Mock the Vote

Describing the two party system to Larry King, [Jesse Ventura] said: “[W]hat you have today is like walking into the grocery store and you go to the soft drink department, and there is only Pepsi and Coke. Those are the two you get to choose from. There is no Mountain Dew, no Root Beer, no Orange . They’re both colas; one is slightly sweeter than the other, depending on which side of the aisle you are on.”

The Dems and Repubs go toe to toe in front of the cameras but are making deals behind closed doors.

3rd Grade Civics Lesson

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.

How to win an election with an effective campaign speech.

Oz

It's almost time to vote. Are you ready?

Dining at the Taxpayer Buffet

It was probably inevitable given the allure of $700 billion, but the speed with which the business and political classes are lining up for a stake from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (the Tarp) is still remarkable. It's as if they think the taxpayers have graciously laid on a buffet and anyone seeking cheap capital can tuck in.

Everyone wants a piece of this pie, with cherries and whipped cream on top.

The Attack on Libertarianism

Weisberg writes, "We have narrowly avoided a global depression and are mercifully pointed toward merely the worst recession in a long while. This is thanks to an economic meltdown made possible by libertarian ideas."

Hogwash!

The economic meltdown was made possible by endless government intervention, fractional reserve banking, fiat money, government control of money and monetary policy, and our modern day mercantile economy.

Aaron David Ward challenges those who blame the free market for the housing and banking problems.

Global Warming Fantasies Meet Financial Contraction

Whoever is elected president, global warming legislation is going to be passed in Washington next year.

Legislation proposed by both John McCain and Barack Obama will require that the cost of energy to become so high that people will avoid using it. The serious question is: why would we do this in the current economic environment? Why would we take away capital that people would otherwise use to invest in companies that produce efficient things when that capital is already being destroyed at an alarming rate?

Alternate energy sources - wind, solar, biofuels, etc. - are not available at competitive prices with carbon based fuels. When they become competitive, we will not need legislation to implement their usage.

Most Presidents Ignore the Constitution

The government we have today is something the Founders could never have imagined.

Beginning with John Adams, and proceeding to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush, Congress has enacted and the president has signed laws that criminalized political speech, suspended habeas corpus, compelled support for war, forbade freedom of contract, allowed the government to spy on Americans without a search warrant, and used taxpayer dollars to shore up failing private banks.

All of this legislation -- merely tips of an unconstitutional Big Government iceberg -- is so obviously in conflict with the plain words of the Constitution that one wonders how Congress gets away with it.

The Constitution is not treated with much respect these days.

Election 2008: Objective journalism the loser

Did you see that amazing video obtained by the Los Angeles Times of Sen. Barack Obama toasting a prominent former PLO member at an Arab American Action Network meeting in 2003? The video in which Obama gives Yasser Arafat’s frontman a warm embrace, as Bill Ayers look on?

You haven’t seen it? Me, neither. The Los Angeles Times refuses to release it.

And so an incriminating video of Obama literally “palling around” with PLO supporters becomes one more nail in the coffin of “objective journalism.”

Alas, the obit for objective reporting has been buried - along with the stories about Obama’s 2001 support for court-imposed “redistribution of wealth” and Joe Biden’s latest gaffe.

Maybe it's on YouTube...more

A Duty Not To Vote?

Let me be politically incorrect and say that maybe some people shouldn't vote.

I know I'm swimming against the tide. Get-out the-vote groups now register young people at rock concerts. HeadCount cofounder Andy Bernstein told me: "We registered over a 100,000 people. It is so imperative that this generation's voice is heard."

But wait. Is that really a good idea? Many kids don't know much. At a HeadCount concert, "20/20" asked some future voters, "How many senators are there?" One said 12, another 16, and another 64. One girl guessed, "50 per state."

Should we have a litmus test for voters? John Stossel doesn't think so - yet.

Wackonomics

Since July this year, crude oil prices have fallen from $147 to $64 a barrel. Similarly, average gasoline prices have fallen from over $4 to a national average of $2.69 a gallon. When crude oil and gasoline were reaching their historical highs, Congress and other wackoeconomists blamed it on greedy oil company CEOs in their lust for obscene profits. But what explains today's lower prices? The only answer, consistent with wackonomic theory, is easy: Oil company CEOs have lost their lust for obscene profits.

When gasoline prices were $4/gallon, we held hearings and castigated the oil execs. Now that they are nearing $2/gallon, why aren't we giving them medals?

How I Plan to Vote

I have been voting for forty years, since 1968. Each year the choices—especially for President—have gotten more and more disgusting, while there has been less and less difference between them.

This year is absolutely the worst ever. All that this glorious people's democratic system has left us with, in the end, is a maniacal old fart and a third world hoodlum who may not even be an American citizen.

L. Neil Smith is a tad agitated about the imminent election and has a suggestion for you.

A Former Voter Is Rehabilitated

So what if Obama wants to redistribute wealth. Republicans have been doing it for decades, just to different groups. Republicans aren’t really opposed to redistribution of wealth, they just want it redistributed to people that vote for Republicans. Look at all the wealth that has been redistributed to senior citizens, car manufacturers, and wall street banks over the past eight years, six of which happened under a Republican President that had a Republican-controlled Congress. Where were all the defenders of the Constitution hiding then?

A few reasons to stay home on November 4 and why it won't matter whether you do or don't.

Media's Presidential Bias and Decline

The traditional media are playing a very, very dangerous game -- with their readers, with the Constitution and with their own fates.

The media have covered this presidential campaign with a bias and that ultimately could lead to its downfall.

The sheer bias in the print and television coverage of this election campaign is not just bewildering, but appalling. And over the last few months I've found myself slowly moving from shaking my head at the obvious one-sided reporting, to actually shouting at the screen of my television and my laptop computer.

But worst of all, for the last couple weeks, I've begun -- for the first time in my adult life -- to be embarrassed to admit what I do for a living. A few days ago, when asked by a new acquaintance what I did for a living, I replied that I was "a writer," because I couldn't bring myself to admit to a stranger that I'm a journalist.

The media is in the tank for Obama. Try to find what Obama was doing during his college years and you'll search in vain. The media is silent on the question of whether he is actually a U.S. citizen or a Kenyan. This is a dangerous mindset. Obama rallies are disturbing. The congregations seem to be fanatical lemmings who expect Obama to lead the way to some Promised Land. Much of this fervor can be traced directly to the skewed coverage of this election by the media.

You Never Give Me Your Money

Primum non nocere [first do no harm].

This reminds me of another lyric [out of context] that could be adapted as a maxim of lawful government: "Oh Darling, Believe Me! I’ll never do you no harm!" Historically speaking, only a truly free government could make such a claim. And this claim would be made a mockery in any government that would steal from one citizen to benefit another citizen or entity who has not earned it. The Latin above is a maxim of the medical profession [or used to be]. But it would serve Any profession well. Remember, governments often kill even more people than doctors do.

We have just received a Trillion Dollar Wake-up Call: the "Government" is quite willing to harm or destroy all of us for its own agenda – and Notwithstanding the Constitution.

Bill Huff examines the political leanings of the Beatles based on some of their song lyrics. Several links to YouTube videos of their recordings.

Why Are Medical Costs So High?

You’re a doctor. You need to bring in $3,000 apiece for your most common procedure. But Medicare and Medicaid – which pay for about half your patients – have just told you they’re only going to pay you one-third of what they’re billed. What do you do? You don’t need to be a CPA to know the answer is to start billing everyone $4,500 for your procedure. The half of your patients who pay full price thus pay $1,500 extra, covering the $1,500 shortfall for each Medicare/Medicaid-covered procedure.

We already have socialized medicine. It's the reason your medical costs - including insurance rates - are so high.

Spending the Economy into Oblivion

The next stimulus package is likely to include money for infrastructure. While these investments are, constitutionally speaking, supposed to be made by state and local governments, it is not likely that Congress will suddenly begin to pay heed to the document we are all sworn to uphold. Still, we need to acknowledge the fact that the current Congress and Administration are rushing the nation toward bankruptcy.

A warning that we can't spend our way out of this recession predicament even as we are planning another "stimulus package."

U.S. has plundered world wealth with dollar: China paper

The United States has plundered global wealth by exploiting the dollar's dominance, and the world urgently needs other currencies to take its place, a leading Chinese state newspaper said on Friday.

The front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily said that Asian and European countries should banish the U.S. dollar from their direct trade relations for a start, relying only on their own currencies.

A meeting between Asian and European leaders, starting on Friday in Beijing, presented the perfect opportunity to begin building a new international financial order, the newspaper said.

This is an ominous omen for the dollar. The dollar's value is based entirely on faith and that faith is failing in China and Europe.

When the World Went Bankrupt

Politicians who ought to have learned from recent history about the destructive effects of inflation and the stultifying nature of state socialism, responded to an immediate crisis by generating more than $1,000,000,000,000 of additional inflation and partially socializing banks! In so doing, Congress was unable to rise above the habit at which it has proven itself adept, namely, to print more debased currency and bestow it upon its corporate friends. As in the aftermath to 9/11, its reaction was one of reflexive desperation rather than considered analysis; like blind men throwing darts at a dart-board.

Bad policies caused the economic crisis. More bad policies will not deliver us from it. It's not too difficult to imagine that, when they were in those meetings to decide how to cope with this, that, over there, in the corner, a small whispering voice from a low ranking assistant clerk said "This is wrong."

The Obama Temptation

But beyond the elites and the media, my greatest concern is whether this election will show a majority of the voters susceptible to the appeal of a charismatic demagogue. This may seem a harsh term to some, and no doubt will to Obama supporters, but it is a perfectly appropriate characterization. Obama's entire campaign is built on class warfare and human envy. The "change" he peddles is not new. We've seen it before. It is change that diminishes individual liberty for the soft authoritarianism of socialism.

We seem to surrender a little piece of freedom here and small pinch of liberty there each election cycle. If we elect Obama, it will confirm that a majority of voters prefer to rely on government initiatives than their own initiative.

Power in hands of few replaces liberty for all

On those nights when they were young, they smoked pot in the streets and listened to Dylan in the car and dreamed of the risks they'd take.

But now, as Baby Boomers grow old, they welcome those police surveillance cameras on the light poles outside their homes, thinking the cameras make them safe. And they rush toward the warm embrace of big government and promised security.

What happened?

We have been lulled into the nanny state by the soothing promises of corrupt politicians.

THE BROKERS WITH HANDS ON THEIR FACES BLOG

Website of the day - There's a lot of pain out there...

Pretenders all of us

The Alan: "We are in the midst of a once-in-a century credit tsunami. Central banks and governments are being required to take unprecedented measures. You, importantly, represent those on whose behalf economic policy is made, those who are feeling the brunt of the crisis in their workplaces and homes."

What he meant: "I am really glad it's you not me doing the heavy lifting. Furthermore, my opening with the tsunami reference is designed to make this whole mess seem like an unpredictable seismological event rather than the simple effect of various policy mistakes."

What Paul might have said?: "I messed up."

Alan Greenspan talks in language unfamiliar to many of us. This article parses his statements to make them intelligible to our untrained ears.

Birds of a statist feather

There's a basic philosophical split between people who think of government as the problem and liberty as the solution, and those who think of liberty as the problem and government as the solution. People who think of government as the solution are statists, and one of their left-wing subspecies is called "socialist." Their right-wing subspecies include paleo-or social conservatives. In reality, they're birds of a feather. Their policies may be diametrically opposed; their mindsets are near-identical.

All politicians (except Ron Paul) seeking election to Congress or the White House presume they can solve your problems by taxing you or fining you or imprisoning you. Few seek to solve your problems by liberating you.

Michelle's Afternoon Snack Tab

Clipped this from wrisley.com. (Click on the pic for a larger image) The link the to the birth certificate item is here.

Obama Gets Powell and McCain Gets al-Qaeda

Instead of trying to go after the al-Qaeda leadership using intelligence, law enforcement, and surgical Special Forces strikes in the shadows, Bush launched a high profile invasion and occupation of the Muslim land of Afghanistan – the very thing that drives radical Islamists to morph into terrorists. He then compounded the error by unnecessarily blundering into a second invasion and occupation of a Muslim land – Iraq – that had nothing at all to do with neutralizing the 9/11 attackers. Al-Qaeda is betting that McCain is an even bigger stumbling cowboy than Bush.

Ivan Eland on al-Qaeda's endorsement of John McCain.

The Origins of Voter Fraud

Imagine a fictional kingdom. The king has died and the small band of noblemen at court have yet to announce a successor. One afternoon, two local merchants discuss the situation:

"So did you hear about the new king?"

"No, who is it?"

"The former king's advisers couldn't decide, so they're asking the public to 'elect' a new king?"

"Elect? What does that mean?"

"It means we're going to pick the new king."

A short piece on the absurdity of elections. Read it and decide if it applies to our current electoral process.

Coke or Pepsi?

We no longer have independent candidates representing the views of the electorate; rather, we have two corporate brands fighting for market share – the only tangible difference between the two is the advertising (campaign promises). Obama (Pepsi) promises to be the "choice of a new generation," while McCain (Coca-Cola Classic) declares that he's "the real thing." But while the two products may taste slightly different, they both consist of the same basic ingredients.

The political ads are growing wearisome. The election will soon be over and the hoopla will begin over how things will change. They won't change much and the speculation about Hillary in 2012 will begin again.

OFFICIAL NOTICE: This Internet page contains thoughts and ideas that are not consistent with or in keeping with the policies and ideas expressed by Barack Obama and/or the Democrat party. Accordingly, you are hereby notified that that the thoughts, ideas and facts presented on this web page constitute hate speech and you are warned that, as such, they may cause discomfort or offense to Democrats, liberals, those educated by the government, non-achievers, those suffering from wealth-envy and followers of The Chosen One. Govern yourself accordingly.

(Clipped from boortz.com but it also applies to Bumpy Road)

"All Your Wealth Are Belong to Us"

Don't miss the forest for the trees: a huge cascade of bad news over the past ninety-five years – from our needless entry into World War I to the Great Depression of the 1930s; from the war in Vietnam to the current implosion of your retirement fund – has its genesis in the greatest robbery ever conceived, much less carried out: the constant, on-going redistribution of wealth from the ordinary Americans who create the wealth to a favored elite, via income taxation and fiat currency. The most productive and wealthiest nation to ever exist has been plundered into poverty right under our noses, and the plunder continues.

Never fear. Government is rushing to our assistance. Nancy Pelosi wants to seize part of our 401k plans and tax the remainder of it. That should be a great help.

Brutal start seen for Wall Street

"Today might be the day where everybody throws in the towel," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners. "People are saying 'I've had it, I can't take it anymore, I'm selling everything.'"

Hogan cited a 0.5% annual rate drop in the United Kingdom's third-quarter GDP as one key reason for the selloff.

The market is tanking. Alan Greenspan says he didn't see this coming. What did he expect to happen when he flooded the world with fiat greenbacks and tinkered with interest rates to promote debt and discourage savings?

The Public Debt

Clipped from wrisley.com...

At this rate, the U.S. Public Debt will exceed $11 trillion before the end of this year! Our link to the debt counter in the right hand column has been trending strongly upward since the bailout package was proposed.

Only Government Could Do This To Us

It may not be a Brave New World. But I can guarantee you, folks, it's going to be an expensive one. Time will tell how expensive - to our wallets and to the free-enterprise system.

The ancient Chinese saying, "May you live in interesting times," wasn't meant to be a blessing. No, I'm told that it was always intended as a curse.

To call the past two weeks "interesting" would be the understatement of the decade. Whether in the markets, in Washington, or in politics, I can't remember a time when we've experienced so many startling reversals and unexpected shocks.

The government has abandoned any pretense to constitutional restraint and is making it up as it goes along.

The Conservative Rebellion

That many conservatives have finally decided to speak out is encouraging. That they are being vilified is even more encouraging—it means that they may just have a point. After the elections, conservatives will have to do some serious soul-searching and ask themselves a few simple questions: How was it that they let their movement and their party be hijacked by people who were hellbent on disfiguring the face of American conservatism? How was it that the self-styled party of individual liberty became, in the eyes of many, the party of big government, intolerance and jingoism?

"All power corrupts, absolute power is even more fun" ~ Simon Travaglia

Why the Republicans Must Lose

If they do lose, the GOP would be wise to regroup and rebuild from scratch, scrap the current leadership, and, most importantly, purge the party of the "national greatness," neoconservative influence. Big-government conservatism has bloated the federal government, bogged us down in what will ultimately be a trillion-dollar war, and set us down the road to European-style socialism. It's hard to think of how Obama could be worse. He'll just be bad in different ways.

As a former supporter of "conservative" Republicans, I found many of my sentiments expressed in this column by Radley Balko. There is hope, however, for our Republic has become a democracy and is in the final phase of the democracy cycle as described by Alexander Tytler:

"From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to apathy;
from apathy to dependence;
from dependency back again into bondage."

Once the final stage is complete, and it nearly is, the stage will be set for a return to liberty.

Being Prepared

(T)he bass player stepped up to the microphone and, pumping his fist in the air, shouted "Obama Forever!" I'm not kidding. The crowd went nuts.

I don't remember what song they played; I'd stopped listening at that point. I did shout "Long Live the King" at the top of my voice, but I doubt anyone heard, or understood what I was talking about, or cared, if they did. I walked to the back of the room and stood by the main exit. As soon as the encore was done the lights would come up, and everyone would start filing out.

I made it a point that night to look in the face of every single person that went past.

After a few minutes my wife spotted me and came over. "What are you doing?" she asked. "I want to see what evil looks like," I responded.

I wonder how many voters are enamored of their candidate in the same way many are gaga over movie stars or their favorite song stylists. I doubt that many can name a single reason they are voting for candidate X other than "he is awesome." The right to vote carries with it the responsibility of being informed on the issues for which one is voting. ACORN and other get-out-the-vote campaigns are seeking to get votes from the delirious multitude and not from the informed voters. 

Fair Taxation?

People do not work for the general good. They work for their own individual ends, which in turn promotes the general welfare. Societies that ask workers to labor for “the people” get poor results. As the joke from the old Soviet Union had it — “They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work." By contrast, the capacity of the American economy to reward effort and initiative is legendary and has lured ambitious people to our shores for more than two centuries. It has also made us the wealthiest society in history.

You don't have to look at socialist countries to know that redistribution of income punishes success and rewards sloth. We've seen it here. Our welfare system was intended to help the poor — but because it was poorly structured, it wound up discouraging work and marriage, thus prolonging poverty rather than alleviating it for many.

None dare call it socialism for fear of being called racists. Don't believe me? Read this.

Affordable Health Care

One of the campaign themes this election cycle is "affordable" health care. Shouldn't we ask ourselves whether we want the politicians who brought us the "affordable" housing, that created the current financial debacle, to now deliver us affordable health care? Shouldn't we also ask how things turned out in countries where there is socialized medicine?

Now that government has ventured into the banking and real estate businesses, it is only a small leap for it to venture into the medical profession which it already stifles with oppressive regulations.

Toxic Anger

Several years ago I bought a house. I had an option for the financing; I could take a rather high interest rate (for the time) that was fixed or I could put nothing down and pay nearly nothing for an adjustable rate mortgage. I decided not to gamble. I knew interest rates can and do rise. I opted to pay a lot more for my house and to have the security of a fixed rate loan. That decision cost me a lot of money over the past five years, but it was supposed to save me money when the tide turned.

Now, I am paying for that decision. I am paying for my neighbor’s house down the road who did not want to pay more at the time. I am paying so that my neighbor and yours, who took out a mortgage with no down payment and paid next to nothing for the past five years, can get his mortgage reduced with my money. How is that fair?

The anger is real. The bailout is for the foolish, not the sensible, consumers. Foolishness is being rewarded and prudence is being penalized. This does not bode well for the future.

Time to state the obvious

How can anyone be surprised that Americans are confused with the Republican brand? This was the party that once captured American hearts and minds by restoring focus to principles of limited government, traditional values and personal responsibility.

Apologies to George W. Bush, but time is too precious for tiptoeing around the truth. We've seen the biggest growth of government over the last eight years since Franklin Roosevelt, and the country is in a mess. It's only natural psychology to associate the mess with Republicans.

So far, McCain has not offered an alternative to the failed policies of Bush and the Republican regime that in the early 1990's seemed to offer a path towards smaller and less intrusive government. Of course, Obama does not even pretend to offer anything but more government intervention in our private lives.

Zero Plus Zero Equals Zero

In 2001 Iraq was ruled by an unpleasant dictator presiding over a collapsed economy, with a military that was broken and unable to threaten any of its neighbors. There were neither terrorists in Iraq nor weapons of mass destruction, and the country posed no danger to the United States. Iraq, for all its weakness, was the Arab frontline state restraining the hegemonic ambitions of Iran. By the end of 2008, the U.S. intervention will have cost more than 4,200 American lives plus the lives of as many as a million Iraqis. The cost of the occupation is currently $12 billion per month, and the total price tag for the war, even if it were to end soon, might well exceed $3 trillion, much of it borrowed from China and Japan.

Phillip Giraldi ponders the question; What has the U.S. gained by invading Iraq?

The Importance of Capital Theory

(O)ne needs to understand capital theory, as pioneered by Carl Menger and Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, in order to make sense of what the heck just happened in the US economy. Any talking head on CNBC who doesn't understand capital consumption is going to give horrible policy recommendations.

When thinking about this article, I went back and forth. I have decided that I should spell out a "model" of intermediate complexity, because if I simplify it too much, it might not really click with the reader, but if I go overboard with it, no one in his right mind would finish the article. Without further ado, let's examine a hypothetical island economy composed of 100 people, where the only consumption good is rolls of sushi.

Robert Murphy explains the Austrian school of capital theory with an example using sushi rolls.

Powell endorses Obama

Powell, a retired Army general who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush before becoming secretary of state in the current administration, is one of the most highly decorated military officers of modern times and an admired figure in both parties. The Obama campaign is likely to cite the endorsement as an answer to critics and undecided voters who have questioned the foreign policy credentials of Obama, a first-term senator whose national experience amounts to four years in the Senate.

Liberals, who are now showering praise on Colin Powell for endorsing Barack Obama, were the ones who heaped scorn on him when he was Secretary of State. Powell assures us his endorsement has nothing to do with race. Rush Limbaugh observes, if it's not about race, "OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed."

How to Read the Constitution

Though we have amended the Constitution, we have not changed its structure or the core of the document itself. So what has changed? That is the question that I have asked myself and my law clerks countless times during my 17 years on the court.

As I have traveled across the country, I have been astounded just how many of our fellow citizens feel strongly about their constitutional rights but have no idea what they are, or for that matter, what the Constitution says. I am not suggesting that they become Constitutional scholars -- whatever that means. I am suggesting, however, that if one feels strongly about his or her rights, it does make sense to know generally what the Constitution says about them. It is at least as easy to understand as a cell phone contract -- and vastly more important.

Clarence Thomas on understanding and interpreting the Constitution.

It's time for a new Bretton Woods

In July of 1944 the 44 nations of the free world sat down at a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to design a new post-war financial system. The basis of the agreement was simple. The US dollar was tied to gold at an exchange rate of $35 per ounce and all other currencies were tied to the dollar with relatively fixed rates.

The system worked until the US tried to wage an expensive war without raising taxes to pay for it. (Why does that sound familiar?) The first sign of stress was when the US dropped silver out of our coinage in 1965 and went to slugs.

GWB is planning to convene an economic summit after the election. We doubt that the agenda will include a proposal to peg currencies to a gold standard as was done at Bretton Woods.

McCain suggests Obama tax policies are socialist

Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Saturday accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of favoring a socialistic economic approach by supporting tax cuts and tax credits McCain says would merely shuffle wealth rather than creating it.

"At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," McCain said in a radio address. "They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway."

McCain, though, has a health care plan girded with a similar philosophy.

McCain has discovered that socialism is a good buzzword with which to accuse his opponent. Joe the Plumber cajoled Obama into admitting that he wants to "spread the wealth around" and McCain checked the polls and realized he had an issue which would rouse his core constituents. Too bad he doesn't understand that nearly all government plans from the progressive income tax which he supports to his "affordable mortgages for all Americans" are socialist. 

Mexico drug violence

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Mexico in warfare that has raged since President Felipe Calderon began deploying 40,000 army troops nearly two years ago to crack down on the most powerful drug networks.

Despite the intensifying bloodshed, Walters praised Calderon's efforts.

Ultimately, he said, the drug lords will face a stark choice: "They surrender, or they die."

Walters reiterated Washington's intention to begin releasing parts of a $400-million package of aid and training under the so-called Merida Initiative approved by Congress in June.

Just in case you were wondering where your tax dollars are going.

Illicit drug trade greater threat than Taliban

Afghanistan is going badly. "We're not going to win this war," said a top British general last week.

Well, pass the smelling salts.

The War on Drugs created Afghanistan's massive illicit drug trade. This trade funds the insurgency, corrupts the government and destabilizes society. But neither the United States nor the United Nations will acknowledge that the War on Drugs is anything less than a roaring success and so they refuse to discuss alternatives to the policy that fuels the whole bloody mess.

The War on Drugs has proved to be as futile as prohibition, and more costly in terms of enforcement and loss of liberties. It has also provided our enemies a tool to use against us.

The Things He Carried

To slip through the only check against the no-fly list, the terrorist uses a stolen credit card to buy a ticket under a fake name. “Then you print a fake boarding pass with your real name on it and go to the airport. You give your real ID, and the fake boarding pass with your real name on it, to security. They’re checking the documents against each other. They’re not checking your name against the no-fly list—that was done on the airline’s computers. Once you’re through security, you rip up the fake boarding pass, and use the real boarding pass that has the name from the stolen credit card. Then you board the plane, because they’re not checking your name against your ID at boarding.”

What if you don’t know how to steal a credit card?

“Then you’re a stupid terrorist and the government will catch you,” he said.

Security at airports is a sham, unless you are a stupid terrorist.

A Gigantic Armed Robbery

What we have before us now is a systematic redistribution from the prudent and the responsible to the imprudent and the irresponsible. Did you make your mortgage payments in full when they were due? Were you careful to avoid investing in incomprehensible derivatives whose failure might lead to your bankruptcy? Very good, sir: you are therefore entitled to relinquish substantial amounts of your wealth, either directly through ordinary taxation or indirectly through the "inflation tax" and the diffuse effects of "crowding out" in the loanable-funds market, where the government must soon borrow hundreds of billions of dollars more than expected a few months ago.

We are now faced with a choice of two candidates, both of whom voted for the bailout in the Senate. Indeed, they rushed back from the campaign trail to show their support in order to appeal to the electorate. The government has successfully engineered a citizenry which relies on government instead of themselves and thinks they are entitled to the assets of the remaining productive citizens and of the earnings of future generations.

Ron Paul on CNN

Key quote: "This idea that we have to depend on government for all these programs is an illusion." ~ Ron Paul

These Firefighters are Pyromaniacs!

People don't like losing money. We don't like it either. But heck, that's just the way things work. We don't think we're going to like old age; but it's better than the alternative. And a meltdown, at this stage, is probably better than all the efforts made to prevent it.

That's the trouble with free enterprise. It's like the weather; people only like it when the sun is shining. But without the rain…things would get awful dry.

Bill Bonner contemplates an alternative to a bailout - letting the market adjust to economic reality.

Joe the Outlaw

Joe is doing plumbing without a proper business license. How dare he call himself a plumber! A license is required by Toledo, not just one license for a partnership but for everyone who is called a plumber. Joe has not taken the training courses, is not a member of the union, and cannot legally call himself a plumber.

The press reports on this were explosive, with reporters speaking as if they had caught this guy red-handed and completely discredited him. But what about the complete absurdity of the idea that you have to have a license in order to have the right to fix someone else's sink? This is Soviet like, but deeply entrenched in American professional life.

Joe plumbs but he is not a plumber unless the state says he is a plumber. I've watched with amazement as Obama and Biden and the press attack Joe with aplomb - sorry - for not having a license. It doesn't seem like astute politics to attack a working stiff like Joe. The Dems say they are for Joe Six Pack but not if he aspires to make more than $250k/year? 

Government's Last Stand

Finance is a final constraint upon a government. When it can no longer finance itself, it fails. When its tax collections fail, it fails. When its printing press no longer seizes enough real capital to sustain the government, it turns to brute force seizure. This brings its political power into the open. As greater awareness of the seizures spreads, capital flees. Capital flees taxes and seizures of all kinds. It goes into hiding domestically. It runs off to foreign havens. This has been going on for many years. It will accelerate. The costs to the government of seizing capital will rise sharply, and this will constrain government.

Michael Rozeff thinks the government is in its death throes. All its meddling and manipulations of the markets have resulted in the collapse of the markets and now, instead of meddling and manipulating, it is trying to buy the markets.

It Is Time

I have had readers make the point that if the whole edifice was built only on an illusion of wealth creation, then how come there was so much prosperity for the last few decades? The answer to that is horribly simple. We expropriated and wasted not only such real wealth (production) as there has been in the present times, but we wasted the accumulated wealth of all the preceding generations, and finally (and most disgusting of all) we then went into vast debt and consumed the wealth of future generations.

"Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand
And rivers that ran through ev'ry day
I must have been mad
I never knew what I had
Until I threw it all away." ~ Bob Dylan (I Threw It All Away)

Henry Hazlitt on the Bailout

If private capital wants to lend directly to the failing banks, it is already capable of doing so. The fact that such private capital is not lending to the banks is a clear indication that the government's current bailout is contrary to free-market principles.

The argument that the government is somehow pumping new capital into the market is absurd. Government is actually borrowing the money from the capital markets that it is in turn injecting into the capital markets. There is no additional source of funding; there is only a diversion of funds from more-productive outlets to less-productive outlets, with government acting as the middleman.

I recently pulled out my copy of Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson" to read again and help purge my mind of the poppycock emanating from Washington. Refreshing indeed.

The Reregulation Mantra

Barack Obama said, "This is a final verdict on the failed economic policies of the last eight years ... that essentially said that we should strip away regulations, consumer protections, let the market run wild, and prosperity would rain down on all of us."

Is deregulation is the culprit? It can't be. There was no relevant deregulation in the last 25 years. Meanwhile, highly regulated institutions eagerly bought risky government-guaranteed mortgages, stimulating excessive housing construction and an unsustainable price bubble.

Deregulation wasn't the problem, and reregulation isn't the solution.

(Soon to be) President Obama will continue to inflict the brute force of government on the market in the belief that prosperity can only be achieved with government aid.

Political Monopoly Power

Excellent research, shows that in 1804 each representative represented about 40,000 people. Today, each representative represents close to 700,000. If we lived up to the vision of our founders, given today's population, we would have about 7,500 congressmen in the House of Representatives. It turns out that in 1929 Congress passed a bill fixing the number of representatives at 435. Prior to that, the number of congressional districts was increased every 10 years, from 1790 to 1910, except one, after a population census was taken.

Walter Williams has some explanations for the prevalence of corruption in Congress and why it will be difficult to expunge.

Sickness Unto Debt

One of the burning questions regarding the recently passed bailout, and the one that almost no one has bothered to answer, is how the government intends to pay for it. Governments have three main methods by which they can raise funds: taxation, printing new money, and debt. As our $10 trillion national debt shows, the federal government has always enjoyed raising money by issuing new debt. Money is gained upfront, while the cost of repaying that debt is pushed onto future generations.

The "liquidity" problem is often discussed as though there is not enough money to go around. We have lots of money because the government printing presses have been running 24/7 for years, but where is it and why aren't we buying things with it? Well, a large portion of it is overseas where it has been sent to pay off debt for goods and services and they are becoming more worthless with each additional dollar we print. At some point, these dollars will come home to roost.

Keynesianism's Last Stand

This is the Keynesian version of what used to be ridiculed by liberals as trickle-down economics. It is hailed today as the solution to the credit crisis. The $700 billion bailout of the banks in the United States and the weekend bailout of European banks by European governments constitute the largest Keynesian stimulus package in history. But it was a stimulus of a unique kind: to bail out banks.

The media cheered. Wall Street cheered. Bankers who were managing solvent banks cheered.

The public did not cheer in the United States and did not have time to register any opinion in Europe. The public will pay for all of this, either through taxes to pay off buyers of government bonds or through the inflation tax.

Gary North explains what they are doing (to you).

Joe Biden Looks...Different

Call it a new wrinkle in the campaign. Observant people are noticing there is something different about Joe Biden. His eyes aren't quite right--or at least the same as they used to be. And what's up with his forehead? Could it be Botox?


We don't want to add fuel to this fire but the before and after pictures we found do not seem conclusive.

Bet you didn't know...

An earlier post - Is McCain Able? - questioned whether John McCain's POW experience may have rendered him unqualifed to be president because of the effects on his psyche.

It should be noted that a 13 year old Andrew Jackson was captured by the British during the Revolutionary War and was treated harshly during his internment. He developed a lifelong hatred of the Brits.

George Washington at age 21 was captured by the French during the French and Indian War when his troops were forced to surrender. He was released shortly afterwards.

The Perfect Storm – Our Great Depression

Mr. Bush fails to realize that the root cause of the financial crisis is not the housing decline. The root cause is the greed of Wall Street CEOs, including his current Treasury Secretary, the failure of government to enforce existing rules to protect consumers and the greed and recklessness of Main Street USA as they attempted to borrow their way to prosperity. In the classic Washington fashion, the banker bailout bill was repackaged by Washington PR maggots into the Main Street Rescue bill. This is what constitutes progress in Washington.

GWB lacks the fortitude exhibited by Andy Jackson who opposed the banking industry when he succeeded in destroying the National Bank by vetoing its 1832 re-charter by Congress and by withdrawing U.S. funds in 1833.

Democrat, GOP stranglehold stifles third party candidates

Be honest. What have you learned from the first two presidential debates? Do you expect to be any more enlightened by Wednesday night's third and final showdown between Barack Obama and John McCain?

If you're like my friends and associates outside the newsroom, you're setting the bar pretty low. If these "debates" have proven anything, they confirm our two-party choice is dumb and dumber (you pick).

The looming election reminds me of so-called elections in dictatorships where the votes are 99.9% for the current regime (The remaining 0.1% disappear into an abyss or worse). Two indistinguishable candidates will garner 95%+ of the electorate. Third party candidates will receive the tattered remnants of the remaining principled votes. Our electoral system tolerates no intrusion of third parties' thoughts or ideas into the process.

Ten Things the 'Straight Talker' Can’t Tell You

Ten things John McCain wishes he could tell you? Here's one...

Hello, this is John McCain. I have some straight talk to tell you, my friends.

1. In the past two weeks, millions of Republicans have told one another that they are so disgusted with George Bush that they’re going to vote for Obama and they’ll never vote for a Republican again. Well, my friends, I’m disgusted with George Bush too. I renounce him, Cheney, and all their works. I promise you a clear alternative – a truly revolutionary one. So don’t tune me out, hear me out.

Liquidating the Empire

With a recession of unknown depth and duration looming, why keep borrowing billions from rich Arabs to defend rich Europeans, or billions from China and Japan to hand out in Millennium Challenge Grants to Tanzania and Burkina Faso?

America needs a bottom-up review of all strategic commitments dating to a Cold War now over for 20 years.

America is facing a choice of whether to maintain its global imperialistic presence throughout the world or to lower its ambitions in the face of stark economic realities.

Is McCain Able?

Electing a head case

The military is a fun place. You have all sorts of unusual experiences.

It messes your head up. I promise.

I said anger—yes, but anger at what? At whom? Here I’m on soft ground because vets don’t talk much about this stuff among themselves. At least those I know don’t. But, to the extent that I am competent to judge, they aren’t mad at those who shot them, or shot at them. “The VC were only doing their job.” They hate those who sent them to a pointless war, who exposed them in thousands to Agent Orange, knowing that it was poisonous and carcinogenic, at those posing fat-ass pols who sent them to die for nothing while they ate prime rib in DC.

Fred ponders the effects of John McCain's experience in Vietnamese prison camps and whether, though deserving of sympathy and admiration, they disqualify him for the presidency.

Ron Paul on the State of the Economy

Ron Paul recorded a series of short videos on October 10th that offer analysis on the current financial problems:

On Restoring Confidence in the Markets
On Market Intervention
On the Possibility of the End of Capitalism
On the "Safety Net" Concept
On Capital and Capitalism

5 short videos for your perusal. Dr. Paul prescribes a dose of economic education to the clueless Washington, D.C. interventionists.

The Skeptic Tank

October 13, 2008...Whichever presidential candidate proposes to rescue the U.S. dollar from total collapse gets my vote. He would have to pledge, this week or next, to form a high-level committee within the first 100 days of the new administration to forge a practical plan to revive the dollar.

It won't happen, of course. Neither Democrat nor Republican advisors to the campaigns are interested in so mundane a subject as reviving trust in the once mighty dollar. On the contrary, they appear hell-bent to hasten its destruction. The Democrats call for handing over more billions to citizens to "get the economy going again" in the mistaken belief that weakening the dollar will make it stronger. (??)

An untrustworthy money unit is the chief cause of our present financial crisis. That, coupled with an eagerness of average Americans to seek shelter under the skirts of a Nanny State, leads us on to the grand finale of the republic. Whether it ends in a glorious bang or a pitiful whimper no one knows. ~ JW

JW is posting daily musings on things skeptical at The Skeptic Tank - I have placed a permanent link on the right side of this page for your daily dose of curmudgeonly commentary from a longtime observer of the passing parade of political follies.

The Goal Is Freedom: Theory and Crisis

The debate, then, is a contest of theories. Free-market theory can explain the cause of the crisis -- government intervention in the mortgage market through promotion of easy home-buying and implicit guarantees to lenders and underwriters, including its privileged creatures, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Given that genesis of the problems and the general theory of markets, the solution is for government to back off -- way off -- and to let the economy adjust to real conditions and recover without subsidy, guarantee, or regulation. What is the alternative theory used by those who have jettisoned free-market theory in "this time of crisis"?

Good question. They are not acting on any known theory but are acting in panic mode to the crisis they created in an attempt to save their own butts. I call this the Omigod I Screwed Up and I Better Fix It Before They Find Out I'm Responsible Theory (OISUIBFIBTFOIRT).

Term Limits Aren't Appropriate in "Tough Times"?

But consider the Times' supposedly alarming example of Tacoma Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg.

Now in her second four-year term, she advocates something that the Times presumably considers visionary and not a bit small-bore -- a $2 million pedestrian and bike trail. Ladenburg lamented to the Times that she thinks "this is crazy" because, "If I go away, and it's not completed, what will happen?" Well, either the trail will be completed or it won't. Presumably, if the good people of Tacoma want it, it will be, in which case she will not have been indispensable, which will also be true if they do not want it completed.

Term limits should be imposed by the voters but the voters are reluctant to "throw the bums out" because they have become accustomed to receiving the stolen goods the senior lawmakers can provide. Seniority equates to power, power which politicians use to buy the votes and retain their positions of dominion over their flock. Thus we see senescent lawmakers such as Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd continue to loot the treasury until they ultimately die in office.

The Government Is Contributing to the Panic

It's time to let markets do their messy work.

Despite all the hard work and good intentions on the part of our public officials, when economists and historians look back on the current financial crisis they are likely to conclude that government intervention prolonged and deepened it. In particular, officials at the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department are to blame for publicly losing confidence in the very economic system they are supposed to protect.

Governmental manipulation of the markets shows a lack of trust in the markets. The idea of printing fiat money to buy overvalued assets from imprudent speculators in the now defunct real estate market will not benefit anyone but the imprudent speculators.

Berlusconi Says Leaders May Close World's Markets

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said political leaders are discussing the idea of closing the world's financial markets while they ``rewrite the rules of international finance.''

``The idea of suspending the markets for the time it takes to rewrite the rules is being discussed,'' Berlusconi said today after a Cabinet meeting in Naples, Italy. A solution to the financial crisis ``can't just be for one country, or even just for Europe, but global.''

This is not a new idea. Shortly after WWII, the Bretton Woods system was agreed to and briefly pegged money to a gold standard with the dollar as the principal currency. This system was abandoned during the 1970's when the U.S. began printing dollars to pay for the costs of LBJ's welfare programs and the Vietnam engagement. It is unlikely that foreign political leaders will be willing to negotiate in the U.S.'s favor if they venture to create a similar system this time.

Take Heart

The administration and Congress have responded to the financial collapses on Wall Street with unprecedented power grabs and staggeringly humungous bailouts. The Fed is taking on a new role in directly propping up businesses. The Treasury now has dictatorial powers over finance. More is promised to come. Both McCain and Obama vow not to continue the supposedly laissez faire approach of the Bush years, which have in reality, even before the "rescue" plan, corresponded to the largest expansion of U.S. government power in two or more generations.

When big government can't solve the problem, the prescription is for more government.

The talking heads are utterly baffled. How can the bailout not have worked? Why is the market continuing to decline? Is another New Deal necessary?

Confidence Is Leaving the Fiat Money System

By increasing the base money supply in the interbank market, guaranteeing financial institutions' liabilities or nationalizing the banking industry, governments suppress free-market forces, which could move the system back towards equilibrium.

There should be little doubt that, after decades of government sponsored credit and money-supply expansion, such a correction would be economically painful, accompanied by further bank failures and output and employment losses.

However, it is hard to see how fighting the symptoms of the unfolding monetary fiasco could solve its underlying cause. Starting the printing presses wouldn't solve the debt crisis either. Hyperinflation would cause economic and political damage to the greatest possible extent.

Guess which presidential aspirant made this observation. If you said neither, go to the head of the class. Politicians don't deal in reality.

Playing Frisbee on a Precipice

America's political class lacks the seriousness this moment demands.

They send their candidates out to speak such thin gruel, such spat-out porridge, that we are struck dumb, and left daydreaming about the fact that Mr. Obama's suits are always slate gray and never seem to wrinkle, and Mr. McCain tonight seems like a rabbity forest creature darting amid the hedgerows.

As to what they will do about the crisis, Mr. Obama will raise taxes on the rich and help us weatherize our homes, while Mr. McCain favors "energy independence" and buying up mortgages.

The candidates are vacuous on the biggest economic crisis in our times. It is unlikely that either will admit or address the fact that politicians, not Wall Street, have created the problem.

Blame the Government

When the bubble burst in 1929, Hoover did all he could to prop up prices in the name of stability and recovery.

All his efforts failed.

The economy continued to spiral downward. Hoover's legacy was sealed.

However, court historians and mainstream economists have been blaming Hoover's "inaction" for nearly eight decades instead of his big government policies that turned a much needed correction into a full-scale panic and massive depression.

Government interference in economic affairs has a history of failure. Witness the Great Depression and Herbert Hoover's efforts to thwart it.

I Smell a Rat

The Republicans under Atwater and Rove were superior tacticians who knew how to use fear and hate to win elections. After Bush used this tactic against him, McCain figured that in his last chance at the presidency, he would adopt those tactics himself. The problem is for McCain that he looks terribly uncomfortable doing it. He drags Sarah Palin around like a prop and unleashes her as his attack dog, the way Nixon used Agnew.

Campaign skulduggery is nothing new. Are today's politicians stooping to new lows or is this just the game they play to get elected?

Wall Street Rescue May Be Worst Legislation Ever

I find it strangely satisfying that Congressman Paul, the little Texan who was soundly thrashed in his Quixotic quest for the Republican presidential nomination – the man who was laughed at and mocked as a kook when he tried to alert us all to the fragile and unsustainable nature of our money system – is now seen by more and more Americans as the one politician who told us the truth. No wonder the system spit him out.

Neither presidential candidate offers any economic sagacity with which to navigate the troubled waters we find ourselves in. We can only presume they would get advice from the same economic wizards who got us involved in this mess.

Lessons From the Bailout

In my more cynical moments, I think that we Americans deserve what we get from our politicians, many of whom can be generally described as nothing less than loathsome. You say, "Williams, that's a pretty heavy putdown." My question to you is how else would you describe these congressmen who are now blaming the financial mess on the failure of the free market? Starting with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, that was given more teeth during the Clinton administration, Congress started intimidating banks and other financial institutions into making loans, so-called subprime loans, to high-risk homebuyers and businesses. The carrot offered was that these high-risk loans would be purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Anyone with an ounce of brains would have known that this was a prescription for disaster but there was a congressional chorus of denial.

Congress is holding hearings to determine who on Wall Street is to blame for our present economic woes. They should be looking no further than the mirror.

America in Financial Crisis Meltdown

Are you angry yet?

You can't get something for nothing. But that's exactly what our American economy ran on in the last decade, thanks to the reckless policies of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. The Federal Reserve created this mess by creating money and credit out of thin air and will only make it worse. It's like a thief punching you for your wallet and then offering to shoot you to make the pain go away.

Corruption in Washington, D.C. needs to be addressed in order to restore soundness to the economy.

Why is Government SO Bad with Money?

Everyone complains about what poor stewards of the people's money the government tends to be, but rarely does anyone address the question why. We chalk it up to greed and stupidity, or we just take it as the natural course of things, joke about $200 hammers and move on.

But there are actual, quantifiable reasons that government is bad with money and those reasons are systemic in nature, meaning that no matter who is in charge, or what laws are passed, the root reasons for the waste and fraud will still be with us.

Reckless spending of fiat money can only lead to disaster. Politicians no longer think in billions but in trillions of dollars and, since it's not their money, are not in awe of such immense numbers.

Where Was the Constitution in the Bailout Debate?

Congress’ powers are enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. A number of specific powers are listed (e.g., coining money, establishing a post office, raising armies), but nothing is mentioned about intervening in private markets and managing large portfolios of assets...

Americans should be concerned that a constitutional discussion was completely absent from the national debate about the bailout package. The EESA is the largest government intervention in the private economy in the history of the United States—it makes FDR’s New Deal and President Truman’s seizure of the steel mills look like Mickey Mouse.

Constitutional consideration? Who does this guy think he is? Ron Paul? No, he's William J. Watkins Jr. and he brings up a quaint old artifact from long ago.

Bailout Blame Game

Although Bush inherited a recession, this more severe one can be explained by his expansions of bureaucracy and debt, which have occurred at such record levels that his likely successors, though men of the Left, are welcomed because they could be viewed as being to Bush's right. Furthermore, the doubling of the national debt in seven years (and increasing it by a half trillion dollars in the last two weeks alone) is one of the primary unstated reasons for credit problems today, which explains the political desire to blame Wall Street.

There's plenty of blame to go around for the current economic plight and GWB is not solely responsible for it, but he has signed nearly every spending bill he has seen and has promoted the rapid ascent of big government on his watch. Christopher Westley points fingers at some of the other culprits as well.

Looting the Responsible

Government has no resources of its own, no elves working overtime to produce something of value, just promoters who espouse Santa Clause economics. It can only transfer wealth from one group to another (skimming a nominal transaction fee in the process). The current $700 $800 billion bailout (sorry, rescue) package is nothing more than a looting of the responsible and productive by the reckless and profligate. Call it reverse Darwinism, survival of the least fit. As the old economics saw goes, subsidize a certain behavior and you get more of it, tax a certain behavior and get less.

The government leeches are running out of blood to suckle. The Robin Hood theory of economics - take from the rich and give to the poor - is imploding. The so-called rich don't have much more for the government to take as they are watching their portfolios being drained daily.

Don't Trust the Brain Trust

The great theoretical error of the New Dealers was to confuse the symptom of low prices with the causes of the economic downturn. The real problem was that prices were massively inflated before the stock-market crash of 1929. The correction had to occur and would have occurred peacefully, if not wholly painlessly, had the government not intervened.

No government in all of human history that has waged war on prices has won. The Great Depression is exhibit A.

The lessons of the Great Depression are examined by Lew Rockwell.

The Do-Something Congress

Why not consult the people who had the foresight and understanding to see this coming? They would have recommended such logical actions as repealing the Community Reinvestment Act, which forces banks to make bad loans, or allowing the market to set interest rates instead of the Federal Reserve system. How about abolishing the Federal Reserve altogether? There are many things that could have been done, but don’t expect Congress take a course of action that comes from a place of understanding and competence when they could just spend money.

Besides all that, the politicians had to go back home and campaign for re-election which is their first priority.

Cockroaches and Gold

I want to leave you with a look into what the future has in store for you. You need to understand just who you are dealing with. The Bush Administration is corrupt and works by instilling fear; the more afraid you are, the more willing you are to give up your rights under the US Constitution:

“The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and sustaining a panic atmosphere. That atmosphere is not justified. Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday, the sky would fall, the market would drop 2000 to 3000 points the first day, another couple thousand points the second day, and a few members were even told there would be Martial Law in America if we voted no. That’s what I call fear mongering… The only way to pass a bad bill – keep the panic pressure on”.

Rep. Brad Sherman

Democrat, California

It is nice to see that someone still has a brain in Congress. What most of you don’t realize is that is precisely what the Bush Administration wants, i.e. to suspend the rule of law (US Constitution) and govern by Presidential decree. Imagine this: American troops in American streets pointing guns at American citizens! Bush and Co. feel only then will they be able to cover their tracks and avoid prosecution. No need for elections with Martial Law, and no need to face justice. Better yet, you can persecute anyone who speaks up and in the name of the law. That’s the end game and they are willing to sacrifice America and Americans to do it. It starts with little things like changing the rules (eliminating short selling and confiscating gold) and then blossoms, taking on a life of its own. Before you know it 240 years of sacrifice are up the stack. One thing Bush failed to consider though is that the problem has now spread worldwide, and he can’t legislate or declare martial law on the world. He’ll learn that the hard way.

Dark days ahead says Enrico Orlandini at www.gold-eagle.com.

Welfare state failures are at bottom of the crisis

But, in fact, what we are watching is not a failure of markets, but the latest failure of the welfare state. The sad part is how few who wield political power seem to understand, or want to understand, that this is what's happened.

As the details behind the current debacle are unraveled, we see how government created one more entitlement -- the right to own a house -- and then devised an array of programs to subsidize in various ways "affordable housing." Like all welfare programs, the subsidies succeeded in influencing behavior, but the wrong behavior.

Star Parker points out that the housing bubble was just another welfare stunt that has gone terribly wrong.

McCain "Lost the Election" by Voting "Yea" for the Senate Bail Out Bill

John Sidney McCain III had a chance to differentiate himself from Barack Hussein Obama II by voting NO on the bailout bill but he supported it and thus lost the election according to Glenn Beck. I think Glenn is right. Do you? Let's hear it in the comments...

Times have changed

Taxpayer Investments

Butler Schaffer has posted a response to our previous post by Karen De Coster.

If this bailout scam is truly an investment on my part, where are the certificates evidencing my ownership interest? When will I - not the Treasury Department - begin receiving dividends? And to what market may I take my hypothetical "shares" to sell to the millions of shrewd investors eager to own them?

Read the whole thing here.

Republicans on the Left and Democrats on the Right

In the topsy turvy world of Washington, to combat what is being called the “most momentous financial crisis since the Great Depression,” the Republicans have gone socialist and the Democrats are advocating the corporatism of Italian rightist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Fairly unique in U.S. history, the Bush administration has nationalized companies—insurance and mortgage guarantors—that have nothing to do with the war the country is fighting.

The leviathan is getting fat on empty calories. The growth of the beast cannot be sustained on a diet of fiat dollars. Nationalize is just another word for government theft. The government cannot be arrested for these crimes but, like the serpent which devours its own tail, it will run out of viable sustenance in the form of capital to plunder.
It's getting ugly out there.

Thank Goodness the Government is Investing My Contributions!

What does it mean when the robbers in Washington say we'll be "paid back?" Will my personal "investment" be quantified, and will I get a check in the mail? What's going to be my ROE? If my investment fails, will the government bail me out by giving back my "contribution?"

Karen De Coster appears to be skeptical of the promises by government officials to pay us back the money they grabbed from us.

The Month When Reality Invaded

We are now seeing a significant decrease in confidence regarding the reliability of the government with respect to financial crises. This has not happened in a long time. I do not recall that has ever happened on this scale in my lifetime. It happened from 1929 to 1932, but it has not happened since then.

This new outlook has blindsided the Federal government. All the assurances coming down from the Secretary of the Treasury prior to September 15 are seen in retrospect as blowing smoke. The critics who said that the crisis would get beyond the ability of the government control now appear to have been correct.

The government is running out of weapons in its War on the Economy and the futility and expense of this war is exceeding the futility and expense of the War on Terror and the War on Drugs.