Hungary and the Evolution of Dictatorships

My brother texted me he had just learned that Hungary was now a dictatorship.

Apparently, this is how it goes.  I found a website that has a nice synopsis of Plato's Republic.

So, the order is:

- Monarchy/Aristocracy (a government based on wisdom)

- Timocracy (a government based on honor and merit; like a military)

- Oligarchy (a government based on wealth; a capitalist state)

- Democracy/Anarchy (a government based on liberty and equality)

A Mixed Republic is the most stable allowing "sub systems" of Democracy and others to thrive.

So, I wonder if those countries that have preserved their Aristocracy in some form (becoming a subsystem of a Republic) may be stable-forming influence. Just a guess.

Countries like Hungary have been whipsawed from one form of government to another. Reading just a little bit of their history in Wikipedia new governments were a way of life!

I'm hoping America's mix of representative Republic and State Government will be good.

Walters: California — specifically, Jerry Brown — also failed to prepare

I never got the impression that Arnold was a very good governor.  But there was one thing he did that was undone.  That decision has now come back to haunt CA.

The most disturbing revelation is that Brown essentially abolished predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s effort to prepare California for a pandemic.

In 2006, Schwarzenegger created the Emergency Medical Services Authority and invested tens of millions of dollars to stockpile supplies and equipment, including three mobile hospitals.

“In light of the pandemic flu risk, it is absolutely a critical investment,” Schwarzenegger said at the time. “I’m not willing to gamble with the people’s safety.”

“Each hospital would be the size of a football field, with a surgery ward, intensive care unit and X-ray equipment,” a weekend article by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Los Angeles Times said. “Medical response teams would also have access to a massive stockpile of emergency supplies: 50 million N95 respirators, 2,400 portable ventilators and kits to set up 21,000 additional patient beds wherever they were needed.”

However, five years later, Brown, having inherited huge budget deficits from Schwarzenegger that were accumulated during the Great Recession, cut off funding for the program. Most of the equipment was donated to local hospitals and other medical agencies without money to maintain it and much of it was allowed to expire.

“There was a time there that Arnold Schwarzenegger had a bold vision and a responsible one,” Jack Lewin, former CEO of the California Medical Association, told the Sacramento Bee, which broke the story about the rise and fall of Schwarzenegger’s prescient act. “But I think that got diluted over the course of time. People get complacent, and money goes elsewhere.”

 What a shame.  CA gambled with people's safety...and lost.

Editorial: Other states have emergency financial reserves to help combat the coronavirus. Not Illinois.

So, the chickens are coming home to roost.  What a shame. These are the things that unmake countries...and states.

In dealing with the needs of people hurt by the coronavirus crisis, the state of Indiana has a notable advantage: a rainy day fund that holds more than $2 billion. State budget director Cris Johnston says some of the reserve will be used to cover unexpected expenses, such as buying personal protective equipment for health care workers. It’s a welcome buffer, which the state had wisely built up from $831 million a decade earlier.

Too bad Illinois was not so farsighted. Its Budget Stabilization Fund has only $58,655. That’s enough to cover the state government’s normal expenses for about 30 seconds. Indiana’s is enough to cover more than a month.

The state has a backlog of $7.5 billion in unpaid bills.  Why would anyone want to do business with a deadbeat state?

Gov. Baker prohibits reusable shopping bags during coronavirus emergency

I have been wondering when the campaign to eradicate single use plastics was going to run head on into a situation where they are desperately needed, And here we are.

I just hope people will temper their zeal.  Reusable bags have been known for a while to contaminate easily with meats, spreading disease.  No surprise here.

Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday announced a new public health order related to grocery stores and pharmacies in Massachusetts, which includes a temporary ban on reusable bags.

"From now on, reusable bags are prohibited and all regulations on plastic bag bans are lifted," he said.

The order also prohibits stores from charging for paper and plastic bags while the order is in place.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh had previously announced the same measures in the city.

The Benefits Of Air Pollution Control: Where’s The Beef?

This is an interesting article.  The author looks at the data and shows that cleaning up the air really hasn't moved the needle on deaths as we would have hoped it would.  Cleaning up air emissions that cause smog was supposed to improve our quality of life.  But did it really?

I certainly can't say I prefer a world covered in smog with little light from the sun shining through.  The author brings up the fact that the only people affected by coal burning in the UK in the 1950s were those who were already suffering from respiratory - cardio illnesses.

But wasn't that the intent on controlling emissions?  To improve our quality of life as we age over time?  For sure, the young will always have the ability and resilience to overcome wide ranges of pollutions.

I don't think there is anyone that thinks it's a good idea to completely wipe out existing pollution control regulations.  But maybe, we past the point of diminishing returns and can ease up a little and take the Heavy Boot off the neck of industry and replace it with a soft slipper.

It’s been 50 years since cleaning up the air in the United States began in earnest. Skies are much clearer now than in the mid-20th century. Leaded gasoline is gone, power plants have been abandoning coal and sulfur dioxide has dropped by 91%. Despite these growing improvements, why have epidemiologists been unable to show the demonstrable public health benefits that their computer models predict?

NY and CA spend billions more in taxes than TX and FL — and get worse results

This is the preamble to a blog I posted regarding the astronomic cost of installing handicap accessibility to existing subway stations in NY compared to other cities in other countries.

America’s four largest states — California, Texas, Florida and New York — have a lot in common. They are iconic, dynamic and diverse. Each could be formidable countries themselves.

And, yet, they are also very different in their politics and governance. California and New York are dominated by Democrats who have implemented the nation’s highest and sixth-highest marginal income tax rates, respectively, to help finance large social programs and bureaucracies. (New York’s rate rises to second-highest if New York City income tax is included.)

Texas and Florida, meanwhile, have been governed mostly by conservative Republicans for decades; they are among the few states that levy no income tax on workers, while maintaining leaner social programs.

Our big four states provide a good test case for two very different visions: Do higher taxes and bigger government actually deliver better outcomes, particularly in terms of education, poverty alleviation, and infrastructure? Or can simpler governments and lower taxes actually raise the fortunes of their citizens?

Here, the facts tell the story.

Worth reading.  The author shows graphs and statistics, wondering why NY and CA can't seem to get more bang for their buck.

Swiss Air Drops Christian Chocolate Supplier Following Protests

And the Far Left is cheering and high-fiving.  They have learned that by making complete asses of themselves and breaking things, they can get their way.  And why not?  It seems to keep working.  And who the hell are those Far Right Crackpot Christians anyway, other than...well, Far Right Crackpot Christians??

We are going down a deep and dark path that will only lead to one thing:  The destruction of civilization as we know it.  We are headed into a time of despotic rule.  The Bright Light of Truth is dimming at an ever increasing rate.

Get ready, we have to live in this world.

Despite Swiss Air’s ten-year affiliation with Läderach, the airline dropped the chocolatier after protests and extensive vandalism by left-wing activists, homosexuals, and young socialists, according to a report by LifeSite News.

Jürg Läderach, who owns the high-end chocolate company, is also the president of “Christianity for Today” (CFT), a Swiss evangelical organization that sponsors Switzerland’s March for Life and emphasizes the importance of the family based on a marriage between a man and a woman.

According to the Swiss news magazine Beobachter, negative press surrounding Läderach for its pro-life and pro-family positions was “clearly too much for the airline, which has many gay crew members.”

Swiss Air spokeswoman Meike Fuhlrott confirmed that there had been negative feedback from customers and employees due to the media reports.

Last fall, activists attacked a Läderach store in Basel, Switzerland, using Butyric acid, forcing the store to close for two days. This assault was just one instance of vandalism against the chocolatier, which reportedly took place at seven different stores.