The TSA molests or forces nude photos of every air passenger, but there are now random bag searches in the DC Metro, and as of today forced blood sampling at DUI check points.
At what point do we, as individuals, say enough is enough? Personally, I think that moment passed a long time ago.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sanitation workers selfishly slowed down the cleanup - NYPOST.com
Sanitation workers selfishly slowed down the cleanup - NYPOST.com
Will the State of New York be bringing charges of manslaughter against the Union bosses? There were several deaths attributed to the inability of ambulances to pick up sick and injured people due to the street blockages. In one case a child died in a lobby of an apartment building, where the mother waited 9 hours for an ambulance.
Unions? What are they good for? Nothing.
Obama coddled the unions to get elected and acts as if they are a godsend to the working class. I suppose they will actually be the death of us all, if this is they way they handle themselves.
Will the State of New York be bringing charges of manslaughter against the Union bosses? There were several deaths attributed to the inability of ambulances to pick up sick and injured people due to the street blockages. In one case a child died in a lobby of an apartment building, where the mother waited 9 hours for an ambulance.
Unions? What are they good for? Nothing.
Obama coddled the unions to get elected and acts as if they are a godsend to the working class. I suppose they will actually be the death of us all, if this is they way they handle themselves.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
No Free Lunches
Economists are the real "party of No." They keep saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch – and politicians keep on getting elected by promising free lunches.
Such promises may seem to be kept, for a while. There are ways the government can juggle money around to make everything look OK, but it is only a matter of time before that money runs out and the ultimate reality hits, that there is no free lunch.
We are currently seeing what happens, in fierce riots raging in various countries in Europe, when the money runs out and the brutal truth is finally revealed, that there is no free lunch.
Read More Here
Such promises may seem to be kept, for a while. There are ways the government can juggle money around to make everything look OK, but it is only a matter of time before that money runs out and the ultimate reality hits, that there is no free lunch.
We are currently seeing what happens, in fierce riots raging in various countries in Europe, when the money runs out and the brutal truth is finally revealed, that there is no free lunch.
Read More Here
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Hold on to your hats - 2011 is going to suck.
THE BEAR WILL RETURN IN 2011
It's almost impossible to find anyone who is long term bearish on the stock market or economy at this time. In the recent Barron's poll every single analyst expected a rise in stock prices next year and continued economic expansion.
I think they are all going to be wrong, horribly wrong. I believe next year the stock market will begin the third leg down in the secular bear market. And the global economy will tip over into the next recession that will be much worse than the last one.
I've gone over the 3 year cycle in the dollar index many times. The dip down into the next 3 year cycle low this spring should drive the final leg up in gold's massive C-wave. What I haven't talked much about is what happens after the dollar bottoms.
I actually expect this three year cycle in the dollar to play out almost exactly like it did during the last three year cycle. When the dollar collapses this spring it will not only drive the price of gold to a final C-wave top, it will drive virtually all commodity prices through the roof, the most important being energy and to some extent food.
It was the sudden massive spike in energy that drove the global economy over the edge into recession in late `07 and early `08. The implosion of the credit markets just exacerbated the problem. You can see on the following chart just as soon as Bernanke drove the dollar below long term historical support (80) oil took off on its parabolic move to $147.
What followed was a collapse in economic activity and the beginning of the second leg down in the long term secular bear market for stocks.
This was mirrored by the dollar rallying out of the 3 year cycle low. That rally was driven by the severe, but brief, deflationary pressures released as the global economy and then credit markets collapsed.
We will see the same thing happen again. In his attempt to print prosperity and reflate asset prices Ben is going to spike inflation horribly as the dollar collapses down into the three year cycle low next spring. Just like in `08 that will tip the global economy back into recession and another deflationary period as the dollar rallies out of the three year cycle low.
The stock market will begin the trip down into the next leg of the secular bear market that it's been in since 2000. The global economy will roll over into the next recession which I expect to be much worse than the one we just suffered through, mainly because it will begin with unemployment already at very high levels.
Contrary to what economists and analyst are telling you, at the dollars three year cycle low next year it will be time to put our bear hats back on, prepare for hard times, and the next leg down in the stock market bear.
READ MORE HERE
It's almost impossible to find anyone who is long term bearish on the stock market or economy at this time. In the recent Barron's poll every single analyst expected a rise in stock prices next year and continued economic expansion.
I think they are all going to be wrong, horribly wrong. I believe next year the stock market will begin the third leg down in the secular bear market. And the global economy will tip over into the next recession that will be much worse than the last one.
I've gone over the 3 year cycle in the dollar index many times. The dip down into the next 3 year cycle low this spring should drive the final leg up in gold's massive C-wave. What I haven't talked much about is what happens after the dollar bottoms.
I actually expect this three year cycle in the dollar to play out almost exactly like it did during the last three year cycle. When the dollar collapses this spring it will not only drive the price of gold to a final C-wave top, it will drive virtually all commodity prices through the roof, the most important being energy and to some extent food.
It was the sudden massive spike in energy that drove the global economy over the edge into recession in late `07 and early `08. The implosion of the credit markets just exacerbated the problem. You can see on the following chart just as soon as Bernanke drove the dollar below long term historical support (80) oil took off on its parabolic move to $147.
What followed was a collapse in economic activity and the beginning of the second leg down in the long term secular bear market for stocks.
This was mirrored by the dollar rallying out of the 3 year cycle low. That rally was driven by the severe, but brief, deflationary pressures released as the global economy and then credit markets collapsed.
We will see the same thing happen again. In his attempt to print prosperity and reflate asset prices Ben is going to spike inflation horribly as the dollar collapses down into the three year cycle low next spring. Just like in `08 that will tip the global economy back into recession and another deflationary period as the dollar rallies out of the three year cycle low.
The stock market will begin the trip down into the next leg of the secular bear market that it's been in since 2000. The global economy will roll over into the next recession which I expect to be much worse than the one we just suffered through, mainly because it will begin with unemployment already at very high levels.
Contrary to what economists and analyst are telling you, at the dollars three year cycle low next year it will be time to put our bear hats back on, prepare for hard times, and the next leg down in the stock market bear.
READ MORE HERE
Monday, December 27, 2010
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
After a whirlwind trip through the state of Georgia for the Christmas holiday and with the threat of really icy roads, we decided to make a run for it and head back to Athens from Savannah before it was too difficult. In the South, just like everywhere else, there is no driving on ice. Snow, no problem, Ice, forget about it.
Anywho, here in Athens, it was the first white Christmas since 1882 or something like that. Global Warming in action! We encountered a fair amount of falling snow on the drive home, but all was uneventfull. Stayed up late trying to unwind from 3 straight days of driving from place to place to see the family. I hated to leave a day early, but the thought of icy roads didn't sit well with me.
Mostly, I wanted to be in Savannah for my dad's 86th birthday today and feel a little let down that we had to cut out, but safety first.
All of this is a long round about set up to explain my fuzzy brain this morning. I got up, let the dogs out, started a fire, put the dog food down for my three hungry labs, got Steve's medication ready (Steve is my oldest lab and has a bit of epilepsy and takes phenobarbitol twice a day) by doing the usual - pill wrapped in a bit of cheese- then promptly fed it to Charlie. They are both brown, 80 lbs and Charlie sat down right where Steve usually awaits his meds, so I just gave it to him without looking. ooops.
Anywho, here in Athens, it was the first white Christmas since 1882 or something like that. Global Warming in action! We encountered a fair amount of falling snow on the drive home, but all was uneventfull. Stayed up late trying to unwind from 3 straight days of driving from place to place to see the family. I hated to leave a day early, but the thought of icy roads didn't sit well with me.
Mostly, I wanted to be in Savannah for my dad's 86th birthday today and feel a little let down that we had to cut out, but safety first.
All of this is a long round about set up to explain my fuzzy brain this morning. I got up, let the dogs out, started a fire, put the dog food down for my three hungry labs, got Steve's medication ready (Steve is my oldest lab and has a bit of epilepsy and takes phenobarbitol twice a day) by doing the usual - pill wrapped in a bit of cheese- then promptly fed it to Charlie. They are both brown, 80 lbs and Charlie sat down right where Steve usually awaits his meds, so I just gave it to him without looking. ooops.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Paul Krugman Attacks Ron Paul
by Robert Wenzel
Wow, I guess Paul Krugman got spoken to about calling Ron Paul consistent. I mean he must have gotten really reamed.He is out with a new absurd attack on Congressman Paul that ranks up there with the Kennedy Assassination magic bullet theory for absurd reasoning. The year is not quite up yet, but I'm pretty sure this post alone will result in Krugman getting this year's Gene Callahan Award for Absurd Argumentative Style.Krugman writes this:
Paleomonetarism
I used that term — it’s probably not original, but who knows? — in a recent post about the increasingly obscure meaning of the money supply. The best example would surely be Ron Paul, who’s now going to have oversight over the Fed. If you read his stuff, it’s very clear: money is a well-defined quantity that the Fed controls, and inflation comes from — indeed is defined as — increases in that quantity.What he means, I guess, is monetary base. Here’s the actual relationship between monetary base and inflation:
It’s also worth nothing that in normal times (not now), monetary base consists overwhelmingly of currency (bank reserves are normally very small), and the majority of US currency isn’t even being held in the United States.It’s kind of terrifying, in a way, to realize that the politically dominant faction in America right now has a view of money, what it is, and how it works that hasn’t been true since the early 19th century, if it ever was.Let's take a part this nonsense, piece by piece. Krugman writes:
What he [Ron Paul] means, I guess, is monetary base.Krugman knows damn well that the monetary base is not the same thing as the money supply--and that the distinction became important once excess reserves started piling up, to the tune of a trillion dollars, in the monetary base. Further, Krugman knows this trillion dollars in excess reserves is money sitting outside the system, i.e., it is not in the economy. It is pure evil when Krugman suggests that Congressman Paul thinks that the monetary base is the same thing as the money supply. During television interviews, I have heard Congressman Paul on many occasions comment that there was a huge amount of excess reserves in the monetary base and that it was a threat to explode the money supply. This clearly indicates that Congressman Paul knows the difference between the monetary base and the money supply. (Note: Don't send me an early clip of Congressman Paul talking about the monetary base, without reference to excess reserves, as Krugman points out, monetary base was different in "normal times". Once it became clear that excess reserves were flooding the monetary base, Congressman Paul clearly noted that the monetary base was not moving in correlation with the money supply)Thus, the chart Krugman runs to show the supposed disconnection between the monetary base and price inflation, and implying that Congressman Paul thinks there is a connection, is deception far beyond that of his Princeton buddy, Ben Bernanke, who claimed that he is currently not printing money.Krugman goes on with even more nonsense by calling Ron Paul's view the politically dominant view. Ron Paul subscribes to the Austrian School of Economics. While gaining in popularity, it's about as politically dominant as the legalize LSD movement. Labeling Paul's view as the politically dominant view appears to be a slick attempt to muddy Ron Paul with the economic mess that is surely coming. "Hey, the politically dominant paleomonetarism/Ron Paul view is what got us in this mess."Krugman will most surely please his masters with this latest nonsense, but how he is able to sleep at night, I have no idea.You might say, it’s kind of terrifying, in a way, to realize that the New York Times is willing to give space to Krugman who writes such rubbish that distorts and confuses America about what is really going on in the economy.
Originally Published by Economic Policy Journal
Wow, I guess Paul Krugman got spoken to about calling Ron Paul consistent. I mean he must have gotten really reamed.He is out with a new absurd attack on Congressman Paul that ranks up there with the Kennedy Assassination magic bullet theory for absurd reasoning. The year is not quite up yet, but I'm pretty sure this post alone will result in Krugman getting this year's Gene Callahan Award for Absurd Argumentative Style.Krugman writes this:
Paleomonetarism
I used that term — it’s probably not original, but who knows? — in a recent post about the increasingly obscure meaning of the money supply. The best example would surely be Ron Paul, who’s now going to have oversight over the Fed. If you read his stuff, it’s very clear: money is a well-defined quantity that the Fed controls, and inflation comes from — indeed is defined as — increases in that quantity.What he means, I guess, is monetary base. Here’s the actual relationship between monetary base and inflation:
It’s also worth nothing that in normal times (not now), monetary base consists overwhelmingly of currency (bank reserves are normally very small), and the majority of US currency isn’t even being held in the United States.It’s kind of terrifying, in a way, to realize that the politically dominant faction in America right now has a view of money, what it is, and how it works that hasn’t been true since the early 19th century, if it ever was.Let's take a part this nonsense, piece by piece. Krugman writes:
What he [Ron Paul] means, I guess, is monetary base.Krugman knows damn well that the monetary base is not the same thing as the money supply--and that the distinction became important once excess reserves started piling up, to the tune of a trillion dollars, in the monetary base. Further, Krugman knows this trillion dollars in excess reserves is money sitting outside the system, i.e., it is not in the economy. It is pure evil when Krugman suggests that Congressman Paul thinks that the monetary base is the same thing as the money supply. During television interviews, I have heard Congressman Paul on many occasions comment that there was a huge amount of excess reserves in the monetary base and that it was a threat to explode the money supply. This clearly indicates that Congressman Paul knows the difference between the monetary base and the money supply. (Note: Don't send me an early clip of Congressman Paul talking about the monetary base, without reference to excess reserves, as Krugman points out, monetary base was different in "normal times". Once it became clear that excess reserves were flooding the monetary base, Congressman Paul clearly noted that the monetary base was not moving in correlation with the money supply)Thus, the chart Krugman runs to show the supposed disconnection between the monetary base and price inflation, and implying that Congressman Paul thinks there is a connection, is deception far beyond that of his Princeton buddy, Ben Bernanke, who claimed that he is currently not printing money.Krugman goes on with even more nonsense by calling Ron Paul's view the politically dominant view. Ron Paul subscribes to the Austrian School of Economics. While gaining in popularity, it's about as politically dominant as the legalize LSD movement. Labeling Paul's view as the politically dominant view appears to be a slick attempt to muddy Ron Paul with the economic mess that is surely coming. "Hey, the politically dominant paleomonetarism/Ron Paul view is what got us in this mess."Krugman will most surely please his masters with this latest nonsense, but how he is able to sleep at night, I have no idea.You might say, it’s kind of terrifying, in a way, to realize that the New York Times is willing to give space to Krugman who writes such rubbish that distorts and confuses America about what is really going on in the economy.
Originally Published by Economic Policy Journal
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Big Brother and The Police State
Eric Holder, in his best rhetoric is trying to make people "aware" that the next wave of terroism will come from within. American Citizens are turning against the government. These people are radicals, or so says Holder. Maybe they are just afraid of the impending Police State and want to be sure and prepare themselves for their own defense.
Last night, while watching a somewhat popular remake of a 1960's classic TV show, Hawaii 5-0, I realized that the TV watching populace is being regularly conditioned to accept the Police State. Characters made statements like "you have a badge, you can go anywhere" and "he's trying to leave the island, I'll call Department of Homeland Security and put him on the No Fly List". How is utilizing a Federal Para Military Law Enforcement Agency, designed to protect from foriegn attackers appropriate for state law enforcement issues? Even worse was the Police Captain calling his girlfriend on an aircraft carrier and got her to redirect a spy sattelite in order to follow a suspect. Hmm, redirecting military assets for Law Enforcement. That is in direct conflict with the Posse Commitatus Act and Unconsitutional. Now, I understand that this is a television show and not reality, however, it seems to be a means of getting people to accept being controlled in every aspect by the government.
Are the Holder story and the Hawaii 5-0 commentary connected? Probably not, outside of my own little head, but sure is interesting that the head of the Department of Justice is telling us that they are going to be looking more closely at US Citizens and TV is conditioning us to accept the prying eyes of Big Brother, combine that with the TSA's over reaching searches, the recently announced DC Metro "random bag searches", warrantless wiretapping, GPS locators on cars, and the list goes on and on. Your civil rights are nearly nonexistant. Don't give up anything more.
Unless the next time you leave your home you don't mind hearing "Papers Please".
Last night, while watching a somewhat popular remake of a 1960's classic TV show, Hawaii 5-0, I realized that the TV watching populace is being regularly conditioned to accept the Police State. Characters made statements like "you have a badge, you can go anywhere" and "he's trying to leave the island, I'll call Department of Homeland Security and put him on the No Fly List". How is utilizing a Federal Para Military Law Enforcement Agency, designed to protect from foriegn attackers appropriate for state law enforcement issues? Even worse was the Police Captain calling his girlfriend on an aircraft carrier and got her to redirect a spy sattelite in order to follow a suspect. Hmm, redirecting military assets for Law Enforcement. That is in direct conflict with the Posse Commitatus Act and Unconsitutional. Now, I understand that this is a television show and not reality, however, it seems to be a means of getting people to accept being controlled in every aspect by the government.
Are the Holder story and the Hawaii 5-0 commentary connected? Probably not, outside of my own little head, but sure is interesting that the head of the Department of Justice is telling us that they are going to be looking more closely at US Citizens and TV is conditioning us to accept the prying eyes of Big Brother, combine that with the TSA's over reaching searches, the recently announced DC Metro "random bag searches", warrantless wiretapping, GPS locators on cars, and the list goes on and on. Your civil rights are nearly nonexistant. Don't give up anything more.
Unless the next time you leave your home you don't mind hearing "Papers Please".
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Obama will not be invited to the Royal Wedding
I suppose you get what you deserve. The Obama's will not be invited to William and Kate's wedding.
There may have been a possibility of invitation, had the wedding happened a few years back, you know, before giving a nearly blind Prime Minister a state gift of 25 DVDs, in a format that doesn't work in Europe, or giving the Queen of England an iPod filled with show tunes and your own speeches.
What a foreign policy buffoon. Karma's a bitch, eh, Barry?
There may have been a possibility of invitation, had the wedding happened a few years back, you know, before giving a nearly blind Prime Minister a state gift of 25 DVDs, in a format that doesn't work in Europe, or giving the Queen of England an iPod filled with show tunes and your own speeches.
What a foreign policy buffoon. Karma's a bitch, eh, Barry?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Oops, that's not a tax credit.
I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen. You are going to have to give that money back.
More Security Theater Delivered By The TSA
A report from ABC News this morning reveals just what we all thought about the TSA in the first place. They are ineffective in doing anything other than violating our rights.
"Last fall, as he had done hundreds of times, Iranian-American businessman Farid Seif passed through security at a Houston airport and boarded an international flight.
He didn't realize he had forgotten to remove the loaded snub nose "baby" Glock pistol from his computer bag. But TSA officers never noticed as his bag glided along the belt and was x-rayed. When he got to his hotel after the three-hour flight, he was shocked to discover the gun traveled unnoticed from Houston. "
John Pistole, new head of the TSA has admitted that in tests at several airports, where guns, bomb parts and knives are placed "control baggage" to test the TSA Screeners, anywhere from 70% to in one airports case 100% of them are missed and allowed to flow through to the passenger.
How many billions of dollars have we wasted on these theatrics? It's time to stop and time to abolish the TSA.
"Last fall, as he had done hundreds of times, Iranian-American businessman Farid Seif passed through security at a Houston airport and boarded an international flight.
He didn't realize he had forgotten to remove the loaded snub nose "baby" Glock pistol from his computer bag. But TSA officers never noticed as his bag glided along the belt and was x-rayed. When he got to his hotel after the three-hour flight, he was shocked to discover the gun traveled unnoticed from Houston. "
John Pistole, new head of the TSA has admitted that in tests at several airports, where guns, bomb parts and knives are placed "control baggage" to test the TSA Screeners, anywhere from 70% to in one airports case 100% of them are missed and allowed to flow through to the passenger.
How many billions of dollars have we wasted on these theatrics? It's time to stop and time to abolish the TSA.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Gold Prices and Panic by Doug French
Gold Prices and Panic by Doug French
The panic should be that you don't have your assets protected by keeping your wealth out of failing currencies, like the dollar.
The panic should be that you don't have your assets protected by keeping your wealth out of failing currencies, like the dollar.
Dollar Collapse Is Coming, and Soon
I have written and reported on the coming collapse of the dollar for quite some time, but here is a one hour video that puts everything I have reported into one comprehensive, clear, concise statement about what's coming. Spend an hour, pay attention and learn a little something about what's coming. The information during them first hour is pretty much spot on, when the sales pitch starts for "The Stock Market Quitter's Secret" starts, I cannot attest to it's validity, and frankly would go ahead and disconnect. Semper Peratus.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Taxes: Obama Tax Deal Clears Hurdle by Passing Senate - CNBC
Taxes: Obama Tax Deal Clears Hurdle by Passing Senate - CNBC
The headline should read "Unconstitutional Action Passes Tax Deal In Senate". Why is no one raising the red flag here? It's pretty clear in the Constiution of the United States, Article 1, Section 7, "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives". This one did not originate in the House of Representatives. Pay attention media types!
The headline should read "Unconstitutional Action Passes Tax Deal In Senate". Why is no one raising the red flag here? It's pretty clear in the Constiution of the United States, Article 1, Section 7, "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives". This one did not originate in the House of Representatives. Pay attention media types!
Congress' Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History
Congress' Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History
This must be why they think they are doing such a great job...
This must be why they think they are doing such a great job...
Monday, December 13, 2010
"I will be happy to see the Republicans test whether or not I'm itching for a fight on a whole range of issues," Obama said last week.
Just love the NoBama idea that he can actually be part of a fight next year. His poll numbers continue to slide, and his "Greatest Triumph" has been deemed unconstitutional.
This is a world away from the 2008 campaign of "hopey changey horse dung" that so many people glomed onto, thinking something was really going to happen that would improve anyone's life. I'm saddened that in what has been called the greatest country in the world, sixty two million people were fooled into thinking this man was going to deliver something good. Well, he did make good on his promise. He "fundementally transformed" the United States. We are now on our way out of number one nation status and on our way to bananna republic status. Thanks Mr. President, for runining my country, mine and my parents net worth and my children's future possibilities.
This is a world away from the 2008 campaign of "hopey changey horse dung" that so many people glomed onto, thinking something was really going to happen that would improve anyone's life. I'm saddened that in what has been called the greatest country in the world, sixty two million people were fooled into thinking this man was going to deliver something good. Well, he did make good on his promise. He "fundementally transformed" the United States. We are now on our way out of number one nation status and on our way to bananna republic status. Thanks Mr. President, for runining my country, mine and my parents net worth and my children's future possibilities.
U.S. Health-Care Law's Mandate Thrown Out by Judge - Bloomberg
U.S. Health-Care Law's Mandate Thrown Out by Judge - Bloomberg
Finally a Federal Judge who remembers what the constitution is.
Finally a Federal Judge who remembers what the constitution is.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Ron Paul, Author of `End the Fed,' to Lead Fed Oversight Panel - Bloomberg
Ron Paul, Author of `End the Fed,' to Lead Fed Oversight Panel - Bloomberg
I can't help but get a little giggly over this one. Dr. Paul will now oversee the very institution he wants abolished.
I can't help but get a little giggly over this one. Dr. Paul will now oversee the very institution he wants abolished.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The Capital Markets are Tanking. Biggest Sell-Off of US Treasury Bonds in 2 Years
Is it any wonder that the capital markets are tanking? Printing Press Benny has flooded the world with US Dollars and now the US Taxpayer is going to have to pay for it. The insatiable spending habits of the US Federal Government is collapsing the economy, and I'm not just saying that for effect. Look around, it's happening before our eyes and thanks to the government school system, most Americans are too stupid to see it. OK, maybe that was a little harsh, but there has been a deliberate dumbing down of American "public school" students for the last 40 years. The founding documents are only barely discussed in schools these days. and with something that important ignored, how much economic do you think are taught? It's no wonder that the vast majority of high school and even a lot of college graduates can't even balance a check book. With an education like that how is that generation of Americans supposed to produce policy makers with the ability to operate and entire economy? Not possible.The upside to all of this will be the return to an absolutely free market economy. It will evolve out of the black markets and barter system that will spring up after the collapse.
2 Party System = No Choice, Especially When Only 1 Is Represented
One party rule. It's been decades since one party has ruled in Georgia, but it's happening again. Sure, the one party that's coming into nearly complete control of the state is the Republican Party, but many of those representatives, state senators and for that matter state wide elected officials used to be Democrats. Six Democrats changed party affiliation in the last few weeks. When the Who said "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" they couldn't have been more right about politics.
For the first time since the Reconstruction of the South, Georgia has every statewide office poised to be filled by the recently elected Republicans. I don't see how this can be a good thing, just look at DC. With a Democratic majority in both houses and the presidency, our Federal Government has nearly completely destroyed our economy and put us so far in debt that our children's grandchildren will be born with a debt owed to foriegn powers.
Look at one party rule through another prism for a moment, The USSR, Venezuela, Pre WWII Italy, or maybe most notably the National Socialist German Workers Party of 1920's through the 1940's. It's obvious that one party running everything is detrimental to the well being of a society.
With that in mind, I urge people to pay particular attention, especially in "non-partisan" races, to what party affiliations that candidates might have. If all of the candidates in a race are all in the same party, it doesn't matter who you vote for, you will get the same result and fall victim to Einstein's theory of insanity.
For the first time since the Reconstruction of the South, Georgia has every statewide office poised to be filled by the recently elected Republicans. I don't see how this can be a good thing, just look at DC. With a Democratic majority in both houses and the presidency, our Federal Government has nearly completely destroyed our economy and put us so far in debt that our children's grandchildren will be born with a debt owed to foriegn powers.
Look at one party rule through another prism for a moment, The USSR, Venezuela, Pre WWII Italy, or maybe most notably the National Socialist German Workers Party of 1920's through the 1940's. It's obvious that one party running everything is detrimental to the well being of a society.
With that in mind, I urge people to pay particular attention, especially in "non-partisan" races, to what party affiliations that candidates might have. If all of the candidates in a race are all in the same party, it doesn't matter who you vote for, you will get the same result and fall victim to Einstein's theory of insanity.
12 Simple Things You Need To Do Right Now To Prepare For The Coming Financial Apocalypse
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the U.S. economy is heading for complete and total disaster. State and local governments across the nation are uncontrollably bleeding red ink. The federal government has accumulated the largest debt in world history. Every year we buy hundreds of billions of dollars more from the rest of the world than they buy from us. That means that we are getting hundreds of billions of dollars poorer as a nation every single year. Meanwhile, thousands of factories and millions of jobs continue to be sent overseas as American cities turn into post-industrial wastelands. Incomes are down, unemployment remains at depressingly high levels and very few of our politicians seem to have any idea how to fix things. Yes, things are really, really bad. So what are some things that we can all be doing to prepare for the coming financial apocalypse?
Well, the truth is that we all need to start becoming less dependent on "the system". If the economy does completely fall apart at some point, your employer is probably not going to take care of you. Neither is the federal government – just look at what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In the end, you are going to have to take care of yourself and your family.
So are you ready?
Now is the time to prepare. If you wait until things totally fall apart it will be far too late.
Read the Rest Here
Well, the truth is that we all need to start becoming less dependent on "the system". If the economy does completely fall apart at some point, your employer is probably not going to take care of you. Neither is the federal government – just look at what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In the end, you are going to have to take care of yourself and your family.
So are you ready?
Now is the time to prepare. If you wait until things totally fall apart it will be far too late.
Read the Rest Here
H1N1 Vaccine linked to 700% increase in miscarriages.
(NaturalNews) Recent data presented to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Children's Vaccines has revealed some shocking information about the effects of the H1N1 / swine flu vaccine on pregnant women. According to the report, the rate of miscarriage among pregnant women during the 2009 H1N1 / swine flu pandemic soared by over 700 percent compared to previous years, pointing directly to the vaccine as the culprit -- but the CDC denies the truth and continues to insist nobody has been harmed.According to the CDC, nearly 50 percent of all pregnant women were vaccinated with the H1N1 vaccine during the 2009 / 2010 influenza season. Those whose physicians instructed them to get a seasonal flu shot were three times more likely to get it, while those instructed specifically to get the H1N1 shot were ten times more likely to get it. And the numbers clearly show that along with the rise in vaccinations due to the H1N1 scare came the sharp increase in miscarriages, including a slew of actual reported adverse events.But the CDC does not seem to care about the facts, as numerous reports indicate the agency has failed to report any of this vital information to vaccine suppliers. In fact, when presented with the data for the third time, Dr. Marie McCormick, chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Vaccine Risk and Assessment Working Group, actually had the audacity to claim that there were no vaccine-related adverse events in pregnant women caused by the vaccine."This baseless and fallacious assessment by the CDC assessment group has given the green light to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to continue their recommendation to give the 2010/11 flu shot to all people, including pregnant women," explained Eileen Dannemann, director of the National Coalition of Organized Women, presenter of the information."This upcoming 2010/11 flu vaccine contains the same elements that are implicated in the killing of these fetuses, the H1N1 viral component and the neurotoxin mercury (Thimerosal). Additionally, it contains two other viral strains -- a three-in-one shot for all people."Overall, the number of vaccine-related "fetal demise" reports increased by 2,440 percent in 2009 compared to previous years, which is even more shocking than the miscarriage statistic. Meanwhile, the CDC continues to lie to the public about the vaccine, urging everyone, including pregnant women, to get it.To read the report for yourself, visit: www.progressiveconvergence.c...
The List of Obamacare Waivers is Growing
If this 1.5 million people can "opt out" of Obamacare, why is it even neccessary to have it as a law? I thought this was going to mandantory? Notice on the list that the vast majority of waivers were given to labor unions, the same people that worked so hard to elect Obama in the first place.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wikileaks exposes criminal wrongdoing in climate record
Question; How and why can a year be claimed as the warmest on record two months before it is over?
Answer: To help participants in Cancun Climate Conference desperate because the public don’t believe, funding and power is being lost, as their deceptions are exposed.
Most believe 2010 is the warmest year ever, which is what government weather agencies, proponents of anthropogenic global warming and their supporters want. What is actually claimed is that 2010 is on the way to being the warmest on record, but they know media headlines will distort and USA Today along with others obliges with; 2010: Warmest year on record. Read More Here
I've been saying it for years, it's all a scam designed to seperate the west from it's wealth and power. In the 1970's it was "a new ice age" on the horizon, then it was "holes in the ozone", then "global warming", then "climate change" and now we are back to the "new ice age".
I suppose this crap works for those without the ability to remember beyond last night's American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
These scam artists are interested in one thing and one thing only, your wealth.
Answer: To help participants in Cancun Climate Conference desperate because the public don’t believe, funding and power is being lost, as their deceptions are exposed.
Most believe 2010 is the warmest year ever, which is what government weather agencies, proponents of anthropogenic global warming and their supporters want. What is actually claimed is that 2010 is on the way to being the warmest on record, but they know media headlines will distort and USA Today along with others obliges with; 2010: Warmest year on record. Read More Here
I've been saying it for years, it's all a scam designed to seperate the west from it's wealth and power. In the 1970's it was "a new ice age" on the horizon, then it was "holes in the ozone", then "global warming", then "climate change" and now we are back to the "new ice age".
I suppose this crap works for those without the ability to remember beyond last night's American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
These scam artists are interested in one thing and one thing only, your wealth.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Prepare for Violent Revolution in America
Look at the bright side, it's not bubble headed talking bears. The information, though seems to be pretty accurate.
Author claims we're in the grip of a mini ice age - Sunday Sun
Author claims we're in the grip of a mini ice age - Sunday Sun
More proof that the sience community cannot agree on anything. Global warming is a hoax perpetrated by those that will profit from it. Period. End of story.
More proof that the sience community cannot agree on anything. Global warming is a hoax perpetrated by those that will profit from it. Period. End of story.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Global Warm...Climate..Bullshit....
Now, we are freezing because of warming, or warming because of cooling, and supposedly it's all humankind's fault. Perfect excuse to raise taxes to buy credits, to trade carbon offsets, to enrich Goldman-Sachs. But of course, it's all about enriching Goldman-Sachs.....everything is about eniching Goldman-Sachs...
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Uncertainties of Global Warming: Sea Level Could Rise in South, Fall in North - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
The Uncertainties of Global Warming: Sea Level Could Rise in South, Fall in North - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
Apparently these "scientists" don't understand simple physical laws of water and gravity.
Apparently these "scientists" don't understand simple physical laws of water and gravity.
Big Brother is tracking your every movement
A few months ago, The Bitter Patriot got quite angry about the warrantless use of GPS tracking devices to track the movements of "suspected n'err-do-wells".
Well, today marks a new chapter in the Big Brother Totalitarian Police State. It has come to light that the Federal Government has been using real time data from your credit cards to track your movements and purchases. This is also happening without any sort of warrant.
As reported by Wired "Federal law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a court order, a new document released under a government sunshine request shows.
The document, obtained by security researcher Christopher Soghoian, explains how so-called “Hotwatch” orders allow for real-time tracking of individuals in a criminal investigation via credit card companies, rental car agencies, calling cards, and even grocery store loyalty programs. The revelation sheds a little more light on the Justice Department’s increasing power and willingness to surveil Americans with little to no judicial or Congressional oversight."
Today the Washington Post has reported that the Feds admit they have done a lot of snooping around well beyond what is legal.
I don't know about you, but I find all of this to be pretty creepy. If the government has the ability and proven history of using these sorts of tactics, then all Liberty really is lost in America.
Well, today marks a new chapter in the Big Brother Totalitarian Police State. It has come to light that the Federal Government has been using real time data from your credit cards to track your movements and purchases. This is also happening without any sort of warrant.
As reported by Wired "Federal law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a court order, a new document released under a government sunshine request shows.
The document, obtained by security researcher Christopher Soghoian, explains how so-called “Hotwatch” orders allow for real-time tracking of individuals in a criminal investigation via credit card companies, rental car agencies, calling cards, and even grocery store loyalty programs. The revelation sheds a little more light on the Justice Department’s increasing power and willingness to surveil Americans with little to no judicial or Congressional oversight."
Today the Washington Post has reported that the Feds admit they have done a lot of snooping around well beyond what is legal.
I don't know about you, but I find all of this to be pretty creepy. If the government has the ability and proven history of using these sorts of tactics, then all Liberty really is lost in America.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
What does your emergency fund look like?
When you hear a financial planner talk about having an “emergency fund” they are referring to a savings or checking account that will get you through tough times. We think this is wise but we also feel that the "Prepared Individual" should also plan for dire situations and have a Real Emergency Fund.
If you are on this site then you have probably spent time thinking about long term food storage, how to get fresh water or how to get your family Out of Dodge if the SHTF. If you have already thought about all this stuff, how much time have you spent thinking about your economic well being after a disaster? Any good survival or disaster plan should have an economic component to it as well. Whether it is buying gas for your car, food to feed your family or safe passage through a group of hostile people in a urban survival situation. You will need something to trade and barter with in these survival situations. If you think that your platinum credit card will get you through any disaster then read no further, this article is not for you.
Here @ SurvivalCache we do not get into predicting the future and we do not know what type of disasters the future holds (complete economic collapse, earthquake, global pandemic virus, World War III, TEOTWAWKI, etc). However we do know that good planning can get you and your family through the most difficult times and having a "Real Emergency Fund" along with a food, shelter, water, transportation and protection plan will help you do just that.
If you are living in the United States it comes down to the big four – Gold, Silver, The US Dollar, or Bartering Items (food, watches, fresh water, jewelry, ammo, warm clothes, etc). Like any good financial planner will tell you, diversification is the key to success. This is no different in a survival scenario. For example, let’s say you only keep platinum in your home for an emergency fund because it is your favorite precious metal and your father told you that platinum is always the most valuable metal. That is great for you and your dad but a lot people do not understand the value of platinum or its resale potential. This means that if all you have is platinum, you either might not be able to trade for goods & services or you will get a reduced trade where you receive much less in the way or goods & services for your platinum.
Read the Rest Here
If you are on this site then you have probably spent time thinking about long term food storage, how to get fresh water or how to get your family Out of Dodge if the SHTF. If you have already thought about all this stuff, how much time have you spent thinking about your economic well being after a disaster? Any good survival or disaster plan should have an economic component to it as well. Whether it is buying gas for your car, food to feed your family or safe passage through a group of hostile people in a urban survival situation. You will need something to trade and barter with in these survival situations. If you think that your platinum credit card will get you through any disaster then read no further, this article is not for you.
Here @ SurvivalCache we do not get into predicting the future and we do not know what type of disasters the future holds (complete economic collapse, earthquake, global pandemic virus, World War III, TEOTWAWKI, etc). However we do know that good planning can get you and your family through the most difficult times and having a "Real Emergency Fund" along with a food, shelter, water, transportation and protection plan will help you do just that.
If you are living in the United States it comes down to the big four – Gold, Silver, The US Dollar, or Bartering Items (food, watches, fresh water, jewelry, ammo, warm clothes, etc). Like any good financial planner will tell you, diversification is the key to success. This is no different in a survival scenario. For example, let’s say you only keep platinum in your home for an emergency fund because it is your favorite precious metal and your father told you that platinum is always the most valuable metal. That is great for you and your dad but a lot people do not understand the value of platinum or its resale potential. This means that if all you have is platinum, you either might not be able to trade for goods & services or you will get a reduced trade where you receive much less in the way or goods & services for your platinum.
Read the Rest Here
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
House May Block Food Safety Bill Over Senate Error : Roll Call
House May Block Food Safety Bill Over Senate Error : Roll Call
There may be hope yet to kill the bill.
There may be hope yet to kill the bill.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Do Not Raise The Debt Ceiling
As of November 7th, the total U.S. public debt outstanding reached an astonishing $13.7 trillion. This means that although Congress just raised the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion back in February, the new Congress will face another debt ceiling vote almost immediately next year. Otherwise, the Treasury will not be able to continue issuing debt to fund government operations.
The upcoming vote will provide an interesting litmus test for the new Republican congressional majority, especially those new members closely identified with Tea Party voters. The debt ceiling law, passed in 1917, enables Congress to place a statutory cap on the total amount of government debt rather than having to approve each individual Treasury bond offering. It also, however, forces Congress into an open and presumably somewhat shameful vote to approve more borrowing.
If the new Congress gives in to establishment pressure and media alarmism about “shutting down the government” by voting to increase the debt ceiling once again, you will know that the status quo has prevailed. You will know that Congress, despite the rhetoric of the midterm elections, is doing business as usual. You will know that the simple notion of balancing the budget, by limiting federal spending to federal revenue, remains a shallow and laughable campaign platitude.
Of course congressional leaders – now Republicans – will tell America that they plan on balancing the budget soon, but they just need some time. After all, we have to keep the government open, right? We can’t have an “emergency” shutdown of vital government services. But somehow Congress always finds money for emergency spending, in the form of supplemental appropriations bills for TARP bailouts, troop surges, and the like. Why is there never an emergency that justifies less spending???
Surely we are facing an emergency debt spiral, as evidenced by the Federal Reserve’s recent commitment to buy another round of Treasury debt. It’s now quite obvious that the U.S. government plans to inflate its way out of debt, and the world is fleeing our dollar in response. Just 7 years ago Congress raised the debt ceiling to $6.4 trillion, which means the federal government had doubled its indebtedness in less than a decade. Annual deficits for 2011 and beyond are projected to be at least $1 trillion. By contrast, the entire federal debt amassed from the founding of our nation until President Reagan took office in 1981 – a period of roughly 200 years – was $1 trillion. So it’s no exaggeration to state that federal debt is growing exponentially.
I have two simple proposals when the new Congress convenes in January. First, refuse to raise the debt ceiling. Find a way, month by month, for Congress to spend only what the Treasury raises in revenue. Second, start over from scratch with the 13 appropriations bills that fund the federal government. Reject any talk of baseline budgets or discretionary spending. It is all discretionary, and members of both parties should vote against any 2012 appropriation bill that is not at least 10% smaller – in nominal dollars – than its 2011 counterpart.
A motivated Congress could begin to slow the tide of debt by taking the simple step of cutting federal spending by 10% across the board for the next few years. Let’s hope it does not take the complete collapse of the U.S. dollar to provide this motivation.
By Ron Paul November 30, 2010
The upcoming vote will provide an interesting litmus test for the new Republican congressional majority, especially those new members closely identified with Tea Party voters. The debt ceiling law, passed in 1917, enables Congress to place a statutory cap on the total amount of government debt rather than having to approve each individual Treasury bond offering. It also, however, forces Congress into an open and presumably somewhat shameful vote to approve more borrowing.
If the new Congress gives in to establishment pressure and media alarmism about “shutting down the government” by voting to increase the debt ceiling once again, you will know that the status quo has prevailed. You will know that Congress, despite the rhetoric of the midterm elections, is doing business as usual. You will know that the simple notion of balancing the budget, by limiting federal spending to federal revenue, remains a shallow and laughable campaign platitude.
Of course congressional leaders – now Republicans – will tell America that they plan on balancing the budget soon, but they just need some time. After all, we have to keep the government open, right? We can’t have an “emergency” shutdown of vital government services. But somehow Congress always finds money for emergency spending, in the form of supplemental appropriations bills for TARP bailouts, troop surges, and the like. Why is there never an emergency that justifies less spending???
Surely we are facing an emergency debt spiral, as evidenced by the Federal Reserve’s recent commitment to buy another round of Treasury debt. It’s now quite obvious that the U.S. government plans to inflate its way out of debt, and the world is fleeing our dollar in response. Just 7 years ago Congress raised the debt ceiling to $6.4 trillion, which means the federal government had doubled its indebtedness in less than a decade. Annual deficits for 2011 and beyond are projected to be at least $1 trillion. By contrast, the entire federal debt amassed from the founding of our nation until President Reagan took office in 1981 – a period of roughly 200 years – was $1 trillion. So it’s no exaggeration to state that federal debt is growing exponentially.
I have two simple proposals when the new Congress convenes in January. First, refuse to raise the debt ceiling. Find a way, month by month, for Congress to spend only what the Treasury raises in revenue. Second, start over from scratch with the 13 appropriations bills that fund the federal government. Reject any talk of baseline budgets or discretionary spending. It is all discretionary, and members of both parties should vote against any 2012 appropriation bill that is not at least 10% smaller – in nominal dollars – than its 2011 counterpart.
A motivated Congress could begin to slow the tide of debt by taking the simple step of cutting federal spending by 10% across the board for the next few years. Let’s hope it does not take the complete collapse of the U.S. dollar to provide this motivation.
By Ron Paul November 30, 2010
Pajamas Media » EPA Fraud: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Actually Get Only 23, 25 MPG
Pajamas Media » EPA Fraud: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Actually Get Only 23, 25 MPG
So there you have it. The Government Motors Corporation has lied to everyone about it's new flagship fiasco.
So there you have it. The Government Motors Corporation has lied to everyone about it's new flagship fiasco.
Decline the TSA Gate Rape and find yourself Blacklisted
According to the Canada Free Press, the TSA is now compiling "Blacklists" of everyone that decides the 4th Amendment trumps the rules of the TSA.
It does not surprise me that the Obama Administration responds to the backlash against the unconstitutional fourth amendment violating TSA screening measures by blacklisting air travelers who object to the over reaching intrusive searches at the airports. They are trying to send a chilling effect not to protest the TSA groping and body scanners that has the public in an uproar.
Will they add them to a list were you can not buy a new car .apply for employment or do business.Will people be put on this list that will make life hard to function because the government has blackballed people who objected to the abusive TSA.These secretive list shows the abusive executive branch bypassing the courts and due process blacklisting their political enemies and opposition.
It does not surprise me that the Obama Administration responds to the backlash against the unconstitutional fourth amendment violating TSA screening measures by blacklisting air travelers who object to the over reaching intrusive searches at the airports. They are trying to send a chilling effect not to protest the TSA groping and body scanners that has the public in an uproar.
Will they add them to a list were you can not buy a new car .apply for employment or do business.Will people be put on this list that will make life hard to function because the government has blackballed people who objected to the abusive TSA.These secretive list shows the abusive executive branch bypassing the courts and due process blacklisting their political enemies and opposition.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Supreme Court Rejects Hearing About Obama Citizenship
Look, let's get this straight, I'm a constitutional innocent until proven guilty, everyone deserves equal protection under the law kind of guy. I have no evidence that Barack Obama was or wasn't born in the United States and is therefore eligable to be President of the United States of America, and apparently neither does anyone else.
There are however many reasons to think we should at least explore the issue and have the Supreme Court of The United States put the issue to bed. Today the SCOTUS rejected yet another hearing.
My question today is the same as it ever was: Why, if he is indeed a citizen, has Barack Obama spent so much money squelching opposition? No one knows the real figure. Why was Justice Kagan his nominee?
What does the president have to hide in his past that he has sealed his education records? Wayne Allen Root, former Libertarian candidate for vice president, put up $1Million dollars as a challenge for those records to be released.....who couldn't use a million dollars?
If he was such a rock star at Harvard Law and edited the Harvard Law Review, why didn't he ever get an article published? "As president of the Harvard Law Review and a law professor in Chicago, Senator Barack Obama refined his legal thinking, but left a scant paper trail. His name doesn't appear on any legal scholarship."
There are however many reasons to think we should at least explore the issue and have the Supreme Court of The United States put the issue to bed. Today the SCOTUS rejected yet another hearing.
My question today is the same as it ever was: Why, if he is indeed a citizen, has Barack Obama spent so much money squelching opposition? No one knows the real figure. Why was Justice Kagan his nominee?
What does the president have to hide in his past that he has sealed his education records? Wayne Allen Root, former Libertarian candidate for vice president, put up $1Million dollars as a challenge for those records to be released.....who couldn't use a million dollars?
If he was such a rock star at Harvard Law and edited the Harvard Law Review, why didn't he ever get an article published? "As president of the Harvard Law Review and a law professor in Chicago, Senator Barack Obama refined his legal thinking, but left a scant paper trail. His name doesn't appear on any legal scholarship."
The questions are too numerous not to be answered. Like I said, the burden of proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, is on the accuser. I think there is reasonable doubt.
We Are Being Systematically Silenced, This Is Our Time
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I stand here before you in the city of Copenhagen in the year 2010. This is widely considered to be an enlightened country in the heart of an enlightened continent.
Our basic freedoms have long been guaranteed — first by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as passed by the United Nations in 1948, and then buttressed by the Council of Europe in 1950 through the European Convention of Human Rights, which was later affirmed by the European Union. Our individual countries have additionally codified the same basic rights in their own constitutions.
These rights include the freedom of individual conscience, the right to assemble peaceably, and the right to practice our religion freely, or to have no religion at all. And, perhaps most importantly of all, they include the right to voice our opinions freely and to publish them without hindrance.
Yet freedom of speech is under attack today here in Denmark, as it is in my own country Austria, and indeed all across Europe. Today, in 21st century Western Europe, our right to free speech is being shut down quietly and systematically with an effectiveness that the commissars in the old Soviet Union could only dream of.
Read the Rest Here
I stand here before you in the city of Copenhagen in the year 2010. This is widely considered to be an enlightened country in the heart of an enlightened continent.
Our basic freedoms have long been guaranteed — first by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as passed by the United Nations in 1948, and then buttressed by the Council of Europe in 1950 through the European Convention of Human Rights, which was later affirmed by the European Union. Our individual countries have additionally codified the same basic rights in their own constitutions.
These rights include the freedom of individual conscience, the right to assemble peaceably, and the right to practice our religion freely, or to have no religion at all. And, perhaps most importantly of all, they include the right to voice our opinions freely and to publish them without hindrance.
Yet freedom of speech is under attack today here in Denmark, as it is in my own country Austria, and indeed all across Europe. Today, in 21st century Western Europe, our right to free speech is being shut down quietly and systematically with an effectiveness that the commissars in the old Soviet Union could only dream of.
Read the Rest Here
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Fed leverages ownership.....of the United States?
Since the "financial crisis" started, the Fed has kept interest rates at Zero or near zero, to no avail. They increased the supply of money in the system, Quantitative Easing, now along the order of $3trillion over 2.5 years, effectively decreasing the purchasing power of the dollar by 25% over the same time period. (They already decreased the value of the dollar by 97% since the inception of the Fed in 1913)
Now, the Fed is buying Treasury Bonds like they are going out of style.
I wonder, why? Since the Fed has already siphoned off nearly all of the wealth of the USA through inflation, wouldn't it make sense that they are just stealing the entire country, all of it's assets, and all of your future labor through debt?
Now, the Fed is buying Treasury Bonds like they are going out of style.
I wonder, why? Since the Fed has already siphoned off nearly all of the wealth of the USA through inflation, wouldn't it make sense that they are just stealing the entire country, all of it's assets, and all of your future labor through debt?
Minimum Wager Earners Have More Disposable Income Than Someone Earning $60K
Got Cloward?
Tonight’s stunning financial piece de resistance comes from Wyatt Emerich of The Cleveland Current. In what is sure to inspire some serious ire among all those who once believed Ronald Reagan that it was the USSR that was the “Evil Empire”, Emmerich analyzes disposable income and economic benefits among several key income classes and comes to the stunning (and verifiable) conclusion that “a one-parent family of three making $14,500 a year (minimum wage) has more disposable income than a family making $60,000 a year.” And that excludes benefits from Supplemental Security Income disability checks...America is now a country which punishes those middle-class people who not only try to work hard, but avoid scamming the system. Not surprisingly, it is not only the richest and most audacious thieves that prosper – it is also the penny scammers at the very bottom of the economic ladder that rip off the middle class each and every day, courtesy of the world’s most generous entitlement system...You can do as well working one week a month at minimum wage as you can working $60,000-a-year, full-time, high-stress job.First outlined by Columbia Professors Cloward and Piven in their blueprint for the destruction of American capitalism, the Democrat Party's dual policies of limitless welfare and open borders have finally succeeded. America stands on the brink of economic catastrophe. The 2010 elections were a hopeful beginning, but only a beginning. We must unwind the treasonous policies of the progressive left and leave them no more a political force than the Whigs.
Tonight’s stunning financial piece de resistance comes from Wyatt Emerich of The Cleveland Current. In what is sure to inspire some serious ire among all those who once believed Ronald Reagan that it was the USSR that was the “Evil Empire”, Emmerich analyzes disposable income and economic benefits among several key income classes and comes to the stunning (and verifiable) conclusion that “a one-parent family of three making $14,500 a year (minimum wage) has more disposable income than a family making $60,000 a year.” And that excludes benefits from Supplemental Security Income disability checks...America is now a country which punishes those middle-class people who not only try to work hard, but avoid scamming the system. Not surprisingly, it is not only the richest and most audacious thieves that prosper – it is also the penny scammers at the very bottom of the economic ladder that rip off the middle class each and every day, courtesy of the world’s most generous entitlement system...You can do as well working one week a month at minimum wage as you can working $60,000-a-year, full-time, high-stress job.First outlined by Columbia Professors Cloward and Piven in their blueprint for the destruction of American capitalism, the Democrat Party's dual policies of limitless welfare and open borders have finally succeeded. America stands on the brink of economic catastrophe. The 2010 elections were a hopeful beginning, but only a beginning. We must unwind the treasonous policies of the progressive left and leave them no more a political force than the Whigs.
Free Market Solution To The Naked Body Scanners - Updated
My original post about Free Market Solution To The Naked Body Scanners seems to have gotten attention from some big players. Rep. Dr. Ron Paul, R-TX (although mostly Libertarian) has picked up on my idea and has called for a boycott of the airlines until this stuff stops.
Dr. Paul, you can thank me later. I just hope it works.
Dr. Paul, you can thank me later. I just hope it works.
Obama Now Favorable To Only 39%
According to the latest Zogby Poll, only 39% of Americans now have a favorable opinion of President Obama. This is his lowest approval rating since his election. I expect the recent departures from the White House staff of people like Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod have nothing to do with rats and ships, but I could be wrong.
Ron Paul to be new head of Monetary Policy
The times, they are a-changin’. Unthinkable only a year or two ago, the prospect that Congressman Ron Paul may actually receive the long-deserved chairmanship of a House subcommittee grows brighter by the day. And Paul’s longtime nemesis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, may soon find his chief congressional detractor in a position to do a good deal more than mere finger-wagging.
By all accounts, the congressman from Texas, who, as expected, handily won re-election earlier this month, is in line to chair the House Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology subcommittee. In recent years, the subcommittee has, in Dr. Paul’s words, “basically been a committee that deals with commemorative coins,” its members too cowed by the majesty of the Fed to actually contemplate delving into serious monetary reforms. But if Dr. Paul is permitted by House party leadership to ascend to the chairmanship, there is little doubt that he will soon be using his new platform to push for more transparency at the Fed, more congressional oversight of the central bank, and a phased-in return to the gold standard. (Given the ferocity of the Tea Party insurgency, it is hard, although not impossible, to imagine that they would risk alienating the movement by dissing its founding father.)
Read The Rest Here
By all accounts, the congressman from Texas, who, as expected, handily won re-election earlier this month, is in line to chair the House Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology subcommittee. In recent years, the subcommittee has, in Dr. Paul’s words, “basically been a committee that deals with commemorative coins,” its members too cowed by the majesty of the Fed to actually contemplate delving into serious monetary reforms. But if Dr. Paul is permitted by House party leadership to ascend to the chairmanship, there is little doubt that he will soon be using his new platform to push for more transparency at the Fed, more congressional oversight of the central bank, and a phased-in return to the gold standard. (Given the ferocity of the Tea Party insurgency, it is hard, although not impossible, to imagine that they would risk alienating the movement by dissing its founding father.)
Read The Rest Here
Monday, November 22, 2010
So Long Dave, We Hardly Knew Ya
Libertarian Party founder David Nolan passed away yesterday. David was the creator of the world famous "Nolan Chart" also know as the "World's smallest political quiz". Some people ask, what's the fascination with that damned quiz? Well, it points people, without defined political allegences, toward an idea, or for that matter an ideal of a society based in Liberty, personal responsibility and the firm belief in "the sovereign self", that they never knew existed in themselves.
I look forward to meeting you, Dave, on the other side.
My pal Shane Bruce, Libertarian Stalwart, showing off the Nolan Chart in Athens, GA at a festival full of folks that didn't know they might be Libertarians!
That's how it works, kids. Thanks again Dave.
Legalization does not mean advocation
I like to post videos of Milton Friedman, but this one is owned by Sony and they are not happy that I posted it here. So, you can see it HERE
Friday, November 19, 2010
Surrender Your Rights To The TSA, Or Stay Home
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." - For those unfamiliar, the above statement is the 4th Amendment to The Constitution of The United States of America. No one, including a government agency, may infringe upon that right without facing Federal Criminal Prosecution.
NO ONE.
Unless, of course, you are the TSA.
"Nobody likes having their Fourth Amendment [rights] violated going through a security line, but the truth of the matter is, we're gonna have to do it." — Mo McGowan, former Director of TSA Security Operations
I'm sorry, Mr. McGowan, you are incorrect and as such can kiss my ass. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of The Land, but I suppose you, like most of the current administration, are unfamiliar with that particular document.
Just in case you haven't read it: Article VI, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution is known as the Supremacy Clause because it provides that the "Constitution, and the Laws of the United States … shall be the supreme Law of the Land."
Here it is in it's entirety:
Article VI (That's 6 in case you don't understand Roman Numerals)
Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
NO ONE.
Unless, of course, you are the TSA.
"Nobody likes having their Fourth Amendment [rights] violated going through a security line, but the truth of the matter is, we're gonna have to do it." — Mo McGowan, former Director of TSA Security Operations
I'm sorry, Mr. McGowan, you are incorrect and as such can kiss my ass. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of The Land, but I suppose you, like most of the current administration, are unfamiliar with that particular document.
Just in case you haven't read it: Article VI, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution is known as the Supremacy Clause because it provides that the "Constitution, and the Laws of the United States … shall be the supreme Law of the Land."
Here it is in it's entirety:
Article VI (That's 6 in case you don't understand Roman Numerals)
Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee | Epicenter | Wired.com
Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee Epicenter Wired.com
How nice it is when the senate gets to vote on limiting free speech. I feel fairly certain that in short order this blog will be shut down. Kind of like Lincoln having the military burn down opposition newspapers during the civil war.
How nice it is when the senate gets to vote on limiting free speech. I feel fairly certain that in short order this blog will be shut down. Kind of like Lincoln having the military burn down opposition newspapers during the civil war.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sanford Airport to opt out of TSA screening - WDBO Local News on wdbo.com
Sanford Airport to opt out of TSA screening - WDBO Local News on wdbo.com
Free Market Forces are pushing the TSA out of airports.
Free Market Forces are pushing the TSA out of airports.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Free Market Solution To The Naked Body Scanners
Are you tired of having some minimum wage TSA agent violate your rights as protected under the 4th Amendment to US Constitution? Tired of the abnormal amounts of radiation and groping of yours and your children's genitals? Don't complain to the TSA - They Don't Care.
Complain to the airline that you frequent and let their UNION employees make the calls to the government. After all, if the airlines aren't making any money, they will go bankrupt and then even the union workers will have to find a job.
Use the handy links below to contact your favorite airlines and let them know WHY you won't be buying a ticket from them and will drive or take a bus or train instead:
US Airways
American Airlines
Delta Airlines
Frontier Airlines
United Airlines
Spirit Airlines
Continental Airlines
Airtran Airways
Southwest Airlines
Jet Blue
Or if it's not listed look for your favorite airline here:
Airline Contact Info Page
Try the following as a sample "cut and paste" for your e-mail, especially if you are a frequent flyer on a specific airline:
Dear sir or madame,
It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that I have decided to sever my allegiance to your fine company. I have travelled with you for many years and many hundreds of thousands of miles. You have always had the best of service and safety while I have flown with you, but I am left with little choice.
You see, your company, along with scores of others has stood idly by while the rights of the travelling public are being violated by the Federal Government. We have, since the Patriot Act, endured more and more infringement on our civil rights, especially our right to privacy as defined by the 4th Amendment to The US Constitution. Now, the Transportation Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security have gone too far.
Recently, it has become a condition of travel on your airline to give up my Civil Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, be sexually molested or threatened with Civil Litigation if I refuse the first two activities. Apparently this is a policy that you approve of, since I have seen no indication that you are in any way pushing back against the totalitarian policies of our government.
Since my Liberties are more important to me, my family and the future of my country than an on time departure, I will from this point onward until this failure of policy is rectified, be seeking alternative transportation.
Sincerely,
The Bitter Patriot
Complain to the airline that you frequent and let their UNION employees make the calls to the government. After all, if the airlines aren't making any money, they will go bankrupt and then even the union workers will have to find a job.
Use the handy links below to contact your favorite airlines and let them know WHY you won't be buying a ticket from them and will drive or take a bus or train instead:
US Airways
American Airlines
Delta Airlines
Frontier Airlines
United Airlines
Spirit Airlines
Continental Airlines
Airtran Airways
Southwest Airlines
Jet Blue
Or if it's not listed look for your favorite airline here:
Airline Contact Info Page
Try the following as a sample "cut and paste" for your e-mail, especially if you are a frequent flyer on a specific airline:
Dear sir or madame,
It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that I have decided to sever my allegiance to your fine company. I have travelled with you for many years and many hundreds of thousands of miles. You have always had the best of service and safety while I have flown with you, but I am left with little choice.
You see, your company, along with scores of others has stood idly by while the rights of the travelling public are being violated by the Federal Government. We have, since the Patriot Act, endured more and more infringement on our civil rights, especially our right to privacy as defined by the 4th Amendment to The US Constitution. Now, the Transportation Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security have gone too far.
Recently, it has become a condition of travel on your airline to give up my Civil Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, be sexually molested or threatened with Civil Litigation if I refuse the first two activities. Apparently this is a policy that you approve of, since I have seen no indication that you are in any way pushing back against the totalitarian policies of our government.
Since my Liberties are more important to me, my family and the future of my country than an on time departure, I will from this point onward until this failure of policy is rectified, be seeking alternative transportation.
Sincerely,
The Bitter Patriot
George Soros also profiting off controversial new TSA scanners | Washington Examiner
George Soros also profiting off controversial new TSA scanners Washington Examiner
Isn't that interesting? George Soros owns 11,300 shares of the Rapiscan company and former DHS chief Michael Chertoff is making millions on the sale of the naked body scanners by selling them to DHS.
Isn't that interesting? George Soros owns 11,300 shares of the Rapiscan company and former DHS chief Michael Chertoff is making millions on the sale of the naked body scanners by selling them to DHS.
Congressman John Duncan Blasts TSA On House Floor
WASHINGTON – Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) blasted the Transportation Security Administration Wednesday during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives for invasive “pat-downs” of U.S. citizens and the role lucrative government contracts played in the use of body scanning machines at airport checkpoints.Duncan, former Chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee and the current top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, said: “Unfortunately, for the traveling public, big brother never makes a mistake, so I am not surprised they are trying to defend the purchase of these scanners.”The text of Rep. Duncan’s speech is copied below:
Mr. Speaker:A nationwide revolt is developing over the body scanners at the airports, and it should. Hundreds of thousands of frequent fliers who fly each week are upset about getting these frequent doses of radiation. Parents are upset about being forced to have their children radiated or being touched inappropriately by an unrelated adult. There is already plenty of security at the airport, but now we are going to spend up to $300 million to install 1,000 scanners. This is much more about money than it is about security. The former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents Rapiscan, the company which is selling these scanners to his former department. Far too many federal contracts are sweetheart, insider deals.
Companies hire former high ranking federal officials, and then magically, those companies get hugely profitable federal contracts.The American people should not have to choose between having full-body radiation or a very embarrassing, intrusive pat-down every time they fly, as if they were criminals.We need a little more balance and common sense on this.
VIDEO
Mr. Speaker:A nationwide revolt is developing over the body scanners at the airports, and it should. Hundreds of thousands of frequent fliers who fly each week are upset about getting these frequent doses of radiation. Parents are upset about being forced to have their children radiated or being touched inappropriately by an unrelated adult. There is already plenty of security at the airport, but now we are going to spend up to $300 million to install 1,000 scanners. This is much more about money than it is about security. The former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents Rapiscan, the company which is selling these scanners to his former department. Far too many federal contracts are sweetheart, insider deals.
Companies hire former high ranking federal officials, and then magically, those companies get hugely profitable federal contracts.The American people should not have to choose between having full-body radiation or a very embarrassing, intrusive pat-down every time they fly, as if they were criminals.We need a little more balance and common sense on this.
VIDEO
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
TSA to investigate body scan resister
Well of course they will investigate anyone who stands up to the abuse of power being perpetrated by the Federal Government. If you don't want to be bombarded with a dose of radiation that several scientists say is unhealthy, and you don't want to have the TSA sexually assault you in order to board a plane, then there must be something criminally wrong with you.
The manual searches being conducted by the TSA are not "pat downs" they are the same sort of search that you would receive if you were being arrested.
The manual searches being conducted by the TSA are not "pat downs" they are the same sort of search that you would receive if you were being arrested.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Analysis: Europe is next test for weakened Obama | Reuters
Analysis: Europe is next test for weakened Obama Reuters
Kind of difficult to lead a country if you are never in it. Just saying.
Kind of difficult to lead a country if you are never in it. Just saying.
Write your Congressman - Abolish the TSA.
We live in a supposedly Free Society, but don't fool yourselves, it's anything but free. We are now being conditioned to accept whatever the government wants to do to our bodies under the guise of "public safety".
The Republicans control the House of Representatives and are bracing for a long battle over the President’s health care proposal. In the spirit of bipartisanship and sanity, I propose that the first thing on the chopping block should be an ineffective organization that wastes money, violates our rights, and encourages us to make decisions that imperil our safety. I’m talking about the Transportation Security Administration.
Bipartisan support should be immediate. For fiscal conservatives, it’s hard to come up with a more wasteful agency than the TSA. For privacy advocates, eliminating an organization that requires you to choose between a nude body scan or genital groping in order to board a plane should be a no-brainer.
But won’t that compromise safety? I doubt it. The airlines have enormous sums of money riding on passenger safety, and the notion that a government bureaucracy has better incentives to provide safe travels than airlines with billions of dollars worth of capital and goodwill on the line strains credibility. This might be beside the point: in 2003, William Anderson incisively argued that some of the steps that airlines (and passengers) would have needed to take to prevent the 9/11 disaster probably would have been illegal.
The odds of dying from a terrorist attack are much lower than the odds of dying from doing any of a number of incredibly mundane things we do every day. You are almost certainly more likely to die or be injured driving to the airport than you are to be injured by a terrorist once you’re in the air, even without a TSA. Indeed, once you have successfully made it to the airport, the most dangerous part of your trip is over. Until it’s time to drive home, that is.
Last week, I picked up a “TSA Customer Comment Card.” First, it’s important that we get one thing straight: I am not the TSA’s “customer.” The term “customer” denotes an honorable relationship in which I and a seller voluntarily trade value for value. There’s nothing voluntary about my relationship with the TSA.
A much more appropriate term for our relationship is “subject.” The TSA stands between me and those with whom I would like to trade, and I am not allowed to without their blessing.
Second, the TSA doesn’t provide security. It provides security theater, as Jeffrey Goldberg argues. The kid with the slushie in Tucson before the three-ounce-rule? The little girl in the princess costume at an airport I don’t remember? The countless grandmothers? I’m more likely to be killed tripping over my own two feet while I’m distracted by the lunacy of it all than I am to be killed by one of them in a terrorist attack. The moral cost of all this is considerable, as James Otteson and Bradley Birzer argue.
For even more theater of the absurd, consider that the TSA screens pilots. If a pilot wants to bring a plane down, he or she can probably do it with bare hands, and certainly without weapons. It’s also not entirely crazy to think that an airline will take measures to keep their pilots from turning their multi-million dollar planes into flying bombs. Through the index funds in my retirement portfolio, I’m pretty sure I own stock in at least one airline, and I’m pretty sure airline managers know that cutting corners on security isn’t in my best interests as a shareholder.
And the items being confiscated? Are nailclippers and aftershave the tools of terrorists? What about the plastic cup of water I was told to dispose of because “it could be acid” (I quote the TSA screener) in New Orleans before the three-ounce rule? What about the can of Coke I was relieved of after a flight from Copenhagen to Atlanta a few months ago? I would be more scared of someone giving a can of Coke to a child and contributing to the onset of juvenile diabetes than of using it to hide something that could compromise the safety of an aircraft.
And finally, most screening devices are ineffective because anyone who is serious about getting contraband on an airplane can smuggle it in a body cavity or a surgical implant. The scanners the TSA uses aren’t going to stop them.
Over the next few years, we’re headed for a bitter, partisan clash over legislative priorities. Before the battle starts, let’s reach for that low-hanging, bipartisan fruit. Let’s abolish the TSA.
The Republicans control the House of Representatives and are bracing for a long battle over the President’s health care proposal. In the spirit of bipartisanship and sanity, I propose that the first thing on the chopping block should be an ineffective organization that wastes money, violates our rights, and encourages us to make decisions that imperil our safety. I’m talking about the Transportation Security Administration.
Bipartisan support should be immediate. For fiscal conservatives, it’s hard to come up with a more wasteful agency than the TSA. For privacy advocates, eliminating an organization that requires you to choose between a nude body scan or genital groping in order to board a plane should be a no-brainer.
But won’t that compromise safety? I doubt it. The airlines have enormous sums of money riding on passenger safety, and the notion that a government bureaucracy has better incentives to provide safe travels than airlines with billions of dollars worth of capital and goodwill on the line strains credibility. This might be beside the point: in 2003, William Anderson incisively argued that some of the steps that airlines (and passengers) would have needed to take to prevent the 9/11 disaster probably would have been illegal.
The odds of dying from a terrorist attack are much lower than the odds of dying from doing any of a number of incredibly mundane things we do every day. You are almost certainly more likely to die or be injured driving to the airport than you are to be injured by a terrorist once you’re in the air, even without a TSA. Indeed, once you have successfully made it to the airport, the most dangerous part of your trip is over. Until it’s time to drive home, that is.
Last week, I picked up a “TSA Customer Comment Card.” First, it’s important that we get one thing straight: I am not the TSA’s “customer.” The term “customer” denotes an honorable relationship in which I and a seller voluntarily trade value for value. There’s nothing voluntary about my relationship with the TSA.
A much more appropriate term for our relationship is “subject.” The TSA stands between me and those with whom I would like to trade, and I am not allowed to without their blessing.
Second, the TSA doesn’t provide security. It provides security theater, as Jeffrey Goldberg argues. The kid with the slushie in Tucson before the three-ounce-rule? The little girl in the princess costume at an airport I don’t remember? The countless grandmothers? I’m more likely to be killed tripping over my own two feet while I’m distracted by the lunacy of it all than I am to be killed by one of them in a terrorist attack. The moral cost of all this is considerable, as James Otteson and Bradley Birzer argue.
For even more theater of the absurd, consider that the TSA screens pilots. If a pilot wants to bring a plane down, he or she can probably do it with bare hands, and certainly without weapons. It’s also not entirely crazy to think that an airline will take measures to keep their pilots from turning their multi-million dollar planes into flying bombs. Through the index funds in my retirement portfolio, I’m pretty sure I own stock in at least one airline, and I’m pretty sure airline managers know that cutting corners on security isn’t in my best interests as a shareholder.
And the items being confiscated? Are nailclippers and aftershave the tools of terrorists? What about the plastic cup of water I was told to dispose of because “it could be acid” (I quote the TSA screener) in New Orleans before the three-ounce rule? What about the can of Coke I was relieved of after a flight from Copenhagen to Atlanta a few months ago? I would be more scared of someone giving a can of Coke to a child and contributing to the onset of juvenile diabetes than of using it to hide something that could compromise the safety of an aircraft.
And finally, most screening devices are ineffective because anyone who is serious about getting contraband on an airplane can smuggle it in a body cavity or a surgical implant. The scanners the TSA uses aren’t going to stop them.
Over the next few years, we’re headed for a bitter, partisan clash over legislative priorities. Before the battle starts, let’s reach for that low-hanging, bipartisan fruit. Let’s abolish the TSA.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Alert: QE II Has Lit the Fuse
For a very long time I have been calling for, expecting and otherwise anticipating the day that the Federal Reserve would begin openly monetizing government debt. I knew the day would come intellectually, but in my heart I hoped it wouldn't. But with the Fed's recent decision to directly monetize the next 8 months of federal deficit spending, that day has finally arrived. I have to confess, while my prediction has proven accurate, I’m still stunned the Fed actually did it.
In this report I examine the risks that this new path presents, what match(es) may finally ignite the decades-old pile of dry fuel, what the outcomes are likely to be, and what we can and should be doing in preparation.
Read the Rest Here
In this report I examine the risks that this new path presents, what match(es) may finally ignite the decades-old pile of dry fuel, what the outcomes are likely to be, and what we can and should be doing in preparation.
Read the Rest Here
We Must Stop TSA Tyranny Now
Washington, DC—Airline security has always been dysfunctional from the day the FAA took over that responsibility. They began by getting a poorly thought out mandate that all passengers be screened by people we would not trust to walk our dogs.The FAA disarmed any pilots that were permitted by local laws to carry guns. Likewise they disarmed vetted, trained cops flying on our airplanes. That was because of the personal gun rights hating philosophy of these political patronage appointees.Criminals, illegal aliens and those with minimal mental capacity were hired to inspect the personal property and possessions of travelers. It was never intended to be real security but a pretend effort to fool passengers into thinking they were somehow safe.That unforgettable attack of September 11, 2001 and the FAA policies enabled the murders of nearly 3,000 and damages in the hundreds of billions. The pilots were unarmed and defenseless and two off duty cops on two of the four planes were also disarmed and helpless. Had the pilots and off-duty cops been armed, 9/11 would have been just another day.Not one FAA official or government bureaucrat was even criticized for creating the perfect conditions for the Muslim terrorists.
READ THE REST HERE
READ THE REST HERE
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Of missiles & money
A person of normal sensibilities would have to be intellectually numb, overly medicated or otherwise too preoccupied with keeping food on the table and the proverbial wolves from their door not to realize that there is something very, very wrong going on today. By now, most Americans have heard about the sighting of what appears to be a missile, and a big one at that, apparently being launched from a location about 35 miles off the coast of Los Angeles near sunset last evening. Video of the incident was taken from a KCBS news helicopter flying over the mainland at the time
Read the Rest Here
Read the Rest Here
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Unless something changes, I may never fly again.
I have made a living over the last 25 years, travelling extensively around the world as part of my job. I am in a machinery manufacturing business, and we have zero local customers. Everyone we do business with requires our technicians, sales and field engineers to travel. That is the nature of building production machinery.
After 9/11, most of us looked the other way and didn't complain too much when we had to start taking off shoes, belts, opening laptops, subjecting our luggage to bomb sniffing and x-rays, throwing away our pen knives (I lost one my grandfather gave me, priceless), no more nail clippers, no tools of any kind ( I lost a set of digital vernier calipers, valued at $200, to the TSA), and after the famous Michael Vick incident and someone with a suspected "liquid explosive", you may no longer have any liquids - over 3 ounces- taken through the security screening area.
More recently all travellers are required to have an exact match of your name on your "government issued identification" on your ticket. If it's misspelled, you don't fly.
The last straw, in my mind, is the new backscatter full body radar scans, a device of questionable safety. If you want to opt out of the radiation, you may, but be prepared for a cavity search.
After 9/11, most of us looked the other way and didn't complain too much when we had to start taking off shoes, belts, opening laptops, subjecting our luggage to bomb sniffing and x-rays, throwing away our pen knives (I lost one my grandfather gave me, priceless), no more nail clippers, no tools of any kind ( I lost a set of digital vernier calipers, valued at $200, to the TSA), and after the famous Michael Vick incident and someone with a suspected "liquid explosive", you may no longer have any liquids - over 3 ounces- taken through the security screening area.
More recently all travellers are required to have an exact match of your name on your "government issued identification" on your ticket. If it's misspelled, you don't fly.
The last straw, in my mind, is the new backscatter full body radar scans, a device of questionable safety. If you want to opt out of the radiation, you may, but be prepared for a cavity search.
Clueless Ben
Before reading this report, please watch this video.
The familiar slogan of investing is this: "Timing is everything." If true, then Ben Bernanke had a bad week. Calling it a bad week barely does justice to it.
On November 2, the American people went to the polls in the greatest numbers in history for a mid-term election and threw out Democrats in the House of Representatives. If the Senators had all been up for re-election, the Democrats would have lost their majority. It was the largest reversal in the House since 1938, when Roosevelt's Supreme Court-packing scheme led to a huge veto at the polls by Republicans – an event not mentioned in the (universally) pro-Roosevelt history textbooks. The textbooks do admit that Roosevelt knew that he had gone too far. He never mentioned the plan again. It was the only major defeat of his Presidency.
The political signal on November 2 was clear. Obama had the good sense to back off the next day, calling for bipartisanship. That is what Presidents do when they are hammered at the polls in full public view. "Let's work together, so that I can get at least part of my agenda enacted" replaces, "Sit there and take it, losers! I've got the votes." He no longer has the votes.
On November 3, Bernanke announced a $600 billion program to buy mid-range Treasury bonds in order to lower the interest rate on these bonds. Yet these bonds have been holding at their lowest rate in the post-World War II era.
On November 4, he defended himself in the Washington Post in an op-ed piece. This is the first time I recall a FED Chairman going directly to the government employees who inhabit the Washington Beltway in order to defend a policy change on the day after the change.
On November 5, word came from central bankers around the world that this move was a huge mistake. The finance minister of Germany called the decision "clueless." I have followed Federal Reserve affairs for over four decades. I never recall language this harsh aimed at a Federal Reserve Chairman by any senior foreign public official. The German official was not alone. Central bankers from around the world protested.
On November 5–6, Federal Reserve officials held a conference on Jekyll Island: the 100th anniversary of the secret meeting at which the conspiracy to create the FED drew up the final plans. Their penance was to be forced to listen to insufferably boring academic papers on utterly useless historical topics.
On November 6, Bernanke spoke at this meeting in defense of his decision to inject $600 billion into the economy. His speech was not posted on the FED's site as of the morning of November 8. The Web staffers were at home over the weekend. The media therefore could not find out what he said, or even that he had spoken.
On November 6, President Obama arrived in India as part of his attendance at the G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in South Korea this week. He will walk into a firestorm of resentment over Bernanke's announcement.
All in all, it was a remarkable week for Bernanke.
LOW, STABLE INFLATION
Bernanke is facing a slowing economy. All those green shoots he said he could see in 2009 have begun to die. Unemployment remains high. It shows no sign of coming down. But consumer prices have been flat, which allows him some breathing room. The adjusted monetary base in early November was no higher than it had been in early November 2009. The FED had at long last achieved a semi-stable-money environment. But, like a dog and its vomit, Bernanke could not stay away from monetary inflation.
In his Washington Post article he was his usual Keynesian self.
The Federal Reserve's objectives – its dual mandate, set by Congress – are to promote a high level of employment and low, stable inflation. Unfortunately, the job market remains quite weak; the national unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, a large number of people can find only part-time work, and a substantial fraction of the unemployed have been out of work six months or longer. The heavy costs of unemployment include intense strains on family finances, more foreclosures and the loss of job skills. When, exactly, was the Federal Reserve System told by the government to produce "low, stable inflation"? Here is the Wikipedia summary of the Employment Act of 1978, the famous Humphrey-Hawkins Act.
The Act set specific numerical goals for the President to attain. By 1983, unemployment rates should be not more than 3% for persons aged 20 or over and not more than 4% for persons aged 16 or over, and inflation rates should not be over 4%. By 1988, inflation rates should be 0%. The Act allows Congress to revise these goals as time progresses.
So, has Congress recently mandated "low, stable inflation"? I am unaware of this. Bernanke did not mention the declaration in which Congress mandated this. I can tell you this much: the Congress of 2011 will not mandate low, stable inflation.
The goal of low, stable price inflation is the goal of all Keynesians. Whenever price inflation falls much below 2% per annum – a doubling of prices every 36 years – Keynesians begin to get nervous. They think that anything approaching stable prices is a harbinger of economic stagnation or even recession. Their motto is: "Better a little inflation than high unemployment."
This is why Bernanke persuaded nine other FOMC members to accept his program of monetary inflation. Only Thomas Hoenig protested – the lone vote against him for months. When the FED's program fails to bring either economic growth or low, stable inflation, Hoenig will be the obvious choice to replace Bernanke in 2014. Only his age (64 today) may disqualify him.
The assumption of all Keynesians is that price deflation is always accompanied by economic recession. They do not recognize that a stable money supply produces slowly falling prices in an economy marked by increasing output. Put another way, this scenario is "more goods chasing the same amount of money." Like falling computer prices, most prices tend in the direction of decline when the money supply is stable.
PRICE DECLINES AND INCREASING OUTPUT
The idea that falling prices accompany recession is the result of historical circumstances. Prices fell in the Great Depression because fractionally reserved small banks went bankrupt, 1930–34, thereby shrinking the money supply. Consumer prices fell because the money supply fell. The stable monetary base of the Federal Reserve in these years was offset by failing banks.
The Federal Reserve System was set up to protect big banks from bank runs under the gold coin standard. All central banks exist in order to protect the interests of the big banks. The Federal Reserve carefully intervened to protect big banks, 1930–33. Over 9,000 small banks went under until the FDIC was created in 1934 in order to protect depositors' interests. After that, the bank runs ceased. Depositors stopped worrying about the solvency of the banks.
Consumer prices fell in the United States for a generation after the restoration of the gold coin standard in 1879. Western economic output increased dramatically in the 19th century – the first sustained period of economic growth in recorded history.
The idea that falling consumer prices are an indicator of economic stagnation is widespread today. But stable prices and increasing output can go together. They have in Japan over the last two decades. Yet Japan is the favorite bogeyman for Keynesians. We are told of deflation in Japan, which in fact has not taken place over the last 17 years. In real estate, yes. The bubble popped in 1990. But consumer prices have been flat. At the same time, output per worker has increased steadily, year after year. The recessions of 1997 and 2009 were the only exceptions.
The Federal Reserve is Keynesian. It is sitting on top of a mountain of reserves, yet prices are stable. The commercial banks are not lending. The result has been a sharp reduction in the M1 multiplier until recent months.
PUSHING ON A STRING
With the new injection of fiat money – an increase in the monetary base by about 30% – under normal circumstances, Federal Reserve forecasters would expect a comparable increase in consumer prices. Yet Bernanke assured us that he does not believe that prices will rise much above a 2% rate. In his defense of the decision, he wrote:
Today, most measures of underlying inflation are running somewhat below 2 percent, or a bit lower than the rate most Fed policymakers see as being most consistent with healthy economic growth in the long run.
He does not expect rising prices. Why not? He described the current situation – excess capacity – but he offered no explanation.
Even absent such risks, low and falling inflation indicate that the economy has considerable spare capacity, implying that there is scope for monetary policy to support further gains in employment without risking economic overheating.
Why is there excess capacity? Because economic plans that were based on Keynesian economics did not see the 2008–9 recession. Entrepreneurs kept building plants. Then the bottom fell out.
Today, excess bank reserves are the cause of excess capacity. Businesses don't borrow, and banks don't lend.
Bernanke never used the words, "excess reserves." But he did describe their effect.
Our earlier use of this policy approach had little effect on the amount of currency in circulation or on other broad measures of the money supply, such as bank deposits. Nor did it result in higher inflation.
In other words, he really believes that, because the FED got away with more than doubling the monetary base in 2008–9, it can get away with this again.
He offered an explanation for his belief that this new policy will be effective: lower mortgage rates.
This approach eased financial conditions in the past and, so far, looks to be effective again. Stock prices rose and long-term interest rates fell when investors began to anticipate the most recent action. Easier financial conditions will promote economic growth. For example, lower mortgage rates will make housing more affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance.
Mortgage rates are already the lowest they have been in the post-World War II era. The idea that demand for homes will increase because the FED pushed down 10-year Treasury rates is indeed clueless. Mortgage rates are more likely to follow the 30-year Treasury bond rate, but most observers think the FED will not be buying these long maturity bonds. On November 3, the 30-year T-bond rate was 4.09. On November 5, it was 4.12. Rates for all other maturities fell slightly.
When the policy works, he promised us, the FED will then reverse it.
We have made all necessary preparations, and we are confident that we have the tools to unwind these policies at the appropriate time. The Fed is committed to both parts of its dual mandate and will take all measures necessary to keep inflation low and stable. But if it will take a 30% increase in the monetary base, on top of what was added in 2008–9, to get this economy rolling again, how will the FED be able to unwind these positions – i.e., sell Treasury debt – without pushing the economy back into recession?
The FED added to the monetary base at an unprecedented rate in 2008–9, yet the recovery is already fading. He thinks another 30% increase will get the job done in the job market. That will reverse the looming decline. Why? For how long?
THE FAILED RECOVERY, 1934–40
The dual Keynesian solution of Federal deficits and central bank inflation has barely had an affect on the economy. He is now doubling down the bet. He and his colleagues are risking the decline of the dollar in international currency markets. For what? A couple of percentage points fall in the unemployment rate? There is no way that there is going to be any more than this, given the inability of a more than doubled monetary base to push the rate down.
The policy-makers at the FED are facing something the FED has not faced since 1934: an economy that does not respond to a dramatic increase in the monetary base. The bankers are thwarting the FED's policy. We have seen this before: 1934 to 1939. The FDIC contained the bank runs. The number of banks stabilized. At the same time, the FED increased the monetary base by 100%. The money supply increased by 50%.
Despite this sharp increase, the economy fell back into recession in 1937. It did not get out of the Great Depression until 1940, when British orders for weapons began hitting the economy. Then the mass inflation of the war years, coupled with price controls and rationing, converted the inability of Americans to afford to buy consumer goods because of joblessness into the inability to buy consumer goods because of shortages. This was regarded by bright young Keynesians as a great victory for the New Deal. It still is.
CONCLUSION
The FED's policy of stable money, November 2009 to November 2010, did not crash the economy. There was some growth. The consumer price index approached zero percent, which has been a great gift to American consumers – one not experienced for over five decades. But the temptation to inflate was too great for Bernanke and his Keynesian peers.
They have announced to foreign holders on Treasury debt that they don't care if there is some decline in the dollar's value. Maybe they think that the other central banks will follow suit. But will those banks continue to buy Treasury debt? If they do, they are committed to mercantilism to a degree not seen in the past. They will be saying to the FED, "You called our bluff. We will race you to the bottom. We will still buy T-bonds in order to keep our currencies low." If they do this, the world is headed for a currency war, pure and simple.
The G-20 nations' representatives will huff and puff. That is for public consumption back home. The test will be their willingness to back up their rhetoric with action: no more Treasury debt purchases. Maybe even the sale of some dollar reserves.
If they take the path of business as usual, which I think they will, this will be bullish for commodities and bearish for corporate bonds.
The familiar slogan of investing is this: "Timing is everything." If true, then Ben Bernanke had a bad week. Calling it a bad week barely does justice to it.
On November 2, the American people went to the polls in the greatest numbers in history for a mid-term election and threw out Democrats in the House of Representatives. If the Senators had all been up for re-election, the Democrats would have lost their majority. It was the largest reversal in the House since 1938, when Roosevelt's Supreme Court-packing scheme led to a huge veto at the polls by Republicans – an event not mentioned in the (universally) pro-Roosevelt history textbooks. The textbooks do admit that Roosevelt knew that he had gone too far. He never mentioned the plan again. It was the only major defeat of his Presidency.
The political signal on November 2 was clear. Obama had the good sense to back off the next day, calling for bipartisanship. That is what Presidents do when they are hammered at the polls in full public view. "Let's work together, so that I can get at least part of my agenda enacted" replaces, "Sit there and take it, losers! I've got the votes." He no longer has the votes.
On November 3, Bernanke announced a $600 billion program to buy mid-range Treasury bonds in order to lower the interest rate on these bonds. Yet these bonds have been holding at their lowest rate in the post-World War II era.
On November 4, he defended himself in the Washington Post in an op-ed piece. This is the first time I recall a FED Chairman going directly to the government employees who inhabit the Washington Beltway in order to defend a policy change on the day after the change.
On November 5, word came from central bankers around the world that this move was a huge mistake. The finance minister of Germany called the decision "clueless." I have followed Federal Reserve affairs for over four decades. I never recall language this harsh aimed at a Federal Reserve Chairman by any senior foreign public official. The German official was not alone. Central bankers from around the world protested.
On November 5–6, Federal Reserve officials held a conference on Jekyll Island: the 100th anniversary of the secret meeting at which the conspiracy to create the FED drew up the final plans. Their penance was to be forced to listen to insufferably boring academic papers on utterly useless historical topics.
On November 6, Bernanke spoke at this meeting in defense of his decision to inject $600 billion into the economy. His speech was not posted on the FED's site as of the morning of November 8. The Web staffers were at home over the weekend. The media therefore could not find out what he said, or even that he had spoken.
On November 6, President Obama arrived in India as part of his attendance at the G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in South Korea this week. He will walk into a firestorm of resentment over Bernanke's announcement.
All in all, it was a remarkable week for Bernanke.
LOW, STABLE INFLATION
Bernanke is facing a slowing economy. All those green shoots he said he could see in 2009 have begun to die. Unemployment remains high. It shows no sign of coming down. But consumer prices have been flat, which allows him some breathing room. The adjusted monetary base in early November was no higher than it had been in early November 2009. The FED had at long last achieved a semi-stable-money environment. But, like a dog and its vomit, Bernanke could not stay away from monetary inflation.
In his Washington Post article he was his usual Keynesian self.
The Federal Reserve's objectives – its dual mandate, set by Congress – are to promote a high level of employment and low, stable inflation. Unfortunately, the job market remains quite weak; the national unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, a large number of people can find only part-time work, and a substantial fraction of the unemployed have been out of work six months or longer. The heavy costs of unemployment include intense strains on family finances, more foreclosures and the loss of job skills. When, exactly, was the Federal Reserve System told by the government to produce "low, stable inflation"? Here is the Wikipedia summary of the Employment Act of 1978, the famous Humphrey-Hawkins Act.
The Act set specific numerical goals for the President to attain. By 1983, unemployment rates should be not more than 3% for persons aged 20 or over and not more than 4% for persons aged 16 or over, and inflation rates should not be over 4%. By 1988, inflation rates should be 0%. The Act allows Congress to revise these goals as time progresses.
So, has Congress recently mandated "low, stable inflation"? I am unaware of this. Bernanke did not mention the declaration in which Congress mandated this. I can tell you this much: the Congress of 2011 will not mandate low, stable inflation.
The goal of low, stable price inflation is the goal of all Keynesians. Whenever price inflation falls much below 2% per annum – a doubling of prices every 36 years – Keynesians begin to get nervous. They think that anything approaching stable prices is a harbinger of economic stagnation or even recession. Their motto is: "Better a little inflation than high unemployment."
This is why Bernanke persuaded nine other FOMC members to accept his program of monetary inflation. Only Thomas Hoenig protested – the lone vote against him for months. When the FED's program fails to bring either economic growth or low, stable inflation, Hoenig will be the obvious choice to replace Bernanke in 2014. Only his age (64 today) may disqualify him.
The assumption of all Keynesians is that price deflation is always accompanied by economic recession. They do not recognize that a stable money supply produces slowly falling prices in an economy marked by increasing output. Put another way, this scenario is "more goods chasing the same amount of money." Like falling computer prices, most prices tend in the direction of decline when the money supply is stable.
PRICE DECLINES AND INCREASING OUTPUT
The idea that falling prices accompany recession is the result of historical circumstances. Prices fell in the Great Depression because fractionally reserved small banks went bankrupt, 1930–34, thereby shrinking the money supply. Consumer prices fell because the money supply fell. The stable monetary base of the Federal Reserve in these years was offset by failing banks.
The Federal Reserve System was set up to protect big banks from bank runs under the gold coin standard. All central banks exist in order to protect the interests of the big banks. The Federal Reserve carefully intervened to protect big banks, 1930–33. Over 9,000 small banks went under until the FDIC was created in 1934 in order to protect depositors' interests. After that, the bank runs ceased. Depositors stopped worrying about the solvency of the banks.
Consumer prices fell in the United States for a generation after the restoration of the gold coin standard in 1879. Western economic output increased dramatically in the 19th century – the first sustained period of economic growth in recorded history.
The idea that falling consumer prices are an indicator of economic stagnation is widespread today. But stable prices and increasing output can go together. They have in Japan over the last two decades. Yet Japan is the favorite bogeyman for Keynesians. We are told of deflation in Japan, which in fact has not taken place over the last 17 years. In real estate, yes. The bubble popped in 1990. But consumer prices have been flat. At the same time, output per worker has increased steadily, year after year. The recessions of 1997 and 2009 were the only exceptions.
The Federal Reserve is Keynesian. It is sitting on top of a mountain of reserves, yet prices are stable. The commercial banks are not lending. The result has been a sharp reduction in the M1 multiplier until recent months.
PUSHING ON A STRING
With the new injection of fiat money – an increase in the monetary base by about 30% – under normal circumstances, Federal Reserve forecasters would expect a comparable increase in consumer prices. Yet Bernanke assured us that he does not believe that prices will rise much above a 2% rate. In his defense of the decision, he wrote:
Today, most measures of underlying inflation are running somewhat below 2 percent, or a bit lower than the rate most Fed policymakers see as being most consistent with healthy economic growth in the long run.
He does not expect rising prices. Why not? He described the current situation – excess capacity – but he offered no explanation.
Even absent such risks, low and falling inflation indicate that the economy has considerable spare capacity, implying that there is scope for monetary policy to support further gains in employment without risking economic overheating.
Why is there excess capacity? Because economic plans that were based on Keynesian economics did not see the 2008–9 recession. Entrepreneurs kept building plants. Then the bottom fell out.
Today, excess bank reserves are the cause of excess capacity. Businesses don't borrow, and banks don't lend.
Bernanke never used the words, "excess reserves." But he did describe their effect.
Our earlier use of this policy approach had little effect on the amount of currency in circulation or on other broad measures of the money supply, such as bank deposits. Nor did it result in higher inflation.
In other words, he really believes that, because the FED got away with more than doubling the monetary base in 2008–9, it can get away with this again.
He offered an explanation for his belief that this new policy will be effective: lower mortgage rates.
This approach eased financial conditions in the past and, so far, looks to be effective again. Stock prices rose and long-term interest rates fell when investors began to anticipate the most recent action. Easier financial conditions will promote economic growth. For example, lower mortgage rates will make housing more affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance.
Mortgage rates are already the lowest they have been in the post-World War II era. The idea that demand for homes will increase because the FED pushed down 10-year Treasury rates is indeed clueless. Mortgage rates are more likely to follow the 30-year Treasury bond rate, but most observers think the FED will not be buying these long maturity bonds. On November 3, the 30-year T-bond rate was 4.09. On November 5, it was 4.12. Rates for all other maturities fell slightly.
When the policy works, he promised us, the FED will then reverse it.
We have made all necessary preparations, and we are confident that we have the tools to unwind these policies at the appropriate time. The Fed is committed to both parts of its dual mandate and will take all measures necessary to keep inflation low and stable. But if it will take a 30% increase in the monetary base, on top of what was added in 2008–9, to get this economy rolling again, how will the FED be able to unwind these positions – i.e., sell Treasury debt – without pushing the economy back into recession?
The FED added to the monetary base at an unprecedented rate in 2008–9, yet the recovery is already fading. He thinks another 30% increase will get the job done in the job market. That will reverse the looming decline. Why? For how long?
THE FAILED RECOVERY, 1934–40
The dual Keynesian solution of Federal deficits and central bank inflation has barely had an affect on the economy. He is now doubling down the bet. He and his colleagues are risking the decline of the dollar in international currency markets. For what? A couple of percentage points fall in the unemployment rate? There is no way that there is going to be any more than this, given the inability of a more than doubled monetary base to push the rate down.
The policy-makers at the FED are facing something the FED has not faced since 1934: an economy that does not respond to a dramatic increase in the monetary base. The bankers are thwarting the FED's policy. We have seen this before: 1934 to 1939. The FDIC contained the bank runs. The number of banks stabilized. At the same time, the FED increased the monetary base by 100%. The money supply increased by 50%.
Despite this sharp increase, the economy fell back into recession in 1937. It did not get out of the Great Depression until 1940, when British orders for weapons began hitting the economy. Then the mass inflation of the war years, coupled with price controls and rationing, converted the inability of Americans to afford to buy consumer goods because of joblessness into the inability to buy consumer goods because of shortages. This was regarded by bright young Keynesians as a great victory for the New Deal. It still is.
CONCLUSION
The FED's policy of stable money, November 2009 to November 2010, did not crash the economy. There was some growth. The consumer price index approached zero percent, which has been a great gift to American consumers – one not experienced for over five decades. But the temptation to inflate was too great for Bernanke and his Keynesian peers.
They have announced to foreign holders on Treasury debt that they don't care if there is some decline in the dollar's value. Maybe they think that the other central banks will follow suit. But will those banks continue to buy Treasury debt? If they do, they are committed to mercantilism to a degree not seen in the past. They will be saying to the FED, "You called our bluff. We will race you to the bottom. We will still buy T-bonds in order to keep our currencies low." If they do this, the world is headed for a currency war, pure and simple.
The G-20 nations' representatives will huff and puff. That is for public consumption back home. The test will be their willingness to back up their rhetoric with action: no more Treasury debt purchases. Maybe even the sale of some dollar reserves.
If they take the path of business as usual, which I think they will, this will be bullish for commodities and bearish for corporate bonds.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
You might want to be sitting down when you read this economic news
Today the financial world was buzzing with excitement because there was one moderately good piece of news for the U.S. economy. U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs during the month of October and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6%. This is certainly welcome news, but these days it seems as though there are at least ten pieces of bad economic news for every hopeful economic signal. So don't get fooled when the U.S. economy takes one step forward, because it is about to take another dozen or so steps backwards. We are living in the middle of a nightmarish long-term economic decline that has been building for generations. The deindustrialization of the United States, the horrific trade deficit caused by globalization and the skyrocketing national debt are problems that have taken decades to develop. The Federal Reserve has been ripping the guts out of our financial system since 1913. These are not things that are going to be fixed overnight. In fact, there are some statistics that just keep getting worse and worse and worse as time goes by. We are heading straight for a devastating economic collapse and hopefully we can all warn as many people as possible while there is still time.
The more research that you do into our economic situation the more depressing it becomes. We are in big, big, big trouble. The following are 14 pieces of bad economic news that are so horrifying you might not want to read them standing up....
#1 More than 42 million Americans were on food stamps during the month of August. That is a new all-time record, and that number is 17 percent higher than it was one year earlier. In fact, the number of Americans on food stamps is up more than 58 percent since August 2007.
#2 The number of "persons not in the labor force" in the United States has set another new all-time record. The United States has not had such an extended bout of mass unemployment since the Great Depression. The "official" unemployment rate in the United States has been at nine and a half percent or above for 14 consecutive months.
#3 More than 1000 people now live in the 200 miles of flood tunnels that exist under the city of Las Vegas. Once one of the most prosperous cities in the United States, Las Vegas is now little more than a shiny, glittering corpse that it rapidly decaying.
#4 Poverty is absolutely exploding and it is hitting those who are the most vulnerable the hardest. According to one recent study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010.
#5 In the past 60 days alone, the price of cotton is up 54%, the price of corn is up 29%, the price of soybeans is up 22%, the price of orange juice is up 17%, and the price of sugar is up 51%.
#6 One out of every six Americans is now enrolled in at least one anti-poverty program run by the federal government.
#7 The American Bankruptcy Institute says that there will be about 1.6 million consumer bankruptcies in 2010. That would represent a huge increase over 2009.
#8 According to one recent survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job.
#9 The individual U.S. states are mostly flat broke. For example, it is being reported that the 15 largest U.S. states spent on average over 220% of their tax receipts over the past decade. Clearly this is not even close to sustainable.
#10 The U.S. government is completely and totally broke. After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a "fiscal gap" of $202 trillion dollars.
#11 In an attempt to keep our financial system solvent, the U.S. Federal Reserve has announced plans to create $600 billion out of thin air and pump it into the U.S. economy. The Fed is calling this "quantitative easing," but what they should really be calling it is "cheating, debasing and inflating."
#12 Many of the major trading partners of the United States are expressing deep resentment regarding the new quantitative easing policy announced by the Fed. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard recently described the growing animosity this way....
Li Deshui from Beijing's Economic Commission said a string of Asian states share China's "deep bitterness" over dollar debasement, and are examining ways of teaming up to insulate themselves from the tsunami of US liquidity.
#13 For many analysts, the economic collapse of the United States comes down to cold, hard math. For example, the former CEO of the tenth largest bank in the United States says that it is a "mathematical certainty" that the U.S. government will eventually go bankrupt.
#14 According to a recent article on CNBC, the financial world is already buzzing about QE3....
"They're already talking about QE3," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of US equity trading for Canaccord Adams. "Eventually we're going to be printing so much money the dollar is going to really go down and everybody's going to try to deflate their currency against us. I just don't know how this could end well."?
So is that all the Federal Reserve has left?
Are they just going to keep pouring bags of money into the economy until things get back to "normal"?
Are we going to have "Quantitative Easing 3," "Quantitative Easing 4," and "Quantitative Easing 5"?
It has been a long-running joke, but perhaps by the end of this thing Ben Bernanke will literally go up in a helicopter and start shoveling out huge piles of cash over the countryside.
The era of great prosperity that we have all enjoyed for so long is coming to an end. It would be advisable to use the remaining period of economic stability that we still have to prepare for what is ahead.
These economic problems could have been fixed decades ago if people would have actually listened and would have followed sound economic principles on an individual and on a corporate level, but that did not happen.
Now we are up to our eyeballs in debt and the greatest economic machine in history is rotting all around us.
We are in deep, deep, deep trouble and denying it is not going to make it go away.
Reprinted with permission from the Economic Collapse Blog.
The more research that you do into our economic situation the more depressing it becomes. We are in big, big, big trouble. The following are 14 pieces of bad economic news that are so horrifying you might not want to read them standing up....
#1 More than 42 million Americans were on food stamps during the month of August. That is a new all-time record, and that number is 17 percent higher than it was one year earlier. In fact, the number of Americans on food stamps is up more than 58 percent since August 2007.
#2 The number of "persons not in the labor force" in the United States has set another new all-time record. The United States has not had such an extended bout of mass unemployment since the Great Depression. The "official" unemployment rate in the United States has been at nine and a half percent or above for 14 consecutive months.
#3 More than 1000 people now live in the 200 miles of flood tunnels that exist under the city of Las Vegas. Once one of the most prosperous cities in the United States, Las Vegas is now little more than a shiny, glittering corpse that it rapidly decaying.
#4 Poverty is absolutely exploding and it is hitting those who are the most vulnerable the hardest. According to one recent study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010.
#5 In the past 60 days alone, the price of cotton is up 54%, the price of corn is up 29%, the price of soybeans is up 22%, the price of orange juice is up 17%, and the price of sugar is up 51%.
#6 One out of every six Americans is now enrolled in at least one anti-poverty program run by the federal government.
#7 The American Bankruptcy Institute says that there will be about 1.6 million consumer bankruptcies in 2010. That would represent a huge increase over 2009.
#8 According to one recent survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job.
#9 The individual U.S. states are mostly flat broke. For example, it is being reported that the 15 largest U.S. states spent on average over 220% of their tax receipts over the past decade. Clearly this is not even close to sustainable.
#10 The U.S. government is completely and totally broke. After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a "fiscal gap" of $202 trillion dollars.
#11 In an attempt to keep our financial system solvent, the U.S. Federal Reserve has announced plans to create $600 billion out of thin air and pump it into the U.S. economy. The Fed is calling this "quantitative easing," but what they should really be calling it is "cheating, debasing and inflating."
#12 Many of the major trading partners of the United States are expressing deep resentment regarding the new quantitative easing policy announced by the Fed. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard recently described the growing animosity this way....
Li Deshui from Beijing's Economic Commission said a string of Asian states share China's "deep bitterness" over dollar debasement, and are examining ways of teaming up to insulate themselves from the tsunami of US liquidity.
#13 For many analysts, the economic collapse of the United States comes down to cold, hard math. For example, the former CEO of the tenth largest bank in the United States says that it is a "mathematical certainty" that the U.S. government will eventually go bankrupt.
#14 According to a recent article on CNBC, the financial world is already buzzing about QE3....
"They're already talking about QE3," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of US equity trading for Canaccord Adams. "Eventually we're going to be printing so much money the dollar is going to really go down and everybody's going to try to deflate their currency against us. I just don't know how this could end well."?
So is that all the Federal Reserve has left?
Are they just going to keep pouring bags of money into the economy until things get back to "normal"?
Are we going to have "Quantitative Easing 3," "Quantitative Easing 4," and "Quantitative Easing 5"?
It has been a long-running joke, but perhaps by the end of this thing Ben Bernanke will literally go up in a helicopter and start shoveling out huge piles of cash over the countryside.
The era of great prosperity that we have all enjoyed for so long is coming to an end. It would be advisable to use the remaining period of economic stability that we still have to prepare for what is ahead.
These economic problems could have been fixed decades ago if people would have actually listened and would have followed sound economic principles on an individual and on a corporate level, but that did not happen.
Now we are up to our eyeballs in debt and the greatest economic machine in history is rotting all around us.
We are in deep, deep, deep trouble and denying it is not going to make it go away.
Reprinted with permission from the Economic Collapse Blog.
Downgraded Credit Rating From China
The Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., the Chinese rating company that was recently rejected in its bid to be an officially recognized bond rater in the U.S., just downgraded the entire U.S. as was reported this morning in the Wall Street Journal.
Gold is above $1400, making strong gains, Silver is over $29 - a near 20% gain in 4 days- both new record highs compared to the dollar.
Oil is knocking on $90 / barrel.
So, what does the Obama administration and the Fed think we should do? Print more money.
These are the stupidest people ever to be in charge of anything. I wouldn't allow them to operate a lemonaid stand.
Gold is above $1400, making strong gains, Silver is over $29 - a near 20% gain in 4 days- both new record highs compared to the dollar.
Oil is knocking on $90 / barrel.
So, what does the Obama administration and the Fed think we should do? Print more money.
These are the stupidest people ever to be in charge of anything. I wouldn't allow them to operate a lemonaid stand.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Is Freedom a Radical Idea?
Campaign For Liberty — Is Freedom a Radical Idea? by Sheldon Richman
The answer to the question "Is freedom a radical idea" is: no and yes. Let me explain.
Starting with the "no": Most children grow up learning the libertarian, or nonaggression, ethic. Parents say: "Don't hit, don't take other kids' stuff without asking, and don't break your promises." Nothing radical -- in the sense of out of the mainstream -- there. It neatly translates into: Respect life, liberty, and property, and honor your contracts.
Read the rest here
The answer to the question "Is freedom a radical idea" is: no and yes. Let me explain.
Starting with the "no": Most children grow up learning the libertarian, or nonaggression, ethic. Parents say: "Don't hit, don't take other kids' stuff without asking, and don't break your promises." Nothing radical -- in the sense of out of the mainstream -- there. It neatly translates into: Respect life, liberty, and property, and honor your contracts.
Read the rest here
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Fed is Celebrating 100 Years of Screwing Up Our Economy and Your Money
The Federal Reserve is going back to Jekyll Island to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the infamous 1910 Jekyll Island meeting that spawned the draft legislation that would ultimately create the U.S. Federal Reserve. The title of this conference is "A Return to Jekyll Island: The Origins, History, and Future of the Federal Reserve," and it will be held on November 5th and 6th in the exact same building where the original 1910 meeting occurred. In November 1910, the original gathering at Jekyll Island included U.S. Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department A.P. Andrews and many representatives from the upper crust of the U.S. banking establishment. That meeting was held in an environment of absolute and total secrecy. 100 years later, Federal Reserve bureaucrats will return to Jekyll Island once again to "celebrate" the history and the future of the Federal Reserve.
Sadly, most Americans have no idea how the Federal Reserve came into being. Forbes magazine founder Bertie Charles Forbes was perhaps the first writer to describe the secretive nature of the original gathering on Jekyll Island in a national publication....
Picture a party of the nation's greatest bankers stealing out of New York on a private railroad car under cover of darkness, stealthily riding hundred of miles South, embarking on a mysterious launch, sneaking onto an island deserted by all but a few servants, living there a full week under such rigid secrecy that the names of not one of them was once mentioned, lest the servants learn the identity and disclose to the world this strangest, most secret expedition in the history of American finance. I am not romancing; I am giving to the world, for the first time, the real story of how the famous Aldrich currency report, the foundation of our new currency system, was written... The utmost secrecy was enjoined upon all. The public must not glean a hint of what was to be done. Senator Aldrich notified each one to go quietly into a private car of which the railroad had received orders to draw up on an unfrequented platform. Off the party set. New York's ubiquitous reporters had been foiled... Nelson (Aldrich) had confided to Henry, Frank, Paul and Piatt that he was to keep them locked up at Jekyll Island, out of the rest of the world, until they had evolved and compiled a scientific currency system for the United States, the real birth of the present Federal Reserve System, the plan done on Jekyll Island in the conference with Paul, Frank and Henry... Warburg is the link that binds the Aldrich system and the present system together. He more than any one man has made the system possible as a working reality.
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It was a system that was designed by the bankers and for the bankers. Now, the bureaucrats running the system are returning to Jekyll Island to congratulate themselves. Those attending the conference on November 5th and 6th include Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, Goldman Sachs managing director E. Gerald Corrigan and the heads of the various regional Federal Reserve banks. You can view the entire agenda of the conference right here. It looks like that there will be plenty of hors d'oeuvres to go around, but should the Federal Reserve really be celebrating their accomplishments at a time when the U.S. economy is literally falling to pieces?
Today, 63 percent of Americans do not think that they will be able to maintain their current standard of living. 1.47 million Americans have been unemployed for more than 99 weeks. We are facing a complete and total economic disaster.
Today, the Federal Reserve has more power over the economy than any other single institution in the United States. It is the Fed that primarily determines if we will see high inflation or low inflation, whether the money supply with expand or contract and whether we will have high interest rates or low interest rates. The President and the U.S. Congress have far less power to influence the economy than the Federal Reserve does.
As this election has demonstrated, the American people are absolutely furious about the state of the U.S. economy, but American voters have been mostly blaming our politicians. They just don't understand that it is actually the Federal Reserve that has the most control over the performance of the economy.
It would be hard to understate how powerful the U.S. Federal Reserve really is in 2010. U.S. Representative Ron Paul recently told MSNBC that he believes that the Federal Reserve is actually more powerful than Congress.....
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"The regulations should be on the Federal Reserve. We should have transparency of the Federal Reserve. They can create trillions of dollars to bail out their friends, and we don’t even have any transparency of this. They’re more powerful than the Congress."
So how has the Federal Reserve performed over the years?
Well, since 1913 inflation has been on a relentless march upwards, U.S. government debt has increased exponentially and the U.S. dollar has lost over 96 percent of its value.
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That is not a record to be celebrating.
The truth is that the Federal Reserve was created to enslave the United States government in an endlessly expanding spiral of debt from which it would never be able to escape. As I wrote about yesterday, that is exactly what has happened. The U.S. government debt is escalating at an exponential rate. It is a trap from which the U.S. government will never be able to get out of under our current system.
Now many at the Federal Reserve are touting more "quantitative easing" as the solution to our economic problems. But anyone with a brain should be able to see that creating a gigantic pile of paper money out of thin air and dumping it into the economy is only going to make our long-term problems even worse.
But the Federal Reserve system was never designed to benefit the American people. It was designed to make massive amounts of money for the banking establishment. As I wrote about in "11 Reasons Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad," the Federal Reserve was created to transfer wealth from the American people to the U.S. government and from the U.S. government to the super wealthy.
The sad truth is that the Federal Reserve is at the very core of our economic and financial problems, and that is nothing to celebrate.
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