Benjamin Powell
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benjamin42.bsky.social
Benjamin Powell
@benjamin42.bsky.social

Benjamin W. "Ben" Powell is the director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University and professor of economics at Texas Tech University's Rawls College of Business. He is also a junior fellow at the Independent Institute and the South American editor of the Review of Austrian Economics. .. more

Economics 40%
Political science 22%

Kira and I have new Alpacka pack rafts. These crafts are amazingly light. Can't wait for next year's boating season!
Not exaggerating when I say I would like a personal, handwritten apology from every pundit who barfed out a dozen "the left wants to change the way you talk!" op-eds based on non-mandatory guidelines in obscure PDFs.
2. A memo distributed by NSA leadership to its staff says that on February 10, all NSA websites and internal network pages that contain banned words will be deleted.

This is the list of 27 banned words distributed to NSA staff:

The neighbors kids were driving me crazy just making the noise that boys will make. Decided to go for a walk and caught this sunset. It reminded me to be more grateful and less grumpy tonight.

Spontaneous camping trip last weekend.

Found this on a sidewalk today.

Hiking today

114 fired from National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden as part of Trump administration cuts coloradosun.com/2025/05/06/f...
114 fired from National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden as part of Trump administration cuts
The National Renewable Energy Lab confirmed it has fired 114 employees and subcontractors as part of Trump administration cost-cutting.
coloradosun.com
I kind of want to go

Reposted by Benjamin Powell

If a deranged president intentionally destroying the country's economy with a ludicrous obsession (and misunderstanding) of tariffs *isn't* justification for invoking the 25th Amendment, I honestly can't imagine any scenario that would be.

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If this story didn't have today's date, I would've thought it was a Depression-era headline.

I'd rather see oil & gas subsidies go away. We need science more than ever.
Johns Hopkins Plans Staff Layoffs After $800 Million Grant Cuts
Local and international health research efforts are already winding down as the university braces for even more potential cuts.
www.wsj.com
Brutal.

Reposted by Benjamin Powell

Some sound advice:

It's going to be a long wildfire season...

It's going to be a long wildfire season...

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Sign of the day…

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El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.
Hegseth says firing of top military lawyers was about making sure "they don't exist to be roadblocks to anything that happens."

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This cartoon by @mluckovich.bsky.social is getting banned on Twitter. Because of course it is.
This is what oligarchy looks like.

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At the moment, mansion-sized Asteroid 2024-YR4 has a one-in-fifty chance of hitting Earth in the next eight years.

Now might be a bad time to reduce spending on Science. Just sayin’.

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I think we’ve come up with the name…

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Convicted Conman Ends Bribery and Corruption Laws
Trudeau: "There's not a snowball's chance in hell that Canada will ever be the 51st state"
Cost of extending the expiring Trump tax cuts for the rich: $4.6 trillion

Cost of cutting corporate tax rate to 15%: $1 trillion

Both Trump proposals will explode the deficit and be used as an excuse to gut programs that millions rely on.

It's reverse Robin Hood.

We are a sad joke around the world.
Petition for Denmark to buy California for $1 trillion surpasses 200,000 signatures
A satirical online petition is catching the attention of both Californians and Danes alike.
www.cbsnews.com

We need a larger, better funded education department! Not this.
Musks’s DOGE Announces Millions in Cuts to Education Dept. Amid Legal Pushback
Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team said that it had “terminated” 89 of the department’s contracts, apparently targeting its research arm.
www.nytimes.com

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The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy has removed all web pages highlighting women’s military service.
Army and navy veterans Sound off. Now this photo is my mother, who is a navy veteran 22 years in us Navy #WomeninTheMilitary🇺🇸💪 #Demcast #Proudblue
#StandWithwithWomenIntheMilitary #Resistancemilitary

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Do you think the cult members will ever realize we have a common enemy?

Reposted by Benjamin Powell

I can’t believe the Supreme Court said the president was above the law and now the president is acting like he’s above the law.