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Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
— Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”
Reading Time: 5 minutes 20 seconds
Today is Saturday, October 29th, the 302nd day of 2022. There are 63 days left in the year. It is National Cat Day, National Hermit Day, National Oatmeal Day, World Psoriasis Day, and World Stroke Day.
On This Day
In 1618, adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I.
In 1787, Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni was performed for the first time.
In 1863, 18 countries formed the International Red Cross.
In 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered World War I.
In 1923, Turkey became a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1948, dozens of Palestinians were massacred by Israeli troops in the village of Safsaf.
In 1969, the first computer-to-computer link was established on ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet.
In 1998, a discothèque fire in Sweden killed 63 people.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the United States, killing 148 directly and 138 indirectly, while leaving nearly $70 billion in damages and causing major power outages.
In 2015, China announced the end of its one-child policy.
Today's Birthdays
Film and television writer, director, and producer Ralph Bakshi is 84. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 75. Former actress Kate Jackson is 74. Actor Rufus Sewell is 55. Actress Winona Ryder is 51. Actress Gabrielle Union is 40. Actor Ben Foster is 42.
The Links
SPPI Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Secretary Deb Haaland (Southwest Public Policy Institute)
“Any perceived favorable treatment of a partisan candidate by a sitting department head is subject to scrutiny. But we believe that this is a blatant disregard for the provisions set forth by the Hatch Act. We look forward to speedy action taken by the Office of Special Counsel, which confirmed receipt of our complaint.”
Leaked FBI document lists “misinformation” as an “election crime” (Reclaim The Net)
“The document appears to be another effort by the federal government to determine what is true and what is false. A few months ago, the Biden administration created the ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ under the DHS. It dismantled it a few weeks later due to public backlash.”
The Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime — and Our New Live, Prime-Time Rumble Program (Glenn Greenwald)
“There has been some reporting — by me and others — on the new and utterly fraudulent ‘disinformation’ industry. This newly minted, self-proclaimed expertise, grounded in little more than crude political ideology, claims the right to officially decree what is ‘true’ and ‘false’ for purposes of, among other things, justifying state and corporate censorship of what its ‘experts’ decree to be ‘disinformation.’ The industry is funded by a consortium of a small handful of neoliberal billionaires (George Soros and Pierre Omidyar) along with U.S., British and EU intelligence agencies. These government-and-billionaire-funded ‘anti-disinformation’ groups often masquerade under benign-sounding names: The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Lab, Bellingcat, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. They are designed to cast the appearance of apolitical scholarship, but their only real purpose is to provide a justifying framework to stigmatize, repress and censor any thoughts, views and ideas that dissent from neoliberal establishment orthodoxy. It exists, in other words, to make censorship and other forms of repression appear scientific rather than ideological.”
Elon Musk and the great fear of free speech (spiked)
“The most striking thing about Musk and Twitter is the demented reaction to it. Musk himself is not going to singlehandedly restore the hard fought-for liberty to utter. It will take more than online ventures by a contrarian billionaire to turn back the tide of censorship, cancellation and social shaming for wrongthink that have become such a key and horrid feature of Anglo-American political life. Musk’s plan for Twitter is sensible, not revolutionary. It is ‘important to the future of civilisation to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence’, he said in his note of reassurance to advertisers yesterday. That town square should not be a ‘hellscape’, he said, where ‘anything can be said with no consequences’. A town square, you say? With people talking? Fetch my smelling salts.”
Elon Musk’s Twitter Buy Is The First Real Accountability Big Tech Censors Face For Their 2020 Election Meddling (The Federalist)
“Oftentimes, Twitter executed this censorship with undeniable arrogance and no remorse. That’s why when Agrawal openly admitted that he believed Twitter’s ‘role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation,’ he wasn’t chided for contradicting the social media company’s supposed commitment to advancing free speech. Instead, he was rewarded with a short-lived spot as CEO and congratulated by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for his ‘transformational’ work. Agrawal quickly used that power to usher in a new era of partisan crackdowns.”
The Stockdale Paradox and the Future of Liberty (American Institute for Economic Research)
“At odds with the reality of what creates human flourishing, these illiberal beliefs lead to war, poverty, and suffering. Prof. R. J. Rummel estimates that 262 million civilians were slaughtered by governments in the 20th Century. Eventually, people wake up to reality. Yet, history should leave us with no delusions about how long beliefs at odds with reality can be maintained. They can be held long enough to do incalculable harm.”
Rep. Van Duyne Introduces Bill to Evaluate Wasteful Spending in Federal Agencies and Programs (Americans for Tax Reform)
“Importantly, the evaluations would be conducted by a non-federal auditor, avoiding certain conflicts of interest that plague existing review processes.”
This 78-Year-Old Woman Was Arrested for Feeding the Poor (Reason)
“Before taking Thornton into custody, an officer can be heard on his body camera footage saying that the impending arrest was going to be ‘a PR nightmare.’ He was not wrong. The local press made Thornton’s story a front page one, ultimately prompting the government to drop the charges but with the caveat that it would move to jail her should she have the audacity to reinvigorate the project.”
Abortion Does Not Make More Children “Wanted” (Secular Pro-Life)
“In reality, Child abuse increased by 400% between 1973 and 1990.”
The Supreme Court Could Overturn Another Major Precedent. This Time, Americans Might Agree. (FiveThirtyEight)
“The two cases facing the justices raise slightly different issues: Harvard is accused of unconstitutionally discriminating against Asian American applicants through its race-conscious process, while the challenge against UNC-Chapel Hill argues that considering race in admissions violates civil rights law and the Constitution.”
Governors Split on Biden’s Call to Pardon Low-Level Pot Offenders (The Pew Charitable Trusts)
“Jax Finkel James, state policy manager for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws … said that in her frequent testimony before Texas lawmakers, she highlights the hardships faced by Texans arrested or convicted for marijuana possession.”
UN COP27 Blueprint: More Government, More Debt, More Taxes (Watts Up With That?)
“I wonder which wealthy nation is supposed to provide the bulk of the funding these green boondoggles would demand?”
Polish Leader Calls German Energy Policy “A Curse, Fiasco” … 2/3 Of Restaurants Face Bankruptcy! (NoTricksZone)
“A number of other states have joined Poland in criticizing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s massive 200-billion euro energy relief package designed to alleviate the pain from the acutely high energy prices in Germany.”
“‘We are helping little children like me,’ said the Democrat, who just celebrated her 40th birthday a few weeks ago.”
Biden’s boilerplate defense strategy: it’s all about China (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
“As usual in U.S (and Chinese) security and strategy documents, the NDS provides no hint that Chinese threats might involve responses to Washington’s actions and statements, as part of an increasingly hostile, interactive dynamic to which both Washington and Beijing contribute.”
Your Turn
1. Do you have sympathy for the “hardships faced” by people “arrested or convicted for marijuana possession”?
2. Jaws or Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
3. Will Elon Musk fail or succeed in his effort to make Twitter a free-speech platform again?
4. How often do you eat oatmeal?
5. Could you live as a hermit?
1. Do you have sympathy for the “hardships faced” by people “arrested or convicted for marijuana possession”?
Yes, because I was one of them, back in the days when laws were much stricter for anything to do with marijuana. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I went through hell! What kids are going through today is a drop in the bucket to what people went through in the 60's and 70's. It was like I had attended a Trump rally on January 6th!!
2. Jaws or Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Close Encounters was more interesting to me than getting eaten by a shark!! Nevertheless, you won't see me going into the ocean where there are sharks hanging out! UFOs are a lot less scary to me for some reason, so the thought of seeing one or learning about them, is fascinating to me.
3. Will Elon Musk fail or succeed in his effort to make Twitter a free-speech platform again?
Elon Musk has succeeded at everything he has ever done and I champion his cause to bring Social Media back to being what it should have been all along!! A free voice is a thing of beauty. Hopefully, the truth will be easier to hear with Twitter being legitimate!
4. How often do you eat oatmeal?
As much as possible. One of the healthier foods you can eat. I LOVE Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and I also love Oatmeal for breakfast!!
5. Could you live as a hermit?
I have no real problem living alone. I've been on my own most of my life. However, I love to interact with people, which I believe is why we were put on this planet to begin with. So, Communication is important to me.
1. It depends. If first offense or like jman, wrong place at wrong time I do have sympathy. If repeated arrests and convictions, not so much.
2. I liked them both. I will vote for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
3. I think he will succeed.
4. I usually eat a bowl with breakfast in winter. During summer I make waffles with rolled oats, which I have with breakfast.
5. Maybe. However, I enjoy being with my family.