Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

L.Neil Smith observed, back in 1999, in his essay “A Conspiracy Theory — Sort Of“, that there appears to be a spate of mass shootings every time there’s some victim disarmament legislation to be passed. Alert readers of TLE already know that there is a connection between psychotropic drugs and these incidents. Is it that the gun control industry, as Neil speculates, staged those incidents. Or do the events come and go, and the news media play them up more when there’s legislation to be passed? Either way, we have a bunch of psychopaths with all the charm, warmth, and human kindness of Ramsay Bolton in charge. The US is a kakistocracy.

Speaking of which, here’s hoping Disney doesn’t sue us for using their no-doubt copyrighted term “the Mickey Mouse Club”.

African entrepreneurs solving African problems, often struggling against some of the world’s most corrupt governments, who make this country’s kakistocracy look warm and fuzzy. One of them speaks out against climate alarmism, ecocolonialism, and Western energy hypocrisy.

Alan Bickley decides it’s Russia v. The New World Order. And which one he prefers.

And finally, Rudyard Kipling reminds us of what life was like for poor, honest men during the Napoleonic Wars. “Press” meaning impressment, a quick random draft for the Navy, with no appeal, no deferments, and long brutal service. Ushant is the westernmost island in France, off the coast of Brittany, and for incoming ships the dividing point between the Channel and the Bay of Biscay. Guinea, officially 21 shillings in gold.

I have never seen a more lucid explanation in one sentence of why coercion is evil as Hayek’s in this week’s toon. I’m impressed.

Links! Have we got Links!

Hillary Clinton: ‘Abolish The Electoral College Or I Will Never Run Again’ Ah, if only we could believe her, we’d have one more reason to keep the Electoral College.

More seriously, Thomas Sowell asks, have we reached The Point of No Return?

California Had the Most Active Shooter Incidents in 2021: FBI Nice scary headline. I’m sure the Epoch Times will sell lots of copies with it. But if you dig a bit into the article, a different story emerges. “California, which has some of the strictest gun laws, saw 0.015 shootings per 100,000 people. Texas, which has very unrestrictive state gun laws, had nearly the same at 0.0167 per 100,000 people. Georgia had 0.045 per 100,000 people.” All of a sudden, California doesn’t look so bad, at least on the issue of active shooter incidents.

In the post-Dobbs world, how if the state or feds knew you were pregnant before you did? These Companies Know When You’re Pregnant—And They’re Not Keeping It Secret