In Defense Of Capitalism

Trump is targeting Socialist Creep in American politics, or maybe just socialist creeps. While we wait for confirmation of the rumor that Putin's Twitter-bots are behind the amplification of AOC, let me toss this NY Times think piece from tech writer Farhood Manjoo into the mix:

Abolish Billionaires

A radical idea is gaining adherents on the left. It’s the perfect way to blunt tech-driven inequality.

I'll let you read it, or guess the rest.

And because there is nothing so satisfying as talking to the wind (possible exception - shouting "Get off my lawn!), I posted this comment among the hundreds there. Yup, my free content is helping the Times thrive.

First, the notion that all billionaires equal a policy failure is a call-back to the zero-sum notion that wealth is the result of exploitation.

Sometimes that is correct - Aldrich Rockefeller monopolized oil, driving up prices for everyone who used it directly or indirectly (ie, everyone). That IS exploitative, and is also barred by antitrust law. Break 'em up!

On the other hand, some people have breakthrough ideas that enrich us all. Who did JK Rowling exploit with her Harry Potter monopoly? (Then again, George Lucas is also a billionaire and if social policy had made him stop already with the Star Wars films after "Return of the Jedi" I'd have been a backer).

As a tech writer Mr. Manjoo is well positioned to understand this, as is every New Yorker who ever bought a lottery ticket or went to a restaurant staffed by aspiring Broadway stars. People line up for a chance to win $500 million in the lottery. Do they stand in line for $50,000? The prospect of an Gyneth Paltrow/Hugh Jackman type payday inspires hundreds who never make it. Would capping a media star's pay enrich or diminish our cultural life?

Tech is like Hollywood. Venture capital is looking for the NEXT Facebook success. However, most of The Next Big Things won't be. Tut-tutting at Zuckerberg's payday overlooks the huge number of ideas (a few of them good!) that got funding based on his example.

If there are antitrust problems with Big Tech, apply the law. Don't trash the whole process.

They have a character limit so I was mercifully brought up short. Left unremarked: The Times is likely to be a Last Man Standing in media, and will stay alive based on a mini-monopoly as one of a very few sources of "real" journalism (rather than clickbait aggregation). Whether the billionaire Sulzberger family is OK with this is left unexplored, but my guess is they consider themselves to be "good" billionaires.

MORE RUMORS: Bernie was compromised by his Soviet spymasters during his honeymoon in Russia. They knew his day would come! That is why they tried so hard to sandbag Hillary in 2016, but their timing was off. Still, defeating her kept the door open for Bernie 2020. Yes, it did!

Comments

[rse]

Who is aldrich rockefeller? Aldrich was the family name of Junior's wife. Her father senator aldrich helped set up the federal reserve.

Do these writers fact check anything? John Senior was married to Laura Spelman where the HBCU for femailes in atlanta gets its name.

Send him a copy of Titan for reference.

[rse]

Also in reference to what aoc said, she apparently believes all latinos are mestizos?

[Pinandpuller]

Question What is the association between myopia and ultraviolet B radiation, serum vitamin D concentrations, and polymorphisms in vitamin D metabolism genes in a cross-sectional, population-based random sample of participants 65 years and older from north and south Europe?

Findings In this secondary analysis of the European Eye Study, only ultraviolet B radiation exposure was associated with a reduced odds ratio for myopia, especially in adolescence and early adulthood, despite adjustment for years in education.

Meaning This study, while not designed to determine cause and effect relationships, suggests that increased ultraviolet B exposure, a marker of sunlight exposure, is associated with reduced myopia.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2588252

[Pinandpuller]

The FULL COMMIE is adopting the rule of the Mongols. If your income is taller than the billion dollar wagon linchpin they chop it off.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

In Defense Of Capitalism the FREE MARKET!

Can we please stop using a pseudo-Marxian term that is not nearly as accurate, besides being a lefty pejorative?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

As an example of how useless it is as a term, the combination of rent seeking capitalists and the state can accurately be dubbed state-capitalism.

But state-free market is nonsensical on its face.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

David Malpass [new guy at the world bank] was a frequent guest on the old Larry Kudlow show and was a fairly prolific economics writer of the supply side or more accurately classical economics school.

[PDinDetroit]

A little too much Vitamin D here...

Joy Behar admitted during a taping of The View in 2016 to dressing as a “beautiful African women” at a Halloween party when she was 29 which involved makeup “that was a little bit darker than my skin”

Come hither, come yon. Get yer RACIST INDULGENCES here for $5M and clear yer name for good!

[MissMarple2]

I no longer consider the Times a source of "real" journalism, or journalism of any type, for that matter.

It is a propaganda broad sheet. Please note that the former editor, Jill Abrams, is being accused of multiple cases of plagiarism from multiple authors.

The paper has also been caught in multiple factual errors, not to mention flat-out character assassination of conservatives.

I follow a number of their reporters on Twitter and they are not covering themselves in glory.

[Neo]

Apple Gives Deep State Access To Roger Stone’s iCloud Account, After Refusing To Violate Privacy of San Bernardino Terrorists

Microsoft has been trying to set the precedent that your "cloud data" is an extension of your personal device, so users wouldn't be afraid to use the cloud.
This just blows that idea out of the water completely.
The cloud has been set back today.

Short cloud stocks

[rich]

hahahaha ...

[PDinDetroit]

But state-free market is nonsensical on its face.

Just depends on the frame of reference. "State-Free" could mean that the Market is free from State Control or Interference. Just depends upon how someone MEANS it.

Isn't English a grand language! Just consider the following:

Nothing is TOO GOOD for you. Nothing we could ever give you would be good enough.

OR

Nothing IS too good for you. You deserve less than nothing.

I can think of a few Lieberals that the second one applies to. We could maybe take from them instead, since they deserve LESS THAN NOTHING.

[MissMarple2]

Manu Raju
‏Verified account @mkraju
40m40 minutes ago

Pelosi names members to new select climate change committee; notably @AOC not on there. Members: Castor, Luján, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Sean Casten, Jared Huffman, Mike Levin of California, Donald McEachin, Joe Neguse

[rich]

some appointment twittering

>>>[Farhad Manjoo will answer your questions about this column on Twitter on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern time: @fmanjoo.]<<<

how about we abolish new york times columnists instead? 800 words far too many.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

ASOFB:

Women in white at SOTU:

Klanned Parenthood

[boris]

"state-free market is nonsensical on its face"

Perhaps that is an argument for the term capitalism. I might suggest that state capitalism is more akin to market socialism.

[Old Lurker]

Why look to Venezuela to see what Socialism produces.

Hell, just look at SF:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/john-stossel-san-francisco-has-become-the-slum-by-the-bay-bad-laws-cause-citys-homeless-crisis

[henry]

Neo, Patriot Act has been there, done that. This isn’t new. Also on the terrorist iPhone, note that was a personal device (not cloud storage), and the FBI wanted a universal back door (singular back door does not exist).

[D]

Steph:
You are on a roll today!
Loved your joke and totally agree about Valentine’s Day.
Don’t buy cards, most start at 5.00 dollars and buy candy the day after all holidays.
Also don’t order soft drinks at restaurants because they cost 3 dollars when water does just fine.
Loved your jokes and family stories!
Clarice’s link to Conrad Black’s article at 9:15 is a must read.
It hits the nail on the head.
PD in Detroit:
Sorry you still have pain.
Will keep praying.

[rich]

yeah that dude will be polishing up his resume soon ...

[PDinDetroit]

Steph - I believe you had posted in response to MM about weather changes and giving you migraines. I found out, through a Lumbar Puncture procedure which wasn't bad pain-wise, that my CSF pressure was high which caused weather-affected migraines (later determined to be High CSF Headaches - ouch!). I take a diuretic (Diamox) that keeps the CSF pressure in check resulting in far fewer headaches/migraines and with less pain.

Something to consider, hate hearing about people in pain like this.

[D]

Momto2:
I have been thinking of you and your family.
Prayers continuing.

[D]

rich;
I hope work is going ok.

[Tom R]

To help win the hearts and minds of the younger generations to get them to understand the virtues of capitalism and the evils of Marxist-based economies requires framing the debate in terms that will sink in for them. This has largely already started a few years back due to the Gamergate controversy that originated in the video game culture (Xbox, Playstation, etc). There are a lot of people under the age of 30 who now have an anti-SJW/anti-progressive mindset thanks to the Gamergate controversy. Its these group of people who largely dominate pro-Trump social media sites like The Donald on Reddit and 4chan.

When it comes to the virtues of capitalism versus the evils of Marxism, frame the debate something like the following. The video game Minecraft has sold over 150 million copies since it was released. The video game Fortnight has over 200 million players worldwide. At what point should the creators of these video game stop receiving profit from the sales of their video games and 100% of the revenue is instead taken by the government to use as they see fit? Should the creators of these video games be allowed to make any profit at all and instead the government should take all of it to use as they see fit? If you think the creators of these video games should not be allowed to make any profit at all, what incentive do the creators of these video games have to spend multiple years of their lives creating video game for when they won't get rewarded for making a fun video game to play?

[James D.]

Henry @ 11:25

You’re right, but I really am not interested in being fair or drawing distinctions like that. Apple has not earned the benefit of the doubt.

I have no problem saying that they’re willing to go to the mattresses to defend the privacy of terrorist mass murderers but will roll over like house pets at treat time to persecute an associate of the President for non-crimes.

[Pinandpuller]

Silly me. What kind of FULL COMMIE would I make mixing up wealth and income?

The Butch Cassidy Come Out Shooting kind, I reckon.

[PDinDetroit]

The Internet - best surveillance tool the US Government has ever created.

[Old Lurker]

Henry, did I read last week that some judge has finally decided that forcing a US Citizen returning to the US to hand over his devices and passcodes as a condition of re-entry might be too big a stretch for the State? Or did I dream that?

[Jane]

Is anyone in touch with Momto2 in real life?

[rich]

Posted by: James D. | February 07, 2019 at 11:39 AM

apple sells out chinese dissidents all the time. so does google.

maybe if the fbi had been doing its job, it wouldn't have afforded an opportunity for the apple cult to show their ass.

[Old Lurker]

AlGore created it PD, not the government.

[rich]

it's going fine maryrose.

[Pinandpuller]

75 million more 'immigrants' by 2060. 95% of America's population growth. Just think of all those potential Constitutional Conservatives!

[henry]

OL, possibly a dream? At least I didn’t see that. Note I pay little attention to travel stories.

[D]

rich:
Good to hear.

[rich]

i wonder if carlos slim is a good billionaire or bad billionaire in goofball's rankings ...

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Thanks PD. I take one already, but when the barometric pressure ping pongs over just a few days, it doesn't help.

I have found that Duexis does help some, though, with pain. The doc gave me that for joint pain, but its like an overlarge dose of ibuprofen and famotidine, and it works on mild/medium pain. Damn thing is a horse pill, though!

[rse]

Jane-

I have been. She has a lot of her late husband's family coming into town. We are going to get together for lunch in a month or so somewhere in atlanta to give her a field trip and distraction.

Beyond using the term capitalism, it is a mistake to see marxism in economic terms. Those are the least enduring of his plans. It is also redundant to use the word Cultural Marxism. Might as well speak of the parsimonious miser.

To Marx, the real plans were cultural and involved the mind. Man as the Maker of History is still very much in play and the core of what is really going on socially, economically, and politically. Ed is just a tool.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

This image from PnP last thread is a real conundrum.

Eric Holder was right that America is too chicken to have an honest discussion about race, but not in the way he meant. Pin's graphic was only regarding gun homicides. But even if we take in all homicides the numbers don't change that much for what I'm talking about; a white offender rate of about 1.4 per 100,000.
It doesn't make one a bigot to recognize that the vast majority of murders in the US are by blacks and Latinos. Nor is one a racist if one notes that US white European homicide rates are slightly higher than some and lower than some other Western and Eastern European countries. And that the list of most violent countries is exclusively Central and South American, the Caribbean and African.

The conundrum is how do we address this problem if we can't talk about it, or we can only talk about it through the imbecilic, infantalizing lens of progdom?

[Jane]

RSE,

Thanks. Please let her know we are all thinking of her, and miss her. And if you can. keep us informed.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

For instance, an honest discussion about guns would note white Americans kill each other at relatively similar rates to Europeans. But the dishonest discussion we have instead is "look at how high US murder rates are compared to Europe where they have strict gun control."
That is true but deceptive because the controlling variable is not guns but race.

[Old Lurker]

RSE "Beyond using the term capitalism, it is a mistake to see marxism in economic terms. Those are the least enduring of his plans. It is also redundant to use the word Cultural Marxism."

Progs do that a lot, as you know better than all of us. Today the WSJ editorializes about "Who is afraid of Socialism" then they refer to textbook definitions of terms which have ZERO to do with what our Progs want for us.

Yesterday I read a piece about the Right to Lifers are misusing words to scare people when they equate "Late Term Abortion" to killing babies at the moment of birth. The doctors then went on and on to explain that "Late Term Abortion" at medical schools means "after the due date" and thus what's the fuss?

Alice and Humpty all over again.

Can't make it up.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Also from Pin was this;
"watch your ass", Jacky Rosen to Kristen Simena for applauding Trump.
One commenter mentioned she might have said "what a disgrace" but a lip reader or two confirmed "watch your ass".
Interestingly she was applauding Right to Try legislation which was formulated at the Arizona Goldwater Foundation.
Since she has a voting record calculated about 48% in agreement with Trump, she may be more of a libertarian. Either way, she doesn't seem to be willing to take any marching orders.

[henry]

The radio guys called it “car speed rail” for the Madison- Milwaukee section that Walker killed before his first inauguration. Hint, that assumed cars kept below the speed limit on 94.

TM on twitter:

This is a self-answering question. People familiar with the issues realize how few high speed links make any sense at all. IIRC, Dallas to Fort Worth is plausible. Boston/NYC/DC? LOL.

[Neo]

"Late Term Abortion" at medical schools means "after the due date"

I guess that means that conventional murder is a "Late Term Abortion"

[Extraneus]

Gucci pulls $890 'blackface' jumper; apologizes for offense caused

(Click to open pic.)

[Extraneus]

Apparently black is no longer beautiful.

[Extraneus]

After 55,000 people show support, a new 'period emoji' will soon be released to destigmatize menstruation

(Click to open pic.)

[cathyf]

To dive deep into the semantic nit-picking, rather than "capitalism" and "free market" I prefer "rule of law". The thing we call a "free market" is absolutely not free. For markets to function, property rights must be enforced, contracts must be enforced -- the basic structure is that people own their stuff, and when they agree to sell it or otherwise transfer ownership to someone else, then that new owner owns the stuff.

In order for that to work, there must be enforcement, and people who violate contracts, people who steal stuff, have to be forced to fulfill their contracts, forced to give back what they took, etc.

You say well yes that's obvious, that's not what we mean by "freedom" -- but then listen to all sorts of people who should know better loudly objecting to being "forced to buy a product" in health insurance, while at the same time they see no problem at all in outlawing pre-existing condition exclusions. By outlawing that, you are forcing the people who buy their insurance to give you for free the coverage that you refused to buy.

Markets are all about constraints. If you sell something and receive money today for delivery in the future, we force you to deliver it when promised. If you buy something which you receive today and promise to pay for in the future, we force you to pay for it. If you steal somebody's stuff we make you give it back, send you to jail, etc. This is the bedrock key to markets (and why "capitalism" isn't that inaccurate a term): in order for people to do the work to create stuff, they need a reasonable assurance that the stuff they create will be their property, which they can buy/sell/consume/mortgage/etc according to their own choice. There can't be capital unless people are allowed to own what they produce so that they can accumulate it into capital.

[Neo]

The Hill:
Former NY Times editor Jill Abramson accused of plagiarism

She obviously cross some line

[sbwaters]

rse: She has a lot of her late husband's family coming into town.

Please convey to Momto2 to let us know if there is anything we can do beyond being with her in spirit.

[Jim Eagle]

The secret to efficient high speed rail is dedicated high speed rail line. That is why TGV, HSL Zuid in Holland, and Eurostar in the UK have the ridership they have. Acela not so much high speed as variable speed.

In addition if you want to capture the city center to city center business traveller versus air, we use to calculate 300 miles as the cutoff but in reality is more like 500-750 miles. IOW's, Joe lives in the shires, has to drive to Heathrow, say 1/2 hour, has to park, has to clear security, arrive at least an hour or more for his plane, flies to Schipol in a little hour, then takes a taxi or train into the city center. Time elapsed is 3-5 hours depending on circumstances.

However, if he drives to Ebbsfleet (for southern counties), or Stratford (eastern counties) he can park his car grab the Eurostar and be in Paris in 2 hours or less. High speed rail in Europe offers time efficient options other than flying or driving. But it only works with dedicated rail. If they have to share with freight or other pax service it doen't work.

[henry]

NEXT! (more yearbook pics at link)

Breaking: Virginia Sen. Tommy Norment was an editor for VMI yearbook filled with racist photos and slurs

https://twitter.com/virginianpilot/status/1093565167550500866?s=21

[MissMarple2]

Indianapolis is starting high-speed bus service this year, with our area the first to get it. It's supposed to open in late summer.

Here is the map, which runs from our area (University - the farthest south stop) up past a major park, then downtown, then out to Broad ripple in the northeast, which is a club and arts area.

https://www.indygored.com/project-overview/station-areas/

My daughter was under the impression that this would be free, but it is not. You will have to buy a ticket at the different stops. They have already constructed the stop for our area in the center of Shelby Street. I do not understand how this will be "rapid transit" since they will be on the same streets as cars.

The one advantage it has will be permanent stops with frequent buses so that you can get downtown without having to stand under pouring rain and wonder when a bus will come. Parking in downtown Indianapolis is very expensive and hard to find unless you pay monthly fees at a garage, so I am sure this will get some use. Since we are near the University of Indianapolis, I am pretty sure the students will use it a lot.

Still don't understand how it is considered rapid transit, though.

[Jim Eagle]

..and in Amsterdam Centraal in 4 hours.

[henry]

Miss M, those stops a place holder for a trolley?

[Extraneus]

Norment's a Republican.

http://www.senatornorment.com/

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1102675671656&ca=d86f6ee9-9ad6-429f-84de-77db4f3f9614

[rich]

Posted by: henry | February 07, 2019 at 12:56 PM

kinda knew that would happen. some wag here posted a "let's burn all the yearbooks" meme ...

[although this is getting mostly dems, it is a bit too maoist for me]

[Jim Eagle]

Not just the Senate but R and D veterans on the Armed Services committee pushing against leaving Syria and The Stan. Plus how can a Jarhead contradict his training by becoming a Dem. Doesn't really register with me.

https://tinyurl.com/yck2p92r

[Porchlight]

I do not understand how this will be "rapid transit" since they will be on the same streets as cars.

Limited stops. We have something similar in Austin - I take it to work now and again. It definitely is faster than regular buses and sometimes cars (since there are some dedicated bus lanes downtown). It is not high-speed in the sense of a rail system.

[MissMarple2]

henry,

I don't think so. The stops are permanent platforms with shelter roofs. Here they have also got stoplights up (which aren't functional yet) which I assume are for people crossing Shelby street. The platform is smack dab in the middle of the street,which I assume is to accommodate buses from both directions. There is supposed to be a bus every 20 minutes.

We are the first route (as shown on the map). There is also supposed to be an East-West one along 38th street on the north side, and an East-West one on County Line Road on the far south side.

Putting tracks in for a trolley would be expensive and take years. Many of these streets are old and if you start digging, you would run into OLD trolley tracks which were still operational when I was a small girl. Those ran on electric wires which were strung above the street. I used to get scared when they would turn and sparks would fly off.

[Narciso79]

Now that they found one goper:

https://bigleaguepolitics.com/ralph-northam-appointed-a-domestic-abuser-despite-being-warned/

[henry]

rich, the Maoist fires will burn everything in their path. Seems to be the point.

[MissMarple2]

Porchlight,

I see what you mean. I don't know about the dedicated lanes. Daughter said she would like to find a job downtown because it would be far cheaper to get on the bus than to drive the 45 minutes she dow each day to get to work. Plus she could relax on the bus and read. (It's not going to be free, however, so she may not find it as attractive.)

[henry]

Miss M, a trolley is expensive? They get Federal grants for those things, and taxpayers get stuck with the bill, not planners. Plus think of the opportunity for graft!

[Old Lurker]

Cathy, yes "Rule of Law" and "Private Property" together covers the entire subject to my mind.

[MissMarple2]

henry,

We already got federal grants for this bus thing! $70 million if I read the web site correctly.

[MissMarple2]

http://thefederalist.com/2019/02/07/ten-most-insane-requirements-green-new-deal/#.XFxhpkfcr2k.twitter

This is insane.

[James D.]

although this is getting mostly dems, it is a bit too maoist for me]

It totally is. But the only way the Dems - or at least any of them that are sane and have a sense of self preservation - will stop is🛑 n such tactics against us is if enough of them get burned.

And if they still don’t stop, then it becomes the new norm. Which is fine. I’d much rather live in an eye for an eye world that leaves us all blind and toothless, than a world In Which only we are blind and toothless and are ruled over by the enemies who knocked out our teeth and gouged our our eyes.

[Old Lurker]

Reach across that aisle and nominate an insider.

Yep. That's the ticket to working together...

"The Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly advanced William Barr’s nomination to be attorney general on Thursday on a party line vote, sending it to the full Senate which is expected to confirm him as President Trump’s chief law enforcement officer.

Twelve Republican senators on the committee voted to advance Barr's nomination, while 10 Democrats voted against it."

[Porchlight]

(It's not going to be free, however, so she may not find it as attractive.)

True, but if she is currently paying for gas, wear and tear on the car, parking at work etc. then it may well work out financially.

Your new buses sound much like ours and I can attest they are well run, clean, and very few crazies (because not so many downtown stops). Our dedicated bus lanes are limited to downtown streets with high congestion - you might not need them.

We also have free wifi on our buses.

I enjoy reading on the way to work and not worrying about driving. In fact I really need to take the bus more often.

[rse]

cathy and ol-did you read my post citing G'town Professor Robin West's work and others where the term 'rule of law' means the ability to legislatively enact the entire Marxist Humanist agenda with no ability to object?

That's also what is being taught in law schools.

sbw- I will. I will check on her after what I am sure has been a sad and chaotic week. As most here will have realized, mom is a woman of strong faith and that is helping her.

[rse]

I knew where it was, having moved my office back downstairs after having it in breakfast room much of last year. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2083806

I think West has a new book out too. I think that is what caused me to find the earlier cited article.

[Old Lurker]

Porch "Your new buses sound much like ours and I can attest they are well run, clean, and very few crazies (because not so many downtown stops). Our dedicated bus lanes are limited to downtown streets with high congestion - you might not need them"

In TX maybe...

Here was the huge flap in DC last week:

The subway and bus system in the DC Metro area is paid for by DC, Montgomery County MD, Prince George's County MD, Alexandria VA, Arlington VA, and Fairfax VA.

The MD and VA partner counties have been screaming bloody murder that some partners are not strong enough to prevent fare jumpers on the subway and bus both.

Turns out the VAST percentage of jumpers come from two sections of DC alone, and that the fares lost last year were $28,000,000. The DC Council was very reluctant to increase policing that and in fact wanted to decriminalize it "like we did with pot". I watched the debate because I couldn't believe the council members could say what they did, but they did.

We are so so far into two Americas that you cannot imagine what the other one looks like.

[rse]

normative jurisprudence--yet another term to send shivers.

https://home.dartmouth.edu/events/event?event=26018#.XFx8f6B7mM8

[Pinandpuller]

I'm watching the Skyfall/Taken mashup The Foriegner. Can someone who was alive in 2017 tell me why they allowed so many White Catholic Males to live in the U.K.?

[James D.]

OL, we do t have to imagine what that other America looks like - we can see it perfectly clearly. Why do you think your Ledge is so crowded?

[Old Lurker]

:-) James

[rse]

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3036649&download=yes from 2016 is another example.

[Old Lurker]

rse, here is Robin West:

https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/robin-l-west/

[Jim Eagle]

Henry, MM,

No big deal to convert from dedicated bus to light rail. Not much digging involved. Use low floor cars to keep existing platforms. And no need for electric centenary power. We have diesel light rail in New Jersey for example. Could go natural gas also like low emission buses.

[James D.]

This guy sounds like he’d be the next Democrat Party superstar:l if he lived in the U.S.:

A 27-year-old Indian man is going viral after he announced an intent to sue his parents, claiming he didn't give his explicit consent to bring him into the world.
Raphael Samuel, donning a fake beard and sunglasses, said in a YouTube video posted on Tuesday that he is suing his parents because he was conceived without his consent and therefore his parents should pay for his life.
"I want everyone in India and the world to realize one thing that they are born without their consent. I want them to understand that they do not owe their parents anything," he said. "If we are born without our consent, we should be maintained for our life. We should be paid by our parents to live."

https://apple.news/AN4cXMNjoQGG7SkB2wDXGag

[Extraneus]

Here's a glimpse at freedom of expression in Candada today.

Canadian teacher allegedly threatens to punch MAGA hat wearing student

A 9th grade student at a Moosejaw, Saskatchewan high school who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat to class was told that he should be “embarrassed” and “ashamed” for wearing the pro-Trump cap.

According to the boy’s father, who did a phone interview on AM980 with Gormley, his son is a fan of debating ideas, and enjoys conversation about American problems.

Apparently, an art teacher at the school told the boy that the hat was a symbol of racism and sexism, and may have implied that the boy himself was supporting sexism and racism by wearing it.

Later on during class, the teacher allegedly invited his class to boo the boy, publicly shaming him for wearing the hat, and said “that’s a face I’d like to punch,” a line that President Trump infamously stated to a protester at a rally of his, during his 2016 presidential campaign.

They don't name the school, or the teacher, or the boy, or the boy's father. The story moves on to another situation we discussed a week or so ago:

Recently, a Vancouver restaurant manager made headlines for refusing to serve a customer who was wearing a MAGA hat to the restaurant.

Eva Gates, vice president of operations and human resources for the Sequoia Company of Restaurants, says the MAGA hat wearing patron was sitting on the patio at Vancouver’s Teahouse when the floor manager approached him

The Vancouver restaurant manager has since been fired for refusing to serve the MAGA hat wearing customer.

Gates claims that the manager told the man he had to take off his hat in order to dine at the Teahouse, to which the patron opted to leave the restaurant instead.

The manager says he stands by his decision to ask the patron to leave.

“I stand by my decision to ask the patron to remove his hat. The MAGA hat has come to symbolize racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, misogyny, white supremacy, homophobia. As a person with a strong moral backbone, I had to take a stand against this guest’s choice of headwear while in my former place of work,” he wrote.

Neither the cook nor the restaurant was identified in the story. Only the city, just as in the hat story.

[sbwaters]

rse: rule of law

Prog word corruption is everywhere. Democracy to them is not about individual participation but rather about the popular validation of whatever they care to push.

It really is a war between those individuals who agree to participate in community and those who mistakenly believe Machiavellian centralized power rule won’t come after them.

Nailing the battlefield was the genius of Trump’s takedown of socialism and declaration of war against it.

[cathyf]

...where the term 'rule of law' means the ability to legislatively enact the entire Marxist Humanist agenda with no ability to object?

Yikes! Is "private property" still un-hijacked? I guess that's why I like to use "Private property, the rule of law, and equality under the law"... But I suppose that they long ago hijacked "equality" to mean something else.

[Dave (in MA)]

Sandy from the Bronx and Anti-Biz don't approve of the way you live.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/02/07/ocasio-cortez-and-markey-set-to-unveil-their-green-new-deal-2/

In another ecological matter, the place I work has a supply of ceramic mugs and disposable paper cups alongside the coffee machines. Some people apparently have too much free time because they're trying to start a movement to reduce or eliminate the paper cups, to figure out a "way we can figure out exactly who the cup-usage whales are" and "engage in conversation with people you see using the disposable cups" and ask them things like whether they "thought about the environmental impact of that habit". I usually bring my own mug but this is making me want to switch to paper.

FFS, I'd hate to be a liberal, having to spend every waking hour worrying about some stupid damn shit all the time.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--The thing we call a "free market" is absolutely not free.--

The "free" in free market doesn't mean free to steal. It refers to the free [ie voluntary] exchange of goods and services unencumbered by the state except to prevent things like well, stealing.
Any phrase can be corrupted as RSE points out but if a discussion about economic systems comes up and the phrase used is "the rule of law" it's going to sound like a non sequitur to most.

[MissMarple2]

Byron York
‏Verified account @ByronYork

You ought to read the AOC/Markey Green New Deal Summary. It's our WWII! Our moonshot! Our interstate highway system! Federal spending 40%-50% of GDP! No more farting cows and airplanes! Millions of union jobs! Justice and equity, too! http://ow.ly/NNUi30nCmz5

[Dave (in MA)]

Switching from cow farts to unicorn farts.

[Porchlight]

Good grief, OL. I'm actually borderline shocked.

[Beasts of England]

Happy (belated) Birthday, JiB!! :)

[MissMarple2]

Kamala Harris
‏Verified account @KamalaHarris

I’m proud to co-sponsor @AOC and @EdMarkey's Green New Deal. We must aggressively tackle climate change which poses an existential threat to our nation.

[Dave (in MA)]

Manu Raju@mkraju
We caught up with Kamala Harris who claimed she wasn’t
aware of the details of Elizabeth Warren’s Native American
flap. I asked her if she believes this could be an
electability matter for Warren - and Harris suggested
the race is about real issues and not “distractions.”
Steve Robinson@BigSteve207
This only confirms my suspicious that Team Harris
dropped a dime on Liz.

[Tom R]

Beasts,

How about that recruiting class?

RTR

[Dave (in MA)]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyuWgCPWkAADsn1.jpg

Occasional Cortex getting chauffeured 3 blocks instead of walking.

[henry]

What nation is that? Does it have borders?

[Jane]

SBW,

Even if Momto2 doesn't need a damn thing, I'd still like to send flowers or something so she knows she is in our hearts. I don't even know her name.

[Jane]

RSE I'd happily send you money to send some flowers, if you are willing to post or send the information about where to send it.

[Neo]

WaPo to the rescue ..

From America to China, blackface is a global problem

[Neo]

#MeToo #MeToo

Oscar Arias, former Costa Rican president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been accused of inappropriate sexual conduct by two women.

On Monday, Costa Rican prosecutors received a complaint of an alleged sexual offense by Arias, and on Tuesday another woman came forward to accuse him of inappropriate behavior.