June 16, 2023

Wildfires And Climate Change: Narrative Ever More Detached From Actual Evidence

June 16, 2023/ Francis Menton

Here in New York during the past couple of weeks, we had some days where the air was rather incredibly smoky. At times, you could barely see the Empire State Building from where I live (about one mile).
The smoke was said to originate from wildfires in the Canadian forests, mostly in Quebec but some farther West.
Getting such a large amount of smoke around here from wildfires in Canada is quite unusual. Indeed, I can’t remember it happening previously, at least to this extent. So something must be different.
Could this all be the result of — CLIMATE CHANGE????!!!!

June 13, 2023

Your Federal Government In Action: The SEC

June 13, 2023/ Francis Menton

The original idea of the “independent” administrative agencies was to place the details of governing a complex economy in the hands of wise experts. These experts would be removed from tawdry and corrupting political influences, and would straightforwardly apply neutral principles to achieve fairness and justice in our society.
In the real world, every federal administrative agency, with especial emphasis on the supposedly “independent” ones, becomes larger, more power-hungry, and more corrupt with every passing year.
Somehow, it’s in the nature of the job as federal bureaucrat to believe that you can perfect the world by seizing ever more power unto yourself, imposing more and more rules whether or not authorized by statute, and crushing anyone who gets in your way. Biden’s presidency has accelerated these trends toward infinity.
Consider for today the SEC.

June 10, 2023

June 10, 2023/ Francis Menton

Two days ago (June 8) a federal grand jury in Florida, at the behest of Justice Department “special prosecutor” Jack Smith, indicted ex-President and current presidential candidate Trump over matters related to the retention of classified documents generated during his time in the White House. The full text of the indictment can be found here.
You might think that indictment of the currently-leading opposition candidate to the incumbent president in the upcoming election would be something reserved for a case of extraordinary significance.
After all, using the criminal justice system to prosecute political rivals is one of the hallmarks of the Banana Republic. Among those who have used the strategy are Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and, of course, Vladimir Putin of Russia.

June 06, 2023

June 06, 2023/ Francis Menton

Just a week ago I had a post featuring some recent federal bureaucratic assaults against the well-being and prosperity of the population. The title was “Bureaucrats Completely Incapable Of Making Reasonable Trade-Offs.”
The post featured two new rules from different corners of the federal bureaucracy, both announced on May 5: one from EPA effectively mandating electric automobiles by about 2032, and the other from the Department of Energy once again lowering the amounts of energy and water that dishwashers are allowed to use.
I stated in that post that these two new rules were just examples of a much broader federal war against our comfortable and convenient lifestyles.
But to get a feel for the big picture, you need a more comprehensive list of the things the feds are trying to restrict and/or eliminate from your life.

June 04, 2023

June 04, 2023/ Francis Menton

A little over a year ago, on May 5, 2022, two states (Missouri and Louisiana) and several individual plaintiffs filed suit against the federal government for illegally and improperly suppressing free speech on social media platforms, in violation of the First Amendment.
The case goes by the name Missouri v. Biden. The individual plaintiffs include, for example, Drs. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford and Dr. Martin Kulldorff of Harvard, prominent medical researchers and epidemiologists who dissented from the government’s Covid response orthodoxy and saw their speech ruthlessly suppressed as a consequence.
This case is probably the most important civil rights case proceeding in the federal courts today. If you get your news from such sources as the New York Times, Washington Post, or major television networks, you likely have never heard of it.

May 31, 2023

May 31, 2023/ Francis Menton

A phenomenon of politics on the Left as practiced today is that new and ever more radical orthodoxies continually pop up and demand adherence from all members of the faith.
No longer is the common agenda just a simple commitment to more government spending to enhance perceived justice and fairness in society. Instead, a list of new demands for government actions grows ever longer and more extreme.
Many long-time Democrats of my acquaintance consider themselves political moderates, although generally supportive of government efforts to uplift the poor through spending and programs. But the internal councils of the Democrats are now dominated by radicals demanding complete loyalty to the full agenda.
Thus the question is, if you vote for any Democrat for public office, do you inevitably get someone who will go along with every single element of the most radical agenda of the Left?