Bill McRaven faced Osama Bin Laden and his own commander in chief

 Admiral Bill McRaven 

Four-star Admiral Bill McRaven, former commander of the U.S. Special Operations and Navy SEAL, has led a high-profile career—including facing Somali pirates, Osama Bin Laden, and his own commander in chief. A natural storyteller, he shared highlights from his high-profile career at a John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum last week. The conversation was moderated by Dana H. Born, faculty chair of Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executive Fellows Program, a lecturer in public policy, and a retired Brigadier General with 30 years of USAF service.

A work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann sold for more than $69M at Christie's

 

NFT Mania Continues

A work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, sold for more than $69M at Christie's auction house yesterday. The work was sold as an NFT—a non-fungible token—and marks a record amount in the spiraling crypto art craze. The sale price exceeds that of any work from artists like Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, and others.

NFTs are conceptually similar to digital certificates of authenticity that are completely unique and can't be forged. Similar to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, NFTs rely on blockchain technology (see 101), which uses decentralized networks to verify legitimacy and ownership. Since digital art (and other digital assets) can often be easily duplicated, these characteristics are viewed as the future of the digital art market. Go deeper on NFTs here.

The spectacular sales price appears mostly due to the pioneering use of the technology. Before last fall, the most Winkelmann had ever sold a piece for was $100.

See the piece here (but don't try and copy it).

Thomas Sowell Documentary

 Thomas Sowell Documentary

“Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World” is a new one-hour documentary that traces Sowell’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming one of America’s most preeminent economists, prolific authors, and public intellectuals—and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution since 1980. 

 

Hosted by Jason Riley, a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, the one-hour program features insights from Sowell and interviews with his close friends and colleagues—revealing why this intensely private man is considered by many to be “one of the greatest minds of the past half-century.”

 

You can watch the full documentary here for free.

 

—Greg

Greg Stamps | Online Development

Hoover Institution | Stanford University

 

$1.9T Stimulus Passes

 Stimulus Passes

The House gave final approval to a $1.9T economic aid package yesterday, passing the sweeping bill by a near party-line 220-211 vote. It marks the second-largest stimulus in US history behind last March's $2.2T CARES Act, and brings the total aid passed to counter the pandemic above $5T.  

The proposal includes $1,400 direct payments to individuals making up to $75K, a sum dropping to zero at $80K ($150K to $160K for those filing jointly). The threshold for single parents is raised to $112.5K and drops to zero at $120K. Eligible households will also receive $1,400 per dependent. The cost of direct payments is near $400B. 

The bill also significantly expands the child tax credit, provides $86B in pension support, $30B to support cash-strapped public transportation systems, and $28B in funding for the restaurant industry. A provision for $350B in state and local aid, criticized by Republicans, is included. Roughly $123B, or 7% of the bill, is marked for direct COVID-19 response, including testing and vaccine distribution. See a more detailed breakdown of the package here ($$, WashPo).

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law Friday. 

Rip McIntosh - Thought of the Day Feb 2021

 

There Are None So Blind As Those Who Refuse to See   By E.P. Unum February 19, 2021   Some Thoughts for the Day   >       Not one politician has died from the virus, lost their job, had their business or home looted, missed a haircut, worried about where their next paycheck was coming from, or wears a mask (unless on camera.) I don’t know, but it sure feels like we are being played. Whaddya think?          >        Remember how we panicked when we couldn’t find any toilet paper? What are we going to do when we can’t find a cop? Or a fireman. Or a First Responder   >     NYC defunded the very people that ran into the burning towers on 9/11. How do you feel about that? Think about it because as sure as night follows day we will get hit again as we did on 9-11, and who will run into those burning buildings to save those who cannot save themselves? Did you ever think one of them could be you?   >       If we all started wearing masks with “Trump 2024” on them, how long do you think it will take before democrats led by Hollywood darling Dr. Anthony Fauci decided we don’t need them anymore?   >        Pretty wild how we used to eat cake at birthday parties after someone had blown on it. Those were good times weren’t they?   >       For the first time in American History, American History is no longer taught in American schools. And we wonder why many young students have little knowledge of just how exceptional the country in which they live actually is.   >      I don’t want to know “Why mobs are tearing down America’s monuments.” I would rather know, “Why are we letting them?”   >       Watching our country being destroyed by our own people is the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. It fills me with a sadness I have difficulty expressing in words.   >      Nothing says “unity” like playing a separate National Anthem for black people and white people at NFL games. Or watching athletes kneel during the playing of our National Anthem. In my humble opinion, this is not only disrespectful; it is downright wrong.   >        If you still think that the recently concluded National Election is about Democrats vs Republicans, it was not. Rather, it was a huge battle of good versus evil; of right versus wrong. And it still rages on.  I, for one, am sick and tired of Democrats trying to denigrate President Trump and all that he had accomplished for our nation. Instead, what President Biden and the gaggle of liberal/socialist democrats are fixated on is to decry all things Trump as if he was some kind of evil force. How can a man who donates his entire salary as President, who lifted the wages of black America; who rebuilt our military and reduced unemployment to levels never before seen in our history, and who put “America First” in all his actions be evil. Maybe we should be asking and demanding how democrats intend to do things that will improve our nation. Haven’t heard much of that from them; indeed, exactly the opposite with the 52 executive orders and actions taken by President Biden.   >        The battle my friends is Progressive Socialism vs The Republic of the United States of America. You are either for big government who has no regard for the ability of citizens to think, act, innovate, create and govern themselves or you are for what our Founders so staunchly believed and conceived when they gave us a Republic…that Americans are entirely capable of managing their affairs based on principles of freedom.   >       If black lives really mattered; they’d be tearing down crack houses instead of statues. I know of no American living today who owned slaves. Throwing money at the problems of Black America hasn’t worked over the last fifty years when we spent over $5.0 trillion for and on behalf of Black Americans   >      Time for real Americans to take a stand. I refuse to support the NFL, NBA, MLB, or any organization that removes the National Anthem and refuses to show respect for our Country and our Flag. Far too many of my friends gave their lives, and many more endured debilitating and catastrophic injuries so that I could live in freedom. What Baseball, Basketball, and Football players need to understand, and that is their coach’s responsibility, is that they are entertainers, nothing more. I may watch them to be entertained, not to hear their opinions on politics, race relations, or economics.     >       Let me tell you what Liberal Privilege really is. Liberal Privilege is all about: 1.    Believing you have the right to control other people’s lives 2.    Believing you have the right to never hear other opinions 3.    Believing that when you’re offended others have to care. 4.    Believing that there are two sets of rules: One for you and one for  everyone else   >       If masks work why didn’t we just give masks to prisoners instead of releasing them into communities so they can commit more crime?   >       Oprah Winfrey’s special begins with, “What you WHITE people need to understand…” Now, reverse the COLOR. Does this sound racist to you? That’s because IT IS!    >       Think about these facts: Blacks account for 13% of our population and, depending on which study you consult, Blacks commit 57% of all crimes. But America is made up of Indians, Asians, Hispanics, Italians, Irish, Polish, French, Dutch, English Chinese, Japanese and many other ethnic origins. You know….. E Pluribus Unum…“Out of Many, One” How is it that the ones making all the noise and using the race card are always Blacks?    >       One final thought:  ·       All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason? The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.   ·       The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 245 years ago.   ·       The number of people now getting Free Stuff outnumbers the people paying for the Free Stuff. So, where are we headed?   ·       Failure to change spells the end of the United States as we know it.

 Voter Fraud in Ill,

Five People Charged With Voter Fraud in Illinois: DA’s Office

CDC Reports 1,637 Deaths Following COVID-19 Vaccinations

 Attributed to Covid Vaccinations 1,637 Deaths

UPDATE: CDC Reports 1,637 Deaths Following COVID-19 Vaccinations

Epoch Times 03/10/21