Socialism in Theory and Practice

…every socialist experiment is a bright new dawn in the beginning and then a “that’s not real socialism!” hellscape a few years later. Russia, China, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua — all hailed by socialists in the beginning, then ignored or dismissed once the results became visible.

https://www.cato.org/blog/socialism-theory-practice

Montgomery County coroner issues warning about Narcan-resistant drug

The Iron Law of Prohibition strikes again. Opiates are being cut with Xylazine, a non-opiod veterinary tranquilizer which doesn’t respond to Narcan, whose side effects make fentanyl pale in comparison – one being widespread skin ulceration.

The Iron Law of Prohibition: The harder the enforcement, the harder the drug.

Xylazine is being used as a cutting agent for the same reason fentanyl is: the War on Drugs incentivizes a need to avoid detection, leading to drugs with less weight and volume that are easier to hide, store, and transport.

End the War on Drugs to save lives.

https://www.wyso.org/local-and-statewide-news/2023-03-01/montgomery-county-coroner-issues-warning-about-narcan-resistant-drug

The AMA Said Trust Your Doctor on Smoking

Money blinds objectivity. When money drives decisions, controverting evidence is ignored, dissenting voices are ridiculed, open debate is suppressed, talking points are distributed, conclusions are delayed, and people die from a product with liability protection.

Natural Gas, Electricity, and Thermodynamics

As long as natural gas is used to generate electricity, bans on natural gas use in new residential construction result in reductions in COemissions only if very high efficiency heat pumps are used and only if combined cycle rather than simple gas turbines are used for generation. All other uses of electricity actually increase emissions because of the heat losses in electricity generation. So why are localities in Blue America banning natural gas?

https://www.cato.org/blog/natural-gas-electricity-thermodynamics

The U.S. Probation System Has Become a Quagmire

What was originally intended as an alternative to incarceration has become a system for mass state control.

“It’s a fear that never leaves you. You could be plucked from society at any moment for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

https://reason.com/2023/01/26/the-u-s-probation-system-has-become-a-quagmire/