This summer, a relative reached out to me regarding the sad story of Kodie Dutcher, a 10-year-old from Baraboo, Wisconsin who was reported missing in July. Law enforcement officials put out an Amber Alert, and a volunteer search party was organized. Kodie’s body was found the following morning—July 7, a Tuesday—near her home. Her death…
2020 is a year of disguises. Some examples include computer models/modelers disguised as “science/scientists,” Tyrants/Dictators/Totalitarians disguised as “elected officials,” propaganda machines disguised as “news sources,” brainwashing disguised as “information,” censorship disguised as “public health safeguard,” panic and fear disguised as “social responsibility.” Even the virus itself has been disguised by humans as an “apocalypse.” But,…
The following video, recorded Oct 4, 2020, as part of a meeting of epidemiologists and journalists, features the main authors of the Great Barrington Declaration: Dr. Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard University, a biostatistician, and epidemiologist with expertise in detecting and monitoring infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety evaluations. Dr. Sunetra Gupta, professor…
Estimated costs of the coronavirus pandemic are in. The results are not pretty. A new study co-authored by Harvard economist David M. Cutler and former World Bank chief economist Lawrence H. Summers places the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic north of $16 trillion. “The estimated cumulative financial costs of the COVID-19 pandemic related to the…
Mary Margaret Olohan on October 12, 2020 Schools have not become the super-spreaders that officials feared, according to Brown University economist Emily Oster. “It’s now October,” Oster wrote in an Atlantic op-ed. “We are starting to get an evidence-based picture of how school reopenings and remote learning are going (those photos of hallways don’t count),…
Does not Donald Trump deserve some credit for finally talking about what we should have been talking about for these last seven horrifying months? He got the bug, shook it off, and thereby beefed up his immune system. The optics are impressive. And the case he should make now is that he can travel the…
By Reed Cooley Shelley Luther opened her Dallas-based salon last spring, violating coronavirus lockdowns put in place by the local government. For daring to operate her own business, Luther was arrested and jailed. During an in-depth interview on YOU BUILT THAT, a new podcast powered by Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), the business owner spoke…
Governor Ron DeSantis has proven it: it is actually possible for a politician to wise up and do the right thing. In a sweeping order announced September 25, the governor has opened up the entire economy. He has even limited the ability of local governments to impose more restrictions and collect fines for mask violations….
This year has been a shock. Here is an early sketch of what I think I’ve learned. Governments are fully capable of doing the unthinkable, and doing so suddenly with no exit plan, little consideration of cost, and a callous disregard for individual rights. The US Constitution and Bill of Rights are largely irrelevant when…
Some critics of libertarianism have used the COVID-19 crisis as a “gotcha” or a “checkmate” to discredit the movement. The logic, as I understand it, is that this situation absolutely requires a strong government response, and libertarians would be unable or unwilling to provide such. News flash: our various levels of government aren’t libertarian, many…