This is the time of year that Big Media seeks to appease its biggest advertisers, Big Pharma, by helping to spread fear and panic about this year’s “flu epidemic.” They commonly quote sensationalized statistics, suggesting that you will die or become very ill unless you vaccinate. However, conveniently enough, even the Lung Association admits that the vast majority of these deaths associated with the flu are not from this illness at all but from pneumonia.1 This merging of statistics is rare in medicine or science, except when the economics of Big Pharma (or another big industry) are involved, as their … Continue reading →

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One definition of bibliophilia is a great or excessive love of books. (A synonym for bibliophilia used by Theodore Dalrymple is Bibliomania.) I have not been diagnosed by an “expert” using the DSM-5, but I think I “suffer” from this “disorder.” (Note use of quotes to indicate sarcasm.) Nonetheless, I am almost always reading books or thinking about books and I have written about a dozen LRC posts on various books so I think I have bibliophilia. There are at least two types of bibliophiles, one who loves and collects physical books and one who loves to read books. I … Continue reading →

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Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google parent company Alphabet, was appointed chairman of a Department of Defense program in 2016 that was established by former President Barack Obama’s administration. A staunch supporter of the Democratic Party and critic of President Donald Trump, Schmidt still continues to lead the Defense Innovation Board (DIB), even well after the new administration took over in January. This begs the question: should Schmidt’s history of partisan advocacy and condemnation of Trump be a worrisome prospect for the current White House? Regardless of the answer, Trump’s retention of Schmidt may be emblematic of more than political … Continue reading →

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Time to buy old US gold coins
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Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel, by Alison Weir The United States has a moral prestige in the Near and Middle East unequaled by that of any other great power.  We would lose that prestige and would be likely for many years to be considered as a betrayer of the high principles which we ourselves have enunciated…. –        Loy Henderson, US State Department, 1945 Having recently completed a series on Hugh Wilford’s book, America’s Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East, I have decided to go further into … Continue reading →

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Many Americans have been shocked by recent revelations of the extent of sexual harassment in Congress. However, no one should be too surprised that those who spend their lives defending and expanding the welfare-warfare state engage in immoral personal conduct. It is only natural that an immoral system, like the welfare-warfare state, tends to attract individuals likely to practice personal immorality. The welfare-warfare state is built on a foundation of taxation and fiat currency controlled by a secretive central bank. While some type of taxation may be necessary to fund the few legitimate functions of government, taking people’s money to … Continue reading →

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There is one thing Donald Trump has right; our establishment news is unquestionably, indubitably fake. Those reasonable souls who have become understandably fed up with Trump’s WWE/Reality Show antics have to keep this in mind. Just because he’s an immature clown doesn’t mean his enemies are credible. Most of us know BS artists, people who consistently twist and exaggerate the truth. Many of us know pathological liars, who simply are incapable of telling the truth about anything. In such cases, we don’t give these kinds of individuals any credibility whatsoever. We barely pay attention to anything they say. I would … Continue reading →

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My recent columns have focused on the extremely poor educational outcomes for black students. There’s enough blame for all involved to have their fair share. That includes students who are hostile and alien to the educational process and have derelict, uninterested home environments. After all, if there is not someone in the home to ensure that a youngster does his homework, has wholesome meals, gets eight to 10 hours of sleep and behaves in school, educational dollars won’t produce much. There’s another educational issue that’s neither flattering nor comfortable to confront. That’s the low academic quality of so many teachers. … Continue reading →

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In the fall of 1987 Mercedes-Benz released its 1988 560 SEL sedan.  The car was beautiful, full of gadgets including digital stereo, cassette player, leather steering wheel, and anything else the well-to-do of the time could seemingly want. For the safety conscious the car had anti-lock brakes (ABS), along with driver and front passenger airbags.  The SEL’s seats adjusted electrically, as did its side mirrors.  For buyers willing to spend a bit more, electric seat heaters were an option. Car & Driver and other auto enthusiast magazines wrote about the SEL in superlatives.  The car retailed for over $68,000. In 2006 Ford … Continue reading →

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“They also serve who only stand and pick.” — John Milton (almost) The Wrecking Crew changed popular music in the 1960’s. The only member who ever made it big as a solo performer was Glen Campbell. These musicians were the music behind the Beach Boys, including “Good Vibrations.” There is a great documentary on them on Netflix.  My review of the documentary is here. Time to buy old US gold coins In Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the Swampers did the same thing in the late 1960’s . . . and beyond. If they had not existed, Aretha Franklin would still not … Continue reading →

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Long-time rumors about presidential candidate Nixon conspiring to delay the ending of the Vietnam War were recently confirmed. A year ago, historian and journalist John A Farrell wrote in the New York Times: fA newfound cache of notes left by H. R. Haldeman, [Nixon’s] closest aide, shows that Nixon directed his campaign’s efforts to scuttle the peace talks [President Johnson’s 1968 peace initiative to bring the war in Vietnam to an early conclusion], which he feared could give his opponent, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, an edge in the 1968 election. On Oct. 22, 1968, he ordered Haldeman to “monkey wrench” the initiative. … Continue reading →

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What separates this compelling biography from many others about public figures of the 20th century is that Angleton left no letters, no diaries, no memoirs…a few self-serving videos survive after his disgraced exile from the CIA but invariably he never says anything revealing and falls back on biblical references, eg., “My father’s mansion has many rooms…” Morley thus uses all his wits and journalist’s skills (and the substantial knowledge from his excellent biography of Mexico City CIA Chief Winston Scott) and gets probably as close as one can get to the make-up of this “neurotic maniac.” The reader will want … Continue reading →

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