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In science nothing capable of proof ought to be accepted without proof.
— John Stillwell
Reading Time: 5 minutes 10 seconds
Today is Saturday, December 17th, the 351st day of 2022. It is Wright Brothers Day, National Maple Syrup Day, and International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.
On This Day
In 1777, France formally recognized the United States.
In 1835, the second Great Fire of New York destroyed 13 acres of the Big Apple’s financial district.
In 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
In 1933, the first NFL Championship Game was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.
In 1938, Otto Hahn discovered fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
In 1943, all Chinese were again permitted to become citizens of the United States, upon the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.
In 1944, soldiers of the Waffen-SS, near the city of Malmedy, Belgium, massacred 84 U.S. Army POWs.
In 1957, the U.S. successfully launched the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In 1969, the U.S. Air Force closed Project Blue Book, its study of UFOs.
In 1989, The Simpsons premiered with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”
In 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire. His act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider “Arab Spring.”
Today's Birthdays
Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 92. Actor Ernie Hudson is 77. Jackass Chris Matthews is 77. Actor Wes Studi is 75. Actor Bill Pullman is 69. Actress Sarah Paulson is 48. Actor Giovanni Ribisi is 48. Actress Milla Jovovich is 47. Actress Katheryn Winnick is 45.
The Links
The Air Force’s Covid Cure Is Worse Than the Disease (The American Conservative)
“Simple math reveals that the impact of Covid policy on manning is orders of magnitude more harmful than the losses caused by Covid. While each loss of life is, of course, a tragedy that impacts a unit’s morale and mission, continuing the policy and kicking out the thousands whose accommodation requests have been denied will further negatively impact the mission and morale. Remaining service members will be less able to achieve their aims with fewer people to support achieving them. While Covid has permanently removed sixteen Airmen from the fight, Covid policy has permanently removed hundreds and stands to remove thousands more.”
FBI treated Twitter as a ‘subsidiary,’ flagged tweets and accounts for ‘misinformation’ (New York Post)
“The letter also reveals that Twitter and the FBI appeared to be on such good terms that the feds were ‘adamant’ that they could share classified information with executives.”
EU Threatens Musk With Sanctions Over Suspending Media…After Ignoring Media Bans Under Old Twitter (Jonathan Turley)
“Really? Where was Jourova and the EU when Twitter was aggressively suspending media like the New York Post for publishing the true story of Hunter Biden’s laptop? How about the slew of conservative writers and experts barred for questioning official accounts on issues ranging from Covid to climate change?”
Atomic Bomb Lab Studying Ways To ‘Combat’ ‘Misinformation’ Including COVID Lab-Leak Theory (The Daily Wire)
“The federal laboratory that designed the atomic bomb has set its sights on Americans, funding a study intended to help authorities learn how to ‘combat’ ‘misinformation’ — including the ‘conspiracy theory’ that COVID came from a lab.”
“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation ... said in a press release the five individuals were arrested at a protest Tuesday in Atlanta at the future training center site after protesters threw rocks at police cars and attacked EMT workers with rocks and bottles at a fire station near the site.”
The Little Red Schoolhouse Could Do With a Little Competition (American Federation for Children)
“The truth is that rural families benefit from school choice as much as any others do. More options are better than none, and supply isn’t fixed. If you put taxpayer-funded education dollars in the hands of parents, new private education providers will sprout up to meet demand.”
The reparations trap (Joel Kotkin)
“America’s commitment to wage a ‘war on poverty’ has also been less than effective. In the 50 years since it began in 1964, over $20 trillion has been spent on welfare programmes. Yet, in 2020, the ratio of incomes between blacks and whites is the same as it was in 1968. Nor has the black middle class expanded beyond its stunning postwar gains. Despite decades of affirmative action, the percentage of blacks in elite colleges has fallen, reflecting in part the utter failure of many school systems in large cities. And black poverty, largely concentrated among families without fathers, has not decreased in recent decades. One in five black Americans is now experiencing a third generation in poverty, compared to only one in 100 whites.”
September Air Travel Exceeded 2019 Passenger-Miles (Randal O’Toole)
“This is the first time domestic air passenger-miles have exceeded 2019 levels since the pandemic began.”
Ford again hikes the starting price of the F-150 Lightning pickup, now up 40% since launch (CNBC)
“The new price of the F-150 Lightning Pro, an entry-level model meant for commercial and business customers, will be $55,974 — up nearly 8%, or $4,000, from previous pricing and a 40% increase from the original pricing of $39,974 announced in May 2021.”
The world’s coal consumption is set to reach a new high in 2022 as the energy crisis shakes markets (International Energy Agency)
“Global coal use is set to rise by 1.2% in 2022, surpassing 8 billion tonnes in a single year for the first time and eclipsing the previous record set in 2013.”
Germany’s Gas Reserves “Emptying At Record Speed” As Country Struggles To Keep Warm, Lights On (NoTricksZone)
“[T]he past weeks have seen little wind power being produced, and so gas turbines had to be fired up to keep the grid supplied.”
The Oil Price Cap Continues To Baffle Traders (Oilprice.com)
“[T]he bigger problem … is that crude oil is just not traded under fixed prices, which is already causing headaches in the sector. In fact, oil is traded in such a way that it could often be impossible to comply with the cap, even assuming Russia would sell to cap backers.”
It’s Way Past Time To Release the Rest of the JFK Assassination Files (Reason)
“The possible explanations being offered for the continued classifications range from Damn, I’ll bet there’s something really incriminating in there to Eh, they’re probably waiting for a couple of old CIA guys to die. The best way to resolve the question is, of course, to release the data, but the national security state’s attitude toward sunshine is roughly the same as Dracula’s.”
Secretary Granholm Statement on DOE Order Vacating 1954 Atomic Energy Commission Decision In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer (U.S. Department of Energy)
“As a successor agency to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of Energy has been entrusted with the responsibility to correct the historical record and honor Dr. Oppenheimer’s profound contributions to our national defense and the scientific enterprise at large. Today, I am pleased to announce the Department of Energy has vacated the Atomic Energy Commission’s 1954 decision In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer.”
Is HBO’s ‘White Lotus’ A Reactionary Masterpiece? (The Federalist)
“There’s an irony in this visual feast, constructed to the tune of some $3 million a episode, training its arrow straight at the heart of American decadence. But writer and creator White deploys his ample resources for good, using all that sweet, sweet Warner Bros. cash to do something very simple: tell a great story that honors beauty and nature.”
Your Turn
1. Will we ever know the truth about UFOs?
2. Fake or real maple syrup?
3. Should “sex work” be legal?
4. Do you still watch The Simpsons?
5. Bill Pullman or Bill Paxton?
1. Will we ever know the truth about UFOs?
Not bloody likely! The powers that be in Washington’s Deep State seems to handcuff every President, except for Biden that just wanted an Ice Cream Cone!!
2. Fake or real maple syrup?
Really? If I wanted fake I’d just watch CNN!! Only REAL Maple Syrup will work!!
3. Should “sex work” be legal?
My Sex Works and it’s always been legal!! Just ask my kids!!
4. Do you still watch The Simpsons?
Duhhh! NO! Unless it’s OJ Simpson!! Just can’t get enough of the murdering Fool!!
5. Bill Pullman or Bill Paxton?
How about Bill Of Rights!!