Blog Roundup

A Friday Hodgepodge

1. "A Dangerous Precedent," by Brian Phillips (The Texas Institute for Property Rights):

It would be moral and just for Trump to demand the stolen property be returned to its rightful owners, but that is not what he demands. He wants that property to be ceded to the United States government, which has never owned that property. Indeed, a British company -- Shell Oil -- was one of the primary victims of Venezuela's nationalization. What Trump is proposing is to replace Venezuelan nationalization with American nationalization.

370 words/1 minute

2. "Statism Doesn't Work for Young People -- but Capitalism Does," by Jaana Woiceshyn (How to Be Profitable and Moral):

... Capitalism is not the cause of the younger generations' economic woes but the solution to them. To fundamentally solve their economic problems requires systematically reducing the role of the state in the economy and adopting capitalism, "a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including the property rights, in which all property is privately owned."

There would be no student loan debt crisis in capitalism because all universities are private (offering varied programs at competitive price points to meet demand) and must offer value (actual knowledge and skills) to attract students who are willing to pay (funded by summer jobs, co-op placements, scholarships, or private loans) for such an education. These graduates would be sought after by employers.

830 words/3 minutes

3. "Thoughts on Following a Daily Plan," by Jean Moroney (Thinking Directions):

First of all, I no longer look at my full week priorities list in the morning as part of getting started on the day.

Now, I only look at the whole priorities list a couple of times a week....

I'm more likely to look at one of the categories on the priorities list. Sometimes the assignment I put on the calendar is the name of a category such as "Email and online admin." When I do work on that assignment, I'll look at the priority list for that category, and do the top tasks from that category that fit in the time.

Minimizing attention on the week's priorities list turns out to be important. It means I don't second-guess my decisions about what to do today or when to do it. This is necessary if you are trying to develop a skill of sticking to yesterday's plan.

1830 words/6 minutes

4. "Climate Craziness Takes a New Twist," by Harry Binswanger (Value for Value):

[C]limate has not changed in 100 years.

There's no obvious difference from 1925 in the weather of Paris, Albuquerque, Sydney, New York City, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, London, Tel Aviv . . . you name it.

Some people are beginning to notice. Even some climate scientists. So what is the new line?

"See what we saved you from?!"

The discrepancy between how planet Earth is and what they claimed it would be is being sold as a victory for recycling, better smokestacks, and the Paris Accords. I kid you not.

370 words/1 minute

-- CAV