Tag: reading

The “Election Interference” Fearmongers Think You’re Stupid

Thomas L. Knapp

Xi Jinping and Ali Khamenei prefer Joe Biden to Donald Trump. Vladimir Putin prefers Donald Trump to Joe Biden. That’s according to William Evanina, Director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center. “Many foreign actors,” he says, “have a preference for who wins the election, which they express through a range of overt and … Continue reading The “Election Interference” Fearmongers Think You’re Stupid →

MOVE Bombing: The Story of How Philadelphia Became “The City That Bombed Itself”

Brian Miller

The case of MOVE is an unusual one, because they cannot simply be shoe-horned into the usual “they were just minding their own business and then the cops came in with overwhelming force” narrative that more or less applies at Ruby Ridge or at Waco. This is not to imply that the actions taken by the Philadelphia Police Department were appropriate – there were children inside the MOVE townhouse. However, it is important to note that MOVE had a history of violence.

Work in Progress & Emotional Mastery (23m) – Episode 016

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 016 looks at two Stoic topics: the first from Epictetus who wrote, ““Show me someone sick and happy, in danger and happy, dying and happy, exiled and happy, disgraced and happy. Show me! By God, how much I’d like to see a Stoic. But since you can’t show me someone that perfectly formed, at least show me someone actively forming themselves so, inclined in this way. . . . Show me!”; and the second from r/Stoicism, a discussion which began with, “The whole thing with removing emotion from things in life makes me just more depressed and has led me to stop reading into stoiscm. Do u have any advice for me?”

Ten Years After Lieberman’s “Internet Kill Switch,” the War on Freedom Rages On

Thomas L. Knapp

In 2010, US Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Thomas Carper (D-DE) introduced their Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act. Better known as the “Internet Kill Switch” proposal for the emergency powers it would have conferred on the president, the bill died without receiving a vote in either house of Congress. A decade later, the same fake issues and the same authoritarian “solutions” continue to dominate discussions on the relationship between technology and state. The real issue remains the same as well.

Executive Orders: This is Trump’s Brain on Drugs

Thomas L. Knapp

Healthcare would be cheaper, better, and more accessible if government got its nose out of the matter entirely — but failing that, three of these four orders make good sense. They’re also a great litmus test. They tell us who really supports freer markets in healthcare and who just pays lip service to the notion while advocating crony capitalism in service to Big Pharma.

“Peak Libertarianism?” No, Thom Hartmann is Just a Sore Winner

Thomas L. Knapp

“We have now reached peak Libertarianism,” Thom Hartmann informs us at CounterPunch, “and this bizarre experiment that has been promoted by the billionaire class for over 40 years is literally killing us.” That claim is so bizarre on its face that it’s easy to dismiss. On the other hand, even the craziest claims can fool people if nobody takes the time to debunk them.

Yes, the Rent is Too Damn High — But Not Because the Minimum Wage is Too Damn Low

Thomas L. Knapp

Who are the geniuses limiting the housing supply with permit schemes, zoning restrictions, and supposed “fair housing” rules, all while pretending they’re doing tenants a favor? The same geniuses who oppress workers with minimum wage laws, licensing requirements, and supposed “labor protections,” all while pretending they’re doing workers a favor.