Category Archives: Ron Paul

xkcd: Secretary: Part 2What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions comes out 9/13. Preorder here!

Secretary: Part 2

News Anchor: Breaking news--the President has made a nomination to the new post of Internet Secretary. We know little about the man, shown here.Image Caption: Possibly a haberdasher?News Anchor: Attempts to reach the nominee at home were unsuccessful.Reporter: What the hell kind of apartment has a moat?News Anchor: To understand the culture from which he came--and which he may soon administer--we sent a reporter to what we're told is the source of that culture. Tom?Tom: I'm coming to you live from the 4chan b board. Despite the tube cloggage, nascent memes are flying fast and furious.News Anchor: Why are you wearing a helmet, Tom?Tom: I'm not sure.[[Meanwhile in Ron Paul's blimp...]]Ron Paul: Ahoy! What news of the blogs?Pilot: Dr. Paul! The President's named his nominee!Ron Paul: It's not me?Ron Paul: Wait! I remember that guy from the campaign! He's a notorious troll!Ron Paul: They mustn't put him in charge. Quick, call the capitol!Pilot: Can't, sir. The tubes just went down completely.Ron Paul: Blast!Ron Paul: Then we'll go ourselves. Full speed ahead!{{The blimp advances minutely.}}{{The blimp advances minutely.}}{{The blimp advances minutely.}}Ron Paul: I said full speed!Pilot: It's a blimp, sir!{{Title text: That helmet won't save him.}}

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xkcd: Secretary: Part 2

The introduction of politicized education ideas like critical race theory into the curriculum of government schools is a major reason for American public school systems decline. In many schools, political agendas have been crowding out what many parents understand as the primary purpose of schools educating students in core subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science.

US government data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicates that, as of 2019, only 37 percent of American high school seniors were proficient in reading. The results drop to 24 percent in math and 22 percent in science. The root of the problem is governments near monopoly of education that means there is little to no incentive to stop federal, state, and local educrats from imposing the latest education fads on students. Any attempts by government to fix education, such as No Child Left Behind or Common Core, inevitably fail.

The replacement of education with indoctrination is one reasons many parents are pulling their children out of public schools to homeschool. Of course, one main reason for the growth in homeschooling is the covid lockdowns and mask and vaccine mandates. Restrictions at schools have been especially absurd since children have tended to be in little danger from covid.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. However, the authoritarians who believe childrens education must be controlled by experts are constantly trying to undermine homeschoolers. Sometimes homeschoolers enemies are aided by well-intentioned homeschooling supporters. For example, there is a bill pending in the Alabama state legislature that would make homeschoolers eligible for taxpayer funding. Homeschooling advocates supporting this bill forget that government funding is inevitably accompanied by government control. Thus, any homeschooling family that accepts government money is inviting the government to tell them how to educate their children. Further, some school districts use truancy laws to harass homeschoolers. States also make parents prove homeschool students are receiving an education that meets state standards.

Fortunately, as homeschooling has become a more popular choice, many new resources have become available to aid parents who desire to homeschool their children. Among these resources is the Ron Paul Curriculum.

Students using my homeschooling curriculum can attain a superior education in comparison to standards set by politicians or bureaucrats. Instead of indoctrinating students with instruction in subjects including critical race theory, my curriculum provides students with a solid education in history, literature, mathematics, and the sciences. It also gives students the opportunity to create their own websites and internet-based businesses. The curriculum is designed to be self-taught, with students helping and learning from each other via online forums.

Starting in fourth grade, students are required to write at least one essay a week. Students are required to post their essays on their blogs. Students also take a course in public speaking.

The curriculum does emphasize the history, philosophy, and economics of liberty, but it never substitutes indoctrination for education. The goal is to produce students with superior critical thinking skills who can thrive with their individuality.

If you think my curriculum may meet the needs of your child, please visitwww.RonPaulCurriculum.comfor more information.

This article was published by RonPaul Institute

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Ron Paul: Homeschooling Can Save Children From Critical Race Theory And Masks OpEd - Eurasia Review

Arkansas Heritages 6th annual Arkansas Food Hall of Fame ceremony was held virtually and in person at Rob Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock last night. Stacy Hurst, secretary of Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, gave the opening remarks and then introduced Governor Asa Hutchinson who appeared in a pre-recorded video announcement, offering praise to the restaurant industry here in Arkansas. Hutchinson introduced local author and food historian Rex Nelson who hosted event, which lasted a little more than an hour.

Nominations were received from all 75 counties in the state.

I gotta tell you, these last six years if they have shown us anything, they have shown us that the people of Arkansas love their local food establishments, they are an important part of our culture and they want to celebrate them and share them with Arkansas, Nelson said.

Aside from the Peoples Choice Award, winners were selected by a committee of Arkansans food authors, historians and chefs. In addition to Hurst, committee members include Paul S. Austin, Jimmy Bryant, Chip Culpepper, Quantia Key Fletcher, Cindy Grisham, Montine McNulty, Rex Nelson, Tim Nutt, Kat Robinson, Stephanie Wade, David Ware and Stanley Young.

Nelson said that almost half of the nominations received were in the Peoples Choice category. To be eligible an establishment has to to be at least a year old and not be part of a chain. The 2022 winner La Casa De Mi Abuelita Maw Maws House food truck was nominated for the first time this year and is the first food truck to claim this award or any award from the Hall of Fame, Nelson said.

There were 86 nominees for the Gone But Not Forgotten category, designed to honor the collective culinary legacy of a once and always influential Arkansas restaurant that has since ceased operations. The Food Hall of Fame Committee narrowed it down to five finalists.

Coys Steak House (Garland County)Cajuns WharfMrs. Millers Chicken and Steak House (Garland County)The Villa Italian RestaurantJames at the Mill (Washington County)

The Food Themed Event must be held annually in Arkansas every year and must have a history dating back at least five years. There were 78 nominees in this category and three finalists selected.

Mt. Nebo Chicken Fry (Yell County)Magnolia Blossom Festival & World Championship Steak Cook-Off (Columbia County)World Championship Duck Gumbo Cook-Off (Arkansas County)

There were 433 nominations for the Proprietor of the Year category and the committee narrowed it down to six.

Jim Keet, JTJ Restaurants (Petit & Keet, Cypress Social, Tazikis)Jamie McAfee, Pine Bluff Country ClubRob Nelson, Tusk & Trotter (Bentonville)Capi Peck and Brent Peterson, TriosDavid Stobaugh, Stobys (Conway)James Woods, Woods Place (Camden)

The Hall of Fame class of 2022 had 15 Finalists and three were inducted. In order to be eligible, restaurants must be owned and operated in Arkansas, cannot be part of a chain and must have been in business for 25 years or more. There were more than 400 nominations.

Baileys Dairy Street (Hot Springs)Brunos Little ItalyThe Bulldog Restaurant (Bald Knob)Colonial Steak House (Pine Bluff)Dairy King (Portia)Daisy Queen (Marshall)Dixie Pig (Blytheville)The Faded RoseHermans Ribhouse (Fayetteville)K. Hall & Sons ProduceKream Kastle (Blytheville)Lindseys Bar-B-Q & Hospitality House (North Little Rock)Neals Cafe (Springdale)The Ohio Club (Hot Springs)Stobys Restaurant (Conway)

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Arkansas Food Hall of Fame winners announced in ceremony at Ron Robinson Theater - Arkansas Times

WILDWOOD Junior Lily Shaffrey felt the wave of momentum.

The two-time defending district champion, Northwest Cedar Hill trailed in the team standings Monday and was in danger of qualifying only one wrestler to the state tournament.

Northwest won five matches in rapid succession in the blood round, and Shaffrey's victory in her third-place match sewed up the program's third consecutive district championship in the District 1 girls wrestling tournament at Lafayette.

With six state qualifiers, Northwest scored 153 points to edge Lafayette (148.5). Summit (120), Eureka (110) and Sikeston (106) rounded out the top five.

The wave started with senior Anna Haas (159), went to senior Olivia Buckley (174), splashed into senior Madi Stichling (235), traveled to junior Shaffrey (141) and eventually crashed into senior Taylor Accardi (149).

We had some big upsets, and we were screaming and getting fired up. That aura really helped our team, Shaffrey said.

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Northwest is 68-0 in dual meets since the inception of the program four years ago, but that excellence has not yet translated to dominance at the state level. The highest team place at state for Northwest is eighth, and Shaffrey is one of only two state medal winners for the program, third place in 2020.

This group has been with me for four years, and were senior-loaded, so hopefully we can make some noise at state, Northwest coach Ron Wilhelm said.

The top four wrestlers at district qualified for the state meet, scheduled for Feb. 17-19 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Lafayette placed second and crowned three champions. Senior Seraphina Blackmon avenged a state semifinal loss by defeating Mehlville senior Naida Abdijanovic 4-1 in the 149-pound final. Blackmon was surprised and a little nervous to see Abdijanovic had re-entered her weight class.

I was kind of worried seeing her, but I am very proud of the way I defended everything and how I used my front headlocks. I feel a lot more confident going to state. Im not nervous anymore, Blackmon said.

Three-time defending state champion Faith Cole raised her career record to 114-0, but equally as impressive may be the effect she is having on the younger Lancers, including freshman Hannah Henderson, who won the 100-pound title 3-1 over Festus junior Lee Ann Dobbs.

Faith is amazing, I practice with her, and she helps me out and really helps out every girl on the team, Henderson said.

A different Faith put an end to an undefeated streak.

Fox junior Faith Spicer won a 10-9 decision against Sikeston junior Alayna Ray, a fourth-place state medalist last season who entered the match with an unblemished 16-0 record.

Spicer also made the state tournament last season after a surprising postseason and has used that experience to become a district champion.

I wasnt totally sure of myself last year, but I pushed myself to my limits. Ive really built up my confidence, Spicer said.

Two other undefeated seasons remained pristine.

Parkway West defending state champion Paige Wehrmeister raised her record to 46-0 with a major decision over Parkway South junior Janiah Jones at 135 pounds, while Summit freshman Madeline Haynes upped her record to 42-0 with a shutout of Festus junior Lauren Mills at 130.

Marquette junior Rebecca Strong became her program's first district champion with a 7-0 victory over Sikeston senior Lila Eckert in the 141-pound championship.

Strong joined the Marquette wrestling team for fun as a freshman, but when she decided to take the sport more seriously a year later, the coronavirus pandemic slowed her progress.

We couldnt do any tournaments, I got quarantined two times, so I missed a bunch of practice, but in the summer, I was determined to keep practicing, be as strong as I can and achieve my goals, Strong said.

De Soto sophomore Ella Bradley had pinned every tournament opponent before the title match but entered the third period with Seckman sophomore Destiny Brown in a scoreless tie. After Brown escaped, Bradley pounced for a quick takedown and earned a 4-1 victory.

We worked some re-attacks in practice and I knew what I had to do. I wanted it, and I knew I had it in me, Bradley said.

Webster Groves junior Talia Lee (25-2) qualified for state for the third time with a district title at 125 pounds, Festus senior Kirsten Klein returns for the second time as a district champion at 115 pounds and Lindbergh sophomore state runner-up Audrey Scherer repeated as district champion at 105 pounds.

Other winners included Jackson junior Mallorie Metzger (120), Poplar Bluff freshman Zoe Freeman (174) and North County junior Brooke Bennett (194).

Pacifics Zoe Fisher is hugged by teammate Scarlet Boyer after a consolation semifinal match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar-Hill celebrate winning the team title after the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar-Hill celebrate winning the team title after the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Consolation matches continue during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

McCluers Ahkia Holloway attempts to throw her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar-Hill coach Ron Wilhelm celebrates with Madi Stichling after a match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Cape Centrals Laniaa Brown attempts to get a pin during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Seraphin Blackmon celebrates after a match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Faith Cole (left) hugs Parkway Wests Paige Wehrmeister after a match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Parkway Wests Paige Wehrmeister hugs Parkway Souths Janiah Jones after a match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Faith Cole prepares to throw her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lindberghs Audrey Scherer grapples with her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

De Sotos Hannah Eberhardt watches a match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

De Sotos Hannah Eberhardt gets her arm raised during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Seckmans Shelby Lundstrom gets a pin during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar Hills Lily Shaffrey scores points against eurekas Faith Ruoff during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

De Sotos Hannah Eberhardt scores points during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

De Sotos Ella Bradley scores a takedown during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Summits Jaylah Walker during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

The Summit coaching staff calls out moves during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar Hills Abigail Chandler attempts to pin her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Hannah Henderson grapples with her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lindberghs Audrey Scherer is congratulated after a match during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Faith Cole prepares to throw her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Webster Groves Talia Lee scores points during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Summts Madeline Haynes circles her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Parkway Wests Paige Wehrmeister attempts to score points during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Marquettes Rebecca Strong gets her arm raise during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Seraphin Blackmon grapples with her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Seckmans Andrea Karagiannis circles her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar Hills Madi Stichling hugs her coach Ron Wilhelm during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Northwest Cedar Hills Madi Stichling prepares to throw her opponent during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

Lafayettes Jayla Jones grapples with Eurekas Harper Wood during the District 1 girls wrestling championship on Monday, February 7, 2022 at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, STLhighschoolsports.com

STLHighSchoolSports.com is the most comprehensive source of stats, scores and stories from any and all area high schools.

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Northwest Cedar Hill captures third consecutive district team title - STLtoday.com

I arrived in Washington, DC early this week to provide testimony before the US Senate. Over two years into the pandemic, the city still feels muted. Theres fewer people, less noise, and more parking. There are also more tents littering the city streets as the city faces a growing homelessness epidemic and rising violent crime.

But is the government solving these problems? No. It has bigger fish to fry. Namely, local businesses like the restaurant and bar Big Board.

Big Board, which is owned by a veteran, was stripped of its liquor license and then shut down by the city this week. Why? They were busted for not making their employees wear masks and for refusing to enforce the citys absurd vaccine passport mandate.

Some people werent having it, including Senator Rand Paul and Representative Thomas Massie who showed up to protest.

I dropped by to protest as well and was thrilled to see the place was packed with people refusing to bow to the governments gross infringement on citizens basic rights.

Its time for mass, peaceful noncompliance. When one restaurant stands up, its easy for the government to go after them. But if ten, fifteen, fifty did this the laws would quickly be overturned. Lets expose these lawmakers as the bullies they are and refuse to cooperate with their silly laws and regulations.

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Washington, DC Shut Down This Restaurant Over Vaccine Passports. I Showed Up to Protest Along with Senator Rand Paul | Hannah Cox - Foundation for...

A slow start that resulted in being written off by some fans in November has made Paul Mulcahys emergence in Big Ten play that much more fun to watch. After struggling to adjust to his new role as the starting point guard and primary ball handler early in the season, something has clicked for the 66 junior from Bayonne, New Jersey. Actually, more like exploded.

This past week has been the culmination of Mulcahys evolution from supporting cast member to spirited leader and the guy that makes the offense work. After a 31 point, 7 assist, 7 rebound performance in which he almost single handedly willed Rutgers to victory after trailing by 24 points, Mulcahy delivered a surgical effort with 15 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal.

Hes been great. Hes aggressive. Hes a good player, said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. Hes always done a lot of things for us that dont show up in the box score. Hes sharing the ball, thats what he does. Hes a joy. He comes to practice every day. Hes a winner. Really pleased. Hes worked hard to put his game at that kind of place and hes playing really well.

On the offensive end, Mulcahy was able to physically dictate the action, backing down his defender into the paint and setting the tone.

Mulcahy bully-balled us, said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. We knew he was going to do that but we didnt handle it very well with our help.

Above all else to start this season, it appeared that the biggest issue was his own confidence. He was hesitant at times and didnt look comfortable running the offense. After shooting 39% from three-point range last season, the best mark for Rutgers in 5 years, Mulcahy seemed to question every shot he took. Fast forward two plus months and he has become assertive and persistent both with looking to score and working to find his teammates in the best position possible to score.

His 12 assist performance was the most for a Rutgers player in 24 seasons and came on a night that the Scarlet Knights had their second most efficient offensive performance during that same time frame. Mulcahy is averaging 5.4 assists this season for a program that hasnt had a player exceed 5 dimes per game since Brian Ellerbe did it in the 1984-1985 campaign. Hes leads the Big Ten with 6.5 assists in league action and is second in the conference with a 40.4% assist rate. Mulcahy is 36th nationally with an assist rate of 33.1% overall this season. His 2.3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio is solid for a primary ball handler and he has had 2 or fewer turnovers in 14 of 22 games played this season.

Perhaps more impressive is the manner in which Mulcahy is starting to assert himself as a scorer. Since going scoreless in a lackluster loss to Maryland, the point guard has averaged 18.7 points in three games on 18 of 25 for 72% shooting from the floor and 11 of 14 for 78.6% shooting from the foul line. Add in 7 assists per game along with a 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, 5.3 rebounds and 3 steals during that stretch. Thats proof he is taking things to the next level and becoming a complete player.

Back to back games of 4 steals against Nebraska and Northwestern highlighted Mulcahys progress as a two-way player. No longer a liability, hes become a disruptive for the opposition on the defensive end. Being physical and forcing tie ups and mistakes has become more normal for a player that was known for his offense. His confidence on that end of the floor has grown as well and its shown.

Whats been occurring in a more subtle way is how Mulcahys persona and leadership is taking over this team. With a roster that includes two notable players in program history in Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr., Mulcahys fingerprints are all over the blueprint for success. His effort level and unselfishness has always been elite, but his confidence has elevated his ability to execute at a very high level. His defense has improved as well.

No play personified his growth more than his offensive rebound and game winning putback against Nebraska on the road. He displayed poise, athleticism, toughness and touch all in one play. It was the catalyst for his impressive performances this past week.

Throughout Mulcahys Rutgers career, he has agitated opponents and even played selflessly with a broken nose and finger pointed horizontal last season. He is a physically tough player with a unique skill set as a 66 point guard. Its a long season and his development is an example of how things can change. With a critical stretch run almost exclusively against Quad 1 opponents, the reality is Rutgers will likely go as far as Mulcahy can take them.

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Paul Mulcahys emergence puts Rutgers on upward trajectory - On The Banks

PIERS Morgan has praised Joe Rogan, saying Spotify should give the podcaster the cash Meghan Markle & Prince Harry make from their show and tear up the Royal family's contract.

Sun columnist Morgan is the latest to chime in on the Rogan and Spotify drama after the streaming service sided with the podcaster by removing Neil Young and Joni Mitchell's music from the platform over complaints about misinformation.

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In a New York Post opinion piece on Monday, Morgan recognized the criticism Rogan once spewed about him, recalling how the podcaster once branded him an "a**hole".

"Joe Roganonce branded me an a**hole' after I called for more gun restrictions in America - and said my British accent should itself be restricted to selling mops and non-stick cookware on late-night TV.

"To be fair, he was probably speaking for many of his fellow countrymen who understandably objected to being told how to live their lives by a snooty reincarnation of George III," Morgan wrote.

However, Morgan agreed they both have "an open mind" and how Rogan doesn't "park himself into any particular political or social tribe."

"Rogans got an open mind; like me, he doesnt park himself into any particular political or social tribe, nor does he like or dislike people according to their partisan allegiance.

"Spotify should give Joe Rogan cash Meghan & Harry make from their shows and tear up Royals' contract, he said.

Morgan praised Rogan as a strong supporter of free speech.

"He describes himself as a socially-liberal man who supports gay rights, womens rights, universal health care and recreational drug use, and he has publicly endorsed Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard," Morgan said.

"But Rogan also believes strongly in free speech, hates cancel culture, supports the 2nd Amendment and loudly condemns the appalling way conservative voices are constantly vilified and censored by liberal-run media," he added.

Spotify has faced a huge backlash for standing up for Rogan, despite outrage from artists and music fans.

Neil Young was among those who objected to his songs being played on the same platform as Rogan and issued Spotify with an ultimatum - remove Rogan or lose the rocker's music.

After Spotify chose to pull the singer's catalog over the row, fans rallied around him, threatening tocancel their monthly subscriptions.

Prince Harry and Meghan alsohit out at the company, saying they had spoken to bosses about their concerns.

Morgan said he regularly listens to The Joe Rogan Experience, calling it "brilliant" and "free-wheeling."

"I regularly listen to his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and its a brilliantly free-wheeling, wide-ranging, sometimes combative, always fascinating series of conversations with people from all walks of life who hold all manner of opinions.

"I dont always agree with what Rogan or his guests say, but why should I?

"Were not living in North Korea, were allowed to hold different views to each other.

"But what I like most about him is his fierce curiosity and refreshing willingness to admit when hes wrong or has simply changed his mind," Morgan added.

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Spotify should give Rogan the cash Meghan & Harry make from shows and tear up their contract, Piers says... - The US Sun

On Thursday, the NBA revealed the reserves for the 2022 All-Star Game that is being played in Cleveland on Feb. 20. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was selected as a starter and a captain for the fifth consecutive year, but for the first time, he will not have Anthony Davis available to join him.

For the first time since his rookie year, Davis was not selected to be an All-Star starter or a reserve, meaning he will miss the game entirely unless selected as a replacement. Davis has been absolutely dominant since returning from an MCL sprain, but the time he missed due to that injury was simply too much to overcome.

While Lakers fans may be upset to only see one player from their team on All-Star Weekend, Davis completely understands why he was not selected.

I kind of figured I wasnt [gonna make it] with the amount of games I missed, Davis said. Its the first time since my rookie year, actually I went to the All-Star my rookie year for the rookie team, so this is the first time in my career where I dont have to go to All-Star.

So I know my wife is ecstatic, dont have to spend time being at All-Star and can be somewhere else. But congrats to all those guys, especially the Klutch guys, obviously Darius [Garland] on his first selection and I think Zach [LaVine] it was his second. But Ill have more opportunities Im sure to be in there.

Davis has only played in 32 of the Lakers 53 games, and he certainly wasnt his usual self in most of the 27 games he played before suffering a knee injury. Making the All-Star Game was a long shot, especially with how many players made compelling cases.

The seven reserves selected from the Western Conference were Phoenix Suns guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and big man Rudy Gobert, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Green has already stated he will not be able to play due to an injury, meaning Commissioner Adam Silver must appoint a replacement. Given all the reasons listed above, its unlikely Davis serves as that replacement.

Instead, Davis is going to get a full eight days off in between games, as L.A. does not take the court from Feb. 16 all the way to Feb. 25. This will be much-needed rest after all the heavy lifting Davis has had to do in the absence of James.

James and Kevin Durant will be selecting their teams on Feb. 10, and theyll have the following player pool to pick from. The Western Conference starters are Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant, and Andrew Wiggins, while Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan, and Trae Young round out the East Starters.

The West reserve pool is listed above, with Paul, Booker, Green, Mitchell, Gobert, Doncic, and Towns making the cut, although a replacement will be selected for Green. Meanwhile, the East reserve pool includes Jimmy Butler, Darius Garland, James Harden, Zach LaVine, Khris Middleton, Jayson Tatum, and Fred VanVleet.

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Lakers News: Anthony Davis Not Surprised He Wasnt Selected For All-Star Game - LakersNation.com

The Federal Reserve is sometimes called the Supreme Court of finance. Thats a stretch, of course, but the analogy does make you think about the nature of both institutions. Now that theyre both in the news it seems like an opportune time to look at their similarities and differences.

1. Both have big white buildings in Washington, completed just two years apart during the Depression: 1935 for the Supreme Court and 1937 for the Fed. The Supreme Court went for ornate Corinthian capitals to look imperial while the Fed opted for the sleek look of stripped classicism.

2. One of the two is a bank and the other is a court (I had to get that out of the way early).

3. Supreme Court: robes. Fed: no robes. Historical footnote: The first chief justice, John Jay, lent a colorful air to the earlier sessions by wearing robes with a red facing, according to the courts website.

4. The Federal Reserve system has 12 regional reserve banks; the Supreme Court hears cases from 13 Circuit Courts of Appeals. Eight cities have one of each: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco and St. Louis.

5. A Black woman has never served on either the Supreme Court or the Federal Reserve Board, but President Biden aims to change that. On Jan. 14 he nominated Lisa Cook, an economist at Michigan State University, to the Fed board. He has also said he will nominate a Black woman to fill Stephen Breyers seat on the Supreme Court.

6. The Supreme Court is, you know, supreme, like Diana Ross. It calls itself the highest tribunal in the nation and the final arbiter of the law. The Fed is more self-effacing: It says central banks need to be independent, but at the same time, the Federal Reserve must be accountable to Congress and the American people for its actions.

7. Terms of office are 14 years without possibility of renewal for the Fed and lifetime for the Supreme Court. An organization called Fix the Court says that justices should be limited to one 18-year term, which would make the court more like the Fed.

8. The Supreme Court is enshrined in the Constitution, whereas the Fed was created by Congress through the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, hence it could be dissolved by Congress if push came to shove.

9. Both are headed by men who earned degrees from prestigious law schools in 1979. John Roberts, the chief justice, was born in Buffalo and went to Harvard and Harvard Law School. Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, was born in Washington and went to Princeton and Georgetown University Law Center.

10. Both institutions honor precedent, although the Fed isnt as bound by it as the court is. At the moment the Fed is operating according to its own Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, which was adopted in 2012 and most recently amended in 2020.

11. The Fed is more powerful than the court because it controls the economy. No, wait, the Supreme Court is more powerful because it decides the law of the land. Hmm it seems we have a disagreement on this one.

12. Barnacles are easier to remove than Fed governors and Supreme Court justices. Fed governors can be removed for cause, but courts have interpreted that to mean inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance, not policy disagreement, says Peter Conti-Brown of the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School. As for the high court, Justice William O. Douglas suffered a debilitating stroke on Dec. 31, 1974, but for nearly 11 months refused to step down. His fellow justices decided to put off any decisions in which he would have the deciding vote.

13. Both bodies are magnets for protesters. Homebuilders protested high interest rates in the early 1980s by mailing the Fed bricks and blocks of lumber. Last month abortion-rights activists stood outside the Supreme Court dressed in black robes and holding poles on top of which were giant heads of the nine justices.

14. President Andrew Jackson defied both the high court and the central bank of his day. He refused to enforce an 1832 Supreme Court decision protecting Cherokee Indians from removal from their homeland in Georgia. In 1833 he managed to shut down the Second Bank of the United States, a predecessor of the Fed, by removing all federal funds from it. Its charter expired three years later.

15. Today almost nobody thinks we should get rid of the Supreme Court but some like Ron Paul, the former congressman and presidential candidate who wrote the book End the Fed think the Fed shouldnt exist. Shades of Andrew Jackson.

16. The chief justice loses a fair bit of the time. Roberts voted with the majority in just 66 percent of cases with divided decisions in the term that began in October 2014, according to Scotusblog. The Fed chair, in contrast, always wins (almost). Unanimous votes on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee are the norm. There were headlines about record dissent in 2019 when three voters three of 10 disagreed with the chair.

17. Dollar bills are called Federal Reserve notes, not Supreme Court notes. Score one for the Fed!

18. Ill end with this nicely put paragraph from the abstract of an October paper by John O. McGinnis, a law professor at Northwestern University:

The Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve, twin pillars of the liberal market order, have never been systematically compared. Yet as elite institutions in a democratic political world, they face parallel problems in carrying out similar functions of maintaining the precommitments to a stable rule of law and a stable value of money, respectively. Both face a counter-majoritarian difficulty of justifying their decisions on occasion to go against popular will. In response, both tie themselves to rules in order to cabin their own discretion and to prevent epistemic mistakes common in small groups of insulated decisions makers. Yet as a descriptive matter in emergencies both transcend rules to keep the republic steady.

1.9 percent

The estimated increase in U.S. labor productivity, measured as the output per hour of work, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the median of economists estimates collected by FactSet.

Productivity fell 5.2 percent in the third quarter from the second, its worst performance since 1960. Despite the Q3 productivity pullback, says Action Economics, a commentary service for financial market professionals, weve generally seen a productivity acceleration through the pandemic, as the exit of low-wage workers from the labor pool, and heightened hours-worked by the remainder, has lifted productivity on net. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the official number on Thursday.

I would say that the committee is of a mind to raise the federal funds rate at the March meeting, assuming that conditions are appropriate for doing so.

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, speaking of the Federal Open Market Committee in a news conference on Wednesday

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The rest is here:
Opinion | How the Fed Is and Isnt the Supreme Court of Finance - The New York Times

Editor:

When I was Republican chairman of the 21stLegislative District, we held a caucus for choosing the State Representatives. The process is that each candidate is nominated, a convention is held, each nominee is allowed some time to speak, then a vote is taken (with runoff votes until a candidate gets a majority). The caucus was mostly fair but there was some unique cheating that happened. Nominees arrived at the convention to give their nomination speech, but instead resigned on stage and threw their support to another candidate. The caucus was gamed by adding bad-faith nominees who just took theirtime to voice support for someone else. This was a strategic operation, brokered behind doors more than likely. I favor the caucus system, but I just described a serious problem with the way this one was run.

The Edmonds Civic Roundtable put forward a terrific pro-ranked-choice voting (RCV) presentation on Monday (see story here). They held a mock RCV election with the audience for which Olympic sport should be chosen forthe games. The options were:

The ECR presenters handed out ballots and held an election. People chose multiple sports in a ranked order (1-2-3). If none of the sports got a majority of rank-1 votes, then the sport that got the least would be exhausted and the rank-2 votes would get added instantly. The process repeats until there is a majority. RCV (also called instant-runoff voting) has a runoff scheme just like a caucus, except (unlike a caucus) a new vote isnt taken after a candidate is dropped out. Its all done instantly by the rank-order.

Theres a lot to like about RCV. In theory it prevents the vote-splitting effects that a third-rail candidate (e.g. Ralph Nader and Ross Perot) can have. A third candidate in a general election splits votes and hurts the candidate with a more similar platform. Ralph Nader is often blamed for splitting Al Gores votes. On the contrary, ranked-choice voting can have the opposite effect to the same advantage. Unlike how Nader may have weakened Gore in the general election, in a RCV election a third-fourth-and-fifth candidate can give Gore the advantage. A political party can easily cultivate more like-minded candidates; and even do so in bad faith. Ironically, coalition-building is another positive claim by RCV advocates, but rest assured this also would happen behind closed doors to the end that it advantages the most established incumbent party. Id argue that this tactic (if crafted) could be more effective than gerrymandering.

Lets take the example provided by the Roundtable. Imagine if downhill skiing (the most funded incumbent sport) cultivated other sport to run. The ballot would look more like this:

Ice Hockey

Cross Country Skiing

Biathlon (also skiing)

Snowboarding.

Downhill Skiiing can simply spawn more candidates to appear on the ballot, creating a coalition. The new candidates will add an illusion of more choice, but will just end up instantly resigning and being a second choice for the main candidate. In an RCV election Al Gore would be delighted that Ralph Nader was on stage too, criticizing George Bush. Gore might even help and encourage more candidates to run, and the election would be a race to see what party can getmore second-place proxies on the ballot. The coalitions will share money, voter databases, and be mostly non-adversarial to each other. Would a newer, naive candidate even know how to navigate this? Does a city councilperson also need to be good at Hunger Games in order to get elected?

Matt RichardsonEdmonds

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Letter to the editor: Is ranked-choice voting skiing down a slippery slope? - My Edmonds News