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By the logic used by the US Department of Justice to exonerate Capitol Hill Police officer Michael Byrd in the Jan. 6th shooting of Ashli Babbitt, hundreds of other protesters on that day - and in previous protests across the country last year - could have been shot and killed. Also today, interest in homeschooling is soaring. Is this the end of the state re-education camps for kids?
After 20 years and countless thousands of deaths on both sides, it is time for the most difficult questions to be asked about the US war on Afghanistan. Did they all die in vain? Also today, with this war over, the Washington war machine is cranking up more enemy narratives. And...Israel mandates new shot, Denmark ends all Covid restrictions, and a new study confirms superiority of natural immunity.
The late and great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises was the individual who logically conquered the impracticability and unworkability of Socialism, Communism & Fascism. But just because an idea can't work, doesn't mean that those with a lust for power won't attempt to pull it off anyway. These bad ideas end in a catastrophe that Mises called a "Crack-up Boom." Are you ready for it?
For several days mainstream media outlets have been reporting stories on the Covid narrative that they would not have touched just months ago. Early treatment to avoid hospitalization? Rapidly fading efficacy of the shot? Serious doubts on the wisdom of a "booster" regime? All of this had been until very recently considered anathema to the MSM. So what's changing and why? Also today, an update and reflection on breaking news from Afghanistan.
Bloomberg is reporting that the CDC now says the formerly 90 percent plus efficacy of the covid shots is now down to 66 percent efficacy. What does that tanking efficacy mean as we see increasing demands for vaccine passports and other restrictions? Also...Fauci is NOW saying that early treatments, particularly monoclonal antibodies, for covid can cut hospitalizations by 85 percent. Florida Governor DeSantis was attacked for saying the same thing last week. And...Afghanistan update: who really won?
 By Chris Rossini The assessment of risk is the result of an individual valuation. It is subjective and different for everyone. The assessment of risk is done in each individual mind, who looks at his or her own local circumstances, and decides "it is worth it to do XYZ" or "it is not worth it." There is no such thing as a single risk assessment for all of humanity. To believe that there is, and that an authority has the ability to dictate such an assessment, is to participate in a fantasy. Some individuals bungee jump, while others would never go within 100 yards of a cliff. Many individuals fly in airplanes, but others vehemently refuse and will only drive. Some individuals are willing to risk their lives for a cause, while others will turn on a dime when confronted with social pressures. The assessment of risk is personal. Since the nature of human beings is perpetual ignorance, every single move that we make involves some form of risk. We ALWAYS deal with uncertainty. We NEVER know all the variables involved with what we are doing. We NEVER see the big picture. The only rational way to live under such a "setup" that The Creator has provided, is to accept and respect the individual liberty of others. Others will make different choices than you. They have to! They are not you! But here's another part of the "setup." While we are capable of thinking and believing that which is true, we are just as capable of thinking and believing that which is false. Since individual liberty is true, what would be its imaginary opposite? Collectivism. Collectivism is a creation of the imagination. It's the imaginary belief that all individuals are literally the same; that there are no differences from one person and another. Since this imaginary humanity is homogeneous rather than heterogeneous, it means that the brilliant authorities from Mount Olympus must pass down one-size-fits-all "policies" that the homogeneous human blob must obey. The reality of individuality is stripped out, and the fantasy of "there's only one way" is baked in. Since fear is such a powerful human emotion, the authorities from Mount Olympus exploit it to the extreme. How do you exploit fear? By promising an imaginary "safety." As the mind virus of Collectivism is embraced by more and more individuals, and obsession with "safety" becomes widely accepted and ruthlessly sought after. An obsession with the total elimination of risk emanates from every pore of society. Decade after decade, the policies are thundered from Olympus: "Obey, and you will be safe." "Obey, and you will be safe." Over-and-over, decade-after-decade, until ultimately far too many Americans have been conditioned to be afraid of their own shadows! Two mindsets have been feeding off of each other over the last several decades: those who want to rule others, and those who want to be ruled by others. The point has been reached where the breath (the breath!) of other human beings is to be feared. The point has been reached where people are being pressured to sacrifice their one-and-only body to the mercy other people with the injection of foreign chemicals. Other people are now attempting to take charge of the contents of your body! In all of this, the reality of human life has not changed one iota. The truth is true throughout all time. But the fantasy has consumed a very large amount of people's minds. They believe that the fantasy is reality! Everyone cannot be safe until everyone obeys the current dictate from Olympus ... and then the next dictate ... and the next ... ad infinitum. The obsession of safety at all costs is now taking the ultimate cost --- actual human lives! This is the culmination of the sacrifice of individual liberty. This is the dead end that the obsession with safety at all costs leads to. It's time to make a sharp U-Turn. 
In the wake of yesterday's FDA approval of the Pfizer shot, Biden's Covid advisor Anthony Fauci has blasted back onto the television screens, screeching that while he likes freedom there are times we must give up freedom...and take the shot! Meanwhile Biden is demanding that the private sector turn into the shot police and install mandates on their workers and customers. As Afghanistan unravels, is this dramatic ramping up of authoritarianism at home meant to be a distraction?
 By Ron Paul This month marks fifty years since President Richard Nixon closed the “gold window” that had allowed foreign governments to exchange US dollars for gold. Nixon’s action severed the last link between the dollar and gold, transforming the dollar into pure fiat currency. Since the “Nixon shock” of 1971, the dollar’s value — and the average American’s living standard — has continuously declined, while income inequality and the size, scope, and cost of government have risen. Since the beginning of this year, price inflation has increased much, and it could continue onward to exceed the 1970s-era price spikes. Understandably, Republicans are trying to blame President Joe Biden for the price increases. However, a major cause of the current price inflation is the unprecedented money creation the Federal Reserve has engaged in since the 2008 market meltdown. This, though, does not mean Biden and most US politicians of both parties do not bear some responsibility for rising prices. Their support for the Fed and massive government spending contributes to the problem. The main way the Fed pumps money into the economy is by monthly purchases of 120 billion dollars of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. Even many Keynesian economists agree that rising price inflation means the Fed should stop pumping money into the economy. Yet, this year the Fed is likely, at most, to only slightly reduce its purchases of Treasury securities. It will almost certainly keep interest rates at near-zero levels. A reason the Fed will not stop or significantly reduce its purchases of Treasuries and allow interest rates to increase is that doing so would increase federal debt payments to unsustainable levels. Even with interest rates at historic lows, interest payments remain a significant portion of federal spending, and recent indications are that the US government is not about to start being frugal. Consider, for example, Congress' six trillion dollars “Covid relief and economic stimulus” spending spree and the Senate passage of the trillion dollars “traditional infrastructure” bill and a budget “outline” of a 3.5 trillion dollars “human infrastructure” bill. The “human infrastructure” bill represents an expansion of government along the lines of the Great Society. Among its initiatives are universal pre-kindergarten; two “free” years of community college; increased government control of health care via expansions of Obamacare, Medicare, and Medicaid; and a raft of new government mandates and spending aimed at reshaping the US economy to fight “climate change.” The need to gain support of “moderate” Democrats will likely mean the final “human infrastructure” bill will costs less than 3.5 trillion dollars. However, no Democrat is objecting to the bill's programs; the objectors just want cheaper tolls on the road to serfdom. While progressives will likely accept reduced spending levels in order to get their wish list into law, they will then work to increase funding and expand the programs. As the programs become more entrenched, even many “conservatives” will support increasing their funding. The expansion of government will increase pressure on the Fed to keep the money spigots open. This will lead to a major economic crisis. The good news is the crisis may mark the beginning of the end of the fiat monetary system and the welfare-warfare state, along with the dawn of a new era of free markets, sound money, and limited government. By Adam Dick A new interview with Ron Paul starts with a video clip of Paul speaking on the United States House of Representatives floor in March of 2011 when Paul was a Republican member of the House from Texas. In the clip, Paul says that, if US troops were not withdrawn that year from Afghanistan where they had already been fighting for approaching ten years, they would remain there for another ten. “You were right on with that prediction” commented Kitco News host David Lin after the clip and before Lin and Paul began an informative discussion in which Paul provided an overview of the US government’s twenty-year debacle in Afghanistan. Further, Paul warns in the interview that the US government’s intervention in Afghanistan is far from over despite President Joe Biden’s apparent attempt to end it. Says Paul, “believe me, we are not going to lose an interest in Afghanistan; we’re not just going to close the door and walk away.” Hopefully, Paul does not turn out to be as correct in that prediction in regard to Afghanistan as he was ten years back. Watch Paul’s interview here: Originally published at The Ron Paul Institute. |
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