Here's one of Michael Crichton's very finest quotes, especially applicable to climate "science":
"I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science.
I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled.
Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had.
Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right ... In science, consensus is irrelevant."
Best to everyone,
w.
Sophie on her viral pointing meme:
She asked why only CC got a tech and not DB… who didn’t like being pointed. Sophie said “oh you shouldn’t have said that” & continued to silently point at her.
“I think it’s dumb. But it was pissing her off, and I couldn’t help myself”
😭😭😭
What do studies say about "freezing the rent"?
Let's have a thread🧵
First thing's first: Most studies agree that rent controlled units have lower rents, but also the supply of rentable units goes down and un-controlled units see their rents increase.
Uh-oh!
Thank you, European soccer fans, for reminding us of how great our country is.
With all the political bickering I’m afraid we too often take it for granted.
Your timing was impeccable, on this our 250th birthday, and we are forever in your debt for bringing the beer.
I encourage every American who hasn’t been to Europe to do so. I’ve been many times and it’s an amazing continent with amazing history and even more amazing people.
But make sure you post pics, as something tells me they may need to be reminded occasionally, too.
Kirk Ferentz on Bob Sanders: “He set the standard for everybody. It’s hard to think of somebody more impactful.”
Sanders (wrongly) wasn’t a 1T All-American but he’s the MVP of the Ferentz era. He could have been Super Bowl XLI MVP, too.
https://t.co/ul9WUzi5AD
BEAUTIFUL!
This anti-vax study that I showed was fatally flawed has now been retracted.
It was garbage and never should've been published. It's been used to dissuade parents from getting their kids vaccinated for a potentially deadly disease.
Glad it's gone.
@RealBirdLawyer If Mahomes opened next season by throwing 116 consecutive interceptions, he would still have a better TD to Interception ratio than Elway.
The Soviet whaling fleet killed 180,000 whales between 1948 and 1973, delivering rotten carcasses that nobody wanted to eat. Soviet citizens had zero demand for whale meat. The ships hunted anyway, fulfilling quotas handed down from central planners who counted tons of dead whale as economic output.
This was bureaucratic box-checking that nearly drove multiple whale species to extinction. Soviet whalers targeted endangered right whales and humpbacks specifically because they were larger, helping them hit tonnage targets faster. The meat rotted on deck during long voyages back to port, where officials dutifully recorded the numbers and sent reports to Moscow declaring another successful harvest.
Central planners measured success in tons harvested, not consumer satisfaction or long-term sustainability. Factory managers got promoted for exceeding whale quotas, regardless of whether anyone actually wanted whale meat (they didn't). The feedback mechanism that normally connects production to human needs had been severed entirely. When bureaucrats replace market prices with administrative targets, you get mass slaughter with zero purpose.
You still see this today every time politicians promise to "create jobs" in industries that lose money year after year. When government agencies measure their success by dollars spent rather than problems solved. When university administrators chase enrollment numbers instead of student outcomes.
Remove the profit motive and price signals, and you get 180,000 dead whales rotting in the sun while commissars celebrate meeting their targets. You don't get rational planning.
Socialism is fundamentally destructive to the environment and inevitably leads to ecological disasters.