MONTANA — Greetings from the Big Sky Country.
The last couple of weeks have been good for marketing my scripts. I’ve had several script requests from producers and I even had one producer give me a call so we could talk for awhile and get to know each other better.
Although he is beginning a project in Europe this week, he said he loved my writing and wants me to keep sending him stuff. That’s encouraging.
It’s a long way from a finished film being produced, but encouraging is good.
And as much as I love spending most of my day working in front of my dual computer screens in my office or on my laptop at the local coffee shop, I have to admit that talking with a live human being is kind of fun also.
Now to the story.
As our government continues to solve our problems by creating untold trillions of dollars out of thin air, I thought it might be interesting to look at how successful they have been at using those dollars.
It begins with the government identifying a problem.
The War on Poverty and the War on Drugs immediately come to mind. But those programs have been around for decades and we must surely have solved both those problems by now.
So, let’s focus on some more recent efforts of the government to make a difference by taking money from you (or magically creating it … which also takes money from you because it causes this thing called inflation) and spending it on their projects to improve the world.
Racism is bad1. Oklahoma State University, a public university, is a good example. The university paid a speaker to give the keynote talk commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which was followed by a one-hour Q & A session. That’s two hours of work. And it only cost them $40,000. Not a bad job for two hours of work. I’m sure it had a profound impact on fixing racism in their school.
The results of mixing cocaine and experimental drugs2. This has probably been an issue that has been occupying your thoughts for some time. Who doesn’t want to know if cocaine use impacts the effects of experimental drugs? Well, the government realized it had to find the answer. The NIH (National Institute of Health) spent about $2.5 million in an experiment where they force-fed cute little beagle puppies an experimental drug then injected the puppies with cocaine to study the interactions between the compounds. When word got out about the program the NIH said they didn’t have any use for such experiments. So a report was never submitted and we never learned the results. Hey, it was only $2.5 million. If you’re concerned about the puppies, they were either eliminated (which is a nice way of saying they were killed) or they were re-purposed for other experiments.
Birth Control … for wild horses and burros3. You can’t tell me this hasn’t been a major concern on your must-do list. The government is aware of the problem with those pesky wild horses and burros. So, the Bureau of Land Management has $11 million to give (through grants) to people to help them learn how to deal with the problem. That sounds like we’re heading toward a great solution to society’s ills.
Unemployment during the pandemic4. To help the people who lost their jobs during the pandemic when the government made businesses close, the government came to the rescue by giving money for unemployment insurance. As with most government programs, they did a fantastic job implementing their program. Only about $36 billion (as in BILLION) went for “improper” unemployment insurance benefits. What’s a few billion misspent dollars when your heart is in the right place?
Reopen the schools5. Many people recognized getting the schools reopened was important. So the government, which had closed the schools, came to the rescue. Congress voted billions of dollars to help schools reopen safely. Somehow, hundreds of millions of those billions of dollars didn’t go to reopening the schools but instead went to giving teachers pay raises and bonuses. Yeah, that sounds like a really good way to reopen schools.
I could literally go on for hours but I think you get the idea.
When the government gets involved in “solving” our problems, look out.
The Reagan quote at the beginning of this newsletter really does apply to our world.
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:
I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
Ronald Reagan
40th President of the United States
My wife and I like to listen to a chapter or so of a book on audible each night. We recently finished “Saving My Assassin” by Virginia Prodan and thought it was very powerful. It’s the story of a woman in Communist Romania who suffered intense persecution by the state because she wouldn’t bow down to a very evil and controlling government. She was a Christian in a very anti-Christian world. This book is worth reading.
The book we are now reading together is “Two Years Before the Mast,” by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. It describes the author’s experiences as a common sailor on a merchant ship from 1834 to 1836. The historian in me loves the book, but this is a story I think everyone would enjoy. Dana kept a diary of his two year trip working as a sailor around the world. The subtitle of the book is “The life of a common sailor as it really is” and it’s an engaging story that describes a life that few of us can even imagine.
I just finished “The Memoir of Thomas Jefferson” and enjoyed it. I grant you this is not the type of book most people would want to read but the historian in me loves the observations Jefferson brings to the events and people of his day. I don’t recommend it for others unless you have my love of history.
I try to take daily walks and listen to stories on Audible. I’m curently listening to “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” by Peter Schweizer. Schweizer is an investigative journalist who has researched how and with whom China has pursued its policy they describe as “elite capture” in American society. He documents the American politicians (from both sides of the aisle), educational institutions, business leaders, tech leaders, entertainment leaders, and social influencers who have literally been “bought off” by China.
Here are some stories I found interesting recently. You might want to check them out.
“He Survived the Holocaust Because Of A Stranger’s Kindness” from Story Corps.
“American Idle” by Bill Bonner. An interesting look at the importance of work and how society is paying the price for economic decisions by the “elite.” This is an investment newsletter and he offers a free version. He often has some good insights into what is happening in our world today and I would encourage you to check it out.
“'I love you Bro: Dad Spots Young Man About to Jump Off I-15 Bridge, Stops, Opens His Heart, Saves a Life” by Michael Wing.
“If only we knew what we know” an interview with Byron King by Joel Bowman. You can listen to the podcast interview or read the transcript. The interview lasts a little over one hour and it talks about shortages of basic materials and the impact those shortages will have on our daily lives. It will help if you have an understanding of science and engineering concepts.
Before I go I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today!
Clint
The Government Can Fix Anything