Reading

Created
Wed, 19/07/2023 - 06:30
Yesterday, the NY Times reported on Donald Trump’s agenda for a second term should we have the misfortune to see him get one. It led with this: Donald J. Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands. Their plans to centralize more power in the Oval Office stretch far beyond the former president’s recent remarks that he would order a criminal investigation into his political rival, President Biden, signaling his intent to end the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from White House political control. Mr. Trump and his associates have a broader goal: to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House, according to a review of his campaign policy proposals and interviews with people close to him. Shocker, right?
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:57
The American people urgently need to know the true history of the war in Ukraine and its current prospects. Unfortunately, the mainstream media ––The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, MSNBC, and CNN –– have become mere mouthpieces of the government, repeating US President Joe Biden’s lies and hiding history from the public. Continue reading »
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:56
Native Mounted Police took a leading part in conflict on the Australian frontier. As police they are supposedly ineligible to be included in the Australian War Memorial: but why not? They acted as mercenary cavalry, Australia’s own extermination squads. Wars come in all kinds, from large, formal conflicts to small scale guerrilla struggles. There were Continue reading »
Created
Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:55
Australia is now at a key point in our Defence major project acquisitions planning. We are looking at a very dodgy AUKUS scam which will be the driver of our largest ever Defence expenditure. Brian Toohey in this publication recently pointed out some of the serious problems of buying obsolete 2nd hand nuclear submarines from Continue reading »
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:54
In May this year, Treasury created a furore when it announced net migration in 2022-23 would be 400,000 – a level Australia has never experienced. A political fight about who supported a ‘big Australia’ ensued but with neither major party indicating what they mean by ‘big Australia’. Apparently neither the Coalition nor Labor supports a Continue reading »
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:52
On July 19, 2023, Australia celebrated the 50th anniversary of civil celebrancy. In her captivating book on Lionel Murphy’s life, Dr. Jennifer Hocking recounts how Murphy, almost single-handedly, persisted for several years to achieve the groundbreaking reform of no-fault divorce. It was an arduous and contentious struggle. As a corollary to no-fault divorce Murphy was Continue reading »
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:51
The prior political experience of 2024 Indonesian presidential election candidate Ganjar Pranowo illustrates a strong pro-China lean for Indonesia if he is elected. Leading the largest party, his chances of success are considerable. On 21 April 2023, Ganjar Pranowo was officially promoted as one of the three presidential candidates for the upcoming 2024 Indonesian presidential election. This Continue reading »
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 04:50
A ‘national emergency’ order on itself may be more useful as no country poses a greater danger to itself and others than the United States. Hong Kong continues to be a threat to the national security of the United States, according to the White House. That must be news to the city’s population. In 2020, Continue reading »
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 03:30
If you want to understand what Trump might be charged with I recommend reading Just Security’s possible prosecution memo. We don’t know at this moment what Trump might be facing but we do know that he’s facing indictment in the January 6th case now that he’s received a target letter. This tweet thread from Norm Eisen, one of the authors, offers a succinct summary: The memo is unique bc ours is the first in-depth application of the relevant criminal law to the facts, building on the more concise criminal referrals the committee offered in its report We look at that report w/ skeptical eyes as prosecutors do  We narrow the case to what can confidently be proven to a jury, and for the first time anywhere we consider at length, and of course in good faith, Trump’s defenses and how they will fare We can do that because of our all-star coauthors @NoahBookbinder, @DonaldAyer6, @StantonLaw, @EDanyaPerry, @DebraPerlin and Kayvan Farchadi, and our amazing editor @RGoodlaw.
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Wed, 19/07/2023 - 03:00

Greed is one of the most popular sins, which explains why it inspired so many Bible verses. For example, Luke 12:15 reads, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions,” and was clearly written in a time before pinball machines and dirt bikes.

Cussing is a confusing sin because it requires context. When a farmer refers to his donkey as an ass, that is not a cuss. When a farmer refers to his donkey as a piss-soaked fuck trumpet that crawled out of Satan’s rotten shithole, that is a cuss.

Biblical scholars define sloth as “the sinful desire for ease.” I define sloth as a “long monkey.”

Gluttony refers to all manner of overindulgence, including drunkenness, downing a trayful of Communion grape juice shooters, or eating too many Sugar Daddies from the Vacation Bible School treasure chest and suffering a catastrophic sugar crash while reciting the Fruits of the Spirit.

Lust is what happens when the praise band rhythm guitarist wears a head-to-toe Billabong.

Peeing in the pastor’s above-ground pool during the annual youth group summer hootenanny is almost certainly a sin, but not a very popular one. I don’t know anyone who would do that.

Created
Wed, 19/07/2023 - 02:49
For a good many years, Tony Lawson has been urging economists to pay attention to their ontological presuppositions. Economists have not paid much attention, perhaps because few of us know what “ontology” means. This branch of philosophy stresses the need to “grasp the nature of the reality” that is the object of study – and […]