“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so.” Genesis 1:14–18 (NKJV)
My 18-year old Grandson asked me to read Saint Augustine’s book Confessions newly translated by Henry Chadwick and published by the Oxford World’s Classics.
My Grandson, having read the works of Plato, Aristotle, the journals of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and the Old and New Testaments, believed that reading Confessions would bring me enlightenment, and it did.
I firmly believe that every young man must read this book and contemplate the life of Augustine of Hippo and his journey from sinner to Saint. These are the confessions of a man who went from darkness into the light of the Creator.
This is an important book because you see on August 28th, 430 AD St. Augustine died. This year will be the 1,592nd anniversary of his passing over to the Kingdom of Heaven and his work is still read and contemplated by a young man in America. A young man seeking the truth!
Augustine’s legacy and teachings live on to this very day.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine was born in the town of Thagaste, now Souk-Ahras in modern day Algeria, on November 13, 354 and grew to become one the most significant and influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic Church. His teachings were the foundation of Christian doctrine for a millennium.
Augustine grew up on the dark side and only when in his 30s did he begin to see the Light of his Creator. His story is the story of many young men in America and around the world today. Growing up in the dark, the lack of the knowledge and understanding of God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Do heaven and earth contain you because you have filled them? or do you fill them and overflow them because they do not contain you? Where do you put the overflow of yourself after heaven and earth are filled? Or have you, who contain all things, no need to be contained by anything because what you will you fill by containing it?
It took Augustine many decades to understand that God is omnipotent and created the heaven and earth and seeks to fill the hearts and souls of His creations.
In Book XIII of Confessions Augustine ends his quest for truth with these questions,
What man can enable the human mind to understand this? Which angel can interpret it to an angel? What angel can help a human being to grasp it?
Then Augustine answers his questions,
Only you can be asked, only you can be begged, only you can we knock (Matt. 7: 7-8). Yes indeed, that is how it is received, how it is found, how the door is opened.
We all need to knock on God’s door and he will indeed open it.
Please watch this documentary about the life of Saint Augustine titled A Voice For All Generations by Mike Aquilina. Watch and understand.
Augustine wrote we should wear the armor of light. Therefore, we close with Ephesians 6:10-18 and ask our readers to Wear the Full Armor of God, who is the Light.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. That is why you need to put on God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist and the protection of right living on your chest. On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2022-08-21 08:25:282022-08-21 14:24:04Augustine of Hippo’s ‘Confessions’ from Sinner to Saint
The Democrats army of criminals are more efficient than Russian military. Instead of sending our hard-earned billions over there, send these murderers there.
Per capita murder rates in major U.S. cities such as Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis are outpacing Ukraine’s recorded civilian death rate from Russia’s invasion.
According to the United Nations Human Rights office, 5,401 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s attack began in February, although the agency said it “believes that the actual figures are considerably higher.”
With a population of about 41,167,300, Ukraine’s civilian death rate is 13.12 per 100,000 people using official statistics from the United Nations.
The murder rates for several major U.S. cities are considerably higher than Ukraine’s civilian death rate.
For example, Baltimore, which has a population of 576,498 as of July 2021 according to Census estimates, has seen 215 homicides so far in 2022, yielding a rate of 37.3 murders per 100,000 people.
St. Louis, with a population of 293,310 as of July of last year, has seen 112 homicides in 2022, putting the murder rate at 38.2 per 100,000.
In Chicago, the 2022 murder rate is about 14.8 per 100,000.
CBS News compiled the latest available data earlier this year from the FBI’s 2019 Crime in the United States report.
Using pre-pandemic data, 52 U.S. cities had worse homicide rates than Ukraine’s civilian death rate. However, crime in the United States has skyrocketed since then, meaning that there may be more cities that qualify as deadlier than Ukraine under assault by Russian forces.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Geller Reporthttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Geller Report2022-08-21 07:25:322022-08-21 07:30:46Murder Rate in America’s Major Democrat-Run Cities Outpaces Ukraine’s Recorded Civilian Death Rate
And still they aggressively promoted this poison. It is, in fact, one of the greatest medical crimes in history.
According to Dr. Naomi Wolf, who runs a crowdsourced project to analyze 300,000 Pfizer documents released via a FOIA request, 44 percent of pregnant women who participated in the drug maker’s COVID-19 vaccine trial lost their babies. pic.twitter.com/48fGypwSlw
More than 40 percent of pregnant women who participated in Pfizer’s mRNA COVID vaccine trial suffered miscarriages, according internal Pfizer documents, recently released under court order. Despite this, Pfizer, and the Biden administration insisted that the vaccines were safe for pregnant women. Out of 50 pregnant women, 22 of them lost their babies, according to an analysis of the documents… The FDA and CDC could conceivably claim they were unaware of high rate of miscarriages in the trial because Pfizer attempted to obscure the data.
According to Dr. Naomi Wolf, who runs a crowdsourced project to analyze 300,000 Pfizer documents released via a FOIA request, 44 percent of pregnant women who participated in the drug maker’s COVID-19 vaccine trial lost their babies (Twitter).
On its website, the CDC still recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated: “COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 6 months and older. This includes people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future”.
Ransacking: To go hurriedly through (a place) stealing things and causing damage.
We are seeing the ransacking of America. It is happening from the neighborhoods of cities to our Southern border, to the U.S. Capital and even in the White House.
Here’s a video of a criminal flash mob ransacking a 7-Eleven store in Los Angeles, California. This in the local vernacular is referred to as a “Street Takeover.”
Illegal street takeovers have become a common occurrence in Los Angeles that authorities warn can turn deadly.
Takeovers typically involve “flash mobs” of hundreds of spectators and several cars that arrive in a coordinated manner at specific intersections, or even interstates, and blocking traffic to speed and show off dangerous stunts like drifting.
As vehicles turn and screech through intersections, spinning dangerously close to cheering crowds, the stunts are often filmed by onlookers and posted on social media — which police say generates even more interest in the illegal activity.
Illegal street racing has always been part of L.A.’s car culture, but police say the practice has changed over the years. KTLA spoke with Los Angeles Police Department traffic group Cmdr. Al Pasos about the issue.
Social media has been helping large groups of people get to the locations quicker, Pasos told KTLA.
Today we see social media helping and even enabling the ransacking of America. Street Takeovers are being enabled by social media, just as social media is enabling the Democrat’s Takeover of America.
Biden’s Border Crisis Flash Mobs
We Americans are also witnesses to another form of flash mob on our Southern border.
A majority of Americans say President Biden is allowing a southern border invasion, according to a poll commissioned by taxpayer-supported, left-wing propaganda outlet National Public Radio (NPR).
Fifty-four percent of all respondents believe the term “invasion” is valid; that includes 76 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents, and even 40 percent of Democrats.
A mere 19 percent of all respondents — less than one in five — said the term is false.
Just as criminals ransacking convenience stores is Los Angeles, California so too are illegal aliens ransacking America by criminally crossing our borders.
The ransacking of America is real and happening at an accelerated rate.
This became crystal clear when the FBI ransacked the home of a former President of the United States. Just like a criminal flash mob, enabled by a judge, they hurriedly went through Mar-a-Lago stealing things and causing damage.
These federal government agents didn’t just damage property they unconstitutionally damaged the rule of law.
Whether it is on lawlessness on the streets of Los Angeles, at our Southern border or via federal tax and spend policies in Washington, D.C. Americans are being ransacked. Their jobs, savings, retirement accounts are all being ransacked to promote socialist policies, a.k.a. diversity, equity and inclusion (DIE).
Seattle’s leaders have decided this is a perfect time to go even softer on crime. Fatal shootings may be at a record pace, and a lot of officers may have resigned after the city defunded the police but, hey, it’s a perfect time to give dangerous juvenile and adult offenders who steal cars, sell drugs, and take guns to school a chance to stay out of jail. Why? Because the criminal justice system is racist, homophobic, and transphobic, you see. So the city figures it will be better to divert these cases out of the criminal justice system entirely and put them in front of a panel of left-wing activists who will show ‘understanding’ and ‘compassion’ and decide how, if at all, to hold the offenders accountable – kumbaya. I can’t wait for the first time one of those activists gets mugged. We’ll see what they think then.
Seattle’s leaders aren’t the only ones who have lost their minds. Another Democrat, John Fetterman, Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, wants to let one-third of the people in prison out on the streets because, he says, everyone will be safer or better off that way. Sure. Two Democrats running for Congress in Colorado voted while in the state legislature to reduce the penalty for felony murder at the same time the homicide rate was spiking in Denver. They also voted to lower the penalty for the possession of fentanyl and other hard drugs, and now opioid overdose deaths in the state are up 54 percent. Way to go, Democrats!
Being soft on crime has other real consequences. Starbucks closed 16 stores because, in the words of its CEO, “America has become unsafe.” “Many more” store closures are coming, he said. The Chicago Bears want to leave Chicago for the suburbs because of high crime in the city, despite being offered $2.2 billion in incentives to stay. Chicago police are making fewer arrests in response to the increased level of dangerousness and the Woke vilification of their efforts. Woke vilification is also a factor in police officers leaving the force faster than they can be replaced in other Democrat-run cities – Portland, Philadelphia, and L.A. – as well as New York City where suspects let out under the state’s no-bail law are often quickly rearrested. That law has emboldened criminals in the Big Apple, with over $2 million in jewelry being taken in one recent smash-and-grab heist. The no-bail law was adjusted this year to allow judges to consider repeat offenses in setting bail for some crimes. New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants further reforms in cases where public safety is involved, but the state’s Governor is against it.
Law and order stops crime and tries criminals. Today we have no law and order we have the new normal, the “wokeness” of street and national takeovers enabled by politicians from the school house to the White House.
The moral of this story:If you want crime to go up, vote Democrat. It surely will, as night follows day.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2022-08-21 06:13:152022-08-22 06:22:28The Ransacking of America
We have been reporting on the queering of America for nearly two decades. We now learn just how deep the queering of America goes—from the state house to the White House.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker, President and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute on its website, stated,
For the first time in history, we’re pleased to report that over 1,000 out LGBTQ people hold public office in the U.S.
LGBTQ elected officials are on the front lines of defending our rights and freedoms, which are under threat at every level of government. Despite the fact the LGBTQ community has never had equitable representation in government – and we still have a long way to go – there are clear signs of progress. LGBTQ elected officials represent the strength and diversity of not only who we are as a society now, but also the America we aspire to build for future generations.
According to the [LGBT Victory] institute, the current tally of LGBT officials represents a 5% increase [over] last year’s. The institute further notes that 75% of LGBT officials are Democrats, while only 3% are Republicans. Transgender officials have also increased by 10% from last year.
This development is no surprise to observers looking at the demographics. The number who identify as LGBT has exploded over the last 10 years. According to a Gallup Poll, only 3.5% of Americans identified as LGBT in 2012. But this number nearly doubled to 7.1% by 2021.
The same poll suggests the reason for this may be the enormous variation in such identification among generations. Only 1% of Americans born before the baby boomer generation identify as LGBT, which doubled to 2% among the boomers. In each subsequent generation, the number virtually doubles, with 4% of Generation X, 10% of millennials and an astonishing 20% of Generation Z identifying as LGBT. Half of those identifying as LGBT identify as bisexual.
The sharp rise in LGBT identification is thought to be due to more significant numbers of Generation Z reaching maturity.
Here are the number of elected officials by office according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute website:
Governors—2
Statewide Executives—6 [Statewide executives include two territory-wide elected officials in Guam.]
U.S. Senators—2
U.S. House Members—9
State Legislators—192 [state legislators include one senator in the U.S. Virgin Islands and another in Puerto Rico.]
Mayors—57
Local Officials—651
Elected Judicial Officials—123
LGBTQ Victory Institute’s stated goal in order to fully reach “equity” is to elect:
2 more queer governors
17 more queer statewide executives
5 more queer U.S. senators
22 more queer U.S. representatives
346 more LGBTQ state legislators
96 more LGBTQ mayors of cities with a population of 30,000+
And then there’s this tweet of Christy Olezeski, Ph.D. admitting that Yale Medicine is treating kids as young as 3 YEARS OLD in their “gender journey.”
In this video Christy Olezeski, PhD admits that Yale Medicine is treating kids as young as 3 YEARS OLD in their "gender journey". She’s the co-founder of the Yale Pediatric Gender Program. 3 YEAR OLDS should not be led to change genders! Leave them alone @YaleMedicine. pic.twitter.com/lA20Yd7W2K
These events are but symptoms of a very dangerous and deadly gay political tumor not only on the body politic of America but also the world. This gay political tumor has infected, to one extent or another, both political parties in America and our governments from school house to the White House but also global organizations like the United Nations, World Health Organization, NATO and the World Economic Forum.
The Victory Institute seeks to grow the number of LGBT officials in office. Its goal is ostensibly to raise the number of LGBT officials to be “equitable” with the current LGBTQ population in the United States. By its estimate, approximately .2% of elected politicians are LGBT. To reach the goal of 7.1% representation, almost 38,000 additional LGBT officials must be installed in office.
According to Annise Parker, more LGBT officials are needed to oppose “unprecedented attacks on trans kids” and measures “to censor classrooms and libraries.”
Parker drew national controversy as mayor of Houston by subpoenaing religious leaders who opposed a transgender ordinance.
We warned Americans about the spread of this gay political tumor years ago hoping against hope that they would wake up and listen to our cries.
Today we, once again, sound the clarion call hoping that Americans will stop this cultural cancer of sodomy from spreading, at least in our nation.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2022-08-20 14:59:132022-08-21 15:43:16SHOCKING REPORT: Of the 1,000 LGBTQ U.S. Elected Officials 75% are Democrats
Joe Biden is lying about the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” – an oxymoron if there ever was one. All it does is grow an already bloated federal leviathan. Graham Ledger has a simple, but effective solution to end reckless spending and an out of control fourth branch of government.
The Senate yesterday passed on a party-line basis Democrats’ latest tax and spending bill, which they call the Inflation Reduction Act. President Joe Biden extolled that legislation, saying the bill “makes the largest investment ever in combatting the existential crisis of climate change.” That $369 billion green energy “investment” includes new and expanded subsidies for consumers who purchase electric vehicles, energy-efficient appliances, and solar panels, along with vast new spending for other green priorities. On passing the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said “This bill will kickstart the era of affordable clean energy in America.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has called the plan “transformational,” adding without flinching that “we have never spent this much money” on green energy.
If that all sounds very familiar, that’s because it is.
Obama teamed these agencies with left-wing stooges. Thereby facilitating the Democrat politicization and weaponization of our intel and government agencies to attack we, the people.
“In a plea deal filed Wednesday, a former FBI agent pleaded guilty to paying a business to “wipe” his computer to make the hard drive unavailable for forensic examination.
According to court documents, former agent Robert Cessario was charged with “corrupt destruction of record in an official proceeding” in connection to the corruption trial of former state Sen. Jon Woods of Springdale.
In the plea deal, Cessario stated: “I erased the contents of the computer hard knowing that the court has ordered that the computer be submitted for a forensic examination. I did so with the intention of making the contents of the computer’s hard unavailable for forensic examination. At the time, I knew that the contents of the hard drive were relevant to an official proceeding, that is, Cause No. 5:17-CR-50010, United States v. Woods et al. I corruptly performed and had performed, the erasures with intent to impair the integrity and availability of the computer hard drive and its contents for use in that official proceeding.”
ON WOODS STILL SITS IN PRISON EVEN THOUGH THE CORRUPT DOJ AND CORRUPT FBI HAVE NOW ADMITTED THEY FRAMED AN INNOCENT MAN BY DESTROYING EVIDENCE.
Woods obtained funds for a Christian school in Arkansas and the government alleged that the donation to the school was a form of fraud because it was collected under false pretenses. The case against Woods was the Department of Justice’s favorite trick: using the word ‘fraud’ to apply to any financial transaction they don’t like.
Here are the details of the FBI trying to destroy relevant evidence in the Woods case:
Woods’ attorneys realized they were missing critical evidence that would prove Woods’ innocence, and asked the prosecutor to turn over a laptop.
On November 30, 2017, the lead FBI Special Agent Robert Cessario, was ordered by the Assistant United States Attorney, Aaron Jennen, to deliver his government issued laptop to an FBI forensics examiner in Little Rock named Timothy Whitlock for a forensics examination.
FBI Criminal Agent Cessario learned of what the examination would entail during a phone conversation with Agent Whitlock on December 1, 2017.
Agent Cessario then brought his government issued laptop to a local computer store in Bentonville, Arkansas on December 4, 2017, at 11:18am and paid in cash the amount of $59.50 to have it professionally ‘wiped’ meaning to eliminate all the digital files.
FBI Criminal Agent Cessario then took the laptop home on December 7, 2017 had it ‘wiped’ at least one more time before turning it over as instructed.
When Criminal Cessario was confronted by FBI Agent Shun Turner, Criminal Cessario asked Turner along with another Agent Whitlock to LIE and NOT report that the laptop had been ‘wiped.’
Agents Whitlock and Turner did the right thing and reported Criminal Cessario
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00The Geller Reporthttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngThe Geller Report2022-08-20 08:26:332022-08-20 08:28:04FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Destroying Evidence to Frame Pro-Trump Political Prisoner Jon Woods
Disruptive innovation is reshaping how children learn and expanding access to alternative education models.
Disruptive innovation usually begins on the margins, with a few, intrepid users embracing a new product or service. Abetted by new technologies, a disruptive innovation penetrates the mainstream when its quality is proven to be as good, if not better, than more established models.
According to author and investor, Michael Horn, a classic example of disruptive innovation is Airbnb, which began on the margins as a couch-surfing tool and then, enabled by technology, upended the hospitality industry.
“Initially we thought [disruptive innovation] could be any low-cost innovation,” Horn told me on this week’s episode of the LiberatED podcast. “What we observed over time was that you needed some sort of technology enabler that allowed you to carry the original value proposition around convenience, affordability, and accessibility and allowed you to improve without just replicating all of the cost features of the incumbent.”
Horn should know. He co-founded the Clayton Christensen Institute with Clayton Christensen, who coined the term “disruptive innovation” back in the 1990s. Since then, Horn has studied the role of disruptive innovation in education and has written several books on the topic, including his newly-released book, From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)Creating School for Every Child.
In our podcast conversation this week, Horn and I focused on the ways in which disruptive innovation is reshaping how many children learn, as well as accelerating the growth of alternative learning models.
For instance, while homeschooling began its modern revival a half-century ago, and microschools, or small, multi-age learning environments, have existed for decades—including some of the ones I highlighted in my Unschooled book—it wasn’t until the advent of new technologies that homeschooling and microschooling became a mainstream option for millions of families.
Virtual schools and platforms such as Sora Schools, My Tech High, ASU Prep Digital, and Socratic Experience, enable students, many of whom may be registered as homeschoolers, to learn from anywhere and have access to a more personalized curriculum. Similarly, Khan Academy, Coursera, Udemy, and Outschool give students around the world access to content and curriculum experts to make it easier to choose an alternative learning path, or supplement a conventional one.
Fast-growing microschool networks such as Prenda and KaiPod are combining educational technology with small, in-person learning pods to enable many more families to have access to a personalized, flexible microschool experience. KaiPod has recently teamed up with virtual providers such as Sora Schools and Socratic Experience to offer pods tailored to families choosing a specific curriculum.
“Leveraging technology allows you to stay connected to the curriculum, learn from anywhere, learn from the best experts anywhere,” said Horn. “And then surround the child with a variety of novel supports that are customized to what that child needs, what the family needs, and unleashes all sorts of things.”
Blending new technologies with the personalization and flexibility of microschooling and homeschooling will continue to disrupt the education sector and turn alternative learning models into mainstream options for many more families.
Kerry McDonald is a Senior Education Fellow at FEE and host of the weekly LiberatED podcast. She is also the author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019), an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a regular Forbes contributor. Kerry has a B.A. in economics from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed. in education policy from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and four children. You can sign up for her weekly newsletter on parenting and education here.
Listen to the weekly LiberatED Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, and Stitcher, or watch it on YouTube, and sign up for Kerry’s weekly LiberatED email newsletter to stay up-to-date on educational news and trends from a free-market perspective.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFoundation for Economic Education (FEE)2022-08-20 08:16:472022-08-20 08:17:58How Disruptive Innovation Is Accelerating the Growth of Alternative Learning Models
If genuine freedom is the goal, rhetoric about liberty won’t be enough.
If you ask the average American what they think about “freedom” or “liberty,” chances are you’ll get a positive response. A love of liberty is built into the cultural fabric of America, and this is especially evident when we compare the US to the rest of the world.
But for a country that prides itself on being the “land of the free,” there are a few things that seem, well, off. America has the world’s highest per capita prison population, for instance. It also has a fair number of economic regulations that interfere with the free market.
This begs the question, if Americans are so passionate about freedom, why does America leave so much to be desired on this front?
The answer, I believe, is that there are two ways of understanding freedom. There is the freedom brand and there is the freedom philosophy. For most Americans, what they really like is the freedom brand. It’s the general idea of freedom that they’re really into. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but it’s not the same as being into the freedom philosophy.
To understand this distinction, let’s look at four key differences between these two conceptions of freedom.
1) Principles vs. Preferences
The biggest difference between the freedom brand and the freedom philosophy is that the brand is not rigorously principled the way the philosophy is. For the brand, as long as you agree with a few basic ideas like free speech and free and fair elections, the rest of politics can be a matter of personal preference.
For the philosophy, however, freedom is all about consistently upholding the principles of liberty in every domain regardless of personal preference. On the economic front, this means removing government regulations and trade barriers so people are free to do business as they see fit. On the social front, this means allowing people to make their own decisions about lifestyle choices.
Even unpopular practices and choices should be tolerated according to the freedom philosophy. After all, the reasoning goes, a freedom that is confined to what others deem acceptable is really no freedom at all.
2) What We’re Against vs. What We’re For
Another difference is that the freedom brand tends to define itself by what it’s against, whereas the freedom philosophy tends to focus on what it’s for.
Defenders of the freedom brand spend much of their time denouncing repressive political systems like communism and totalitarianism. In extreme cases, this can lead to movements like Red Scares and McCarthyism. There is a lot of focus on authoritarian countries such as Russia, China, and North Korea, and a strong desire to be “not like them.”
The freedom philosophy does not find this approach wrong so much as incomplete. Yes, authoritarian countries are bad, but for freedom philosophy adherents, it is not enough to merely condemn authoritarian actions. An equal if not greater focus should be placed on the positive vision of a free society, a vision of pluralism, tolerance, free markets, and free expression.
It is not enough to merely identify what we want to move away from. We also need to describe what we want to move toward. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech is a great example of this. He didn’t just express frustration at the problems he saw. He painted a picture of a brighter future.
3) Slogans vs. Substance
The freedom brand tends to live in popular slogans and refrains. “Land of the free, home of the brave.” “Don’t tread on me.” “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.” “Come and take it.”
These slogans are popular for a reason. They express a deep passion and appreciation for freedom. And again, there’s nothing wrong with that. But slogans do not make a philosophy.
The key to the freedom philosophy is not so much the slogans but the substance behind them. “Land of the free, home of the brave” is a nice sentiment, but if it’s not coupled with a robust understanding of what freedom really means and why it’s important, the words can be somewhat empty.
The freedom philosophy is so much more than a slogan. It’s about ethics and personal responsibility. It’s about self-improvement and creating value for others. It’s about seeing people as unique individuals and recognizing the tremendous benefits of free markets.
This is what makes the freedom philosophy so different from the brand. It’s not just about nice-sounding phrases. It’s about practical, well-reasoned ideas.
4) Recreating the Past vs. Building the Future
Another distinction between the freedom brand and the freedom philosophy is that the brand tends to focus on recovering the past, whereas the philosophy focuses on building something new in the future.
To be sure, there are liberties Americans used to enjoy in the past that no longer exist, and it’s a worthy goal to reclaim these. But if we are merely pining for the good old days, we are adopting the mentality of the freedom brand.
The freedom philosophy has a bolder vision. It’s not just about regaining the freedoms we used to have. It’s about expanding those freedoms farther than they’ve ever been expanded. It’s not just about recovering something we’ve lost. It’s about creating something even better that we’ve never really had.
Practicing What We Preach
America is flooded with rhetoric about liberty. The freedom brand is everywhere. But while the brand is alive and well, actual liberty seems to be shrinking by the day.
If we want to reverse course, giving lip service to liberty won’t be enough. To truly turn this ship around, we need to understand the principles of a free society and start putting them into practice.
Achieving liberty is possible, but it won’t come from a brand. It will only come when we learn the freedom philosophy and resolve to live it out.
Patrick Carroll has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is an Editorial Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education.
This article was adapted from an issue of the FEE Daily email newsletter. Click here to sign up and get free-market news and analysis like this in your inbox every weekday.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngFoundation for Economic Education (FEE)2022-08-20 07:33:582022-08-20 07:38:524 Differences between the Freedom Brand and the Freedom Philosophy
It’s outrageous enough that female college students were secretly filmed in a locker room. But the footage was posted to XHamster and Pornhub.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) has joined as co-counsel in a lawsuit (Does 1-9 v. Murphy et al) against XHamster and MindGeek filed on behalf of 9 women who were secretly filmed while changing in a college locker room for a field hockey game, and the footage of which was then uploaded to XHamster and Pornhub.
The plaintiffs, Jane Does 1-9, are young women who were allegedly filmed by Collins Murphy, the intramural/summer conference director of Limestone College, Gaffney, S.C., who placed a hidden “spy camera” in a locker room at Limestone College and secretly filmed the women in all stages of undress, and then uploaded the video footage to XHamster and Pornhub. The women were visiting Limestone College to play a field hockey game on behalf of Bellarmine University, Louisville, Ky. At least one of the videos was shared by a “verified” Modelhub member on Pornhub.
“It is reprehensible that these women’s privacy was violated by the secret recording, but this was made even worse when the footage was uploaded to XHamster and Pornhub, both of which then profited from their abuse. These women deserve every ounce of justice for their abuse and exploitation, and for the egregious violation of privacy,” said Dani Pinter, senior legal counsel for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“XHamster and Pornhub took no action to verify the age or consent of the women in the videos, which were labeled as ‘spy cam’ and ‘hidden cam’ videos. On Pornhub, at least one of the videos was uploaded by a ‘verified’ Modelhub member who did not even appear in the videos. This reveals Pornhub’s verification process for what it is: a sham. ‘Spy cam,’ ‘Hidden cam,’ and ‘Voyeur’ are extremely popular genres and were official categories and tags on XHamster and Pornhub. Both platforms capitalized on these categories of videos which eroticized violating women’s privacy. But pornography tube sites like XHamster and Pornhub have no financial incentive to remove potentially illegal material, so they don’t. For the sake of victims of image-based sexual abuse, it is time for XHamster and Pornhub to be held accountable,” Pinter added.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center joins the Bell Legal Group, LLC, and Dolt, Thompson, Shepherd & Conway, PSC, as co-counsel for the plaintiffs.
NCOSE is co-counsel on a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of two survivors of childhood sex trafficking whose videos and images of their abuse were posted on Pornhub and other MindGeek-owned sites. In February 2022, the judge ruled against MindGeek’s motion to dismiss, enabling the lawsuit to move forward. NCOSE also is co-counsel on a lawsuit against XVideos brought by a survivor of child sexual abuse.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center offers survivors a way to seek justice. More information can be found at: https://sexualexploitationlawsuits.com/.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00National Center on Sexual Exploitationhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngNational Center on Sexual Exploitation2022-08-20 07:23:032022-08-20 07:23:50Female College Students Secretly Filmed in Locker Room — Footage Posted on XHamster and Pornhub
A majority of Americans say President Biden is allowing a southern border invasion, according to a poll commissioned by taxpayer-supported, left-wing propaganda outlet National Public Radio (NPR).
Fifty-four percent of all respondents believe the term “invasion” is valid; that includes 76 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents, and even 40 percent of Democrats.
A mere 19 percent of all respondents — less than one in five — said the term is false.
The open-borders fanatics at NPR lamented the results from Ipsos, the polling firm, saying:
Republican leaders are increasingly framing the situation as an “invasion.” Immigrant advocates say the word has a long history in white nationalist circles, and warn that such extreme rhetoric could provoke more violence against immigrants.
Still, the polling shows that the word “invasion” has been embraced by a wide range of Americans to describe what’s happening at the border
“We are not actually screening enough people to make it safe for the rest of the country,” said poll respondent Michael Cisternino, a Republican from Nevada, in a follow-up interview. “We, the people of the United States, really don’t have control over who’s coming in, and where they’re going or what they’re going to do when they get there — if they’re criminals, if they’re not criminals.”
The Left always tries to smear any opposition to their agenda as “white nationalist,” but in fact there is a literal invasion at our southern border, and the Democrats have invited it. This is not “extreme rhetoric” but a demonstrably valid description of the border crisis.
The Ipsos poll may even have understated the public’s view of Biden’s migration as an “invasion,” because many respondents claimed ignorance or hid their views. For example, 36 percent of independents and 25 percent of Democrats said they “Don’t know” when asked about the term “invasion.”
NPR is a radio landscape crowded with liberal and leftist voices but nearly devoid of conservative hosts and anchors. In one of its most infamous moves, NPR in May 1994 announced its plan to air prison-life commentaries by convicted cop-killer (and former Black Panther) Mumia Abu-Jamal, a cause celebre of the academic left. Public outcry prompted cancellation of Abu-Jamal’s program.
Over the course of NPR’s history, some of its broadcasts have made big headlines with their incendiary anti-conservative rhetoric. In July 1995, for instance, after Republican Senator Jesse Helms had stated that the federal government was spending too much money on AIDS research, NPR’s legal-affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg said: “I think he [Helms] ought to be worried about what’s going on in the Good Lord’s mind, because if there is retributive justice, he’ll get AIDS from a transfusion, or one of his grandchildren will get it.”
In November 2009, the NPR website featured an animated video disparaging the Tea Party movement by teaching readers how “to speak Tea Bag.”
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Discover The Networkshttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDiscover The Networks2022-08-20 07:04:532022-08-20 07:07:14NPR Poll: 54% of Americans Agree Border Crisis an ‘Invasion’
The documentary “Uninformed Consent” takes a deep dive into the COVID-19 narrative — who’s controlling it and how fear was used to push novel, unproven gene transfer technology onto, and into, people of all ages
Weaving in and out of the heart-wrenching story of one man’s loss, interviews with doctors and scientists explore the loss of human rights in the name of biosecurity, and how the “elite class” profit from it all
“Divide and conquer” — creating division among people — is an age-old war strategy. During Hitler’s reign, anti-Semitism was normalized through propaganda in which Jews were likened to “lice” and were accused of carrying infectious disease. The same tactic was used during the COVID pandemic
The personal story that is returned to again and again throughout the film is that of a grieving husband, whose wife committed suicide. She suffered relentless bullying and harassment from coworkers and superiors for refusing the jab, and when she was finally placed on unpaid leave, she took her own life
The film reviews the medical establishment’s wholesale abandonment of the Hippocratic Oath, the lawless culture of the drug industry and its capture of regulatory agencies and media, the history of informed consent and why coercion and mandates violate this basic public health principle, vaccine injuries and vaccine-injury denialism, the behind-the-scenes corruption that led to the suppression of science and early treatment, and more
The documentary above, “Uninformed Consent,”1,2,3 takes a deep dive into the COVID-19 narrative — who’s controlling it and how fear was (and continues to be) used to push novel, unproven gene transfer technology onto, and into, people of all ages, and the simultaneous theft of private wealth and the destruction of small businesses, across the globe.
The film is written and directed by Todd Michael Harris (Matador Films). Odessa Orlewicz, a pro-freedom activist in British Columbia and founder of the Canadian social media platform Librti, and Ted Kuntz, retired psychotherapist and president of Vaccine Choice Canada, co-produced the film.
Weaving in and out of the heart-wrenching story of one man’s loss, interviews with doctors and scientists explores the loss of human rights in the name of biosecurity, and how the “elite class” profit from it all.
Interspersed are compilations of media lies and the bewilderingly contradictory dictates of government officials, as well as footage from protests and examples of people collapsing on live television after getting the jab.
The COVID jabs are a crime against humanity, and it’s a crime in progress. For many who are aware of what’s going on, everyday reality is like watching an intentional, slow-motion train wreck.
Divide and Conquer
As noted by B.C. physician Dr. Stephen Malthouse, who is interviewed in the film, “divide and conquer” is an age-old war strategy. During Hitler’s reign, anti-Semitism was normalized through propaganda in which Jews were likened to “lice,” and were accused of carrying typhus. The same exact strategy was used during the COVID pandemic.
Irrational hatred against anti-maskers, “anti-lockdowners” and “anti-vaxxers” was relentlessly fueled and “normalized” by government officials, health authorities and media, right from the start.
Those who dutifully wore their face masks and got the jab were hailed as good and moral citizens, while the rest were labeled as murderous, disease-carrying, amoral egotists, who’d by their selfishness forfeited their right to life.
Family members were pitted against family members. Friends against friends. Coworkers against coworkers. Employers against employees. Most of us who opted out of this grand genetic experiment have been shunned and berated by people we love.
Adding insult to injury, we all paid for this abuse. Billions of taxpayer dollars were spent on propaganda, anti-vax harassment and pro-vax advertising. The pain of this intentional divide and conquer strategy was too great to bear for many.
Bullied to Death
The personal story that Harris returns to again and again throughout the film is that of a grieving husband whose wife committed suicide. She suffered relentless bullying and harassment from coworkers and superiors for refusing the jab, and when she was finally placed on unpaid leave, she took her own life.
How many suicides are the pandemic puppet masters and their brainwashed minions responsible for? Nobody knows, but it’s likely quite a few. And make no mistake: The hateful rhetoric fed into everyone’s brains and acted out by the weak-minded was intended to cause harm.
It was intended to cause distress, and many now carry the cross of having bullied someone to death, whether they’re aware of it or not. Sadly, many have not yet learned their lesson, and efforts to demonize certain groups continues. Now, the targeted opposition are those who ask questions that Big Pharma and government refuse to answer, or point out blatant contradictions in the narrative.
Most ‘Conspiracy Theories’ Are Conspiracy Facts
Terms like “conspiracy theorist” and “conspiracy theory” are applied to everything and everyone who questions the official and clearly ridiculous narrative. And, the demonization continues even as so-called “conspiracies” are repeatedly shown to be true.
For example, the suspicion that we’d be forced to take these gene therapy shots multiple times a year, for years on end, was labeled a “conspiracy theory,” yet it didn’t take long before boosters were rolled out, and now they’re coming out with shots for newer variants as well, which will result in another round of shots.
Similarly, “conspiracy theorists” warned that people who got the jab would have to continue getting boosters or lose their precious “fully vaccinated” status, and that’s exactly what happened.
In fact, the concept of vaccine passports being used to shut people out of everyday society was initially dismissed as a paranoid conspiracy theory, yet it didn’t take long before governments were doing exactly that.
“Conspiracy theorists” also warned that the COVID jab didn’t prevent infection or spread, and that too is now an indisputable fact. As of early February 2022, Israel reported that 80% of serious COVID cases were among the fully vaccinated.4
“Conspiracy theorists” warned that giving the experimental shot to teens and young children would be unconscionably dangerous, as they have a negligible risk for COVID complications, and now even mainstream media from time to time admit that teens and young adults are suffering above normal rates of heart inflammation.
Between January 2021 and August 2022 (a period of 19 months), at least 1,249 athletes have suffered cardiac arrest or collapse, and 847 have died after COVID injection, worldwide.5 Historically, the annual average of sudden death in athletes was between 296 and 69.7
Pandemic Responses Scrutinized
“Uninformed Consent” scrutinizes many of the elements of the pandemic response, such as the irrational idea that early treatment for COVID-19 is nonexistent and/or futile, and the equally irrational idea that the only solution is to inject everyone on the planet with an experimental product, without regard for individual levels of risk.
In interviews with doctors and scientists — such as Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullough, B.C. family physicians Dr. Stephen Malthouse and Dr. Charles Hoffe, Dr. Tess Laurie and government drug policy researcher Alan Cassels — Harris shines a bright light on the medical establishment’s sudden wholesale abandonment of the Hippocratic Oath.
He also looks at the lawless culture of the drug industry and its capture of regulatory agencies and media — a development that has effectively eliminated any protection the public would have had, and should have, from predatory behavior and dangerous products. Harris also reviews:
The history of informed consent and why coercion and mandates violate this most basic and essential public health principle.
Injuries from the COVID jab and other childhood vaccines, and the history of vaccine-injury denialism.
The corrupted individuals, organizations and networks behind the pandemic measures, including the central roles of Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates in the suppression of science and life-saving treatments.
The massive conflicts of interest between Big Pharma, the agencies that regulate them and politicians who create our laws.
The collusion between private entities and governments to bring forth global totalitarianism under the banner of biosecurity.
I hope you’ll take the time to watch “Uninformed Consent,” and share it with others. Harris specifically tried, he says, to create a film that would help open the eyes and minds of those who still cannot see what’s happening, or don’t fully believe what they’re seeing.
Resources for Those Injured by the COVID Jabs
To close things out with something that is not covered in this film, if you for whatever reason got one or more jabs and suffered an injury, know there are good doctors and scientists working on solutions.
First and foremost, never ever take another COVID booster, another mRNA gene therapy shot or regular vaccine. You need to end the assault on your system. The same goes for anyone who has taken one or more COVID jabs and had the good fortune of not experiencing debilitating side effects.
Your health may still be impacted long-term, so don’t take any more shots. When it comes to treatment, there still aren’t many doctors who know what to do, although I suspect we’ll see more doctors specializing in COVID jab injuries in the future.
Doctors who have started tackling the treatment of COVID jab injuries in earnest include Dr. Michelle Perro (DrMichellePerro.com), whom I’ve interviewed on this topic. Perro is a pediatrician who over the past couple of years has also started treating adults injured by the jab. Another is Dr. Pierre Kory (DrPierreKory.com).
Both agree that eliminating the spike protein your body is now continuously producing is a primary task. Perro’s preferred remedy for this is hydroxychloroquine, while Kory typically uses ivermectin. Both of these drugs bind and thereby facilitate the removal of spike protein.
Kory also believes there may be ways to boost the immune system to allow it to degrade and eventually remove the spike from your cells naturally, over time. One of the strategies he recommends for this is TRE (time restricted eating), which stimulates autophagy, a natural cleaning process that eliminates damaged, misfolded and toxic proteins. Another strategy that can do the same thing would be sauna therapy.
As a member of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), Kory helped develop the FLCCC’s post-vaccine treatment protocol called I-RECOVER. Since the protocol is continuously updated as more data becomes available, your best bet is to download the latest version straight from the FLCCC website at covid19criticalcare.com8 (hyperlink to the correct page provided above).
Other Helpful Treatments and Remedies
In previous articles, I’ve also covered a number of treatments and remedies that can be helpful for COVID jab injuries, such as:
Pharmaceutical grade methylene blue, which improves mitochondrial respiration and aid in mitochondrial repair. At 15 to 20 milligrams a day, it could potentially go a long way toward resolving some of the fatigue many suffer post-jab.
It may also be helpful in acute strokes. The primary contraindication is if you have a G6PD deficiency (a hereditary genetic condition), in which case you should not use methylene blue at all. To learn more, see “The Surprising Health Benefits of Methylene Blue.”
Near-infrared light, as it triggers production of melatonin in your mitochondria9 where you need it most. By mopping up reactive oxygen species, it too helps improve mitochondrial function and repair. Natural sunlight is 54.3% infrared radiation,10 so this treatment is available for free. For more information, see “What You Need to Know About Melatonin.”
Seattle’s leaders have decided this is a perfect time to go even softer on crime. Fatal shootings may be at a record pace, and a lot of officers may have resigned after the city defunded the police but, hey, it’s a perfect time to give dangerous juvenile and adult offenders who steal cars, sell drugs, and take guns to school a chance to stay out of jail. Why? Because the criminal justice system is racist, homophobic, and transphobic, you see. So the city figures it will be better to divert these cases out of the criminal justice system entirely and put them in front of a panel of left-wing activists who will show ‘understanding’ and ‘compassion’ and decide how, if at all, to hold the offenders accountable – kumbaya. I can’t wait for the first time one of those activists gets mugged. We’ll see what they think then.
Seattle’s leaders aren’t the only ones who have lost their minds. Another Democrat, John Fetterman, Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, wants to let one-third of the people in prison out on the streets because, he says, everyone will be safer or better off that way. Sure. Two Democrats running for Congress in Colorado voted while in the state legislature to reduce the penalty for felony murder at the same time the homicide rate was spiking in Denver. They also voted to lower the penalty for the possession of fentanyl and other hard drugs, and now opioid overdose deaths in the state are up 54 percent. Way to go, Democrats!
Being soft on crime has other real consequences. Starbucks closed 16 stores because, in the words of its CEO, “America has become unsafe.” “Many more” store closures are coming, he said. The Chicago Bears want to leave Chicago for the suburbs because of high crime in the city, despite being offered $2.2 billion in incentives to stay. Chicago police are making fewer arrests in response to the increased level of dangerousness and the Woke vilification of their efforts. Woke vilification is also a factor in police officers leaving the force faster than they can be replaced in other Democrat-run cities – Portland, Philadelphia, and L.A. – as well as New York City where suspects let out under the state’s no-bail law are often quickly rearrested. That law has emboldened criminals in the Big Apple, with over $2 million in jewelry being taken in one recent smash-and-grab heist. The no-bail law was adjusted this year to allow judges to consider repeat offenses in setting bail for some crimes. New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants further reforms in cases where public safety is involved, but the state’s Governor is against it.
It’s time for your quiz. How many times did I say the word ‘Democrat’ in today’s commentary? What is it about Democrats and being soft on crime? You might think from the information I’ve given you today that Democrats would come to their senses and strike a more appropriate balance between public safety and the rights of the accused. You might also think Democrat politicians don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to crime. I humbly submit to you they actually do know what they’re doing. They know exactly what they’re doing. They’re pandering to constituencies that, at least for the moment, are in the thrall of being Woke. For Democrat politicians, it’s all about staying in power, no matter how many people get hurt or how many businesses leave. Better King and Queen of a garbage dump than not being royalty at all. It’s despicable, but there it is.
Moral of the Story: If you want crime to go up, vote Democrat. It surely will, as night follows day.
Americans believe in equal justice under the law. They are against justice by political justification, i.e. using government to attack one’s political opponents or cultural and religious institutions that disagree with or are in conflict with public policies.
We are now in the age of Justice created by Justification.
We are living in a unique time when the lawless are idolized and the law abiding are criminalized. Where government mandates trump the law. Where federal agencies are used to attack political opponents.
We are witnessing growing lawlessness on the part of criminals, be they political officials, drug cartels or individual convicted felons like George Floyd, across America.
Rather than arresting those who enter America illegally the current Department of Homeland Security is more likely to reward them with government benefits, free transportation, free education and free healthcare.
Rather than punishing those who riot, burn down buildings and create mayhem the government is more likely to arrest and bring to trial those who protect property from these marauders, like Kyle Rittenhouse.
Today a parent who questions what their children are taught is more likely to be arrested than a murderer.
Today perverts, pedophiles and pederasts are given a get out of jail free pass, while those who speak out against sodomy, underaged sex trafficking and gender change surgeries are persecuted, called homophobic and even arrested and prosecuted.
“EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW”-These words, written above the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building, express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.
Today, justices of the Supreme Court are ridiculed, chastised and even attacked for following equal justice under the law. Just look at the attacks caused by the overturning of Roe v Wade to understand.
Here’s a perfect example of justice by justification from the mouth of Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren who wants justice by justification for pot users and blacks. She uses rhetoric to call bankers, whites, Hispanics and Asians evil doers who must be brought to justice, but who’s justice?
Senator Warren doesn’t understand the ideal of equal justice under the law. Watch Steve Hilton’s take on Americans and how they must believe we all have equal justice under law,
Government Expansion in 2022 is 1984 Esque
We are seeing a massive expansion of government in Washington, D.C.
Federal agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service gaining 87,000 agents, while other federal agencies, like the Department of Homeland Security, are cutting back in personnel and being hamstrung in doing their sworn duties.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
This also applies to the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of our government. For without equal protection under the laws there is no protection at all.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Dr. King also said that he wanted his children to be “judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skins.”
Today if you are white you’ll be judged solely by your skin color.
We firmly believe that justice created by justification is a threat to equal justice under the law everywhere.
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2022-08-19 10:42:062022-08-21 14:49:48VIDEOS: Americans Believe in Justice which Justifies not Justice created by Justification
The Climate Intelligence CLINTEL.com website states:
Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific. In particular, scientists should emphasize that their modeling output is not the result of magic: computer models are human-made. What comes out is fully dependent on what theoreticians and programmers have put in: hypotheses, assumptions, relationships, parameterizations, stability constraints, etc. Unfortunately, in mainstream climate science most of this input is undeclared.
To believe the outcome of a climate model is to believe what the model makers have put in. This is precisely the problem of today’s climate discussion to which climate models are central. Climate science has degenerated into a discussion based on beliefs, not on sound self-critical science. We should free ourselves from the naïve belief in immature climate models. In future, climate research must give significantly more emphasis to empirical science.
There is no climate emergency
A global network of over 1100 scientists and professionals has prepared this urgent message. Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific. Scientists should openly address uncertainties and exaggerations in their predictions of global warming, while politicians should dispassionately count the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of their policy measures.
Natural as well as anthropogenic factors cause warming
The geological archive reveals that Earth’s climate has varied as long as the planet has existed, with natural cold and warm phases. The Little Ice Age ended as recently as 1850. Therefore, it is no surprise that we now are experiencing a period of warming.
Warming is far slower than predicted
The world has warmed significantly less than predicted by IPCC on the basis of modeled anthropogenic forcing. The gap between the real world and the modeled world tells us that we are far from understanding climate change.
Climate policy relies on inadequate models
Climate models have many shortcomings and are not remotely plausible as global policy tools. They blow up the effect of greenhouse gases such as CO2. In addition, they ignore the fact that enriching the atmosphere with CO2 is beneficial.
CO2 is plant food, the basis of all life on Earth
CO2 is not a pollutant. It is essential to all life on Earth. Photosynthesis is a blessing. More CO2 is beneficial for nature, greening the Earth: additional CO2 in the air has promoted growth in global plant biomass. It is also good for agriculture, increasing the yields of crops worldwide.
Global warming has not increased natural disasters
There is no statistical evidence that global warming is intensifying hurricanes, floods, droughts and suchlike natural disasters, or making them more frequent. However, there is ample evidence that CO2-mitigation measures are as damaging as they are costly.
Climate policy must respect scientific and economic realities
There is no climate emergency. Therefore, there is no cause for panic and alarm. We strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policy proposed for 2050. If better approaches emerge, and they certainly will, we have ample time to reflect and re-adapt. The aim of global policy should be ‘prosperity for all’ by providing reliable and affordable energy at all times. In a prosperous society men and women are well educated, birthrates are low and people care about their environment.
Epilogue
The World Climate Declaration (WCD) has brought a large variety of competent scientists together from all over the world*. The considerable knowledge and experience of this group is indispensable in reaching a balanced, dispassionate and competent view of climate change.
From now onward the group is going to function as “Global Climate Intelligence Group”. The CLINTEL Group will give solicited and unsolicited advice on climate change and energy transition to governments and companies worldwide.
* It is not the number of experts but the quality of arguments that counts.
NOBEL LAUREATE PROFESSOR IVAR GIAEVER NORWAY/USA
PROFESSOR GUUS BERKHOUT / THE NETHERLANDS
DR. CORNELIS LE PAIR / THE NETHERLANDS
PROFESSOR REYNALD DU BERGER / FRENCH SPEAKING CANADA
BARRY BRILL / NEW ZEALAND
VIV FORBES / AUSTRALIA
PROFESSOR JEFFREY FOSS † / ENGLISH SPEAKING CANADA
JENS MORTON HANSEN / DENMARK
PROFESSOR LÁSZIÓ SZARKA / HUNGARY
PROFESSOR SEOK SOON PARK / SOUTH KOREA
PROFESSOR JAN-ERIK SOLHEIM / NORWAY
SOTIRIS KAMENOPOULOS / GREECE
FERDINAND MEEUS / DUTCH SPEAKING BELGIUM
PROFESSOR RICHARD LINDZEN / USA
HENRI A. MASSON / FRENCH SPEAKING BELGIUM
PROFESSOR INGEMAR NORDIN / SWEDEN
JIM O’BRIEN / REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
PROFESSOR IAN PLIMER / AUSTRALIA
DOUGLAS POLLOCK / CHILE
DR. BLANCA PARGA LANDA / SPAIN
PROFESSOR ALBERTO PRESTININZI / ITALY
PROFESSOR BENOÎT RITTAUD / FRANCE
DR. THIAGO MAIA / BRAZIL
PROFESSOR FRITZ VAHRENHOLT / GERMANY
THE VISCOUNT MONCKTON OF BRENCHLEY / UNITED KINGDOM
DUŠAN BIŽIĆ / CROATIA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, SERBIA AND MONTE NEGRO
http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2022-08-19 09:45:392022-08-22 06:16:08WORLD CLIMATE DELCARATION: There Is No Climate Emergency!
