thestream--2020-07-14--Bari Weiss Nukes The New York Times

Bari Weiss Nukes The New York Times

The resignation of writer and editor Bari Weiss from The New York Times just shocked the journalism world .
Weiss , a classical liberal , proved willing to hear conservative voices .
She dropped this bomb in the form of a resignation letter : Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times .
But Twitter has become its ultimate editor .
As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper , the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space .
Stories are chosen and told in a way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions .
I was always taught that journalists were charged with writing the first rough draft of history .
Now , history itself is one more ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative .
Weiss claims she was harassed by other staff .
They would not tolerate her willingness to air libertarian , conservative and religious voices .
“ My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This kind of blackballing by the media has been going on for decades .
In the early 1990 I found myself blackballed by The Washington Post .
Then I watched years later as the paper tried to destroy me .
Thanks to social media and direct competition from opposing talent , the Post ’ s hatchet men were revealed as incompetent frauds .
I was born in Washington , D.C. , and raised in a journalism home .
My father worked at National Geographic , just a couple blocks from the Post .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ field trip to the paper .
I remember the holy solemnity we observed entering the brutalist environs of 15 and L. It was the sacred space of sages like Woodward and Bernstein .
George Will , Richard Cohen , Meg Greenfield , Tom Shales , Sally Quinn , and of course editor Benjamin C. Bradlee were celebrities .
In the mid 1980s , my brother was a successful actor in Washington .
He won the Helen Hayes Award , given to the region ’ s best actor .
Sure , the award was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after party was a thrill .
But the next day he was on the front of the Style section in the Post .
He had made it .
My Big Chance at the Big Leagues Then came the day in 1989 when I got a call from the paper .
I was working at a record store .
I had written a letter complaining about an essay they ’ d run , and they liked my letter .
So they wanted me to come in and talk .
I was 25 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American journalism .
I met with the editors of the Outlook section — the Sunday op/ed part .
They invited me to write “ about whatever you want.
” I didn ’ t even feel my feet touch the sidewalk as I walked from the Post building to my dad ’ s office at National Geographic for a congratulatory lunch .
David Ignatius was then the editor of the Outlook section .
( He ’ s now a columnist for the paper .
It turneed out that he ’ d announced that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ misfits , outcasts.
” He wanted folks who had something interesting to say , who could add sparks to the paper .
I did wind up writing several pieces for the Post , most often the Outlook section , over the years .
I became more and more aware of what the parameters were .
Nothing pro-life , nothing too blatantly Christian , nothing arguing about natural law or homosexuality .
Editors made exceptions for performances of conservative switchback , like when Laura Ingraham wrote about her love for her gay brother .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience .
It came from the book The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch .
His astonishing critique of modern leftism and its novel cocktail of rage and psychological need changed the trajectory of my thinking .
If made me seriously question my young radicalism .
So of course , I ran up against the liberal orthodoxy at the Post .
The most striking instance ?
In 1994 , when Outlook ran , at a full page , an op–ed/essay of mine about saving the Howard Theater .
That ’ s one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I went into detail about the history of the Howard , but something strange happened to my copy when I got to the 1960s .
I had referred to the “ moral and cultural collapse ” that had destroyed the Howard and surrounding neighborhood .
I recounted how drugs , rioting , and black racism had brought down that part of town .
The night before the paper came out , I got a call .
My phrase “ moral and cultural collapse ” morphed into to “ social upheaval.
” Note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editorial section .
So you ’ re suppose to be free to … editorialize a little .
I let it go , and eventually started writing record reviews for the Style section .
I soon found another problem there .
One album I reviewed reminded me of Easter imagery .
So I noted that in the piece .
It came back rejected .
I simply removed the Easter reference and sent it to a different editor .
It appeared two days later .
Even as a literary device , allusions to Christianity were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
In 1996 , after my father died of cancer , I made a decision .
I would write with total freedom , with all my soul , or not at all .
Modern liberalism has no limiting principle , and I could see the future .
The media was was hurtling towards a nightmare right out of Darkness at Noon .
That means show trials , horrible and laughable mistakes , total ideological conformity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone at the Post or the New York Times that such conformity would mean factual mistakes .
Conversely there was no one on the right we could tell to pump the brakes when a story was not vetted .
In the age of social media , the press is like a speed-balling addict .
A military metaphor is also useful : the press has become Xerxes in the movie 300 .
In it , the Persian dictator arrogantly crashes ahead with his army , convinced of his own godhood , not tolerating any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like the retort defiant Spartan king Leonidas gives to Xerxes : Mark Judge is a writer and filmmaker in Washington , D.C .

Bari Weiss has escaped the gulag.
The resignation of writer and editor Bari Weiss from The New York Times just shocked the journalism world. Weiss, a classical liberal, proved willing to hear conservative voices. She dropped this bomb in the form of a resignation letter:
Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor. As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space. Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions. I was always taught that journalists were charged with writing the first rough draft of history. Now, history itself is one more ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative.
Weiss claims she was harassed by other staff. They would not tolerate her willingness to air libertarian, conservative and religious voices. “My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views.”
Decades of Self-Hypnosis and Bias
This kind of blackballing by the media has been going on for decades. In the early 1990 I found myself blackballed by The Washington Post. Then I watched years later as the paper tried to destroy me. Thanks to social media and direct competition from opposing talent, the Post’s hatchet men were revealed as incompetent frauds.
I was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in a journalism home. My father worked at National Geographic, just a couple blocks from the Post. In grade school we went on a field trip to the paper. I remember the holy solemnity we observed entering the brutalist environs of 15 and L. It was the sacred space of sages like Woodward and Bernstein. George Will, Richard Cohen, Meg Greenfield, Tom Shales, Sally Quinn, and of course editor Benjamin C. Bradlee were celebrities.
In the mid 1980s, my brother was a successful actor in Washington. He won the Helen Hayes Award, given to the region’s best actor. Sure, the award was great, and meeting celebrities at the after party was a thrill. But the next day he was on the front of the Style section in the Post. He had made it.
My Big Chance at the Big Leagues
Then came the day in 1989 when I got a call from the paper. I was working at a record store. I had written a letter complaining about an essay they’d run, and they liked my letter. So they wanted me to come in and talk. I was 25, and being invited into the sanctum sanctorum of American journalism. I met with the editors of the Outlook section — the Sunday op/ed part. They invited me to write “about whatever you want.”
Even as a literary device, allusions to Christianity were not acceptable.
I didn’t even feel my feet touch the sidewalk as I walked from the Post building to my dad’s office at National Geographic for a congratulatory lunch. David Ignatius was then the editor of the Outlook section. (He’s now a columnist for the paper. It turneed out that he’d announced that the Post should hire more “weirdos, misfits, outcasts.” He wanted folks who had something interesting to say, who could add sparks to the paper.
I did wind up writing several pieces for the Post, most often the Outlook section, over the years. I became more and more aware of what the parameters were. Nothing pro-life, nothing too blatantly Christian, nothing arguing about natural law or homosexuality. Editors made exceptions for performances of conservative switchback, like when Laura Ingraham wrote about her love for her gay brother.
Surprised by Narcissism
In 1990 I had a concussive intellectual experience. It came from the book The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch. His astonishing critique of modern leftism and its novel cocktail of rage and psychological need changed the trajectory of my thinking. If made me seriously question my young radicalism. So of course, I ran up against the liberal orthodoxy at the Post.
The most striking instance? In 1994, when Outlook ran, at a full page, an op–ed/essay of mine about saving the Howard Theater. That’s one of the oldest historical black theaters in America. I went into detail about the history of the Howard, but something strange happened to my copy when I got to the 1960s. I had referred to the “moral and cultural collapse” that had destroyed the Howard and surrounding neighborhood. I recounted how drugs, rioting, and black racism had brought down that part of town.
The night before the paper came out, I got a call. My phrase “moral and cultural collapse” morphed into to “social upheaval.” Note: this was an editorial in the editorial section. So you’re suppose to be free to … editorialize a little. I let it go, and eventually started writing record reviews for the Style section.
Christian References Canceled
I soon found another problem there. One album I reviewed reminded me of Easter imagery. So I noted that in the piece. It came back rejected. I simply removed the Easter reference and sent it to a different editor. It appeared two days later. Even as a literary device, allusions to Christianity were not acceptable.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In 1996, after my father died of cancer, I made a decision. I would write with total freedom, with all my soul, or not at all. Modern liberalism has no limiting principle, and I could see the future. The media was was hurtling towards a nightmare right out of Darkness at Noon. That means show trials, horrible and laughable mistakes, total ideological conformity, even violence.
A Juggernaut Headed Straight for a Cliff
There was no convincing anyone at the Post or the New York Times that such conformity would mean factual mistakes. Conversely there was no one on the right we could tell to pump the brakes when a story was not vetted. In the age of social media, the press is like a speed-balling addict.
A military metaphor is also useful: the press has become Xerxes in the movie 300. In it, the Persian dictator arrogantly crashes ahead with his army, convinced of his own godhood, not tolerating any resistance. Weiss’s letter is like the retort defiant Spartan king Leonidas gives to Xerxes:
The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, even a god-king can bleed.
Mark Judge is a writer and filmmaker in Washington, D.C.


thestream--2020-07-14--From ‘Am I Not a Man?’ to ‘Am I Not a Baby?’

Among the approved messages NBA players can put on their jerseys this season is “ I Am a Man.
” Presumably , this goes back to the famous abolitionist image depicting a black slave in chains with the caption , “ Am I not a man and a brother ?
” Abolitionists like William Wilberforce understood that a major key to breaking the power of the slave trade was to humanize the black slave .
Once that was done , despite the economic arguments in favor of slavery , the moral arguments would prevail and the backbone of slavery would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , first in England and the British Empire and then in the United States .
Of course , there were many obstacles to overcome , since the black man was viewed as morally and spiritually inferior to the white man .
But once he was viewed as a fellow-human being with feelings , with relationships , with goals , with desires , as someone who loved and felt pain just as the white man did , slavery had to end .
Pro-life leaders have understood this principle for years , recognizing that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ womb was viewed as “ a clump of cells , ” the baby was an “ it ” rather than a girl or a boy .
Even calling the baby a fetus — which is scientifically accurate — helped to dehumanize the personhood of the child .
After all , no expectant mother says , “ Look at my fetus bump !
” Or , “ Honey , the fetus just kicked !
” And no one asks , “ What are you naming the fetus ?
” People refer to “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the fetus.
” Speaking of eliminating a baby in the womb is much more difficult .
Even more extreme is the idea that the baby is just a “ tumor , ” an unwanted , potentially harmful appendage intruding in the mother ’ s body .
As expressed by pro-abortion feminist Florence Thomas ( speaking of her abortion in France in the mid-1960s ) , she felt “ a relief .
An immense relief .
This tumor went away , disappeared .
I could go back to living.
” But if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there is a precious human life in the womb , a child with potential and destiny and purpose , a tiny person replete with DNA coding and all , then they would be much less likely to abort that baby .
That ’ s why ultrasound images have helped reduce abortions .
Once the mother sees the reality of the life inside her , her perspective often changes .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Review in 2015 , “ Ever-sharper images make it ever harder to deny the humanity of an unborn child.
” He continued : One of the most profound pro-life moments of 2014 came at the hands of an unborn child whose ‘ thumbs-up ’ bore a striking resemblance to the trademark gesture of Arthur “ Fonzie ” Fonzarelli .
A photo of the ultrasound went viral and inspired mothers to share images of their own unborn children .
Millions of people were exposed to a strong pro-life message , even if many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
Even the major news networks , normally reliable shills for “ reproductive justice , ” admitted that they were indeed seeing pictures of babies .
When Thinking About Justice , Do Not Forget the Little Ones It is with the power of these images in mind that I asked my graphics team to create a meme putting two images side by side , the iconic black slave in chains on the left and a baby in the womb on the right .
Beneath each image was the appropriate text .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a man and a brother ?
” For the baby , “ Am I not a baby and a sister ?
” And we posted the meme with a question : Are you on the right side of history ?
It is our prayer that God will use this simple meme to help awaken the conscience of many in this generation .
If we do not care about “ the least of these , ” we will not care about the rest .
Mother Teresa was not exaggerating when she said , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ body of the baby and it kills the conscience of the mother.
” It also kills the conscience of the nation .
At this critical time in our nation ’ s history , when important questions about justice and equality are being raised , let us not lose sight of the little ones , hidden from sight yet terminated and discarded by the hour .
May we rally together on their behalf .
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Will We Pass the Trump Test ?
Connect with him on Facebook , Twitter or YouTube .

Among the approved messages NBA players can put on their jerseys this season is “I Am a Man.” Presumably, this goes back to the famous abolitionist image depicting a black slave in chains with the caption, “Am I not a man and a brother?”
Abolitionists like William Wilberforce understood that a major key to breaking the power of the slave trade was to humanize the black slave. Once that was done, despite the economic arguments in favor of slavery, the moral arguments would prevail and the backbone of slavery would be broken.
And so it happened, first in England and the British Empire and then in the United States.
Recognizing Shared Humanity Ends Slavery
Of course, there were many obstacles to overcome, since the black man was viewed as morally and spiritually inferior to the white man. But once he was viewed as a fellow-human being with feelings, with relationships, with goals, with desires, as someone who loved and felt pain just as the white man did, slavery had to end.
Pro-life leaders have understood this principle for years, recognizing that, to the extent the baby in the womb was viewed as “a clump of cells,” the baby was an “it” rather than a girl or a boy.
People refer to “the fetus” when they want to eliminate “the fetus.”
Even calling the baby a fetus — which is scientifically accurate — helped to dehumanize the personhood of the child. After all, no expectant mother says, “Look at my fetus bump!” Or, “Honey, the fetus just kicked!” And no one asks, “What are you naming the fetus?”
People refer to “the fetus” when they want to eliminate “the fetus.” Speaking of eliminating a baby in the womb is much more difficult.
Even more extreme is the idea that the baby is just a “tumor,” an unwanted, potentially harmful appendage intruding in the mother’s body. As expressed by pro-abortion feminist Florence Thomas (speaking of her abortion in France in the mid-1960s), she felt “a relief. An immense relief. This tumor went away, disappeared. I could go back to living.”
Recognizing Shared Humanity Saves Lives
But if the mother (and father) can recognize that there is a precious human life in the womb, a child with potential and destiny and purpose, a tiny person replete with DNA coding and all, then they would be much less likely to abort that baby.
That’s why ultrasound images have helped reduce abortions. Once the mother sees the reality of the life inside her, her perspective often changes.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
As noted by Howard Slugh in the National Review in 2015, “Ever-sharper images make it ever harder to deny the humanity of an unborn child.” He continued:
One of the most profound pro-life moments of 2014 came at the hands of an unborn child whose ‘thumbs-up’ bore a striking resemblance to the trademark gesture of Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. A photo of the ultrasound went viral and inspired mothers to share images of their own unborn children. Millions of people were exposed to a strong pro-life message, even if many of them did not realize it at the time. Even the major news networks, normally reliable shills for “reproductive justice,” admitted that they were indeed seeing pictures of babies.
When Thinking About Justice, Do Not Forget the Little Ones
It is with the power of these images in mind that I asked my graphics team to create a meme putting two images side by side, the iconic black slave in chains on the left and a baby in the womb on the right. Beneath each image was the appropriate text. For the slave, “Am I not a man and a brother?” For the baby, “Am I not a baby and a sister?”
And we posted the meme with a question: Are you on the right side of history?
It is our prayer that God will use this simple meme to help awaken the conscience of many in this generation. If we do not care about “the least of these,” we will not care about the rest.
Mother Teresa was not exaggerating when she said, “Abortion kills twice. It kills the body of the baby and it kills the conscience of the mother.” It also kills the conscience of the nation.
At this critical time in our nation’s history, when important questions about justice and equality are being raised, let us not lose sight of the little ones, hidden from sight yet terminated and discarded by the hour.
May we rally together on their behalf.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-07-14--Joy Break: Officer Shares Meal With Homeless Man

When we turn on our televisions or smart phones we are bombarded with news that brings us down .
Where are all the good stories ?
They ’ re still there .
Here ’ s one that we hope will bless you .
A kind gesture by a Columbia County , Florida , Sheriff ’ s deputy was captured on film and has gone viral .
Brownie Lyons posted on July 2 that she witnessed Sheriff ’ s deputy and shift supervisor Corporal Shane Foote sharing a meal with a homeless man .
“ My husband and I were at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer stopped , ” Lyons told WCJB .
“ He pulled over and opened his back door and was getting something out of the back seat .
It turned out to be the chair he ’ s sitting in .
We were wondering if he was going to talk to the guy about being on the street but when we pulled out , he had set up the food and was sitting down with him eating.
” She added , “ I actually took this picture while my husband was driving by .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and personally it doesn ’ t matter if he ’ s in law enforcement or not .
I wanted to show that there are people who do good things and not always for recognition.
” She posted the picture on Facebook as a “ feel good ” moment .
“ So many times officers , paramedics , EMTs , and nurses like myself do a lot of good things according to our hearts to serve not for anything else .
It takes very little effort to show kindness .
I try very hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m treated .
A kind word or gesture goes a long way.
” Lyons said that her son realized he went to school with Foote .
He also posted the image and tagged the officer .
Lyons ’ son told her , “ That ’ s Shane all day everyday !
” The Columbia County Sheriff Office told WCJB that Foote ’ s example serves as a great reminder that we are all in this together .
The post has been shared nearly 4,500 times .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Nancy Flory is an associate editor at The Stream .
You can follow her @ NancyFlory3 , and follow The Stream @ Streamdotorg .

When we turn on our televisions or smart phones we are bombarded with news that brings us down. Where are all the good stories? They’re still there. Here’s one that we hope will bless you.
A kind gesture by a Columbia County, Florida, Sheriff’s deputy was captured on film and has gone viral.
Brownie Lyons posted on July 2 that she witnessed Sheriff’s deputy and shift supervisor Corporal Shane Foote sharing a meal with a homeless man.
“My husband and I were at a drive thru near the place the officer stopped,” Lyons told WCJB. “He pulled over and opened his back door and was getting something out of the back seat. It turned out to be the chair he’s sitting in. We were wondering if he was going to talk to the guy about being on the street but when we pulled out, he had set up the food and was sitting down with him eating.”
She added, “I actually took this picture while my husband was driving by. I do not know the officer, and personally it doesn’t matter if he’s in law enforcement or not. I wanted to show that there are people who do good things and not always for recognition.”
A Kind Gesture Goes a Long Way
She posted the picture on Facebook as a “feel good” moment. “So many times officers, paramedics, EMTs, and nurses like myself do a lot of good things according to our hearts to serve not for anything else. It takes very little effort to show kindness. I try very hard every day no matter how I’m treated. A kind word or gesture goes a long way.”
Lyons said that her son realized he went to school with Foote. He also posted the image and tagged the officer. Lyons’ son told her, “That’s Shane all day everyday!”
The Columbia County Sheriff Office told WCJB that Foote’s example serves as a great reminder that we are all in this together.
The post has been shared nearly 4,500 times.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Nancy Flory is an associate editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-07-14--3 States Account for 42 Percent of All COVID-19 Deaths in America.  Why?

In a recent article in The Atlantic , Thomas Chatterton Williams decried America ’ s handling of the coronavirus .
The words “ utter disaster ” are used , and Williams , an expatriate , contrasts America ’ s response to that of France , where he currently lives .
“ As Donald Trump ’ s America continues to shatter records for daily infections , France , like most other developed nations and even some undeveloped ones , seems to have beat back the virus , ” Williams writes .
Coronavirus Response — The Picture Doesn ’ t Always Get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to the coronavirus was far from perfect ( more on that later ) .
But the article shows one of the challenges with this pandemic : even as more data is acquired , the picture doesn ’ t always get clearer .
In some ways , COVID-19 data are like a Rorschach blot from which writers , politicians , and experts can glean whatever conclusions they wish to find .
Take Sweden , where daily COVID-19 deaths recently reached zero .
According to Newsweek editorial director Hank Gilman , Sweden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failure because seven times as many people died there than in neighboring Scandinavian countries such as Finland and Norway .
He is not alone in the assessment .
On the other hand , Sweden suffered far fewer deaths per capita than several European neighbors that instituted strict lockdowns — including Belgium , Italy , Spain , and the United Kingdom — and has avoided some of the economic fallout other nations have endured .
Unlike other countries , its currency is growing stronger .
Indeed , Sweden ’ s death rate is remarkably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Williams praised as a model in contrast to the “ utter disaster ” in the US .
However , the US actually has a lower per capita death rate than both Sweden and France — at least for now .
( While it ’ s true COVID cases are on the rise again in the US , deaths recently reached three-month lows . )
How Do We Measure Success in the Age of COVID-19 ?
This raises questions about how we measure success in the age of COVID-19 .
While most attention is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death tolls would seem to be the most important metric .
While US deaths per capita ( 401/1M ) put the country among the 10 highest in the world — ahead of France and Sweden , but just below the Netherlands — those numbers also don ’ t tell the entire story .
Few may have noticed that 42 percent of all COVID deaths in the US come from just three states — New Jersey , New York , and Massachusetts .
These three states account for nearly 56,000 of the nearly 133,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they represent just 10 percent of the population .
If these three states are excluded , the US suddenly finds itself somewhere in between nations such as Luxembourg ( 176/1M ) and Macedonia ( 166/1M ) , where some of the better fatality numbers in Europe are found .
Considering these numbers , one would not expect to see a governor from New Jersey , New York , or Massachusetts lecture these other states on their handling of the coronavirus .
But that ’ s exactly what Gov .
Cuomo did , claiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and chastening governors who opened their economies .
“ I say to them all look at the numbers , ” Cuomo said , referring to leaders in the states seeing rises in COVID-19 cases .
“ You played politics with this virus , and you lost .
You told the people of this state , you told the people of this country , the White House , ‘ Don ’ t worry about it .
Go about your business.
’ ” Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our Day .
Cuomo makes no mention of the social costs of the economic lockdowns — mass unemployment , widespread bankruptcy , and surging mental health deterioration , drug abuse , and global poverty .
Nor does he mention his state ’ s catastrophically high COVID death toll .
The extent to which policy decisions are linked to the high fatality rates in these states is still unknown .
We ’ re in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and still learning about the virus .
But that is precisely why lawmakers should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In his 1974 Nobel Prize speech , the economist F.A .
Hayek warned against the temptation to use collective action with incomplete knowledge , saying such action would likely cause more harm than good .
“ To act on the belief that we possess the knowledge and the power which enable us to shape the processes of society entirely to our liking , knowledge which in fact we do not possess , is likely to make us do much harm , ” Hayek stated .
“ The recognition of the insuperable limits to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student of society a lesson of humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men ’ s fatal striving to control society — a striving which makes him not only a tyrant over his fellows , but which may well make him the destroyer of a civilization which no brain has designed but which has grown from the free efforts of millions of individuals.
” Hayek saw a world that increasingly seemed to believe central planners could solve any and all social problems .
Such a worldview carried the seed of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Don ’ t Yet Know How This Will End We don ’ t yet know how this pandemic or economic collapse will end , but some have predicted it shaping up to be a blunder of historic proportions .
“ The first half of 2020 will go down in history as the largest nationwide public policy failure since the Great Depression , ” the economic historian Phil Magness recently observed .
“ A part of that failure derives from the largest wide-scale suppression of economic and social liberties in most of our lifetimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solving the problem it intended to target.
” If Magness is correct , the crisis , though tragic , may also offer a healthy dose of an elixir Hayek would say humans desperately need : humility .
“ The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought indeed to teach the student of society a lesson of humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men ’ s fatal striving to control society , ” Hayek concluded in his address .
The lockdowns and the nursing home tragedies show just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control society can be .
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org .
His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine , The Wall Street Journal , CNN , Forbes , Fox News , and the Star Tribune .

In a recent article in The Atlantic, Thomas Chatterton Williams decried America’s handling of the coronavirus.
The words “utter disaster” are used, and Williams, an expatriate, contrasts America’s response to that of France, where he currently lives.
“As Donald Trump’s America continues to shatter records for daily infections, France, like most other developed nations and even some undeveloped ones, seems to have beat back the virus,” Williams writes.
Coronavirus Response — The Picture Doesn’t Always Get Clearer
To be sure, the US response to the coronavirus was far from perfect (more on that later). But the article shows one of the challenges with this pandemic: even as more data is acquired, the picture doesn’t always get clearer.
In some ways, COVID-19 data are like a Rorschach blot
from which writers, politicians, and experts can glean
whatever conclusions they wish to find.
In some ways, COVID-19 data are like a Rorschach blot from which writers, politicians, and experts can glean whatever conclusions they wish to find. Take Sweden, where daily COVID-19 deaths recently reached zero.
According to Newsweek editorial director Hank Gilman, Sweden’s “lighter touch” approach was a failure because seven times as many people died there than in neighboring Scandinavian countries such as Finland and Norway. He is not alone in the assessment.
On the other hand, Sweden suffered far fewer deaths per capita than several European neighbors that instituted strict lockdowns — including Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom — and has avoided some of the economic fallout other nations have endured. Unlike other countries, its currency is growing stronger.
Indeed, Sweden’s death rate is remarkably close to that of France, which Williams praised as a model in contrast to the “utter disaster” in the US. However, the US actually has a lower per capita death rate than both Sweden and France — at least for now. (While it’s true COVID cases are on the rise again in the US, deaths recently reached three-month lows.)
How Do We Measure Success in the Age of COVID-19?
This raises questions about how we measure success in the age of COVID-19. While most attention is being paid to rising case numbers, death tolls would seem to be the most important metric. While US deaths per capita (401/1M) put the country among the 10 highest in the world — ahead of France and Sweden, but just below the Netherlands — those numbers also don’t tell the entire story.
Few may have noticed that 42 percent of all COVID deaths in the US come from just three states — New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. These three states account for nearly 56,000 of the nearly 133,000 deaths in the US, even though they represent just 10 percent of the population. If these three states are excluded, the US suddenly finds itself somewhere in between nations such as Luxembourg (176/1M) and Macedonia (166/1M), where some of the better fatality numbers in Europe are found.
New Jersey: 1,728.7
New York: 1,660
Massachusetts: 1,189
Arizona: 265
Florida: 179
Texas: 94 A Lecture From an Unexpected Source Considering these numbers, one would not expect to see a governor from New Jersey, New York, or Massachusetts lecture these other states on their handling of the coronavirus. But that’s exactly what Gov. Cuomo did, claiming his state-ordered lockdown “saved lives” and chastening governors who opened their economies. “I say to them all look at the numbers,” Cuomo said, referring to leaders in the states seeing rises in COVID-19 cases. “You played politics with this virus, and you lost. You told the people of this state, you told the people of this country, the White House, ‘Don’t worry about it. Go about your business.’” Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day. Cuomo makes no mention of the social costs of the economic lockdowns — mass unemployment, widespread bankruptcy, and surging mental health deterioration, drug abuse, and global poverty. Nor does he mention his state’s catastrophically high COVID death toll. The extent to which policy decisions are linked to the high fatality rates in these states is still unknown. We’re in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and still learning about the virus. But that is precisely why lawmakers should exercise caution in their policy prescriptions. Perspective From a Nobel Prize Winner In his 1974 Nobel Prize speech, the economist F.A. Hayek warned against the temptation to use collective action with incomplete knowledge, saying such action would likely cause more harm than good. “To act on the belief that we possess the knowledge and the power which enable us to shape the processes of society entirely to our liking, knowledge which in fact we do not possess, is likely to make us do much harm,” Hayek stated. “The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought indeed to teach the student of society a lesson of humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men’s fatal striving to control society — a striving which makes him not only a tyrant over his fellows, but which may well make him the destroyer of a civilization which no brain has designed but which has grown from the free efforts of millions of individuals.” Hayek saw a world that increasingly seemed to believe central planners could solve any and all social problems. Such a worldview carried the seed of great harm, he believed.
We Don’t Yet Know How This Will End
We don’t yet know how this pandemic or economic collapse will end, but some have predicted it shaping up to be a blunder of historic proportions. “The first half of 2020 will go down in history as the largest nationwide public policy failure since the Great Depression,” the economic historian Phil Magness recently observed. “A part of that failure derives from the largest wide-scale suppression of economic and social liberties in most of our lifetimes, all executed to negligible effect at solving the problem it intended to target.” If Magness is correct, the crisis, though tragic, may also offer a healthy dose of an elixir Hayek would say humans desperately need: humility. “The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought indeed to teach the student of society a lesson of humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men’s fatal striving to control society,” Hayek concluded in his address. The lockdowns and the nursing home tragedies show just how destructive and fatal such striving to control society can be.
Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune.
Originally published at FEE.org. Reprinted with permission.


thestream--2020-07-14--Sex-Trafficked Nigerian Women Abandoned in Italy

Originally coerced into prostitution through debt and “ juju ” curses , thousands of Nigerian women have been left in Italy without money or food , according to The Guardian .
With thousands of Nigerian women being trafficked into Italy , many have now been abandoned by those extorting them thanks to the three-month coronavirus lockdown , The Guardian reports .
With no funds , many women , some with young children , have turned to charities for food .
Local help in Italy , such as the Dedalus cooperative , has alleviated some of the strain on trafficked women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the cooperative created a crowdfunding mission to support victims with food and other forms of aid .
Additionally , local churches and volunteer organizations helped where they could , such as leaving food on their doorsteps due to in-person meetings not being allowed , The Guardian said .
Having immigrated to Italy illegally complicates things further .
The trafficked women have no recourse through government systems aimed at helping people during the lockdown , such as unemployment benefits , according to The Guardian .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Traffickers often use debt as tool to keep their victims in their control , according to the Migration Policy Institute .
Groups will pay for their illegal passage into Europe , and force them into prostitution to pay it back .
Additionally , traffickers use “ juju ” rituals to intimidate victims out of trying to escape .
After performing these rituals , victims may believe they or their families will be killed , hurt or cursed for violating the terms of their agreements , Reuters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Edo state , a large source of Nigerian trafficking victims .
Nigerian women make up the highest percentage of Africans trafficked into Europe , according to Fair Planet .
Women are often initially enticed by traffickers who exploit their aspirations of immigrating to Europe for employment , according to the Migration Policy Institute .
More victims than normal have been seeking help from anti-trafficking organizations amidst the lockdown , The Guardian reported .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Originally coerced into prostitution through debt and “juju” curses, thousands of Nigerian women have been left in Italy without money or food, according to The Guardian.
With thousands of Nigerian women being trafficked into Italy, many have now been abandoned by those extorting them thanks to the three-month coronavirus lockdown, The Guardian reports. With no funds, many women, some with young children, have turned to charities for food.
Local help in Italy, such as the Dedalus cooperative, has alleviated some of the strain on trafficked women, The Guardian reports.
In March, the cooperative created a crowdfunding mission to support victims with food and other forms of aid. Additionally, local churches and volunteer organizations helped where they could, such as leaving food on their doorsteps due to in-person meetings not being allowed, The Guardian said.
Having immigrated to Italy illegally complicates things further. The trafficked women have no recourse through government systems aimed at helping people during the lockdown, such as unemployment benefits, according to The Guardian.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Traffickers often use debt as tool to keep their victims in their control, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Groups will pay for their illegal passage into Europe, and force them into prostitution to pay it back.
Additionally, traffickers use “juju” rituals to intimidate victims out of trying to escape. After performing these rituals, victims may believe they or their families will be killed, hurt or cursed for violating the terms of their agreements, Reuters reports. Belief in juju is common in Edo state, a large source of Nigerian trafficking victims.
Nigerian women make up the highest percentage of Africans trafficked into Europe, according to Fair Planet.
Women are often initially enticed by traffickers who exploit their aspirations of immigrating to Europe for employment, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
More victims than normal have been seeking help from anti-trafficking organizations amidst the lockdown, The Guardian reported.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-07-14--US Approves Two Coronavirus Vaccines for Fast-Track Testing, 100 Million Doses to Be Produced By End

US Approves Two Coronavirus Vaccines for Fast-Track Testing, 100 Million Doses to Be Produced By End of Year

The federal government granted a fast-track designation to two potential coronavirus vaccines , opening up the possibility for large-scale testing this month , according to the drugs ’ manufacturers .
American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and European partner BioNTech announced the designation in a press release Monday .
A fast track designation is a process designed to expedite the development of important drugs , according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration .
“ The FDA ’ s decision to grant these two COVID-19 vaccine candidates Fast Track designation signifies an important milestone in the efforts to develop a safe and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Peter Honig , Pfizer senior vice president of global regulatory affairs .
The companies expect large-scale phase 3 trials with up to 30,000 volunteers to begin by the end of July , according to the press release .
Phase 3 trials are one of the final speed bumps before a drug is approved .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
The companies also expect to manufacture as many as 100 million doses of the drugs by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses by 2022 , the press release said .
These vaccines aren ’ t the only drugs in trial that are being produced before approval , according to National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins .
“ There is this investment in manufacturing tens of millions of doses of these vaccines , even before we know if they ’ re going to work , to prevent long delay at the end , ” Collins told Intelligencer July 1 .
He added : “ It would be really sad if we were celebrating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we ’ ve got a vaccine that works , ’ and there were no doses left to offer to the people who need it.
” The U.S. government has awarded federal funds to pharmaceutical companies Novavax , Moderna , AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson , according to CNN .
As coronavirus spread rapidly across the world in March , President Donald Trump declared a national emergency .
The U.S. has experienced a recent surge in daily cases , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Florida recorded more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record for any U.S. state since the pandemic began , The New York Times reported .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

The federal government granted a fast-track designation to two potential coronavirus vaccines, opening up the possibility for large-scale testing this month, according to the drugs’ manufacturers.
American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and European partner BioNTech announced the designation in a press release Monday. A fast track designation is a process designed to expedite the development of important drugs, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“The FDA’s decision to grant these two COVID-19 vaccine candidates Fast Track designation signifies an important milestone in the efforts to develop a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2,” said Peter Honig, Pfizer senior vice president of global regulatory affairs.
The companies expect large-scale phase 3 trials with up to 30,000 volunteers to begin by the end of July, according to the press release. Phase 3 trials are one of the final speed bumps before a drug is approved.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The companies also expect to manufacture as many as 100 million doses of the drugs by the end of the year and 1.2 billion doses by 2022, the press release said. These vaccines aren’t the only drugs in trial that are being produced before approval, according to National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins.
“There is this investment in manufacturing tens of millions of doses of these vaccines, even before we know if they’re going to work, to prevent long delay at the end,” Collins told Intelligencer July 1.
He added: “It would be really sad if we were celebrating in December, saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got a vaccine that works,’ and there were no doses left to offer to the people who need it.”
The U.S. government has awarded federal funds to pharmaceutical companies Novavax, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, according to CNN.
As coronavirus spread rapidly across the world in March, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. The U.S. has experienced a recent surge in daily cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Florida recorded more than 15,000 new cases Sunday, a single-day record for any U.S. state since the pandemic began, The New York Times reported.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-07-14--5 Arguments Against ‘America is a Racist Country’

The left-wing charge that America is a racist country is the greatest national libel since the Blood Libel against the Jews .
America is , in fact , the least racist multiracial , multiethnic country in world history .
Neither the claim that America is a racist society nor the claim that it is the least racist country can be empirically proven .
Both are assessments .
But honest people do need to provide arguments for their position .
I have found every argument that America is racist , let alone “ systemically ” racist , wanting .
For example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blacks , and on the rare occasions they do ( about 15 times a year ) , there is almost always a valid reason ( as in the infamous 2014 case in Ferguson , Missouri ) ; police kill more unarmed whites than blacks ; the reason there are proportionately so many more blacks in prison is that blacks disproportionately commit violent crimes ; and so on .
There are very powerful arguments against the charge that America is a racist society .
I offered one in my column last week : No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much racism in America , why are there so many false claims of racism and outright race hoaxes ?
I offered 15 recent examples .
Moreover , there were probably no racist hoaxes when America really was racist , just as there were no anti-Semitic hoaxes in 1930s Germany , when there was rampant anti-Semitism .
You need hoaxes when the real thing is hard to find .
No .
2 : The constant references to slavery .
If there were a great deal of racism in America today , there would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Confederacy .
The very fact that The New York Times , the leader in racist dishonesty , felt it necessary to issue its “ 1619 Project , ” which seeks to replace 1776 as the founding of America with 1619 , when the first African slaves arrived in America , is a perfect illustration of the point .
The fact that “ The 1619 Project ” was labeled false by the leading American historians of that era ( all of whom are liberals and at least one of whom led a campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fuel to the argument .
Even regarding the past , the promoters of the “ America is racist ” libel need to lie to paint America as bad as possible .
No .
3 : The reliance on lies .
“ The 1619 Project , ” which will now be taught in thousands of American schools , is based on lies .
All Americans who care about America and/or truth should inquire if their children ’ s school will teach this and , if so , place their child in a school that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lies are that preserving slavery was the real cause of the American Revolution and that slavery is what made America rich .
Even the charge of endemic racist police brutality is a lie .
There are undoubtedly racist police , but racism does not characterize police interactions with blacks .
No .
4 : The large African immigration to the United States .
Nearly 2 million black Africans and more than 1 million blacks from the Caribbean have emigrated to the United States in just the last 20 years .
Why would so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is “ systemically racist , ” a country , according to the promoters of the “ America is racist ” libel , in which every single white is a racist ?
Are all these blacks dumb ?
Are they ignorant ?
And what about the millions more who would move here if they were allowed to ?
How does one explain the fact that Nigerians , for example , are among the most successful immigrant communities ?
No .
5 : The preoccupation with “ microaggressions.
” According to the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ microaggressions , ” saying , “ There is only one race , the human race , ” is a “ racist microaggression.
” This is , of course , Orwellian doublespeak .
Anyone who believes there is only one race is not , by definition , a racist .
If everyone in the past had believed there was one race , the human race , there would never have been racism , let alone a slave trade based on racism .
The very fact that the left came up with the intellectual farce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the race hoaxes , proves how little racism there is in America — because the entire thesis is based on the fact that there are so few real , or “ macro , ” aggressions .
The race riots , the ruining of people ’ s careers and lives over something said or done at any time in their lives , the ruining of professional sports ( especially basketball and football ) , the tearing down of America and its history , the smearing of moral giants like Abraham Lincoln — all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lie .
As I wrote in a column three years ago : “ The Jews survived the Blood Libel .
But America may not survive the American Libel .
While the first Libel led to the death of many Jews , the present Libel may lead to the death of a civilization .
Indeed , the least oppressive ever created.
” Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist .
His latest book , published by Regnery in May 2019 , is The Rational Bible , a commentary on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ No Safe Spaces , ” came to theaters fall 2019 .
He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com .

The left-wing charge that America is a racist country is the greatest national libel since the Blood Libel against the Jews. America is, in fact, the least racist multiracial, multiethnic country in world history.
Neither the claim that America is a racist society nor the claim that it is the least racist country can be empirically proven. Both are assessments. But honest people do need to provide arguments for their position. I have found every argument that America is racist, let alone “systemically” racist, wanting. For example, the police almost never kill unarmed blacks, and on the rare occasions they do (about 15 times a year), there is almost always a valid reason (as in the infamous 2014 case in Ferguson, Missouri); police kill more unarmed whites than blacks; the reason there are proportionately so many more blacks in prison is that blacks disproportionately commit violent crimes; and so on.
There are very powerful arguments against the charge that America is a racist society.
Arguments Against America Being a Racist Society
I offered one in my column last week:
No. 1: If there is so much racism in America, why are there so many false claims of racism and outright race hoaxes?
I offered 15 recent examples. Moreover, there were probably no racist hoaxes when America really was racist, just as there were no anti-Semitic hoaxes in 1930s Germany, when there was rampant anti-Semitism. You need hoaxes when the real thing is hard to find.
No. 2: The constant references to slavery.
If there were a great deal of racism in America today, there would be no reason to constantly invoke slavery and the Confederacy. The very fact that The New York Times, the leader in racist dishonesty, felt it necessary to issue its “1619 Project,” which seeks to replace 1776 as the founding of America with 1619, when the first African slaves arrived in America, is a perfect illustration of the point. The fact that “The 1619 Project” was labeled false by the leading American historians of that era (all of whom are liberals and at least one of whom led a campaign to impeach President Donald Trump) adds fuel to the argument. Even regarding the past, the promoters of the “America is racist” libel need to lie to paint America as bad as possible.
No. 3: The reliance on lies.
“The 1619 Project,” which will now be taught in thousands of American schools, is based on lies. All Americans who care about America and/or truth should inquire if their children’s school will teach this and, if so, place their child in a school that does not.
Two of the biggest lies are that preserving slavery was the real cause of the American Revolution and that slavery is what made America rich.
Even the charge of endemic racist police brutality is a lie. There are undoubtedly racist police, but racism does not characterize police interactions with blacks.
No. 4: The large African immigration to the United States.
Nearly 2 million black Africans and more than 1 million blacks from the Caribbean have emigrated to the United States in just the last 20 years. Why would so many blacks voluntarily move to a country that is “systemically racist,” a country, according to the promoters of the “America is racist” libel, in which every single white is a racist? Are all these blacks dumb? Are they ignorant? And what about the millions more who would move here if they were allowed to? How does one explain the fact that Nigerians, for example, are among the most successful immigrant communities?
No. 5: The preoccupation with “microaggressions.”
According to the University of California’s list of racist “microaggressions,” saying, “There is only one race, the human race,” is a “racist microaggression.” This is, of course, Orwellian doublespeak. Anyone who believes there is only one race is not, by definition, a racist. If everyone in the past had believed there was one race, the human race, there would never have been racism, let alone a slave trade based on racism.
The very fact that the left came up with the intellectual farce known as “microaggressions,” like the race hoaxes, proves how little racism there is in America — because the entire thesis is based on the fact that there are so few real, or “macro,” aggressions.
The American Libel
The race riots, the ruining of people’s careers and lives over something said or done at any time in their lives, the ruining of professional sports (especially basketball and football), the tearing down of America and its history, the smearing of moral giants like Abraham Lincoln — all of this is being done because of a lie.
As I wrote in a column three years ago: “The Jews survived the Blood Libel. But America may not survive the American Libel. While the first Libel led to the death of many Jews, the present Libel may lead to the death of a civilization. Indeed, the least oppressive ever created.”
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in May 2019, is The Rational Bible, a commentary on the book of Genesis. His film, “No Safe Spaces,” came to theaters fall 2019. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM


thestream--2020-07-15--Massive Inflation May be Coming, Because the US Government Has Cornered Itself into a Fiscal End Gam

Massive Inflation May be Coming, Because the US Government Has Cornered Itself into a Fiscal End Game

The federal government is moving into the final stages of its fiscal life .
Deficits have gotten so enormous that the Federal Reserve simply prints the money the government needs .
Why ?
Because that ’ s the only option left on the table .
For years , we have warned that continued deficit spending would paint the Federal Reserve into a corner wherein monetary policy would become a slave to fiscal policy .
To avoid government default , confiscatory taxes , government shutdown , or a combination of all three , the Federal Reserve has reached a point wherein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal deficits .
Sooner or later , we will all pay the price in the form of massive inflation .
Total reserves in the US banking system reveal what the Federal Reserve has done .
Total reserves include all the cash in banks ’ vaults , plus banks ’ deposits at the Federal Reserve .
The Fed is to banks what banks are to people , and so “ banks ’ deposits at the Fed ” are , roughly , how much money banks have in their checking accounts at the Fed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ reserves averaged about $ 50 billion .
Through three rounds of quantitative easing following the 2008 housing crash , the Federal Reserve increased banks ’ total reserves to $ 2.8 trillion .
That ’ s a 5,500 percent increase !
But reserves aren ’ t the money supply .
Reserves are what the banking system uses to construct the money supply .
The money supply increases , not when reserves increase , but when banks loan out the additional reserves to customers .
Prior to 2008 , banks would typically loan out almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around 3 percent as what ’ s called “ excess reserves.
” Excess reserves are to a bank as an inventory is to a manufacturer — a buffer meant to absorb fluctuations in consumer demand .
But after 2008 , things changed .
Banks started holding more excess reserves — a lot more .
Since 2008 , banks have been holding more than 90 percent of their reserves as excess .
This is because , starting in 2008 , it became much less costly for banks to maintain excess reserves .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things .
First , historically low interest rates made it less profitable for banks to lend .
Second , the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 authorized the Federal Reserve to begin paying interest on money that banks deposited in their Fed accounts ( something the Fed had not done before ) .
Third , economic uncertainty following the 2008 crash and the long road to recovery made lending less attractive .
These things gave banks an incentive to keep more of their reserves in their accounts at the Fed rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , banks ’ excess reserves increased .
Massively increasing banking reserves was like loading the inflation gun .
But , pulling the trigger would require banks to loan out those reserves .
Because of the increased incentive for banks to hold excess reserves , banks haven ’ t yet pulled the trigger .
That explains why we haven ’ t seen multi-thousand percent inflation following the multi-thousand percent increase in bank reserves .
At least for now , banks are preventing the increase in reserves from translating into an increase in the money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inflation .
Inflation occurs when the money supply grows faster than the economy .
From the mid-1980s all the way to August of 2008 , the money supply grew at an average annual rate of around 5 percent .
By comparison , the economy ( as measured by real GDP ) grew at an average annualized rate of around 3 percent .
Other things equal , the difference in these two numbers should give us the inflation rate for the economy as a whole .
Indeed , overall inflation ( as measured by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 percent over this period .
But then came 2008 .
In an attempt to stimulate the economy following the 2008 housing crash , the federal government ran several trillion-dollar deficits , and the Federal Reserve increased bank reserves to help fund that massive borrowing .
From the end of 2008 through February of 2020 , the money supply grew at an average annualized rate of around 10 percent — about double the rate at which it grew prior to 2008 .
Meanwhile , the economy slowed to an average 2 percent annual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this should have given us an annual inflation rate of around 8 percent .
But , overall inflation actually declined somewhat to an average of less than 2 percent per year .
Where Was the Inflation ?
It turns out that other things weren ’ t equal .
What changed was the velocity of money — the rate at which the average dollar changes hands in the purchase of domestically-produced goods and services .
The velocity of money declined by almost as much as the money supply increased .
Inflation is like the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , wherein money velocity is the speed at which cars are traveling , and the money supply is the number of cars on the road .
Increasing the number of cars on the road increases the likelihood of an accident only if the cars maintain the same speed .
If you double the number of cars while simultaneously cutting their speeds in half , the likelihood of an accident remains about the same .
So too here .
Starting in 2008 , the money supply grew faster , but people and businesses responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Consequently , inflation didn ’ t change much .
But why did the velocity of money fall ?
One possible explanation is that , as the money supply increased , the increase went largely into exchanges of financial assets rather than exchanges of goods and services .
If this is what happened , then we should see an increase in the prices of financial assets rather than an increase in the prices of goods and services .
Because prices of financial assets are not included in inflation calculations , we would not observe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Indeed , market watchers have been wondering how it can be that stock prices fell with the advent of COVID lockdowns , but then recovered almost half of that decline within three short weeks .
The longer the lockdown drags on , the greater the number of bankruptcies there will be .
Given that it ’ s unclear how long the lockdown will last , and that the economic ramifications become more dire with each passing week , one would expect stock prices to continue to fall so long as the lockdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stock prices partially recovered , and have since remained relatively stable , is that the increase in the money supply made its way into financial markets — putting upward pressure on stock prices — rather than markets for goods and services , leaving prices for goods and services unchanged or falling .
What does this mean for the future ?
Eventually , the money that has made its way into the stock market will make its way back into the markets for goods and services .
This will start to happen as things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start spending more freely .
Under normal circumstances , the Fed would be on the lookout for this , and would begin to contract reserves so as to prevent inflation .
Indeed , this is what the Fed had been doing from 2014 until early this year .
But there is a new factor at play now .
The federal government ran its first trillion-dollar deficits in response to the housing crisis .
Politicians defended the massive spending because all manner of things were “ too big to fail.
” But , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t reduce its spending back to pre-2008 levels .
The increased spending had become the new normal .
In response to the lockdown , the government will produce its first multi-trillion deficit this year .
But , if recent history is any guide , multi-trillion-dollar deficits will also become the new normal .
And the funding required to support that level of borrowing will require the Federal Reserve to monetize the deficit , at least partially , by increasing the money supply .
The new normal will have the Federal Reserve printing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ runaway spending .
And , sooner or later , that will give us sustained and significant inflation .
The time to fix this problem passed a decade ago .
We ’ re about to enter the final stages of our government ’ s fiscal life .
Since the invention of money , this has happened to all of the world ’ s super economies , and many of the minor ones : Rome , Spain , Germany , the United Kingdom , and next , the US .
In every case , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s currency became less attractive as a reserve currency , and the country ’ s economic prominence faded .
In every case , the fault traces to a single source — the inability of politicians to constrain government .

The federal government is moving into the final stages of its fiscal life. Deficits have gotten so enormous that the Federal Reserve simply prints the money the government needs. Why? Because that’s the only option left on the table.
For years, we have warned that continued deficit spending would paint the Federal Reserve into a corner wherein monetary policy would become a slave to fiscal policy. To avoid government default, confiscatory taxes, government shutdown, or a combination of all three, the Federal Reserve has reached a point wherein it has little choice but to monetize federal deficits. Sooner or later, we will all pay the price in the form of massive inflation.
Total reserves in the US banking system reveal what the Federal Reserve has done. Total reserves include all the cash in banks’ vaults, plus banks’ deposits at the Federal Reserve. The Fed is to banks what banks are to people, and so “banks’ deposits at the Fed” are, roughly, how much money banks have in their checking accounts at the Fed.
From 1985 until August 2008, total reserves averaged about $50 billion. Through three rounds of quantitative easing following the 2008 housing crash, the Federal Reserve increased banks’ total reserves to $2.8 trillion. That’s a 5,500 percent increase!
But reserves aren’t the money supply. Reserves are what the banking system uses to construct the money supply. The money supply increases, not when reserves increase, but when banks loan out the additional reserves to customers.
Prior to 2008, banks would typically loan out almost all of their reserves, holding back around 3 percent as what’s called “excess reserves.” Excess reserves are to a bank as an inventory is to a manufacturer — a buffer meant to absorb fluctuations in consumer demand. But after 2008, things changed. Banks started holding more excess reserves — a lot more. Since 2008, banks have been holding more than 90 percent of their reserves as excess. This is because, starting in 2008, it became much less costly for banks to maintain excess reserves. This is due to two, possibly three, things.
Three Reasons Banks Hold More Excess Reserves
First, historically low interest rates made it less profitable for banks to lend. Second, the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 authorized the Federal Reserve to begin paying interest on money that banks deposited in their Fed accounts (something the Fed had not done before). Third, economic uncertainty following the 2008 crash and the long road to recovery made lending less attractive. These things gave banks an incentive to keep more of their reserves in their accounts at the Fed rather than loaning them out to borrowers. Thus, banks’ excess reserves increased.
Massively increasing banking reserves was like loading the inflation gun. But, pulling the trigger would require banks to loan out those reserves. Because of the increased incentive for banks to hold excess reserves, banks haven’t yet pulled the trigger. That explains why we haven’t seen multi-thousand percent inflation following the multi-thousand percent increase in bank reserves. At least for now, banks are preventing the increase in reserves from translating into an increase in the money supply, and that is holding back inflation.
Inflation occurs when the money supply grows faster than the economy. From the mid-1980s all the way to August of 2008, the money supply grew at an average annual rate of around 5 percent. By comparison, the economy (as measured by real GDP) grew at an average annualized rate of around 3 percent. Other things equal, the difference in these two numbers should give us the inflation rate for the economy as a whole. Indeed, overall inflation (as measured by the implicit price deflator) averaged around 2 percent over this period.
But then came 2008. In an attempt to stimulate the economy following the 2008 housing crash, the federal government ran several trillion-dollar deficits, and the Federal Reserve increased bank reserves to help fund that massive borrowing. From the end of 2008 through February of 2020, the money supply grew at an average annualized rate of around 10 percent — about double the rate at which it grew prior to 2008. Meanwhile, the economy slowed to an average 2 percent annual growth rate. Other things equal, this should have given us an annual inflation rate of around 8 percent. But, overall inflation actually declined somewhat to an average of less than 2 percent per year.
Where Was the Inflation?
It turns out that other things weren’t equal. What changed was the velocity of money — the rate at which the average dollar changes hands in the purchase of domestically-produced goods and services.
The velocity of money declined by almost as much as the money supply increased. Inflation is like the probability of being in a highway accident, wherein money velocity is the speed at which cars are traveling, and the money supply is the number of cars on the road. Increasing the number of cars on the road increases the likelihood of an accident only if the cars maintain the same speed. If you double the number of cars while simultaneously cutting their speeds in half, the likelihood of an accident remains about the same.
So too here. Starting in 2008, the money supply grew faster, but people and businesses responded by decreasing the velocity of money. Consequently, inflation didn’t change much.
But why did the velocity of money fall? One possible explanation is that, as the money supply increased, the increase went largely into exchanges of financial assets rather than exchanges of goods and services. If this is what happened, then we should see an increase in the prices of financial assets rather than an increase in the prices of goods and services. Because prices of financial assets are not included in inflation calculations, we would not observe an increase in the official inflation numbers.
Indeed, market watchers have been wondering how it can be that stock prices fell with the advent of COVID lockdowns, but then recovered almost half of that decline within three short weeks. The longer the lockdown drags on, the greater the number of bankruptcies there will be.
Given that it’s unclear how long the lockdown will last, and that the economic ramifications become more dire with each passing week, one would expect stock prices to continue to fall so long as the lockdown remains.
A possible explanation for why stock prices partially recovered, and have since remained relatively stable, is that the increase in the money supply made its way into financial markets — putting upward pressure on stock prices — rather than markets for goods and services, leaving prices for goods and services unchanged or falling.
What’s to Come?
What does this mean for the future? Eventually, the money that has made its way into the stock market will make its way back into the markets for goods and services. This will start to happen as things begin to return to normal and people start spending more freely. Under normal circumstances, the Fed would be on the lookout for this, and would begin to contract reserves so as to prevent inflation. Indeed, this is what the Fed had been doing from 2014 until early this year.
But there is a new factor at play now. The federal government ran its first trillion-dollar deficits in response to the housing crisis. Politicians defended the massive spending because all manner of things were “too big to fail.” But, after the crisis passed, the government didn’t reduce its spending back to pre-2008 levels.
The increased spending had become the new normal. In response to the lockdown, the government will produce its first multi-trillion deficit this year. But, if recent history is any guide, multi-trillion-dollar deficits will also become the new normal. And the funding required to support that level of borrowing will require the Federal Reserve to monetize the deficit, at least partially, by increasing the money supply.
The new normal will have the Federal Reserve printing money to pay for Washington’s runaway spending. And, sooner or later, that will give us sustained and significant inflation. The time to fix this problem passed a decade ago. We’re about to enter the final stages of our government’s fiscal life.
Since the invention of money, this has happened to all of the world’s super economies, and many of the minor ones: Rome, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and next, the US. In every case, the outcome was the same — the country’s currency became less attractive as a reserve currency, and the country’s economic prominence faded. In every case, the fault traces to a single source — the inability of politicians to constrain government.
Dr. Antony Davies is the Milton Friedman Distinguished Fellow at FEE, associate professor of economics at Duquesne University, and co-host of the podcast, Words & Numbers.
James R. Harrigan is Managing Director of the Center for Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona, and the F.A. Hayek Distinguished Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education. He is also co-host of the Words & Numbers podcast.
Copyright 2020 FEE.org. Republished with permission.


thestream--2020-07-15--Welcome Back: Management Challenges in the Post-Pandemic Workforce

What is harder than on-boarding a new employee ?
On-boarding all of them .
Managers have the challenge of integrating the entire staff back into the workplace .
But many organizations have created a divide between essential and non-essential employees .
All of our associates are valuable , goes the managers ’ mantra .
But some of you are less valuable than others ; “ the non-essentials.
” How do we welcome back our entire teams after we have “ profiled ” some of them by the dignity and significance of their contribution ?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
The first step is to understand that the ‘ non-essential ’ label is a horrid human resource error .
The supervisor should apologize in-person , one-on-one for slotting people into this category .
I made a mistake , the script could begin .
We were attempting to follow guidelines in the pandemic — but we now know we got it wrong .
This is what management humility looks like .
We divided our team into essential and non-essential .
This was wrong .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of our tribe .
The close , We need you and appreciate you more than ever .
We went from running stable businesses pre-pandemic to now re-creating and re-building organizations .
We are suddenly a start-up nation and we ’ ll need the buy in from potentially jaded employees to expedite the recovery process .
But as we rebuild we can also renew .
Bringing staff back is more of a re-hire than a new-hire .
But after a few months out of the office , coming back may look the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the new hire process in their text book , M : Management .
They write that orientation can be explained as training that familiarizes , A good onboarding program will cover three points : equipment , culture and feedback .
The employee training does not end at orienting the points of the company compass : restroom , cafeteria , office supplies , fire escape plan .
The company and the new hire need more from the new relationship .
Managers should remember that as staff are brought back into their work groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to go through the team-building stages of forming , storming , norming and performing .
There may be new power re-alignments in returning to the office .
The company culture might be affected .
Managers should consider refresher training on the expectations of how business gets done in organization .
Corporate culture training details how staff and management work together and how the organization interacts with customers and stakeholders .
Old patterns have been disrupted — new thinking and buying habits can be formed .
The COVID-19 epidemic has freed us from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and innovation .
Managers have no such excuse now .
Companies can now take on new risks and make bold changes not letting this crisis go to waste .
This begins by welcoming people back and letting them know how much they were missed .
And how much more they are now appreciated .
Jack Yoest is assistant professor of Practice in Leadership & Management at The Catholic University of America in The Busch School of Business , in Washington , D.C .
He has managed a number of start-up companies and teaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the author of The Memo : How the Classified Military Document That Helped the U.S .
Win WWII Can Help You Succeed in Business .

What is harder than on-boarding a new employee? On-boarding all of them.
Managers have the challenge of integrating the entire staff back into the workplace. But many organizations have created a divide between essential and non-essential employees.
All of our associates are valuable, goes the managers’ mantra. But some of you are less valuable than others; “the non-essentials.”
How do we welcome back our entire teams after we have “profiled” some of them by the dignity and significance of their contribution?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The first step is to understand that the ‘non-essential’ label is a horrid human resource error. The supervisor should apologize in-person, one-on-one for slotting people into this category.
I made a mistake, the script could begin. We were attempting to follow guidelines in the pandemic — but we now know we got it wrong. This is what management humility looks like. We divided our team into essential and non-essential. This was wrong. We have learned that you are a valuable part of our tribe. The close, We need you and appreciate you more than ever.
I am sorry.
We went from running stable businesses pre-pandemic to now re-creating and re-building organizations. We are suddenly a start-up nation and we’ll need the buy in from potentially jaded employees to expedite the recovery process. But as we rebuild we can also renew.
(Re)orientation
Bringing staff back is more of a re-hire than a new-hire. But after a few months out of the office, coming back may look the same. Thomas Bateman and Scott Snell write on the new hire process in their text book, M: Management. They write that orientation can be explained as training that familiarizes,
New employees with their jobs, work units, and the organization in general. Done well, orientation training can increase morale and productivity and can lower employee turnover and the costs of recruiting and training.
A good onboarding program will cover three points: equipment, culture and feedback.
Team Building
The employee training does not end at orienting the points of the company compass: restroom, cafeteria, office supplies, fire escape plan. The company and the new hire need more from the new relationship.
Managers should remember that as staff are brought back into their work groups face-to-face in real life that they may have to go through the team-building stages of forming, storming, norming and performing. There may be new power re-alignments in returning to the office.
The company culture might be affected. Managers should consider refresher training on the expectations of how business gets done in organization. Corporate culture training details how staff and management work together and how the organization interacts with customers and stakeholders.
New Business
Old patterns have been disrupted — new thinking and buying habits can be formed. The COVID-19 epidemic has freed us from legacy chains and claims that stopped change and innovation. Managers have no such excuse now.
Companies can now take on new risks and make bold changes not letting this crisis go to waste. This begins by welcoming people back and letting them know how much they were missed. And how much more they are now appreciated.
Jack Yoest is assistant professor of Practice in Leadership & Management at The Catholic University of America in The Busch School of Business, in Washington, D.C. He has managed a number of start-up companies and teaches graduate Human Resource Management. He is the author of The Memo: How the Classified Military Document That Helped the U.S. Win WWII Can Help You Succeed in Business.


thestream--2020-07-15--Like Me. Please, Like Me

Like Me. Please, Like Me

In moments of weirdness , I get a little jealous of sociopaths .
What must it be like , I wonder , to be so free of caring what someone thinks ?
To be so indifferent to the opinions and feelings of others , so unencumbered by the relational obligations most of us feel and are guided by ?
That ’ s extreme , yeah .
But when you ’ re sick of trying to make people happy , it ’ s easy to careen to the other extreme of indifference .
That ’ s just one consequence of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” I wonder how many things you and I might have done , said , or at least tried , if we hadn ’ t been so worried about what other people would think .
Looking over the years , I see way too many things I ’ ve gone along with that I didn ’ t really believe in ; too many times I should have spoken up but didn ’ t want to rock the boat ; too many challenges I didn ’ t take on because I wondered if people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The fear of man is , for sure , the quicker ripper-offer , robbing us so often of so much .
It ’ s also stupid .
After all , when we break down our fear of disapproval it doesn ’ t make too much sense .
If I feel I should do something , but others disagree , what real damage is going to be done to me just because they ’ re not on the same page as me ?
In most cases , the people whose disapproval we fear have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the power we ’ re giving them .
I gave someone way too much of that power 45 years ago .
It was 1975 , I was 20 , and I ’ d been commissioned by the ministry I worked with at the time to write a book .
Never tried that before .
But hey , in those days , wasn ’ t that true of everything I was doing ?
All my life I ’ d wanted to write , so this was , I felt , answered prayer and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , finished the manuscript , and to get some professional feedback , I showed it to Miss Hanson , someone I casually knew who was in the publishing field .
Now if you want to feel naked and anything but unashamed , try writing , then letting a pro read your work .
Naked me did just that , handing my draft to Miss Hanson , flashing my most professional smile , while silently begging , Like it .
Oh , please , don ’ t reject my baby .
Like me , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Well , at least she said she liked me .
Then she proceeded to tear me , and my book , to shreds .
“ Amateurish , dull , not at all readable ” , she declared in a handwritten note which , coming from her , constituted a death sentence to my dreams .
For a note it was a bit long , more like a lengthy verdict .
She finished her Joe Dallas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writing , because I clearly had no gift for it .
“ Stick to piano playing , ” she suggested cheerfully .
“ I do like your playing.
” “ I do hate your everything , ” I growled , crushing the note .
Then I made the fatal mistake of ignoring my own passion and deferring to Miss Hanson who , I decided in my deflated state , knew everything .
Whereas illiterate , ignorant , amateurish , ( don ’ t forget dull ! )
pathetic little me knew absolutely nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eight books and am currently working on my ninth , I ’ m a contributing writer to a respected quarterly journal , and I ’ ve had the pleasure of editing and adding articles for a number of projects .
Now , my books are by no means best sellers , and my writing , though readable , is awfully far from “ OMG I just couldn ’ t put it down !
” But the point is , I foolishly allowed someone else ’ s opinion to squash something which was both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear of man or Miss Hanson is common , perhaps , but always wrong , often stupid .
Understandable too , right ?
I mean , people ’ s opinions do matter , and I don ’ t believe anyone who says they don ’ t care what others think of them .
We ’ re created by God as relational beings , with specific needs for approval and affirmation .
So to a point , yes , caring what others think makes sense .
So let ’ s consult , especially with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from whom we can learn and be guided .
But let ’ s also defer without deifying , because when both our conscience and calling are clear , then cowering is also clearly the wrong option .
That goes beyond getting someone ’ s green light for our work .
It also speaks to the need to be firm and clear about where we stand , especially today when clear stands can provoke volumes of hostility .
( Honestly , if you ’ re feeling the need to make everyone happy , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) When we place the comfort of approval above our mandate to be honest , to follow our call , and to stand for what ’ s right , then we ’ re not just scared , we ’ re snared .
Asking our Facebook friends Please Like Me is one thing .
Letting our life adventures be stymied because we fear pushback is another .
Paul knew this awfully well , facing violent opposition wherever he went , so he could say with authority , “ If I seek to please men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christ.
” ( Galatians 1:10 ) Peter and John echoed those sentiments when , commanded by the local priests to shut up about Jesus , they replied , “ We ought to obey God rather than man.
” ( Acts 5:29 ) Jesus Himself , no stranger to opposition , understood the danger of letting our need to be liked override our integrity when He warned , “ Woe unto you when all men speak well of you !
” ( Luke 6:26 ) There ’ s the Good .
Then There ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you and I are liked and approved of , when affection and approval don ’ t interfere with integrity .
Why not ?
Good grief , I also hope my lunch tastes good and feels great going down .
But nutritional value trumps gastronomical pleasure , because what is good trumps what feels good .
Likewise , letting our lives become what they ’ re meant to become often carries a heavy price , like being misunderstood , opposed , even hated .
Well , so be it .
If I must say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let me say those words to God , and my own conscience , in that order .
Because if those two are satisfied , I think I can live with the Unlikes I ’ m certain to get along the way .
Joe Dallas is the Program Director of Genesis Biblical Counseling and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors .
His daily blog is Joe Dallas Online .
He is the author of Desires in Conflict , The Game Plan , and When Homosexuality Hits Home .
His latest book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Porn .
Follow him on Twitter at @ JoeDallasTGP and follow The Stream @ Streamdotorg .

The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts his trust in the LORD
shall be safe. (Proverbs 29:25)
In moments of weirdness, I get a little jealous of sociopaths.
What must it be like, I wonder, to be so free of caring what someone thinks? To be so indifferent to the opinions and feelings of others, so unencumbered by the relational obligations most of us feel and are guided by?
That’s extreme, yeah. But when you’re sick of trying to make people happy, it’s easy to careen to the other extreme of indifference. That’s just one consequence of what Proverbs calls “The Fear of Man.”
The Quicker Ripper-Offer
I wonder how many things you and I might have done, said, or at least tried, if we hadn’t been so worried about what other people would think.
Looking over the years, I see way too many things I’ve gone along with that I didn’t really believe in; too many times I should have spoken up but didn’t want to rock the boat; too many challenges I didn’t take on because I wondered if people would laugh at me for trying.
The fear of man is, for sure, the quicker ripper-offer,
robbing us so often of so much.
The fear of man is, for sure, the quicker ripper-offer, robbing us so often of so much.
It’s also stupid. After all, when we break down our fear of disapproval it doesn’t make too much sense.
If I feel I should do something, but others disagree, what real damage is going to be done to me just because they’re not on the same page as me? In most cases, the people whose disapproval we fear have no real hold over us, other than the power we’re giving them.
You Were Wrong, Miss Hanson!
I gave someone way too much of that power 45 years ago. It was 1975, I was 20, and I’d been commissioned by the ministry I worked with at the time to write a book.
Never tried that before. But hey, in those days, wasn’t that true of everything I was doing? All my life I’d wanted to write, so this was, I felt, answered prayer and blessed confirmation.
I tackled the project, finished the manuscript, and to get some professional feedback, I showed it to Miss Hanson, someone I casually knew who was in the publishing field.
Now if you want to feel naked and anything but unashamed, try writing, then letting a pro read your work. Naked me did just that, handing my draft to Miss Hanson, flashing my most professional smile, while silently begging, Like it. Oh, please, don’t reject my baby. Like me, like it.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Well, at least she said she liked me. Then she proceeded to tear me, and my book, to shreds.
“Amateurish, dull, not at all readable”, she declared in a handwritten note which, coming from her, constituted a death sentence to my dreams.
For a note it was a bit long, more like a lengthy verdict. She finished her Joe Dallas scourging by encouraging me to forget about writing, because I clearly had no gift for it. “Stick to piano playing,” she suggested cheerfully. “I do like your playing.”
“I do hate your everything,” I growled, crushing the note. Then I made the fatal mistake of ignoring my own passion and deferring to Miss Hanson who, I decided in my deflated state, knew everything. Whereas illiterate, ignorant, amateurish, (don’t forget dull!) pathetic little me knew absolutely nothing.
Consult, But Never Cower
Since then I’ve authored eight books and am currently working on my ninth, I’m a contributing writer to a respected quarterly journal, and I’ve had the pleasure of editing and adding articles for a number of projects.
Now, my books are by no means best sellers, and my writing, though readable, is awfully far from “OMG I just couldn’t put it down!”
But the point is, I foolishly allowed someone else’s opinion to squash something which was both a goal and a passion. The fear of man or Miss Hanson is common, perhaps, but always wrong, often stupid.
Understandable too, right? I mean, people’s opinions do matter, and I don’t believe anyone who says they don’t care what others think of them. We’re created by God as relational beings, with specific needs for approval and affirmation. So to a point, yes, caring what others think makes sense.
So let’s consult, especially with people who know their stuff, and from whom we can learn and be guided. But let’s also defer without deifying, because when both our conscience and calling are clear, then cowering is also clearly the wrong option.
Honestly, if you’re feeling the need to make everyone happy,
2020 sure isn’t your year!
That goes beyond getting someone’s green light for our work. It also speaks to the need to be firm and clear about where we stand, especially today when clear stands can provoke volumes of hostility. (Honestly, if you’re feeling the need to make everyone happy, 2020 sure isn’t your year!)
When we place the comfort of approval above our mandate to be honest, to follow our call, and to stand for what’s right, then we’re not just scared, we’re snared.
Asking our Facebook friends Please Like Me is one thing. Letting our life adventures be stymied because we fear pushback is another.
Paul knew this awfully well, facing violent opposition wherever he went, so he could say with authority, “If I seek to please men I should not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)
Peter and John echoed those sentiments when, commanded by the local priests to shut up about Jesus, they replied, “We ought to obey God rather than man.” (Acts 5:29)
Jesus Himself, no stranger to opposition, understood the danger of letting our need to be liked override our integrity when He warned, “Woe unto you when all men speak well of you!” (Luke 6:26)
There’s the Good. Then There’s the Necessary
I do hope that you and I are liked and approved of, when affection and approval don’t interfere with integrity. Why not? Good grief, I also hope my lunch tastes good and feels great going down. But nutritional value trumps gastronomical pleasure, because what is good trumps what feels good.
Likewise, letting our lives become what they’re meant to become often carries a heavy price, like being misunderstood, opposed, even hated.
Well, so be it. If I must say Like Me, Please Like Me, let me say those words to God, and my own conscience, in that order.
Because if those two are satisfied, I think I can live with the Unlikes I’m certain to get along the way.
Joe Dallas is the Program Director of Genesis Biblical Counseling and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. His daily blog is Joe Dallas Online. He is the author of Desires in Conflict, The Game Plan, and When Homosexuality Hits Home. His latest book is Five Steps to Breaking Free from Porn. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeDallasTGP and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.
Originally published at JoeDallas.com. Reprinted with permission.


thestream--2020-07-15--Military Photo of the Day: Hovering Off Oahu

U.S. Marines approach the water with a CH-53E during a recent helicopter casting training exercise with U.S. Navy sailors off @ @ @ @ @ Hawaii .
Thank you to Lance Cpl .
Jacob Wilson for taking this photograph .
@ @ @ @ @ Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our @ @

U.S. Marines approach the water with a CH-53E during a recent helicopter casting training exercise with U.S. Navy sailors off the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
Thank you to Lance Cpl. Jacob Wilson for taking this photograph.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.