This, that, and the other thing:

Newspeak – our Beloved Leader has an interesting new term for tax rate cuts:  "spending reductions in the tax code."  While not quite as blatantly propagandistic as that, pay attention to talking heads talking about recent price increases.  These will usually be referred to as “inflation.”  While it is true that the word has come to mean “rising prices” it is good to remember the original denotation of the word:  “an increase in the supply of money.”  Such increases in our system are the result of governments, which are the creators of our money, creating more of it.

This becomes important because the same governments will typically blame those who sell things for “inflation.”  Our Beloved Leader’s administration recently launched an investigation of oil companies for “price gouging” in the sale of gasoline.  It is a convenient 1984-style way to cover the fact that prices increase that are the result of inflation are also the result of what the government has done in its never-ending creation of money.

Mind Control – Is anyone else tired of hearing state governments whine about not having enough money to “fund” the government schools?  As it turns out, “While schools annually spend an average of about $10,000 per student, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that only 60 percent of these expenditures are instructional.”

This means, of course, that schools could cut up to 40% without touching “instructional costs.”  Another and better solution would be to get governments out of the schooling business.  Just give eligible students vouchers for, on average, $6000 per year.  This is a hard-sell because as it is governments and their union allies get to control schooling.

Even better but less likely to be implemented idea is to come to our political senses and realize that no one has a “right” to schooling at the expense of others.  But that’s just crazy talk, of course.

The Culture of Lies – Hershel Shanks, editor of The Biblical Archaeology Review says, “J’accuse! I accuse the television program 60 Minutes of unethical and irresponsible reporting.”  You can see the story details here, but the problem is that 6o Minutes dubbed words into the mouth of a man to make it appear that he confessed to something that he did not.  As Hershel goes on to complain, “60 Minutes supports and demands transparency in government. It seems that 60 Minutes is in favor of transparency except when it comes to 60 Minutes.”

Hershel, Hershel, why are you so surprised?  60 Minutes is just trying to catch up with Dateline NBC which way back in 1992 rigged a truck to explode to help them “make” their point about how a GM truck might explode.  The problem was that they did not bother to inform anyone that their example was rigged.

It’s just the way network news works these days.  They are just trying to stay in tune with their Beloved Leader (see above)!