‘The Intellectual Yet Idiot’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

‘The Intellectual Yet Idiot’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb | Liberty Blitzkrieg:
"In particular, they all (totalitarian systems) seem to have in common an intense dislike of the more abstract forms of thought –a dislike characteristically also shown by many of the collectivists among our scientists.
– From my 2010 review of F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom
The following is an excellent takedown of the so-called “elite,” the status quo, whatever you want to call them.
We all know the type.
It’s the self-assured people who constantly get things wrong, constantly screw up on issues of national significance and yet somehow never face any consequences or accountability for their actions.
Here’s the meat of the piece, originally published at Medium:
What we have been seeing worldwide, from India to the UK to the US, is the rebellion against the inner circle of no-skin-in-the-game policymaking “clerks” and journalists-insiders, that class of paternalistic semi-intellectual experts with some Ivy league, Oxford-Cambridge, or similar label-driven education who are telling the rest of us 1) what to do, 2) what to eat, 3) how to speak, 4) how to think… and 5) who to vote for.
But the problem is the one-eyed following the blind: these self-described members of the “intelligenzia” can’t find a coconut in Coconut Island, meaning they aren’t intelligent enough to define intelligence and fall into circularities — but their main skills is capacity to pass exams written by people like them. 
With psychology papers replicating less than 40%, dietary advice reversing after 30 years of fatphobia, macroeconomic analysis working worse than astrology, the appointment of Bernanke who was less than clueless of the risks, and pharmaceutical trials replicating at best only 1/3th of the time, people are perfectly entitled to rely on their own ancestral instinct and listen to their grandmothers (or Montaigne and such filtered classical knowledge) with a better track record than these policymaking goons.
Indeed one can see that these academico-bureaucrats wanting to run our lives aren’t even rigorous, whether in medical statistics or policymaking. 
They can't tell science from scientism — in fact in their eyes scientism looks more scientific than real science..."
Read on!!!

Doesn't happen very often on Google News!--2 Norton Shores pension stories

History for September 17

History for September 17 - On-This-Day.com
J. (John) Marriott 1900, Chaim Herzog (Israel) 1918, Roddy McDowall 1928


Ken Kesey 1935, John Ritter 1948, Rita Rudner 1956


1787 - The Constitution of the United States of America was signed by delegates at the Constitutional Convention.


1796 - U.S. President George Washington's Farewell Address was read before the U.S. Congress. 


1862 - The Battle of Antietam took place during the American Civil War. More than 23,000 men were killed, wounded, or missing. The Rebel advance was ended with heavy losses to both armies.


1920 - The American Professional Football Association was formed in Canton, OH. It was the precursor to the National Football League (NFL).


1953 - Ernie Banks became the first black baseball player to wear a Chicago Cubs uniform. He retired in 1971 known as 'Mr. Cub'.


1966 - "Mission Impossible" premiered on CBS-TV.


1972 - "M*A*S*H" premiered on CBS-TV.


1983 - Vanessa Williams, as Miss New York, became the first black woman to be crowned Miss America.

EXPOSED: Video surfaces showing what Hillary got MOMENTS before collapsing... - Allen B. West - AllenBWest.com

EXPOSED: Video surfaces showing what Hillary got MOMENTS before collapsing... - Allen B. West - AllenBWest.com:

"One of the talents Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton frequently exhibits, besides lying, is her ability to find myriad scapegoats and excuses for her behavior. Recently, she’s blamed her troubling coughing fits and “fainting” on allergies… then overheating… and then pneumonia.

Despite the campaign “coming clean” two days after the candidate’s pneumonia diagnosis — and swears there are no further “undisclosed” conditions (means so much coming from them, doesn’t it?)"

State’s '21st Century Jobs Fund' Spent $100 Million For Just 1,052 Jobs

State’s '21st Century Jobs Fund' Spent $100 Million For Just 1,052 Jobs [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"The state’s 21st Century Investment Fund (CIF) has spent nearly $100 million on various types of subsidies and other forms of involvement in businesses since 2006, yet only 1,052 jobs have been created or retained because of it, according to the fund’s 2015 report.
In addition, some investment groups received millions through the fund but created zero jobs and no proceeds.
The state describes the fund as a program that “encourages the growth of emerging Michigan companies, diversifies the state’s economy by creating and retaining knowledge-based jobs and grows a community of investors to create a long-term, sustainable capital ecosystem within Michigan.”
According to the report, $98.5 million in so-called “capital called for investments,” or money spent by the state, has been used for investments.
 "In 2005, policymakers deluded themselves into putting tax money into high-risk investments to pump up the economy," said James Hohman, the assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
"Since then, there have been millions spent and little to show for it."
A number of examples are cited..."
Read on!

Colorado College's healthy lifestyle programs body shame, student says

Colorado College's healthy lifestyle programs body shame, student says - The College Fix: "Introducing ‘body privilege’ 
The wide variety of healthy lifestyle programs at Colorado College are bodyshaming, argues senior Jade Frost in an op-ed in The Feminist Wire. 
And in particular, the programs are hurtful to overweight men because they emasculate them, she adds.
“Several aspects of the CC community such as numerous healthy eating habits, gym programs, and outdoor activities, foster a culture of body shaming even for male students,” Frost writes in the Wire...
...Read Frost’s full op-ed."

'Shady Sh*t': Platte River Networks Employee Expressed Concern About Clinton Emails | PJ Media

'Shady Sh*t': Platte River Networks Employee Expressed Concern About Clinton Emails | PJ Media:

"The email expressed a keen desire for documentation of Clinton's deletion requests and a sense that maybe they had bitten off more than they could chew when they won the contract to manage Clinton's server.

“Wondering how we can sneak an email in now after the fact asking them when they told us to cut the backups and have them confirm it for our records. Starting to think this whole thing is really covering up a lot of shaddy (sic) sh*t," the worried employee wrote."

Mexico Is Building A Border Wall "To Keep Illegal Immigrants Out"

Mexico Is Building A Border Wall "To Keep Illegal Immigrants Out"
"This article was written by Tyler Durden and originally published at Zero Hedge.

Editor’s Comment: The humanitarian, bleeding-heart cover that liberals in power would suggest that the very notion of a border wall is offensive, taboo and outrageous to consider. Yet, countries around the world have implemented them to deal with being overwhelmed. It shouldn’t be out of the question to discuss, propose or advocate for a sovereignty-sealing border wall. Treating people humanely, on the other hand, is important, but gets lost in the focus.

...The UN and other elite institutions have purposefully exploited migration and economic woes to drive a wedge between the native U.S. population, and undermine the well-being of its people. The truth is that we’ve been played, and the exercise of a border is only sensible. Somehow Robert Frost is lost upon everyone as well: Good fences make good neighbors.

Mexico Builds A “Wall” (And Guess Who Paid For It)

by Tyler Durden

Mexico is building a ‘wall’… on its southern border (to keep illegal immigrants out). Perhaps even more ironic, The FT notes that the Obama administration is coy about its role in Mexico’s crackdown but is sending $75m in equipment and training to help stop Central Americans from crossing illegally into Mexico… in other words, US Taxpayers funded a Mexican wall to keep immigrants out.

The UN estimates 400,000 Central Americans cross illegally into Mexico each year and as many as half of those are fleeing violence. But as The FT reports, Mexico already acts as a formidable barrier for many…

Zero net immigration of Mexicans into the US and an 82 per cent fall in people caught trying to cross the US-Mexico border in the past 10 years means that most would-be immigrants detained there are Central Americans. Even without Mr Trump’s fortress frontier, Mexico finds itself under increasing pressure to stem the migrant tide near its source — its own southern border.

“Mexico has become a wall for migrants,” said Sister Magdalena Silva, co-ordinator of Cafemin, a privately run shelter in Mexico City that takes in refugee families, including Rosa’s. “The current policy is to arrest migrants to stop them from getting to the US border.”

…

Unlike in the US, Mexico has broadened asylum laws to recognise that fleeing violence of the kind practised by the street gangs of Honduras and El Salvador can classify someone as a refugee. But the odds are still stacked against asylum seekers: Mexico deported a record 175,000 Central Americans last year, up 68 per cent from the previous year and nearly two-and-a-half times the number deported by the US..."

Read on!

TV Ad Encourages German Women to Wear Hijabs

TV Ad Encourages German Women to Wear Hijabs » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!:
"Germany appears to have given up on integrating the millions of Muslim migrants pouring into the country and is instead encouraging German citizens to submit to Islam.

A television ad currently airing in Germany invites blonde-haired, blue-eyed women to embrace “tolerance” by wearing the Muslim hijab head dress.

The commercial begins with the text “Turkish women wear the hijab,” as a veiled woman is seen with her back to the camera.

However, when she turns around it immediately becomes clear that the woman is a white, blonde-haired German, before she states, “Me too! It’s beautiful!”

“Enjoy difference – start tolerance,” states the woman.

The campaign is funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as German taxpayers, who are forced to obtain a state television license or face prison time.

Instead of reversing its suicidal immigration policy, it appears as though Germany is now encouraging its female population to avoid the mass sex assaults committed by Muslim migrants in numerous major cities by submitting to Islam and covering themselves up..."
Much more!

Lunch video-Bittersweet: The Winners and Losers from Free Trade

Noon-toon

Charles Barkley Says It's Blacks Themsleves, Not Whites Or Cops Who Are Keeping Them Down ⋆ US Herald

Charles Barkley Says It's Blacks Themsleves, Not Whites Or Cops Who Are Keeping Them Down ⋆ US Herald:

"“One of the reasons we’re never going to be successful as a whole, because of other black people. And for some reason we are brainwashed to think, if you’re not a thug or an idiot, you’re not black enough.”

Those words (and many more) were spoken by NBA legend Charles Barkley, who was recently interviewed by a local Philadelphia, radio station, and of course one of the topics was the growing number of black athletes showing disrespect towards the National Anthem."

Althouse: The "working hard" meme — it's propaganda to cover for failure.

Althouse: The "working hard" meme — it's propaganda to cover for failure.
The "working hard" meme — it's propaganda to cover for failure.

That's on the front page of the NYT right now. 
The link goes to an editorial:

Since becoming secretary of state more than three years ago, John Kerry has been a man on a mission — multiple missions, in fact — relentlessly traveling the globe.... [T]here has been something honorable, even heroic, about the persistence, hard work and faith in diplomacy....

Mr. Kerry sometimes displays a naïve belief in his ability to win people to his side if he keeps talking long enough....

To get the current cease-fire [in Syria], he warned Moscow that if the violence was not halted, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states would send more weapons to the rebel groups. He insists he is not being unrealistic, although he knows from past experience that Russia could be playing a cynical game and that the cease-fire could fall apart. But you can hear the anguish when he says that this “may be the last chance we have to save a united Syria.” He deserves immense credit for trying.

Work, work, work.
Trying very, very hard.  
Relentlessly traveling the globe.... 
But even your friends call you naïve and unrealistic. 
And do you think maybe Vladimir Putin might take advantage of your earnest strenuousness and play a cynicalgame? 
Let me take several days to think about that, because I'm sure putting more effort into the enterprise will be laudable... honorable, even heroic... and I will deserve immense credit for working so damned hard."

Four Studies Find ‘No Observable Sea-Level Effect’ From Man-Made Global Warming

Four Studies Find ‘No Observable Sea-Level Effect’ From Man-Made Global Warming: "(CNSNews.com) – Ten years after former Vice President Al Gore warned in his 2006 Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, that if nothing was done to stop man-made global warming, melting Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets could raise sea levels by up to 20 feet, four peer-reviewed scientific studies found “no observable sea-level effect of anthropogenic global warming.”
“It is widely assumed that sea levels have been rising in recent decades largely in response to anthropogenic global warming,” Kenneth Richard writes at NoTricksZone.
“However, due to the inherently large contribution of natural oscillatory influences on sea level fluctuations, this assumption lacks substantiation….
“Scientists who have recently attempted to detect an anthropogenic signal in regional sea level rise trends have had to admit that there is ‘no observable sea-level effect of anthropogenic global warming’,” Richard points out, listing four peer-reviewed studies published this year that have all come to the same conclusion..."
Read on!

When the other shoe drops for Hillary Clinton

When the other shoe drops for Hillary Clinton - Hot Air Hot Air
"We’ve had the better part of a week to digest and mull over the events at the 9/11 memorial service where Hillary Clinton “stumbled on her way to the car” (if you listen to many media outlets) or simply collapsed and had to be shoved into her vehicle like a sack of potatoes (if you watch the video). 
I understand that it’s been discussed pretty much everywhere since then, but there are two points which I keep coming back to and simply can’t shake out of my mind. 
The second one, which we’ll get to below, deals with some contradictory medical information. 
The first, on the other hand, is going to come off as totally sexist, so all of you feminists can get your brickbats ready because we’re going to go there anyway.
It all comes down to this one picture which was on pretty much every television screen after the event.
Here comes the sexist part, just so I don’t keep you waiting too long. 
The story of Clinton’s “stumble” pushes the idea that she was “overheated” and needed some help getting into the car. 
In the process of “being helped” her shoe obviously came off. 
Now tell me… what woman who spends the amount of money on clothing that the former Secretary of State is known to do and is so conscious of her appearance at all times would leave a shoe on the sidewalk? 
When she was seated in the car (assuming she was sitting up), does anyone actually believe that she wouldn’t notice that one of her shoes was off? She has aides attending her constantly. 
What are the chances that, even in an overheated and tired state, she wouldn’t have said to one of them, “Hey. My shoe fell off. Would you jump out and grab it for me please?”
I’m not buying it. .."
Read on!

GOP Rep. Blasts Kaepernick’s Activism: ‘Sympathetic to ISIS’ | Video | TheBlaze.com

GOP Rep. Blasts Kaepernick’s Activism: ‘Sympathetic to ISIS’ | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"“I understand that he has an Islamic girlfriend that is his fiancée, and that this has changed him,” King said Tuesday. “He’s taken on some different political views along the way. This is activism that’s sympathetic to ISIS.”

“And for me, if I’m the coach, I would say, ‘You’re done. Until you take a knee and beg forgiveness from the American people, you’re not going to set foot on this field again.’ That would be my answer to him,” he continued.

King also charged that Kaepernick is a representative of the entire 49ers team whenever he puts on his jersey and that his actions reflect on the organization."

2015 Average Wages Up 1.9%; Median Household Income Up 5.2%! Yeah, That’s The Ticket

2015 Average Wages Up 1.9%; Median Household Income Up 5.2%! Yeah, That’s The Ticket | David Stockman's Contra Corner:

New York Times- Binyaming Applebomb-  Household incomes for American families rose strongly in 2015, breaking a yearslong pattern of income stagnation. The median household’s income in 2015 was $56,516, an increase of 5.2 percent over the previous year — the largest one-year rise since at least 1967, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday.

...So far, so good.

The 2015 real median earnings of men ($51,212) and women ($40,742) who worked full time, year round increased 1.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, between 2014 and 2015.

Oops.

So the 5.2% increase in median household income came from the man of the house earning 1.5% more and the woman of the house earning 2.7% more? That’s some math!

If a couple earned an average of 1.9% more, where did the other 3.3% increase come from?

The report shows the number of men and women working. Could that have been the source of the gain in household income? Nope. The number of men working increased by just 2.3% and the number of women working rose by 1.9%. Obviously some of those formed additional households. So an increase in the number of working persons per household could not account for the 5.2% in median income per household.

Working women did see an increase of 6.4% in their total earnings. But women working full time had income gains of only 2.7%. Apparently many women took a second job to help keep their households afloat. Is needing a second job an improvement in economic well being for those households?

We know that many households have a single wage earner, and that many of those are headed by women. But men earned only 2.3% more. Considering the 6.4% increase for women, even if the ratio of households headed by men and those headed by women were 50/50, that would only mean an average earnings gain per household of 4.3% thanks to women taking second jobs.

The Census Bureau lists 15 sources of household income.

1. Earnings
2. Unemployment compensation
3. Workers’ compensation
4. Social security
5. Supplemental security income
6. Public assistance
7. Veterans’ payments
8. Survivor benefits
9. Disability benefits
10. Pension or retirement income
11. Interest
12. Dividends
13. Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts
14. Educational assistance
15. Alimony
16. Child support
17. Financial assistance from outside of the household
18. Other income

The report doesn’t break out the dollar amount of any source other than earnings. Since earnings did not account for the 5.2% gain in household income, what did? None of these other sources could have been the source. Virtually none of them would have increased by that much, and none of them would apply to more than a fraction of total households. Therefore they would not have had much impact on the median of all households.

Given these facts, the 5.2% increase is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Churchill used that phrase to describe politics in the Soviet Union. I think that’s an apt analogy for US government statistics.

Assuming that 5.2% increase wasn’t just a fabrication or a data error, I’m still wondering, where it came from. It’s not earnings and not the increase in the number of men and women working. It’s not the other sources of income. 

By deduction, there could only be one source of the increase– an increase in household size. 

For instance, if Junior is making $28,000 a year working as an assistant manager at McDonald’s, and he or she decides that the rent is too damn high, he moves back in with Mom and Dad. 

Voila, if household income increases by 50% in 6% of households, that would account for the increase not caused by the increase in individual earnings.

Does that mean that households were actually doing better 5.2% better?

No. But the headlines sound good.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

AM Fruitcake

History for September 16

History for September 16 - On-This-Day.com:
J.C. Penney 1875, Allen Funt 1914, Lauren Bacall 1924


B.B. King 1925, Peter Falk 1927, Mickey Rourke 1956


1620 - The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England. The ship arrived at Provincetown, MA, on November 21st and then at Plymouth, MA, on December 26th. There were 102 passengers onboard.


1782 - The Great Seal of the United States was impressed on document to negotiate a prisoner of war agreement with the British. It was the first official use of the impression.


1810 - The Mexicans began a revolt against Spanish rule. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest of Spanish descent, declared Mexico's independence from Spain in the small town of Dolores.


1908 - General Motors was founded by William Crapo "Billy" Durant. The company was formed by merging the Buick and Olds car companies.


1953 - "The Robe" premiered at the Roxy Theater in New York. It was the first movie filmed in the wide screen CinemaScope process.


1953 - The St. Louis Browns of the American League were given permission to move to Baltimore, MD, where they became the Baltimore Orioles.


1963 - "The Outer Limits" premiered on ABC-TV.


1968 - "The Andy Griffith Show" was seen for the final time on CBS.

Wish us luck! We meet with NS leaders tomorrow morning!

Dear city manager Mark Meyers and finance director Michael Huston,

TJ Parker and I are looking forward to our meeting Fri. Sep. 16 at 9:30, in your city office.

Below are some questions that I would like to discuss with you.

I've copied the city council members in the hope they might attend our meeting or may decide to ask these questions privately.

Also, I invite all copied on this email to send me any other questions that they feel might be helpful.

Much of my initial interest in the retiree underfunding came from this article:  http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/22617

And this attachment showing Norton Shores as the 6th most underfunded employee pension of the largest 100 cities in Michigan: http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/archives/2016/July21-1.pdf

I am using your 2015 financial audit as basis for my questions:  http://www.nortonshores.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={B9072D7B-1C69-45CF-9937-9312580FF750}     

•       The first and most important question:  Would you agree that the underfunding of the NS pension and health benefits for retirees is a concern? Why/Why not?
• ·         If the city suffers serious financial problems because the retiree funds are underfunded, will current retirees be affected? Current employees?
• ·         Do you agree with the American Academy of Actuaries that the goal of Norton Shores government is to fully fund the retiree pension and health insurance plans at 100%?

https://www.actuary.org/files/80_Percent_Funding_IB_071912.pdf

• ·         What are your plans to remedy this underfunding?
• ·         The annual required contributions to the retiree healthcare fund had declined precipitously in recent years. Why?
• ·         The "funded ratio" is 4.35%. With over $38 million underfunded. Are you comfortable with this? Why/Why not?

·        

•     Why do you use 8.25% return when your money managers show expected returns of 2%-6.56% ?

• ·        What have been the pension fund investment returns for past years?
• ·         You have plans to fix underfunding. Are they written? What are they?
• ·         Will citizens be able to attend meetings to discuss this issue?
• ·         Muskegon county posts their employee contracts online. Will Norton Shores do the same?
• ·         Are there any other pension programs or retiree healthcare programs other than these?
• ·         Are the city councilors liable personally for serious mismanagement?
• ·         Is there something that we citizens can do to help the situation?
• ·         Are any new hires offered defined benefit plans and/or retiree healthcare benefits?
• ·         Have you considered looking into other cities that have 100% funding?
• ·         Are you willing to meet together with other cities to understand and adopt similar pension and health programs.
• ·         How can we approach this issue as a team? (Citizens and the council they elected serving together)
• I will attend this meeting tomorrow and will report back to you.

Link to Mackinac Center conference (live on web tomorrow, 9/15. Noon.): 

How Pensions Are Bankrupting Cities and States and How to Fix It

http://www.mackinac.org/22655

Thank you for your time,

Jim Riley