October 4, 2016
This is a short discussion about common sense, something that has clearly been lacking in the federal government for an extremely long time.
When I was a student at Stanford University (before the forces of liberalism took it over) I took an introductory course – the equivalent of Economics 101. During the first week the instructor showed (in U.S. dollars) a five-year graph of the cost per ton of sugar in Cuba and the cost per sixteen ounces of silver in Canada (I use these two arbitrarily since I do not remember the exact items he was comparing). Over the five-year period in question these costs matched almost exactly. The instructor said “one could therefore conclude that there is a correlation between the cost of these two items but common sense tells you there is none – it is merely a coincidence. Sugar does not affect silver and vice-versa.” Whenever someone tells you he has developed a correlation or relationship one should cast a wary eye.
The federal government spends about two hundred billion (yeah, that’s billion) dollars yearly on research and development projects with very little federal management or control. That is a heap of money being passed out to individuals who have little or no oversight and who only have to concoct some flimsy justification for what they are doing. This usually includes the requisite number of research assistants, statisticians, clerks, and other functionaries required to present a “thorough and complete analysis.” There is at least one criterion important for receiving research money namely you have to be able, without saying so directly, to demonstrate that you are a loyal socialist. This is fairly easy for most university professors.
Once you receive a grant the hard part begins – you must figure out a way to get the grant renewed. You let your assistants do all the research work while you concentrate on how to keep the money rolling in. The tried and true way to keep the money rolling is to “find something.” More specifically a relationship or correlation which intrigues people even though it probably has no basis in common sense. (I warned you to be wary!) So you get stuff like “two glasses of red wine per night makes you live longer” or “eating spinach reduces carpal tunnel syndrome” or whatever other coincidental correlation you can get publicized and get the public to buy into. But at least you “found something” so next year you get more money to “find something else.”
Have you ever seen these television documentaries where the scientists get all excited about something that doesn’t seem very exciting? They want to act like they are doing something profound so they can convince the government to give them some more money next year. The scientific community has evolved into a bunch of hucksters that are ready to sell their integrity for the right price. The few objective scientists that are still operating are shouted down by their liberal colleagues and are left out in the wilderness. Any scientific conclusion one wishes to reach is now available for the right price.
This is one reason this nation is in dire financial straits – we continue to spend the people’s money on garbage.
Lewis Shupe, Founder
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