Liberty Nation presents our selection of the best stories this week. Some may be articles, others may be podcasts, videos, or radio broadcasts, but each has been chosen for their quality and scope.
The editorial team at LN hopes you can use this weekly post to catch up on stories that you might have missed. Let us know in the comments section which is your favorite.
#1 The Disappearing Democratic Scandal – Part 1
By Tim Donner
Remember the Pakistani IT guy who worked for Debbie Wasserman Schultz and others in Congress? He’s the stuff of James Bond.
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on a massive scandal that has gone largely unreported, based on an interview on Liberty Nation Radio with Luke Rosiak, author of Obstruction of Justice: How the Deep State Risked National Security to Protect the Democrats.
Imran Awan
Have we had enough of scandals — fake or real — in Washington? On one side, we’ve been hearing for two years about accusations of collusion between Trump and Russia — no proof found. From the other side comes claims that innocent Trump campaign operatives were drawn into an FBI trap to trigger an unfounded investigation — plenty of proof on that one.
But if you think you have a handle on all the scandals pervading the DC swamp, think again. There was another truly shocking turn of events involving Congress that flew mostly under the radar in the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign. An unvetted Pakistani national given to blackmail gained access to the computer files of more than 30 Democrats in the House of Representatives, and from there the story reads like a spy novel. Some have called it the biggest scandal in congressional history, notwithstanding the lack of publicity surrounding it. Read More.
#2 Ocasio-Cortez And The Nazi Connection
By Mark Angelides
Is AOC’s new Chief of Staff a fan of Nazis?
The Democrats’ latest heroine might not be quite the early Christmas present they had hoped for as scandal after scandal engulfs the newly elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). People are often judged according to those with whom they associate, and in the case of AOC’s Chief of Staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, the congresswoman-elect may well find herself destined for trouble.
Ask yourself a question: If President Donald Trump hired a person who openly shows support for a Nazi collaborator, how long would that staff member last? And perhaps more importantly, how tarnished would the president’s brand be?
This is the situation AOC may now find herself in. Haven’t read about it in the newspapers? Haven’t seen it on CNN? Let me enlighten you. Read More.
#3 Selling Capitalism More Effective Than Demonizing Socialism
By Jeff Charles
Socialism used to mean gulags, food lines, and brutal oppression. Now Utopia?
There was a time when “socialism” was an ugly word, one with which no sane American would want to be affiliated. The term conjured stark images of gulags, food lines, and the brutal oppression typically associated with Soviet Russia and Cuba under the Castro regime. But it appears that times have changed, and not for the better.
Recent polls have revealed that a disturbing percentage of Americans prefer socialism over capitalism. In particular, Gallup found that 51% of adults aged 18-29 approve of socialism. A YouGov study conducted in November 2018 found that kids between the ages of 14 and 17 were split evenly on whether capitalism or socialism is the better system.
Liberty-minded Americans must ask: Why is this happening, and what can be done to stop it? Read More.
#4 Leftists High Tailing It Out Of High Tax States
By Sarah Cowgill
Overtaxed, over-regulated liberals flee the consequences of their own foolish decisions.
Americans living in highly taxed and regulated states are cashing it all in to head towards greener pastures – and they’re taking their political capital with them. According to the United States Census Bureau, an electoral power shift may emerge after the completion of the 2020 census and the outlook for top leftist run states is grim.
Using net domestic migration data compiled in the annual report, “Rich States, Poor States,” published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) January 2019, it is clear that states reducing tax and regulatory burdens are winning the migration war. Conversely, those enjoying a quagmire of leftist failed economic policies are beginning to feel the pain of the exodus.
That doesn’t bode well for power grabbing in the Swamp.
In 2018, citizens of New York and Illinois skittered and scattered in every direction, with 48,510 and 45,116 folks respectively relocating to better climes — and not necessarily for the weather – as top locales gaining blue state refugees include Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. Read More.
#5 Free Money In Finland Fails
By Onar Åm
People who get free money are happier, but they don’t work more
Many prominent people, including Elon Musk, have promoted the idea of universal basic income (UBI) – a guaranteed minimum payday, funded by taxpayers, earned simply by breathing. It should not come as a surprise that fiscal conservatives are anything but happy about it, but the proposal has been able to float around in cyberspace as a nice, unproven idea worth trying out – until now. Finland ran a test program with unemployed Finns from 2017 to 2018 to see if universal income could be a solution to the problems facing the welfare state, and the results are now in.
The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health recently published a report summarizing their findings of their experiment. Their primary aim was to study the effects of UBI on employment and income, and they found no statistical difference between the treatment group and the control group.
As such, from a fiscal perspective, the experiment was a monumental failure. Under normal circumstances, that should be the end of it: Yet another failed progressive idea. Read More.
