Newslog (Notes, etc.)

"Climate Change" Science Denier (notes based on: DEBUNKED: Top 5 "Climate Change" Myths)

• Skepticism #1. The Earth Is Warming.
• Skepticism #2. Humans Are The Primary Cause.
• Skepticism #3. It Will Have Catastrophic Results.
• Skepticism #4. Only The Government Can Competently Fix It.
• Myth #1. 97% of scientists agree on climate change. Consensus does not dictate science. There was consensus in the 1800's that black people were less evolved than white people. The first time the 97% was reported, it was from a very small sample of 79 scientists declared as climate change scientists (with over 50% of their research devoted to climate change).They agreed to the theory that the earth had warmed since the 1800's and that humans are a likely contributing factor.
• Myth #2. The Ice Sheets Are Melting! NASA Study: According to the new analysis of satellite data, the Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain of 112 billion tons of ice a year from 1992 to 2001. That net gain slowed to 82 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2008.
• Myth #3. The Polar Bears Are Dying Off! There are more polar bears now, since the time we began monitoring them. See Polar Bear Science. And, specifically here. Global polar bear population size is about 26,000 (20,000-32,000), despite PBSG waffling. UPDATE 23 February 2017: A new population estimate update is available based on three new survey counts that add about 2,000 bears to the average total, bringing it to almost 30,000 (28,500).
• Myth #4. Our Current Climate Models Have Been Accurate. We can't predict how many hurricanes will hit Florida any given year. "300 Scientists Want NOAA To Stop Hiding Its Global Warming Data" (dated 1/28/2016). "As has been acknowledged by numerous scientists, the engine intake data are clearly contaminated by heat conduction from the structure, and as such, never intended for scientific use..." "Adjusting good data upward to match bad data seems questionable."
• Myth #5. National or International Government Is The Only Entity Capable of Solving Imminent Climate Change Catastrophe.

Inherent human rights

The 'Right to Health Care'. Inherent human rights are negative, natural rights. However, some people believe that human beings have positive rights, that is, a right to have something provided to one by society, by the community, such as medical treatment, an education, etc. But this implies that one has a right to demand others to provide such things. Thus, if you have a right to medical treatment, then, obviously your neighbors are obligated to provide it to you.

You see, these artificial positive rights actually contradict our negative, natural rights. With the individual’s natural right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, one has a right to seek medical treatment, and engage in voluntary associations with others, doctors, nutritionists, etc. It also includes the right to not associate with others with whom one does not want to associate. The individual’s right to self-ownership, the right to own one’s own life, includes the right to not be violated or enslaved by others. That includes the right to live one’s life and not be ordered by others to participate in some group medical or insurance scheme against one’s will.

Notes

• Know Your Rights Episode 1: The Three Big Things You Need to Know. Put it on a card: (1) I do not consent to searches of any kind, (2) I do not answer questions without a lawyer present, (3) Am I being detained or am I free to go? Different versions on (2) I am not answering any questions, and I want to speak to an attorney, (3) I do not agree to stay here with you for any reason. Are you detaining me or am I free to go?
• Liberty & Equality. when talking about equality, there are two different central conceptions. The first is formal equality, equality that comes from the form of institutions. An example of formal equality is equality before the law: all laws apply equally to everyone. Formal equality is a central tenet of the classical liberal tradition, and compatible with individual liberty. But a second conception of equality is material, or substantive, equality. Material equality holds that people ought to be equal in material respects, such as wealth or resources. Material equality poses real challenges to classical liberalism, and according to Otteson, also faces challenges of its own. Otteson outlines three major challenges to material equality: first, it may be impossible, both to measure, and to achieve. Second, material equality interferes with human diversity. Humans have different talents, different interests, and different values, which in a free society get reflected in a range of goods & activities that individuals acquire and pursue. To try to enforce some kind of material equality would mean interfering with this diversity. That leads to the third problem, which is that material equality interferes with human dignity. Part of what it means to have human dignity is to have the capacity and the freedom to make choices. These choices are reflected in the way we live our lives; to respect the free choices that people make is to respect their dignity. Enforcing material equality would necessarily interfere with the free choices that people make.
• (YouTube) The American Form of Government. There are five forms of government: Monarchy/Dictatorship (rule by one), Oligarchy (rule by the few--the most common), Democracy (rule by the many), Republic (rule by law--without law there can be no freedom), and Anarchy (rule by no one). It is a Republic (rule of law)--neither a Democracy (tyranny of the many) or Oligarchy (tyranny of the elite). The essence of freedom is the proper limitation of government. Under Obama the US Presidency is Becoming an Executive Dictatorship.
• "[T]he government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general." --James Madison
• "A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have." --Thomas Jefferson
• "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --John Adams, 2nd President of the United States.
• Niall Ferguson: The 6 killer apps to prosperity. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 20:20.) The 6 "killer apps" are: (1) Competition (formation of companies), (2) The scientific revolution, (3) Property rights (rule of law), (4) Modern medicine, (5) The consumer society (vs bare necessities), (6) The work ethic.
• (Full Movie) AGENDA: Grinding America Down. Roots to Communism in all Liberal thinking.
• (YouTube) Milton Friedman - Persuasion vs Coercion. Posted 1/7/2011. Coercion is when it is done by force. Persuasion is coercion when the choice is reduced to one, as in the former Soviet Union. Most people would rather have their own mind made up for them. See also: An Anarchist, Economic Collapse & 7 billion Chimpanzees. Posted 10/13/2012. Doug Casey's philosophy and on money. Most people are ignorant and apathetic (the "I don't know and I don't care" types). [They would rather have someone else do the thinking for them.] Two types of people who desire change in society: those who use persuasion (i.e. religious types) and those who use coercion (i.e. the governmental types).