MCViewPoint

Opinion from a Libertarian ViewPoint

We Really Could Use a Grievance Scorecard

Posted by M. C. on March 22, 2023

https://open.substack.com/pub/walterblock/p/we-really-could-use-a-grievance-scorecard?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android

Luis Rivera

By Walter E. Block

In the good old days, when men were men, it was easy to tell the political ball players without a scorecard, at least from the socialist and communist point of view, thanks to economic Marxism.  You would always distinguish the good guys from the bad guys.  Tsarists versus communists?  The former, of course.  Bourgeois versus proletarians?  The latter take precedence.  Socialists vis-à-vis capitalists?  You’ve gotta be kidding to even ask about that.  Workers (pronounced woikas in Brooklyn) compared to corporations?  Fuggehdaboudit!  A similar “analysis” applies to union members and scabs.  Although, to be fair to Brer Commie, some of them actually opposed organized labor on the ground that this would just lengthen the stay of evil free enterprise.

Nowadays, under cultural Marxism, we are at sea, without a rudder, and this applies, amazingly, to all of us, snowflake wokists most certainly included.  Oh, don’t get me wrong: there are still some broad categories that are crystal-clear.  Blacks are to be preferred to whites.  (We even capitalize the former, not the latter, if we’re politically corerect.)  Affirmative action for the former?  You betcha.  Women, to be sure, take precedence over men.  LGBTQIA+ takes pride of place over all others.

Still, there are anomalies.  What about black men versus white women?  It would appear that there is a real contest going on here.  Perhaps the former outrank the latter in that they can launch the charge of “Karen,” and the latter have no similar verbal missile to utilize.  Recently, what with Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, Jewish sensibilities have taken precedence over at least the ones of these black people.  But wait a sec!  Jews are white, surely an inferior breed in the cultural Marxist sweepstakes.  Surely, the hierarchy should have been the other way around.

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URGENT: Bill Gates, the world’s most dangerous centi-billionaire, proves he has learned NOTHING from the last three years

Posted by M. C. on March 21, 2023

He is going to keep on pouring money into efforts to stop the next pandemic until he finally succeeds in making one that kills us all

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-bill-gates-the-worlds-most?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Alex Berenson

Bill Gates is becoming a menace.

He will not leave us alone.

And he’s learned all the wrong lessons from Covid.

At this point he is worse than merely clueless. As one of the world’s 10 richest men and controller of a $50 billion charitable honeypot, Gates has the power to drive public health policy in dangerous directions.

He appears hellbent on doing so.

Gates is obsessed with the risk of future pandemics. Never mind that in the century following the 1918-19 flu pandemic, HIV was the only new infectious disease to cause significant societal disruption.

For all its ferocity, HIV proved controllable with anti-viral drugs that took barely a decade to develop after the virus was found. They would likely be developed much faster today, because scientists have developed far better computer modeling of viral surfaces and the way they interact with our cells.

(You got that right, Bill!)

SOURCE

But Covid.

BUT COVID!

The only problem with pointing to Covid as evidence of a rising threat of naturally emerging infectious diseases… is that it is unclear whether Covid is a naturally emerging infectious disease.

The weight of the evidence suggests otherwise. It suggests, in fact, that nothing is more likely to cause a pandemic than the search for a virus that might cause one.

The virologists who do this work are desperate to distract you from this fact. Thus the nattering about raccoon dogs, despite the fact that THEY HAVE FOUND NO EVIDENCE RACCOON DOGS CARRY A PRECURSOR VIRUS TO SARS-COV-2.

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(Not a conspiracy theory if it’s true)Subscribe

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No matter. Gates wants you to be afraid. And not just of the flu and the ro, which turned out to be a big disappointment to Team Apocalypse, since – as the infamous Sam Harris explained – it didn’t kill enough kids to be properly scary and force everyone to be vaccinated.

No, Gates has other fears:

What if the next pandemic-potential pathogen spreads through surface droplets? Or if it is sexually transmitted like H.I.V.? What if it’s the result of bioterrorism?

Yeah, what if? And what if aliens from Andromeda 6 come up with a fungi that turns us all into walking mushrooms, like the things in The Last of Us, but not as pretty? What then, huh?

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The Big Smoke (and Mirrors)

Posted by M. C. on March 21, 2023

https://open.substack.com/pub/cjhopkins/p/the-big-smoke-and-mirrors?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android

CJ Hopkins

how London beat the great smog, that deadly thick fog - time.news - Time News

So, I’m going to be in London on March 25, talking about the New Normal Reich, and the entity I’ve been calling “GloboCap,” so I’m trying to organize my thoughts a bit in order to not make a total ass of myself in front of a bunch of British people. I figured I would reach out to my readers for feedback, as many of you appear to enjoy giving me feedback, most of which I read and appreciate. So, that’s what I am going to do in this newsletter.

First, let me tell you about the event.

The event is one of those all-day conferences, with panels and breakout groups and all that. It’s hosted by a group called Real Left, formerly Left Lockdown Sceptics. They’re calling it “The Left Case Against the World Economic Forum.” I’m on a panel with Dr. Fabio Vighi, Professor of Critical Theory and Italian at Cardiff University. It’s just the two of us. We’re the panel. We probably won’t be talking about the WEF very much, or not specifically about the WEF. We’ll mostly be talking about global capitalism, which is what I want your feedback on.

The other speakers on the other panels are:

Cory Morningstar, an independent investigative journalist, writer and environmental activist. You probably know her work from Wrong Kind of Green.

Paul Cudenec, an anarchist writer in the organic radical tradition who runs an outfit called Winter Oak.

Piers Corbyn, physicist, meteorologist, activist, notorious UK “thoughtcriminal”, and Jeremy’s brother.

Vikki Spit, the first person to receive compensation for the loss of a loved one (i.e., her fiancée) killed by one of the “Covid vaccines” from the UK Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme.

And some other folks. The line-up is still being finalized. The details are here on the Real Left website. There aren’t any names or any biographical information on the site, so I assume Real Left is some sort of nefarious “Covid-denying, conspiracy-theorizing, Putin-loving, democracy-threatening, far-right, anti-vax” leftist outfit that is plotting to storm the House of Commons, or Buckingham Palace, or whatever it is one storms in the United Kingdom.

I’m looking forward to speaking on the panel, and to taking questions afterwards, and to generally meeting and talking to people face-to-face. I turned into a bit of a talking head on the Internet over the last three years, which I thought was important to do at the time but is not something I’m generally inclined to. I’m particularly disinclined to it at the moment. I don’t know about you, but I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by talking heads, and posts, and tweets, and podcasts, and people bellowing at me at the top of their lungs about the latest detail of whatever ongoing outrage I’m supposed to be all worked up about, and all the limited hangouts, and memory-holing, and smoke- and-mirrors and dog-and-pony shows being desperately presented by people from all quarters. Not that there is any shortage of outrages to be all worked up about. It’s just that we are in one of those phases where we are being barraged with so much random online messaging (and, let’s face it, bullshit) that people can’t even think anymore, and are “distracted from distraction by distraction,” as one old British banker once put it, so it will be nice to get a little break from all that.Subscribe

OK, here’s what I want your feedback on. 

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White House Opposes Ceasefire In Ukraine

Posted by M. C. on March 21, 2023

https://rumble.com/v2e0tkc-white-house-opposes-ceasefire-in-ukraine.html

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Not ESG-Friendly: Insurers Junk Entire EVs For Minor Accidents | ZeroHedge

Posted by M. C. on March 21, 2023

“If you throw away the vehicle at an early stage, you’ve lost pretty much all advantage in terms of CO2 emissions,” he said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/not-esg-friendly-insurers-junk-entire-evs-minor-accidents

Tyler Durden's Photo

BY TYLER DURDEN

It’s a surprise that Reuters has published an article revealing that the electric vehicle revolution might not be as environmentally friendly as automakers claim. Furthermore, a scratched or slightly damaged battery pack could lead insurance companies to scrap the entire car.

“We’re buying electric cars for sustainability reasons,” Matthew Avery, research director at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research, said. 

Avery pointed out, “an EV isn’t very sustainable if you’ve got to throw the battery away after a minor collision.” 

A Tesla battery pack costs tens of thousands of dollars and represents a large percentage of the vehicle’s price tag. Insurance companies have found that it’s uneconomical to replace battery packs if damaged. 

Many automotive manufacturers, including Tesla, have made battery packs a structural part of the car to reduce cost products but have shifted costs to consumers and insurers when batteries need to be replaced. 

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Dailywire Article-DeSantis Unveils Plan To Battle Biden’s ‘Efforts To Inject A Centralized Bank Digital Currency’

Posted by M. C. on March 21, 2023

“A Central Bank Digital Currency is the cornerstone of a federal government that could track each and every transaction that happens in the world,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said in the press release. “There would be no privacy, and if there is no privacy, there are no rights. In the same way Florida is fighting back against the IRS, we need to fight back against this program.

Fighting “free” money and “legal” surveillance will be tough.

I am sure PA gov Josh Shapiro will be the first to join DeSantis in this fight as individual liberty has been the first priority of PA governors of late…joke.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-unveils-plan-to-battle-bidens-efforts-to-inject-a-centralized-bank-digital-currency

By  Ben Zeisloft

Photo: Executive Office of the Governor of Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) revealed a proposal on Monday meant to combat the possible implementation of a central bank digital currency by the Federal Reserve and the Biden administration.

Critics of a potential central bank digital currency note that the asset, which would be managed by the Federal Reserve and tethered to the value of the dollar, would create opportunities for government surveillance and control of private citizens. DeSantis proposed legislation that would ban the recognition of central bank digital currencies, whether from the federal government or an overseas central bank, as money under Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code.

“The Biden administration’s efforts to inject a Centralized Bank Digital Currency is about surveillance and control,” DeSantis said in a press release. “Today’s announcement will protect Florida consumers and businesses from the reckless adoption of a ‘centralized digital dollar’ which will stifle innovation and promote government-sanctioned surveillance. Florida will not side with economic central planners; we will not adopt policies that threaten personal economic freedom and security.”

Nations such as China, Australia, Japan, India, Russia, and South Korea are presently exploring central bank digital currencies, which have already been established in the Bahamas, Nigeria, and Jamaica, according to a report from the Atlantic Council.

Skeptics of central bank digital currencies have noted the many instances in which the financial system has been leveraged by public and private actors to oppose certain political perspectives, including those often held by conservatives. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers last year to freeze the personal and corporate bank accounts of people involved with demonstrations against vaccine mandates, while PayPal announced that the firm would withdraw funds from accounts deemed to be promoting racism or misinformation, a policy that the company later claimed was published by mistake.

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) recently vetoed legislation that would have classified a potential central bank digital currency as money in South Dakota’s Uniform Commercial Code. DeSantis called on other states to adopt similar prohibitions on the digital assets.

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The Death of Culture: How Lies Killed Books

Posted by M. C. on March 20, 2023

The staffers at the Brooklyn branch of Jackson McNally Bookstore, an independent bookstore which had for years been a stalwart outpost of free-thinking publishing, were still masked, against all reason. I walked in with some trepidation.

Peacefully, faces covered, three years on, they stacked books on the shelves.

I was astonished, as I wandered the well-stocked aisles. Independent bookstores usually reflect the burning issues in a culture at that given time.

But — now — nothing.

https://open.substack.com/pub/naomiwolf/p/the-death-of-culture-how-lies-killed?utm_source=direct&r=iw8dv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Dr Naomi Wolf

I recently came home from a visit to Hipster Brooklyn.

I had found that Brooklyn — alongside literary Manhattan — was oddly frozen in an amber of denial and silence.

Outspoken with Dr Naomi Wolf is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

First, there is that restored state of freedom, that no one will discuss.

I’d wandered the cute little boîtes and trendy underground hand-pulled-noodle postmodern food courts, with mixed emotions.

There were the chic young moms with babies in strollers, both of them breathing freely in the chill just-before-Spring air. There were slouching Millennials, with every demographic likelihood of having been mask-y and COVID-culty, now enjoying their freedom to assemble at will, to flirt and to window-shop, to stroll and to chat and to try on new sweaters in person at Uniqlo.

Many of these folks, no doubt, would have been repelled from 2020 to the present, by people like my brothers and sisters in arms, and by me; as we struggled in the trenches of the liberty movement.

Some of them may have called us anti-vaxxers, extremists, insurrectionists; selfish, “Trumpers,” or whatever other nonsense was the epithet of the day.

Some of them may have wanted to lock down harder, and lock us down harder.

My brothers and sisters in the freedom movement, though we lost employment, savings, status and affiliations, fought every day — for these very folks; we fought for everyone; we fought so that some day, these young moms could indeed stroll with their babies, breathing fresh air; so that these slouching Millennials could one day indeed wander at will, not “locked down” still, not “mandated” any longer, and not living in fear of an internment camp.

It was bittersweet, seeing this demographic so chill, so relaxed, so back to “normal” — many of whom had been once so oblivious of, or so actively disrespectful of, the sacrifices we on the outside of society had waged for their very freedom.

Who knows where they would be now, if it were not for our combat on their behalf?

Still without their rights regained, like Canada? Still “mandated”, like Canada? Still scared to speak, scared of having bank accounts frozen, scared of losing licenses, scared of being beaten in protests, forbidden to travel without dangerous injections — like Canada?

We are not entirely free again in the US, but we regained many of our freedoms. Not because the evildoers wanted to give them back; but because my brothers and sisters fought hard, strategically, bitterly and furiously, for all of this liberty that I witnessed in front of me, on that almost-spring day on the crowded, tumultuous Fulton Avenue.

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Stop Calling The Iraq War A ‘Mistake’: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

Posted by M. C. on March 20, 2023

It’s hilarious that Putin has been hit with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court not only on the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, but also a few days after the Pentagon intervened to stop the Biden administration from helping the ICC compile evidence of Russian war crimes because it might lead to ICC prosecution of American war crimes.

Caitlin Johnstone

https://open.substack.com/pub/caitlinjohnstone/p/stop-calling-the-iraq-war-a-mistake?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android

Stop calling the Iraq War a “mistake”. When you make a mistake, you make changes to ensure that mistake is not repeated. Nobody responsible for that invasion suffered any consequences of any kind, zero policy changes were made, and the unipolarist ideology which led to it has become more entrenched than ever.

If the invasion of Iraq was a “mistake”, western government officials would be residing in prison cells at The Hague, countless pundits and journalists would now be working behind cash registers in retail shops, and US foreign policy would have undergone a massive, dramatic overhaul. Instead the exact opposite has happened — the western officials who launched the Iraq War are esteemed members of elite society, the pundits and journalists who manufactured consent for it are at the top of their field, and securing US unipolar hegemony by any means necessary is the accepted status quo norm in mainstream politics.

This is because the Iraq War was not a “mistake”. It was a cold, calculated decision which had precisely the effects it was intended to have: the advancement of western energy interests, greater geostrategic control, and the expansion of the US war machine in key geostrategic regions. Someone who makes a “mistake” doesn’t get everything they always wanted as a result and suffer zero consequences for the damage it caused. That’s what happens to someone who took a deliberate, calculated action in their own interests.

You can only pretend the Iraq War was a “mistake” if you accept the official reasons for starting it: getting those WMDs, spreading freedom and democracy to those poor Iraqis who we love, and making the Middle East a safer and more peaceful place for everyone. It’s not okay for grown adults in the year 2023 to believe those were the real intentions behind the invasion of Iraq.

If the invasion of Iraq was a mistake there would have been changes put in place to make sure nothing like it ever happens again. Those changes were never made because they thoroughly intend to do similar things in the future.

❖

Caitlin Johnstone @caitoz

Imagine writing this line and thinking it’s normal.

Image

New York Times Opinion @nytopinion

“In the long term, the best guarantee of American security has always been American prosperity and engagement with the rest of the world,” writes the editorial board. “That’s true for China, too.” https://t.co/gZz7HsGxOy4:44 PM ∙ Mar 11, 20231,884Likes492Retweets

❖

It’s not a “whataboutism” to say it’s absurd to charge Putin with war crimes without charging George W Bush, it’s a completely devastating argument against the claim being made. If the law doesn’t apply to everyone, then it’s not the law, it’s just corruption. It’s a tool of the powerful.

It’s hilarious that Putin has been hit with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court not only on the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, but also a few days after the Pentagon intervened to stop the Biden administration from helping the ICC compile evidence of Russian war crimes because it might lead to ICC prosecution of American war crimes.

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Dailywire Article-Republicans In Red States Including Tennessee Join Dems To Resist School Choice Policies

Posted by M. C. on March 20, 2023

https://www.dailywire.com/news/some-red-states-join-dems-to-resist-school-choice-policies-report

By  Brandon Drey

Some Republican-led states, including Tennessee, are joining Democrats in actively resisting school choice policies after dozens of red states have already begun implementing such changes.

School choice, which deposits public education funds directly to families to spend on where their children learn, became popular among Republican and Democratic voters in the wake of the pandemic after parents got an inside look at what their kids were being taught.

Some states, including Arizona, Utah, Iowa, West Virginia, and Arkansas, have adopted such policies, while dozens of others allow parents to take advantage of tax credits or savings programs for private schools or homeschool programs. However, some GOP officials in red states, including Tennessee, Idaho, and Wyoming, are seeing opposition from fellow Republicans.

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, a Republican, sponsored education savings account legislation in that state in 2019 targeting poor-performing public school districts with heavy minority populations.

“There was tremendous support for many, in the African American community or Hispanic community, as well as all folks that are in these urban areas where they have a failing school system,” Johnson told The Daily Wire. “That’s kind of where we drew the line for this initial legislation that we pass, and some would love to have statewide universal school choice.”

However, sources working in Tennessee’s state capitol told The Daily Wire of the harrowing fight lawmakers endured in passing the legislation due to the nature of the bill, which only covers a few hundred students. Although they expect that number to grow, sources said they don’t see universal school choice passing in Tennessee anytime soon due to the backlash not just from Democrats and teacher unions, but also from the overwhelmingly Republican legislature.

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Washington Is the Midwife to the Birth of Any China-Russia Alliance | Cato Institute

Posted by M. C. on March 20, 2023

Given China’s status as a major energy consumer and Russia’s role as a leading global energy producer, collaboration in that field is extremely logical.

https://www.cato.org/commentary/washington-midwife-birth-any-china-russia-alliance#

By Ted Galen Carpenter

This article appeared in China‐​US Focus on March 6, 2023.

TOP

Two important and revealing news stories appeared on the same day in late February. One announced that the United States and its allies imposed yet another round of economic sanctions on Russia. The other reported the conclusion of U.S. intelligence officials that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is considering selling military drones to Moscow. That story was even more specific than Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement a week earlier that Beijing was contemplating providing Russia with “lethal support”—including weapons and ammunition—to help the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas‐​Greenfield subsequently told the press that both President Biden and Secretary Blinken had conveyed warnings to their Chinese counterparts that such a move would be a “game‐​changer” in U.S.-PRC relations.

The Biden administration and much of the news media were already expressing growing suspicions about the emergence of a de facto alliance between Moscow and Beijing. Such worries are still somewhat premature, but Russia and the PRC definitely are drawing closer together—especially in their respective stances toward the United States. U.S. leaders have no one to blame but themselves for that development. Washington has pursued disturbingly confrontational policies toward Moscow and Beijing simultaneously. Such an approach violates a cardinal rule of effective foreign policy against antagonizing two great powers at the same time, thereby pushing them into close collaboration to counter a mutual adversary.

At this point China’s policy still seems to be one of nominal neutrality regarding the mounting tensions between the United States and Russia—but with a noticeable “lean” toward Moscow’s position. Emblematic of that approach, Beijing has just issued a new peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, and PRC officials continue to portray China’s role as one of a concerned neutral power trying to resolve a bloody, disruptive conflict. Unfortunately, the Biden administration, increasingly frustrated in its efforts to forge a global coalition against Russia, regards a neutral posture on the Russia‐​Ukraine war as de facto support for Moscow.

Given China’s status as a major energy consumer and Russia’s role as a leading global energy producer, collaboration in that field is extremely logical.

That intolerant attitude is one example among many of how Washington’s behavior is alienating China and driving Beijing and Moscow together. Reports that PRC President Xi Jinping will make a summit trip to Russia are merely the latest confirmation of a warming bilateral relationship. The two countries have signed several agreements in recent months increasing the extent of economic cooperation. Given China’s status as a major energy consumer and Russia’s role as a leading global energy producer, collaboration in that field is extremely logical. U.S.-European Union sanctions on Russian energy exports have pressured Moscow to seek other markets, and China stands out as the largest, most appealing option. In June 2022, Russia became the PRC’s largest oil supplier, eclipsing Saudi Arabia.

However, something deeper than growing bilateral ties on energy policy seems to be taking place.

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