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“Free” health care for NYC?

Listener Barb sent me an article showing that the IRS, as tireless as they are collecting money, seems to be asleep when it comes to giving out your tax money to illegal immigrants.

New York City is going to try an experiment with “free” health care. That doesn’t seem very surprising. What is surprising is what they predict it will cost.

And listener “OhioHistorian” has an opinion on my story on the Scouts BSA from last episode.

Mentioned links:

Comment by “OhioHistorian”

IRS Admits It Encourages Illegals To Steal Social Security Numbers For Taxes

NYC Mayor Guarantees Comprehensive Health Care for All in Historic Surprise Announcement

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:10 — 8.6MB)

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Telling a great story

Is it OK to rape if the culture you come from has normalized it?

Why is Havana crumbling? What are the costs, and is it affecting their great (according to Michael Moore) health care?

And is depicting bullying necessary when telling an anti-bullying story? Some people don’t think so. Let’s let Rudolph demonstrate why it is. Merry Christmas!

Mentioned links:

Refugee acquitted of rape ‘as he has different cultural norms’ – His female victim attempted suicide

How Havana is collapsing, building by building

The truth about Cuba’s health care system

Viewers Noticed Some Very Disturbing Details In ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:27 — 9.2MB)

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Justice for Kelvin Cochran

I’ve got 2 “Reconsider This” segments this time out.

First I look back at the religious freedom issue that Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran faced, and how it was resolved recently.

Then another update on the Seattle minimum wage law. Studies that look at its effect have had another year to consider what’s happened. There are some winners and losers. Unfortunately, the losers include the very people for whom the minimum wage laws are supposed to help.

Mentioned links:

Kelvin Cochran bio

VICTORY! Atlanta Pays Ex-Fire Chief $1.2 Million in Religious Liberty Lawsuit

Atlanta fire chief gets $1.2 million settlement: Journalists still avoid all Bible references

Here’s Who Was Helped — And Who Was Hurt — By Seattle’s Minimum Wage Increase

Episode 184: Reconsidering Stevie Wonder, San Bernardino, and Seattle [Consider This!]

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:12 — 9.0MB)

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How is she voting?

Taylor Swift broke her political silence and endorsed someone for the US Senate. Could this backfire on the candidate? Does she know he would have supported Kavanaugh for Supreme Court? Do you care?

The world passed a tipping point recently. No, not on climate change. I’m talking about the percentage of the world population that is middle class or better off. This is good news courtesy of…well, can you guess which economic system?

Mentioned links:

SHAKE IT OFF: Taylor Swift Gets Political — But Endorses Democrat Who SUPPORTED Kavanaugh

A global tipping point: Half the world is now middle class or wealthier

Bono: “Capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid”

Nearly half of Democrats, a quarter of Republican millennials identify as socialists

Brett Kavanaugh makes Supreme Court history. Then CNN political analyst accuses him of ‘pandering.’

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The trends are clear

So why is the economy doing so well? Is that Obama’s doing or can Trump take some credit? Is this a question better left to the professionals? Well, you’re in luck, because a professional came out and demonstrated that, for various indicators of a good economy, things are looking very good. But when they started to look good is very important.

And a young man grew up recently. He understood that the way to persuade is not yelling gotcha’ questions at a political figure, but to make better arguments. We don’t agree on his main issue of gun control, but at least he’s going to let his ideas be heard in more measured tones so that he can get people to consider this.

Mentioned links:

OBAMA HAS BEEN CLAIMING CREDIT FOR TRUMP’S ECONOMY — TRUMP MARCHES OUT ECONOMIST, WITH RECEIPTS

Nixing Regulations Saved Taxpayers $1.3 Billion This Year

Episode 175: Enforce The Laws We Have [Consider This]

This Is What Growing Up Looks Like

Co-Founder Of March For Our Lives Cameron Kasky Explains The Mistakes He’s Made & Why He Left March For Our Lives

Cameron Kasky Withdraws From Debate With Fellow Student Kyle Kashuv And The Reason Is A Bit Ironic

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Are those on the Right overly skeptical of science?

CBS did a report on the need to secure the border. (Yes, that CBS.) There was concern over the number of illegals crossing it, as well as coverage of the threat of terrorists entering that way. Really.

It’s often said that those on the Right are skeptical of science, but a new study clarifies that, and also shows that no matter your politics, your worldview often decides whether you believe the latest study or not. (Which means that most on the Left will not believe this study, I suppose.)

Some US cities are going to be experimenting with Universal Basic Income. However, a recently concluded experiment in Canada should give us food for thought.

Mentioned links:

CBS Exposes Danger of Illegal Border Crossings… From Canada

Study finds conservatives ‘right to be skeptical of scientists’

Canadian experiment quickly shows failures of universal basic income

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Sold their souls?

Have Evangelicals “sold their souls” to Trump, or are they motivated by the same things every other voter has been motivated by…ever?

It sounds like Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is finally waking up to the fact that socialism has destroyed his country. It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee (if you can find any) and realize that Bernie Sanders was (and is) entirely wrong).

And I’m starting work on a social commentary poem. Yes, me, writing an actual poem. Well, it isn’t intended to rhyme, so perhaps it’s more a free verse. Anyway, I just have the first stanza. Let me know how you like it.

First they came for Alex Jones
But I did not speak up, because I was not a nutty conspiracy theorist.

And the last stanza would be something like, “Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” I’m still working on that. If it sounds sort of familiar, I would only suggest that…all really great poetry sounds very familiar. Anyway, I’d like to make this a collaborative effort of the Consider This audience. Comment below with your contributions.

Mentioned links:

‘SHE HATES ME’: WAPO REVEALS WHY EVANGELICALS JUMPED ABOARD THE TRUMP TRAIN

Judgment days: In a small Alabama town, an evangelical congregation reckons with God, President Trump and the meaning of morality

Venezuela’s Maduro Admits Socialist Model Has Failed

Close The Gaps: Disparities That Threaten America

Apple, Facebook and other tech companies delete content from Alex Jones

First they came … [Wikipedia]

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:26 — 9.2MB)

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Too soft on Russia?

It looks like that the Left will be requiring your voter registration card before they will serve you anymore. Before, it was the Red Hen restaurant, today it’s Uber.

What do you think about the idea of Universal Basic Income? I’ll give you my initial impressions, and 2 examples of cities that are going to try it out.

And Trump’s press conference with Putin in Helsinki was an embarrassment. But was it as bad as treason, as the Left has been saying? Or is this yet more over-the-top reaction? Let’s do some comparisons.

Mentioned links:

YOUNG REPUBLICANS DUMPED AT A ‘RANDOM’ GAS STATION BY ANTI-TRUMP UBER DRIVER SPEAK OUT

CHICAGO MAY BECOME LARGEST CITY IN U.S. TO TRY UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME

Trump backs down, says he misspoke on Russia meddling

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:14 — 9.0MB)

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a area of the ocean where garbage, mostly plastics, converges. Where is all this coming from? The answer may surprise you.

I’ve talked about, in the past, the problems that a hike in the minimum wage causes, but the Canadian province of Ontario has figured out a way to make it hurt the disabled even worse.

I’ve also talked about studies that show that those who think it is not the government’s job to take care of the poor are more often the same people who pitch in more of their own time and money to help. Now it turns out that this also holds true for environmentalism.

Mentioned links:

The Podcast Awards

Shocking study reveals 90% of global plastic waste comes from just TEN rivers in Asia and Africa

Great Pacific garbage patch [Wikipedia]

Ontario’s Minimum Wage Hike Has Been Disastrous, Especially for Disabled Workers

CLIMATE SKEPTICS ARE MORE ECO-FRIENDLY THAN CLIMATE ALARMISTS, STUDY FINDS

Instapundit  search results for “I’ll believe it’s a crisis”

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:00 — 9.7MB)

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Still feels like being unemployed

This time out, I tackle a couple of “why” questions. These are things I’ve asserted in the past, but here are some of the reasons they are true.

Socialism has failed every time it’s been tried. But why is that? Is it inherent in the economic model, or is there something else involved? I mean, it sounds like a good idea to so many people, but are there any assumptions that these folks make that make it sound better than it is?

You’ve heard me talk about how unemployment numbers can be misleading, but why is that? I first tackled this issue way back in episode 21, and this time I come armed with…charts and graphs! Oh no!

Mentioned links:

Another ‘Win’ for Socialism in Venezuela

THE TRUMP ECONOMY RISES: Unemployment Drops To Under 4%, Lowest In 17 Years

United States Labor Force Participation Rate (Click on MAX under the chart to see the trend line. Also, you can click on Unemployment Rate on the right sidebar to get the trend line for that.)

And here’s the graph I created that I mention in the show:

How labor participation affects the unemployment rate (click for a full-size version)

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