The first seven minutes make the point.
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Spending with no limits
$200 billion, $2.2 trillion, $900 billion, $1.9 trillion. Over a year, Congress has passed $5.2 trillion in extraordinary spending — and President Biden wants another $3-4 trillion, split between infrastructure and social spending.
When a "normal" federal budget, pre-COVID, was $4.4 trillion, and with borrowing, not taxes, funding nearly half of federal spending, it's not crazy to ask how much is too much, before we risk huge inflation.
"Modern monetary theory" is a trendy philosophy — AOC is a fan — that holds that the government can spend as much money as it wants. Drinks all around! Even if bondholders don't feel like lending to us to make up the difference in spending and revenues, the Federal Reserve can create new money through "keystrokes," argues the first-ever MMT textbook, published in 2019.
The Fed has been doing that. In early 2008, the amount of money available in the U.S. economy was $7.5 trillion. By 2012, it had risen to more than $10 trillion. Much of this was the Fed printing electronic dollars, to encourage people to spend after the economy crashed: the Fed "grew" its own holdings from less than $1 trillion to more than $3 trillion.
(This may sound confusing, but it is no different than if you received a bank statement listing the amount of money in your checking account, didn't like it, and so took a pen and added some zeroes.)
That didn't cause inflation (sort of), so why should this?
But this time is different. In a year, the Fed has nearly doubled its own holdings (again, that pen!) from $4 trillion to $7.7 trillion. Money in the U.S. economy has risen from $15.4 trillion to $19.7 trillion, partly because people who have kept their jobs have so little to spend on, with travel and entertainment off limits.
People who lost jobs need relief. But relief is different from hosing the economy with cash.
The danger of too much spending is that it doesn't create productive goods or services; it just makes things cost more. That's especially true because, when the economy opens up, people will spend the money they've saved — they're already searching for plane flights.
DASZAK "Coronavirus is a pretty good…You can manipulate them in the lab pretty easily. It’s spike protein"
In April, he told the show DemocracyNow that, "The idea that this virus escaped from a lab is just pure baloney. It's simply not true. I've been working with that lab for 15 years. They're some of the best scientists in the world."
Daszak has pushed that line ever since. Relentlessly.
Last summer, he wrote an op-ed in The Guardian entitled, "Ignore the conspiracy theories: scientists know Covid-19 wasn't created in a lab." Then made the point on Twitter repeatedly.
But going forward, it may be much more difficult to dismiss this story. On Sunday, the former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, told CNN that based on everything he knows, he too believes the coronavirus likely came from the lab in Wuhan.
REDFIELD: I am of the point of view that I still think the most likely ideology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory, escaped. Other people don't believe that. That's fine. Science will eventually figure it out. It's not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a laboratory to infect the laboratory worker.
Monday, March 29, 2021
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Test of GoPro 360 VR camera on a bike in NYC while Louis Rossmann rants & raves into the abyss.
I like listening to Louis Rossman. He spends 6 minutes talking about why the city wants to fine him unfairly. He is using a 360-degree camera which lets the viewer look literally in all directions as he rides his bike.
The rest of the video is repetitious, but I do find him interesting. His comments reaffirm my belief that New York City is a rathole.
I seriously fear for his safety.
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Friday, March 26, 2021
Former CDC Director: COVID-19 Escaped From Wuhan Virology Lab
It seems to me that this is speculation. Although quite possibly true, we don't know yet if it is. Early on, the director of the Wuhan Virology lab said that COVID-19 did not match their genomes.
However, it would be quite a coincidence that the virus emerged from the same area as the virology lab, while that lab that was deliberately working on "adding function" to viruses, which was research either partially or fully funded by the United States.
Biden’s Addled, Radical, Lying Press Conference
I listened to this on iHeartRadio. So far I only listened to the first 36 minutes, but these are pretty significant.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
FW: Simple fact on Democratic Cities
I believe that some policies lead to more problems including crime. I think that it is likely that there is a cause and effect, but part of it could also be the effect of large cities. A great many more people live in big cities, making incidences of extreme events more likely, but I also have a negative impression of big cities and how that affects people psychologically. I am pretty happy in a small city of about 45,000 people.
On Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 6:28 PM beesley1 wrote:
This was very interesting. However, one could argue it is not a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It a urban vs. rural issue. And it just so happens that the majority of big cities vote Democrat. In other words are Democrates the cause or are big cities the cause ? Personally, I believe Democrat policies are the cause.
-Beesley-
From: Bill
On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 6:14 AM, Bill wrote:
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Sidney Powell DEFENSE in Dominion lawsuit is AMAZING
I think that there were a number of irregularities that should be looked into. However, I think that it is unlikely that these were enough to sway the election.
Monday, March 22, 2021
In Plain Sight: How White Supremacy, Misogyny, and Hate Targeted the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy and Won
On Mon, Mar 22, 2021, at 10:52 AM Larry wrote:
I have been following the debate on Youtube for the last five years. Those unhappy with the sequel trilogy are a mix of conservative and liberal YouTuber's, but it tends to lean conservative because there is an objection to the "Social Justice Warrior Messages." There is nothing wrong with inclusion, but when a movie is overt with its political messages then it feels like it is lecturing to the audience, and that is not why people go to see movies, especially fantasy films like Star Wars.
Unfortunately, I have seen the political left attack people on the right as "alt-right", which is synonymous with racism. People from Lucasfilm have attributed the negative reaction to the movies to racism. However, I have seen almost nothing that I would call racism, because those unhappy with the characters Finn and Rose are just unhappy with the way those characters are portrayed. They tend to be very supportive of John Boyega, but for some reason, they are less supportive of Kelly Marie Tran. They don't like her character, but I've argued that she is a good character with some bad dialogue.
The biggest problem is with the middle film, The Last Jedi. Despite this, I think that it is the most original of the three movies. I like the entire sequel trilogy, but I think that it is an opportunity lost to do something better and more original. The third film makes it look like they had no coherent plan for these movies. Those who made these films knew that they would make money no matter what they did, but in the process, they damaged the Star Wars brand.
Friday, March 19, 2021
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
People on the Internet have a remarkable amount of power
People on the Internet have a remarkable amount of power. When the first trailer appeared for Sonic The Hedgehog, the animation of Sonic didn't look quite right. It was kind of creepy. So people complained en masse. The production studio was so affected by this that they spent an extra $10 million over their $90 million budget to fix the animation, and the result was a kid's movie that surprised the critics by actually being good. It wasn't great, but it was passable entertainment.
The 2016 Zack Snyder movie Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice was fairly good, but the follow-up 2017 film, Justice League, was a disaster. Zack Snyder had to leave the project before it was finished due to the death of his daughter. The movie was finished by Joss Whedon, who has done great work on television and in the Marvel films, but his cut of the movie didn't quite work. As a result, there was an Internet campaign to, "Release the Snyder Cut", even though such a thing probably didn't exist. People were saying that it would never happen. However, the campaign never stopped, which lead to $70 million being spent so that Zack Snyder could release his version of the film on the 18nth of this month on HBO Max, an online streaming service. The early reviews are in, and the critics for the most part like the new version.
Gina Carano is a former wrestler who did a fairly good job of playing the character Cara Dune on the Star Wars streaming series, The Mandalorian. (I can't recommend this series enough.) However, she got into it with some fans on Twitter about her posts not being politically correct, which led to a several-month-long campaign to get her fired. I think that Gina Carano did nothing wrong, but Disney eventually gave in and fired her. Now, the same outrage mob is trying to go after Bill Bur and Rosario Dawson, both of which have also played on The Mandalorian. Meanwhile, Josh Whedon has fallen out of favor with the public for alleged bad behavior.
Monday, March 15, 2021
Sunday, March 14, 2021
New Rule: Losing to China | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Some strong language, but even more very good points.
How the Carbon Taxation Game is Played
I think that that Graph at 9:54 is interesting and relevant to any discussion of Global Warming.
However, I don't have much faith in the estimates. It would be nearly impossible to calculate the total impact of temperature change, good or bad.
Most discussion of temperature change uses the year 1880 as a baseline, presumably because that is when the most accurate records were kept. Since then the average global atmospheric temperature has risen about 1 to 1.1 degrees celsius. This is a little hard to know for certain because the NOAA has been fiddling with the numbers, even changing historical temperatures that we have known for decades as part of "normalization".
However, my point is that the year 1880 was by no means the ideal temperature. In the winter of 1880 to 1881, there were horrible snowstorms in the northern plains that killed a great many people.
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Are We Still Free? - American Greatness
"Apparently, emergency powers supersede all constitutional rights. I did not realize before the pandemic that this was the case. Although some governors, like Kristi Noem of South Dakota, put trust in her citizens after giving them the information they needed, refusing to lock down and cripple her state businesses and citizens, too many other Republican governors followed the herd. Unbeknownst to me, we actually live in large fiefdoms called states in which you may have either a freedom loving governor, a benevolent dictator, or a medieval king doling out crumbs to the masses and telling them to eat cake when they complain...
Possibly the strongest belief I had going into last year and the one I was saddest to lose when I realized it simply wasn't true anymore, was the belief that we were still a free country.
Biden's teleprompter speech Thursday evening paraded his non-belief in the Constitution. While claiming to be a unity president, not only did he give President Trump and his team zero credit for getting the vaccine fast-tracked and the country supplied with at least 100 million doses, he, Emperor No-Clothes, pronounced that he has decided we might be able to get outside with our close family members for the 4th of July, only if we are good boys and girls.
If the new normal means the Democrats-in-charge will have the power to dictate the nature of small outdoor family gatherings two full months after his goal of getting every willing person vaccinated, then Biden doesn't understand the meaning of Independence Day. "
https://amgreatness.com/2021/03/13/are-we-still-free/
Possibly the strongest belief I had going into last year and the one I was saddest to lose when I realized it simply wasn't true anymore, was the belief that we were still a free country.
Biden's teleprompter speech Thursday evening paraded his non-belief in the Constitution. While claiming to be a unity president, not only did he give President Trump and his team zero credit for getting the vaccine fast-tracked and the country supplied with at least 100 million doses, he, Emperor No-Clothes, pronounced that he has decided we might be able to get outside with our close family members for the 4th of July, only if we are good boys and girls.
If the new normal means the Democrats-in-charge will have the power to dictate the nature of small outdoor family gatherings two full months after his goal of getting every willing person vaccinated, then Biden doesn't understand the meaning of Independence Day. "
https://amgreatness.com/2021/03/13/are-we-still-free/
Friday, March 12, 2021
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
The Woke Are American Royalty | Ep. 1212
Ben Shapiro's last 8+ minutes bring up very interesting points, although I enjoyed the whole program.
I listen to this on iHeartRadio:
COVID situation improving?
1. Based on the rapidly declining death trend, I think that this is not going to be near as much of a problem within a couple of months. The vaccine is working, plus infected people developed immunity.
2. I do not trust China. There allowed people from Wuhan to travel to Italy and other countries when they were preventing the same people from traveling inside China. The CCP is inherently corrupt and turned into a brutal dictatorship that routinely engages in torture and murder.
2. I do not trust China. There allowed people from Wuhan to travel to Italy and other countries when they were preventing the same people from traveling inside China. The CCP is inherently corrupt and turned into a brutal dictatorship that routinely engages in torture and murder.
Monday, March 8, 2021
Mass Rape, Sexual Abuse: Communist China’s Genocidal Tool to Eliminate Faith
From what I can tell, China repeatedly uses torture and murder. On moral grounds, I believe very strongly that as a nation we should not trade with them unless they are willing to respect human rights. Right now, we are dependent upon China as a source of cheap manufacturing labor, but if we were to gradually increase tariffs on Chinese goods, then the free market would find other trading partners or bring some manufacturing back to the United States. This might also cause China to change its ways.
Sunday, March 7, 2021
If I Ran the Zoo Dr. Seuss Read Aloud with Music (Banned book.)
I'm sure that I would have loved this as a kid. I like the energy of the video, but the story seems a little dull. Around 3:18 the reader changes the wording that might be controversial. This is from two years ago.
I have a fondness for the more famous Dr. Seuss stories.
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street - Dr Seuss Kids Book Read Aloud - Stories for Kids
Dr. Seuss's first book, and withdrawn from publication for supposed racism. How long before the video is removed?
It is not his best book, but it is mildly amusing. I read this a month or two ago on a different site.
The Book Burners are Here
Ben Shapiro makes very good points here.
I've been listening on the iHeartRaido app, but there is also a youtube version.
I also liked ... Freedom Is For Neanderthals | Ep. 1209
Saturday, March 6, 2021
The Reason That Amazon Changed Their Logo Is Laughably Ridiculous
Although I like the whole video, I especially like the point he makes at 7:12.
Friday, March 5, 2021
Re: Jordan Peterson
The proof is in the pudding. Jordan Peterson gives some great speeches and much insightful advice. Many of his talks are at such a high intellectual level that he loses people and those who can follow him have to pay close attention to keep up. However, sometimes when he gets philosophical, he kind of goes out in left field with some weird ideas. He often talks about life being full of suffering as if that were some noble ambition.
This speech that he gave on in the importance of free speech is just fantastic:
--
On Fri, Mar 5, 2021 at 3:37 PM Larry wrote:
Peterson writes an entire chapter against ideologies—feminism, anti-capitalism, environmentalism, basically anything ending in ism—declaring that life is too complex to be described by such intellectual frameworks. Funny story: There's an academic movement devoted to skepticism of grand historical narratives. It's called … postmodernism. That chapter concludes by advising readers to put their own lives in order before trying to change the world. This is not only a rehash of one of the previous 12 rules—"Clean up your bedroom," he writes, because fans love it when you play the hits—but also ferocious chutzpah coming from a man who was on a lecture tour well after he should have gone to rehab.On Fri, Mar 5, 2021 at 12:50 PM Larry wrote:I only vaguely knew the name Jordan Peterson for maybe 5 years.I knew he was controversial and the press characterized him as alt-right.I had no interest, and slightly avoided anything related to him.I have since watched him debate and be interviewed few times.He is a strange man. But, ge also is a methodical and intellectual debater with interesting takes. He also had some strange health issues with him and his family.He is most famous for his book/speeches on 12 principles, which seem very good.This article in the Atlantic is a well written history of his life.
Thursday, March 4, 2021
China's Reckoning: Demographic Collapse
This is deeply fascinating. I wanted to hear more about whether the U.S. has the same problems.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Amazon quietly changed its app icon after some unfavorable comparisons - CNN
"I completely missed that amazon quietly tweaked its new icon to make it look... less like Hitler,"
Fwd: Trump CPAC speech
I listened to this yesterday. I thought that this was a pretty good speech. However, the 2nd half mostly complained about the election. Regardless of whether he is right or wrong, it is old news.
On Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 10:52 PM Larry wrote:
New Rule: Cancel Culture is Over Party | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Some strong language, but some good points. I can't believe I agree with Bill Maher.
Monday, March 1, 2021
'Keep an eye' on New York coronavirus variant, Fauci warns | Fox News
I'm wondering if new variants are going to be a serious concern?
Fwd: Coronavirus mRNA Vaccine Safety and Efficacy
I think that this is a good video. As I suspected, the Messenger RNA clears from the system quickly. My only side effect was that for a day and a half my arm at the injection site was sorer than I thought it should be. However, this is an indication of something is happening.
Fwd: Every book, picture,statue,building...
I believe that the riots last year are an Existential Threat. The rioters screamed at senior citizens crossing the street, beat up shop owners male and female, destroyed businesses, and killed people. Some of the deaths were minorities, like the Black police officer defending a store, and the Black young lady who was also a protestor.
There is a reason why almost nobody displayed Trump signs during the campaign. We didn't want our houses to be firebombed.
Many elected officials supported this lawlessness. Apparently, we have changed the "Overton Window" on what public behavior is acceptable. If future riots are allowed to go unchecked, then the criminals will come for you and me next.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Larry Trout
From: Larry Trout
Fascism is just another flavor of socialism. "Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right." George Orwell. "1984.
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