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Weekly Mind Food aims to show you what TTPers without a
regular column, but with deep expertise in key fields, are paying
attention to. We call ourselves TTP's Team B. Note the "Weekly
Mind Food" category in the left side-bar now, which will have
all our issues. They're Free Access, as
are all the linked articles, so feel free to read them at your leisure
- and to mail the article's URL to your friends!
Thanks to dkemp, edd7, hardcharger, Mae, mrapp, and of course
prosenberg for their contributions this week.
To simplify your scans, I've divided the links into sections: Economos
(global economy), Techne Logos (tech), Polis
(domestic politics), Stratiootika
(geopolitics & military), plus 1 Useful Web
Resource and 1 Good News This Week
item to brighten your week and/or make you better. Enjoy!
Oration
Three, actually.
I think there's a major flaw in Bill Whittle's core
"non-politics" proposal, which is his belief that a leftist state with
no real rule of law would leave him alone to do what he proposes. Two
words: charter schools. Having said that, there are always cracks in
the facade, and trends we can ride. Bill gives you a ton of good stuff
here to make you laugh and think, and some of it may echo a bit for
Rendezvous participants who heard "Conservative Hope and Change." I'll
add that Bill's "virtual President" press conference (click Q&A
video after) is worth your time all by itself. Thanks to Mae for the
tip.
Newt
Gingrich remains the brains of the Republican Party, and the
intellectual honesty and sharp points in his speech to Horowitz'
Restoration 2012 conference demonstrate why. Blip.TV doesn't embed
here, so you'll have to follow the link.
If you want something even sharper, the outside view of former
Democrat pollster Pat
Caddell is hard to argue with - incl. his point about the
Xinhua media. I'm impressed by the applause he got from the
conservative audience as he ripped the way the GOP did business, but
they recognized the quality of his argument.
Polis
- Don't
Give up (Daniel Greenfield, Nov 24/12).
jkatzman: "There will be as much room for a real or
virtual conservative enclave in 2035 as there was for one in the USSR
in 1932 or as there is for one today in Cuba. If the left consolidates
its control, then the only place to go will be underground, alive or
dead.... Right now we can still fight and win, but the window is
closing on that. If we accept the premise that change is no longer
possible, then it really will be all over."
- Metamorphosis
(Belmont Club, Nov 25/12). "One
of the hottest news stories in Britain was a decision by a local
government unit to take away foster children from members of the UK
Independence Party on the grounds that the adoptive parents were ipso
facto 'racist'..."
- Poll:
Nearly One Third Of Americans Would Accept 'TSA Body Cavity Search' in
Order to Fly (InfoWars, Nov 8/12).
prosenberg: My reaction to this news is "that cannot be
true!" But, given other recent events, maybe it really is? (JK
solution: poll people at the airport. Everyone who says "yes", gets
one.)
- Texas
Prepares to Ban the NDAA and TSA Pat Downs (Mike
Krieg, Nov 14/12). jkatzman: Awesomeness,
because you know they'll follow through.
- Breaking:
Prepper Put on No-Fly List, Stranded in Hawaii (InfoWars,
Oct 17/12). jkatzman: One more reason to
begin publicly-supported local organizations that give people like this
a title, a role, and political protection. While laying infrastructure
for hard times.
- ...And
Then a Miracle Occurs. (American Thinker, Nov
21/12). From edd7, a good set of action
priorities. "I'm not a believer in miracles, but I believe that the
Obamanistas have no idea how to run a domestic or a foreign policy.
Conservative ideas must spread and spread through the web, and our
first big battle will be to preserve the liberty of the web."
Economos
- Very
few people understand this trend (Sovereign
Man, Nov 16/12). jkatzman: "...the era of
cheap food is over." Maybe. But he has a strong point when he talks
about the rising value of farmland, for all the reasons explained in "The
smartest investment of the decade".
- All
your net worth are belong to me (Donald
Sensing, Nov 17/12). jkatzman: "...according
to the American Farm Bureau, up to 97 percent of American farms and
ranches will be subject to an estate tax [hence probably not passed on,
at 45%] where the exemption is set at $1 million.... ordinary Americans
is exactly who are being targeted.... It's not about fairness or even
about funding the government. It's about de-powering the people and
concentrating power in government." The Willy Wonka/ Veruca Salt video
at the end is classic.
- Food
Banks in the U.S. Running Low on Supplies... Ominous Sign for 2013
(Mike Krieg, Nov 21/12).
- China
Will Build the Tallest Building In the World in Just 90 Days (Updated)
(Gizmodo, Nov 20/12). dkemp:
It will be interesting to see if they can pull this off. As for me,
thanks, but I'll stay on the ground and well away from this thing - I
have pictures of what can happen to Chinese buildings.
- Island
DIY: Kauai residents don't wait for state to repair road (CNN,
April 9/09). mrapp: But, but, but...without
government, who will build the roads?!?! When it hits the fan, yes, we
can.
Techne Logos
- Court
Halts Planned 'Spychip' Expulsion (WND, Nov
21/12). From Mae. Money quote: "Regimes in
the past have always started with the schools, where they develop a
compliant citizenry. These 'Student Locator' programs are ultimately
aimed at getting students used to living in a total surveillance state
where there will be no privacy, and wherever you go and whatever you
text or email will be watched by the government."
- Fury
erupts over Sen. Patrick Leahy's bill on email privacy (Twitchy,
Nov 20/12). jkatzman: More like "bill on
email snooping."
- Department
Of Homeland Security To Scan Payment Cards At Borders And Airports
(Forbes, Nov 7/12). prosenberg:
Financial tyranny... from guess who. Note the last part about Bitcoin.
- India
holds woman for Facebook post on Thackeray (France24,
Nov 19/12). prosenberg: Indian woman arrested
for a non-violent post on Facebook, along with a friend who "liked" the
comment. Don't worry, that could never happen here. Oh,
wait...
- In
UK, Twitter, Facebook rants land some in jail (AP,
Nov 15/12). prosenberg: Hundreds prosecuted
or jailed in the UK for Facebook and Twitter comments. So, when,
exactly, do we admit that we're in a giant police state?
- 5
Essential Privacy Tools For The Next Crypto War (Forbes,
July 19/12). jkatzman: Cryptohippie.com,
used by many TTPers, is an improved version of #5.
Stratiootika
Some of you have asked me about Pamela "Atlas Shrugged"
Geller. For those of you wondering, this video is probably the best
summation of where she stands.
- War
is the Answer (Nov 21/12). dkemp:
Not a news item, but an interesting exposition on the whole concept of
war and peace in the 21st century.
- Qatar
is more active than you know (Israpundit, Oct
30/12). jkatzman: In ways that go far beyond
al-Jazeera, and tie directly to the recent Israel-Hamas fight. Step 1
in understanding our world is knowing the real players.
- Op-Ed:
EXPOSE: Qatar's takeover of Europe (Israel's
Arutz Sheva, Nov 12/12).
- Middle
East Burning (Frontpage, Nov 21/12).
"This reserve of fighters, funded by oil money, is the
single biggest development in the region. Each war inflates their
totals and their availability starts new wars."
- Oh
What a Tangled Web (National Review, Nov 20/12).
From hardcharger. Victor Davis Hanson discusses
Benghazi's lingering questions.
- On
Respecting Muslim Culture (American Thinker,
Nov 25/12). edd7: An article not steeped in
hand-wringing Political Correctness, National Stockholm Syndrome b***!
"One might argue that "courtesy" can be demanded, but to demand
"respect" and "trust" is insulting to those from whom the fulfillment
of the demand is required."
- A
Passing Advantage - The Kurdish/Iraq Confrontation (Montrose
Toast, Nov 22/12). jkatzman: Iraq and the
Kurds are making military moves toward a possible clash, and oil
contracts to firms like Exxon are a trigger point. Pay
attention.
Over The Hump: Good News This Week
We begin with a wry bit sent in by hardcharger, and shown on
Rev. Donald Sensing's site (formerly Col. Donald Sensing). And then,
for Something Completely Different... we pair Kevin "Hillbuzz" duJan
and Chuck Norris.
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