lewrockwell--2020-06-11--Public Health Is Another Term For Marxism

“ Data-driven ” is a buzzword even in public health .
Public health is the Marxist step-brother of the individualist field of medicine and generally unconcerned with an honest reading of available data .
This moment in time makes that abundantly apparent .
Public health offers collectivist plans to address health , which is an individual concept .
The medical field is becoming increasingly affected by the same .
However , at its core , the medical field is not collectivist .
Doctors focus on the individual patient .
This can be traced back to the 2,400-year-old Hippocratic Oath and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health profession can trace its roots back to the late-1800s in England as ideologies intending to push a supposed collective will on others grew in popularity with some intellectuals .
As such , every single pronouncement from anyone in public health should be given the same skepticism that you would offer a pronouncement from Karl Marx himself .
A Litmus : They Don ’ t Care About The Data They don ’ t care about the data .
If you need a litmus on this topic , this moment in time offers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 112,057 died of Covid this year , to date .
Rather than taking data-driven approaches , in the face of their own stark numbers , members of the field are ignoring politically incorrect data on supplementation , falsifying data to cloud politically incorrect treatment , ignoring data for feeling-driven and tradition-driven approaches , and ignoring politically incorrect data about how to best manage shortages .
If political correctness is the standard that data must be forced to meet before being considered , there is no fidelity to the data .
There was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen as a breakthrough .
Today they are largely treated as lacking therapeutic value by public health officials , despite the fact that they might provide some defense in the matter of Covid .
Early data shows that blacks are disproportionately affected by Covid .
Recognizing that vitamin D improves clinical outcomes and that vitamin D levels are a factor in the severity of Covid infections , dark skinned people need more vitamin D because “ skin pigmentation negatively influences vitamin D synthesis.
” High risk Covid groups should immediately begin taking 10,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serum levels because “ vitamin D deficiency is common.
” This and other low budget , low drama direct method of benefiting public health is largely ignored by the public health community .
Contrary to their words to the contrary , they seem to prefer drama over actually doing the things that are proven to be effective .
Similarly , studies on Covid and vitamin A , vitamin C , zinc , and others have validity .
Perhaps related to zinc uptake is the surprising discovery in 2020 that hydroxychloroquine has shown benefit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were unable to undergo peer review were published in the Lancet and widely welcomed by the public health establishment and medical establishment , not because it benefited patient health or saved lives , but because it offered a politically convenient outcome .
Unfortunately , these studies have had negative impacts globally , and their retractions have had a fraction of the impact offered by their original headline-grabbing falsified results .
Using Feelings and Tradition To Advise On Approaches , While Rejecting Data Face masks and quarantines are not data-driven approaches .
Face masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a full lockdown is neither tradition nor data-driven , and can hardly be defended as more than a power grab and show of force .
Refusing The Data On How To Eliminate Supply Shortages Controlled markets create shortages .
Free markets handle shortages .
During the fake ventilator fiasco of 2020 , in which there were said to not be enough ventilators to keep people alive , ventilators ultimately went unused and were later discovered to be overused and in danger of killing people .
Did the public health mouthpieces say “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up the market place to save lives ?
” They did not .
During the hospital shortage of 2020 that never materialized , long since forgotten , in which Americans were told to flatten the curve of infection otherwise hospitals would be overwhelmed and millions of Americans would die , hospitals across the country went unused , health care workers were furloughed , new hospital facilities , military field hospitals , and mothballed hospitals that were reopened never saw a patient .
Instead of derailing society with the artificially imposed corona communism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government rather than more government ?
No , they didn ’ t .
Who knows what the free market might have provided .
We might have ended up with hotel owners setting up hospitals if their projections indicated that was useful .
We might have ended up with luxury cruise ships providing hospital support .
Instead , cruise ships were used as storage vessels for the negative priced oil .
They didn ’ t do that , they called for more government , for a lock down so drastic that a decade from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this .
Rather than being data-driven , that ’ s how the public health field helped bring about the catastrophes of spring 2020 .
An additional benefit to a market solution is that many entrepreneurs would have likely done market research before investing to solve a crisis .
At that point , many entrepreneurs would have realized the futility of following the media fear campaign promoted by the public health profession .
Government did no such independent market research .
Are they concerned about how to best save lives , these public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sending staff to aid the rioters , based on some incredibly circuitous definition of what constitutes “ health ?
” Everything relates to health one could say .
Riots directly create more food deserts .
Food deserts are something that public health professionals have claimed to fight against for decades .
Riots directly kill people .
Riots directly harm health .
Riots directly make life worse .
Lockdowns directly kill more people than they save .
Lockdowns directly harm health .
Lockdowns directly make life worse .
Circuitous definitions of health are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s so much direct action that can be taken if one were concerned about health .
Why So Much Marxism In Annual Conference Themes , And Journal Articles ?
To further illustrate the political leanings involved , in 2018 the American Public Health Association annual meeting was themed “ Health Equity Now , ” in 2017 “ Climate Changes Health , ” and in 2010 “ Social Justice , A Public Health Imperative.
” None of their keynotes , going back five decades , are about the way free markets have revolutionized every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they appear to have either openly Marxist titles or an innocuous title with Marxist content .
By Marxism here , the topics can be an attack on the notion of property rights , or it can be a more subtle example of Critical Theory applied to the subject .
In the June 2020 edition of the American Journal of Public Health , Marxist critique figures prominently : Marxist critiques of technology as seen in the article “ The Price Isn ’ t Right : Autonomous Vehicles , Public Health , and Social Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as evidence of oppression as seen in the article “ The Equality Act Is Needed to Advance Health Equity for Lesbian , Gay , Bisexual , and Transgender Populations , ” and Marxist critiques of the class-based oppressiveness of policy “ Smoking Behavior in Low- and High-Income Adults Immediately Following California Proposition 56 Tobacco Tax Increase.
” It ’ s questionable why there needs to be so much Marxism in a group that simply exists to promote health .
Curious Public Health Claims : Certain Groups Must Not Protest , Because It Harms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June 4 , and Friday , June 5 , 2020 , 1,288 public health professionals signed this open letter ( PDF ) .
It claims that racism is more lethal than Covid-19 .
Two weeks ago public health professionals were saying the tiny Michigan protests held at the end of April would kill people by spreading Covid .
In this letter , they reiterate those protests are bad because they challenge public health directives .
They additionally offer a racist ad hominem about how the protestors are the wrong people .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protestors ” is even necessary to mention in the letter .
This is not data-driven , it is merely critical race theory .
Rather than being novel or refreshingly bold , critical race theory is Marxism applied to race , and equally worthy of disrepute .
The signatories of the letter are saying the protestors and rioters who are the right people have no public health reason for being stopped , in fact they should be encouraged .
Of course , they say this about protests led by the Marxist BLM .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constitutionalists would also be deemed bad for public health .
What is clear is that there is no data to support their claims .
Data has never been a prerequisite for propaganda .
In the USSR there was widely documented use of medicine and psychiatry with a striking similarity to the letter in question .
Alexander Podrabinek in his book Punitive Medicine described medicine as “ a tool in the struggle against dissidents who can not be punished by legal means.
” Public health is being used as a tool against dissidents who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The 1,288 signatories represent a small fraction of the public health community , but are representative of the cross section seen during the lockdown .
There is little credibility left in the public health community .
To Achieve Justice : Defund And Dismantle the Public Health Industry The public health profession in the US has never had the level of control that it has been able to exert in the spring of 2020 .
America has been shut down entirely at their command .
Because of the information networks long since built @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have shut down following America ’ s lead .
This is partly due to so many foreign newspapers providing global journalism coverage by merely having their journalists follow , summarize , and even directly translate New York Times and Washington Post articles and offering them to their readership as legitimate coverage of world events .
For those observing with a critical eye , the public health field will come out of this period entirely discredited as a profession .
They have shown their true colors as foremost having a political agenda that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health , ” when they need to look like respectable people rather than the radical Marxists that they largely are .
The Marxist influence in American society crosses all fields : environment , economics , the academy , media , tech , government , and churches .
Marxists in all fields demand ways to reduce economic growth and individual prosperity .
Voices in Marxist-influenced fields are constantly angling for this .
Public health is no different .
After being ignored through mad cow , foot-and-mouth , swine flu ( H1N1 ) , bird @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MERS , MRSA , anthrax , ebola , monkey pox , flesh eating bacteria , H7N9 public health scares that never amounted to much , precisely because they were ignored , Covid-19 was the scare campaign that the American people finally fell for .
If Black Lives Really Matter : The CDC Data Is Clear About How To Save Lives While imperfect , CDC data offers a good starting place for research and helps illustrate the order of magnitude of an issue .
This is from the CDC ’ s June 2019 National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on 335,667 non-Hispanic black deaths of all causes in 2017 .
2017 Cause of Death for Black US Residents According to the CDC National Vital Statistics Report ( Table 8 ) .
Legal intervention , or “ death by police , ” does not make the top ten list and does not even come close .
In 2017 , the CDC reports 152 black Americans died this way .
Though this statistic is especially difficult to calculate number based on available data , again , the order of magnitude is likely accurate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but why at the behest of Marxist groups like BLM are we talking about how to save 152 lives instead of talking about how to save 152,000 lives ?
Why is that what the massive protests are about ?
And why are public health professionals , who are trained in managing data with integrity , fomenting riots ?
Eat better , exercise more .
It ’ s not revolutionary , but man does this save lives .
There ’ s obviously a different agenda at play here than saving lives .
Johns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ More Lives Johns Hopkins , in a 2016 published study , pointed to medical intervention as the third leading cause of death over an eight-year period .
( https : //hub.jhu.edu/2016/05/03/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death/ ?
xid=PS_smithsonian ) At 250,000 deaths per year , medical error surpasses the CDC reported third leading cause of death — respiratory diseases , which claim 150,000 Americans a year .
This unaddressed problem is ripe territory for saving lives .
Blacks are disproportionately harmed by bad doctors , so the racially-minded among the public health profession attacking this seldom discussed third @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefit black patients .
Far from the CDC showing leadership in addressing this problem , the Johns Hopkins team claimed the CDC does not even effectively collect data on medical error .
This lack of interest on this topic from the politically entrenched CDC is not surprising .
Once operating under a cloak of good intention , by the spring of 2020 it has become evident that , rather than working to improve individual health , the CDC — the government ’ s premiere public health entity — is more interested in appeasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccines , facilitating biological weapons programs , encouraging mass hysteria , locking down a country , and then supporting divisive Marxist politics .
Like the rest of the public health profession , even though many may operate with good intention , the CDC institutionally has a hard time focusing on anything but the most circuitous definition of health .
That is no focus at all .
The CDC began as a small budget , tightly-focussed , malaria eradication campaign in the 1940s and has morphed into a giant organization that can get away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in response to virtually anything it does .
I look forward to scholarship on why the CDC should be closed down and government should vow to never again meddle in the field of public health .
The evidence is abundant and demands organized attention .
The Role Of The Individual In This : You Must Not Let A Philosophically Impoverished Person Run Your Life You must not let a technocrat run your life .
You must not let a tech bro run your life .
You must not let an expert in medicine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who spend a great deal of time learning how isolated systems work and sometimes earn a great deal of money and prestige because of their expertise .
Anything that might be described as an executive function in your life or in society should not be held by such people .
You must not let them dictate strategy or direction .
You are the one responsible for running your life .
If you need big picture suggestions from the outside world , it is to be found in fields like philosophy , theology , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be done with care , since all of these fields are , to some degree , under siege by Marxists and other collectivist groups .
The Marxists for 5 generations have promised to quietly take over every institution they can , calling it “ the slow march through the institutions.
” Public health must not be allowed to have any teeth , ever .
For any reason .
The results of spring 2020 , under their nearly unchallenged guidance , have shown us this .
They are first of all technocrats that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commentary and nothing else .
The relevance of their voice is minimal .
They are secondly ideologues with a penchant for being unethical with data .
Do not be surprised if , like many who advocate for big government programs , the public health “ postmortem ” on spring 2020 concludes that any failures resulted because too little power was given to the public health community .
Any profession so influenced by Marxism is certain to have a fundamentally insincere membership .
Conclusion : The Awful Intellectual Roots Of The Public Health Profession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birth in Victorian England to the present day , the manufactured Covid crisis is the shining gemstone of the public health profession .
Medicine is inherently about the individual patient .
Public health is the polar opposite ; it is all about placing the benefits of society over the individual .
Only because it is cloaked in the word “ health , ” a fundamentally individual notion , does that field appear to take an interest in the individual patient .
Public health is born in Malthusian notions of population control , Benthamite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little Frankfort School Marxism through Critical Theory and modern day technocrat and you have public health .
Economics is founded on the idea that wants are unlimited , resources are limited .
Public health is rooted on the idea that those unlimited collective wants should be pushed as aggressively as possible against the very limited individual resources .
Public health is largely an awful collectivist field and the corona communism imposed on vast portions of the globe in 2020 has occurred precisely because unchecked members of this profession advocated for their untenable economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as clean running water , are incredibly helpful to society , but the weapons of public health go far beyond that into every segment of human life under a premise like “ everything affects health.
” Overwhelmingly , when not kept in check , their weapons and tendencies are destructive .
The Best of Allan Stevo

“Data-driven” is a buzzword even in public health. Public health is the Marxist step-brother of the individualist field of medicine and generally unconcerned with an honest reading of available data. This moment in time makes that abundantly apparent.
Public health offers collectivist plans to address health, which is an individual concept. The medical field is becoming increasingly affected by the same. However, at its core, the medical field is not collectivist. Doctors focus on the individual patient. This can be traced back to the 2,400-year-old Hippocratic Oath and other texts on medical ethics. The public health profession can trace its roots back to the late-1800s in England as ideologies intending to push a supposed collective will on others grew in popularity with some intellectuals.
As such, every single pronouncement from anyone in public health should be given the same skepticism that you would offer a pronouncement from Karl Marx himself.
A Litmus: They Don’t Care About The Data
They don’t care about the data. If you need a litmus on this topic, this moment in time offers you many: Remaking the American ... Tomes, Nancy Best Price: $12.55 Buy New $33.77 (as of 03:17 UTC - Details)
Public health professionals say 112,057 died of Covid this year, to date. Rather than taking data-driven approaches, in the face of their own stark numbers, members of the field are ignoring politically incorrect data on supplementation, falsifying data to cloud politically incorrect treatment, ignoring data for feeling-driven and tradition-driven approaches, and ignoring politically incorrect data about how to best manage shortages.
If political correctness is the standard that data must be forced to meet before being considered, there is no fidelity to the data.
Ignoring Data On Supplementation
There was a time when the discovery of vitamins were seen as a breakthrough. Today they are largely treated as lacking therapeutic value by public health officials, despite the fact that they might provide some defense in the matter of Covid.
Early data shows that blacks are disproportionately affected by Covid.
Recognizing that vitamin D improves clinical outcomes and that vitamin D levels are a factor in the severity of Covid infections, dark skinned people need more vitamin D because “skin pigmentation negatively influences vitamin D synthesis.” High risk Covid groups should immediately begin taking 10,000 IU / day to increase their blood serum levels because “vitamin D deficiency is common.”
This and other low budget, low drama direct method of benefiting public health is largely ignored by the public health community. Contrary to their words to the contrary, they seem to prefer drama over actually doing the things that are proven to be effective. American Overdose: The... McGreal, Chris Best Price: $7.13 Buy New $13.15 (as of 05:34 UTC - Details)
Falsifying Data On Alternative Treatments
Similarly, studies on Covid and vitamin A, vitamin C, zinc, and others have validity. Perhaps related to zinc uptake is the surprising discovery in 2020 that hydroxychloroquine has shown benefit for Covid-19 patients. Falsified studies that were unable to undergo peer review were published in the Lancet and widely welcomed by the public health establishment and medical establishment, not because it benefited patient health or saved lives, but because it offered a politically convenient outcome. Unfortunately, these studies have had negative impacts globally, and their retractions have had a fraction of the impact offered by their original headline-grabbing falsified results.
Using Feelings and Tradition To Advise On Approaches, While Rejecting Data
Face masks and quarantines are not data-driven approaches. Face masks are based in tradition. The efficacy of a full lockdown is neither tradition nor data-driven, and can hardly be defended as more than a power grab and show of force.
Refusing The Data On How To Eliminate Supply Shortages
Controlled markets create shortages. Free markets handle shortages. During the fake ventilator fiasco of 2020, in which there were said to not be enough ventilators to keep people alive, ventilators ultimately went unused and were later discovered to be overused and in danger of killing people. Did the public health mouthpieces say “Let’s remove restrictions and open up the market place to save lives?” They did not. Tell Your Children: Th... Berenson, Alex Buy New $13.85 (as of 05:32 UTC - Details)
During the hospital shortage of 2020 that never materialized, long since forgotten, in which Americans were told to flatten the curve of infection otherwise hospitals would be overwhelmed and millions of Americans would die, hospitals across the country went unused, health care workers were furloughed, new hospital facilities, military field hospitals, and mothballed hospitals that were reopened never saw a patient.
Instead of derailing society with the artificially imposed corona communism, did public health professionals call for less government rather than more government? No, they didn’t.
Who knows what the free market might have provided. We might have ended up with hotel owners setting up hospitals if their projections indicated that was useful. We might have ended up with luxury cruise ships providing hospital support. Instead, cruise ships were used as storage vessels for the negative priced oil.
They didn’t do that, they called for more government, for a lock down so drastic that a decade from now we may not have gotten past this. Rather than being data-driven, that’s how the public health field helped bring about the catastrophes of spring 2020.
An additional benefit to a market solution is that many entrepreneurs would have likely done market research before investing to solve a crisis. At that point, many entrepreneurs would have realized the futility of following the media fear campaign promoted by the public health profession. Government did no such independent market research.
Public Health: Preferencing The Convenient Circuitous Action, Ignoring The Effective Direct Action
Are they concerned about how to best save lives, these public health professionals, or are they concerned about sending staff to aid the rioters, based on some incredibly circuitous definition of what constitutes “health?”
Everything relates to health one could say. Riots directly create more food deserts. Food deserts are something that public health professionals have claimed to fight against for decades. What Your Doctor May N... Cave MD FAAFP, Stephanie Best Price: $3.07 Buy New $9.51 (as of 05:43 UTC - Details)
Riots directly kill people. Riots directly harm health. Riots directly make life worse. Lockdowns directly kill more people than they save. Lockdowns directly harm health. Lockdowns directly make life worse.
Circuitous definitions of health are not needed to improve health. There’s so much direct action that can be taken if one were concerned about health.
Why So Much Marxism In Annual Conference Themes, And Journal Articles?
To further illustrate the political leanings involved, in 2018 the American Public Health Association annual meeting was themed “Health Equity Now,” in 2017 “Climate Changes Health,” and in 2010 “Social Justice, A Public Health Imperative.” None of their keynotes, going back five decades, are about the way free markets have revolutionized every field they have touched. Instead, they appear to have either openly Marxist titles or an innocuous title with Marxist content.
By Marxism here, the topics can be an attack on the notion of property rights, or it can be a more subtle example of Critical Theory applied to the subject.
In the June 2020 edition of the American Journal of Public Health, Marxist critique figures prominently: Marxist critiques of technology as seen in the article “The Price Isn’t Right: Autonomous Vehicles, Public Health, and Social Justice,” Marxist critiques of health disparities as evidence of oppression as seen in the article “The Equality Act Is Needed to Advance Health Equity for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations,” and Marxist critiques of the class-based oppressiveness of policy “Smoking Behavior in Low- and High-Income Adults Immediately Following California Proposition 56 Tobacco Tax Increase.”
It’s questionable why there needs to be so much Marxism in a group that simply exists to promote health.
Curious Public Health Claims: Certain Groups Must Not Protest, Because It Harms Health
Unvaccinated: Why grow... Maready, Forrest Best Price: $7.00 Buy New $6.99 (as of 05:43 UTC - Details) Not surprisingly, on Thursday, June 4, and Friday, June 5, 2020, 1,288 public health professionals signed this open letter (PDF). It claims that racism is more lethal than Covid-19.
Two weeks ago public health professionals were saying the tiny Michigan protests held at the end of April would kill people by spreading Covid. In this letter, they reiterate those protests are bad because they challenge public health directives. They additionally offer a racist ad hominem about how the protestors are the wrong people. It’s not clear why “predominantly white protestors” is even necessary to mention in the letter. This is not data-driven, it is merely critical race theory. Rather than being novel or refreshingly bold, critical race theory is Marxism applied to race, and equally worthy of disrepute.
The signatories of the letter are saying the protestors and rioters who are the right people have no public health reason for being stopped, in fact they should be encouraged.
Of course, they say this about protests led by the Marxist BLM. It is unclear if a protest by black constitutionalists would also be deemed bad for public health. What is clear is that there is no data to support their claims. Data has never been a prerequisite for propaganda.
In the USSR there was widely documented use of medicine and psychiatry with a striking similarity to the letter in question. Alexander Podrabinek in his book Punitive Medicine described medicine as “a tool in the struggle against dissidents who cannot be punished by legal means.”
Public health is being used as a tool against dissidents who cannot be punished by legal means.
The 1,288 signatories represent a small fraction of the public health community, but are representative of the cross section seen during the lockdown. There is little credibility left in the public health community.
To Achieve Justice: Defund And Dismantle the Public Health Industry
The public health profession in the US has never had the level of control that it has been able to exert in the spring of 2020. America has been shut down entirely at their command. Murder by Injection Mullins, Eustace Clarence Best Price: $37.99 Buy New $25.00 (as of 08:21 UTC - Details)
Because of the information networks long since built globally, vast portions of the globe have shut down following America’s lead. This is partly due to so many foreign newspapers providing global journalism coverage by merely having their journalists follow, summarize, and even directly translate New York Times and Washington Post articles and offering them to their readership as legitimate coverage of world events.
For those observing with a critical eye, the public health field will come out of this period entirely discredited as a profession. They have shown their true colors as foremost having a political agenda that they hide behind the amorphous umbrella term “health,” when they need to look like respectable people rather than the radical Marxists that they largely are.
The Marxist influence in American society crosses all fields: environment, economics, the academy, media, tech, government, and churches. Marxists in all fields demand ways to reduce economic growth and individual prosperity. Voices in Marxist-influenced fields are constantly angling for this. Public health is no different. After being ignored through mad cow, foot-and-mouth, swine flu (H1N1), bird flu (H5N1), SARS, MERS, MRSA, anthrax, ebola, monkey pox, flesh eating bacteria, H7N9 public health scares that never amounted to much, precisely because they were ignored, Covid-19 was the scare campaign that the American people finally fell for.
If Black Lives Really Matter: The CDC Data Is Clear About How To Save Lives
While imperfect, CDC data offers a good starting place for research and helps illustrate the order of magnitude of an issue. This is from the CDC’s June 2019 National Vital Statistics Report. Percentages are derived based on 335,667 non-Hispanic black deaths of all causes in 2017.
2017 Cause of Death for Black US Residents According to the CDC National Vital Statistics Report (Table 8).
1.) Diseases of the heart 78,161 (23.3%)
2.) Cancer 69,872 (20.8%)
3.) Accidental Injuries 19,869 (5.9%)
(Such as poisonings 8,266, car accidents 6,109, and falls 1,525)
4.) Stroke 19,088 (5.7%) 3 WORST MEDS, Former B... THE PEOPLES CHEMIST Best Price: $35.95 Buy New $39.95 (as of 08:21 UTC - Details)
5.) Diabetes 14,798 (4.4%)
6.) Chronic lower respiratory disease 11,217 (3.3%)
7.) Homicide 9,908 (3%)
(8,371 are by discharge of a firearm)
8.) Kidney disease 9,542 (2.8%)
9.) Alzheimer’s 8,991 (2.7%)
10.) Septicemia 6,568 (2%)
61.) Legal intervention 152 (0.045%)
Legal intervention, or “death by police,” does not make the top ten list and does not even come close. In 2017, the CDC reports 152 black Americans died this way. Though this statistic is especially difficult to calculate number based on available data, again, the order of magnitude is likely accurate.
Every human death is a tragedy, but why at the behest of Marxist groups like BLM are we talking about how to save 152 lives instead of talking about how to save 152,000 lives? Why is that what the massive protests are about? And why are public health professionals, who are trained in managing data with integrity, fomenting riots?
Eat better, exercise more. It’s not revolutionary, but man does this save lives. There’s obviously a different agenda at play here than saving lives.
Johns Hopkins: How To Directly Save Even More Lives
Johns Hopkins, in a 2016 published study, pointed to medical intervention as the third leading cause of death over an eight-year period. At 250,000 deaths per year, medical error surpasses the CDC reported third leading cause of death — respiratory diseases, which claim 150,000 Americans a year.
This unaddressed problem is ripe territory for saving lives. Blacks are disproportionately harmed by bad doctors, so the racially-minded among the public health profession attacking this seldom discussed third leading cause of death will also disproportionately benefit black patients.
Far from the CDC showing leadership in addressing this problem, the Johns Hopkins team claimed the CDC does not even effectively collect data on medical error.
This lack of interest on this topic from the politically entrenched CDC is not surprising. Once operating under a cloak of good intention, by the spring of 2020 it has become evident that, rather than working to improve individual health, the CDC — the government’s premiere public health entity — is more interested in appeasing political and professional organizations, doling out vaccines, facilitating biological weapons programs, encouraging mass hysteria, locking down a country, and then supporting divisive Marxist politics.
Like the rest of the public health profession, even though many may operate with good intention, the CDC institutionally has a hard time focusing on anything but the most circuitous definition of health. That is no focus at all. The CDC began as a small budget, tightly-focussed, malaria eradication campaign in the 1940s and has morphed into a giant organization that can get away with saying “because health,” in response to virtually anything it does.
I look forward to scholarship on why the CDC should be closed down and government should vow to never again meddle in the field of public health. The evidence is abundant and demands organized attention.
The Role Of The Individual In This: You Must Not Let A Philosophically Impoverished Person Run Your Life
You must not let a technocrat run your life. You must not let a tech bro run your life. You must not let an expert in medicine run your life.
These are people who spend a great deal of time learning how isolated systems work and sometimes earn a great deal of money and prestige because of their expertise.
Anything that might be described as an executive function in your life or in society should not be held by such people. You must not let them dictate strategy or direction.
You are the one responsible for running your life. If you need big picture suggestions from the outside world, it is to be found in fields like philosophy, theology, ethics, and praexeolgy.
That too should be done with care, since all of these fields are, to some degree, under siege by Marxists and other collectivist groups. The Marxists for 5 generations have promised to quietly take over every institution they can, calling it “the slow march through the institutions.”
Public health must not be allowed to have any teeth, ever. For any reason. The results of spring 2020, under their nearly unchallenged guidance, have shown us this. They are first of all technocrats that should be welcomed in for occasional expert commentary and nothing else. The relevance of their voice is minimal. They are secondly ideologues with a penchant for being unethical with data.
Do not be surprised if, like many who advocate for big government programs, the public health “postmortem” on spring 2020 concludes that any failures resulted because too little power was given to the public health community. Any profession so influenced by Marxism is certain to have a fundamentally insincere membership.
Conclusion: The Awful Intellectual Roots Of The Public Health Profession Must Be Kept In Check
From its birth in Victorian England to the present day, the manufactured Covid crisis is the shining gemstone of the public health profession. Medicine is inherently about the individual patient. Public health is the polar opposite; it is all about placing the benefits of society over the individual. Only because it is cloaked in the word “health,” a fundamentally individual notion, does that field appear to take an interest in the individual patient.
Public health is born in Malthusian notions of population control, Benthamite notions of utility. Mix in a little Frankfort School Marxism through Critical Theory and modern day technocrat and you have public health. Economics is founded on the idea that wants are unlimited, resources are limited. Public health is rooted on the idea that those unlimited collective wants should be pushed as aggressively as possible against the very limited individual resources.
Public health is largely an awful collectivist field and the corona communism imposed on vast portions of the globe in 2020 has occurred precisely because unchecked members of this profession advocated for their untenable economic models.
Some of their weapons, such as clean running water, are incredibly helpful to society, but the weapons of public health go far beyond that into every segment of human life under a premise like “everything affects health.” Overwhelmingly, when not kept in check, their weapons and tendencies are destructive.
The Best of Allan Stevo


lewrockwell--2020-06-11--The Cult of the Mask

The Cult of the Mask

THE CHURCHES ARE open now in the Archdiocese of Detroit for “ public Mass , ” but Catholics have not been set free .
The rules for being permitted to kneel at Calvary are in perfect accord with the rules of the state .
Check-ins .
Reservations .
Social Distancing .
Face covering .
Every hollow one of them .
The archbishop has bowed to the governor .
By order of a Prince of the Church , a successor of the Apostles , the priests must obey , the people must comply .
The Mask must be worn .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a wondrous thing .
It is a tangible sign of the mystery of each human being .
It reveals the identity of the person–singular , irreplaceable , made in the image of God .
The face gives a glimpse of the soul .
There ’ s an old Latin proverb , Vultus est index animi .
The face is the index of the mind .
So why cover it up ?
What is being hidden ?
There ’ s a lie behind all this .
Trick Or Treat Studios ... Buy New $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suffocating mask .
Besides covering the nose and mouth , it distorts the structure of the face .
Look at a group of masked people , really look at them .
They don ’ t look human .
The lower part of their face is disguised by a grotesque protuberance .
Their identity is concealed .
No emotion is communicated .
No non-verbal cues to understanding a fellow human being can be discerned .
Smiles , frowns , grimaces , yawns , smirks are all hidden under the ubiquitous mask .
But people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are following the rules .
Even the archbishop .
We ’ d better open our eyes to the indoctrination that ’ s going on here .
We ’ re being corralled into a collective unconsciousness .
Wearing a mask has nothing to do with disease .
Not with stopping the spread , or protecting the vulnerable , or preventing a surge .
Those are slogans , catchy phrases dreamed up , I ’ m sure , by some high-priced public relations firm–sort of like the new one : Be safe at home .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... Buy New $ 21.99 Death .
Their own and everybody else ’ s .
That ’ s what scares them .
That ’ s why they ’ re caving in to the dictators .
But the fatality rate of the virus ( or its complications ) is less than one half of one per cent .
And that percentage is not of the general population , either .
It ’ s of those infected .
Maybe somebody could do some basic arithmetic and figure out the mortality rate in the total population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point would it take ?
Not only that , many of the “ complications ” could actually be post-viral hospital-acquired infections ( HAIs ) like sepsis , fungal pathogens , pneumonia , or—most tellingly—ventilator-associated pneumonia .
Those numbers are huge .
Nearly 100,000 Americans die each year from nosocomial infection ; 1.7 million people are sickened .
I don ’ t see any governor locking down hospitals over that .
I wish some genius statistician would separate the HAIs from corona-caused death .
I bet we ’ d learn that far less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID patients actually die from the virus .

THE CHURCHES ARE open now in the Archdiocese of Detroit for “public Mass,” but Catholics have not been set free. The rules for being permitted to kneel at Calvary are in perfect accord with the rules of the state. Check-ins. Reservations. Social Distancing. Face covering. Every hollow one of them.
The archbishop has bowed to the governor. By order of a Prince of the Church, a successor of the Apostles, the priests must obey, the people must comply. The Mask must be worn.
This is terrible. The human face is a wondrous thing. It is a tangible sign of the mystery of each human being. It reveals the identity of the person–singular, irreplaceable, made in the image of God. The face gives a glimpse of the soul. There’s an old Latin proverb, Vultus est index animi. The face is the index of the mind. So why cover it up? What is being hidden? There’s a lie behind all this. Trick Or Treat Studios... Buy New $63.17 (as of 05:22 UTC - Details)
Frustra unusquisque proximo suo
Labium subdolum
In corde et corde locuti sunt.[1]
There is something hideous about the suffocating mask. Besides covering the nose and mouth, it distorts the structure of the face. Look at a group of masked people, really look at them. They don’t look human. The lower part of their face is disguised by a grotesque protuberance. Their identity is concealed. No emotion is communicated. No non-verbal cues to understanding a fellow human being can be discerned. Smiles, frowns, grimaces, yawns, smirks are all hidden under the ubiquitous mask.
But people wear it anyway. It shows they are following the rules. Even the archbishop.
We’d better open our eyes to the indoctrination that’s going on here. We’re being corralled into a collective unconsciousness. Wearing a mask has nothing to do with disease. Not with stopping the spread, or protecting the vulnerable, or preventing a surge. Those are slogans, catchy phrases dreamed up, I’m sure, by some high-priced public relations firm–sort of like the new one: Be safe at home. Safe from what? HIBIRETRO Steampunk Pl... Buy New $21.99 (as of 05:22 UTC - Details)
Death. Their own and everybody else’s. That’s what scares them. That’s why they’re caving in to the dictators.
But the fatality rate of the virus (or its complications) is less than one half of one per cent. And that percentage is not of the general population, either. It’s of those infected. Maybe somebody could do some basic arithmetic and figure out the mortality rate in the total population. How many zeroes after the decimal point would it take?
Not only that, many of the “complications” could actually be post-viral hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) like sepsis, fungal pathogens, pneumonia, or—most tellingly—ventilator-associated pneumonia. Those numbers are huge. Nearly 100,000 Americans die each year from nosocomial infection; 1.7 million people are sickened. I don’t see any governor locking down hospitals over that.
I wish some genius statistician would separate the HAIs from corona-caused death. I bet we’d learn that far less than one half of one per cent of COVID patients actually die from the virus.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-06-11--What the US Protests Reveal

What the US Protests Reveal

Anti-racism protests in the United States have rapidly evolved into a promotion of the ideas championed by the Democratic Party .
It was no longer a question of fighting for equality in law for all or challenging the prejudices of certain police officers , but of reopening a cultural conflict at the risk of a new Civil War .
Protests across the West against racism in the United States are masking the evolution of the conflict there .
It has evolved from a questioning of the remnants of black slavery to a conflict that could challenge the integrity of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the United States should have disbanded after the break-up of the Soviet Union to which it was attached .
However , the imperialist project ( the “ Endless War ” ) led by George W. Bush had made it possible to revive the country after the attacks of September 11 , 2001 .
I also pointed out that in recent decades , the population had moved around a great deal in order to regroup by cultural affinity [ 1 ] .
Inter-racial marriages were again becoming rare .
I concluded that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when non-black minorities entered the challenge [ 2 ] .
American Theocracy : Th ... Phillips , Kevin Best Price : $ 0.59 Buy New $ 2.98 This is precisely what we are witnessing today .
The conflict is no longer between blacks and whites , since whites have become the majority in some anti-racist demonstrations , Hispanics and Asians have joined the processions , and the Democratic Party is now involved .
Since Bill Clinton ’ s term in office , the Democratic Party has identified with the process of financial globalization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ belatedly supported , without ever fully adopting it .
Donald Trump represents a third path : that of the “ American dream ” , i.e .
entrepreneurship as opposed to finance .
He got elected by declaring America First !
which did not refer to the pro-Nazi isolationist movement of the 1930s as claimed , but to the relocation of jobs as later verified .
He was certainly supported by the Republican Party , but remains a “ Jacksonian ” and not a “ conservative ” at all .
As historian Kevin Phillips @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – has shown , Anglo-Saxon culture gave rise to three successive civil wars [ 3 ] : the first English Civil War , known as the “ Great Rebellion ” ( which pitted Lord Cromwell against Charles I 1642-1651 ) ; the second English Civil War or “ War of Independence from the United States ” ( 1775-1783 ) ; and the Third Anglo-Saxon Civil War or “ Civil War ” in the United States ( 1861-1865 ) .
What we are witnessing today could lead to the fourth .
This seems to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Defense General Jim Mattis , who recently told The Atlantic that he was concerned about President Trump ’ s divisive rather than unifying policies .
Let us go back to the history of the United States to see where the sides are .
Populist President Andrew Jackson ( 1829-1837 ) vetoed the Federal Reserve Bank ( Fed ) established by Alexander Hamilton , one of the fathers of the Constitution , who favoured federalism because he was violently opposed to democracy .
Just as Jackson ’ s disciple , Donald Trump , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bad Money : Reckless Fi ... Phillips , Kevin Best Price : $ 1.44 Buy New $ 1.37 Twenty years after Jackson , came the “ Civil War ” to which today ’ s protesters all refer .
According to them , it pitted a slave South against a humanist North .
The movement that began with a racist news item ( the lynching of black George Flyod by a white policeman from Minneapolis ) continues today with the destruction of statues of southern generals , including Robert Lee .
Actions of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ 4 ] , but this time they are gaining momentum and governors from the Democratic Party are participating .
However , this narrative does not correspond at all to reality : at the beginning of the Civil War , both sides were slavers , and at the end , both sides were anti-slavers .
The end of slavery owes nothing to the abolitionists and everything to the need for both sides to enlist new soldiers .
The Civil War pitted a rich , Catholic , agricultural South against a Protestant , industrial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It crystallized around the issue of customs duties which the South believed should be set by the federal states , but which the North intended to abolish between the federal states and have the federal government determine .
Therefore , in debunking the Southern symbols , the current demonstrators are not attacking the remnants of slavery , but denouncing the Southern vision of the Union .
It was particularly unfair to attack General Lee , who had put an end to the Civil War by refusing to pursue it with guerrilla warfare from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In any case , these degradations effectively pave the way for a fourth Anglo-Saxon civil war .
Today the notions of South and North no longer correspond to geographical realities : it would rather be Dallas against New York and Los Angeles .
Wealth and Democracy : ... Phillips , Kevin Best Price : $ 0.49 Buy New $ 15.99 It is not possible to choose the aspects of a country ’ s history that one considers good and to destroy those that one considers bad without calling into question everything that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referring to Richard Nixon ’ s 1968 election slogan , “ Law and Order , ” President Donald Trump is not trying to preach racist hatred as many commentators claim , but is returning to the thinking of the author of that slogan , Kevin Philipps ( quoted above ) .
He still intends to make Andrew Jackson ’ s thought triumph over Finance by relying on Southern culture and not to cause the disintegration of his country .
President Donald Trump finds himself in the situation Mikhail Gorbachev experienced at the end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s economy – not finance – has been in sharp decline for decades , but his fellow citizens refuse to acknowledge the consequences [ 5 ] .
The United States can only survive by setting new goals .
Such change is particularly difficult in times of recession .
Paradoxically , Donald Trump is clinging to the “ American dream ” ( i.e.
, the possibility of making a fortune ) when US society is stuck , the middle classes are disappearing , and new immigrants are no longer European .
At the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Wall Street and Silicon Valley ) are proposing a new model , but at the expense of the masses .
The problem of the USSR was different , but the situation was the same .
Gorbachev failed and it was dissolved .
It would be surprising if the next US president , whoever he may be , succeeded .
[ 1 ] American Nations .
A history of the 11 rival regional cultures of North America , Colin Woodard , Viking ( 2011 ) .
[ 4 ] “ What the mid-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , by Thierry Meyssan , Voltaire Network , 13 November 2018 .
[ 5 ] “ Trump , the US version of Gorbatchev ” , by Thierry Meyssan , Translation Pete Kimberley , Voltaire Network , 30 January 2018 .
The Best of Thierry Meyssan

Anti-racism protests in the United States have rapidly evolved into a promotion of the ideas championed by the Democratic Party. It was no longer a question of fighting for equality in law for all or challenging the prejudices of certain police officers, but of reopening a cultural conflict at the risk of a new Civil War.
Protests across the West against racism in the United States are masking the evolution of the conflict there. It has evolved from a questioning of the remnants of black slavery to a conflict that could challenge the integrity of the country.
Last week I pointed out that the United States should have disbanded after the break-up of the Soviet Union to which it was attached. However, the imperialist project (the “Endless War”) led by George W. Bush had made it possible to revive the country after the attacks of September 11, 2001. I also pointed out that in recent decades, the population had moved around a great deal in order to regroup by cultural affinity [1]. Inter-racial marriages were again becoming rare. I concluded that the integrity of the country would be threatened when non-black minorities entered the challenge [2]. American Theocracy: Th... Phillips, Kevin Best Price: $0.59 Buy New $2.98 (as of 05:24 UTC - Details)
This is precisely what we are witnessing today. The conflict is no longer between blacks and whites, since whites have become the majority in some anti-racist demonstrations, Hispanics and Asians have joined the processions, and the Democratic Party is now involved.
Since Bill Clinton’s term in office, the Democratic Party has identified with the process of financial globalization; a position that the Republican Party belatedly supported, without ever fully adopting it. Donald Trump represents a third path: that of the “American dream”, i.e. entrepreneurship as opposed to finance. He got elected by declaring America First! which did not refer to the pro-Nazi isolationist movement of the 1930s as claimed, but to the relocation of jobs as later verified. He was certainly supported by the Republican Party, but remains a “Jacksonian” and not a “conservative” at all.
As historian Kevin Phillips – Richard Nixon’s electoral adviser – has shown, Anglo-Saxon culture gave rise to three successive civil wars [3] :
the first English Civil War, known as the “Great Rebellion” (which pitted Lord Cromwell against Charles I 1642-1651);
the second English Civil War or “War of Independence from the United States” (1775-1783);
and the Third Anglo-Saxon Civil War or “Civil War” in the United States (1861-1865).
What we are witnessing today could lead to the fourth. This seems to be the view of former Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis, who recently told The Atlantic that he was concerned about President Trump’s divisive rather than unifying policies.
Let us go back to the history of the United States to see where the sides are. Populist President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) vetoed the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) established by Alexander Hamilton, one of the fathers of the Constitution, who favoured federalism because he was violently opposed to democracy. Just as Jackson’s disciple, Donald Trump, is today in opposition to the Fed. Bad Money: Reckless Fi... Phillips, Kevin Best Price: $1.44 Buy New $1.37 (as of 05:24 UTC - Details)
Twenty years after Jackson, came the “Civil War” to which today’s protesters all refer. According to them, it pitted a slave South against a humanist North. The movement that began with a racist news item (the lynching of black George Flyod by a white policeman from Minneapolis) continues today with the destruction of statues of southern generals, including Robert Lee. Actions of this type had already taken place in 2017 [4], but this time they are gaining momentum and governors from the Democratic Party are participating.
However, this narrative does not correspond at all to reality: at the beginning of the Civil War, both sides were slavers, and at the end, both sides were anti-slavers. The end of slavery owes nothing to the abolitionists and everything to the need for both sides to enlist new soldiers.
The Civil War pitted a rich, Catholic, agricultural South against a Protestant, industrial North aspiring to make a fortune. It crystallized around the issue of customs duties which the South believed should be set by the federal states, but which the North intended to abolish between the federal states and have the federal government determine.
Therefore, in debunking the Southern symbols, the current demonstrators are not attacking the remnants of slavery, but denouncing the Southern vision of the Union. It was particularly unfair to attack General Lee, who had put an end to the Civil War by refusing to pursue it with guerrilla warfare from the mountains and by choosing national unity. In any case, these degradations effectively pave the way for a fourth Anglo-Saxon civil war.
Today the notions of South and North no longer correspond to geographical realities: it would rather be Dallas against New York and Los Angeles. Wealth and Democracy: ... Phillips, Kevin Best Price: $0.49 Buy New $15.99 (as of 05:24 UTC - Details)
It is not possible to choose the aspects of a country’s history that one considers good and to destroy those that one considers bad without calling into question everything that has been built on it.
In referring to Richard Nixon’s 1968 election slogan, “Law and Order,” President Donald Trump is not trying to preach racist hatred as many commentators claim, but is returning to the thinking of the author of that slogan, Kevin Philipps (quoted above). He still intends to make Andrew Jackson’s thought triumph over Finance by relying on Southern culture and not to cause the disintegration of his country.
President Donald Trump finds himself in the situation Mikhail Gorbachev experienced at the end of the 1980s: his country’s economy – not finance – has been in sharp decline for decades, but his fellow citizens refuse to acknowledge the consequences [5]. The United States can only survive by setting new goals. Such change is particularly difficult in times of recession.
Paradoxically, Donald Trump is clinging to the “American dream” (i.e., the possibility of making a fortune) when US society is stuck, the middle classes are disappearing, and new immigrants are no longer European. At the same time only its opponents (the Fed, Wall Street and Silicon Valley) are proposing a new model, but at the expense of the masses.
The problem of the USSR was different, but the situation was the same. Gorbachev failed and it was dissolved. It would be surprising if the next US president, whoever he may be, succeeded.
—
[1] American Nations. A history of the 11 rival regional cultures of North America, Colin Woodard, Viking (2011).
[2] “USA: Race riots and separatist temptations”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Roger Lagassé, Voltaire Network, 1 June 2020.
[3] The Cousins’ Wars, Kevin Philipps, Basic Books, 1999.
[4] “What the mid-term elections tell us about US interior conflict”, by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 13 November 2018.
[5] “Trump, the US version of Gorbatchev”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Voltaire Network, 30 January 2018.
The Best of Thierry Meyssan


lewrockwell--2020-06-11--Unstoppable: The Greatest Depression and the Reverse Wealth Effect

We are entering The Greatest Depression because there is no exit .
I ’ ve endeavored to explain why The Greatest Depression is unstoppable in recent posts : The Covid-19 Dominoes Fall : The World Is Insolvent March 16 , 2020 Pandemic Pandemonium : The Tides of Globalization and Financialization Reverse March 31 , 2020 Here ’ s Why the Economy Won ’ t Recover–and No , It ’ s Not Covid-19 or the Lockdown April 23 , 2020 What ’ s Collapsing Can ’ t Be Saved : Our Fraudulent Economy April 22 , 2020 Will You Be Richer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Price : $ 10.99 Buy New $ 11.55 Why Assets Will Crash May 4 , 2020 Our Inevitable Collapse : We Can ’ t Save a Fragile Economy With Bailouts That Increase Fragility May 1 , 2020 Globalization and Financialization Are Dead , and so Is Everything That Depended on Them May 15 , 2020 Our Fate Is Sealed , Vaccines Won ’ t Matter : Four Long Cycles Align May 19 , 2020 Consumer Spending Will Not Rebound–Here ’ s Why May 18 , 2020 This Is How Systems Collapse May 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summarize all this as simply as possible : 1 .
The global economy ’ s cost structure has been fatally distorted by central bank policies of inflating asset bubbles and reducing interest rates to near-zero .
2 .
Earnings from labor have stagnated or eroded since the era of globalization / financialization took off around 2000 .
Survival+ : Structuring ... Smith , Charles Hugh Best Price : $ 2.99 Buy New $ 12.98 3 .
Everything costs too much , i.e .
is no longer affordable from earnings alone , so the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lifestyle is to borrow money and use it to pay current expenses .
This is true for every sector : household , corporate and government .
4 .
As a result , everyone now needs every dollar of income just to pay their expenses , including interest and principal on their rising debts .
There is no slack ( buffers ) in the system at all .
5 .
This can be visualized as a row of dominoes .
Once the first domino falls , every domino will be toppled .
For example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can no longer afford to go to a favorite restaurant .
The restaurant ’ s expenses are so high it can ’ t survive on reduced customer traffic , so it closes .
The commercial landlord ’ s expenses are so high that he can ’ t afford to lower rents , but since no business can afford high rents , the space is empty and the landlord goes bust .
The bank holding the mortgage then has to absorb a staggering loss because the property is no longer worth much because a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of expenses and no income .
Money and Work Unchained Charles Hugh Smith Best Price : $ 11.00 Buy New $ 1.99 Pathfinding our Destin ... Smith , Charles Hugh Best Price : $ 9.95 Buy New $ 12.00 The Best of Charles Hugh Smith

We are entering The Greatest Depression because there is no exit.
I’ve endeavored to explain why The Greatest Depression is unstoppable in recent posts:
The Covid-19 Dominoes Fall: The World Is Insolvent March 16, 2020
Pandemic Pandemonium: The Tides of Globalization and Financialization Reverse March 31, 2020
Here’s Why the Economy Won’t Recover–and No, It’s Not Covid-19 or the Lockdown April 23, 2020
What’s Collapsing Can’t Be Saved: Our Fraudulent Economy April 22, 2020 Will You Be Richer or ... Smith, Charles Hugh Best Price: $10.99 Buy New $11.55 (as of 05:55 UTC - Details)
Why Assets Will Crash May 4, 2020
Our Inevitable Collapse: We Can’t Save a Fragile Economy With Bailouts That Increase Fragility May 1, 2020
Globalization and Financialization Are Dead, and so Is Everything That Depended on Them May 15, 2020
Our Fate Is Sealed, Vaccines Won’t Matter: Four Long Cycles Align May 19, 2020
Consumer Spending Will Not Rebound–Here’s Why May 18, 2020
This Is How Systems Collapse May 30, 2020
I’ll try to summarize all this as simply as possible:
1. The global economy’s cost structure has been fatally distorted by central bank policies of inflating asset bubbles and reducing interest rates to near-zero.
2. Earnings from labor have stagnated or eroded since the era of globalization / financialization took off around 2000. Survival+: Structuring... Smith, Charles Hugh Best Price: $2.99 Buy New $12.98 (as of 11:30 UTC - Details)
3. Everything costs too much, i.e. is no longer affordable from earnings alone, so the only way to maintain the current costly lifestyle is to borrow money and use it to pay current expenses. This is true for every sector: household, corporate and government.
4. As a result, everyone now needs every dollar of income just to pay their expenses, including interest and principal on their rising debts. There is no slack (buffers) in the system at all.
5. This can be visualized as a row of dominoes. Once the first domino falls, every domino will be toppled.
For example: a worker is laid off and can no longer afford to go to a favorite restaurant. The restaurant’s expenses are so high it can’t survive on reduced customer traffic, so it closes. The commercial landlord’s expenses are so high that he can’t afford to lower rents, but since no business can afford high rents, the space is empty and the landlord goes bust. The bank holding the mortgage then has to absorb a staggering loss because the property is no longer worth much because a building without tenants is just a money-pit of expenses and no income.
Read the Whole Article
Money and Work Unchained Charles Hugh Smith Best Price: $11.00 Buy New $1.99 (as of 10:55 UTC - Details) Pathfinding our Destin... Smith, Charles Hugh Best Price: $9.95 Buy New $12.00 (as of 03:30 UTC - Details)
The Best of Charles Hugh Smith


lewrockwell--2020-06-11--Garden Tools: From Raised Beds to Large Gardens

There are a lot of new gardeners out there .
My husband and I choose to grow three different gardens this year so that we would have better access to fresh and safe foods during these uncertain times .
Also even during good times , the cost of salad greens and how quickly they went bad made it seem like a good choice .
When Matt and I were first starting out on the mountain , clearing property , we had very few tools .
Some were given to us while we bought others .
I can tell you that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hole diggers every year or two while getting this place the way it is today .
That ended when we finally bought a power auger .
There are a lot of cheap tools out there that can lead to frustration and cost you more in the long run because you have to rebuy them more often and they can make it far less enjoyable to do what you need to do .
Cheap tools can even lead to injury if they fail at key times .
That being said , there is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We still have a $ 5 garden hoe we bought at a discount store 10 years ago or more .
It seems like those types of treasures are harder to come by .
Bully Tools 82515 14-G ... Best Price : $ 71.00 Buy New $ 46.48 I am going to list some of the garden tools that you might want to consider .
If you have just a few raised beds , then shorter hand tools may be all that you really need , I have been sure to include some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( You can definitely garden without one but they can be handy at times . )
• Here are a few garden tools I found that are currently available and appear to be of decent quality .
• Add tools as you need them • Tools are becoming harder to find .
Bully Tools 92353 12-G ... Best Price : $ 81.00 Buy New $ 38.99 The tools in this category are those that may be helpful in some cases but are not really “ must haves ” .
• Leaf blower for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from any garden patio areas .
You can blow leaves into a pile and compost .
The alternative is to till them under .
• Hedge shear or hedge trimmers .
These are great if you have a lot of growth to cut back from fence lines or if you have some hedges or hedgerows in your garden • Garden cart for a mower .
A wheelbarrow is great but a cart can sure ease the workload if you have a way to pull it .
An ATV or UTV can also pull @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year , we realized just how worn out some of our tools were .
After over a decade of use , they were showing signs that now might be a good time to start thinking about replacements .
We are really hard on tools .
There is no telling how many bags of concrete got mixed using some fo our garden hoes .
I have been making an effort to avoid inferior tools and those that are at the bottom of the price range .
Considering that imported merchandise may not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of some factories due to the pandemic , I feel it is wise to buy tools that are really going to hold up well .
Bully Tools 92309 12-G ... Best Price : $ 64.00 Buy New $ 35.97 Bully Tools 92419 12-G ... Buy New $ 25.99

There are a lot of new gardeners out there. My husband and I choose to grow three different gardens this year so that we would have better access to fresh and safe foods during these uncertain times. Also even during good times, the cost of salad greens and how quickly they went bad made it seem like a good choice.
When Matt and I were first starting out on the mountain, clearing property, we had very few tools. Some were given to us while we bought others. I can tell you that we went through a set of post hole diggers every year or two while getting this place the way it is today. That ended when we finally bought a power auger.
There are a lot of cheap tools out there that can lead to frustration and cost you more in the long run because you have to rebuy them more often and they can make it far less enjoyable to do what you need to do. Cheap tools can even lead to injury if they fail at key times.
That being said, there is the occasional cheap tool that will surprise you. We still have a $5 garden hoe we bought at a discount store 10 years ago or more. It seems like those types of treasures are harder to come by. Bully Tools 82515 14-G... Best Price: $71.00 Buy New $46.48 (as of 05:26 UTC - Details)
I am going to list some of the garden tools that you might want to consider. If you have just a few raised beds, then shorter hand tools may be all that you really need, I have been sure to include some of those as well.
Garden Hoe
Mattock
Round or Spade Shovel
Cultivator Rake
Hand Trowel
Specialty Hoes
Garden Rake
Pruners
Kitchen shears for harvesting and fine trimming.
Pitchfork (You can definitely garden without one but they can be handy at times.)
Wheelbarrow
Garden Tools: From Raised Beds To Large Gardens
Bully Tools 92353 12-G... Best Price: $81.00 Buy New $38.99 (as of 05:26 UTC - Details) The tools in this category are those that may be helpful in some cases but are not really “must haves”.
Leaf blower for removing leaves certain times of year and from any garden patio areas. You can blow leaves into a pile and compost. The alternative is to till them under.
Hedge shear or hedge trimmers. These are great if you have a lot of growth to cut back from fence lines or if you have some hedges or hedgerows in your garden
Garden cart for a mower. A wheelbarrow is great but a cart can sure ease the workload if you have a way to pull it. An ATV or UTV can also pull a cart.
Brands
When we started gardening this year, we realized just how worn out some of our tools were. After over a decade of use, they were showing signs that now might be a good time to start thinking about replacements. We are really hard on tools. There is no telling how many bags of concrete got mixed using some fo our garden hoes.
I have been making an effort to avoid inferior tools and those that are at the bottom of the price range. Considering that imported merchandise may not be available as much and the limited capacity of some factories due to the pandemic, I feel it is wise to buy tools that are really going to hold up well.
Read the Whole Article
Bully Tools 92309 12-G... Best Price: $64.00 Buy New $35.97 (as of 05:26 UTC - Details) Bully Tools 92419 12-G... Buy New $25.99 (as of 05:26 UTC - Details)


lewrockwell--2020-06-11--Twitter Falsely Labels All Mercola Links as Unsafe

The documentary “ Plandemic ” by Mikki Willis has raised the ante on internet censorship to a whole new level .
Across the board , the film has been banned from social media platforms and hidden by Google .
If you do an online search for it , all you find are dozens of pages with articles calling it a hoax , a fraud or the dreaded old “ conspiracy theory.
” The film features Judy Mikovits , Ph.D. , a cellular and molecular biologist1 whose research showed that many vaccines are contaminated with gammaretroviruses , thanks to the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ animal cell lines .
A May 27 , 2020 , article2 in The Jewish Voice , which carries the telling headline , “ Washington Post Journalist Advocates Censorship of Controversial Dr. Judy Mikovits Film , as Stunning Censorship Grips World , ” notes : Plague : One Scientist & ... Mikovits , Judy Best Price : $ 29.55 Buy New $ 17.99 Indeed , it appears Google Drive has removed downloaded copies of the film from users ’ personal files at the request of The Washington Post.3 According to Reclaim the Net , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access to a hydroxychloroquine study:4 The question is , who decides what content is misleading or what health practices are harmful ?
Unequivocal scientific consensus is hard to find , no matter what we ’ re talking about .
As long as we have scientists looking into things , the science on any given topic will never be fully settled .
Hence , avoiding conflicting viewpoints and differing scientific findings will be virtually impossible .
If we shut down viewpoints ( especially by scientists ) that veer from the status quo of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exist .
It will become pointless , if it isn ’ t already .
We ’ ll have to settle for the personal opinions of our leaders , be they elected or unelected , like Bill Gates .
It ’ s hard to fathom that in this 21st century , we ’ re on a fast-track into a new intellectual Dark Age .
Plague : One Scientist & ... Mikovits , Judy Best Price : $ 29.55 Buy New $ 17.99 Mikovits is by no means the only voice being censored these days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wittkowski , Ph.D. , DSc , an epidemiologist and former head of biostatistics , epidemiology and research design at Rockefeller University , of all places .
His video , in which he challenges the wisdom of lockdown orders , was removed by YouTube for “ violating community standards ” after garnering nearly 1.5 million views .
When asked why he thought “ there is so much pushback ” to his line of reasoning , he replied,5 “ Because I think so many people have invested so much of their ego and so they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a little bit too much.
” A YouTube spokesperson defended the company ’ s actions , saying:6 YouTube Censors on Behalf of the WHO Indeed , YouTube ’ s CEO has gone on record saying they will censor anyone speaking against the World Health Organization .
This despite the fact that WHO has been severely criticized for its handling of other pandemics , including the 2009 swine flu pandemic.7 In June 2010 , the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly ( PACE ) concluded “ the handling of the pandemic by the World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health agencies and national governments led to a ‘ waste of large sums of public money , and unjustified scares and fears about the health risks faced by the European public.
’ ” 8 Specifically , PACE concluded there was “ overwhelming evidence that the seriousness of the pandemic was vastly overrated by WHO , ” and that the drug industry had influenced the organization ’ s decision-making.9 There can be little doubt we ’ re seeing the same thing happening now , as we ’ re all told we can not go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we get a vaccine and inoculate the whole world .
There ’ s no guarantee that WHO is making correct , unbiased decisions .
In fact , the evidence points in the opposite direction , given the power Bill Gates wields over the organization .
This is precisely why one must not silence experts who challenge the narrative and point out flaws in any given plan .
This is particularly true right now , as the current situation is unprecedented and health authorities are making up guidance as they go .
Even the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on certain aspects of the pandemic response , such as whether people should10 or should not11 wear a mask .
Plague of Corruption : ... Mikovits , Judy Buy New $ 16.51 YouTube ’ s censorship becomes even more questionable when you consider it was caught automatically deleting comments insulting the Chinese Communist Party .
Only in this case , YouTube claims the censorship was due to “ an error in our enforcement systems.
” 12 No explanation was given as to how such an error might have arisen .
However , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be the first time YouTube has catered to the Chinese government ’ s desire for censorship .
They even created a prototype search engine for China , known as Project Dragonfly , that would comply with Chinese state censorship .
Criticism from American politicians and its own employees led to YouTube scrubbing the project.14 As discussed in “ Shocking Proof How Google Censors Health News , ” mid-2019 , Google started going to great lengths burying Mercola.com in its search results .
Google ’ s advertising network along with Google analytics run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , serving as the largest surveillance and data mining system in the world .
I ’ ve erected a firewall that prevents Google scripts from running on my pages altogether .
Twitter now falsely labels any and all Mercola article links as unsafe and malicious , warning potential readers my site might steal passwords and other personal data , or install malware on your computer — a tactic that decreases views by about 95 % .
This is absolutely false .
On the contrary , my site is now set up to protect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data mining .
All of these examples are part of Silicon Valley ’ s surveillance capitalism apparatus .
It ’ s all about controlling entire populations and shaping public opinion to benefit certain companies , industries and/or political parties .
And it ’ s shockingly effective .
Google ’ s search algorithms alone have the power to shift 15 million votes leading up to the 2020 presidential election , according to calculations — all without leaving a paper trail .
You can learn more about this in “ Google — A Dictator Unlike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” in which I interview Robert Epstein , Ph.D. , a senior research psychologist for the American Institute of Behavioral Research and Technology , where for the last decade he has helped expose Google ’ s manipulative and deceptive practices .
May 28 , 2020 , just two days after Twitter added a fact-check to one of President Trump ’ s tweets about mail-in ballots being a vehicle for election fraud , calling the post “ potentially misleading , ” the President signed an Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship15 requiring the Federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23016 of the Communications Decency Act .
Within 60 days , the Secretary of Commerce , “ in consultation with the Attorney General , and acting through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ( NTIA ) , ” are required to file a petition for rulemaking with the FCC , and the FCC is asked to act “ expeditiously ” in presenting its regulations .
Summary of Plague of C ...
Summaries , Quik Buy New $ 9.49 According to Trump , the executive order is intended to “ defend free speech from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faced in American history.
” He added:17 Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is what , so far , has allowed social media platforms to pick and choose what they allow on their site while still being afforded legal protections .
In simple terms , if you ’ re an internet service provider , you ’ re not liable for what users are posting on your platform , but you still have the right to block harmful content ( such as pornography ) provided it ’ s done in good faith .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the other hand , you can be held legally responsible for the content you post , and therefore have free reign over the viewpoints you will or will not allow .
Social media giants like Twitter and Facebook have long asserted that they are internet service providers , and therefore not liable for content .
Yet they systematically censor only certain points of view , which is the complete opposite of what Section 230 sought to achieve .
As noted in the executive order:18 We ’ ll have to patiently wait to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the next few months , but it seems clear Section 230 is now doing far more harm than good .
Far from protecting free speech , it ’ s being used as a liability shield for Big Tech monopolies seeking to establish some sort of dictatorship where only one point of view is allowed to exist , and all others are mercilessly suppressed or erased altogether .
We simply can not achieve good health , let alone democracy , without uncensored free speech and the right and ability to access different points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joseph Mercola

The documentary “Plandemic” by Mikki Willis has raised the ante on internet censorship to a whole new level. Across the board, the film has been banned from social media platforms and hidden by Google. If you do an online search for it, all you find are dozens of pages with articles calling it a hoax, a fraud or the dreaded old “conspiracy theory.”
The film features Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., a cellular and molecular biologist1 whose research showed that many vaccines are contaminated with gammaretroviruses, thanks to the fact that they use viruses grown in contaminated animal cell lines.
A May 27, 2020, article2 in The Jewish Voice, which carries the telling headline, “Washington Post Journalist Advocates Censorship of Controversial Dr. Judy Mikovits Film, as Stunning Censorship Grips World,” notes: Plague: One Scientist&... Mikovits, Judy Best Price: $29.55 Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:10 UTC - Details)
“When The Jewish Voice posted the 20 minute preview of Dr. Judy Mikovitz’ documentary ‘Plandemic’ our website literally crashed for 24 hours straight due to huge traffic … The movie is about vaccines and pandemics and her views on Bill Gates and others. Is the 20-minute preview controversial, absolutely — is this material dangerous? Absolutely not.
It’s frightening enough that YouTube and just about every other social media platform, insisted on censoring a 20-minute preview of an unreleased documentary, but we are at a point where actual journalists are advocating for censorship. Journalists basically live by the values of the First Amendment …
In an article reporting on the take-down of the video, The Washington Post’s Silicon Valley Correspondent Elizabeth Dwoskin complained that after the coronavirus documentary Plandemic was censored on social media, some YouTube clips were telling users how to access “banned footage” from the documentary via Google Drive …
This gets even more incredible. The ‘journalist’ then brags that The Washington Post contacted Google and Google Drive took down a file featuring the trailer for the ‘Plandemic’ documentary.
In other words, the Washington Post has a writer working for them that is so vehemently anti-free speech, she contacted Google and now reports are circulating that people’s personal copies of the video are vanishing from their Google Drives! …
We are entering a terrifying new era, a world where censorship is common and the guardians of free speech — journalists, are standing up for… censorship!”
Google Drive Removes Private Content
Indeed, it appears Google Drive has removed downloaded copies of the film from users’ personal files at the request of The Washington Post.3 According to Reclaim the Net, Google Drive has also been caught blocking access to a hydroxychloroquine study:4
“For many Google Drive users, the service is their only file storage solution and they use it to save copies of videos and posts that have been deleted or censored on other platforms.
If this precedent continues, it could mean these users have their only copy of content that has been scrubbed from social media platforms taken down because they shared a link to those files with other people.
According to Google Drive’s policies, distributing what Google deems to be ‘misleading content related to civic and democratic processes,’ ‘misleading content related to harmful health practices,’ ‘manipulated media’ is prohibited with possible exceptions when the content is used in an ‘educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context.’”
The question is, who decides what content is misleading or what health practices are harmful? Unequivocal scientific consensus is hard to find, no matter what we’re talking about. As long as we have scientists looking into things, the science on any given topic will never be fully settled.
Hence, avoiding conflicting viewpoints and differing scientific findings will be virtually impossible. If we shut down viewpoints (especially by scientists) that veer from the status quo of the day, science will simply cease to exist.
It will become pointless, if it isn’t already. We’ll have to settle for the personal opinions of our leaders, be they elected or unelected, like Bill Gates. It’s hard to fathom that in this 21st century, we’re on a fast-track into a new intellectual Dark Age. Plague: One Scientist&... Mikovits, Judy Best Price: $29.55 Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:10 UTC - Details)
Epidemiologist Censored for Countering Lockdown Narrative
Mikovits is by no means the only voice being censored these days. Another example is that of Knut Wittkowski, Ph.D., DSc, an epidemiologist and former head of biostatistics, epidemiology and research design at Rockefeller University, of all places.
His video, in which he challenges the wisdom of lockdown orders, was removed by YouTube for “violating community standards” after garnering nearly 1.5 million views.
When asked why he thought “there is so much pushback” to his line of reasoning, he replied,5 “Because I think so many people have invested so much of their ego and so they have a problem acknowledging that maybe it was a little bit too much.” A YouTube spokesperson defended the company’s actions, saying:6
“We quickly remove flagged content that violates our Community Guidelines, including content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of global or local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance. We are committed to continue providing timely and helpful information at this critical time.”
YouTube Censors on Behalf of the WHO
Indeed, YouTube’s CEO has gone on record saying they will censor anyone speaking against the World Health Organization. This despite the fact that WHO has been severely criticized for its handling of other pandemics, including the 2009 swine flu pandemic.7
In June 2010, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) concluded “the handling of the pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), EU health agencies and national governments led to a ‘waste of large sums of public money, and unjustified scares and fears about the health risks faced by the European public.’”8
Specifically, PACE concluded there was “overwhelming evidence that the seriousness of the pandemic was vastly overrated by WHO,” and that the drug industry had influenced the organization’s decision-making.9 There can be little doubt we’re seeing the same thing happening now, as we’re all told we cannot go back to normal life until or unless we get a vaccine and inoculate the whole world.
There’s no guarantee that WHO is making correct, unbiased decisions. In fact, the evidence points in the opposite direction, given the power Bill Gates wields over the organization.
This is precisely why one must not silence experts who challenge the narrative and point out flaws in any given plan. This is particularly true right now, as the current situation is unprecedented and health authorities are making up guidance as they go.
Even the CDC and WHO are issuing conflicting recommendations on certain aspects of the pandemic response, such as whether people should10 or should not11 wear a mask.
YouTube Deletes Criticism of Chinese Communist Party
Plague of Corruption: ... Mikovits, Judy Buy New $16.51 (as of 02:59 UTC - Details) YouTube’s censorship becomes even more questionable when you consider it was caught automatically deleting comments insulting the Chinese Communist Party. Only in this case, YouTube claims the censorship was due to “an error in our enforcement systems.”12 No explanation was given as to how such an error might have arisen. However, as reported by The Verge:13
“… if the deletions are the result of a simple mistake, then it’s one that’s gone unnoticed for six months. The Verge found evidence that comments were being deleted as early as October 2019, when the issue was raised on YouTube’s official help pages and multiple users confirmed that they had experienced the same problem.
Comments left under videos or in live streams that contain the words “共匪” (‘communist bandit’) or “五毛” (‘50-cent party’) are automatically deleted in around 15 seconds, though their English language translations and Romanized Pinyin equivalents are not.
The term ‘共匪’ is an insult that dates back to China’s Nationalist government, while ‘五毛,’ (or ‘wu mao’) is a derogatory slang term for internet users paid to direct online discussion away from criticism of the CCP. The name comes from claims that such commenters are paid 50 Chinese cents per post.”
This certainly would not be the first time YouTube has catered to the Chinese government’s desire for censorship. They even created a prototype search engine for China, known as Project Dragonfly, that would comply with Chinese state censorship. Criticism from American politicians and its own employees led to YouTube scrubbing the project.14
Twitter Falsely Labels All Mercola Links as Unsafe
As discussed in “Shocking Proof How Google Censors Health News,” mid-2019, Google started going to great lengths burying Mercola.com in its search results. Google’s advertising network along with Google analytics run on a majority of all internet websites, serving as the largest surveillance and data mining system in the world. I’ve erected a firewall that prevents Google scripts from running on my pages altogether.
Twitter now falsely labels any and all Mercola article links as unsafe and malicious, warning potential readers my site might steal passwords and other personal data, or install malware on your computer — a tactic that decreases views by about 95%. This is absolutely false. On the contrary, my site is now set up to protect all readers from Google’s intrusive data mining.
All of these examples are part of Silicon Valley’s surveillance capitalism apparatus. It’s all about controlling entire populations and shaping public opinion to benefit certain companies, industries and/or political parties. And it’s shockingly effective. Google’s search algorithms alone have the power to shift 15 million votes leading up to the 2020 presidential election, according to calculations — all without leaving a paper trail.
You can learn more about this in “Google — A Dictator Unlike Anything the World Has Ever Known,” in which I interview Robert Epstein, Ph.D., a senior research psychologist for the American Institute of Behavioral Research and Technology, where for the last decade he has helped expose Google’s manipulative and deceptive practices.
White House Seeks to Defend Free Speech
May 28, 2020, just two days after Twitter added a fact-check to one of President Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots being a vehicle for election fraud, calling the post “potentially misleading,” the President signed an Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship15 requiring the Federal Communications Commission to clarify regulations under Section 23016 of the Communications Decency Act.
Within 60 days, the Secretary of Commerce, “in consultation with the Attorney General, and acting through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA),” are required to file a petition for rulemaking with the FCC, and the FCC is asked to act “expeditiously” in presenting its regulations. Summary of Plague of C... Summaries, Quik Buy New $9.49 (as of 05:28 UTC - Details)
According to Trump, the executive order is intended to “defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history.” He added:17
“A small handful of social media monopolies controls a vast portion of all public and private communications in the United States. They’ve had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter, virtually any form of communication between private citizens and large public audiences …
In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand-pick the speech that Americans may access and convey on the internet.
This practice is fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic. When large, powerful social media companies censor opinions with which they disagree, they exercise a dangerous power.”
Social Media Giants May Lose Section 230 Protection
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is what, so far, has allowed social media platforms to pick and choose what they allow on their site while still being afforded legal protections.
In simple terms, if you’re an internet service provider, you’re not liable for what users are posting on your platform, but you still have the right to block harmful content (such as pornography) provided it’s done in good faith. If you’re a publisher, on the other hand, you can be held legally responsible for the content you post, and therefore have free reign over the viewpoints you will or will not allow.
Social media giants like Twitter and Facebook have long asserted that they are internet service providers, and therefore not liable for content. Yet they systematically censor only certain points of view, which is the complete opposite of what Section 230 sought to achieve. As noted in the executive order:18
“Section 230(c) was designed to address early court decisions holding that, if an online platform restricted access to some content posted by others, it would thereby become a ‘publisher’ of all the content posted on its site for purposes of torts such as defamation.
As the title of section 230(c) makes clear, the provision provides limited liability ‘protection’ to a provider of an interactive computer service (such as an online platform) that engages in ‘’Good Samaritan’ blocking’ of harmful content.
In particular, the Congress sought to provide protections for online platforms that attempted to protect minors from harmful content and intended to ensure that such providers would not be discouraged from taking down harmful material.
The provision was also intended to further the express vision of the Congress that the internet is a ‘forum for a true diversity of political discourse’ … The limited protections provided by the statute should be construed with these purposes in mind.
In particular, subparagraph (c)(2) expressly addresses protections from ‘civil liability’ and specifies that an interactive computer service provider may not be made liable ‘on account of’ its decision in ‘good faith’ to restrict access to content that it considers to be ‘obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing or otherwise objectionable.’
It is the policy of the United States to ensure that, to the maximum extent permissible under the law, this provision is not distorted to provide liability protection for online platforms that — far from acting in ‘good faith’ to remove objectionable content — instead engage in deceptive or pretextual actions (often contrary to their stated terms of service) to stifle viewpoints with which they disagree.
Section 230 was not intended to allow a handful of companies to grow into titans controlling vital avenues for our national discourse under the guise of promoting open forums for debate, and then to provide those behemoths blanket immunity when they use their power to censor content and silence viewpoints that they dislike.
When an interactive computer service provider removes or restricts access to content and its actions do not meet the criteria of subparagraph (c)(2)(A), it is engaged in editorial conduct.
It is the policy of the United States that such a provider should properly lose the limited liability shield of subparagraph (c)(2)(A) and be exposed to liability like any traditional editor and publisher that is not an online provider.”
We’ll have to patiently wait to see what the FCC comes up with over the next few months, but it seems clear Section 230 is now doing far more harm than good. Far from protecting free speech, it’s being used as a liability shield for Big Tech monopolies seeking to establish some sort of dictatorship where only one point of view is allowed to exist, and all others are mercilessly suppressed or erased altogether.
We simply cannot achieve good health, let alone democracy, without uncensored free speech and the right and ability to access different points of view equally.
Sources and References
The Best of Dr. Joseph Mercola