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I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
— Thomas Jefferson
Reading Time: 5 minutes 10 seconds
Today is Friday, December 30th, 2022. It is Falling Needles Family Fest Day, National Bacon Day, and National Bicarbonate of Soda Day.
On This Day
In 1702, during Queen Anne’s War, English forces and their indigenous allies abandoned their siege of the Spanish colonial fortress of Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine.
In 1813, British soldiers burned Buffalo, New York.
In 1853, the United States made the Gadsden Purchase, buying land from Mexico to facilitate railroad-building in the Southwest.
In 1903, a fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago killed over 600 people.
In 1927, the Ginza Line, the first subway route in Asia, opened in Tokyo.
In 1958, the Guatemalan Air Force sank several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders.
In 1968, Frank Sinatra recorded “My Way.”
In 1999, George Harrison was nearly killed when a mentally disturbed man broke into his home and stabbed him in the chest.
In 2006, Saddam Hussein was executed.
In 2009, a suicide bomber killed nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.
Today's Birthdays
Actor Russ Tamblyn is 88. Actress Concetta Tomei is 77. Actor Jason Behr is 49. Professional golfer Tiger Woods is 47. Actress Eliza Dushku is 42. Actress Kristin Kreuk is 40.
The Links
US government funds research on correcting “false beliefs” (Reclaim The Net)
“The NSF claims that ‘fact-checking practitioners are consulted to help guide the research, and results will be discussed with them.’ However, it does not name the fact-checkers, many of which have already built up notoriety for the often biased way they apply fact-checks.”
Ex-stripper mom of Hunter Biden’s child wants kid to have ‘powerful’ last name (New York Post)
“Neither Hunter, the first son and lobbyist-turned-painter, nor the child’s grandfather, President Biden, have ever met young Navy, according to her mother.”
Utah had the lowest unemployment rate in November 2022 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
“Minnesota and North Dakota had unemployment rates of 2.3 percent, the next lowest rates in the nation.”
Did a Libertarian Cost Trump the Election? A Q&A with Jonathan Cervas (American Enterprise Institute)
“There is no debate that those two million votes could have been decisive if distributed in the right states and the right quantities. And there is good reason to believe that many persons who cast a ballot for the Libertarian candidate might prefer a Republican president to a Democratic president. Empirically speaking, this tends to be the case. However, many people who voted for Jorgensen might have abstained if she was not on the ballot. But, had an alternative voting rule — such as ranked-choice voting — been used, it is a possibility that Trump would have received enough of the Libertarian vote to top Biden in several pivotal states.”
Spare a Thought for Bubble Wrap (American Institute for Economic Research)
“Only a very wealthy society can afford to devote so much human ingenuity and effort to the careful production of packaging materials that are promptly discarded, in most cases, without a thought after a single use. Yet the innovativeness that is entrenched within even the most mundane of modern-day packaging materials (stuff such as cardboard and Styrofoam) is essential to modern prosperity. Modernity as we know it exists because humans’ innovative spirit was unleashed, to be bridled not by the state or by elites, but overwhelmingly by market forces responding to the demands of ordinary people as consumers.”
Nevada Supreme Court Affirms that Government Officials Can Be Sued for Violations of Rights in the State Constitution (Institute for Justice)
“Today’s decision will have an immediate impact both locally and nationally. Nationally speaking, this decision not only strikes a blow against civil forfeiture — the procedure that allows the government to take property without charging anyone with a crime — it also rejects the judge-made disaster that is qualified immunity. Like we urged, the Nevada Supreme Court holds that ordinary people like Stephen can sue for damages when police or prosecutors go over the line and violate the most basic guarantees in the state constitution.”
Sound Planning or Just Luck? (Randal O’Toole)
“This kind of sloppy thinking seems to be built into Vision Zero, which at heart is more of an anti-auto program than a pro-pedestrian or pro-safety program. Most pedestrian fatalities take place away from intersections at night, yet most pedestrian safety programs focus on intersections. In contrast, most bicycle fatalities take place at intersections, yet most bicycle safety programs focus on bike lanes away from intersections.”
The rise of the eco-cult (spiked)
“Fringe environmentalism has long contained elements that are, in essence, hostile to civilisation itself. This was highlighted in October, when Just Stop Oil shocked the world by attacking an icon of Western culture — Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, in London’s National Gallery. Many assumed this was a one-off. But like the statue-toppling of the summer of 2020, the iconoclasm spread to other art galleries throughout Europe. These attacks on humanity’s artistic inheritance are a reflection of the way environmentalists view civilisation with suspicion, and modernity with outright malice.”
Tesla owners forced to wait in three-hour queues during Christmas car-charging chaos (NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT)
“It is the time cars need to charge up that is the real problem. It is inevitable that during busy periods these queues are going to be more and more common, as the number of EVs on the road grows.”
Could Africa replace China as the world’s source of rare earth elements? (Brookings Institution)
“With their rich endowment of key commodities, African countries can leverage this search for new sources of rare earth elements to bring in much-needed revenue to finance core socioeconomic objectives and reduce poverty, utilize the African Continental Free Trade Area … to improve value addition, and strengthen global trade partnerships.”
Deloitte cuts UK office temperatures by 2C to save energy (BBC)
“The thermostat is being lowered by 2C across 22 sites, some of which were also temporarily closed over Christmas, to reduce energy consumption.”
Another New Study Affirms The Arctic Was Warmer With Less Sea Ice During The Mid-Holocene (NoTricksZone)
“[M]odern Chukchi Sea summer sea ice endures for about 11 to 11.5 months per year, a duration that has remained stable for the last 200 years. In contrast, during the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s sea ice coverage lasted only 7 to 9 months per year.”
Countries with the Highest Shares of Their Populations Living in the U.S. (Cato Institute)
“Other notable countries include the Dominican Republic and Cuba — both of which have seen more than 10 percent of their populations move to the United States. Strikingly, Mexico is by far the largest country in the top 20 with nearly 8 percent of its population living in the United States: 10.7 million people.”
US troops conducted 313 missions and killed 686 ISIS fighters in 2022 (Task & Purpose)
“No U.S. troops in Iraq or Syria were killed or wounded during operations in 2022, according to CENTCOM.”
US quietly forges a new military alliance with Israel (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
“[A] military alliance with Israel brings little or no benefit to the United States but entails major costs and risks, especially the risk of being dragged into a war waged not because of U.S. interests but because of the objectives of a foreign regime.”
Your Turn
1. If Saddam Hussein had never been overthrown, would Iraq be better off today?
2. The dreams of the future or the history of the past?
3. Ever been to Buffalo?
4. Who controls the thermostat in your home?
5. Considering buying a Tesla?
1. If Saddam Hussein had never been overthrown, would Iraq be better off today?
Saddam Hussein was an evil ruler over his people, but was never really a threat to the US. He was however, a major threat to IRAN. The only reason that Bush wanted to take over IRAQ was to steal the oil and avenge his Father's reluctance to take down Saddam Hussein. Bush did irretrievable damage to IRAQ and the middle east with his ill-advised invasion. This war with IRAQ cost the American people approximately 2 Trillion Dollars. It cost American lives and did nothing to stabilize the region! This was a major blunder by yet another stupid-moron American President!!
IRAQ's people are worse off today than they ever were with Saddam, even though that seems like an impossibility. IRAQ has a completely different society than the US and they need a strong leader that can control the rival factions that permeate IRAQ. IRAQ will never be a democracy, and HISTORY TEACHES US THAT!!
2. The dreams of the future or the history of the past?
You need to have realistic dreams and be fully aware of the past, which has a way of coming back around in the future. You can learn from the past and make dreams come true, but not without knowledge of what has come before. (see previous comment #1)
3. Ever been to Buffalo?
Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight, Come Out Tonight , Come Out Tonight. Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight And Dance By The Light Of The Moon!!
4. Who controls the thermostat in your home?
MEEEEEE!!!! Not the power company or Biden!! However, I am a Conservative and that means I use my power efficiently, regardless of the PNM tries to tell me!
5. Considering buying a Tesla?
It is not even a thought!! Anyone with half a brain says no to such stupidity as to buy an EV!! Not good for America and not good for a Green New Deal!!
1. Hard to say.
2. Dreams of the future.
3. Never been to Buffalo.
4. My husband controls. He keeps it at a comfortable temperature. I would be the one that would be cheap and try to save energy.
5. Not at all! Just reading all the issues with how they perform in the cold and hoe long it takes to recharge. I also think the production and disposal of the batteries are worse for the environment.
I like my fossil fuel car.