Rich Lighten

The official Twitter account of me.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

Painted a 60 mile high Y over the state today. Let's get the dubs @BYUMBB,
@BYUfootball, and @byusoccer_w!

https://t.co/yMtbeTcPpa via @FlightAware

[Spencer A. Klavan @SpencerKlavan]

This is by far the most damning thing in Fauci’s diaries, or what I’ve read of them. People sometimes get stuck on whether Fauci was right or wrong about where the virus came from, how it spread, etc. But much of that was contested at the time and some of it continues to be. It would have been perfectly within the realm of decency for Fauci to have professional opinions about those matters which turned out to be wrong. I don’t even much mind him getting all bamboozled and doe-eyed about meeting celebrities, though it’s pretty hilarious and does speak to his character a bit.

But no, what’s inexcusable, what ruined lives and deformed entire childhoods, was the imperious dishonesty with which he shamed anyone who questioned him, the moral arrogance with which he feigned certainty on hugely contested questions and then did everything in his considerable power to tank the careers of people who dissented—people with credentials just as good as his, who were a damn sight more honest about how sure they could be and a damn sight more humble about how entitled they were to make life-changing decisions for the voiceless masses.

It’s one thing to have a wrong opinion—or a right opinion, for that matter—about a developing situation based on partial evidence. It’s another thing to know you’re unsure and still talk and act like you’ve descended from the chilly heights of the empyrean to issue cold commands. The man is one of the most odious characters in our public life, and emblematic of an attitude that needs naming and shaming, unpleasant as it is for us all to look back on that wretched time.

[Jennifer Sey @JenniferSey]

I don’t think I can handle reading all of the Fauci diaries.

My head might explode in a fit of rage.

Those of us who resisted from the beginning knew he was a weasel. A power-hungry narcissistic weasel with a giant fucking head and a love affair with rolling cameras. It was so obvious. But it’s even worse. So bad.

If anyone ever asks me ever again “why was Covid the hill you were willing to die on” … I’m just gonna say because Fauci is a f@cking liar and I knew it. He shut the entire world down. Ruined lives. For his ego driven little power play. Destroyed kids’ childhoods, adolescence, they couldn’t go to school or play sports or be with friends. They were isolated and alone in their rooms locked in to screen screens screens. They were stunted emotionally and developmentally. And of course educationally. They were depressed and eating disorders skyrocketed and stupid trans skyrocketed and drug use and screen addiction and porn addiction and all of it and now they can’t even go into the world and talk to each other.

Old and sick people died alone. Old people were separated from their family in the last years and months and weeks of their lives. Women gave birth in masks alone. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Families were divided. Still haven’t recovered.

American citizens were censored in a full on assault of our free speech rights, 25+M people were laid off in 2020, people were fired if they didn’t get his shitty vaxx and others were fully 10000000% cancelled for saying WTF this is all so wrong.

And it’s all because of this tiny shitty man’s will to power. All one giant ego boost while the world burned.

[Bethany S. Mandel @bethanyshondark]

Absolutely outstanding. Standing ovation stuff. This is the vision. This is the voice.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@FiredUpCoug Why didn't she want a plane?

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@MatthewSkrzypc1 @Rafa_Mangual Use your own words...this is just AI slop

[Guy Benson @guypbenson]

Pound sand… a rich kid limousine commie demagogue who just recently became a citizen, seemingly with the goal of uprooting what makes this place uniquely prosperous. No.

[Guy Swann @TheGuySwann]

• You and your friends would steal 80% of it
• you’d come in 300% over budget and still spend 3x what you taxed
• you’d start 2 useless departments that soak up billions yearly forever going forward
• the entire mess would be riddled with bribes, fraud, and fake daycares
• you’d be proposing a 2nd, 3rd, 4th and then permanent wealth tax to deal with the “gross underfunding” of your corrupt “childcare for everyone” empire.

The icing on the cake? Childcare costs in the US would increase by 40% in 2 years.

[Brivael Le Pogam @brivael]

Je vais partir du principe que tu es de bonne foi, parce que ton raisonnement est intuitif et que 90% des gens le partagent. Mais il repose sur trois erreurs factuelles, et ça vaut le coup de les regarder calmement.

Erreur 1 : la fortune d'Elon n'est pas un tas d'argent. C'est de la propriété d'usines, de fusées et de satellites. "Prendre la moitié de sa tune", concrètement, ça veut dire forcer la vente de la moitié de SpaceX et Tesla. L'argent ne sort pas d'un coffre, il sort des entreprises elles-mêmes, qui passent sous contrôle de fonds étrangers ou d'États. Tu ne redistribues pas du cash, tu démantèles un outil de production. C'est la différence entre récolter des pommes et découper le pommier.

Erreur 2 : "ça résout énormément de problèmes dans le monde". Cette expérience a déjà été tentée, en vrai. En 2021, le directeur du Programme Alimentaire Mondial de l'ONU a affirmé que 6 milliards de Musk pouvaient "résoudre la faim dans le monde". Réponse d'Elon : décrivez-moi exactement comment, comptabilité publique à l'appui, et je vends mes actions Tesla immédiatement. Le PAM a publié son plan. Verdict : ce n'était pas "résoudre la faim", c'était nourrir 42 millions de personnes pendant un an. Un an. Puis il faut re-payer, pour toujours. Le PAM avait d'ailleurs levé 8,4 milliards l'année précédente, et la faim était toujours là. Les ONG traitent les symptômes en boucle, jamais les causes, parce que leur financement dépend de l'existence du problème.

Erreur 3, la plus importante : tu cherches ce qui sort vraiment les gens de la pauvreté. Bonne nouvelle, on a la réponse, et elle est massive. En 1990, 36% de l'humanité vivait dans l'extrême pauvreté. Aujourd'hui, moins de 9%. Plus d'un milliard de personnes sorties de la misère en 30 ans. Par quoi ? Pas par la charité ni par l'aide internationale (plus de 1 000 milliards versés à l'Afrique en 60 ans pour un résultat à peu près nul). Par l'ouverture des marchés, l'industrialisation, le commerce. La Chine seule a sorti 800 millions de personnes de la pauvreté en abandonnant le collectivisme, pas en taxant ses entrepreneurs.

Donc fais le calcul complet. Option A : tu confisques 500 milliards, tu finances quelques années de programmes, l'argent est consommé, et tu as détruit la machine qui produisait les fusées, les voitures électriques et l'internet des zones rurales. Option B : tu laisses le meilleur allocateur de capital de sa génération réinvestir 100% de sa fortune dans des industries qui baissent les coûts pour tout le monde et emploient des centaines de milliers de personnes. L'option A soulage ta morale pendant 18 mois. L'option B sort des populations entières de la pauvreté pour toujours.

La pauvreté ne se redistribue pas. Elle se résout par la création. C'est contre-intuitif, c'est frustrant, mais c'est ce que disent 200 ans de données.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@Manhattva @grantbelden Not many others though. Outsold by Lightning, which Ford canceled.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@Manhattva @grantbelden That's what everyone said about Cybertruck, which is a sales and financial disaster.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@OrchrdSports @SocialistMormon @anthony_harley1 The people of Utah or anywhere else are free to come together at any time and risk whatever capital they want to build whatever they want. That's a free market.

A centralized entity (govt) risking the people's money involuntarily for a hoped for return is socialism.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@OregonUtefan @OrchrdSports The opposite of capitalism, which you oppose.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@OregonUtefan @OrchrdSports Communist

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@OrchrdSports The people are free to organize and find whatever they want. Go find some investors. Nothing is preventing you. Asking government to fund and run business is a disaster every time.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@mcuban Here's an idea. Stop making things harder and more expensive for consumers. Stop using government to manipulate business. Less govt is the answer, not more.

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@ruffriden @itschappy How about economic development that everyone benefits from. Putting the brakes on the future is foolish.

[Daily Mail @DailyMail]

Full depravity of Hamas during October 7 revealed for the first time: New report details how terrorists performed almost unimaginable horrors upon Israeli families https://t.co/14KfEBq7jV

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@WasatchBall @CJRealHoops2 You had AI write this?

[Rich Lighten @RichLighten]

@G33B @TanMart03 Why are they obligated to do anything for anyone. They, like anyone, can do what they please. You get to chose as a consumer what to buy. Free exchange.