Civilization is an enormous device for economizing on knowledge.
Thomas Sowell, Knowledge and Decisions (1980; 1996.
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Thomas Sowell
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To Freedom
On June 16, 1961, dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union.
The great Scottish moral philosopher, political economy pioneer, and Enlightenment intelectual Adam Smith (1723-1790), best known for authoring the 1776 masterwork The Wealth of Nations, was born on June 16.
On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his “House Divided” speech in Springfield, Illinois.
On this date in 1963, the Soviet Space Program achieved a first with the Vostok 6 mission, placing Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova into orbit as the first woman in space.
June 16th is Bloomsday, a celebration of the life and work of Irish expatriate author James Joyce (1882-1941). The date was selected because June 16, 1904, was the date in which Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses was set. The ceremonial day is named after the character Leopold Bloom.
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Now A Straight Answer?
Last week, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “America’s civil space program and the global leader in space exploration,” got in on the UFO disclosure racket.
Why that word, “racket”?
UFO skeptics and mockers have been using that sort of word to describe the subject itself — unidentified advanced aerial phenomena on the planet — but now we hear UFO “nuts” useit to describe NASA’s announcement.
“A crock,” says Tyler Glockner of the popular SecureTeam10 channel, reminding us of NASA’s nickname: “Never A Straight Answer.”
Many UFO researchers believe that NASA has been “in” on “the UFO cover-up” from the beginning of its mission.
I know nothing about that, but I do know that we cannot trust government.
While rumors about NASA programs to scrub photos of the Moon and Mars to get rid of alien structures on the surfaces of those two bodies, as well as alien craft, are outlandish, so to speak — it surely looks like something is going on regarding UFOs.
While NASA insists that it “is not part of the Department of Defense’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force or its successor, the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group,” which have so far dominated recent UFO news headlines, it does proclaim that it is coordinating with other agencies.
More significantly, physicist Michio Kaku recently changed his tune on UFOs, and is talking of an independent research group that confirms the physical reality of UFOs darting about with advanced physical attributes.
Not new, I know: same thing French scientist Jacques Vallee wrote in the 1960s, and General Twining apparently memo’ed in the ’40s.
In covering this issue for the last few years, my point has been: government transparency. Let’s remember the long history of government agencies stringing us opaquely along.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Noam Chomsky
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum — even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.
Noam Chomsky, The Common Good (1988).
The Oregon Treaty, signed June 15, 1846, established the boundary between Great Britain’s Canadian territory and the United States of America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, using the 49th Parallel as the handy marker. However, the treaty was not exactly clear on the territorial status of the San Juan Islands, so exactly 13 years later, to the day, a war erupted . . . over a shot pig.
An American farmer shot a pig rooting through his garden. The pig belonged to an Irishman. The two did not agree upon compensation, and “the authorities” were called in, with infantry mustering from the south and the Governor of Vancouver Island instructing marines to land on San Juan Island — though the rear admiral in charge refused to comply with the order, on the reasonable grounds that war over a pig was not worth it. Local troops from both sides lined up against each other, but under command to defend themselves only and not shoot first. All that was exchanged in this war were insults. It turned out to be a bloodless war, discounting the pig, so it might qualify as the best war in American history.
“Poll after poll finds American voters believing the country is on the wrong track,” Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, told viewers last Sunday. “And if there’s one other thing that Democrats and Republicans have in common these days, it’s that they don’t trust Washington to fix it.”
Is this a smart electorate or what?
Todd compared today’s public mood to October 2001, just after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Back then, solid majorities of both Democrats and Republicans “had trust in that Republican control of government. Twenty years later, these numbers have collapsed among both parties. . . . Republicans down to just 9 percent trust in government to do what’s right most or all of the time.
“It’s a Democratic government,” he added. “That’s why the Democratic number’s a little higher here [29%], but this is really troubling.”
And then Mr. Todd even posed the right question: “How did we get here?”
Calling the public “very cynical” — shouldn’t you be, if paying attention? — Todd explained that most Americans don’t believe “that most candidates that run for office . . . do it to serve the community. Only 21% think people run for office in order to worry about the greater good — 19% of Democrats think this, 24% of Republicans.
“A full 65% think most candidates run for office to serve their personal interests, nothing else,” he added. “And this is across the board — 66% of Democrats believe this, 63% of Republicans.”
Todd suggested “this may be bigger than any polarization problem that we have.”
It is bigger. But it’s an easy problem to solve. Just takes two words to bring back public trust in those who represent us, in them not just representing themselves, their personal career interests.
Term limits.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Ludwig von Mises
Man is subject to the passing of time. He comes into existence, grows, becomes old, and passes away. His time is scarce. He must economize it as he economizes other scarce factors.
Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics (1949).
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Stars and Stripes
On June 14, 1777, U.S. Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the United States Flag.
According to the government of New York State, it should be as easy as possible for a mass shooter to do the job.
No, this is not the stated goal of the “landmark legislative package” signed by Governor Hochul. It is merely what the result will be . . . to the extent that these new laws further prevent innocent persons from arming and armoring themselves.
You see, determined killers have no qualms about evading gun-control laws, or much difficulty evading them. In New York, these laws now include a prohibition on selling body armor to anyone not a member of “specified professions” like the military and law enforcement.
Lawmakers and the governor ignore the slew of categories of other people who may have reason to especially protect themselves in public: unpopular people, famous people, wealthy people, people living in crime- or riot-ridden areas, and nervous people who, in the judgment of somebody else, may be going overboard.
All have a right to protect themselves.
But that’s a right not now defended in New York, whose politicians prefer to enact silly “performative” legislation banning “devices incapable of offensive use.” New Yorkers are just not supposed to notice that, in preparing to commit their crimes, bad guys do often use many of the same tools used by good guys to defend themselves . . . or just to eat steak (knives have been used to commit crimes) or go to the store (as cars can kill on purpose as well by accident).
It seems unlikely that governments will one day also restrict sales of steak knives and four-wheeled vehicles to members of specified blessed professions. But the dictates of mere common sense provide no assurance here.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Milton Friedman
Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.
Milton Friedman, The Counter-Revolution in Monetary Theory (1970).