Category Archives: Libertarian

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY Early voting is already underway in New York City, with the Nov. 2 general election rapidly approaching. Before you head to your polling place, here's a look at what will be on the ballot in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen and across the city.

First, a word about voting: to find your early or election-day poll site and view a sample ballot, use the Board of Elections website.

The only neighborhood-level races in this year's election are those for City Council. In the three Council districts that cover Midtown, two are contested, while one candidate will be unopposed.

In District 3, Democrat Erik Bottcher has no challengers as he seeks to replace Corey Johnson in a district that covers Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, the West Village, and parts of Midtown and the Upper West Side.

Further east, incumbent Democrat Keith Powers is running for re-election in District 4, which covers the Midtown East neighborhoods of Turtle Bay, Murray Hill and Sutton Place, as well as Koreatown, Times Square, Stuyvesant Town and parts of the Upper East Side.

Powers is being challenged by David Casavis, who is running on the Republican and Independent/Libertarian party lines. Casavis is a Republican district leader and adjunct professor at SUNY and CUNY.

Further downtown, meanwhile, incumbent Democrat Carlina Rivera is also seeking re-election in District 2, which covers the East Side below 35th Street including Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Murray Hill, the Lower East Side and the East Village.

Rivera has two challengers: Juan Pagan, an independent, and Allie Ryan, running on the "Neighborhood" party line. (Watch last week's debate between Pagan and Ryan here.)

Midtown voters will have two Manhattan-wide races on their ballots: the elections for Manhattan Borough President and Manhattan District Attorney.

In the BP race, Democratic nominee Mark Levine is going up against Republican Louis Puliafito and Libertarian Michael Lewyn.

The race for Manhattan's top prosecutor, meanwhile, is between Democrat Alvin Bragg and Republican Thomas Kenniff.

Meanwhile, the citywide races on the ballot will be for mayor, public advocate and comptroller.

In addition to local elections, New Yorkers will be asked to vote on five proposed amendments to the state constitution, governing redistricting, environmental rights, voting and civil court claims.

To learn more about each proposition, read this guide from THE CITY.

Early voting will continue through Sunday, Oct. 31, followed by election day on Nov. 2. To find your poll site, click here.

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Midtown-Hells Kitchen Voter Guide, 2021: Whats On The Ballot - Patch.com

A hay field in Columbia County in New York, near the Massachusetts border. The area has become a hotbed of resistance to medical mandates on matters related to COVID-19.

They are the vaccine-hesitant or they are the advanced procrastinators. Whatever their reason for avoiding the COVID-19 shots, the approximately 30 percent of unvaccinated in Columbia County in New York are the people Michael Richardson and others want to reach in the quest to get the county and the larger area fully inoculated against COVID-19.

I didnt [get the shots] because the government said I should, I did it because my doctor said I should and because my brother whos a doctor said I should."

Sam Pratt, Hudson Valley activist and writer

Richardson founded Vaxx Facts and co-founded Columbia County Community Health Action. Both, through newsletters and online messaging, are meant to counter misinformation about the coronavirus and the vaccines and to explain why the shots are important.

But, there are people that Richardson, who lives in Chatham, N.Y., fears could upend that plan: the entrenched, vaccine-opposed. He says there is a small but vocal group that has united there and in the Berkshires, and is composed of those from the far left and far right people who otherwise would disagree about almost everything. Richardson and others say they have made this strange discovery as various events and movements sparked by conspiracy pushers sprouted over the past year.

Michael Richardson with his dog, Woody, at his home in Chatham, N.Y. this month.Richardson founded Vaxx Facts and co-founded Columbia County Community Health Action. Both, through newsletters and online messaging, are meant to counter misinformation about the coronavirus and the vaccines and to explain why the shots are important.

Richardson said the two factions are sharing all manner of misinformation on websites, email listsand it doesnt stop there. It jumps beyond traditional libertarian dont tread on me narratives and into theories that will rock you back in your chair, Richardson said, noting that the left-leaning might be inadvertently associating with hate groups through fundraising mechanisms. Richardson, a former municipal consultant, also is the founder of Hate-Watch Report, which gives people tools to report any harbingers of white supremacist or other extremist activity.

In the case of these unlikely COVID skeptics, we are not talking about QAnon theorists, he said.

These are not the people you think they are, he said. Theyre otherwise very progressive, they will agree with you on antiwar, they will agree with you on climate catastrophe, they will agree with you on most [progressive] political values, but they have completely gone over into this other realm, where suddenly, no science is not to be trusted.

Berkshire County:73 percent

Columbia County, N.Y.:75 percent

United States: 58.1 percent

*data are for people age 12 and up. Children ages 5 to 11 are not yet eligible

Data: The New York Times and Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Yet, some area residents who say they are politically progressive say their challenging current policy is consistent that past malfeasance and deep conflicts of interest among government and Big Pharma requires deeper exploration of the science and a second look at public health measures.

What is characterized as todays misinformation could be tomorrows correct information, said Daniel Seitz, a nonprofit consultant who worked in medical education for more than 30 years. Seitz, of Great Barrington, attended a recent Great Barrington Board of Health meeting to ask the board to dive deeper before making new COVID policy. Seitz used the example of the Wuhan lab leak theory that the virus somehow emerged from a Chinese lab as an example of a once unspeakable idea that now is considered credible and likely.

People [last year] were deplatformed [from social media] for suggesting this was a possibility.

In the Hudson Valley, with its strong local food and self-sufficiency ethos, the libertarian right has invaded the libertarian left, Richardson says. How does he know? Online chatter, tips, some roadside signs last spring and his own conversations with people. But, often, its social media the watering hole of the coronavirus pandemic era where likes and comments are noted.

We just kind of look at whos hanging out at the bar with each other, and youre guilty by association, Richardson said, noting that the guilty can be close, as he has seen in his own life. Richardson, founder ofthe Buddhist Action Coalition of Upper Hudson and the Berkshires,has a way of talking to those challenging the vaccine orthodoxy: We are family you are part of me and I am part of you. Were all in the same situation, you are just plain wrong, and stop it because what youre doing is hurting people.

In the Hudson Valley, Do We Need This? is a group calling for resistance to current measures like masking and all mandates, and "5G networks installed without community consent; Government that serves oligarchs and big corporations." Stand Up Massachusetts! is drawing support in the Berkshires, says Patrick Connors, who works with Richardson on Vaxx Facts and also is a co-founder of Columbia County Community Health Action. Connors, who lives in Hillsdale, N.Y., is tracking people and groups online. Neither resistance group's website discloses its organizers.

Columbia County registered a total of 111 deaths since the start of the pandemic in those who tested positive for the virus; Berkshire County, whose population is over 125,000, registered 322 deaths. Caseloads in Columbia County, whose population is over 59,000, have held steady over the past two weeks, at 10 new cases for moving seven-day average. Berkshire County's case counts rose 36 percent during the same time period, for a rolling average of 36 new cases per day. Berkshire Health Systems officials, who also are working to combat resistance to the shots, are seeing a rise in positive tests results in both the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Both counties registered caseloads peak in January, and both still are considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as areas of "high transmission," like most of the U.S., yet caseloads are declining across the country.

Red indicates areas of "high transmission." The CDC's transmission map as of Thursday, Oct. 28. Orange is "substantial transmission," yellow is "moderate transmission," and blue is "low transmission."

In an effort to knock back a local resurgence, Connors occasionally logs on to local health board meetings he knows might be attended by those fighting mask mandates and raising doubts about vaccine safety it has been happening in Great Barrington, for instance. He also is distressed that local health officials arent debunking some of the claims they hear at meetings, like the one that COVID never has been isolated.

I think someone needs to be countering that kind of information, Connors said.

He worries about the sources of some claims.

Theres also this extent to which people may not realize that theyre legitimizing working with, tied to, linked to right-wing racist groups, sometimes, and not in all cases, he said.

Skeptics, and even the vaccinated among them, say the politicization of science and that vaccine-makers like Pfizer sponsor news programs and fund research, for instance has prompted them to scour scientific studies on their own.

But, distrust of the corporate-government alliance is just the latest excuse to avoid the vaccines, said someone who spent more than two decades working in public health.

Because the issue around vaccines has been so politicized, now people have turned against government, said Michael Seserman.

Seserman also is a co-founder of Columbia County Community Health Action, whose website and Facebook page includes videos of well-respected area doctors that people who are hesitating on shots might trust.

Seserman, who now works for the American Cancer Society, said that part of what's at work here is that Columbia and Berkshire counties long have been a hotbed of those who think outside the mainstream.

They are more vulnerable to those anti-establishment-type messages anyway, and the right-wing groups are taking advantage [of it], he said. It is an odd brotherhood here, and we must point out that this is a small, vocal minority.

Residents, like Daniel Seitz, who attended a recent Great Barrington Board of Health meeting on Zoom to challenge any consideration of mandates, say the government and Big Pharma, while doing some good, are to blame for much of the resistance, given their track records.Seitz said there needs to be a deeper look at all information in a wildly shifting and inconsistent public health landscape. Historically, there have been plenty of shifts, and he points to poisons like DDT, once considered safe, and eggs, once thought to be harmful.

Seitz said he is not a Trump voter he voted for Bernie Sanders and that censorship of what is labeled "misinformation only is increasing public resistance.

You dont create trust by censoring people, he said. If anything, that further awakens distrust.

Kathy Regan, of Housatonic, said demonization of skeptics and the stoking of fear is dividing people an early hallmark of incoming totalitarianism. She says that for her, its all about science.

Kathy Regan, of Housatonic, said demonization of skeptics and the stoking of fear is dividing people an early hallmark of incoming totalitarianism. She says that for her, its all about science.

Im seeing inaccuracy on both sides, and its more easily cleared up when people stop listening to opinions, said Regan, who added that she has read hundreds of peer-reviewed studies that leave her with different conclusions than what is now public health orthodoxy. This has almost become like a religion on both sides, where people are not thinking clearly.

In a blog post, a Hudson Valley writer and activist who has tried to understand vaccine-resistant friends wrote that distrust is mostly rational, given what appears to be garden variety incompetence, but can coexist with acceptance that the virus is a true threat.

I fully agree that the United States government is highly untrustworthy; that the pharmaceutical industry is often predatory; and that our captains of industry will look at most any calamity and find an opportunity to buy low and later sell high, Sam Pratt wrote. We should be able to hold these two disparate ideas in our minds: that the pandemic is a real and present danger, even as we question the motivations and competence of powerfully opportunistic interests.

Pratt told The Eagle that he doesnt support mandates but thinks it foolish to skip the shots, because of overwhelming agreement among medical professionals.

I didnt [get the shots] because the government said I should, I did it because my doctor said I should and because my brother whos a doctor said I should, Pratt said.

Yet friends and family appear to be more influential in spreading ideas than government or institutions, said Nina Cesare, a Boston University postdoctoral researcher in the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center who co-authored a study that charted the exponential spread of misinformation by analyzing Google search trends during the pandemic.

A graph from research co-authored by Boston University researcher Nina Cesare, titled "COVID-19 Misinformation Spread in Eight Countries: Exponential Growth Modeling Study." The graph shows searches from December 2019 to October 2020, and the black vertical line shows when the World Health Organization included 5G on its Mythbusters website.

People on lockdowns who were scrambling for information were exposed to a sea of claims many of which stuck in the collective consciousness, she said.

Asked for her thoughts about this, Cesare says that while reducing exposure to misinformation is important, it isnt enough to dissuade people from believing in, for instance, a connection between 5G radiation and COVID, since that is part of a pre-COVID, chronic distrust. She said taking down YouTube videos or Facebook posts wont help counter these kinds of ideas.

Theres more complexity and nuance in this than just reducing peoples access to false information, she said.

What Cesare suggests is a much bigger project at a time when trust in government is at a near-historic low, according to Pew Research Center.

Belief in false information regarding COVID is tied to larger issues that could potentially be alleviated by building trust in medical institutions, by building trust in government, but its something thats going to be a lot more complicated, she said.

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With COVID policy and vaccine resistance, distrust is key. Meet some who are trying to counter this. - Berkshire Eagle

ObituaryDavid Kent (D.K.) Williams Jr, passed away unexpectedly at home on Saturday, October 23, 2021, days after celebrating his 55th birthday. He is preceded in death by his brother, Daniel, and survived by his parents, David and Robin Williams, children Kylie Williams and Steven Bugg and his three sons, much-loved partner, Mailyn Salabarria, and numerous beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.He departed too soon, but we rejoice in his Christian life. We rejoice in his integrity. We rejoice in his full embrace of the principles of Liberty.An erudite academic and student of life, Dave attended primary schools in Fort Collins, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Mobile, Alabama, and then high school in North Kingstown, RI, where he played basketball and was a state track-champion in the 400-meter event. Dave was always keen on running for office, making his first foray into campaigning with a successful bid for sophomore class president, ultimately becoming student-body president his senior year. Dave was in a runoff for Governor in North Carolina's Boys State program, and in 1983, he earned the prestigious North Carolina Youth Ambassador designation from the Hugh O'Brien Foundation. His dedication to effectively representing his classmates likely contributed to his winning the yearbook designations "most likely to succeed," and "most dependable." Dave's academic and leadership exploits in high school earned him the prestigious Morehead Scholarship to the University of North Carolina.Dave graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1989 with degrees in economics and speech communications; he competed with the UNC Fencing Club and founded a social fraternity. Upon completing undergraduate work, Dave earned his Juris Doctor degree, with honors. He was on the law-school Moot Court team and was president of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.After law school, Dave served as a law clerk for the Hon. U.S. Magistrate Judge, Alexander B. Denson, and he was associated with several law firms in North Carolina and Denver, until founding the Williams Law Office. He cherished opportunities to teach at Denver Public Schools during this time.Dave served as legislative director of Colorado's Libertarian Party 2007-2008, and chairman from 2008-2010. He co-founded the Gadsden Society of Colorado in 2009, and was a member of the Leadership Program of the Rockies Class of 2009. He hosted The Law with D.K. William podcast, co-hosted The Cuban and the Cracker podcast, and he was frequently a guest speaker at Liberty on the Rocks and on various radio programs.A perennial sports fan, Dave worked as a sports journalist and did play-by-play announcing for NCAA Division III basketball, football, and soccer, as well a play-by-play announcing for the Greensboro Prowlers arena-football team.Dave was an eternal student, committed to learning and growing throughout his adult life. He was a talented writer, public speaker, and a loving, doting father. Dave was generous with his smile, which was always the life of the party. His dangerously free and brave life will be missed by many; the torch of freedom will be carried onward by others committed to keeping the flame of liberty alive.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the "D.K. Williams LPR Scholarship Fund", dedicated to the recruitment of Libertarian-minded individuals to go through the Leadership Program of the Rockies: http://www.leadershipprogram.orgThose wishing to attend the services for DK virtually, please use the following link: https://bxcited.com/david-dk-williams-jr/A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday October 31, 2021 2pm at Horan and McConaty Funeal Home: 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave. Aurora CO 80014A reception and Celebration of Life will be held right after the Memorial Service at Max Taps Craft Beers: 2680 E County Line Rd. Littleton CO 80014. Please bring Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to share, in honor to DK's favorite chocolate.

Published by Horan & McConaty - SE Denver/Aurora on Oct. 28, 2021.

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David Williams Obituary (1966 - 2021) - Denver, CO - Legacy.com

Oct. 29A University of Minnesota gymnast is suing the school for sex discrimination over its decision last year to eliminate the mens gymnastics team.

An incoming freshman last year, Evan Ng still was home in Chicago because of the coronavirus pandemic when he learned on a Sept. 10, 2020 conference call that his first year as a Division I athlete would be his last.

Besides mens gymnastics, the U's Board of Regents in October eliminated mens tennis and indoor track cutting 34 roster spots for male athletes and reduced by 40 the rosters of the womens rowing, track and field and cross country teams.

Eliminating the three mens programs was projected to save an estimated $1.6 million a year at a time when athletics revenue was expected to plummet because of the pandemic. It also was going to help the U balance its number of male and female athletes in order to comply with Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs.

"The men's gymnastics team was cut because the University sought to reduce the number of male athletes in its varsity athletics program. As a result, Evan Ng is no longer a varsity NCAA gymnast at the University of Minnesota solely because of his sex," according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Asked whether the sex-discrimination argument has ever succeeded in similar lawsuits, Ng's attorney, Caleb Trotter, said it hadn't. But he's hopeful a win in court could set a precedent that brings back gymnastics and the other mens sports.

"There's a hope, of course, that if we prevail, the University will see the writing on the wall and do the right thing," said Trotter, who works for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a California-based libertarian public interest law firm.

Days before the vote last October, Coach Mike Burns and others presented the Board of Regents with a self-funding proposal, but Athletics Director Mark Coyle said it was "unrealistic" to expect fundraising to sustain the program. The lawsuit says the team was told it was cut for Title IX reasons, not financial.

Story continues

The lawsuit asserts Title IX does not require the U to have the same male-female ratios in athletics as it has in the student body at large.

The lawsuit asks a judge to order the U to reinstate the gymnastics program.

A university spokesman said for this article that the decision to eliminate the three sports was difficult.

"Importantly, this lawsuit isn't just about the University. It is a broad challenge to how Title IX has been implemented by the U.S. government across colleges and universities nationwide to achieve equal opportunity. The University has and will always honor its legal obligations," Jake Ricker said by email.

Ng, still enrolled at the U as a sophomore, told reporters Friday that he is suing for not only himself, but also teammates and future Gopher gymnasts.

"I worked my whole life to get where I am today," he said.

The complaint says it would be difficult for Ng to transfer because only 13 Division I schools still offer mens gymnastics, and because he's dealing with a shoulder injury.

Burns and gymnasts have formed a club program to stay in shape in case the team is restored, Trotter said.

Read more from the original source:

Male gymnast sues UMN, claiming sex discrimination in decision to eliminate team - Yahoo News

BELLEVILLE / NUTLEY, NJ This election season is shaping up to be fairly quiet in Essex County, with few contested elections and foregone conclusions for some of the contested races. The biggest question on the ballot this upcoming Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2, is the choice for governor.

Democratic incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy, with running mate Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, will be facing off against Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, with running mate Diane Allen. Also running for governor and lieutenant governor are the teams of Joanne Kuniansky and Vivian M. Sahner on the Socialist Workers Party ticket; Madelyn R. Hoffman and Heather Warburton on the Green Party ticket; and Gregg Mele and Eveline Brownstein on the Libertarian Party ticket.

There are also two state public questions for voters to consider; both concern gambling statutes. In the first question, voters are being asked to decide whether the state should pass a constitutional amendment to allow wagering on postseason college sport competitions held in New Jersey and competitions in which a New Jerseybased college team participates. The second question regards whether to allow organizations that are permitted to hold raffles to keep the raffle proceeds to support themselves.

Countywide, voters must elect the sheriff, a three-year term. Running for office are Democratic incumbent Armando B. Fontoura, who has been serving as Essex County sheriff since 1990, and Republican challenger Nicholas G. Pansini.

Residents in the 28th Legislative District must choose between Democratic incumbents and Republican challengers for state Senate and Assembly. The Democratic incumbents are Ronald L. Rice for state Senate and Cleopatra G. Tucker and Ralph Caputo for Assembly. Republican challengers are Frank Contella for state Senate and Monique Headen and Anthony DAngelo for Assembly. Rice has served as a state senator since 1986, and Tucker and Caputo have served as Assembly members since 2008.

In the 29th Legislative District, state Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, the Democratic incumbent, is running unopposed; Ruiz has served in the state Senate since 2008. Running for the two state Assembly seats are Democratic incumbents Shanique Speight and Eliana Pintor Marin, and independent challenger Debra Salters, who is running under the slogan Salters for All. Speight has been an assemblywoman since 2018 and Pintor Marin since 2013.

The Belleville Board of Education race gives voters a lot of options, with six candidates running for two open seats. Incumbents Christine Lamparello and Nelson Barrera are seeking to reclaim their seats; Barrerra is running under the slogan Keep Progress Going. They will face challengers Nicole Coviello-Daddis under the slogan Bellevilles Children First, Tracy Williams under the slogan Together We Achieve, Lissa Missaggia under the slogan Excellence in Education and Ruben A. Rodriguez.

The Nutley Board of Education race also has a large number of candidates, with seven individuals running for just three open seats. Incumbents Kenneth J. Reilly, under the slogan Keep Your Promises, and Theresa Quirk are seeking reelection. Challengers are Nicholas Scotti under the slogan Nutley Families First, Jeffrey Polewka, Daniel Fraginals under the slogan A New Voice, Joe Battaglia and David Kay under the slogan Putting Kids First.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2, and there are multiple ways for county residents to vote, such as by mail, early in-person voting, via drop box and in person on the day.

Belleville Board of Education, Belleville election, Election Day, Essex County Election, FEATURED, NJ Election, Nutley Board of Education, Nutley election

Continued here:

Contested BOE races in Belleville and Nutley this November - Essex News Daily

As Election Day approaches in Lincoln County, the number of voters utilizing early and absentee voting opportunities was slow but steady.

The Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State reported that 441 Lincoln County voters had cast an early or early in-person absentee ballot.

Of those voters, 266 were Republicans while 126 were Democrats. Forty-six voters declined to state a party affiliation; the remaining voters identified as Libertarian or self-identified as "other."

On Oct. 27, that number was 364, with Lincoln County Republican voters still outpacing Democrats in casting ballots.

More: Your guide to early voting in Lincoln County: 2021 regular local election

More: These candidates are running in the 2021 local election in Lincoln County

Only 16 Lincoln County residents hadutilized same day registration by Oct. 27 and only 92 requests for absentee ballots had been received, according to the data.

By Oct. 28 only two additional voters had opted for same day registration.

Local elections are nonpartisan.

More: 300 early votes cast in Lincoln County

On ballots Nov. 2 is the mayoral seat in the Village of Capitan where Tiffany Menix, Lilly Bradley and Ron Lowrance each sought the position.

Councilor positions are open in Carrizozo and the Village of Corona, while school board positions are open in Capitan, Hondo, Corona, Carrizozo and Ruidoso.

The Village of Ruidoso opted-out of the Local Election Act which aligned local elections with other state and national races.

Formore information on voting contact the Lincoln County Clerk's office at 575-648-2394, extension 6 or visit the website atwww.lincolncoountynm.gov.

Election Day votingoccurs at any of these voting centers in the county from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 2. Any registered voter may vote at any of the voting locations.

Check your voting registration and view a sample ballot online atNMVote.org.

Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@gannett.com, @JussGREAT on Twitter at by phone at 575-628-5531.

Read more from the original source:

Election Day approaches as early voting numbers reach just above 400 - Ruidoso News

OPINION:

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! says the famous Monty Python comedy sketch.

But unfortunately, everyone can expect the coming Climate Inquisition.

Google has announced it will now prevent ads and monetization supporting content that questions climate change alarmism. This includes YouTube.

Googles support document on the policy says: were announcing a new monetization policythat will prohibit ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.

What makes this new policy so concerning is that Alphabet Inc., which is the parent company for Google and YouTube, has a near-monopoly on internet search and video. According to Statista.com, Google has a worldwide market share for internet search engines of almost 88 percent. Global Media Insight says over 2.3 billion people use YouTube at least once a month and that it is the second most popular social media platform.

What are the limits of what a private company can prohibit on its platforms? This is the debate politicians and citizens have been having, at least regarding social media, for years now.

The libertarian argument goes something like this: As a private company, Google can do what it wants to limit content on its platforms. Dont like it? Go somewhere else!

But when that company owns 88 percent of global online search traffic, as well as the largest video hosting platform in the world, there is little else to go to.

Yet Google assures users that the best experts are being consulted, so there is no need to worry!

In creating this policy and its parameters, weve consulted authoritative sources on the topic of climate science, including experts who have contributed to United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports.

What about experts that say the United Nations, and their assessment reports, may have a few things wrong when it comes to climate policy? Google doesnt pay them any mind.

For example, Dr. Steven E. Koonin, who served as science advisor for President Barack Obamas Department of Energy, said the UNs climate models dont hold up under scrutiny in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: The latest models also dont reproduce the global climate of the past. The models fail to explain why rapid global warming occurred from 1910 to 1940 when human influences on the climate were less significant.

Dr. Koonin also has a fair amount of criticism concerning AR6, the UNs latest climate assessment report, saying in that same piece: The Summary for Policy Makers section says the rate of global sea-level rise has been increasing over the past 50 years. It doesnt mention that it was increasing almost as rapidly 90 years ago before decreasing strongly for 40 years.

Physicist Dr. Ralph Alexander also criticized the UNs climate report. He said, theres no scientific evidence that global warming triggers extreme weather, or even that weather extremes are becoming more frequent. Anomalous weather events, such as heatwaves, hurricanes, floods, droughts and tornadoes, show no long-term trend over more than a century of reliable data.

Unfortunately, scientific experts are beginning to be censored across not just digital media but all media. The Los Angeles Times has banned letters to the editor from those skeptical of a climate emergency. In 2018, Chuck Todd, host of Meet The Press, said he would not give any air time to climate deniers.

But it goes further than mere censorship. Prominent figures are even advocating for the jailing and prosecution of those who are skeptical of a man-made climate crisis.

When asked what should happen to climate deniers, environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said: I think they should be enjoying three hots and a cot at the Hague, with all the other war criminals who are there.

When actor Bill Nye was asked the same question, he said, Well see what happens. Uh, was it appropriate to jail the guys from Enron?

In 2015, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) suggested that climate skeptics could be prosecuted under RICO laws used for racketeering enterprises.

Do these all seem like things that should be done in a free, democratic society? It seems more like the beginnings of the Inquisition by the Catholic church hundreds of years ago.

In 1633, Galileo was charged with heresy as part of the Roman Inquisition for his continued assertion that the earth orbited the sun. Galileo was not sentenced to death. Instead, he was sentenced to lifelong house arrest. He was forced to recant his beliefs.

Like Galileo, will scientists and experts be forced to recant their belief that we dont face an imminent, dire climate emergency?

Will they even be subjected one day as ridiculous as it may sound now to house arrest or prosecution, as Senator Whitehouse wants?

Googles ad ban may be one more step in a long slippery slope toward censorship and intellectual tyranny a Climate Inquisition, if you will.

Adam Houser is the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrows National Field Director.

More:

Google, YouTube, and the Climate Inquisition - Washington Times

Early voting opens Saturdayfor the Nov. 13 Louisiana open primary and runs through Saturday, Nov. 6. Polls are closed Sunday.

Voters in all parishes will consider four constitutional amendments, and some parishes in the Baton Rouge area have a handful of races. Visitgeauxvote.comfor additional information on candidates.

Polling places will be open from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Anyone who is in line at 6 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

A list of early voting locations is available athttps://voterportal.sos.la.gov/earlyvoting; please note that hours may be different at satellite offices.

Voters are asked to bring an ID with them to vote. Voters without an ID will be allowed to vote after filling out an affidavit.

The election had been set for Oct. 9 but was pushed back because of Hurricane Ida.

Party abbreviations: D-Democrat, R-Republican, I-Independent; L-Libertarian; NP-No Party.

Races and issues on the ballot in the Acadiana area:

CA NO. 1 (Act 131, 2021) Authorizes streamlined electronic filing, remittance, and collection of sales and use tax

CA NO. 2 (Act 134, 2021) Lowers maximum allowed rate of income tax and allows providing a deduction for federal income taxes

CA NO. 3 (Act 132, 2021) Allows certain levee districts to levy an annual tax for certain purposes

CA NO. 4 (Act 157, 2021) Increases amount of allowed reduction to certain dedicated funds when a budget deficit is projected

City Marshal

Dickie J. Fremin (R)

Brett Lang (NP)

Corey Porter (NP)

Youngsville City Council, Division A

Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today.

Patricia Lanier (R)

Kayla Menard Reaux (R)

Lafayette Regional Airport

1.71 Mills Renewal - 10 Years

Parishwide drainage

3.85 Mills Continuation - 10 years

Lafayette Parish Library

1.84 Mills Renewal - 10 years

Lafayette Parish Public Health

2.21 Mills Rededication

City of Lafayette Police Salary and Benefits

3 Mills Renewal - 10 years

City of Lafayette Fire Salary and Benefits

2 Mills Renewal - 10 years

Alderman, Village of Palmetto

Debra Lynn Coulon (NP)

Lawrence "LJ" Mouille Jr. (R)

__

Voters in Acadia and St. Martin parishes will only consider the constitutional amendments.

Read more from the original source:

What's on the Nov. 13 ballot in Acadiana | Elections | theadvocate.com - The Advocate

Peter Thiel, co-founder and chairman of Palantir Technologies Inc., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019.

Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

LONDON Tech billionaire Peter Thiel believes that people should be more worried about "surveillance AI" rather than artificial general intelligences, which are hypothetical AI systems with superhuman abilities.

The venture capitalist, who co-founded big data firm Palantir, said at an event in Miami on Wednesday that on the path to AGI, you get surveillance AI, which he described as a "communist totalitarian technology."

Those that are worried about AGI aren't actually "paying attention to the thing that really matters," Thiel said, adding that governments will use AI-powered facial recognition technology to control people.

His comments come three years after Bloomberg reported that "Palantir knows everything about you." Thiel has also invested in facial recognition company Clearview AI and surveillance start-up Anduril.

Palantir, which has a market value of $48 billion, has developed data trawling technology that intelligence agencies and governments use for surveillance and to spot suspicious patterns in public and private databases. Customers reportedly include the CIA, FBI, and the U.S. Army.

AGI, depicted in a negative light in sci-fi movies such as "The Terminator" and "Ex Machina," is being pursued by companies like DeepMind, which Thiel invested in before it was acquired by Google. Depending on who you ask, the timescale for reaching AGI ranges from a few years, to a few decades, to a few hundred years, to never.

Hype around AGI has diminished recently as people realized there's still a long way to go despite some promising breakthroughs. The most advanced AI systems remain relatively "narrow" and unable to perform "general" tasks. An AI that can play the board game "Go" can't also paint a picture, for example.

Thiel, a well-known libertarian who also co-founded PayPal and holds a board seat at Facebook, said Silicon Valley isn't talking about AGI as much today as it was six or seven years ago.

"Elon's not talking about it anymore and Larry (Page) is off to Fiji and doesn't seem to be working on it quite as hard," he said, before going on to question why the AGI discussion hasn't completely collapsed.

Murray Shanahan, a senior research scientist at DeepMind, said on Twitter that Thiel had an "interesting take" on AGI. He did not immediately respond when CNBC asked him to elaborate.

In the same talk, Thiel pitted AI against cryptocurrencies, saying that he'd prefer to see the latter one succeed.

"If we say crypto is libertarian and that it is fundamentally a force for decentralization, then I think we should also be willing to say that AI, especially in the low-tech surveillance form, is essentially communist."

"If you want to frame it as a technological race I want the crypto decentralized world to work," he said.

Thiel added that he feels "underinvested" in bitcoin just hours after the world's most popular cryptocurrency climbed to a new all-time high of just over $66,000 per coin.

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Palantir's Peter Thiel thinks people should be concerned about surveillance AI - CNBC

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) New Jersey voters have already begun casting mail-in ballots and on Saturday began heading to the polls for early in-person voting for the first time ever.

The governors race is at the top of the ballot, with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy seeking reelection against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former Assembly member.

Third-party candidates are also on the ballot. They are Madelyn Hoffman of the Green Party, Joanne Kuniansky of the Socialist Workers Party, and Gregg Mele of the Libertarian Party.

Public polling in the race has shown Murphy with a lead over Ciattarelli. While the gap has narrowed, Murphy also has other advantages, including 1 million more registered New Jersey Democrats than Republicans and more cash on hand than Ciattarelli, according to state data.

Early in-person voting ends Halloween. Election Day is Nov. 2.

A closer look at where the two major party candidates stand on a few big issues:

COVID-19

Murphy has led the state through the outbreak that saw New Jersey as an early hotspot but also one of the first states to reach 70% of the adult population to be fully vaccinated. About 25,000 people have died from the virus since 2020, with 35% coming from nursing and veterans homes, according to state figures.

Murphy closed many sectors of the state during the pandemic, including restaurants, theaters, gyms and nonessential retail, while also requiring face coverings. He then loosened restrictions as trends headed in the right direction and curtailed them more as vaccinations increased.

Hes instituted mandates in health care and education, among others, for workers to be vaccinated or to undergo regular testing. Murphy promised a review of his administrations handling of the outbreak but he said it will not be done in time for the election because the pandemic is still unfolding.

Ciattarelli has said he supports vaccination but thinks masking in schools, for example, should be optional. He also agreed with Murphys policy of giving educators the choice to get vaccinated or be tested regularly.

The Republican slammed Murphys policy early on in the pandemic of allowing nursing home residents to return to facilities from hospitals regardless of COVID-19 status, faulting Murphy for a spike in deaths among residents. The governor has responded that his policy required them to be segregated from the uninfected and that the facilities were the patients homes.

PROPERTY TAXES

New Jerseys average property tax bill is about $9,100. Thats the highest in the country, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation, making these taxes a constant issue in the state.

Because property taxes finance local governments as well as school districts, Murphy has argued that his increase of state education aid has decreased pressure to raise taxes. Indeed, Murphy has increased aid to schools through the states funding formula, which has been approved by the state Supreme Court.

Under Murphy, that aid climbed to nearly $9 billion, up about $1 billion since Republican Chris Christie left office. Property tax increases have slowed over that time, though thats in part due to a 2% property tax cap instituted under Christie. Murphy says he will continue to fund the formula to take pressure off property taxes.

Ciattarelli wants to freeze property taxes for those over 65 as well as scrap the current school-funding formula to make it fairer. He points to high-price homes in Jersey City and Hoboken that have lower rates than $400,000 residences in Toms River and Hillsborough, for example. But its not clear what his plan would look like or whether it would pass muster with the state Supreme Court, though Ciattarelli says his plan would.

ABORTION

Murphy, an abortion rights supporter, said he wants to sign the Reproductive Freedom Act into law if reelected. The bill would codify a womans right to an abortion into state law, a move thats aimed at maintaining that ability if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

Ciattarelli also supports the Roe v. Wade decision and a womans right to choose an abortion, but he says the RFA goes too far by authorizing late-term abortions. He has said if the Supreme Court undoes Roe v. Wade, New Jersey would have to add the right to an abortion into state law, but he does not believe the high court would overturn the precedent decided by the court in 1973.

STATE BUDGET

Murphys budgets have grown each year while in office, culminating in a spending plan of more than $46 billion, 15% higher than the previous year. Hes financed the increases in part with tax hikes under his watch, including higher rates on businesses and individuals earning more than $1 million. Hes instituted a host of new programs that languished in the Democrat-led Legislature under his predecessor, Christie. Those include some state-funded pre-K and community college, both of which he wants to expand if reelected.

Ciattarelli laments the growth of the budget and says it needs to be cut. Asked what he would slash, he said hed sit down with the Legislature on Day One to hash that out.

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Where Murphy, Ciattarelli stand on issues in NJ gov race - Associated Press