Free kibbles

TAX AND SPEND:

Propagandists are comparing Republicans to Herbert Hoover, claiming his budget cuts sparked the first depression. But the reality is Hoover was no small government supporter. But neither are modern Republicans.

EDUCATION:

Here's the real reason Americans don't study science and to a lesser extent technology:

"President Obama had a town hall meeting at Facebook's headquarters last week and said that he wanted to encourage females and minorities to pursue STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). However, Pastabagel writes that the need for American students to study STEM is one of the tired refrains in modern American politics and thatplenty of people already study science, but they don't work in science. 'MIT grads are more likely to end up in the financial industry, where quants and traders are very well compensated, than in the semiconductor industry where the spectre of outsourcing to India and Asia will hang over their heads for their entire career.' Philip Greenspun adds that science can be fun, but considered as a career, science suffers by comparison to the professions and the business world. 'The average scientist that I encounter expresses bitterness about (a) low pay, (b) not getting enough credit or references to his or her work, (c) not knowing where the next job is coming from, (d) not having enough money or job security to get married and/or have children,' writes Greenspun. 'Pursuing science as a career seems so irrational that one wonders why any young American would do it.'"

By definition research is far away from the consumer, far away from the money, so it doesn't pay. The bubble created by the Fed and government spending makes this disparity worse.

It turns out that government schools marketing "advanced classes" are marketing the same old classes just hoping for more federal money. Sometimes reporting this crap is depressing. Most times, actually. The nature of government never changes.

HEALTH CARE:

Government stooge criticized for claiming vaccines have no influence on autism. This is going to be ugly. The relationship between vaccines and autism was already ugly, and it't about to get way worse.

POLICE STATE:

TSA screener arrested for child pornography. Gosh, who would have thought that child sexual predators would be drawn to the only job in the world where they can legally molest children?

I'm surprised to see Jeffrey Tucker downplay the iPhone tracking given that Apple did it secretly and police download that data and use it to prosecute people. Synopsis of my response to Tucker:

"Given that Apple did it secretly and police download that data and use it to prosecute people. This is scary. Granted, most people don't realize the danger, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous."
"Also this dovetails into the IP issue. In a free society, this feature couldn't be secret. Many smartphone manufacturers would compete in a robust market, and one of the features they would compete on is privacy versus tracking. The only reason Apple and Android can get away with secretly tracking us, and that they do it secretly is significant, is government grants them patents that protect them from competition.
Jobs is no Randian hero. He's a plutocrat. He uses the looting apparatus of government to advance his own interests at our expense like everyone in the ruling class."

Tucker agrees with my concerns, but stands by his position that Apple did this to satisfy customers. I agree with him on that. It seems like we're all agreeing.

WAR:

WikiLeaks Guantanamo files.

FOREIGN POLICY:

Syrian government rolls tanks into cities. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

"Witnesses say several thousand Syrian army troops, flanked by special forces, shot their way into the southern city of Daraa before dawn Monday, causing numerous casualties. Tanks reportedly began the assault, shelling the city as they moved in from four sides.
Videos distributed by human rights activists show black smoke over the city center and fires burning as shell-fire crackled in the background. 
Reports say Syrian special forces stormed private homes to make arrests, Witnesses say snipers began shooting from rooftops and many victims remain lying in the streets."

This will probably put down the rebellion.

POLITICS:

Praise for Ron Paul's Liberty Defined. I have no doubt this book is good. But I understood liberty years ago. I'm a self-actuated libertarian. Nobody talked me into it. I didn't have to read any books or essays to realize that freedom is the answer. I figured that out by the time I graduated high school without any outside interference. But nobody I knew seemed to realize the same thing all my adult life. I started this blog because of that. I don't need a book to define liberty for me. I appreciate how Ron Paul is taking liberty to the masses, and he's been fabulously successful at it. More successful than me. More power to him. If you get the opportunity, and you don't understand liberty and all its consequences, please buy it. But whether you do or not, please keep reading here.