Utopia, you are standing in it!

Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick chided the National Party on its drugs policy earlier this year but said she hoped its involvement in public debate was positive.

Her comments followed National announcing deputy leader Paula Bennett’s appointment as the party’s first drug reform spokesperson and Bennett’s thoroughly reasonable insistence that she wanted to know more about the implications of legalising marijuana –

 “I want to know, ‘What does it mean for the illicit drug trade? What does it mean for drug driving? How do we meet our goals of being smoke free if we’re saying it’s okay to have a joint?’ “

 Swarbrick, the Green’s spokesperson on drug reform, said National was portraying themselves as “rational sceptics” but drew a distinction between “constructive criticism and obfuscation which stifles change”.

I became acquainted with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) when two candidates who were DSA members, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were elected to Congress as Democratic Representatives.  In general, I endorse many of the group’s aims, though not its call for untrammeled socialism. (I tend to favor a capitalistic system with socialistic modifications, similar to what obtains in Scandinavia. And yes, I do favor universal single-payer healthcare.)

But what I didn’t realize was how anti-Israel the DSA was, and, in particular, how antisemitic it is in endorsing the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. I say “antisemitic” because the BDS, in both its founding and in present policy, is not only critical of Israel, but is also “anti-Zionist” in wanting Israel to disappear as a country. And that I consider antisemitic. (For other people’s claims that anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism, see here, here, and here).

There’s no doubt…

I’ve been a little slow to get round to much comment on the Reserve Bank Governor’s proposals to require banks to fund a much larger share of their balance sheets with equity capital.  These aren’t small changes: from a starting point where they more or less accept that New Zealand bank capital ratios are already higher than those in most advanced countries, they want to compel banks incorporated here to adopt capital ratios that would be higher than (almost?) anywhere else in the world (includding, notably, higher than in Australia).

I had a couple of initial posts (here and here) immediately after the consultative document was released, and one a couple of weeks ago on the way in which the Bank has continued to discount the results of demanding stress tests it has required banks to undertake.     Since I wrote that post the Reserve Bank has…

Things are looking up. Most of the Democrats who were planning to run for the presidency have just disqualified themselves. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Sen. Ed Markey (D-NY) have introduced her “Green New Deal” in a bill which has been quickly joined by the long list of Democrats who want to run for the presidency. Big Mistake. This tells us that you don’t do your homework, and will sell out your country for a pittance.

Here are some of the goals as listed by David Harsanyi at The Federalist:

• Ban affordable energy. GND calls for the elimination of all fossil fuel energy production, the lifeblood of American industry and life, which includes not only all oil but also natural gas — one of the cheapest sources of American energy, and one of the reasons the United States has been able to lead the world in carbon-emissions reduction.
• Eliminate nuclear energy. The GND…

Busy day in Santa
Cruz, CA.
As if city traffic and parking isn’t a big enough headache already for anyone who attempts it, along comes another issue. The proposed cure isn’t much fun either.

Autonomous vehicles “have every incentive to create havoc,” a transportation planner says. UC Santa Cruz Magazine reporting.

With no need to park, self-driving cars will clog city streets and slow traffic to a crawl.

However, a policy fix could address these problems before autonomous vehicles become commonplace, says Adam Millard-Ball.

Black Thursday, February 6th. 1851, as depicted by William Strutt in 1864

“People have been imagining that the climate is changing,
exaggerating every weather event, getting widespread press coverage,
and blaming it on man – for as long as there have been newspapers.”
– Tony Heller
Climate Change Insanity Never Changes

“The only way to get our society to truly change is to
frighten people with the possibility of a catastrophe.”
– emeritus professor Daniel Botkin

***

THE Black Thursday bushfires were a devastating series of fires that swept through Victoria on February 6, 1851. They are considered the largest Australian bushfires in a populous region in recorded history, with approximately 5 million hectares, or a quarter of Victoria, being burnt. Twelve lives were lost, along with one million sheep and thousands of cattle.

THE year preceding the fires was exceptionally hot and dry and this trend continued into the summer…

Four environmentalist terrorists with Catholic Worker filmed themselves sabotaging an Endbridge oil pipeline in Itasca County, Minnesota yesterday. They delivered statements justifying their actions citing fossil fuel use contributes to environmental degredation and then sing and chant while conducting their heinous act. You can watch below:

The Daily Caller states the four terrorists allegedly used bolt cutters to gain access to the pipeline facility they targeted. All four terrorists have been arrested and are in Itasca County Jail awaiting arraignment for their crimes. Thankfully, Endridge reported no damage to the pipeline resulting from the four terrorist’s actions.

Environmentalists are not concerned about climate change or even the natural environment because what they ultimately want is political control over others and our way of life. They oppose construction of pipelines because it is one more method that they cannot take control of. Not only does opposing pipelines give environmentalists more political…