David Passmore
@davidpassmore.bsky.social
Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Penn State University (https://davidpassmore.net). Live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Niagara Falls, New York, native. I post critical presentations & analyses of information I read.
Economics
26%
Education
12%
THE FIRST UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS, ICE?
Newsweek reported that ICE has detained four members of the Oglala Lakota Nation, a federally recognized tribal nation of the Indigenous peoples who were in North America long before European settlers arrived.
Newsweek reported that ICE has detained four members of the Oglala Lakota Nation, a federally recognized tribal nation of the Indigenous peoples who were in North America long before European settlers arrived.
1984, GEORGE ORWELL
"He was a fattish but active man of paralyzing stupidity, a mass of imbecile enthusiasms—one of those completely unquestioning, devoted drudges on whom, more even than on the thought police, the stability of the party depended."
"He was a fattish but active man of paralyzing stupidity, a mass of imbecile enthusiasms—one of those completely unquestioning, devoted drudges on whom, more even than on the thought police, the stability of the party depended."
Texas A&M, Under New Curriculum Limits, Warns Professor Not to Teach Plato
www.nytimes.com
WHO'S NEXT? MARCUS AURELIUS?
“A philosophy professor who is not allowed to teach Plato?” A Texas A&M professor said in an interview on Wednesday. “What kind of university is that? Is that really what they want?”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/u...
“A philosophy professor who is not allowed to teach Plato?” A Texas A&M professor said in an interview on Wednesday. “What kind of university is that? Is that really what they want?”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/u...
China imposes additional tariffs on U.S. beef
Beef imports exceeding China’s quotas face an additional tariff rate of 55% for a three-year period starting Jan. 1, 2026.
www.beefmagazine.com
IT'S GETTING HARDER TO SELL YOUR MEAT IN CHINA
China’s Ministry of Commerce determined that imported beef had “seriously damaged” its domestic beef industry, leading China to implement new safeguard measures.
www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/...
China’s Ministry of Commerce determined that imported beef had “seriously damaged” its domestic beef industry, leading China to implement new safeguard measures.
www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/...
Residents question ‘inappropriately high’ health insurance costs at Benner Township
Supervisors Larry Lingle and Randy Moyer’s health insurance plans cost the township about $100,000 annually.
www.centredaily.com
HEY PITTSBURGHERS. TAKE AN EXAMPLE FROM YOUR COUNTRY COUSINS.
Want great health insurance? Take office. Give it to yourself.
www.centredaily.com/news/local/c...
Want great health insurance? Take office. Give it to yourself.
www.centredaily.com/news/local/c...
Twirling Henry Kissinger: verify; don't trust.
Sine die, friends.
Sine die, friends.
This exclusion flags a major threat to justice and civil order. To the citizens living near 44°56′32.0″N, 93°16′03.6″W. To residents of Hennepin County. And, by extension, to your mom, pop, uncle Albert, and sister Louise. To you, my citizen.
News reports indicate that Ms. Good was transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center. But from there, where? In whose custody? Will FBI answers become public, as is common with information about the results of death investigations?
This exclusion of established legal authority from the death investigation upsets expectations for death certification. Does this exclusion mean that Ms. Good's autopsy was not conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner?
The FBI revoked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s access to evidence. Continuing a state probe is nearly impossible without federal cooperation, while Minneapolis’s chief prosecutor said her office is exploring ways to continue a state-level investigation.
Yet, Donald Trump. I was fooled. Hoodwinked. Faked out by a superior evil.
SERIOUS QUESTIONS
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is likely to decide the manner of this death is homicide caused by a gunshot wound to [head..torso?], probably resulting in blood loss.
An ICE agent intentionally killed a citizen.
A homicide categorically.
BUT...
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is likely to decide the manner of this death is homicide caused by a gunshot wound to [head..torso?], probably resulting in blood loss.
An ICE agent intentionally killed a citizen.
A homicide categorically.
BUT...
Custody of the deceased's body usually follows a strict chain of authority for transportation, storage, and examination. What I posted yesterday is generally SOP and seems inviolable. bsky.app/profile/davi...
An authority, a medical examiner (or, depending on where you live, a coroner), has responsibility for certifying death, for answering questions about the cause, manner, and mechanism of death. A legal system decides whether criminality or other culpability is evident.
Well, it all seems so logical, right? In most U.S. jurisdictions, authority and process dictate the conduct of death investigations.
Eradication of Sparrows and the Great Famine in China
The eradication of sparrows during China’s Four Pests Campaign cost nearly two million lives between 1959 and 1961 by reducing crop yields during the Great Famine.
www.cato.org
SPARROWS & FAMINE IN CHINA
Cato Institute reports about "the devastating consequences of ecosystem collapses...the complex interactions between natural systems, particularly how agriculture connects with surrounding ecosystems."
Based on www.nber.org/papers/w34087
www.cato.org/research-bri...
Cato Institute reports about "the devastating consequences of ecosystem collapses...the complex interactions between natural systems, particularly how agriculture connects with surrounding ecosystems."
Based on www.nber.org/papers/w34087
www.cato.org/research-bri...
Was this homicide premeditated or not.
If not premeditated, then voluntary or involuntary?
Or, is this a justifiable homicide in, say, self-defense or as a result of a police action?
Or, is this a democide--that is, homicide by government.
And, a criminal homicide- murder or manslaughter?
If not premeditated, then voluntary or involuntary?
Or, is this a justifiable homicide in, say, self-defense or as a result of a police action?
Or, is this a democide--that is, homicide by government.
And, a criminal homicide- murder or manslaughter?
A medicolegal investigation will determine the cause, manner, and mechanism of this 37-year-old Minnesotan.
SERIOUS QUESTIONS
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is likely to decide the manner of this death is homicide caused by a gunshot wound to [head..torso?], probably resulting in blood loss.
An ICE agent intentionally killed a citizen.
A homicide categorically.
BUT...
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is likely to decide the manner of this death is homicide caused by a gunshot wound to [head..torso?], probably resulting in blood loss.
An ICE agent intentionally killed a citizen.
A homicide categorically.
BUT...
WORTH A REMINDER
Trump wants to mass deport “millions and millions of criminal aliens.” Kristi Noem has repeatedly claimed that they are arresting the “worst of the worst.”
Trump paused some raids in summer 2025 because he said deportations include good workers.
www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-d...
Trump wants to mass deport “millions and millions of criminal aliens.” Kristi Noem has repeatedly claimed that they are arresting the “worst of the worst.”
Trump paused some raids in summer 2025 because he said deportations include good workers.
www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-d...
“We live in a...real world...governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” [Stephen Miller] said. “These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
nyti.ms/4bixCnY
“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
nyti.ms/4bixCnY
Ruling for the Rich: the Supreme Court over Time
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
PRO-WEALTHY BIAS
"In the 1950s, justices appointed by the two parties appear similar in their propensity to cast pro-rich votes. Over the sample period, we estimate a steady increase in polarization, culminating in an implied party gap of 47 percentage points by 2022."
www.nber.org/papers/w34643
"In the 1950s, justices appointed by the two parties appear similar in their propensity to cast pro-rich votes. Over the sample period, we estimate a steady increase in polarization, culminating in an implied party gap of 47 percentage points by 2022."
www.nber.org/papers/w34643
Getting them the groceries
Late gestation cow nutrition is key to the long term reproductive performance of a cowherd.
www.beefmagazine.com
MONITOR YOUR HEIFERS!
"Body condition at calving and breeding start is critical to a cow’s future reproductive performance."
www.beefmagazine.com/livestock-ma...
"Body condition at calving and breeding start is critical to a cow’s future reproductive performance."
www.beefmagazine.com/livestock-ma...
Cato Scholars: US Raid in Venezuela Raises Serious Constitutional and Foreign Policy Concerns While Ousting a Brutal Socialist Dictator
The best way forward for the United States and Venezuela is to quickly initiate a transition to democracy with political leaders who have democratic legitimacy, rather than engage in nation-building o...
bit.ly
SERIOUS CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS WHILE OUSTING MADURO
Cato says:
“President Trump’s repeated claim, in prepared remarks, that the United States would now ‘run Venezuela’ ‘until a safe, proper, and judicious transition’ can take place was hopefully untrue."
bit.ly/VENa
Cato says:
“President Trump’s repeated claim, in prepared remarks, that the United States would now ‘run Venezuela’ ‘until a safe, proper, and judicious transition’ can take place was hopefully untrue."
bit.ly/VENa