Sunday, May 02, 2010
The All-Seeing Eye
“And Tom, if you don’t pay up in within 10 minutes, we have a Predator drone armed with Hellfire missiles that will destroy your house and kill everyone inside. So don’t take too long, Tom…”
source: Lew Rockwell/ Charles Featherstone
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Saturday, December 05, 2009
A Brief Media Critique
"It is amazing that a scandal that has appeared on something like 14 million web pages (per Google, though ymmv as I see people getting all kinds of numbers) in a matter of just 2 weeks has yet to appear on the US mainstream network news. I mean, these were the guys who spent breathless hours of live coverage reporting every breaking rumor about changes to Michael Jackson’s coffin.
No real point. Not calling for government intervention, obviously. Just amazing how irrelevant the networks have become. If it weren’t for Time and Newsweek, and I would say they were the least relevant major news outlets in the country.
Some major, must-report outcome is going to come out of this Internet hype, and at that point the networks will find themselves in a position they have already been in several times this year — trying to explain significant actions resulting from a long-standing scandal or controversy they never reported."
Can it be that the MM is invested in the warmista religious position?
Nah.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Boom. Bust. Underemployment.
By: Karen De Coster
Yahoo published a piece on the “real” unemployment rate last week, putting that number at 17.5%. That’s still a government statistic, so you can bet it’s understated. The looming problem for many families is underemployment. The guy who came to fix my cable TV issue (Wide Open West) was an experienced and skilled carpenter who worked on luxury houses during the boom years, when McMansions became the norm. He told me he took his current job — because he needed a job, any job — for one-third the salary of his carpenter job. These stories abound, especially in my neck of the woods. Keeping up with current bills plus rising costs, while taking a reduction in wages, is a stressful and nightmarish situation to endure.
Yet when the government uses interventionist measures to “create jobs,” they measure those numbers and claim success merely because a job — any job — was created. The qualitative aspect that is missing, however, is what kind of job is created — unskilled labor? temporary work? low-wage job? The government never takes into account the people that lose higher-paid, skilled jobs and have to accept a lower-level job that keeps them underemployed.
The effect of the boom period is to lure people into living a more prosperous lifestyle based on their new wages (including overtime payment), even when they aren’t living beyond their means. Many times, they are appropriately raising their lifestyle to accommodate what they believe to be their new level of prosperity. The fallout and bust can no longer accommodate all of the home builders, electricians, carpenters, machinists, and other skilled workers whose labor was in high demand during the false prosperity years. And what about the marginal jobs that were in demand because of too many people with too much credit, such as home media consultant, home interior consultant/designer, etc.?
Then there are all of those specialty stores that were opened by entrepreneurs looking to cash in on hobbies and luxury buys that were fueled by the Fed’s boom — stores specializing in birding, scrapbooking, spas and game rooms, fireplaces and grills, perfume, expensive trinkets, party supplies, smokers’ supplies, kitchen gadgetry, feng shui, and overpriced gym equipment. And remember all of the shops that opened up to sell flooring, carpeting, tile, and blinds? Everyone had magical equity in their homes and used them as ATMs to fund their home renovations, hence all of the businesses popping up to accommodate the demand.
The number of businesses that opened up to meet the needs of eclectic discretionary purchases was unsustainable from the beginning. In my neighborhood, most of these businesses that sprang up during the boom have already closed.
Yahoo published a piece on the “real” unemployment rate last week, putting that number at 17.5%. That’s still a government statistic, so you can bet it’s understated. The looming problem for many families is underemployment. The guy who came to fix my cable TV issue (Wide Open West) was an experienced and skilled carpenter who worked on luxury houses during the boom years, when McMansions became the norm. He told me he took his current job — because he needed a job, any job — for one-third the salary of his carpenter job. These stories abound, especially in my neck of the woods. Keeping up with current bills plus rising costs, while taking a reduction in wages, is a stressful and nightmarish situation to endure.
Yet when the government uses interventionist measures to “create jobs,” they measure those numbers and claim success merely because a job — any job — was created. The qualitative aspect that is missing, however, is what kind of job is created — unskilled labor? temporary work? low-wage job? The government never takes into account the people that lose higher-paid, skilled jobs and have to accept a lower-level job that keeps them underemployed.
The effect of the boom period is to lure people into living a more prosperous lifestyle based on their new wages (including overtime payment), even when they aren’t living beyond their means. Many times, they are appropriately raising their lifestyle to accommodate what they believe to be their new level of prosperity. The fallout and bust can no longer accommodate all of the home builders, electricians, carpenters, machinists, and other skilled workers whose labor was in high demand during the false prosperity years. And what about the marginal jobs that were in demand because of too many people with too much credit, such as home media consultant, home interior consultant/designer, etc.?
Then there are all of those specialty stores that were opened by entrepreneurs looking to cash in on hobbies and luxury buys that were fueled by the Fed’s boom — stores specializing in birding, scrapbooking, spas and game rooms, fireplaces and grills, perfume, expensive trinkets, party supplies, smokers’ supplies, kitchen gadgetry, feng shui, and overpriced gym equipment. And remember all of the shops that opened up to sell flooring, carpeting, tile, and blinds? Everyone had magical equity in their homes and used them as ATMs to fund their home renovations, hence all of the businesses popping up to accommodate the demand.
The number of businesses that opened up to meet the needs of eclectic discretionary purchases was unsustainable from the beginning. In my neighborhood, most of these businesses that sprang up during the boom have already closed.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Not War?
Friday 13 Nov 2009 By David Horowitz
Rudy Giuliani [has] underscored the obvious. We tried prosecuting terrorists as criminals after the first World Trade Center attack in 1993. It got us the second attack. What is it that the Obama doesn’t understand about the word “war?” How can he wish to inflict this nightmare on the families of 9/11 and the City of New York? Senator Sestack on Fox this morning was absolutely pathetic, meandering on about how we need to defend our “ideals” and therefore try terrorists as though they were American citizens gone wild. No we don’t. Foreigners who hate us so much they are willing to kill tens of thousands of indiscriminately at a clip need to be tried as enemies of our country not as ordinary perps. This decision coming on the heels of the collective blindness of Democrats and so-called liberals to the obvious fact that Major Hasan’s atrocity was an act of war sends a message to the rest of us that is both ugly and alarming: 0ur commander in chief and his lieutenants at Justice and Homeland Security present a danger to all of us unlike any we have ever faced from domestic sources. The days ahead are uncharted and will not be pretty.
Rudy Giuliani [has] underscored the obvious. We tried prosecuting terrorists as criminals after the first World Trade Center attack in 1993. It got us the second attack. What is it that the Obama doesn’t understand about the word “war?” How can he wish to inflict this nightmare on the families of 9/11 and the City of New York? Senator Sestack on Fox this morning was absolutely pathetic, meandering on about how we need to defend our “ideals” and therefore try terrorists as though they were American citizens gone wild. No we don’t. Foreigners who hate us so much they are willing to kill tens of thousands of indiscriminately at a clip need to be tried as enemies of our country not as ordinary perps. This decision coming on the heels of the collective blindness of Democrats and so-called liberals to the obvious fact that Major Hasan’s atrocity was an act of war sends a message to the rest of us that is both ugly and alarming: 0ur commander in chief and his lieutenants at Justice and Homeland Security present a danger to all of us unlike any we have ever faced from domestic sources. The days ahead are uncharted and will not be pretty.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Enemy
A good place to start is just one little question: How many uauthorized e-mails is acceptable for a US Army major to exchange with an al-Qaeda-affiliated imam in Yemen?
Consider these photos of two different snakes, which share a common territory and habitat. They look similar, but are 2 species-is it important to identify which is which?
Well, one of them is utterly harmless, even beneficial as a predator of rodents. The other one is very dangerous, with an exceedingly deadly venom.
Is it important to identify which is which?
If we are going to kill any snake we come upon, identification is not important. But if we hope to live and let live, we had better be able to identify them accurately.
source
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Hair of the Dog, or...
Senators and Congressman are now compelling General Motors to make business decisions that are solely driven by the legislators' own political considerations, not the best interest of the taxpayers who now own the company. Such a dynamic is now underway in nearly every facet of our economy. An efficient allocation of resources – the only path to economic growth – is only possible when market forces, not Beltway bureaucrats, call the shots.
In the end, this stimulus, just like prior doses, will only worsen the condition it is meant to cure. When it wears off, the resulting recession will be even bigger than the one that everyone assumes has just ended. Until the impulse to fight recessions with government stimulus is quashed, genuine economic growth will never return. A string of ever-worsening recessions will eventually lead to what will be the next Great (Inflationary) Depression. But for now, enjoy the bubbly.
Source
Friday, October 23, 2009
Republicans Do What They're Told???
By: George Joyce
During a fundraiser in New York Barack Obama let loose with probably the most laughable claim so far during his faltering presidency:
“Democrats are an opinionated bunch . . . y’all are thinking for yourselves. . . The other side [i.e. Republicans] . . . they just kinda, sometimes do what they’re told . . .”
Let’s see. Democrats are an independent thinking, opinionated bunch while Republicans do what they’re told. This is a strange claim in light of the White House’s recent attempt to isolate and stigmatize Fox News and conservative talk radio in order to protect liberal ideology.
In addition, Obama surely could not have been classifying the 95% of black Americans and the 75% of Jews who voted for him in the “opinionated bunch” category. Most of us know in other words that the party of “diversity” is rather more likely to be populated by virulent true believers than by independent critical thinkers.
As for the GOP -- try telling those Tea Partiers to do what they’re told . . .
During a fundraiser in New York Barack Obama let loose with probably the most laughable claim so far during his faltering presidency:
“Democrats are an opinionated bunch . . . y’all are thinking for yourselves. . . The other side [i.e. Republicans] . . . they just kinda, sometimes do what they’re told . . .”
Let’s see. Democrats are an independent thinking, opinionated bunch while Republicans do what they’re told. This is a strange claim in light of the White House’s recent attempt to isolate and stigmatize Fox News and conservative talk radio in order to protect liberal ideology.
In addition, Obama surely could not have been classifying the 95% of black Americans and the 75% of Jews who voted for him in the “opinionated bunch” category. Most of us know in other words that the party of “diversity” is rather more likely to be populated by virulent true believers than by independent critical thinkers.
As for the GOP -- try telling those Tea Partiers to do what they’re told . . .
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Federal Reserve and the Warfare/Welfare State
By Richard Hoste
The ability to print money gives the government unlimited power. If you tax the people too much they rebel. But if you declare your paper to be the only thing used as legal tender and allow yourself to print as much of it as you want, there’s no limit to what you can do. The effects of inflation are as real as any tax. It’s just that the people are slower to notice and connect their lower living standards to the actions of the government. The scariest power that the Federal Reserve gives government is that to wage war.
Under a regime of sound money government would have to pay for war, or anything else it did, by taxation. Since war is costly, heads of state tried to avoid it. If war did start, governments would try to settle as quickly as possible. With the ability to print money, the state could finance ambitious projects and scapegoat others when it wrecked the economy. As Paul puts it, “It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking.”
The ability to print money gives the government unlimited power. If you tax the people too much they rebel. But if you declare your paper to be the only thing used as legal tender and allow yourself to print as much of it as you want, there’s no limit to what you can do. The effects of inflation are as real as any tax. It’s just that the people are slower to notice and connect their lower living standards to the actions of the government. The scariest power that the Federal Reserve gives government is that to wage war.
Under a regime of sound money government would have to pay for war, or anything else it did, by taxation. Since war is costly, heads of state tried to avoid it. If war did start, governments would try to settle as quickly as possible. With the ability to print money, the state could finance ambitious projects and scapegoat others when it wrecked the economy. As Paul puts it, “It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking.”
Why the Left Had to Lynch Limbaugh
By Thomas Dilorenzo
October 15, 2009
Rush Limbaugh is famous for being extraordinarily generous towards the people who work for/with him, especially his longtime producer, “Bo Snerdley,” a black guy. While in South Florida recently, I picked up the Palm Beach Post and read a story about Limbaugh, who lives in Palm Beach, where he stopped in a not-very-expensive restaurant, spent under $100 on a meal for two, and left a $1000 tip.
The moral conscience of the Democratic Party, Al Sharpton, knows that Limbaugh would combine his legendary generosity with his love of football to rapidly become enormously popular among NFL players, some 70 percent of whom are black. That would go a long way toward puncturing the leftist superstition that all non-leftists are racists, sexists, homophobes, opponents of bestiality, etc., etc. That’s why the racist and anti-Semite Sharpton, and his like-minded sidekick Jesse Jackson, had to libel Limbaugh.
October 15, 2009
Rush Limbaugh is famous for being extraordinarily generous towards the people who work for/with him, especially his longtime producer, “Bo Snerdley,” a black guy. While in South Florida recently, I picked up the Palm Beach Post and read a story about Limbaugh, who lives in Palm Beach, where he stopped in a not-very-expensive restaurant, spent under $100 on a meal for two, and left a $1000 tip.
The moral conscience of the Democratic Party, Al Sharpton, knows that Limbaugh would combine his legendary generosity with his love of football to rapidly become enormously popular among NFL players, some 70 percent of whom are black. That would go a long way toward puncturing the leftist superstition that all non-leftists are racists, sexists, homophobes, opponents of bestiality, etc., etc. That’s why the racist and anti-Semite Sharpton, and his like-minded sidekick Jesse Jackson, had to libel Limbaugh.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Money and Counterfeiting
By Gary North
Those few economists who defend the use of gold and silver coins as the basis of the monetary system are dismissed as gold bugs. The reason why they are dismissed is that their opponents believe that the government should be sovereign over money, and that politicians and bureaucrats are the proper sources of economic policy. These critics of gold do not trust the free-market social order. They do not trust individual decision-making. They especially do not trust individual decision-making with respect to how much money an individual should possess. They have a fundamental hostility to individual responsibility, and this is manifested most obviously in their hostility to gold and silver coinage as the foundation of the monetary order.
They dismiss what they call the theology of gold. They dismiss it because they are great believers in the theology of state sovereignty. As high priests of civil government, they are contemptuous of defenders of individual responsibility regarding the quantity, quality, and physical form of the monetary unit. So, it is never a question of the theology of gold. It is always a question of whose theology of gold: pro-gold or anti-gold.
In the 20th century, the theologians of fiat money have predominated over the theologians of gold and silver coinage. This is another way of saying that the theology of state sovereignty has predominated over the theology of the free market.
There are certain features of the original commodities that have become money historically. These features gave the original money metals an advantage over all of the other commodities that might have served as money, and in some cases historically have served as money.
There are five of these characteristics: recognizability, divisibility, portability, high value in relation to weight and volume, and continuity of value over time. Any physical commodity that possesses these five characteristics is a candidate to become the monetary commodity of a particular social order.
Historically, gold and silver have possessed these five characteristics to a greater degree than any other commodity. There have been rivals. Salt has been a rival. Animals have served as money in history. Even women have served as money in certain societies. (The problem with women as money is the problem of divisibility. Half a woman is not much use as a monetary unit.)
A gold coin standard or silver coin standard provides continuity that fiat money systems do not provide. Such a standard makes life difficult for counterfeiters. This is why governments do whatever it takes to substitute a fiat currency unit for a precious metals coinage. The government wants to benefit as the nation's monopolistic counterfeiter. It will share this only with commercial banks and the central bank. It does this only because the central bank promises to be the lender of last resort to the national Treasury.
Read more
Those few economists who defend the use of gold and silver coins as the basis of the monetary system are dismissed as gold bugs. The reason why they are dismissed is that their opponents believe that the government should be sovereign over money, and that politicians and bureaucrats are the proper sources of economic policy. These critics of gold do not trust the free-market social order. They do not trust individual decision-making. They especially do not trust individual decision-making with respect to how much money an individual should possess. They have a fundamental hostility to individual responsibility, and this is manifested most obviously in their hostility to gold and silver coinage as the foundation of the monetary order.
They dismiss what they call the theology of gold. They dismiss it because they are great believers in the theology of state sovereignty. As high priests of civil government, they are contemptuous of defenders of individual responsibility regarding the quantity, quality, and physical form of the monetary unit. So, it is never a question of the theology of gold. It is always a question of whose theology of gold: pro-gold or anti-gold.
In the 20th century, the theologians of fiat money have predominated over the theologians of gold and silver coinage. This is another way of saying that the theology of state sovereignty has predominated over the theology of the free market.
There are certain features of the original commodities that have become money historically. These features gave the original money metals an advantage over all of the other commodities that might have served as money, and in some cases historically have served as money.
There are five of these characteristics: recognizability, divisibility, portability, high value in relation to weight and volume, and continuity of value over time. Any physical commodity that possesses these five characteristics is a candidate to become the monetary commodity of a particular social order.
Historically, gold and silver have possessed these five characteristics to a greater degree than any other commodity. There have been rivals. Salt has been a rival. Animals have served as money in history. Even women have served as money in certain societies. (The problem with women as money is the problem of divisibility. Half a woman is not much use as a monetary unit.)
A gold coin standard or silver coin standard provides continuity that fiat money systems do not provide. Such a standard makes life difficult for counterfeiters. This is why governments do whatever it takes to substitute a fiat currency unit for a precious metals coinage. The government wants to benefit as the nation's monopolistic counterfeiter. It will share this only with commercial banks and the central bank. It does this only because the central bank promises to be the lender of last resort to the national Treasury.
Read more
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Paper vs Gold
By Doug Casey
[P]aper money is an excellent means for governments to tax people indirectly, surreptitiously, through inflation. That’s one reason central bankers love paper money, but also, phony economic theories, like those of John Maynard Keynes, hold that the government not only can but should meddle with the economy, and the ability to print paper money gives them a means to do that.
In today’s world, not only do people around the world take it for granted that paper is money, but that it should be so.
But it’s all nonsense. It’s one reason for taking a gloomy view of humanity – people will believe almost any kind of claptrap, if the story is retailed by those in authority.
After the current system collapses, as every paper money system in the past has collapsed, some form of money will have to replace it, and it’s almost certainly going to be gold....Dollars today say "Federal Reserve Note," not "XYZ Bank Note" on the back, because they aren’t redeemable for anything besides more Federal Reserve notes. That’s why today’s paper money substitutes are called fiat currencies; they have zero intrinsic value and are not redeemable for anything, but are accepted because the government will put you in jail if you don’t. It’s a fiat accomplished by force, not real value recognized by those who accept the notes.
[P]aper money is an excellent means for governments to tax people indirectly, surreptitiously, through inflation. That’s one reason central bankers love paper money, but also, phony economic theories, like those of John Maynard Keynes, hold that the government not only can but should meddle with the economy, and the ability to print paper money gives them a means to do that.
In today’s world, not only do people around the world take it for granted that paper is money, but that it should be so.
But it’s all nonsense. It’s one reason for taking a gloomy view of humanity – people will believe almost any kind of claptrap, if the story is retailed by those in authority.
After the current system collapses, as every paper money system in the past has collapsed, some form of money will have to replace it, and it’s almost certainly going to be gold....Dollars today say "Federal Reserve Note," not "XYZ Bank Note" on the back, because they aren’t redeemable for anything besides more Federal Reserve notes. That’s why today’s paper money substitutes are called fiat currencies; they have zero intrinsic value and are not redeemable for anything, but are accepted because the government will put you in jail if you don’t. It’s a fiat accomplished by force, not real value recognized by those who accept the notes.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Garbage Dump on Turtle Bay
By Mark Steyn:
"It's a good basic axiom that if you take a quart of ice cream and a quart of dog feces and mix 'em together the result will taste more like the latter than the former. That's the problem with the U.N.
"The day after the U.S. president addressed the U.N., the prime minister of Israel took to the podium and held up a copy of the minutes of the Wannsee Conference at which German officials planned the "Final Solution" to their Jewish problem.
This is the pathetic state to which the U.N. has been reduced after six decades: The Jew-hatred of Ahmadinejad and others is so routine that a sane man has to stand up and attempt to demonstrate to lunatics that the Holocaust actually happened.
more here
"It's a good basic axiom that if you take a quart of ice cream and a quart of dog feces and mix 'em together the result will taste more like the latter than the former. That's the problem with the U.N.
"The day after the U.S. president addressed the U.N., the prime minister of Israel took to the podium and held up a copy of the minutes of the Wannsee Conference at which German officials planned the "Final Solution" to their Jewish problem.
This is the pathetic state to which the U.N. has been reduced after six decades: The Jew-hatred of Ahmadinejad and others is so routine that a sane man has to stand up and attempt to demonstrate to lunatics that the Holocaust actually happened.
more here
Monday, September 07, 2009
The Lyin' Sleeps
By: Vin Suprynowicz
Read the paeans from the left, praising [Ted Kennedy] as a “lion of the Senate.” They speak of his endless concern for the “underprivileged,” though they’re woefully short on specifics.
The socialists and redistributionists always seek forgiveness for their errors and excesses – the policies that have driven this country to the brink of bankruptcy and hyperinflation – in terms of what they meant to accomplish for “the poor and the downtrodden.” But who is it who suffers worst in the hard times their policies have brought about? The hard-working poor, who find their jobs gone, their mortgages “upside down,” the once-proud currency in which their savings and investments are denominated increasingly worthless.
The welfare classes will do all right – for a while. But what favor have the condescending handouts of the Ted Kennedys of Washington done them, by locking them into multiple generations of fatherless, spiritless, smoldering angry dependence, while gradually sapping and enervating the larger, entrepreneurial, once vibrant free market economy which could have offered them real opportunity?
Listen to the tuneful, harmonic music – whether joyful or sad – that came out of our inner cities in the 1920s, 1940s, 1950s and ’60s. Now listen (not that you have much choice) to the hate-filled obscenities and thumping, droning, tuneless paeans to crime and whoredom blasting out of the stereo of the young man’s car pulled up next to you at the stoplight. Can this be insignificant? [...snip...]
The family wealth, power and privilege got Ted Kennedy back into Harvard after that little cheating thing. It got him a suspended sentence for “leaving the scene of an accident” after his drunken driving caused the death of Mary Jo Kopechne … if that’s really what happened … just as the family wealth and power covered up that little problem when young Lt. John Kennedy ignored all advice and continued his affair with that lady German spy during World War II.The Kennedy boys were taught that their family wealth and power would get them out of anything. But will they get US out of anything? Are Americans more free today than before Ted Kennedy put on his engineer’s cap and started running the little toy train set he inherited from his older brothers?
More Here
Read the paeans from the left, praising [Ted Kennedy] as a “lion of the Senate.” They speak of his endless concern for the “underprivileged,” though they’re woefully short on specifics.
The socialists and redistributionists always seek forgiveness for their errors and excesses – the policies that have driven this country to the brink of bankruptcy and hyperinflation – in terms of what they meant to accomplish for “the poor and the downtrodden.” But who is it who suffers worst in the hard times their policies have brought about? The hard-working poor, who find their jobs gone, their mortgages “upside down,” the once-proud currency in which their savings and investments are denominated increasingly worthless.
The welfare classes will do all right – for a while. But what favor have the condescending handouts of the Ted Kennedys of Washington done them, by locking them into multiple generations of fatherless, spiritless, smoldering angry dependence, while gradually sapping and enervating the larger, entrepreneurial, once vibrant free market economy which could have offered them real opportunity?
Listen to the tuneful, harmonic music – whether joyful or sad – that came out of our inner cities in the 1920s, 1940s, 1950s and ’60s. Now listen (not that you have much choice) to the hate-filled obscenities and thumping, droning, tuneless paeans to crime and whoredom blasting out of the stereo of the young man’s car pulled up next to you at the stoplight. Can this be insignificant? [...snip...]
The family wealth, power and privilege got Ted Kennedy back into Harvard after that little cheating thing. It got him a suspended sentence for “leaving the scene of an accident” after his drunken driving caused the death of Mary Jo Kopechne … if that’s really what happened … just as the family wealth and power covered up that little problem when young Lt. John Kennedy ignored all advice and continued his affair with that lady German spy during World War II.The Kennedy boys were taught that their family wealth and power would get them out of anything. But will they get US out of anything? Are Americans more free today than before Ted Kennedy put on his engineer’s cap and started running the little toy train set he inherited from his older brothers?
More Here
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