Should Some News Be Restricted?

[vnatale]

Before you jump down my throat, I’m not suggesting the government be the one to restrict news. Libertarians always say the free market has the answer so let’s go with a free market solution.

I’m proposing it might be in our best interest as a society to limit some news if that news can cause more harm than good. It’s illegal to shout fire in a movie theater. The ensuing stampede is what kills people. Look at the toilet paper shortages from last year, it’s mob mentality based on fear. There was no shortage! But the false belief it might occur is what led to one.

Take the news of the JNJ vaccine causing a handful of blood clots. I don’t feel that news should be circulated freely. First, we don’t know that the vaccine had anything to do with the blood clots. Millions got the vaccine fine with no issue. Statistically speaking if millions of people all ate green jelly beans and 5 of them died from a rare medical blood clot, we wouldn’t blame the jelly beans. Lookup “p-hacking” for more info.

My concern is people see this news about the vaccine and decide not to get any vaccine. Which is bad for society as a whole since herd immunity only comes from vaccines. More deaths, no hospital beds, terrible for society overall.

Look back to Weimar Germany where they had hyperinflation that led to Hitler taking power. They blamed the Jews, falsely, justifying the Holocaust. That’s an example of news that’s dangerous. If some kind of non-government free market coalition blocked the news of hyperinflation, then WW2 could have been averted.

So libertarians of Gyroscopic forums, I challenge you. Use the free market to propose common-sense solutions on how we can block unsafe news from public consumption to avoid bad societal outcomes.

Since you are generally so scrupulous in the accuracy of all that you write...you may be interested in the following:

Shouting fire in a crowded theater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_ ... ed_theater

[vnatale]

Since you are generally so scrupulous in the accuracy of all that you write...you may be interested in the following:

Shouting fire in a crowded theater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_ ... ed_theater

My accountant is correct! Thanks for the correction. How have you been, it’s been forever since we chatted. How’s the composting going? Spring is here.

Composting is going on fine. The preparing the soil is taking hours and days on end!

[vnatale]

Since you are generally so scrupulous in the accuracy of all that you write...you may be interested in the following:

Shouting fire in a crowded theater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_ ... ed_theater

My accountant is correct! Thanks for the correction. How have you been, it’s been forever since we chatted. How’s the composting going? Spring is here.

Composting is going on fine. The preparing the soil is taking hours and days on end!

I bet! What's involved in preparing the soil? I assume some aeration, maybe mixing in some small rocks for drainage. How about worms or insects, do you add any of those, or let mother nature take it's course?

It's really quite primitive what I do And, a lot of the reason why I do it is for the pure exercise of it. The only tools I use are all hand ones. Wheel barrel, shovel, rake, four pronged thing to break up the soil.

When my driveway gets plowed he plows straight through my garden to the top of it so that when spring comes I have this three foot hills of dirt with both leaves and ice (from the snow) intertwined in it. That dirt was all last year's top soil. It takes hours to break up all those hills of dirt and move them back all around the garden area.

Next step is to break up all the garden dirt, rake it out of the way so I can put cardboard or newspaper down, and then cover them back with the dirt. Almost done with that phase.

Final phase is putting all the leaves from my property (and those taken with permission from my neighbors' properties) to put on top of the entire garden. The decomposing leaves both add nutrients to the soil and keep the soil moist and not drying out. Other than watering the plants for a few days after I first plant them...I don't water them for the rest of the growing season. That is how beneficial all the leaves are.

However, it does take hours turning into days to rake all those leaves and then carry them over to the garden area. Again more pure exercise. Other than my three formal days of exercise...the rest of my life is basically spent sitting in this chair. So basically whenever the temperature is higher than 50 I'm usually out there working on that garden and getting the blessings from all the exercise while doing so.

[vnatale]

This would make a great video tutorial for a YouTube Series on self-sufficiency and small footprint living.

Which plants are you growing? Do you use crop rotation methods? Since the yard is frozen in winter, do you save your urine for composting in spring or do you waste it down the toilet? Do any of your neighbors deny permission to take their leaves: I imagine a public park would be amenable to removing leaves or asking a local landscaper to drop off some when he passes by your house.

At this point my "cash" crops have been tomatoes and peppers.

Last year I had a woodchuck who just about wiped out all my broccoli and brussels sprouts plants. I thinking of something new to try on him or her this year if he or she is still around.

I don't use crop rotation methods but it's a question I was going to ask a friend....if it's not good that I plant the same plants in the same general area.

The yard may be frozen but the compost pile is not. That has normally been the pine shavings that come out of my gerbils' homes and rat's home when
I clean them. This year I added shredded paper to the pile. And, all year round, I, at least once a week, pour all saved urine on to that compost pile.

I only get the leaves from three neighbors. They are quite happy to have me take it off their property.

Their leaves and mine are all I need to well cover my garden.

The following pictures were taken almost exactly a year ago. I'm far ahead of where I was last year.

This one shows you the "hills" that are created by my snowplower. This year he went wild and the hills were about 50% higher than last year. Moving heavy, wet dirt with only a rake is both hard work AND quite time consuming.

Hill.JPG (8.87 MiB) Viewed 1346 times

This is a view of the garden area looking north.

north.JPG (8.81 MiB) Viewed 1346 times

This is a view of the garden area looking east. You might be able to see the tiny compost area in the left middle edge of the picture. By the way, that house with the white fence was built in 2015 and I think it sold for around $262,000 in 2018.

East.JPG (8.85 MiB) Viewed 1346 times

[Hal]

Just a few thoughts from down-under

Compost heaps: We used to dig a few trenches and fill them with alternate layers of high and low nitrogen material. Eg Manure then sawdust. When full we would plant Pumpkins in the trench, and the next spring dig it up and place it on the garden.
You could turn them over by hand to speed things up if you are energetic.....

Crop Rotation: Do it ! You can get away without rotation for a few years, but after the diseases build up in the soil- good luck. You will need it. Simplest methods is to plant a leguminous crop eg beans/peas followed by an "up" crop eg Sweet corn, then finally a root crop eg carrots. Usually we would dig the compost in after the leguminous crop.

Pest: We grew a few tobacco plants amongst the crops. Seemed to keep the insects away. If a bad infestation occurred, we would boil the tobacco leaves until you got a "dark tea". Add squirt of detergent and spray onto infested plants making sure to get the underside of the leaves as well.

Fed whole family this way.

I am spoilt now. Love supermarkets, electric stoves and gas hot water. No chopping wood and lighting stove so we can have a shower!

[jalanlong]

I am spoilt now. Love supermarkets, electric stoves and gas hot water. No chopping wood and lighting stove so we can have a shower!

Don't move to Texas, brother. They are living the libertarian fantasy of having their own electrical grid, separate from the rest of their country. They lost power a few weeks ago during a massive storm and I think it may still be out!

How come Texas losing power for a few hours on a couple of days during the coldest freeze in 100 years is a failure of the "free market" but California having rolling blackouts every summer year after year is not a failure of that state's regulatory planning?

[vnatale]

The yard may be frozen but the compost pile is not. That has normally been the pine shavings that come out of my gerbils' homes and rat's home when
I clean them. This year I added shredded paper to the pile. And, all year round, I, at least once a week, pour all saved urine on to that compost pile.

What do you store the compost pile in? Does it smell badly and if so does the smell enter your house or intrude on your neighbors property? Any tips on starting a compost pile?

That compost pile is just sitting on the ground. It's not really that big. The other day when I was near it I could smell the urine but it would definitely not be smelled by my neighbors. I do have three compost bins that food goes into it. This one on the ground is just: 1) used pine shavings from rodents' homes 2) shredded paper 3) my urine.

I saw that Hal gave some good tips.

All I do in my gardening is somewhat primitive and based upon low knowledge.

When I plant my vegetable plants...I dig a hole in the ground.....fill it up with what is in that compost pile....put the plant in it.

I've had one compost bin for 20 or so years now that only food has gone into. I've yet to take anything out of it. I imagine the bottom of it must be quite rich nutrient-wise.

[I Shrugged]

News should be restricted. Yes.
Social media that serve as the new town squares and letters to the editor should bad anyone that dissents with the Ruling Party.
We won, therefore we are right and just. It's all good.

[I Shrugged]

I am spoilt now. Love supermarkets, electric stoves and gas hot water. No chopping wood and lighting stove so we can have a shower!

Don't move to Texas, brother. They are living the libertarian fantasy of having their own electrical grid, separate from the rest of their country. They lost power a few weeks ago during a massive storm and I think it may still be out!

How come Texas losing power for a few hours on a couple of days during the coldest freeze in 100 years is a failure of the "free market" but California having rolling blackouts every summer year after year is not a failure of that state's regulatory planning?

I read it has something to do with Trumps support for fossil fuels not allowing California to go with more green energy. We’re in a climate crisis right now.

It's a Climate Emergency. Get your terms right!

[jalanlong]

I am spoilt now. Love supermarkets, electric stoves and gas hot water. No chopping wood and lighting stove so we can have a shower!

Don't move to Texas, brother. They are living the libertarian fantasy of having their own electrical grid, separate from the rest of their country. They lost power a few weeks ago during a massive storm and I think it may still be out!

How come Texas losing power for a few hours on a couple of days during the coldest freeze in 100 years is a failure of the "free market" but California having rolling blackouts every summer year after year is not a failure of that state's regulatory planning?

I read it has something to do with Trumps support for fossil fuels not allowing California to go with more green energy. We’re in a climate crisis right now.

It's a Climate Emergency. Get your terms right!

One California newspaper, The Desert Son, disagrees:

"These days, California is trying to adapt to environmental mandates that have shut down natural-gas power plants in favor of solar and wind energy. In addition, the San Onofre nuclear power plant in southern California shut down in 2013 for safety reasons. Nearby western states have also been phasing out coal-burning plants, reducing other energy supplies available for California to import."