Friday Morning Ramble, 05.02.16

Feel like celebrating this weekend the birth of the best little country in the world? We could, you know. There is much to celebrate—and much misunderstanding to slay.
Waitangi Day: Something to celebrate – NOT PC
It’s NZ’s own Emancipation Proclamation! – NOT PC
Why does Waitangi Day belong to one race? – NOT PC
Waitangi? It imposed no such obligation – NOT PC
‘When Two Cultures Meet: The New Zealand Experience’ – NOT PC
How did colonists’ treatment of indigenous people help cause today’s tribalism – NOT PC
Property Rights: A Blessing for Maori New Zealand – PC, REBIRTH OF REASON
Maori were protected *from* property rights, suggests recent book – NOT PC

Was something signed yesterday, amidst the din?
Quote of the Day: On tariffs and cronyism – NOT PC
TPP opposition: it’s not about democracy – NOT PC
TPP: Dismantling the negative railroad – NOT PC
Jane Kelsey struggles to find things to object to #tpp #tppa – NOT PC
#TPP : Mooching on drug producers and consumers – NOT PC

Today’s good news about globalisation:
Despite population growth, see how the total number of people in extreme poverty has fallen – UTOPIA – YOU ARE STANDING IN IT

”More sickness? More diagnosis?” Whatever the reason, beneficiary numbers track registered psych conditions.
Growth in psych conditions in the welfare system – LINDSAY MITCHELL

One man gets one victory over one council. Do we have a new unit of measurement for humble heroes?
Auckland rates battler defeats Council bureaucracy – JO HOLMES

Never thought I’d support a parliamentary Bill dreamed up by the Greens’s Catherine Delahunty. But I do, even if it doesn’t go far enough – because if property rights are to mean anything, they must mean that everyone should be safe from having their property confiscated—and not just one race.
“Not one more acre” – Catherine Delahunty, GREENS BLOG

“The usual objection to farming endangered wildlife for the pet trade is that it’s too hard to then tell the difference between legal farmed animals and illegally poached ones. Stephen Franks and Digby Livingston have a potential solution.”
Digby Livingston and Stephen Franks suggest the way to protect indigenous species is to farm them – NZ HERALD

“What are the rights of the dying? Barbara Mancini of Compassion and Choices discusses the end of her father's life.”
The Rights of the Dying: A Personal Story – CATO AT LIBERTY

Sydney-by-night is dying. Killed by the same things killing NZ’s nightlife.
Would the last person in Sydney please turn the lights out? – LINKED IN

Seymour: "If you'll excuse me, I have to say I am sorry to see you referencing the Maxim Institute's publication on this matter, much of which is difficult to argue is above intellectual dishonesty."
MP: Don't embarrass yourself – STUFF

Team New Zealand has received another Government grant worth up to $17.25 million. This is on top of taxpayer and ratepayer money given to other profession sports teams. Please sign our petition to tell the Government to STOP the corporate welfare for professional sports teams.
Sign the petition: No more corporate welfare for professional sports teams – ACTION SPROUT

The Christchurch disaster in microcosm:  “Town planners want a clean slate for their white elephants but the quake didn't quite get the slate clean enough.” ~ Bernard Darnton
Central Christchurch bar will close its doors to make way for the city's proposed stadium – STUFF

Come on, which Aucklander isn’t going to see Shakespeare performed in Shakespeare’s original theatre?
The Game's Afoot – POP-UP GLOBE

Saudi singer speaks truth to power.

“Obama and people who support his policies should have to answer for this. “Why are we less economically free than ever; and how do you defend this as a good thing?” I don’t hear Donald Trump, Ted Cruz or any of the other candidates doing so. I hear a lot about personal attacks, and about the urgent importance of preserving traditional marriage, but not about what really matters: Making America great again by making America fully free again.”
Economic Freedom Ranking: USA No Longer in Top 10 – Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER

“The best evidence of this [Progressive] power to date has been the policies of Obama, the first New Left president….”
Leonard Peikoff on Obama, The First New Left President – DOLLARS & CROSSES

“The revolutionary left and right have merged in a way that is lost on their respective supporters.”
Two Flavours of Tyranny: Red? Or Brown? – Jeffrey Tucker, ANYTHING PEACEFUL

Steyn nails the difference between Sanders and Clinton: "He would be the oldest man ever elected president and 83 years old at the end of two terms - which we won't have to worry about because the entire country will have slid off the cliff long before then. But he's enthusing the base, and any base wants to be enthused.
    “Hillary, by contrast, is in trouble not because she's a sleazy, corrupt, cronyist, money-laundering, Saud-kissing liar. Democrats have a strong stomach and boundless tolerance for all of that and wouldn't care were it not for the fact that she's a dud and a bore.”
Second-Degree Bern – Mark Steyn, STEYN ONLINE

"Former US President Jimmy Carter tonight told the UK Parliament he wants Donald Trump to land the Republican nomination ahead of frontrunner Ted Cruz .
"Speaking on a visit to Britain, the 91-year-old Democrat warned Mr Cruz is committed to “Far Right-wing politics” which he would pursue “aggressively” if he makes it to the White House.
"By contrast, Carter said, outspoken billionaire *Mr Trump has no fixed views at all*."
[Says Cruz: "I'm going to pay to air Jimmy Carter attacking me."]
Famous left-winger Jimmy Carter is now backing Donald Trump - here's why – DAILY MIRROR

Asked if you like Donald Trump’s policies, you might well ask, which policies?
Trump’s positions since 1990 – REAL DONALD TRUMP

“As Trump held forth, Wesley Mouch smiled to himself. Finally, here was an industrialist who understoood. Mouch ran to the nearest telephone, and dialed Washington…”
Atlas Mugged – POPEHAT

A profound reason to support him nonetheless:
Poll: 25 percent of federal employees would quit under President Trump – THE HILL

So why do you think they do that, when unionists and academics say they should do the opposite?
Low-Skilled Workers Flee the Minimum Wage: How State Lawmakers Exile the Needy – Corey Iacono, THE FREEMAN

Catholic “social justice” ideology has left the most Catholic continent with the 2nd largest population of poor persons on the planet.
Can Social Justice Be Rescued? – James Bruce, LIBRARY OF LAW

“My only criticism is that China does not need to create a "consumer-driven economy" Their economy is production driven, and will stay that way. The idea of an economy driven by consumption is ridiculous. It's like saying a cart pulls the houses. What China needs to do is consume its production domestically rather than exporting it to America, so that Americans can consume it. A stronger yuan will help bring that transition about, to the benefit of Chinese consumers, and to the detriment of American consumers.” ~ Peter Schiff
The $3 Trillion Question – Patrick Chovanec, FOREIGN POLICY

“If all of that dispersed and decentralized knowledge that exists in the individual minds of all the members of society is to be effectively used and brought to bear for mutual improvement of the human condition, each of us must be left free to use that knowledge as we, respectively, think best and most advantageous.”
Individualism and Capitalism vs. Central Planning and Statism: The Political Battle of the 21st Century – Richard Ebeling, CAPITALISM MAGAZINE

“Voters choose on the basis of partisan loyalties, and these days party voting has a much bigger influence on state and local elections than it used to. … Given all this, the natural and appropriate policy response should be to a) expand the responsibilities of democratic government, or b) consider limiting the responsibilities of democraticgovernment?”
*Democracy for Realists* – Tyler Cowen, MARGINAL REVOLUTION

“If democratically elected officials are capable of such large-scale deception and malfeasance, why should we think that these same people can help reduce “manuipulation and deception” in the market place?”
Are Government Regulators More Virtuous than Everyone Else? – Ivan Carrino, MISES DAILY

“In the third part in this series [video below], the focus is on the development of mainstream microeconomics in the first half of the twentieth century, during which the standard textbook conceptions of “perfect competition” and “monopoly” were being “rigorously” formalised.
    “The discussion explains their assumptions, their unrealism and their misplaced use in the arena of public policy such as in anti-trust regulation.
The ‘mathematisation’ of economics is also looked at and its resulting distorted understanding and analysis of economic processes in the real world.”
The History of Economic Thought Part III – Richard Ebeling, ECONOMIC POLICY JOURNAL

The Warmist’s Fiscal Paradox: So, if the science really is settled, why should you pay all those hundreds of scientists to research already settled science?
Settled science bites – BISHOP HILL
Aussie CSIRO: Massive cuts to Government Climate Jobs – WATTS UP WITH THAT

And yet thousands of honest scientists continue to be shunned for pointing out the science is far from settled.
Professor Emiritus Hal Lewis Resigns from American Physical Society – Hal Lewis, TELEGRAPH

One actual use for royalty: publicising the good.
Montessori schools give students like Prince George free reign – DAILY NEWS

“Online job boards burst with ads recruiting “idea people” and “out of the box” thinkers. We are taught that our own creativity will be celebrated as well, and that if we have good ideas, we will succeed. It’s all a lie.”
Inside the Box: People don’t actually like creativity – Jessica Olien, SLATE

“Q: Early in your new book, A Companion to Ayn Rand, you lament the fact that two generations of academics didn’t take Rand’s work seriously. You frame the book, at least in part, as an attempt to remediate that attitude. In basic terms, why wasn’t Rand taken seriously in the academy, and why would she be?”
Reflections on Ayn Rand and Campus Culture: An Interview with Greg Salmieri (Part One) – THE UNDERCURRENT

We all need philosophy and all artists too.
Why Musicians Need Philosophy – Roger Scruton, FUTURE SYMPHONY

So they’re only American jokes (so they’re not actually funny) but still interesting.
The 100 Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy: "Now take my wife... Please!" – 3 QUARKS DAILY

“I believe it is fundamental to write each day.”
What are we losing with the death of handwriting? – BRISBANE TIMES

“’'Speed-reading courses, meanwhile, can take the premise that ‘it is possible to use peripheral vision to simultaneously read large segments of a page, perhaps even a whole page, instead of one word at a time,’ they write. ‘However, such a process is not biologically or psychologically possible,’ the scientists say.”
Speed reading claims discredited by new report – GUARDIAN

“Why did I spend so many years thinking Australia was so close to New Zealand when it’s actually far? Why isn’t Australia closer to New Zealand?
“Well, to answer your first question, I would say you have the American schooling system to thank for your poor understanding of geography. I know where Canada is. You should know where New Zealand is.”
Australians Answer Americans’ Dumb Questions – BUZZFEED

Progressive education has also succeeded in destroying the past for an entire generation.

“Are kids learning the phrase, “Sticks and stones…” anymore? Or has it gone the way of lawn darts?”

And finally, your music listening for the next three days starts with the top three most thrilling classical pieces recently recommended here and here (as voted by you lot with yout clicks) , , ,

. . .  and this . . .

. . .  oh, and probably this:

Have a great NZ Birthday Weekend!
PC