Libertarian Commentary #16-05D, 05 February 2016 By Nathan Barton
Schools, that is “public schools,” or as Marshall Curtis called them, “government-run, tax-funded” (GRTF) schools (my take is often “government-ruined, theft-funded”) are more than just, in essence, penal institutions into which American children are placed for 4-10 hours a day, five days a week and 180 or so days a year for 13 years. The central purpose is indoctrination into worship of the state, including all the political correctness, workforce preparation, and social molding that any tyrant could hope for. In the past half-century, the schools have become increasingly regimented (despite claims to the contrary), with speech and actions of students (inmates) and teachers and staff more and more restricted, while the myth of local control has largely vanished. The first story shows how far it has gone in one school, one town, and one state. Continue reading
Insanity – is it catching?
Libertarian commentary on the News, #16-5E, 05 FEB2016 By Nathan Barton
A few commentaries ago, I noted that Canada’s dollar exchange rate is about as low as I can ever recall it being. Part of that was clearly due to Canada’s status as an exporter of raw materials, including crude oil, a situation made worse by the DC squatter’s rejection of the Keystone XL. Now, Zero Hedge tells us that many real estate markets in Canada are in “full retard” condition – idiots going bonkers. This is particularly bad in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the AVERAGE price of a detached, single-family house is now CDN$1.8 million. This may be due to the collapse of the Chinese economy and yuan, and other factors – even as millions of square feet of commercial space in Alberta’s Calgary and Edmonton sit empty and Canadian unemployment hits Great Depression levels. But apparently Realtors and house-buyers have caught some sort of insanity disease. Continue reading →