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New book reviews the Namibian Basic Income pilot – Basic Income News

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

A new book looks back at the effects of Namibias Basic Income pilot project on the villagers who received the grant.

Publication information: Claudia & Dirk Haarmann, 2019, Basic Income Grant Otjivero, Namibia 10 years. Windhoek, Namibia: Economic & Social Justice Trust

The following is the authors announcement:

Ten years after the Basic Income Grant pilot project in Otjivero, we are glad to announce that a new book has just been published by the Namibian Economic & Social Trust in Windhoek tonight:

You can download the book in pdf or as epub (eReaders) through the following links:

If you want to view more photos of the research you can view them through this link:

Together with Engelhard Unaeb and Herbert Jauch we have conducted this series of interviews with residents of Otjivero in the beginning of 2019. This publication aims to give a voice to the people at the centre of the BIG pilot project who experienced what changed and what remained after the BIG ended and how their lives look like tenyears later. The publication highlights the political developments since the pilot project. Most importantly it provides a long term analysis of the effects of a Basic Income on household andcommunity level from the perspective of the people concerned. This publications wants to ensure that the peoples voices and opinions are heard.

It is our hope and prayer that this book will help to refocus the debate on the urgency for an immediate implementation of a basic income for all!

Publication information: Claudia & Dirk Haarmann, 2019, Basic Income Grant Otjivero, Namibia 10 years. Windhoek, Namibia: Economic & Social Justice Trust

1st payout Johannes Seibeb (born 2001-10-13)

Karl Widerquist has written 965 articles.

Karl Widerquist is an Associate Professor of political philosophy at SFS-Qatar, Georgetown University, specializing in distributive justicethe ethics of who has what. Much of his work involves Universal Basic Income (UBI). He is a co-founder of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network (USBIG). He served as co-chair of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) for 7 years, and now serves as vice-chair. He was the Editor of the USBIG NewsFlash for 15 years and of the BIEN NewsFlash for 4 years. He is a cofounder of BIENs news website, Basic Income News, the main source of just-the-facts reporting on UBI worldwide. He is a cofounder and editor of the journal Basic Income Studies, the only academic journal devoted to research on UBI. Widerquist has published several books and many articles on UBI both in academic journals and in the popular media. He has appeared on or been quoted by many major media outlets, such asNPRs On Point, NPRs Marketplace,PRIs the World,CNBC,Al-Jazeera,538,Vice,Dissent,the New York Times,Forbes,the Financial Times, andthe Atlantic Monthly, which called him a leader of the worldwide basic income movement.Widerquist holds two doctoratesone in Political Theory form Oxford University (2006) and one in Economics from the City University of New York (1996). He has published seven books, including Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy (Edinburgh University Press 2017, coauthored by Grant S. McCall) and Independence, Propertylessness, and Basic Income: A Theory of Freedom as the Power to Say No (Palgrave Macmillan 2013). He has published more than a twenty scholarly articles and book chapters. Most Karl Widerquists writing is available on his Selected Works website (works.bepress.com/widerquist/). More information about him is available on his BIEN profile and on Wikipedia. He writes the blog "the Indepentarian" for Basic Income News.

The views expressed in this Op-Ed piece are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of Basic Income News or BIEN. BIEN and Basic Income News do not endorse any particular policy, but Basic Income News welcomes discussion from all points of view in its Op-Ed section.

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New book reviews the Namibian Basic Income pilot - Basic Income News

Swimmers aiming for spots in Oceania squad – The National

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

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A TOTAL of 65 swimmers from Boroko Amateur Swimming Club and Lae Amateur Swimming Club competed at the TNT National Open and Age Long-Course Championships in Lae, Morobe, over the weekend.President Elizabeth Wells said Papua New Guinea Swimming Incorporated was privileged to have TNT sponsor the event. TNT has been sponsoring the event for the past 15 years.She thanked TNT general manager Troy Park for the companys support to swimming in PNG.Wells said the championships were important for athletes to swim qualifying times to gain a place in the Bank South Pacific National Aquatic Excellent squads junior/intermediate silver and gold, Kundu target squads of bronze, silver, gold, platinum or diamond.Gaining a place on a target squad will provide an opportunity for our athletes to be named in the Oceania train-on squad with the final travelling team being named at the close of April 2020, she told the swimmers.For some of you, this will be your first occasion to take part in the national championships and I am sure the experience of competing will be a motivation to continue to strive for greater challenges as you move onward in your sporting career.PNGSI wishes you all the best. Your dreams are now waiting to be realised and unfold before you.Enjoy the spirit of competing in your individual races and against your teammates.The running of the championships in a proficient way is made possible by the cooperation of our many volunteers from our club coaches, technical officials, club administrators, PNGSI executive, our member families and friends.I thank you all for making sure that the championships are run under the Fina competition rules.

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Swimmers aiming for spots in Oceania squad - The National

Australian national softball team headed to 2020 Olympics – Mankato Free Press

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

When the Australian national softball program decided to come to Mankato last summer to form the Aussie Peppers, the goal was simple: get the best competition in National Pro Fastpitch to prepare for Olympic qualification.

It seems the plan worked.

After going undefeated at the Asia/Oceania qualifier in Shanghai, China, last week, many of the former Aussie Peppers will be representing Australia at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Spending the summer in Mankato was massive for our program, Australia national team coach Laing Harrow said. To play all those game against great competition in the NPF is what we needed.

The eight-team Asia/Oceania qualifier started with two four-team pools. There was round-robin play within each pool, with the top two teams in each advancing to the super round.

Australia easily advanced to the super round after outscoring Chinese Taipei, India and Hong Kong 21-1 over the three games.

They probably saw better pitching in NPF than they did in the qualifier, and they hit the ball pretty well in the qualifier, so that was probably part of it, Aussie Peppers general manager Matt Mangulius said.

With the qualifier being played at China, the nights were going to be late for any Peppers fans who wanted watch the games.

I feel asleep during one, but I watched pretty much all of them, Mangulis said with a laugh. I still had my day job going on, of course.

In the first game of the super round, it was more of the same with Aussie Pepper standout Kaia Parnaby delivering six shutout innings in a 7-0 win over the Philippines. Parnaby was dominant in the circle throughout the tournament; she struck out 17 in 20 innings while posting a 1.40 earned-run average.

Kaias got a lot of experience under her belt, Harrow said. Shes played in a lot of big games, and came up big for us again in the qualifier.

In the championship, it was Parnaby again who got the win in Australias 9-3 victory over China. She had plenty of offensive help early, with Australia scoring five runs in the second inning. Former Peppers player Leigh Godfrey went 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs.

Taylah Tsitsikronis finished the tournament at .500 with a homer, triple, two doubles and seven RBIs. Godfrey hit .417 with five runs scored. Carmelle Sorensen hit .375 with a homer and six RBIs. Each played for the Peppers over the summer.

Thats a nice change for our program, Harrow said about the strong offensive performance. When youre consistently putting up runs, thats awesome to see.

With the Olympics coming, the future of the Peppers in NFP is still unknown. The Olympic games will begin in late July next summer, while the NFP season starts in late May.

Were talking with them about (a potential return to Mankato), Mangulis said. They would like to play some competitive games to prepare for the Olympics, but it kind of depends on how the league looks next year with so many international teams.

Hopefully, well have a resolution on it within the next month, Harrow said.

This will be the fifth time that Australia has competed in softball at the Olympics. The team has earned a medal in the last four Olympic tournaments.

Australia will join host nation Japan, Mexico, United States, Canada and Italy at the games next summer.

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Australian national softball team headed to 2020 Olympics - Mankato Free Press

Japan national team announces 28-man roster team for Premier12 – The Japan Times

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Yomiuri Giants captain Hayato Sakamoto was among the 28 players named Tuesday to the Japan national team for the upcoming Premier12, an international baseball event that doubles as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Sakamoto and four Giants teammates headline the roster for the Nov. 2-17 competition to be held in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea, while an additional five players, including pitcher Kodai Senga, were selected from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Hawks infielder Nobuhiro Matsuda, 36, is the oldest player named to Atsunori Inabas team. The team has three catchers Takuya Kai (SoftBank), Tsubasa Aizawa (Hiroshima Carp) and Seiji Kobayashi (Yomiuri Giants).

Japan will play warmup games against Canada, another competing nation, in Okinawa on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to prepare for the 32-game tournament in which two of six spots in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be up for grabs. It closes with the final at Tokyo Dome.

Other Premier12 participants include the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Cuba, Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Premier12 is a tournament organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The top 12 teams in the world mens baseball rankings secured their places in the second edition of the Premier12, first held in 2015. South Korea won the inaugural tournament.

Two quota spots will be allocated, with the top nation from the Americas territory earning a spot at the 2020 Games and the highest finisher from the Asia/Oceania region earning the other. This will not include Japan, which already qualified as the host nation.

Baseball will return to the Summer Games next year but will not be on the program for the 2024 Paris Games.

Japan national team announces 28-man roster team for Premier12 - The Japan Times

Tonga to build new stadium – Football in Oceania

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

The stadium is set to have a 700 seat capacity.

Seating capacity is something the current field at the Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, in the capital Nukualofa, lack much of and would be a big step up in facilities.

The new stadium, looking set to be built where the current Loto-Tonga Soka Centre sits, is to be funded by FIFA, through the FIFA Forward 2 program.

The deadline for engineering companies to deliver their expression of interest and proposals ran out a few days ago, on September 24th.

The list of things the proposals had to include was:

There has yet to be announced a winner for the building project.

UPDATE: The Tonga FA have now responded to our request for a comment. They confirmed that the new stadium will be at the same location and has promised to keep Football in Oceania updated on development on the project.

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Tonga to build new stadium - Football in Oceania

‘1984’ coming to Patchogue Theatre – Long Island Advance

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

George Orwells cautionary tale about a future where 2+2=5 is coming to Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts next month for one night only on Oct. 4 at 8 p.m.

Orwells novel, which was published in 1949, imagines the world being ruled by three totalitarian superstates: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia.

In addition to living in a perpetual state of warfare against each other, the superpowers utilize propaganda and government surveillance against their own populations. The story takes place in Great Britain renamed Airstrip One, which is part of Oceania and governed by the all-seeing figure Big Brother.

The Aquila Theatre, a New York City-based theatre company that began in London nearly 30 years ago, is behind the upcoming stage production in Patchogue. We recently spoke with key members of the show, which has been adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan.

Reece Richardson, a London resident, plays Winston Smith, the shows protagonist.

Smith works as a clerk in the records department of the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical documents to suit the governments needs. Numerous actors have portrayed the iconic everyman over the decades, but perhaps the most famous was the late John Hurt in Michael Radfords film adaption, which was also released in the year 1984.

Richardson, who grew up in a small village just outside York in North Yorkshire, England, was first introduced to 1984 in school. [The book] is an extremely honest look at how a culture can be dissected and manipulated into censoring itself, the actor said, noting that he didnt fully understand the gravity of the story when he first read it.

The chance to explore such a dynamic and iconic book is something that immediately interested me, he said. I feel that 1984 is now, almost more so than ever, extremely relevant. I think one of the things that most excites me about playing Winston is that he is an everyman that the audience can hopefully relate to and therefore experience the alternative reality that [the story] exists in.

When asked about how he feels in the moments before the curtain goes up and the show begins, Richardson said, A mixture of quiet focus and nerves. Always nerves. I think the day I stop getting nervous before I go onstage is the day I quit acting.

Director Desiree Sanchez, a Connecticut native who now lives in New York City, remembers hearing about 1984 for the first time while in high school, where she had to read another Orwell book, Animal Farm. She didnt read 1984 until a couple of years later.

I was very struck by [the novels] relevance and a bit saddened by how much we have, in many ways, surpassed Orwells prediction of Big Brothers ability to monitor our daily lives, the director said, adding that todays technology allows anyone to be monitored and studied in a variety of ways. The difference, however, is that we have willingly given up our privacy.

Sanchez says Orwells doublespeak bears a resemblance to what our society has deemed fake news, while the telescreens in the fictitious world are eerily similar to our smart phones and social media platforms, as well as virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa.

I wanted to direct this play because its so relevant, the director said. I am aware that this book has recently become quite political and has unfortunately been used by extremists to justify their positions. Orwell was very much against any form of extremism and saw how dangerous these tendencies were to society.

I hope that by presenting this play, we can remind ourselves how important it is to retain our sense of humanity and that we must question any cause or agenda that requires the loss of our humanity, Sanchez added.

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'1984' coming to Patchogue Theatre - Long Island Advance

Who We Are – News – FIFA Forward reaches new heights in India fostering Technical Capacity building – FIFA.com

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

A two-dayFIFA Forward Capacity Building Workshop for Indian State Associations took place in Dwarka, New Delhi on 26 and 27 September. The workshop was attended by representatives of ten State Associations including high officials such as Presidents, General Secretaries, Chairmen, and State Development Managers. A FIFA Forward Special Project initiative of the MA State Development Project was launched in 2018 with 11 states.

From grassroots and youth football implementation, to womens football, Competitions management and marketing, the participants were introduced to a range of substantial presentations delivered by high-level regional experts.

Welcoming all delegates and participants, Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary welcomed the participants during his opening remarks:

Capacity building of State Associations has its own challenges, and is a critical aspect. We have been trying to do it for long, and while there have been some states who have been successful, most need to up the ante, the General Secretary maintained. He concluded by encouraging the attendees to take the workshop as an opportunity to interact among themselves and take advantage of the group discussions.

Under FIFA Forward we have assisted AIFF with competitions, the Golden Baby Leagues, the Hero Indian Womens League, state development, the Hero Sub Junior Youth League, the NCE, etc, Mr. Sanjeevan C. Balasingam, Director MA Asia and Oceania, who represented the FIFA Administration stated. India are no more a sleeping giant. Instead, India is wide awake, the results against Qatar being the best example. We want to take it one step further, and we are here to take India to the top of World football.

Its important that the State Associations participate in a robust manner, and create the essential structure for development. We at AIFF have developed our Strategic Plan and the support from the Government has been immense after we presented it to them, Mr. Das commented.Hopefully everyone would be going back with their leanings, and implement them in their respective states. We are happy to help, and can even do a six-monthly monthly review, he added.

All India Football Federation Technical Director Isac Doru stressed on the significance of the capacity building of the State Associations in the AIFF organised FIFA capacity-building Workshop in New Delhi. While Indian football has been on the rise over the last few years, Doru stated State Associations are the building blocks of Indian football.

Honorary Secretary of Mizoram Football Association Lalnghinglova Hmar stated, Genuinely one of the best workshops for state football associations ever. The topics are very relevant to state associations. India is such a vast country and the State FA functioning are somewhat similar to many MAs under FIFA in many aspects; therefore, FIFA addressing the State FAs will help the growth of Indian football. It is next to impossible for AIFF alone to do so. I wish FIFA continues to organise such workshops for the States in the future as well.

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Who We Are - News - FIFA Forward reaches new heights in India fostering Technical Capacity building - FIFA.com

Cdl. Burke: Revolution Is the Goal – Church Militant

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - Cardinal Raymond Burke is warning that the Amazon Synod isn't about local evangelization in the Amazonbut aboutrevolution inthe wholeChurch.

During an interview with Italian media published Monday, the former head of the Vatican's highest court is decrying the"dishonest attitude" in masking the true nature ofthe synod.

"The Synod is presented as being for the pastoral care of the people to be evangelized in the Amazon, but the German bishops state clearly that the goal is to revolutionize the whole Church," relates Burke. "Even the bishop of Essen, Monsignor Franz-Josef Overbeck,said very recently that after the Amazon Synod 'nothing will ever be the same again'in the Church."

Burke's words are supported by similar remarks from the Vatican's head liturgist, Cdl. Robert Sarah. In an interview also published on Monday, Sarah remarkedthatusingthe synod as a "laboratory for the universal Church" would be "dishonest and misleading."

"To take advantage of a particular synod to introduce these ideological projects would be an unworthy manipulation, a dishonest deception, an insult to God, who leads his Church and entrusts him with his plan of salvation," assertedSarah.

He exclaimed, "I am shocked and outraged that the spiritual distress of the poor in the Amazon is being used as a pretext" to support such projects as ordaining married men, creating women's ministries and giving jurisdiction to laypeople.

Asked duringMonday's interview about the synod's emphasis on "appreciating different cultures and religions," Burke warned that thisapproach is alwaysineffective and maycause a missionary to lose his faith.

"If a missionary starts with the sole intention of appreciating whatever culture he finds,then we can be sure there will be no evangelization, it's more likely that these missionaries will end up losing their faith," cautioned Burke.

"We are in a profound crisis," related Burke, when asked why he andBp. Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, on Tuesdayissuedan appeal for prayer and fasting. They did sowith the intention that the heresies in the synod's preparatory document called the Instrumentum Laboris would be rejected.

"According to the profoundly mistaken view of the Instrumentum Laboris, Christ and the cosmos are one and God also reveals himself in other circumstances. This view is closely connected to pantheism. Therefore it is a cult of the natural world," Burke clarified.

When asked about the apparent"decline in vocations," Burke revealed thatthose pushing the so-called "new Church" are turning away vocations in order to justify the ordination ofmarried men.

"Those who are promoting a 'new Church'do not want vocations, they discourage them in order to justify their own position which attacks celibacy," asserted Burke. "It is no coincidence that the religious institutes, perhaps with young congregations and many vocations, are the ones being particularly targeted at the moment."

Vocations still exist, said Burke, but what is lacking in many places is "an apostolate for vocations and prayer for vocations."

Celibacy that's being attacked by the synod, explained Burke, actually freesapriest to give himself completely to God and to fully live out hispriesthood. At the same time, he discounted the falsehood that evangelization is best done by simply "doing good and being good."

The priest is called to celebrate the Eucharist, to offer himself as victim for the salvation of souls, to give himself totally to Christ. This is what is essential, all the other priestly activities teaching, assisting the faithful in difficulty, charitable work, even the defence of the Indians are a consequence and even if they were unsuccessful, this would not take anything away from the ministry.

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Cdl. Burke: Revolution Is the Goal - Church Militant

Lay Faithful to Gather in Rome to Pray for the Church on Eve of Amazon Synod – National Catholic Register

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Pope Francis celebrates Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Holy Saturday, April 15, 2017. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

The group, concerned about evils and the current situation within the Church, will meet for a prayer vigil near the tomb of St. Peter on Oct. 5

Lay faithful from across Italy are expected to gather in a piazza near St. Peters basilica next week to pray for the Church as she faces a catalogue of challenges, oneswhich the event organizers have included in a prayer list.

Recalling Cardinal Joseph Ratzingers words in 2005 excoriating the filth in the Church, and his later words on the terrifying sin and persecution from enemies within the Church, the organizers wish to draw attention to the extent of the current evils ranged within the body of the Church and to urge the faithful to pray for her.

The Church is living through her Passion, one of the vigils organizers calledFather Giuseppewrote in a letter to Vaticanist Marco Tosatti that was later reported in the Italian dailyIl Tempo.

Titled Lets Pray for the Church!, the prayer vigil is scheduled to take place at 2.30pm on Oct. 5, in Largo Giovanni XXIII an open space, usually the location for media on special occasions, at the far end of Via della Conciliazione, the central boulevard leading to St. Peters Square(the event has aFacebook pagehere). The Pan-AmazonSynod runs Oct. 6-27 at the Vatican.

The organizers point out that Benedict wished to remind the faithful that there are men in the Church who are not of the Church, do not belong to her, and who indeed work more than anyone else for her destruction. And they warn that such people will one day become the majority, according to St. Pauls prophecy in his Second Letter to the Thessalonians.

We, a group of Catholic friends, both lay and consecrated, therefore want to pray together with all those who wish to join us as close as possible to the tomb of St. Peter, where the popes, with few exceptions, have always desired to reside, they explain in their publicity.

Referring to Benedicts comments above, they also stress the initiative is not an anti-Pope Francis event because the origins of the current challenges long pre-date his election. Even the last two years of [Benedicts] pontificate were, for believers, ones of intense suffering, wrote Father Giuseppe, and the obstacles placed in his path by declared or hidden enemies were evident to all.

The organizers and participants will be asking for 10 graces during the prayer vigil. These include praying that those involved clerical abuse scandals not be promoted but removed from leadership positions; that the deposit of faith not be adulterated; that the Church be courageous in preaching the Gospel; and that she avoid acting like sociologists, political scientists, climatologists and logists of every kind.

They will also call on the Lord for the grace so that the non-negotiable principles are taught and the inviolability of life upheld, that love for Creation not be confused with paganism or pantheism, and that people are reminded that ones country is a mother for each person but defense of identity has nothing to do with nationalism or other aberrations.

The organizers will also pray to listen to the cry from the church in Africa and Eastern Europe, for Chinese Catholics, and the persecuted throughout the world.

The public prayer vigilis meant as a sign of hope, says Francesco Agnoli, one of the events participants. In the midst of so much confusion, there is a small flock in addition to some cardinals that is calling for an end to the storm.

October 5, 2019 in Rome, largo Giovanni XXIII, 2:30pm

Lets Pray for the Church!

It was Good Friday 2005, and then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would soon become Pope, declared these unmistakable words: How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him!... (Stations of the Cross, IX station).

Once he became Pope, Benedict XVI travelled to Fatima. During an inflight press conference, on May 11, 2010, he told journalists who had asked about the Virgins message: The sufferings of the Church come precisely from within the Church, from the sin that exists in the Church today we are seeing it in a truly terrifying way: that the greatest persecution of the Church comes not from her enemies outside, but arises from sin within the Church.

As cardinal and as Pope, Benedict wanted to remind us that there are men in the Church who are not of the Church, who do not really belong to her, and who indeed work more than anyone else for her destruction; the villains and hypocrites who are in the Church, St. Augustine said in De Civitate Dei [The City of God], will one day become the majority, according to the prophecy of St. Paul in the Second Letter to the Thessalonians.

Email: ottobre_5@yahoo.com

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Lay Faithful to Gather in Rome to Pray for the Church on Eve of Amazon Synod - National Catholic Register

Less government is main focus for Libertarian candidate Darcy Neal Donnelly – The Review Newspaper

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

The best government is very little government, according to Darcy Neal Donnelly.

The Libertarian Party of Canada candidate in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell has been part of a combination of three federal and provincial elections in the past.

Theres only so many laws our country needs, said Donnelly.

He explained that the only necessary laws are for protecting individual rights, freedoms, and markets.

The Libertarian Party supports having police, courts and the military for the purpose of protection, and not control.

On climate change, Donnelly explained that the government has given big corporations the right to pollute and that property rights should be the basis of environmental protection. He said that the environment would be better protected by private owners who had to take responsibility for it, including for environmentally significant places like national parks.

When asked about ethics issues like the SNC Lavalin scandal, Donnelly said problems like corruption occur when governments and corporations are too big. He said the influence of global corporations and government bureaucracy needs to be reduced.

Donnelly strongly criticized the spending of taxpayer dollars on corporate welfare. As an example, he referred to the $18 million in support the Trudeau government announced over the summer for Heico, the American parent company of Ivaco Rolling Mills in LOrignal.

According to Donnelly, Canada has a mixed economy containing some free markets, fascist markets, and communist markets. The Libertarian Party wants a free market for everything.

Competition leads to better solutions in markets, Donnelly said.

According to Donnelly, the Libertarian Party of today is more in line with the Liberals during the days of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Donnelly said the Libertarian Party would end the federal income tax for everyone and the governments sources of revenue would be through trade and voluntary gifts. Health care and social services for the less fortunate could be provided through benevolent organizations. He highlighted how successful private institutions such as Shriners Hospitals are, as an example.

Libertarians see themselves as influencers on other parties, said Donnelly. He said the party is not totally dedicated to some day governing, but tries to influence existing candidates and parties with its ideas. He said the Peoples Party of Canada, led by Maxime Bernier has ideas that represent 80 per cent of what the Libertarians have been recommending, and he is pleased that they have had that influence on Berniers party.

Donnelly is also the Secretary of the Libertarian riding association for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. He is hoping more people get involved. More information is available at libertarian.ca

James Morgan is a freelance contributor.He has worked for several print and broadcast media outlets.James loves the history, natural beauty, and people of eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

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Less government is main focus for Libertarian candidate Darcy Neal Donnelly - The Review Newspaper

Could our next president be a Libertarian? | TheHill – The Hill

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

As they look ahead to the 2020 election, few political pundits have considered the possibility that a Libertarian Party candidate could be elected president. Yes, I know it's a long shot, but not as long a shot as it might initially seem.

Because of the Electoral College system of voting, third-party candidates have a better chance of winning than most people think. If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the president from among the three candidates with the most electoral votes.

To be in the running, all that a third-party candidate must do is receive enough electoral votes to ensure that neither the Democratic nor Republican nominee wins an Electoral College majority, in which case the spoiler becomes a credible final contender. In a close race, the candidate might need to win just one state to send the election to the House of Representatives.

At that point, the third-party candidate would have to convince members of the House to vote for him or her rather than for the major-party candidates. It's unlikely, but not impossible. It depends on who's running.

Libertarian ideas on social policy appeal to Democrats, while libertarian ideas on economic policy appeal to Republicans, so a skillful pitch on those ideas might win over Representatives dissatisfied with their own partys candidates. Although the Libertarian Party is often perceived as a fringe party, libertarian ideas are about as widely held as consistent liberal or conservative views by the general public. Many Americans have views that are socially liberal and economically conservative.

Currently, its not a complete stretch to think that many Republicans might abandon their president to vote for a third-party candidate. President TrumpDonald John TrumpKamala Harris calls for Twitter to suspend Trump account over whistleblower attacks Clinton jokes she 'never' had to tell Obama not to 'extort foreign countries' John Dean: 'There is enough evidence' to impeach Trump MORE is not that popular with House Republicans, judging by the significant numbers of GOP lawmakers who have announced they will not be seeking re-election. If the Democratic nominee is way outside the mainstream as is easy to picture given the partys current field of candidates then a coalition of Democrats might join with some Republicans to support the third-party candidate.

For a Libertarian to win the presidency, the first step is for the Libertarian Party to choose a candidate who appears more reasonable to Americans, and especially to members of the House of Representatives, than the major-party candidates.

The second step is to campaign in just a few key states. In a close election, a third-party candidate could win only Texas, for instance, and still prevent rivals from winning an electoral majority thus throwing the election to the House of Representatives. The candidate should publicly announce this strategy beforehand, so that voters can see that the candidate has a real chance of victory and that their Libertarian votes would not be wasted .

An attractive Libertarian candidate with only a few electoral votes would then have the same status before the House of Representatives as the major-party candidates and a coalition of disgruntled Democrats and Republicans could put a Libertarian in the White House.

Keep in mind Ross Perot. In 1992 he received 19 percent of the popular vote, but his support was spread throughout the country, so he didn't receive a single electoral vote. If he had concentrated his campaigning in a few states, however, he might have converted his popular support into enough Electoral College votes to pitch the contest to the House. And who knows what might have happened then.

Could something similar happen in 2020? It is unlikely. But if 2016 proved anything, its that we must not dismiss improbable-sounding electoral outcomes out of hand.

Randall G. Holcombe is a research fellow at the Independent Institute and DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University. His latest book is Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History (Independent Institute, 2019).

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Could our next president be a Libertarian? | TheHill - The Hill

Who’s Right on Impeachment: Rand Paul, Justin Amash, or Jeff Flake? – Reason

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Sen. Rand Paul (RKy.) says it's a "fake witch hunt" ("BASTA!"). Rep. Justin Amash (IMich.) is in the same "impeachable conduct" camp he's been in since May; adding such recent commentary as "Nearly every Trump ally's defense has been an effort to gaslight America." And now-retired Rep. Jeff Flake (RAriz.), from the much-hated temperamental center, has in this morning's Washington Post charted out a third way between those two poles, arguing that "the president's actions warrant impeachment," but that Flake still has "grave reservations" about launching those proceedings, so instead wants elected Republicans to not endorse the president's re-election because Trump is "manifestly undeserving of the highest office that we have."

So which of these libertarian-leaning legislators, current and former, has the better argument? That's the subject of this week's editors' roundtable edition of Reason Podcast, featuring Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman and Matt Welch. Is it possible or meaningful to separate out impeachment proceedings from articles of impeachment from a Senate conviction thereof? Are there important differences between Trump's conduct and that of previous administrations? What is the role/position/rooting interest for those outside of the two corners? We talk through all of this and more, while fighting a losing battle against profanity, invoking Inception, and explaining how all art is basically a primer on management.

Audio production by Ian Keyser and Regan Taylor.

'Rocking Forward' by XTaKeRuX is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Relevant links from the show:

"Trump's Civil War Tweet Is Bad. This Other Tweet May Be Unconstitutional." By Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Whether Trump Stays or Goes, We Need To Rein in Presidents and Congress," by Nick Gillespie

"Did Trump Commit a Crime by Seeking a Ukrainian Investigation of Joe Biden? And Does It Matter for Impeachment Purposes?" By Jacob Sullum

"Evidence Increasingly Indicates Trump's Ukraine Pressure Tactics Usurped Congress' Power of the Purseand that he may have Committed a Federal Crime in the Process," by Ilya Somin

"Did the President Commit Witness Tampering?" By David Post

"Is Impeachment a 'Constitutional Duty'?" By Keith Whittington

"Trump's Ukraine Call Was an Abuse of Powerand This Time, He Can't Claim Ignorance or Inexperience," by Peter Suderman

"John Yoo Warns That Impeachment Would Undermine Presidential Power. That's the Point." By Jacob Sullum

"Whistleblower Report Alleges Trump Used Presidential Power for Personal Gain," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Congress Should Not Be Satisfied With Ukraine Call Transcript, Given the Trump White House's History of Fiddling With Records," by Eric Boehm

"Nancy Pelosi Announces Trump Impeachment Inquiry Over Ukraine Scandal," by Billy Binion

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Who's Right on Impeachment: Rand Paul, Justin Amash, or Jeff Flake? - Reason

#CivilWarSignup Trends on Twitter After Trump Suggests His Impeachment Will Lead to Civil War – Mediaite

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

After President Donald Trump posted a quote on Sunday which claimed Democrats would cause a civil war if the President were impeached, several civil war-related hashtags began to explode on social media. One hashtag, #CivilWarSignup, became the number one trending topic on Twitter, Monday, and a wave of political and media figures made both serious and humorous comments in response.

Maybe instead of #CivilWar2 we could just make the government smaller so this isnt a problem ever again? declared the Libertarian Partys official Twitter account.

Mr. President, maliciously attacking a whistleblower and promoting civil unrest to avoid impeachment wont save you. You should have already been impeached for your bigotry, corruption, and disloyalty to our country, reacted Rep. Al Green (D-TX).

Former U.S. Navy senior chief petty officer Malcolm Nance accused President Trump of being backed by communists in his response to the civil war hysteria.

TRUMP IS A DICTATOR: Call him #DictatorDonald. Only a communist backed wannabe tyrant lacking all morals, loyalty to his oath & steeped in immeasurable stupidity would call for American lawmaker to be arrested for for investigating his own crimes, Nance wrote. Beware. He wants #CivilWar2.

As soon as Im done with hot yoga, Ill be there. Im not so good with the fighting stuff but Ill help with the tweets, jested author and journalist Molly Jong-Fast, before making a more serious observation: The sad truth is that trump threatening civil war is so good for traffic that twitter will never suspend him.

I will bring hundreds of Star Trek uniforms to form my own zouave unit. We will be strictly posting spicy takes, joked journalist Wilson Dizard, while Ellen Show Executive Producer Andy Lassner asked, What do you even wear to a civil war?

The Bulwark founder Charlie Sykes posted, Lets be clear here. The president is tweeting about Civil War. In a Civil War, Americans would be killing one another, while New York Times contributing oped writer Wajahat Ali commented, People we are joking about a Civil War because Trump, with utmost seriousness, warned of #CivilWar2 if Congress did it job and kept him in check. None of this normal. Please realize he will get worse and someone will get hurt.

What Trump means by Civil War is that a bunch of racists will attack people of color. Hes a racist, pure & simple, remarked director Morgan J. Freeman, while conservative blogger Carmine Sabia claimed, The progressives want a #CivilWar2. No one takes your impeachment seriously when you have been calling for it since Election Day. You wanted to find any reason. But I would not support a war to fight fellow Americans.

Journalist Deborah Copaken also did not see the humour in a potential second civil war.

Call me a killjoy, but Im not finding the #civilwar2 jokes funny. I spent 4 years covering civil wars. Ive seen their human toll. Our president just signaled, with 1 tweet, a large swath of our population with all the guns to get ready to use them, she declared. This shakes me to my core.

Other pundits who joined in with the online conversation included the Daily Shows Roy Wood, writer Elie Mystal, Pod Save The People co-host Brittany Packnett, NBC News legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, Democratic Coalition co-founder Jon Cooper, former Obama Administration staffer Brandon Friedman, commentator Bob Cesca, former Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti, The Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer, and Mediaites own Tommy Christopher.

[Photo via Richard Ellis/Getty Images]

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#CivilWarSignup Trends on Twitter After Trump Suggests His Impeachment Will Lead to Civil War - Mediaite

Williams: Youth and ignorance | Opinion – Longview News-Journal

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Camille Paglia is a professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she has been a faculty member since 1984. Paglia describes herself as transgender, but unlike so many other transgender people, she is pro-capitalism and hostile to those whod restrict free speech. Shes a libertarian.

As to modern ideas that include gender-inclusive pronouns such as zie, sie and zim, Paglia says it is lunacy. In a 2017 interview, she was especially irritated by the thought police running college campuses today. In defending University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson, who has become a pariah for his refusal to cave in to nonsensical gender-inclusive pronouns, Paglia said that the English language was created by great artists such as Chaucer and Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Joyce. She added: How dare you, you sniveling little maniac, tell us how were gonna use pronouns! Go take a hike.

On feminism, Paglia criticizes what she calls the antisex and repressively doctrinaire side of feminism. She calls it victim feminism and complains that everything wed won in the 1990s has been totally swept away. Now we have this endless privileging of victimhood, with a pathological vulnerability seen as the default human mode. Everyone must yield to it in the workplace, in universities, in the demand for safe spaces. Paglia adds, What I am saying throughout my work is that girls who are indoctrinated to see men not as equals but as oppressors and rapists are condemned to remain in a permanently juvenile condition for life.

Paglias bold statements got her in a bit of hot water last April. University of the Arts students demanded that she be fired over public comments shed made that were not wholly sympathetic to the #MeToo movement, as well as for an interview with the Weekly Standard they called transphobic. That latter denunciation is particularly slapstick, because Paglia describes herself as transgender, writes Tunku Varadarajan, Hoover Institutions institutional editor, in his Aug. 30 Wall Street Journal article A Feminist Capitalist Professor Under Fire.

The students demand that Paglia be fired fell on deaf ears. Fortunately, there are a few college presidents with guts and common sense. President David Yager is one of them. He wrote in an open letter to students: Artists over the centuries have suffered censorship, and even persecution, for the expression of their beliefs through their work. My answer is simple: not now, not at UArts.

Theres another part of this story thats particularly interesting considering todays young peoples love of socialism. Paglia says children now are raised in a far more affluent period. Even people without much money have cellphones, televisions, and access to cars. Theyre raised in an air-conditioned environment. I can still remember when there was no air-conditioning.

Paglia says: Everything is so easy now. The stores are so plentifully supplied. You just go in and buy fruits and vegetables from all over the world. Young people ignorant of history and economics have a sense that this is the way life has always been. Because theyve never been exposed to history, they have no idea that these are recent attainments that come from a very specific economic system.

Young people led by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fail to realize that capitalism has produced this cornucopia around us. But the young seem to believe in having the government run everything, and that the private companies that are doing things for profit around them, and supplying them with goods, will somehow exist forever. For the feminists, Paglia says, I insist that capitalism has produced the glorious emancipation of women. Today, they can support themselves and live on their own, and no longer must humiliatingly depend on father or husband.

Reading Varadarajans article made my day knowing that theres at least one intelligent radical feminist. But what else is to be expected from anyone whos a libertarian capitalist?

Walter E. Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University, is a columnist with Creators Syndicate. His column appears Tuesday.

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Williams: Youth and ignorance | Opinion - Longview News-Journal

Early voting starts soon | News – Kokomo Perspective

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

On Oct. 8, early voting starts in Howard County for this years municipal election. At stake is the mayors office, which is up for grabs for the first time in 12 years in a wide-open race between Democrat Abbie Smith and Republican Tyler Moore. In addition, every seat on the Kokomo Common Council is up for election, as is the city clerk position.

After early voting commences voters can cast an early ballot at the Howard County Government Center, 120 E. Mulberry St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Nov. 1. Then, on Oct. 26, early voting opens at Indiana Wesleyan, 1916 W. Markland Ave., from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Oct. 29 early voting will ramp up, with additional locations open at Indiana Wesleyan, Carver Community Center, Russiaville Lions Club, Titan Annex, and UAW Local 685. Through Nov. 3 these locations will be open from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. with the exception being that Indiana Wesleyan will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Nov. 2 and 4 the Howard County Government Center will reopen for early voting. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 2, and on Nov. 4 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Absentee voting also will commence on Oct. 8.

Voting on Election Day on Nov. 5 runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. In total, 13 vote centers will be open throughout Howard County. Those are Indiana Wesleyan, Carver Community Center, Russiaville Lions Club, Titan Annex, UAW Local 685, Eastern Performing Arts Center, First Assembly of God Church, Good Shepherd Church, Kokomo High School, Maple Crest School, Oakbrook Church, Senior Citizens Center, and Kokomo-Howard County Public Library South Branch. To see the locations of these vote centers, view the accompanying map.

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7.

In total, 11 positions within Kokomo government are up for election this year. However, only nine races are contested with the incumbents in Kokomo Common Council District 5, Republican Cynthia Sanders, and District 6, Thomas Miklik, not facing challengers this year.

In the mayoral race, Moore and Smith will be listed on the ballot alongside Libertarian Michael Virgin. However, Virgin recently announced a withdrawal from the mayoral race while endorsing Moore. But because the Libertarian didnt make the decision prior to a state-mandated deadline, he still will appear on the ballot.

Voters also will be tasked with selecting three candidates for the three at-large positions on the Kokomo Common Council. In that race, the incumbent candidates are Democrats Robert Hayes and John Michael Kennedy. Republicans Matthew Grecu, Kara Kitts-McKibben, and Antonio Stewart as well as Democrat Matthew Sedam also are on the ballot. The three candidates with the most votes will earn the at-large offices.

In the District 1, Republican Jason Acord faces incumbent Democrat Michael Wyant. In District 2, Democratic incumbent Robert Cameron is pitted against Republican Lynn Rudolph. For District 3, voters will select either Republican Ray Collins or Democrat Cathy Cox-Stover, who both seek to replace Councilwoman Janie Young after she chose not to seek reelection this year. Theres a three-way race in District 4, with Democratic incumbent Donnie Haworth facing Republican Greg Jones and Libertarian Danial Purvis.

And in the city clerk race, Republican Diane Howard is going against incumbent Democrat Brenda Brunnemer-Ott.

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Early voting starts soon | News - Kokomo Perspective

November election will include many contested races – OBSERVER-REVIEW.COM

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

TRI-COUNTY AREA--Despite several one-candidate elections, voters in Yates, Schuyler and Steuben County still have plenty of contested local elections to sort through come November.Three districts in the county legislature have contested elections, with five candidates vying for four seats in District 1, four candidates and three seats in District 2 and six candidates for four seats in District 3. District 1 consists of Italy, Jerusalem and Middlesex, District 2 encompasses Benton, Potter and Torrey and District 3 is Milo.Along with voting for county positions, Benton, Jerusalem, Italy and Milo also have contested elections along with Barrington. Wayne and Urbana will see some contested elections while the village of Hammondsport will not. The county judge race highlights a number of contested elections in Schuyler.

Yates CountyDistrict 1 (Italy, Jerusalem, Middlesex) - two-year term (four seats open)Edward A. Bronson - Republican, ConservativeTimothy P. Cutler - Republican, ConservativeDouglas Paddock - Republican, ConservativeK. Dixon Zorovich - DemocraticPatrick Killen - Republican

District 2 (Benton, Potter, Torrey) - two-term (three seats open)Terry L. Button - RepublicanPeggy Focarino - DemocraticRichard L. Wilson - RepublicanRichard J. Harper - Republican

District 3 (Milo) - two-year term (four seats open)Earle Gleason - RepublicanLeslie Church - RepublicanDaniel Banach - RepublicanCarlie Chilson - RepublicanValerie Brechko - DemocraticTeresa Hoban - Democratic

BarringtonTown Council - four-year term (two seats open)Calvin C. Crosby - RepublicanThomas J. Petro III - Republican, Barrington RenewalSteven Brigham - Barrington Renewal

BentonTown Council - four-year term (two seats open)Alan D. Tomion - RepublicanRichard J. Harper - RepublicanBill Roege - Democratic

Highway Superintendent - four-year termJayson Hoover - RepublicanSteven Vaughan - Conservative

ItalyTown Council - four-year term (two seats open)Debra Cook - RepublicanBenjamin A. Dempsey - RepublicanMalcolm MacKenzie - Vote MacKenzie

JerusalemTown Supervisor - two-year termJamie L. Sisson - RepublicanK. Dixon Zorovich - Democratic

MiloTown Council - four-year-term (two seats open)Dale Hallings - RepublicanArden G. Sorenson Jr. - RepublicanValerie Valerie Brechko - DemocraticMildred A. Phillips-Espana - Democratic

Steuben County (Observer coverage area)WayneTown Supervisor - two-year termThomas A. Dunbar - Democratic, RepublicanSteve Butchko - Our TownChristopher Curry - Chris For Wayne

Town Clerk - two-year termMary Cornish Starkweather - Democrat, ConservativeWilliam Mahr - Republican, Independence

Councilman - four-year termLiz Kenyon - Democrat, Republican, IndependenceShona Freeman - RepublicanJulie A. Haar - Home Sweet Home

Superintendent of Highways - two-year termGary E. Perz - DemocraticDouglas Howard - Republican

UrbanaTown Supervisor - four-year termBee Keck - DemocraticEdward P. Stull - Republican, Wise Owl

Councilman - four-year term (two openings)Michele Foster - DemocraticDavid J. Luppino - RepublicanAlzina L. Turner - DemocraticDavid Shaw - RepublicanSchuyler County (Observer coverage area)

County Judge - ten-year termMatthew C. Hayden - Democratic, WOR/Schuyler First, SamSteven J. Getman - Republican, LibertarianJessica M. Saks - Independent, About JusticeDaniel J. Fitzsimmons - Home Town Law

Legislator District 7 - four-year termPaul J. Bartow - Democratic, UnityMark F. Rondinaro - Republican, Libertarian

Legislator District 8 - four-year termMaggie Coffey - Democratic, Working 4 YouGary L. Gray - Republican, Libertarian

TyroneCouncil Member - four-year term (two openings)Thomas R. Allen - Democratic, IntegrityNorman G. Knight - RepublicanEdward Perry, Sr. - Republican

DixJustice - four-year termBrian T. Eslinger - Democratic, Fair & BalancedKristina A. Vondracek - Republican

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November election will include many contested races - OBSERVER-REVIEW.COM

MAGA Hat Wearers Harass the Elderly (Kidding, It Was Antifa) | VodkaPundit – PJ Media

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Antifa's special brand of bullying madness has arrived in full force in Canada. Left-wing thugs can be seen on video chanting, "Nazi scum! Off our streets! Nazi scum! Off our streets!" at an elderly couple trying to do nothing more than use a public crosswalk. As you can see, the woman can apparently get around only with the aid of a walker, yet still poses some kind of threat to Antifa.

The reason for Antifa's appearance was to "protest" an event at Mohawk College sponsored by Maxime Bernier, leader of the Peoples Party of Canada, and American libertarian political commentator Dave Rubin.

The local Hamilton Spectator reports that more than 100 Antifa showed up at the sold-out event. The school allowed Sunday's show to go on, despite "concerns" raised by various students and faculty members' about PPC's supposed "far-right" agenda.

Bernier is a former Canadian cabinet member under PM Stephen Harper's Conservative party government, but left to form the PPC last year. Bernier complained that the Conservatives had grown too "intellectually and morally corrupt" to take on "extreme multiculturalism," which he believes creates division among Canadians.

Sunday's event sold out the 1,000-seat McIntyre Art Centre at $50 per ticket. Not a bad showing at a school of 30,000 students, and the extra security the administration had to provide wasn't to keep the conservatives and libertarians in line.

Meanwhile in Seattle, Major League Soccer caved to Antifa hooligans, agreeing to allow the black flag to fly during a Seattle Sounders games at CenturyLink, and elsewhere.

Give in to thugs, get more thuggery.

I was about to say things are going to get ugly, but they already have. The question is, how much uglier we'll let things get before the inevitable backlash.

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MAGA Hat Wearers Harass the Elderly (Kidding, It Was Antifa) | VodkaPundit - PJ Media

Protecting Big Tech From Big Government: A Conversation with TechFreedom’s Berin Szoka – InsideSources

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

The following interview with Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, is part of an ongoing series of Q&As with leading policy professionals in Washington, D.C. This interview is edited for brevity and clarity.

InsideSources: What inspired you to found TechFreedom?

Berin Szoka: I started TechFreedom because the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) closed during the financial downturn. One, I wanted to continue the work PFF had been doing, and do the things PFF wasnt but should have been doing, like civil liberties and surveillance work. The reason I went to PFF in the first place is because I wanted to be a principled voice in debates over how to govern the future of technology.

I dont think the perspective we take [at TechFreedom] was or is well-represented. I think there are existing organizations that have a very strong ideological agenda. There are people that start from strong ideological premises on both sides of the debate, and thats just not really what we do.

Were really first and foremost lawyers who try to think through these hard problems and provide good analysis. We have our own philosophical approach, but thats really secondary, and my chief frustration with dealing with the people in our field across the political spectrum is there arent that many people who are honest analysts and thinkers first and advocates for a political view second. Were not activists, were not an advocacy shop, were really a public interest law firm.

InsideSources: Tell me about some of the biggest policy issues TechFreedom is focused on right now.

Berin Szoka: As with everything we do, we ask, is this something people are looking at? Section 230 gets a lot of attention, but very few people take the time to lawyer through. A lot of people defending 230 speak in platitudes about how 230 made the internet possible. Thats not what we do. What would be the practical effect of a reasonableness expectation for immunity [like Sen. Josh Hawleys (R-Mo.) bill]? The practical effect would be you as a website operator would no longer be able to get rid of lawsuits, and after all that hassle and expense, you could perhaps get the lawsuit dismissed. What could be done to open the door into that avalanche of lawsuits? There are very few people in the policy world engaged in that analysis.

The only way were going to safeguard against future abuses of power is to have a combination of statutory protections, transparency, and tools that allow people to blow the whistle, whatever the right thing for the circumstance. For example, I am profoundly concerned about the way the administration appears to have weaponized the enforcement of antitrust laws. It appears to me they are operating to suit the political agenda of the White House. Its pretty clear Trump is trying to use antitrust laws against political rivals.

Our general theme IS about not giving too much discretion to regulators. There are some very specific changes we would like to see made. The presidents war powers under the Communications Act is essentially an internet kill switch. They are very broad, there are essentially no safeguards, and if youre really concerned about someone abusing power in secret and potentially shutting down communications, those are the sorts of things that should be addressed now. So we are reaching out to people across the political spectrum to be engaged. I dont think that gets enough attention, and its very different from what most people in this field do. People are focused on short-term partisan fights.

The next administration will have an opportunity to start implementing these kinds of reforms for all sorts of things, like how we appoint commissioners over agencies, that process is breaking down. We would really like to sit down with people and fix these problems with the regulatory state. They will really have an opportunity to step back from the normal partisan fights and institute safeguards.

InsideSources: What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding some of these issues?

Berin Szoka: Most people think that the debate over the last few years has been about net neutrality, when really its been about the FCCs authority over internet services. The only way were going to resolve this issue is to distinguish those two things. Democrats still say Mike Doyles bill will resolve this fight, well no it wont, it restores the FCCs open internet order. It restores the FCCs authority over internet services, and thats something weve always objected to, not the net neutrality principles.

The really big misunderstanding that underlies that whole debate is that people on both sides of the aisle, especially Republicans, is that they really dont understand the problem of scale. The reason Section 230 is so vital is because its one thing for a newspaper to filter all the letters to the editor and third-party op-eds, but any website, not just Google and Facebook, theres no way you or I could manage all the comments. The problem just grows from there.

When Republicans complain about bias and social media content moderation, what theyre really seeing is the result of the vast scale of these services. Its just not possible to make perfectly thoughtful decisions all the time. We cant have the courts litigating every single time someone complains about content on the internet. We have to have cruder, faster mechanisms that are imperfect and will result in a lot of absurd cases of content being taken down that shouldnt be.

The other bigger point I would make that relates to abuse of power: Im constantly amazed at people who propose something like broad power to a regulator with open discretion and then dont think about how that power will be abused when theyre not in power.

When we start thinking not from a knee-jerk ideological perspective and start practically thinking things through, how will this power be abused? What will people on the other side do with it?

InsideSources: Which issue are you most passionate about?

Berin Szoka: At the moment, I would say Im most passionate about defending internet services against Republican hypocrisy.

Last year [when I testified at the April 26, 2018 House Judiciary Committee hearing] I naively expected I would hear some Republican attacks but at least most or some would be willing to say whatever mistakes tech companies might make in content moderation, we dont think the government should dictate what tech companies should do. But instead every single one of them took the opportunity to rave about Republicans being censored without any anecdotal examples.

InsideSources: What triggered your interest in these tech issues?

Berin Szoka: Im essentially doing today what I wanted to do as a freshman or sophomore in college. The book The Future and Its Enemies by Virginia Postrel Ive always said has been my lodestar. Thats sort of generally libertarian, but you dont have to be a libertarian to feel that way about the internet and evolving services. Essentially, [its about how] were better off not trying to put the future in some neat and tidy box.

Beyond that, the net neutrality debate wasnt really my choice, that kind of took over the field, and its the same for Section 230. Groups like the Media Research Center figured out that net neutrality was a great fundraising issue, and are essentially taking the playbook from Fight for the Future and doing the same thing.

InsideSources: Are there any experiences that stand out in how they influenced your political views and policy positions?

Berin Szoka: The April 26, 2018 hearing was, for me, the last straw. It was at that hearing that I realized the Republican Party is completely lost. If that hearing happened a year before, every single Republican there would have said all the same things about how terrible the Fairness Doctrine was, and now they turn around and push that exact same idea for social media. Theyre the ones who have rushed to say for 10 years that net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine for the internet.

InsideSources: What politicians, economists and other influencers have influenced your views and policy positions?

Berin Szoka: Virginia Postrel and her book, which I really cannot recommend enough. In college I also read The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton Christiansen, and its fundamental point is still quite right, that the really important thing about innovation is that Facebook isnt going to be disrupted by another Facebook, but by someone who does something completely different that disrupts their business model.

Thats the heart of our work, to make sure regulation doesnt lock in a way of doing things because that will lock in our current giants and their interests. I also read an early law and economics take on internet regulation, Information Rules by Hal Varian and Carl Shapiro, thats still a great work. Also Hayek.

InsideSources: Do you have any nerdy, unique hobbies?

Berin Szoka: Well,I row.I row on the Anacostia and have the river to myself and think about things.LanguageIm a pretty good French speaker, andIm taking German again, but my German is pretty bad.My license plate is BAROQUE, I love baroque music. Bach is my favorite.

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Protecting Big Tech From Big Government: A Conversation with TechFreedom's Berin Szoka - InsideSources

40 Scariest Halloween Movies of All Time – Best Classic Horror Movies – Esquire

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Ever since movies like Get Out and Hereditary hit big, weve seen a superhero-like amount of horror films hit theatersand, thanks to streaming services like Shudder, about a centurys worth of cult gems dug up from the grave. Its a lot to sort through, so we rounded up 40 of the spookiest options for you to this Halloween season. Fair warning: When I watched one of the movies on this list (George Romeros Martin) for the first time, my buddy passed out in the first five minutes and an ambulance showed up. So proceed with caution.

Amazon iTunes

After her estranged mother dies, Annie (Toni Collette) begins to notice some peculiar activity around her house. After another shocking tragedy, Annie begins to spiral out of control. Is there a supernatural force attempting to manipulate her family, or is it all in her head?

Amazon iTunes

A family (led by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt) silently navigate a post-apocalyptic world, stalked at every turn by monsters that hunt their prey with a supercharged sense of hearing. Although the family of survivalists have so far managed to avoid the extraterrestrial hunters, the fractures within their own relationships may lead to their downfall. You will spend this entire movie on the edge of your seat.

Amazon iTunes

In Jennifer Kent's gothic Australian thriller, a young widow is burdened with her troubled six-year-old son. But it only gets worse for the beleaguered mother when the titular character of her son's picture bookthe tall, top hat-wearing spook named the Babadookbegins to creep beyond the pages of his book and wreaks havoc on the mother and son.

Amazon iTunes

Six adventurous women go into the dark depths of an unmapped cave in North Carolina, hoping for a fun trek through the darkness. But their mountain vacation is disrupted when they discover that they aren't the only ones in the cave, which also happens to be full of flesh-eating humanoid monsters who hunt them women down.

Amazon iTunes

Annie thinks she's found a nice guy in her new boyfriend, but after they have sex, he reveals that he's being stalked with an unnamed evilwhich will now hunt her down until she can pass "it" onto the next person she sleeps with. The moody, retro-inspired horror film is a modern classic with an unsettling, unimaginable monster that our heroine must outsmart.

Amazon iTunes

A young black photographer (Daniel Kaluuya) joins his girlfriend (Allison Williams) for a visit to her suspicious, Obama-supporting parents' home and discovers that they can't be trusted in Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning modern masterpiece. In Esquire, Stephen Thrasher called the film, "The Best Movie Ever Made About American Slavery."

Amazon iTunes

It's hard to pull off a children-from-hell movie, which makes it all the more remarkable how beautifully this Austrian thriller unspools the mystery of twin boys (who for some unknown reason are always wearing matching tank tops) and their mother whose face is disguised in bandages and may not be their mother.

Amazon iTunes

In the very literally titled French art-horror classic, a famous and unhinged surgeon kidnaps beautiful women and tries to transplant their faces onto his daughter who is, yes, missing a face.

Amazon iTunes

Wes Craven was one of a few masters of horror who plumbed the depths of America's Vietnam War-era cultural divides in this grimy, arty thriller about two teenage girls who encounter escaped prisoners in the big cityand how the tables get violently turned.

Amazon iTunes

In the most disturbing allegory for childbearing gone wrong, Mia Farrow's Rosemary becomes increasingly panicked about her painful pregnancy and the mysterious neighbors in a building with a history of Satanism. The great Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her role as Rosemary's fiendishly quirky neighbor, who isn't as sweet as she seems.

Amazon iTunes

Samantha, a broke college student struggling to pay her rent, picks up a babysitting job from a weird couple named the Ulmans. Things get even more strange when Samantha learns that her charge is not a child, but in fact Mr. Ulman's ailing mother. Foolishly ignoring her intuition, Samantha's gig turns into a night from hell when she realizes the Ulmans have some particularly devious plans for her.

Amazon iTunes

Nearly four decades after its release, The Exorcist is still the scariest movie ever madeand features one of the most terrifying movie villains in Regan MacNeil, an innocent 12-year-old girl possessed by a demonic force. William Friedkin's Oscar-nominated film was pretty much the first prestige horror movie, with incredible performances, heavy thematic material, and game-changing scares.

Amazon iTunes

Donnie Darko which gave us a taste of how great (and weird) Jake Gyllenhall could befollows Donnie as his cliche teenage-social-outcast problems somehow accrue interdimensional stakes. Its a perfect scary-movie blend: A troubled teen, memorable monster, all set during the Halloween season.

Amazon iTunes

It created the modern zombie genre, and its fondness for sociopolitical echoes. But even more than that legacy, George A. Romero's low-budget black-and-white original proved that you don't need money to create a horror classic; you just need braiiiiiiiins.

Compass International Pictures

Amazon iTunes

John Carpenter's bogeyman slasher nightmare spawned a legion of inferior sequels that couldn't diminish the ominous power of his original, about a psychopath who returns to his hometown years later to don a misshaped William Shatner mask and stalk Jamie Lee Curtis.

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Arguably the scariest film of all time, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's bestseller generates terror from its meticulous filmmaking. And, courtesy of Jack Nicholson's turn as a murderous paterfamilias, it also features the most memorable horror-movie performance in the past few decades.

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The story of a child molester who returns from the dead to prey upon his killers' children in dreams, Wes Craven's seminal shocker recognizes that you're never more vulnerable than when asleepa fact that naturally set up countless scares for one of the biggest horror franchises in film history

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Its sequel may boast grander man-vs.-beast action, but Ridley Scott's gorgeous 1979 outer-space saga about a group of astronauts battling against a malevolent extraterrestrial is still the franchise's most deeply frightening installment.

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Ignore all the remakes, remake sequels, and remake prequels, and stick with Tobe Hooper's original 1974 grindhouser, about a slightly unhinged hippie-hating family with a house notable for its giant meet hooks, human bone furniture, and slammable slaughterhouse metal doors.

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A cautionary tale about the perils of stealing from your bossand, also, about staying at roadside motels run by mamma's boys. Alfred Hitchcock originated the surprise first-act murder of the star with the story of a woman (Janet Leigh) on the run who is way too accepting of a dark-haired stranger's (Anthony Perkins) generosity.

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The only thing scarier than facing off against a hideous intergalactic monster is facing off against one that has the ability to shape-shift into human forma who's-the-creature scenario that director John Carpenter employs for intense suspense (with some great, gross special effects).

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Japanese director Takeshi Miike is infamous for pushing the boundaries of good taste, though he's rarely delivered more extreme tension than with this 1999 film about a man who discovers that dating can be a deadly affair.

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A young outcast boy meets, and falls in love with, a young immortal bloodsucker in this superb 1980-set Swedish vampire romance from Tomas Alfredson, which climaxes with an unforgettable pool sequence.

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Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho's 2006 film is a fantastic, Spielbergian tale of a South Korean family under siege from an extraordinary foenamely, a giant sea monster created from toxic dumping.

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Michael Rooker is a serial killer whose crimes don't warrant much attention from the powers that be in John McNaughton's cold, clinical, harrowing character study (partly based on real events).

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Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is an unbearably disturbing portrait of youthful alienation and fury, with one of the genre's most unforgettable fire-and-brimstone endings.

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A couple (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) grieving from the death of their daughter become convinced that she's trying to contact them from beyond the grave in Nicolas Roeg's profoundly unnerving thriller. You'll never look at little girls in red coats the same way again.

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The movie that for a brief time in the early aughts made everyone afraid of their TV. Naomi Watts plays a journalist investigating why people keep dying from watching a certain video tape. And just like all of the best scary movies, it's got a creepy kid.

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When The Blair With Project originally came out in 1999, people didn't know whether it was real or fiction. Advertised as "found video footage," it tells the story of three students who travel to a small town to investigate a murder, and eventually get terrorized in the woods.

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Sam Raimi's 2009 horror film is the perfect example of unspeakable horror and gross-out humor. Alison Lohman plays a bank loan officer who turns down an elderly woman's request for an extension on her mortgage payment. The woman retaliates in witchy ways, placing a curse on her new enemy and promising an untimely death.

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A nine-year-old Russian girl adopted by a kind American couple (played by Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard), Esther begins to act out in dangerous ways: bullying her new brother as well as kids at school, murdering a nun, and trying to seduce her new adopted father. It doesn't take one long to realize that maybe this kid is not all she seems.

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If youre Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagino, how do you follow up one of the most memorable love stories of the 2010s? By making one of its best horror films. His remake of Dario Argentos 1977 classic puts Dakota Johnson in the leading role as an American dancer auditioning at a world-famous dance academy in Berlin (where, spoiler, the dance instructors arent just dance instructors!).

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Before James Gunn hit it big with Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy, he was making weird-as-hell genre flickslike the Michael Rooker and Elizabeth Banks-led Slither. Yes, theres a comedic bent to the movie, which takes place in a small town that an alien organism begins to terrorize, but its body horror elements will leave a slug-sized stamp on your brain.

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In Robert Eggerss feature directorial debut, a Puritan family in colonial New England move to a farm outside of their Plymouth colony, where they encounter all kinds of crazy supernatural shit in its surrounding forest. Come for the period-piece colonial throwback, stay for the scary goats.

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If youre unfamiliar with the story, which is based on a Stephen King novel, It follows a group of children battling against an ancient, supernatural clown named Pennywise. Of course, the 1990, Tim Curry-led It miniseries will always be a classicbut Pennywise was just begging for 21st Century, big-budget CGI effects. The giant clown in that projector scene? Tentacles swinging from Pennywises mouth? Good luck sleeping.

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Even though this horror-world OG is nearly 100 (!) years old, this story of Count Orloks hosting of Thomas Hutter still delivers the goods. Yeah, old scary movies like this tend to look a little campy in modern times, but Noseferatus creepy mug, shadowy photography, and a timely message about xenophobia hold up today.

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Body-snatching plots will always be unnervingand Philip Kaufmans remake of the 1956 original nails exactly why that is. The incredible cast of Jeff Goldblum, Donald Sutherland, and Leonard Nimoy star in the film, where San Franciscos citizens start acting a little weirdand Goldblums character is tasked with finding out the cause.

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I would imagine its hard to make a cannibal movie, let alone one thats not a gross-out mess or a campy write-off. Raw, which tracks a vegetarian starting her first semester at veterinary schoolwhere, woah, she gets a taste for flesh. It sounds simple, but Raws built-in suspense (how far is she willing to go?) and art-film vibe makes it worth the watch.

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For a breathless 90 minutes of Stephen Lang in prime form, check out Dont BreatheFede lvarezs breathless horror-thriller. The movie follows three robbers who try to steal $300,000 of cash from a house in an abandoned Detroit neighborhoodwhich happens to be owned by blind Gulf War Veteran, Norman Nordtrom (Lang).

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Master of moving between genres, Steven Soderbergs shot at horror is just as great as the rest of his filmography. Unsane stars Claire Foy as Sawyer Valentini, who is tricked into a 24-hour stay at a secretive psych ward.

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40 Scariest Halloween Movies of All Time - Best Classic Horror Movies - Esquire

Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories – Merion West

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

(Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)

The paradox of believing in conspiracy theories is thatdespite the distrust and paranoia reflected in themadherents often deeply desire a sense of order in the world.

Introduction

The rise of Trumpism signifies the emergence of an age of bullshit to use Princeton University philosopher Harry Frankfurts infamous term. According to Frankfurt, bullsh-t needs to be philosophically distinguished with great care from mere dishonesty, which it resembles but isnt reducible to. A dishonest liar is still cognizant of the distinction between truth and falsityin some cases so much so that they go to great lengths to conceal their deceit. In the realm of politics, Machiavelli insists that the Prince must be willing to lie to others to advance their agenda. But the Prince must always be aware that he is misrepresenting the world; failing to do so risks falling victim to ones own illusions. By contrast, a bullsh-tter is someone who has no interest in truth or falsity one way or another. The bullsh-tter sees little motivation to be concerned with how the world is, particularly where that contrasts with what he or she wishes it to be. As Frankfurt puts it:

This is the crux of the distinction between [the bullsh-tter] and the liar. Both he and the liar represent themselves falsely as endeavoring to communicate the truth. The success of each depends upon deceiving us about that. But the fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we are not to know that he wants us to believe something he supposes to be false. The fact about himself that the bullshitter hides, on the other hand, is that the truth-values of his statements are of no central interest to him; what we are not to understand is that his intention is neither to report the truth nor co conceal it. This does not mean that his speech is anarchically impulsive, but that the motive guiding and controlling it is unconcerned with how the things about which he speaks truly are.

Since George Carlins seminal monologue on the topic, many commentators have expressed concern that American culture is becoming saturated with bullsh-t. Few have done more to perpetuate this process that Dinesh DSouza, a far-right pundit who once took a stab at academic respectability before going down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theorizing. Some of DSouzas more interesting claims in his latest film Death of a Nation include that Hitler was actually tolerant of LGBTQ people despite many gay Germans being imprisoned in concentration campsand that despite coining the term alt-right, white nationalist Richard Spencer is, in fact,a progressive Democrat. More recently DSouza made headlines forcomparing 16 year old climate activist Greta Thunberg to subjects in Nazi propaganda images. This is particularly ironic givenDSouzas calls earlier this year for Donald Trump to send in the National Guard to put a stop to Antifa on college campuses. When it comes to substantial analysis, DSouzas work is of little interest outsides the cheese value of its brazen bullsh-t, but it is worth pointing to as representative of a broader cultural dynamic. In this article, I will briefly unpack the appeal of such conspiracy theorizing and manic partisanship in post-modern culture, before suggesting how it can be countered.

The Appeal of Conspiracy Theories

The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to peoples fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. Thats why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. Its an innocent form of exaggerationand a very effective form of promotion.

Donald Trump, The Art of the Deal

On the surface, it can be difficult to understand the appeal of conspiracy theories and manic partisanship. To come back to Frankfurt, like most bullsh-t claims they are often readily falsifiable with little effort. The hypocrisy is often blatant, and many of us become deeply resentful that anyone would think us gullible enough to buy into them. Yet despite living in a period where it is easier than ever to probe the truth or falsity of conspiracy theorizing and bullsh-t, they are not only persisting, but, in many respects, they are thriving. Part of this may be attributable to declining public trust in traditional sources of epistemic authority. There are repeated polls suggesting that many people no longer trust the media, academics, and politicians to the extent they used to. This creates a knowledge-vacuum, which can be readily filled by politicians like President Trump and pundits such as DSouza who affirm these concerns and suggest the public put its faith in them instead. But pointing to these empirical reorientations doesnt adequately explain why individuals came to distrust conventional epistemic authorities in the first placeor why bullsh-t and conspiracy theorizing become appealing in post-modernity. While part of it may well be a healthy skepticism towards the alleged neutrality of the media, academics and so on, I think the roots run far deeper.

One of the features of post-modernity I have discussed at some length is the collapsing faith in grand or meta-narratives, which provided a unified structure through which individuals interpreted the world. These were often propped up by epistemic authorities, whether one is speaking about the Church or rationalistic liberal academics, who provided an intellectual justification for the overall structure. As put by the French philosopher Jean Francois Lyotard in his classic work The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge:

In contemporary society and culture post-industrial society, postmodern culture the question of the legitimation of knowledge is formulated in different terms. The grand narrative has lost its credibility, regardless of what mode of unification it uses, regardless of whether it is a speculative narrative or a narrative of emancipation.

As faith in this these narratives declined under the pressures of political diversification, growing scientific and philosophical skepticism, and technologically-mediated exposure to the flaws of authority figures, many no longer knew who to trust or believe. This generated a tremendous sense of uncertainty in a world which often appeared increasingly complex and multi-faceted, resisting efforts to assimilate its subtleties within the confines of a new unified structure. Such anxieties were general in nature, but they particularly impacted conservatives and other right leaning individuals, who as Jonathan Haidtput it are frequently more emotionally attracted to order and stability than their liberal counterparts. For progressives, the decline of meta-narratives offered an opportunity for traditionally marginalized or experimental identities to agitate for political reform, given the window opened by collapsing traditionalism. For conservatives attracted to the DSouzas and Trumps of the world it generated a compulsion for a new kind of grand narratives, which would simultaneously help make sense of an ever more chaotic reality while generating an antagonistic responsible for the crisis in epistemic authority.

The paradox of believing in conspiracy theories is thatdespite the distrust and paranoia reflected in themadherents often deeply desire a sense of order in the world. Like the Emperor who thinks hes making a slick deal buying an invisible and weightless pair of clothes, the personality attracted to conspiracy theories thinks he is opting into a more skeptical set of beliefs about the world. However, this often entails accepting even the most transparent bullsh-t. This is because conspiracy theories are, in some ways, an optimistic way of looking at the world. Rather than confronting a world that is chaotic and beyond the purview of human control, negative events can be attributed to an antagonist who is hyper-rational and manipulating everything. The world, then, is no longer a complex and overdetermined assemblage of technological changes, economic forces, and political pressures which have primarily destabilized social identity and national homogeneity. Instead, it is the story of a Democratic Party who wishes to bring in ever more immigrants in order to secure further their grip on power. It isnt a centuries long history of the process of secularization, spearheaded by sophisticated critiques of traditionalist religious worldviews, which has contributed to declining faith. Instead it is campus liberals and theirculture war. It is not that the President tells lies which can be readily disproven; rather it is that the media fact checkers are the enemies of the people. Each of these conspiracy theories have just enough of a veneer of truth to be plausible to those who are primed to believe them. They simultaneously manage to affirm the believer as a victim who is tormented by an oppressive antagonist, while flattering their ego as one of the few who has actually managed to look behind the curtain to grasp the scheme of the puppet masters.

And most importantly a belief in these explanations provides the conspiracy theorist with a sense of security that the world is, in fact, ordered and interpretable according to a grand narrative: one in which there is a shadowy and malicious antagonist opposed by a victimized but growing band of the knowing. Relative to the agonistic dualism of this worldview, the material complexities of 21st century life are quite a bit more frightening. We are increasingly confronted by developments, from man-made climate change on down. Our day-to day-lives are highly determined by economic and social forces which, despite emerging from human activity, seem to transcend ready understanding. Even the most powerful states and figures are readily beholden to these forces, as the 2008 Recession eminently displayed. The decline of essentialist narratives about human nature brings with it the possibility of post-humanism and the potential reconfiguration of the most basic features of our biological identity, while simultaneously time raising serious ethical and empirical questions which allow no easy answers. The conspiracy theorist evades these issues by reducing them to a simplistic agonism which is easily disseminated and understoodsay through hokey documentary films or through bombastic tweets and rhetoric. To invoke Trumps own statements, the appeal of conspiracy bullsh-tor to use its politically correct name truthful hyperboleisnt its facticity. Its instead to give people something spectacular to believe in which helps restore the sense that they understand the world. This takes the place of actually having to epistemically confront complexities.

Conclusion

Nothing in this piece should be taken as suggesting that genuine conspiracies do not existor that all agonistic narratives are predicated on bullsh-t. Much as there are indeed wealthy and powerful individuals who enjoy undue influence over political affairs, there have historically been conspiracies operating on the margins which sought to interfere with the world for nefarious purposes. One could even truly put on the tinfoil hat and speculate about a world where the President of the United State was willing to pardon criminals who say nice things about him. My point here was simply to explain the attraction of such conspiracy theories within post-modernity, particularly to the political right. Figures like Dinesh DSouza and Donald Trump generated significant followings because they catered to a need for epistemic order in an increasingly skeptical and uncertain world. That many of their positions are readily falsified has little to do with this emotional desire; indeed, it can even calcify the beliefs of their adherents. This is characteristic of conspiracy theorizing and bullsh-t in that both can be self-validating, much as the Emperors apparent nudity was only proof that he wore invisible clothes. The absence of evidence confirming the narrative only demonstrates how efficient the conspiracy is in concealing its activities and marginalizing critics, while even the slenderest fact or gossip in its favor is ballooned into incontrovertible proof of the desired claims.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to fight against such self-validating norms, given they are construed to be immunized from criticism. The only possibility is to continue insisting on the complexities of the world, while trying to expose and delegitimize those who sell bullsh-t as through it were holy writ. The one consolation is that the impotent bigness of conspiracy theories, truthful hyperbole, is such that the narrative must always expand to become more self-contradicting and transparently unrealistic as history goes on. No matter how hard one tries to dismiss reality, it has an insistent way of making itself heard. One can only hope that these edifices collapse under their own weight in the fullness of time.

Matt McManus is currently Professor of Politics and International Relations at TEC De Monterrey. His book Making Human Dignity Central to International Human Rights Law is forthcoming with the University of Wales Press. His books, The Rise of Post-modern Conservatism and What is Post-Modern Conservatism, will be published with Palgrave MacMillan and Zero Books, respectively. Matt can be reached at mattmcmanus300@gmail.comor added on Twitter via @MattPolProf.

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Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories - Merion West

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