Free kibbles

REGULATION:

As if government wasn't destroying civilization fast enough, not only has government bans on pesticides led to the resurgence of bed bugs, but now stink bugs are making a comeback.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY:

The climate fraud NASA employs to head up the US climate data program (GISS) just arrested again for protesting in favor of the climate fraud. Why is this radical political activist in charge of what should be a non-partisan information-gathering service? Rhetorical question.

In an article about the reasons electric cars are unpopular, they're inefficient, we get the following gem that applies to all government regulations:

"Government would have us believe that a new regulation is the result of some great, objective, and careful investigation. But mostly these regulations and spending programs are foisted upon us by the people who only yesterday were nothing more than lobbyists for some fervently held cause. There has been no new data, but yesterday's lobbyists are today carrying the mantle of great authority and prestige because they have become high-level government bureaucrats.

We economists call such lobbying "rent seeking" and those who engage in it are "rent seekers." Rather than seeking the cooperation of other men in the free market, a rent seeker lobbies government to impose some special privilege. The cost of the rent seeker's efforts is greatly reduced because he need convince only a few elected officials or government bureaucrats rather than the entire market. His job is made all the easier by the knowledge that the elected official or government bureaucrat can grant the privilege with no cost to himself.

When a rent seeker gets a job in government itself, well, the fox is in the henhouse. Officials move billions of dollars and coerce millions of people with no responsibility whatsoever. If a program fails to achieve its grand design, no government official suffers the consequences. Furthermore, failed regulations are seldom repealed, because, despite the net burden to the economy, a few new constituents do benefit and lobby mightily to keep them in place."

This is the best explanation of rent-seeking I've read. This how the corrupt political economy (redundant, I know) arises.

POLICE STATE:

How prosecutors destroy lives even when their victim wins a not guilty verdict.

WAR:

I'm skeptical that a Mumbai-style attack on Britain, France and Germany was foiled. All these governments have to do is claim they foiled such an attack, and it gets reported as fact. They never present any evidence to back up their claims because they claim it will hurt national security. And how you they do such an attack anyway? Mumbai is one city. The terrorists sped in from Pakistan in boats. They can't take boats to Europe. The article itself backs up my skepticism.

"Security sources insisted that attacks in Europe were not imminent."

But apparently the CIA killed people with drones anyway.

"No further evidence of such a plot was provided."

Naturally. This doesn't pass the sniff test.

MISC:

Murray Rothbard exposes one of the reasons the history taught to us is so wrong: you can't just read a book and take it at face value. In order to truly understand history, you have to learn the intentions and biases of the author you're reading, who is friends and enemies are, who he's reacting against and who his audience is.