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There is a beauty in discovery. There is mathematics in music, a kinship of science and poetry in the description of nature, and exquisite form in a molecule. Attempts to place different disciplines in different camps are revealed as artificial in the face of the unity of knowledge. All literate men are sustained by the philosopher, the historian, the political analyst, the economist, the scientist, the poet, the artisan and the musician.
— Glenn T. Seaborg
Reading Time: 4 minutes 40 seconds
Today is Wednesday, December 14th, the 348th day of 2022. It is Roast Chestnuts Day, Monkey Day, and National Bouillabaisse Day.
On This Day
In 1819, Alabama became the 22nd state.
In 1902, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu.
In 1911, Roald Amundsen, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting became the first men to reach the South Pole.
In 1918, the United Kingdom conducted its first general election in which women were permitted to vote.
In 1940, plutonium — specifically, Pu-238 — was first isolated.
In 1962, NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
In 1963, the dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir burst, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles.
In 1995, the Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2012, a mass shooter murdered 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
In 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion.
Today's Birthdays
Historian Antony Beevor is 76. Actor Ted Raimi is 57. Actress Natascha McElhone is 51. Actress and comedienne Michaela Watkins is 51. Actress Vanessa Hudgens is 34.
The Links
How Lockdowns Made Us Sicker (Brownstone Institute)
“The Bakersfield doctors were right all along. So was my mother, her mother, and her mother before her. Together they had far more wisdom about infectious disease than Anthony Fauci and all his cohorts.”
ABC, CBS, And Other Corporate Media Black Out Coverage Of ‘Twitter Files’ Story (The Federalist)
“While most Americans are not frequent users of Twitter, the company’s relationship with government intelligence agencies and its apparent influence on federal elections is undeniably worthy of major network coverage.”
The Efficiency of State Administration of Local Taxes (Tax Foundation)
“The evidence is clear that central administration of local taxes reduces compliance costs without sacrificing local revenue.”
Akron Homeless Advocate Petitions Supreme Court for ‘Right to Shelter’ (Institute for Justice)
“Just as property owners did during the Underground Railroad, Sage wants to use his private property to shelter the most desperate in moments of life-threatening peril. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t allow Akron to use its zoning code to make that illegal.”
Skynet Delayed: Killer Robot Proposal Defeated in San Francisco (The Libertarian Institute)
“Initially, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was set to rubber-stamp law enforcement’s request for killer robots — even with public disclosure. But when activists got wind of the proposal and took action, they were able to exert enough pressure on government officials to reverse the bad policy.”
A Changing Relationship: Personal Income and Number of Kids for Women in Sweden (Institute for Family Studies)
“As other rich countries copy the Swedish example of generous benefits for working parents, the same thing may also become true elsewhere. While this may appear to be an attractive outcome, it also suggests that the primary beneficiaries of generous Swedish benefits for parents are the highest earning men and women. Such an outcome seems antithetical to the rationale for the creation of an extensive welfare state in the first place.”
Slow & Boring vs. Fast & Wasteful (Randal O’Toole)
“The first thing to note is that Amtrak’s latest plan is not so much a vision as it is a smorgasbord of pork barrel. Amtrak told the states, ‘We have this free federal money to spend; if you want some of it, draw some lines on a map where there are rail lines and maybe we’ll spend it there.’”
Why Oil Traders Are Wary Of Buying Crude (Oilprice.com)
“A recent survey by Boston Consulting Group found that the overwhelming majority of bankers, like institutional traders, expect a recession next year in the United States and Canada. Not only will there be a recession, but it will also be a prolonged one, according to the survey cited by American Banker.”
Germany’s Energy Woes Set To Continue As Government Stays Stuck On Wishful Thinking (NoTricksZone)
“It may just be fine with luck. But what will happen next winter?”
ABC: More Climate Alarmists Denying Themselves Children (Watts Up With That?)
“I sometimes worry about alarmists who are ideologically opposed to having kids, who cave into their desire for kids. I have horrifying visions of some alarmist who caved into their desire to reproduce, screaming at their defenceless little kids, telling the kids they are ‘planet wreckers’ by virtue of their very existence.”
United Nations General Assembly approves ASAT test ban resolution (SpaceNews)
“A separate effort, the Artemis Accords, seeks to promote safe and sustainable activities in space exploration. While not dealing directly with issues like ASAT testing, the Accords call on countries to limit the generation of orbital debris, while calling on transparency in space activities and affirming the use of space for peaceful purposes.”
Is the White House completely truthful about where our troops are fighting? (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
“The involvement of US armed forces is significant from a War Powers perspective, as this incident was never reported to Congress as seemingly required by the War Powers Resolution.”
Inside Ukraine’s Desperate Fight Against Drones With MiG-29 Pilot “Juice” (The War Zone)
“As well as the problem of these drones often being encountered above populated areas, as Juice experienced, even generating a firing solution on a Shahed is tricky, with the picture on the radar screen looking fairly similar to a flock of birds, or even a truck moving along a road. With a cruise missile, the higher speed and resulting Doppler effect mean the MiG’s radar has an easier job of detecting the threat, but a slow-flying Shahed can easily get lost among the rooftops and other ground clutter.”
The EU is rotten to the core (spiked)
“Criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering — it sounds like the plot of a Netflix crime drama. Ironically, the European Parliament likes to present itself as whiter than white. Its MEPs act as if their defining mission is to root out supposedly corrupt behaviour in eastern and southern European member states. Yet many of the same MEPs who ceaselessly accuse the likes of Hungary and Poland of corruption have been curiously reluctant to say anything at all about the Qatar scandal.”
Waylon Jennings And Jessi Colter’s Version Of “Silent Night” Is Absolutely Beautiful (Whiskey Riff)
“It simply doesn’t get much better than Waylon and Jessi singing together, especially on this stunning, simple piano-filled live performance.”
Your Turn
1. Why does Amtrak still exist?
2. Ever had an encounter with a monkey?
3. Will oil prices be generally higher or generally lower next year?
4. Ever been to Alabama?
5. What’s your favorite Christmas carol?
1. Why does Amtrak still exist?
To launder money and occasionally carry some passengers on the Rails to Nowhere!
2. Ever had an encounter with a monkey?
Not the Animal Kind!!
3. Will oil prices be generally higher or generally lower next year?
Higher until we go back to producing Oil, NG and Coal as we did before Biden ruined our energy independence!
4. Ever been to Alabama?
With a Banjo on My Knee!!
5. What’s your favorite Christmas carol?
South Parks - It's Christmas Time In Hell!!