receive or collect any individual mobility data” and that “no individual level data has been acquired or stored by PHAC.”

    PHAC is now looking for a contractor to provide it with a steady flow of de-identified cellphone data, and posted its Research for Proposal (RFP) online on Dec. 16.

    The agency said in its statement that it “requires access to cell-tower/operator location data that is secure, processed, and timely in addition to being adequately vetted for security, legal, privacy and transparency considerations to assist in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    Cavoukian perused the RFP and says the language “reflects an intention to collect this data and retain it.”

    She’s also worried that some de-identification of data could be done “very poorly” and could be easily re-identified.

    “At the very least, the Privacy Commissioner’s Office should be all over this, and saying we need to examine exactly what measures you introduced to do this and how you’re going to protect privacy and de-identify data such that it cannot be re-identified,” she said.

    “Examine this from end to end. Look under the hood.”

    The Privacy Commissioner’s Office told The Epoch Times last week it was seeking information from PHAC on the issue.

    Other Jurisdictions Also Collecting Data

    The federal government is not alone in using cellphone data to inform pandemic policies. Telus’s Data for Good web page indicates the cities of Surrey, B.C., and Ottawa have used its program.

    Many governments around the world have also been collecting this type of data and studying its use since the pandemic began.

    Privacy International (PI), a UK-based NGO that works to promote privacy rights globally, has been tracking how various countries use cellphone data in their pandemic policies. PI says on its website that the emphasis on the use of locational data is “primarily for enforcement purposes,” to “aid the monitoring and enforcement of social distancing.”

    A September 2020 article published in the science journal Nature on the use of mobile phone data to inform COVID-19 pandemic policies, said the use of such data “must be considered alongside a careful understanding of the behaviors and populations they capture.”

    The article addressed some of the shortcomings of using the data in public health policy, saying “it is increasingly clear that the COVID-19 burden is not equally borne throughout the population. Using aggregate mobility flows to estimate population-level reductions in travel will fail to capture increased risk among essential workers unable to stay home.”

    In addition, the more at-risk population from COVID-19, the elderly, might not have the same cellphone habits as the younger population.

    The authors also sounded a word of caution.

    “Collecting potentially sensitive identifiable data, perhaps passively or without opt-in consent, requires a deep, careful understanding of the legal, ethical, and privacy concerns surrounding the collection and use of these data relative to the potential public health applications and benefits,” they wrote.

    “In all cases, transparent data policies must be used to ensure community engagement and appropriate use and dissemination of collected data.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 22:50

  • After Warmest Christmas On Record, Alaska Braces For 'Biblical Rains'
    After Warmest Christmas On Record, Alaska Braces For ‘Biblical Rains’

    At a moment much of the southern United States experienced an unusually warm Christmas, with temperatures in Texas over the past days staying in the 70’s and even reaching into the 80’s, Alaska in the far north near the Arctic Circle has seen its own records smashed in terms of abnormally warm temperatures.

    On Sunday, the day after Christmas – The Hill describes that “Kodiak Tide Gauge recorded 67 degrees on Dec. 26, while the Kodiak Airport recorded 65 degrees.” That’s a whopping 9 degrees higher than what’s ever been recorded at any point in December. 

    Via Alaska’s KUCB

    The National Weather Service in Anchorage issued a statement on Monday, saying that “In addition to setting a statewide record, Kodiak obliterated the daily record by TWENTY degrees.” Some places saw their warmest Christmas day on record. “Temperatures in Unalaska soared to 56 degrees on Saturday. That topped the prior Christmas Day record of 55 degrees set in the Southeast Alaska community of Metlakatla in 2009,” local KUCB station reported.

    Further the data shows “It is the warmest temperature on record for anytime between October 5th and April 21st.” But like much of the rest of the nation, temperatures are expected to plunge by the end of the week.

    The unusual temperature, which one scientist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy called “absurd”, is expected to wreak havoc on roads across the state, especially in the Alaska interior, given what’s typically a dry month of December has turned to conditions that could unleash “biblical rains”. 

    “Normally, December is a dry month in interior Alaska because the usually frigid air cannot hold much moisture, The Guardian observes. “Whatever moisture does flow in tends to be ‘the more fluffy powder because the air is nice and cold’, said [Rick] Thoman, who lives in Fairbanks.” Unusually high moisture now falling in many places as rain will soon be subject to rapid freeze. Precipitation on roads has already begin freezing as thick sheets of ice as opposed to the easier to handle and remove snow. 

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    Here’s how Alaska’s Department of Transportation described the situation in a Monday tweet:

    “Roads across the Interior & Fairbanks are covered in ice. So now what? Ice is extremely difficult to remove once it has binded to the road surface.”

    “Even though air temps were warm during #icemageddon2021, roads were at sub-zero temps, which caused ice to bind to the surface.”

    Further the department warned Alaskans that there won’t be a “quick fox for ice-covered roads” and that hazardous conditions are like to remain until temperatures warm enough to melt the surfaces.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 22:30

  • Dear Stanford: I Will Not Spend Another Semester Locked Down & Miserable
    Dear Stanford: I Will Not Spend Another Semester Locked Down & Miserable

    Authored by Jacob Reses via TheNewAtlantis.com, (emphasis ours)

    Dear [a senior Stanford administrator],

    Thank you for informing us about Stanford’s decision to delay in-person instruction and giving us time to process this information. I have become extremely cynical about most institutional decision-making in America over the last two years, but I am not cynical about your leadership. On the issues of greatest importance to me, you have consistently demonstrated appreciation of a broad range of concerns from a broad range of voices. For that I remain grateful.

    For my part, I am now planning, if personal circumstances and University policy allow it, to avoid Stanford in January and live my life in ways that are more personally fulfilling to me than moping around in a dorm room. I hope to travel somewhere warm, spend time with my aging parents, and live a lifestyle unencumbered by COVID restrictions to the fullest extent allowed under the law of whatever jurisdiction I decide to travel to. This plan is based on my strong view that we are extremely unlikely to return to in-person instruction on the timeline the University has laid out and that any return will involve restrictions on daily life that make it less worth living. Life is too short to be miserable.

    For what it is worth, I got a booster shortly after the FDA approved it for those in my age and health profile. This is not about the University booster mandate.

    Institutions like Stanford have consistently demonstrated sclerosis in their decision-making over the course of the pandemic. Public pressure to appear consistent and steadfast in their determination to reduce any COVID spread, bizarre COVID competition between elite institutions comparing themselves to each other to make sure they are not out of step with the latest consensus, and private pressure from the most risk-averse internal constituencies repeatedly overwhelm even the most sincere institutional desires to be nimble, respond to new data with revised attitudes, and return to some semblance of normalcy. I believe that Stanford and the law school do sincerely want to return to normal, but I do not believe that administrators have a plan to overwhelm this consistent pattern of bureaucratic policy lock-in.

    Stanford’s preemptive announcement is useful for planning purposes, and I greatly appreciate that the University did not hide the ball, but the policy’s timing creates a predictable problem for the return the University claims will occur. There is a very good chance that in the two weeks of online instruction we will be experiencing either a national Omicron case spike or a regional spike contributed to in part by the travel that will bring students back to campus. I accept the University’s ostensible rationale for this timing — addressing logistical challenges related to travel, boosters, and potential travel-related quarantine for sick students, rather than committing to elimination of all COVID spread — at face value. But I do not accept that this rationale would remain operative in the midst of a case spike. COVID bureaucratic logic will likely set in if a spike occurs, whether just before we return to in-person class or whether the spike has already subsided by the time of the planned return, and the policy will be revised to give administrators more time to reduce spread. I expect at least one extension of several more weeks of online instruction, and perhaps several more extensions. I won’t be surprised if the entire quarter is online regardless of health outcomes, which I expect to be mostly mild given age profiles and universal vaccination of those in our community.

    I also expect that Stanford will adopt flawed metrics to systematize its decision-making, as many local governments have done for the last two years. After a case spike, I expect an announcement that we need to wait for test positivity to reduce to some arbitrarily selected level before we can return to normal. I do not trust the University to properly consider whether such a threshold is achievable or accurately reflects the trajectory of any surge we may experience. I also do not trust the University to revise its thinking if the health risks posed by Omicron turn out to be low despite high infectivity.

    Finally, I fear that these measures will be accompanied by a variety of arbitrary NPIs [non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as closures and masking –Ed.] that will make my day-to-day life worse. Will I be able to access the gym, which is essential in providing structure to my daily schedule and maintaining the habits that keep me in good health? Will I be allowed to see friends at restaurants and bars? What of Shabbat dinner? And when will I be allowed to live, as I can in Washington, D.C. this month (for now), without wearing a mask whenever I am indoors? I am 31 years old, and I do not want to feel like I am being monitored and punished like a teenager for making my own decisions about how to live my life. I do not trust Stanford or county public health officials to protect my right to live my life as I see fit or respect me as an adult to make such choices.

    So I do not want to move my life to California again with the knowledge of these uncertainties. I did not want to do it at the start of Fall Quarter because I had all these reservations about that return to in-person instruction. You and your colleagues surprised me by keeping to your word, and I am sincerely grateful for that. I fear you will not be able to do so this time in the face of a highly infectious, vaccine-piercing variant that appears to produce mostly mild illness and poses no significant threat to my health.

    Thank you, truly, for your efforts to return us to normal. I hope that you receive this message in the spirit that it is intended, and I will pray for you and your colleagues to act with the wisdom that is needed to account for the dynamics I have described and commit the University to a course of action it can successfully execute, internal politics be damned.

    Best wishes for a Happy New Year.

    Jacob

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 22:10

  • 45% Of Millennials Say Maintenance Costs Are Serious Deterrent To Home Ownership
    45% Of Millennials Say Maintenance Costs Are Serious Deterrent To Home Ownership

    Not having the money for a down payment isn’t the only factor deterring millennials from buying a home. For some, an ingrained fear of “adult” responsibilities like the joys of home maintenance is something they would rather leave up to a landlord.

    In fact, some 45% of millennials say these responsibilities are a major deterrent to owning a home. Or at least that’s one recent survey found.

    Whether it’s fixing a leaky faucet or a busted pipe, being a homeowner can be a time-consuming enterprise.

    And it’s made even more difficult by the fact that most millennials are ill-equipped to perform tasks that were considered basic home-maintenance skills by members of older generations.

    Only 47% of millennials say they know how to caulk tile (and 53% don’t know how). 49% say they don’t know how to clean a disherwasher’s filter. And 6% said they don’t even know how to unclog a toilet (it’s called using a plunger).

    And even those millennials who are familiar with these skills and do own their own homes don’t seem to clean or do enough maintenance to meet the standards set by their parents.

    Many don’t even own basic tools like a ladder or a stud finder.

    But at least they have YouTube…

    Many also don’t budget enough for repairs and maintenance, ensuring that it likely won’t happen.

     

    Fortunately for most millennials, 30 is the new 20, giving them more time to pay off more of the interests accruing to their insurmountable student debt (unless President Biden and the Dems succeed in forgiving it).

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 21:50

  • "The Consequences For… Popular Democracy Could Be Dire": New York Mag Decries Popularity Of Chief Justice Roberts
    “The Consequences For… Popular Democracy Could Be Dire”: New York Mag Decries Popularity Of Chief Justice Roberts

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    “The consequences for … popular democracy could be dire.”

    Those ominous words from Eric Levitz in the New York Magazine are enough to chill one to the bone after a year of alleged insurrections and ongoing plans for a conservative coup. Indeed, the magazine itself has disclosed a Republican strategy to actually kill Americans with Covid-19. So what is now the existential threat to democracy? A new Gallup poll showing that Chief Justice Roberts is the most popular political figure in public life. 

    The apoplectic response of many in the media was notable with liberals asking “what’s wrong with you, America?” Yet, none was more revealing than the New York Magazine in explaining the reason. After all, it would not seem to take much to be the most popular in a class of public officials widely despised by the public. The three highest ranking congressional leaders remain highly unpopular (Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are at 48, 40, and 48 percent disapproval, respectively).

    President Joe Biden has a 51 percent disapproval rating — only slightly above Vice President Kamala Harris’ 54 percent disapproval rating. Conversely, at 53 percent approval,  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell shows that these polls are hardly a measure of charisma.

    So why is the Roberts 60 percent approval rating so crushing for democracy? Because, Levitz explained,

    “If the Court’s right-wing majority finds that it can continually push the boundaries of conservative judicial activism without undermining its own popular legitimacy, then the consequences for progressivism and popular democracy could be dire.”

    Unpack that line for a second.

    First of all, Levitz is saying that the goals of the left would be scuttled if the Court or its members are popular. For over a year, many in the media and Congress have launched unrelenting attacks on the Court and pushed an agenda to pack the Court to create an instant liberal majority. They know that court packing is widely detested by the public (as it once was by President Biden and many on the left). In order to achieve such a goal, the justices must be demonized like much else in our age of rage.  But it is not working if 60 percent of the public actually like the Chief Justice.

    It is also worth noting that the stated goal is “popular democracy.”  The term is often associated with “direct democracy” where citizens have unfiltered and direct say in the government decisions. It was the model expressly rejected by the Framers in favor of our system of representative democracy.

    In Federalist 10, Madison wrote:

    Pure democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.

    Instead, he created a system by which public passions could be filtered or expressed through a smaller group of representatives, officials who could temper and refine popular impulse.

    In addition to our system of representative democracy, we have institutions designed to resist popular impulse or demands. The United States Supreme Court is the principal example. Justices were given life tenure to insulate them from such pressures and intimidation. The court is designed to stand against majoritarian demands and what Madison called “the tyranny of the majority.”

    That system has served us well. It was the countermajoritarian role that allowed the Court to strike down bans on interracial marriage, decriminalize homosexuality, and protect the rights of the accused.  Those were unpopular acts but the Court followed the Constitution rather than the polls.

    The left once celebrated the independence of the Court in ordering relief that was denied or blocked in Congress like desegregation. After Brown v. Board of Education, political groups responded with the same anger of Levitz with “Impeach [Chief Justice] Earl Warren” billboards.

    This year, extreme groups like Demand Justice have run their own billboards targeting justices like Stephen Breyer to try to push them to retire.  With the support of many law professors, they are also demanding that Congress pack the Court to create an instant liberal majority. As in the 1960s, Democratic politicians are issuing direct warnings to the justices to rule “correctly,” or face consequences. Professors have declared that “our Constitution isn’t working” because they are not seeing the outcomes that they deem to be correct. Senators and commentators are now calling for “revolution” and “rebellion” to achieve what cannot be achieved in a system that has worked for over two centuries to preserve stability and freedom for our country. That is not “insurrection,” mind you. Revolution is apparently insurrection for a progressive cause.  After all, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. asked why we should preserve an institution if it is not going to vote consistently with her views and those of the Democratic party: “How much does the current structure benefit us? And I don’t think it does.”

    That brings us back to Roberts and his pesky popularity. You cannot achieve a revolution without people getting really angry. Yet, despite a steady drumbeat in the media, it is not working. Indeed, the Gallup poll shows the diminishing power of the mainstream media which has largely abandoned half of the country with its embrace of “advocacy journalism.” Levitz is one of the writers who previously denounced those reporters who have been critical of Biden and openly editorializing “against the White House’s policy.” The result is that all of that advocacy journalism is just “singing to the choir” — independents and conservative left a long time ago as our media have become more of a series of hardened silos for echo journalism.

    With the courts and the public not responding, the only option is revolutionary change. But it is hard to have a revolution without a mob willing to tear down institutions that stand in the way. Levitz put it best: “In other words: Even if the Court overreaches on abortion and forfeits its popular support, the conservative judicial project is likely to endure. And given Roberts’s current poll numbers, it’s not even clear that Roe’s invalidation will durably erode public reverence for the judiciary.”

    Putting aside the notion of “overreaching” by a court limiting its own authority in favor of the states, the problem is that all of the attacks in the media have not “eroded public reverence for the judiciary.” The scary thought for Levitz is that, if conservative justices are respected, there is little hope for forcing the Court to yield to demands of “progressivism and popular democracy.” Of course, it really does not matter if Roberts is the most popular among unpopular choices. As the iconic liberal statesman Adlai Stevenson once said, “my definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 21:30

  • Luongo: Biden's COVID Pivot Is Pure Politics
    Luongo: Biden’s COVID Pivot Is Pure Politics

    Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

    If you thought the worst screenplay you’d have to endure this winter was anything written by a Wachowski sister, boy howdy are you wrong.

    A couple of weeks ago I told you that Davos’ Last Stand bombed at the box office. Well, now I’m here to tell you that as bad as that movie’s opening weekend was, just wait for the resurrection of it later this year because they filmed the sequel, Omicron 2: COVID Boogaflu, at the same time.

    And it’s coming this spring.

    The problem for Bidenwood is Omicron spreads quickly but doesn’t hit nearly as hard as the original virus, or even the recent Delta variant.

    After the early data came in, they realized this will be the last film in the series.

    So, they have one last chance to concoct a story they can use for the midterms.

    Can’t let the opportunity of one last COVID wave go to waste can we?

    Because these are people too incompetent at dealing with the actual problem and have pivoted completely to pure politics.

    So, over the past few days we’ve seen a spate of about-faces by the Biden administration and the Davos quislings with regards to COVID-19 and its offspring.

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    To which I’ll add the CDC just sunsetted the use of the PCR test as valid means for detecting Omicron because it can’t select between it and the flu. So it would seem all of this is finally over and that by the summer we can expect these terrible writers to move onto their next straight-to-streaming monstrosity.

    The initial reaction to these announcements has been a little too much high-fiving and victory-lap dancing from the ‘right.’

    Because here’s the thing. Do you think they don’t know all of this about Omicron’s transmissibility and severity?

    Let’s run a few numbers for the sake of argument. Let’s assume Omicron is 20 times more transmissible but just one-tenth as severe. And severity is defined as requiring hospitalization.

    With the speed at which this thing is ripping through the population, even millions of mild cases will still result in hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations over a short period of time. Because the rate of transmissibility will create a swell in hospitalizations that is just a function of math.

    I’m not saying the numbers I have here are right. That’s not the point of the exercise. The point is that even if you crush the severity down by a factor of twenty over Delta, it’s still a lot of strain on any state’s medical system.

    So spare me the idea that President Depends and Peppermint Psaki woke up yesterday and had a flirtation with being compassionate humans.

    No, these people are full-blown political animals who turned on a dime for a reason.

    My numbers are likely wrong but you know who has the real numbers? Yup. The Bidenwood screenwriters.

    So, the CDC lowers the quarantine period for health care workers down to five days so asymptomatic health care workers can go back to work as the new wave of hospitalizations happens and Biden throws it back to the states to deal with.

    Then we find out from the Florida Surgeon General that the Biden administration is “actively preventing” distribution of Regeneron monoclonal antibodies, holding up shipments to Florida.

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    This is the end of Act I.

    In Acts II and III we will be treated to some of the laziest writing in the history of American political cinema.

    Act II will start silently, no more daily case counts because of the CDC invalidating the PCR test and everything seemingly returns to normal.

    During that time you can expect guys like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to gloat publicly over beating COVID by supporting freedom.

    Then at the mid-point turn, hospitalizations run wild as the law of large numbers takes over and the same cohorts of people vulnerable to the flu are found quickly by Omicron. It spreads throughout the U.S. quickly possibly overwhelming some hospitals, especially in the places where there aren’t health care workers because they were all fired for not getting the clot-shot.

    And guess who will get the blame for all of it? Their Public Enemy #1, the man who at this point is the biggest threat to the Biden administration as well as what’s left of the COVID phase to bankrupt the world known as the Great Reset….

    Yup. Governor Ron DeSantis.

    The messaging will all be for weeks to come, “We would have licked this thing if it wasn’t for DeSantis allowing it to incubate in Florida. The States did a terrible job containing this thing and now we’re all suffering for it.”

    After that comes the worst Act III in history as Biden tries to swoop in on a Huey lobbing missiles at the Red States to take credit for the natural burnout of Omicron and ending COVID-9/11’s threat to humanity.

    Expect a big grandstanding speech written by Aaron Sorkin about serving the common good as the denouement to ensure millions take the blue pill and go back to sleep.

    It may wind up being the worst screenplay since Young Einstein. Unfortunately, it’ll do enough box office to keep MSNBC in business.

    But it’s coming to a screen near you.

    *  *  *

    Join my Patreon if you aren’t a political hack

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    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 20:50

  • Three Boeing 747 Freighters Packed With Potatoes Head To Japan Amid French Fry Shortage
    Three Boeing 747 Freighters Packed With Potatoes Head To Japan Amid French Fry Shortage

    Believe it or not, three Boeing 747 freighters packed with potatoes are headed to Japan to mitigate the french fry shortage. 

    U.S. freight forwarder Flexport Inc. CEO Ryan Petersen tweeted Tuesday night that his firm contracted three 747 freighters to fly potatoes to Japan to help with McDonald’s Holdings Co. Japan’s french fly crisis. 

    “Flexport just contracted to fly three 747 loads of potatoes to Japan to help with the French fry shortage,” Petersen tweeted. 

    On Dec. 21, we reported that McDonald’s faced a ‘fry-tening’ supply chain problem of a potato shortage that forced the fast-food restaurant to ration french fries with meals. The company blamed massive flooding in Vancouver for its soggy mess.

    There are 2,900 McDonald’s restaurants in the country, and many have been rationing french fries for the last week. There was no word if air freight costs would result in french fry inflation for consumers.

    This is the second time in three years, McDonald’s has experienced a french fry shortage. Cold weather and the impact of a hurricane in 2019 damaged potato crops across North America and led to supply woes for french fry processors.

    “We considered involving Flexport for this humanitarian relief operation but in the end decided that the for-profit side was a better fit,” Petersen tweeted. 

    Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho responded to Petersen’s tweet above and said, “Serious question: Why would a French fry shortage even be considered as “humanitarian relief?” Or is that sarcasm?” 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 20:30

  • After Thousands Of Parents Refused To Comply, California School District Reverses Child Jab Mandate
    After Thousands Of Parents Refused To Comply, California School District Reverses Child Jab Mandate

    Authored by Matt Agorist via The Free Thought Project,

    Forgoing any legal democratic processes, multiple school districts in California began mandating the COVID-19 vaccination for children earlier this year. Set to go into effect in January, any child, 16 and older, who did not get the jab, was banned from campus in all San Diego public schools.

    This authoritarian move caused a mass of backlash and thousands of children and parents refused to comply.

    The refusal to get vaccinated set the stage for a showdown that was to unfold on January 24 when the children would be kicked out of school for non-compliance.

    There will be no showdown, however, as a San Diego judge struck down the mandate this week, accurately pointing out that a school district has no authority to mandate medical procedures for children.

    CBS 7 reports that Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer granted a writ of mandate for a lawsuit filed by the group “Let Them Choose,” which sought to keep the school district‘s COVID-19 vaccine mandate from going into effect by arguing it did not comply with state law.

    Meyer noted in the ruling that the school district‘s COVID-19 vaccine mandate cannot move forward because it conflicts with state law, which says any decision to mandate vaccines must be made at the state level and must also include a “personal belief exemption” if the mandate is not imposed by the state Legislature.

    San Diego Unified’s policy did not contain this exemption.

    “SDUSD’s Roadmap appears to be necessary and rational, and the district’s desire to protect its students from COVID-19 is commendable. Unfortunately, the field of school vaccine mandates has been fully occupied by the State, and the Roadmap directly conflicts with state law,” the judge wrote in a tentative ruling.

    Naturally, the school district disagreed and claimed they have the right to dictate what children can and can’t be injected with. For now, however, their objection is meaningless and the children and parents who did not want to take the vaccination, will no longer be forced to do so.

    “I am overjoyed. We knew that our legal argument was strong, and we brought this case on behalf of thousands of concerned parents and students and to hear the judge say no student should be coerced into getting this vaccine was just a wonderful thing to hear,” said Sharon McKeeman, founder of the group behind Let Them Choose.

    As TFTP reported earlier this month, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) — which is the second largest school district in the country — made a similar move and mandated shots for all children aged 12 and older.

    Students were told they would be banned from campus on January 10, 2022 if they failed to comply and take the shot.

    NBC4 spoke to an attorney who is following these cases, Jennifer Kennedy, who explained that school districts do not have the authority to mandate medical procedures. Just like the San Diego school district did not have the authority to mandate the jabs, the LAUSD did not have it either.

    “These grotesque contests and displays of treatment and candy and gifts and favors, raffles and cash prizes inducing the kids to the vaccination…. Here is the problem, kids in California cannot consent to vaccination.”

    She added, “The LAUSD does not have the power to add a vaccine to the California school schedule,” she said. “You couldn’t do it if you were a po-dunk school district and you can’t do it if you’re LAUSD, the second largest district in the nation. You don’t have that legal authority.”

    Several parents of students filed lawsuits against the LAUSD over the mandate and thousands of children remained unvaccinated in LAUSD. This line in the sand forced the school district to postpone their mandate last week after a whopping 28,000 children refused the jab.

    It is only through resistance that the change we seek will come. As history shows us, one cannot comply their way out of tyranny.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 20:10

  • China Publicly Shames Suspects Accused Of Violating COVID Border Controls
    China Publicly Shames Suspects Accused Of Violating COVID Border Controls

    Say what you will about the shortcomings of the American justice system, but at least the US doesn’t do this.

    According to foreign press reports, four Chinese nationals who were busted for allegedly violating the country’s COVID rules by smuggling Vietnamese migrants across the border were publicly shamed somewhere in the city of Jingxi, withiin China’s Guangxi border region.

    China’s state-controlled press said the shaming occurred on Tuesday. Footage of the incident quickly went viral, heaping even more shame and embarrassment on these poor people.

    Accompanied by authorities in Hazmat suits, the suspects could be were seen holding placards displaying their photos and names. Each of the four accused were held by two police officers. A large crowd looked on and jeered.

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    The incident apparently ignited a debate within the CCP’s news apparatus, with one party-controlled journal opining that public shaming was a bridge too far. That argument was made by Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Beijing News.

    “The measure seriously violates the spirit of the rule of law and cannot be allowed to happen again,” the Beijing News report read.

    Technically speaking, public shaming of those accused of crimes has been outlawed in China since 2010. However, this isn’t the first time public shaming has popped up in the Chinese press. Similar scenes were filmed in November and in August, when armed police escorted a suspect through the street to a children’s playground.

    Whether the backlash makes any difference, of course, will ultimately be decided by President Xi.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 19:50

  • The Reckless Push For Electric Vehicles At The US Postal Service
    The Reckless Push For Electric Vehicles At The US Postal Service

    Authored by Paul Steidler via RealClearEnergy.org,

    As Democrats regroup and forge ahead with plans to implement components of the Build Back Better legislation killed by Senator Joe Manchin, calls for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to be given billions to electrify its vehicle fleet are likely to soon reach a fever pitch.  

    USPS is a high-profile, well-regarded institution through which progressives want to unveil new programs. Progressives pulled out all the stops to provide USPS with electric vehicle funding in 2021 and will likely double down in 2022.  

    Republicans and fiscal conservatives in Washington, D.C. should push back hard. Electric vehicle subsidies for USPS epitomize what is wrong in Washington, D.C. and how proven, time-tested financial restraint and related guard rails are being eviscerated. 

    USPS needs a new delivery vehicle fleet, and it has been on the path to purchasing the vehicles long before Build Back Better was ever conceived. After years of study, USPS announced on February 23 that it was purchasing 50,000 to 165,000 next generation delivery vehicles over the next 10 years. 

    USPS plans to purchase a combination of electric and fuel-efficient internal combustion engine vehicles, all of which are markedly cleaner than the current vehicles which are an average of 25 years old.  

    For fiscal year 2022, Build Back Better provides $2.6 billion for USPS to purchase electric vehicles and $3.4 billion to construct charging and related infrastructure to support such vehicles. It is the first step in progressives’ push to make all USPS delivery vehicles electric by 2028 and to also require all USPS medium- and heavy-duty trucks to be electric. 

    There are three fundamental reasons to strongly oppose electric vehicle funding to USPS. 

    1. USPS has the cash to buy electric vehicles now. For the quarter ending September 30, 2021, USPS reported having $23.9 billion in cash, nearly four times what Congress wants to provide. USPS also received $10 billion in COVID relief funds even though the pandemic provided a catalyst for its business by significantly increasing the demand for package shipments. And keep in mind, USPS plans to purchase and pay for its new fleet over 10 years. 

    2. Electric vehicle subsidies will wreak havoc on operations. A central pillar of the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act is that USPS is to cover its costs through the sales of products and services. Electric vehicle funding amounts to Congressional interference in USPS’s operations. The $3.4 billion in charging infrastructure will require ongoing management, distracting from the central public duty to deliver mail most efficiently. It will also pressure, if not box-in, USPS to only purchase electric vehicles in the years ahead, potentially driving up costs astronomically. 

    3. Special interests benefit the most. In Congressional testimony on March 11, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that 5,000 packages take up the same amount of space as 500,000 letters. As such, the new vehicles will be used predominantly to deliver packages. Any public funding of electric vehicles is likely to thus disproportionately benefit the large retailers who send many packages more than those who still rely on USPS for mail. 

    One legislative measure that progressives are likely to target for the electric vehicle funding is the Postal Service Reform Act, which has bipartisan support in the House and Senate. The measure already provides more than $46 billion in balance sheet and other financial relief to USPS related to financial challenges from the decline in mail volume. 

    Including electric vehicle funding as part of postal reform would amount to sanctioning heavy-handed Congressional management of USPS by dictating what vehicles it operates and saddling them with this permanent obligation. Not only should such an electric vehicle amendment be opposed, but the entire “reform” package should be voted down if it has this troubling feature. 

    At a time when mail delivery is slower than it was in the 1970s, and USPS has major financial challenges, electric vehicle subsidies and corresponding Congressional interference will only make these matters worse, while doing little to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 19:30

  • Canada Cancels Unvaccinated Joe Rogan: Can't Attend His Own Sold-Out Show
    Canada Cancels Unvaccinated Joe Rogan: Can’t Attend His Own Sold-Out Show

    Joe Rogan was set to attend his long anticipated Vancouver show scheduled for April 20, which has long been sold out, but on Wednesday The Hill is reporting it’s been canceled due to the Canadian government barring him from entry for the event. 

    “Ticketmaster Wednesday on its website confirmed that Rogan’s Vancouver show had been canceled and ticket holders would receive a refund,” The Hill reports. However, the event has been pushed to a much later date in 2022, though it’s unclear whether Canada will relax its vaccine requirement to cross the border by that point (at the rate things are going, an unlikelihood). “According to Rogan’s Facebook page, the event has been rescheduled for Oct. 24,” The Hill added.

    Rogan himself had hinted that the cancelation is coming, given Canada’s strict requirements for all entering its territory of showing proof of “fully vaccinated” status.

    During his Dec.24th episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, which gets more listeners than even major mainstream TV network shows get viewers during prime time hours, Rogan explained, “I should probably say this because I haven’t yet. My 4/20 show that’s sold out in Vancouver — I don’t think that’s happening.” 

    He then vented to his guest, comedian Tim Dillon, that it’s ridiculous that unlike an increasing number of European countries Canada doesn’t recognize natural immunity from a prior infection. 

    “I don’t think I can even get into the country. I’m not vaccinated. I’m not gonna get vaccinated. I have antibodies, it doesn’t make any sense,” Rogan said.

    Since announcing that he had Covid in late August in a social media post last September, Rogan has been at the center of mainstream media attacks over his spending a lot of time describing his personal experience with a mix of medications given by a doctor. Additionally he had given advice to friends based on his successfully and fully recovering in a matter of a few days.

    Rogan posted the following image announcing the show’s cancelation and postponement:

    This included the supposedly “controversial” ivermectin (which led to disinformation and personal attacks from CNN), in addition to a treatment of monoclonal antibodies, a Z-pack, prednisone, an NAD drip, as well as a vitamin drip.

    Also contributing to the Vancouver show’s cancelation is the current implementation of what are essentially “Covid passports” for a number of indoor and public venues. “The Canadian territory requires proof of vaccination to gain entry into some indoor businesses and event spaces, including Rogers Arena, where Rogan’s show was set to take place,” The Hill underscores.

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    For Rogan fans in Canada, the likelihood is that he’s not going to be let in the country even by late 2022. A number of health officials in Western governments have of late declared various forms of policies which sound like “mandates forever” as they promote the notion that citizens must get ready to live under pandemic conditions for possibly more years to come. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 19:10

  • Doug Casey On How Marxists Captured The Universities And Will Soon Capture The Nation
    Doug Casey On How Marxists Captured The Universities And Will Soon Capture The Nation

    Authored by Doug Casey via InternationalMan.com,

    International Man: Communist and socialist ideas are growing in popularity among the millennial and Gen Z generations. In fact, the majority of young people dislike capitalism and favor a more socialist or even a communist economic system.

    This is evidenced by the rise of politicians like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) and The Squad.

    What’s your take on this?

    Doug Casey: The youth are being corrupted, and it’s more serious than ever. Although I say that a bit tongue-in-cheek since people have probably thought the youth were becoming degenerate since about day one.

    For instance, one of the two charges against Socrates when he was executed in Ancient Greece was corrupting the youth. Older people always think the youth are foolish, ignorant, lazy, crazy and generally taking the world to hell in a handbasket. And, of course, many of their charges are, and always have been, true.

    But as kids get older, they generally get wiser, more knowledgeable, harder-working, and more prudent—nothing new here. The world has survived roughly 250 new generations since civilization began in Sumer 5,000 years ago. And it will likely survive this one too.

    That’s the bright side. And, as you know, I always look on the bright side. But, on the other hand, the American university system has been totally captured by Cultural Marxists, socialists, statists, collectivists, promoters of identity politics, and people of that ilk. These people hate Western Civilization and its values and are actively trying to destroy them. My view is that this challenge is perhaps the most serious we’ve ever encountered, and the dangers are greatly amplified by advancing technology.

    International Man: What role are Western universities playing? How is this shaping current and future generations?

    Doug Casey: Universities have been totally transformed in many ways over the past century, and it’s been for the worst in every instance. When the average 18-year-old goes to college, he knows very little about how the world works in general. He’s got vague ideas he picked up mostly from TV, movies, and people who got a job teaching high school. They know basically nothing about economics, government, or history. Worse, what they think they know is mostly wrong.

    That makes them easy prey for professors with totally bent views to indoctrinate them.

    It’s not so much that they’re taught inaccurate facts. There are plenty of “factoids” (artificial facts), of course—like the War Between the States (which shouldn’t be called the Civil War) was mainly fought to free the slaves. Or that Keynesian economics is correct. Or that the US is a democracy ruled by “We the People.” And many, many more. But that’s just part of the problem.

    It’s not just the factoids they’re taught. It’s the way the schools interpret actual facts and the kind of meaning they infuse into events. The “why?” of events is twisted, and concepts of good and evil are perverted. The education system has been almost completely captured by Marxists and other leftists. They’re in a position to indoctrinate the youth, and they use that power to the maximum. Once a kid’s thoughts are bent—much the way a tree can be bent as a sapling—in one direction or another, it’s very hard to straighten them out.

    Of course, that leads to the question of whether the youth should be directed one way or another in the first place. Which values are “right” or “wrong?” I certainly have views on that subject, but this isn’t the place to go into them—beyond saying that basic values are too important to be left to random government employees.

    The real problem, however, is that today’s education does not teach critical thinking. Rather just the opposite is true. Students are taught blind acceptance of what’s currently considered politically correct.

    Instead of questioning authority in a peaceful and rational manner—which is what Socrates did—the current idea is to prevent any divergent views from even being discussed. The professors are basically all socialists, and the kids tend to believe what they’re taught. Those views are reinforced by the other sources of information surrounding them—Hollywood, mass media, and the government itself.

    Destructive ideas usually start with “intellectuals.” Intellectuals typically despise business, commerce, and production, and they envy the money the capitalists have. Intellectuals feel they’re not only smarter but also much more moral than business people. That gives them the right, in their own eyes, to dictate to everyone else. They’re usually socialists, and approve of “cadres” like themselves, ordering everyone else around. Intellectuals naturally gravitate to the universities, where they’re paid to hang out with each other, be lionized by kids, and hatch goofy ideas.

    This has always been the case. But it’s become a much bigger problem than in the past, partly because a much, much higher percentage of kids go to college now than ever before. Even in the recent past, at most five or 10 percent of kids went to college. These days, almost everybody goes, and a much higher proportion of the youth are being infected with leftist memes than ever before.

    Some kids will grow out of it and realize that most of what they’ve paid an exorbitant amount of money to learn is nonsense. But most will reflexively defend what they were taught in the cocoon. And I’m afraid those people now make up a big chunk of the U.S. population.

    Kids who are polled say that they think socialism is good.. I suspect the polls are accurate. And even if they don’t think it, almost all of them feel it—although few know the difference between thinking and feeling … If you’re brought up thinking that the values of socialism and the welfare state are good, and everyone around you believes in them, the chances are you will too.

    International Man: What are your thoughts on the emphasis on identity politics and the concept of “white privilege?”

    Doug Casey: Identity politics is essentially the idea that a person is first and foremost a member of some race or ethnicity and only secondarily an individual. In recent years, most people have been indoctrinated indirectly and directly, subtly and overtly, to believe white people and the civilization they created are bad. The meme is everywhere. They’ve come to believe Western Civilization is a bad thing and that white people are destroying the world.

    Even if they don’t want to believe it because the concept is so stupid and so utterly contrafactual, they end up accepting it just because they’ve heard it over and over. Propaganda works. Memes that originated with intellectuals in universities have thoroughly infiltrated the mass media and the entertainment industry. It’s perverse how today’s “thought leaders” overwhelmingly think the same thing.

    There’s been no defense at all—forget about a counterattack—from so-called capitalists and business leaders. All they’re interested in is making money. In fact, they not only accept the ideas but contribute money to the causes of their enemies, idiotically thinking that virtue-signaling will placate them. It’s an unfortunate fact that business people, especially the suits managing large corporations, don’t really care how they make money. They tend to be completely amoral or immoral philistines and political hacks. They look like hypocrites and are (correctly) held in contempt by the intellectuals. The corporate types are happy to work with and for their counterparts in government, which is exactly what the fascism of Mussolini advocated. They self-righteously make charitable contributions to universities and NGOs, subsidizing the source of the poison.

    There’s almost no defense of the ideas that brought us Western Civilization, which is responsible for just about everything that’s good in the world. I’m not kidding when I make that assertion. With the exception of a few anomalies like Taoism, martial arts, yoga, and Oriental cooking, East minus West equals zero. Without it, the whole world would resemble Africa, Cambodia, or Mongolia—not even today, but 200 years ago. Ideas like individualism, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, science, rationality, and capitalism are products of Western Civilization. These concepts no longer have any defenders anywhere. They’re under attack everywhere.

    International Man: What do you think the impact of this will be on the markets and the economy?

    Doug Casey: I’m bearish, especially for the near term since actual Jacobins are in charge in Washington.

    How can the markets be healthy when what passes for a ruling class in the West actually hate themselves and middle class is collapsing economically and psychologically? When, political entrepreneurship is valued more than making money through production, When the currency is being actively destroyed to prop up what has become a very corrupt political system?

    In fact, the economy and the markets are the least of our problems. The very foundation of civilization itself is under attack. The widespread acceptance of destructive statist and collectivist ideas is serious. The consequences will be the same here as they were in Russia under the Soviets, in Germany under the Nazis, and in China under Mao. The situation may be even more serious since the idea of Western Civilization itself is under serious attack in the U.S., which has been the bulwark for the last century.

    So, excuse my bearishness, but I think it’s warranted.

    *  *  *

    Unfortunately, there’s little any individual can practically do to change the course of these trends in motion. The coming economic and political crisis is going to be much worse, much longer, and very different than what we’ve seen in the past. That’s exactly why New York Times best-selling author Doug Casey and his team just released an urgent new video Doug Casey’s Top 3 Secrets to Survive and Thrive During a Dollar Crisis. It explains what’s to come and exactly what you should do to protect yourself. Click here to watch it now.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 18:50

  • Marines "Crushed" By Vax Mandate As "Thousands" Denied Religious Exemptions In "Political Purge"
    Marines “Crushed” By Vax Mandate As “Thousands” Denied Religious Exemptions In “Political Purge”

    Days ago it was first revealed that despite the Department of Defense offering a “religious exemption” as part of the Covid-19 vaccine mandate across all military branches, not a single one has yet to be approved – at a time at least 169 Marines were already discharged for their refusal to receive the shot.

    A new investigative report by Fox News finds that multiple “thousands” of Marines are still set to be processed out over the mandate, and that the corps’ “best and brightest” are being “crushed” by the Biden vaccine order. “Marines are allowed to apply for a religious exemption, but so far not a single application regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, or any vaccine for that matter, has been approved, a Marine Corps spokesman told Fox News.”

    For this reason the mandate is being likened to a “political purge” – which has seen a “blanket denial” of all formal requests for religious exemptions. In recent days official Marine Corps statements have underscored no exemptions are being given out, yet supposedly these are being considered on a case by case basis.

    Line of Marines at Camp Hansen in Japan waiting to receive the vaccine, Getty Images.

    As of late last week, the Marine Corps confirmed that not a single religious exemption request has yet to be approved. It was further confirmed that at least a few thousand could be discharged based on the exemption denial: 

    Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Ryan Bruce told Fox News that as of Thursday, 3,080 of the 3,192 requests for religious accommodation concerning the COVID-19 vaccine mandate had been processed and zero had been approved, adding that “no religious accommodations have been approved for any other vaccine in the past seven years.” 

    So assuming these Marines will still refuse the jab, thousands are set to be booted from the Marine Corps. In its reporting, Fox extensively quotes Marine officers, whose names are withheld. The Daily Wire, citing the most recently available public data from last week, estimated that some 9,000 could still be set for early discharge from the service: 

    As of Thursday, 94% of active-duty troops were fully vaccinated and another 1% were partially vaccinated, according to data from the U.S. Marine Corps.

    That leaves the remaining 5% of an active-duty Marine force of about 182,500, which amounts to about 9,125 active-duty Marines who are still unvaccinated.

    “There’s something fundamentally wrong at this point with our nation’s leadership,” a major with over 17 years of active service was cited as saying. “We are facing an unconstitutional edict that I think is very targeted as a political purge, taking out some of the best and brightest soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians from the Space Force.”

    Further, a lieutenant colonel who has served for almost two decades said the Marines are discharging service members “as fast as they can and as brutally as they can, damaging every Marine as much as they can on the way out.”

    Further, Fox’s Jessica Chasmar, who interviewed several of the officers, said:

    “The one message I got from the colonel above me was: ‘Tread very carefully, this is political, you will be crushed like an ant.’ And he told me that because he cares about me,” the lieutenant colonel said. “Do I want to continue serving in an institution that crushes people for bringing up reasonable points in defending their faith?”

    One master sergeant said it seems that “the louder I speak the tighter the screws are turned against me.”

    Additionally one Marine who ranks high on the enlisted side said, “When you’re expected to behave a certain way and to obey certain rules and follow certain processes, and then to see on the other end that that’s not a two-way street, that’s a violation of my morals that I can’t stand by and not speak out about.”

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    The same Marine, identified as a Master Sergeant, described one particular instance of an individual Marine’s exhaustively documented and very convincing case for a religious exemption: “I saw one package from a sergeant who had attached, like, 30 pages of material to substantiate why his belief was sincere, under no lawful obligation to do so,” the master sergeant said. “And then to have this as a response with no individual inquiry and just a generalized assertion of governmental interest is insulting.”

    “On the religious side, this is absolutely a travesty what’s happening,” a separate officer described. “People are getting blanket denials, they’re not addressing the individual concerns or beliefs of Marines who are submitting for religious accommodations, and I think that’s just horribly wrong. I honestly believe that they’re not really reading the packages.”

    Those interviewed also depicted an ongoing culture of intimidation which appears intended to silence any potential opposition to the mandate, further with no recourse whatsoever. Instead the Marines feel steamrolled into compliance. What’s more is that unlike many parts of Europe, prior infection and natural immunity is being completely ignored. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 18:30

  • Jake Tapper's Producer Resigns From CNN Amid Pedo Scandal
    Jake Tapper’s Producer Resigns From CNN Amid Pedo Scandal

    Authored by Libby Emmons via The Post Millennial,

    CNN has confirmed on Wednesday that Jake Tapper’s producer, Rick Saleeby, has resigned from his position after it was revealed that he allegedly solicited sexually explicit photos of an underage girl. Fairfax County police seized devices from his residence.

    The news broke to Twitter via Jack Posobiec of Human Events, along with Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe, who first reported the revelations.

    Rick Saleeby was a CNN producer for “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” Allegations emerged that he had asked an underage girl for explicit photographs. This led to a seizure of his devices and hard drives from his Virginia home.

    Project Veritas revealed the allegations, finding texts showing that he had fantasies about molesting his fiance’s daughter. Saleeby, in one exchange, described his fiance’s daughter’s exceedingly short bottoms at the pool, saying that she was  “wearing very closely cut bottoms at the pool.” He then went on to describe the outline of the girls pubic area.

    Janine Banani was in a relationship with Saleeby for over a decade, and told Project Veritas that Saleeby solicited the photos of her daughter. Banani also gave a recording in which Saleeby allegedly said “…after I’m done having my mouth on her, I’m going to walk up and put my crotch very close to her face… slowly unzip my zipper and just guide her head a little closer and I’m just going to have her kiss the head and I’m going to put her hand on it so she can feel what the hard flesh feels like.”

    Saleeby appeared in Fairfax County, Virginia court on Tuesday, and was confronted by a news crew from Project Veritas. When asked, he refused to say whether or not he was still with CNN.

    The producer had previously taken others to task for their illicit behavior toward minors. As to that person, he said “He had already been accused of things prior. But he would make advances if there was a social gathering and they were drunk, put his arms around them, try and touch their leg.”

    “Try and build up emails to the level where he would get flirty and inappropriate. I’ll tell you this. In the climate that’s going on now, he definitely would have been fired,” said Saleeby, referring to the #MeToo movement in 2018.

    In an interview with Posobiec, O’Keefe slammed Tapper f an explosive interview with Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec.

    O’Keefe said he has called on Tapper to verify Saleeby’s voice on the audio recordings. “What I want to ask Japper Tapper though is: ‘Jake, when I do this work, and I’m on TV and you’re on TV, Jake, there’s a thing called the IFB. And that’s that little headphone that goes in your ear. And what are you listening to is that it’s your producers voice. You always hear whether on the other side of the glass or whoever it was or the camera, the lights etc.’ I don’t think there’s anyone else on Earth who’s more qualified to identify that voice than Jake Tapper himself,” O’Keefe said. Posobiec added, “He won’t do it.”

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    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 18:10

  • Police Raid Shutters Independent Hong Kong News Outlet For "Seditious" Content
    Police Raid Shutters Independent Hong Kong News Outlet For “Seditious” Content

    In the latest pro-China crackdown on Hong Kong independent media, police raided the headquarters of vocal pro-democracy website Stand News on Wednesday and arrested at least six, including current and former editors and board members.

    “Police raided Stand News’ office earlier in the day after arresting the six, including popular singer and activist Denise Ho, a former board member, on charges of conspiracy to publish a seditious publication,” the Associated Press detailed of the raid which involved over 200 officers and the seizure of all suspected “subversive” and “seditious” journalistic materials under last year’s national security law.

    Stand News acting Chief Editor Patrick Lam being put into a police vehicle, via Reuters.

    Hours into the day the news website was no longer being updated, nor its active social media pages. Stand News’ HK$61 million in assets have been frozen and all employees dismissed. 

    It appears to be part of a new crackdown wave against opposition Honk Kong media, following the June 2021 shuttering of the Apple Daily newspaper in a similar massive police raid which saw its publisher Jimmy Lai and top editors arrested, as HK authorities continue forcing the public firmly in line with “pro-China” policies. 

    It’s now looking like the crackdown is likely to continue beyond Stand News. The AP writes further, “Early Wednesday, Stand News posted a video on Facebook of police officers at the home of a deputy editor, Ronson Chan.”

    The report adds that “Chan, who is also chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was taken away for questioning, the organization confirmed in a statement.” Later released, he described that all his credentials and press pass, including all electronic devises and even bank cards were seized. 

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    Hong Kong police claimed in a follow-up press conference that “we are not targeting reporters” while a media industry group protested the raid. Police described Stand News in particular as having “stirred up hatred or contempt for the government and judiciary,” the AP noted. HK police further had some friendly “advice” for all other media and journalists: 

    “We are not targeting reporters, we are not targeting the media, we just targeted national security offenses,” said Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the police National Security Department. “If you only report, I don’t think this is a problem.”

    He said at a news conference that those arrested had to account for their actions even if they had resigned from Stand News.

    Asked what advice he had for the media, Li replied, “Don’t be biased. You know well how to report, how to be a responsible reporter, how to make a non-biased report to your readers. That’s all I can give you.”

    This comes even after the outlet ceased the publication of most op-eds and removed the subscription-only membership, citing the prior national security law. Those still being detained reportedly face up to two years in prison and a fine up to HK$5,000.

    Pop star Denise Ho was among the Wednesday arrests of pro-democracy media voices…

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    Likely it’s only a matter of time for all remaining independent and opposition outlet voices before the police come knocking, as journalists struggle to figure out what exactly “don’t be biased” actually means in the minds of pro-mainland authorities.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 17:50

  • Aaron Rodgers: Science That "Can't Be Questioned" Is "Propaganda"
    Aaron Rodgers: Science That “Can’t Be Questioned” Is “Propaganda”

    Authored by Isabel van Brugen via The Epoch Times,

    Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Tuesday took aim at the criticism he says he has received for his views on COVID-19 vaccines.

    During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers said that his previous comments on the issue has led to strong pushback from both a number of NFL voices and Silicon Valley.

    “If science can’t be questioned, it’s not science anymore; it’s propaganda and that’s the truth,” he said.

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    Rodgers, 37, on Tuesday claimed that many NFL teams are quietly experimenting with various COVID-19 treatments behind the scenes.

    “When did science become this blind agreement and then not having any debate over what can actually heal people and work for people. That makes no sense to me,” he said.

    “When did we lose the ability to respect somebody’s opinion. My thoughts on COVID are my opinion. Why can’t we have more conversations between people with different opinions?” he added.

    Rodgers made headlines last month after he tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, after claiming in August that he was “immunized” against the virus.

    The three-time most valuable NFL player claimed on Nov. 5 that he was told by a league doctor that people who take a vaccine for COVID-19 will not catch or spread the disease.

    “One of the main docs said it’s impossible for a vaccinated person to get COVID or spread COVID,” he said.

    “We know now that information is totally false.”

    He confirmed during a television appearance that he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, explaining that he is allergic to an ingredient in the mRNA Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and is wary of taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, citing documented past cases of blood clots that prompted federal regulatory agencies to temporarily pause administration of the shots earlier this year.

    Rodgers was fined by the NFL on Nov. 9 for COVID-19 protocol violations after an investigation found that he failed to consistently wear face masks inside the team’s facilities, and attended a Halloween party maskless—violating protocol that requires masks for players not vaccinated against COVID-19.

    He was also dropped by Prevea Health over his vaccine views after being aligned with the company for nine years.

    Rodgers in a separate appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Nov. 9 said that the COVID-19 vaccine can be “polarizing,” but did not back down from his stance on the vaccine.

    “In the end, I have to stay true to who I am and what I’m about, and I stand behind the things that I said,” the quarterback added at the time.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 17:30

  • Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty Of Helping Epstein Sexually Abuse Teen Girls
    Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty Of Helping Epstein Sexually Abuse Teen Girls

    After hearing from around 30 witnesses including the four accusers, the 12-person panel began deliberating in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell just before 5 p.m. on Dec. 20.

    “Maxwell was Jeffrey Epstein’s right hand,” Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe said in her closing statement.

    Ghislaine Maxwell as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read.

    Today, after six days of deliberations over accusations that Maxwell helped pedophile Jeffrey Epstein mount a “pyramid scheme of abuse” involving underage girls, the jury came to their decision ahead of what was to be a working weekend through the new years’ break.

    The jury found her guilty on 5 of the 6 counts of luring and grooming underage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, a verdict that offers some long-delayed justice for his victims.

    She was acquitted of one count of enticing a minor to travel across state lines to engage in an illegal sexual act.

    The verdict was largely a rejection of Ms. Maxwell’s defense, which centered on an argument that government’s case was based on flimsy evidence, prosecutors’ animus toward Mr. Epstein, and the inconsistent accounts of women who were motivated by money to point the finger at Ms. Maxwell.

    AP reports that she stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings as she herself was led from the courtroom, but was otherwise stoic.

    Maxwell faces up to 70 years behind bars, and still awaits trial on two counts of perjury.

    Lawsuits involving the abuse allegations also continue, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months.

    The question is – will Maxwell be “Epstein’d” too?

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    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/29/2021 – 17:09

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