How Communism Nearly Ruined The First Thanksgiving

by Richard M. Ebeling   This time of the year, whether in good economic times or bad, Americans gather with their families and friends and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together. It marks a remembrance of those early Pilgrim Fathers who crossed the uncharted ocean from Europe to make a new start in Plymouth, Massachusetts. What is less appreciated is that Thanksgiving is also a celebration of the birth of free enterprise in America. The English Puritans, who left Great Britain and sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620, were not only escaping from religious persecution in their homeland. They also wanted to turn their back on what they viewed as the materialistic and greedy corruption of the Old World. Plymouth Colony Planned as Collectivist Utopia In the New World, they wanted to erect a New Jerusalem that would not only be religiously devout but be built on a new foundation of communal sharing and social altruism. Their goal was the communism of Plato’s Republic, in which all would work and share in common, knowing neither private property nor self-interested acquisitiveness. What resulted is recorded in the diary of Governor William Bradford, the head of the colony. The colonists collectively…

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Alabama Episcopal Priest and Former College Prof Arrested for Possessing Child Pornography

An Episcopal priest in Birmingham, Alabama, has been arrested for possessing child pornography. Michael Glenn Rich previously taught journalism at Auburn University, reports AL.com. He became a priest in 2006 and in 2014 began serving St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham. After learning of the charges, Rich was immediately suspended from the ministry, said Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan, bishop for the Diocese of Alabama. “Our community prays for all who are victims of exploitation,” said Sloan in a statement provided to the media, including AL.com and ABC 33/40. “The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Alabama are committed to guarding against sexual misconduct in all its ugly abusive forms.” Rich was one of two Jefferson County men arrested in a sting operation carried out by authorities in Alabama and Georgia. Rich was arrested Nov. 16 and charged with three counts of possession of child pornography. He was released from jail the same day. Authorities said Rich was arrested after they received a tip that prompted an investigation into his internet use. Investigators found multiple images of child pornography on his electronic devices. The investigation is ongoing and more charges could be brought. The five-day sting operation led to more than…

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ACT Mishap Forcing Hundreds of Students in East Tennessee to Retake Test

More than 400 students at a Knoxville high school are being asked to retake the ACT because of a testing mishap last month, reports WBIR Channel 10. Bearden High School administered the test Oct. 17 with test booklets it received intended for Oct. 3. ACT has not responded to questions about how the incorrect materials were sent to the school, but says it can’t validate the scores because of the “misadministration” and the theoretical possibility that students could have received test answers from others. Students have been directed to retake the test Dec. 9. Students are worried about missing deadlines for college admissions and scholarships. A handful of students received their scores from ACT, only to have them pulled by the testing company. In Tennessee, all juniors are to take the ACT, with retakes being offered in the fall of students’ senior year. The Knox County PTA and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett have tried unsuccessfully to fight ACT’s decision not to certify the scores from Oct. 17. Candice McQueen, the state commissioner of education, submitted an appeal but it was denied. Others at the state level have also been notified of the situation. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) told WBIR…

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US Arrests Chinese National, Ex-Foreign Minister of Senegal in Bribery Scheme

The bribery scheme was hatched in the halls of the United Nations in New York and spanned several continents. Chi Ping Patrick Ho, a Chinese national, and Cheikh Gadio, a one-time foreign minister of Senegal, plotted to bribe high-level African officials to secure business rights for a Shanghai-based energy and financial conglomerate. Their targets: Idriss Deby,…

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Fact Check: Seismologists Aren’t Actually Predicting dramatic earthquakes for 2018 – It’s One Hypothesis from One Study

Headlines all around the world stopped just short of announcing impending doom. “Deadly earthquakes could hit a BILLION people next year because of Earth’s slowing rotation,” warned The Daily Mail. “Upsurge in big earthquakes predicted for 2018 as Earth rotation slows,” The Guardian also read. But that’s misleading at best, and fear-mongering at worst. Here’s…

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Commentary: Time for China, Japan to Join ‘Developed’ Nations at WTO

Donald Trump, Xi Jinping

By Robert Romano   China ($11.2 trillion) and Japan ($4.9 trillion) combined make up 21 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, according to the World Bank, having benefited from preferential treatment in global trade deals, and are still being treated as “developing” nations under world trade rules. At institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), developing economies do not have to play by the same rules on tariffs, subsidies and other trade barriers as developed economies like the U.S. The policy, called “special and differential” treatment, has been a mainstay of world trade rules since at least the Tokyo Round of GATT that began in 1973, when developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region argued for special protections. Back then, the concept was called “non-reciprocity.” It states, “The developed contracting parties do not expect reciprocity for commitments made by them in trade negotiations to reduce or remove tariffs and other barriers to the trade of less-developed contracting parties.” And specifically, that “the less-developed contracting parties should not be   expected, in the course of trade negotiations, to make contributions which are inconsistent with their individual development, financial and trade needs, taking into consideration past trade developments.” Now, more than 40 years…

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California Judge Blocks Trump’s Sanctuary City Order

A federal judge in California blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order reducing funding for sanctuary cities Monday, limiting the administration’s ability to punish municipalities that violate federal immigration law. The permanent injunction follows a preliminary ruling, issued in April, in a suit filed by the city of San Francisco and Santa Clara county. “The Counties have…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Defends Mass Transit Plan, Raises Cost

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry defended her controversial mass transit plan Monday at a Rotary Club meeting, reports the Nashville Business Journal. And on Wednesday she raised the cost – from $5.2 billion to $5.4 billion. Barry’s plan has faced a growing chorus of critics who have questioned its costs and practicality. But in her speech to the Rotary Club’s Nashville chapter, Barry tried to dispel three myths she said critics have created about her proposal, which involves building a light rail network, improving and expanding bus service, and building an underground tunnel downtown. She wants Davidson County voters in May to approve four tax increases, including a sales tax hike, to help fund the project. The project’s price increase is the result of new plans to extend the Charlotte Avenue light rail corridor. Resources have already been found to cover the expense and the proposed tax increases won’t change, Barry said in a press release. Barry said Monday the three false ideas promoted by critics are that transit ridership is falling, Nashville doesn’t have the density to support light rail, and self-driving cars will eliminate the need for mass transit. Saying that it’s “disingenuous to dance on transit’s grave,” Barry pointed to…

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