Sunday, July 31, 2011
More GMO In Grocery Stores In Poor Areas?
Ten years ago you could not find non GMO in most stores. Now the more educated areas have cleaner products but in the working class areas the system still dumps the crap.
Not All Poison Is Labeled
What Can Be Done Now?
With the debt ceiling inevitably being raised this week (probably tomorrow at around 5:30 PM EST just before the primetime news talking heads come on), I think it is time that we all reflect on what we can do instead of responding with open hostility toward or moronic leaders. This exercise is mostly for my benefit, as it would allow me to reflect on what I have and what I can do versus what is completely out of my control. I have no problem with anger, provided it is directed in a proper manner and not in a destructive manner akin to Jared Loughner did. Anger is, after all, our emotional response to situations out of our control.
For one thing, I am almost completely debt free. My wife and I just have one student loan left to pay off and then we will never be in financial debt again, provided we can help it. Given that most emergencies which cause bankruptcy are usually either a combination of many big things going wrong at the same time or just improper financial planning (good insurance, money set aside for emergencies, etc.), I think there is a good chance we will be able to live a life without debt bondage.
The best thing anyone can do to become content financially is to become debt free and remain so. I know that there is this thinking that you have to have debt in order to be prosperous, but besides a few popular rich celebrities, most rich people have little to no debt to their name. Microsoft, for example, operates as a debt free company last I heard. And they could easily get low-interest loans of considerable amounts given their reputation and sales history. But they do not and I am sure that it provides them a lot of flexibility with their business endeavors. After all, the last thing a company executive needs is some banker telling him or her what they can or cannot do with their business. It is bad enough that the government is constantly breathing down their necks.
Another thing that can be done is to live without as much government involvement as possible. There are a surprising number of things you can do to circumvent government involvement in your life, the first thing you can do is to never talk to police or call for anything short of serious crime (as in murder, burglary, or property destruction). Right now, the state of the police force in the United States is one of hostility toward non-police officers. And while they are hostile to the rest of us, they routinely protect their own, even the ones who openly commit wanton acts of unnecessary violence.
Keeping the government out also involves not disclosing information about yourself to third parties as well. For example, if you have no debt to your name, you have not credit history, which is something that the government is allowed to look at without a warrant as it is data collected by an external party. Credit reporting agencies tend to keep a lot of information and often work in conjunction with law enforcement and other various government agencies at all levels in come capacity. I guess this makes it another advantage to becoming debt free and staying that way.
If you are single and considering getting married, I would recommend that you do not get a marriage license from the state. Such a thing serves no purpose other than turn what is usually considered sacred into a legal contract. There is no advantage to it, other than avoiding the fees for changing your name, considering that you still have to set up a Will and a Living Will despite being legally married. Every legal advantage to being married can easily be obtained without getting the license. By all means, go ahead and have a church service or some special ceremony in accordance with your beliefs in front of witnesses. But do not get a marriage license.
This is probably better advice for men than for women as men are much more screwed when they get a divorce. You see, if you have a legal contract that is being dissolved, the State will get involved and because of the state of affairs right now, men do not fair well in divorce. Women are allowed to lie, cheat, and steal from their ex-husbands and many of them do so without remorse or shame. And this is the celebrated culture of feminism which is enforced by the Second Set of Books. So do yourself a favor and do not get a marriage license. On a side note, I do have one myself, but I was much more naïve about these things back then. These days, I do not consider people in long-term relationships without a marriage license to be living in sin solely because they lack a certificate from the State.
Decades ago, Murray Rothbard wrote about working for the State. While he said it was all right, provided there was no private sector alternative and that you did something that was morally upstanding, these days I would have to disagree with him. Today, we need to stop working for the government while we still can. Part of the problem with big government is that there are a lot of people working for them. And many of these people are not people who I would consider to be intelligent and well-meaning. Most of them are grunts whose job prospects before government might have been loading boxes or taking restaurant orders from behind a cashier’s counter. Sure at the top you have some of the most intelligent (and dangerous) people in the world, but when it comes to governance, a ruler needs a bunch of myrmidons in order to carry out all those wonderful ideas.
Also, stay off welfare entirely. And what I mean by that is to never let the government pay for anything, be it college, medical care, or retirement because once you let them do that, you will be in their pocket. And once you are in their pocket, they can count on you to support them no matter what happens.
The last thing you can do is to never let divisions defined by any politician or pundit cloud your judgment. They will constantly bemoan about the unfairness of this situation or that situation and how the government is there to promote equality and justice. Unfortunately, life is full of unfairness, inequality, and injustice with or without the government. If the government was treated like a business, where people voluntarily gave them money in exchange for their services, I dare say they would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. No, there is no such thing as equality in so far as humanity is concerned. The extent to which equality should exist is how the government treats people accused of crimes, but even that falls short so many times. So do not believe their mantras about justice being blind or that we are occupying that nation in order to help them or that drugs made by Latinos are bad but drugs made by European companies are good. When you read a statement written by anyone, always consider the source to be a selfish individual looking out for his or her own sorry ass. The difference between me and the government is that I am honest and upfront about my intentions.
So please, I urge everyone to live your life free from the government as much as possible, no matter what they try to do. Owe nothing to anyone and live your life as you see fit, provided you do not harm others in any physical or intentionally financial way. Find the joy in your work and in your daily routines, as boring as they may be, and do not rely on others for your needs and desires. You will find that if we as a people had done so more often than not over the past century, then perhaps we would not have been in this mess today.
What Every Creationist Must Deny?
Are you a creationist? Must you deny these things? Do you disagree? Comments?
video via Left Hemispheres
Just like falling is a fact and gravity is a theory that describes why you fall, organisms evolving and speciating are facts and the theory of evolution explains why. If you are willing to deny evolution, why not gravity, germs, atoms, electricity, etc. They are all theories too.
video via Left Hemispheres
Killing People and Breaking Things
Laurence Vance can say more in one very short paragraph than most commentators and bloggers can in hundreds or thousands of (mostly worthless) words...
Shut it all down (the useless, parasitic Federal Government, that is). It would be the best thing to happen to America and the world!
If it turns out that our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those brave individuals who sit at a desk and operate Predator Drones, don't get paid when the government "shuts down," then they should do what every regular civilian does when he doesn't get paid—don't work. Especially since work in this case is killing people and breaking things.-No Pay, No Work
Shut it all down (the useless, parasitic Federal Government, that is). It would be the best thing to happen to America and the world!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Today's Question: Are Human Beings Predictable or Unpredictable?
Stolen from The Commentator and maybe I'll have better luck getting an answer here (if traffic counts for anything). Oh, and I could have predicted no one would respond to his post. Does that answer the question? Naturally, I'm a determinist (the only sane, rational position on the "free will" question) so in theory, of course people are predictable (I predict right now that the next time I write a pro-Confederacy post, Bret will leave a comment saying I'm pro-slavery).
We're just so ignorant that on a practical basis it's difficult to impossible to predict human behavior when it comes to very specific actions. On a broader level, it's frighteningly easy to know in advance what most dumbass humans are likely to do.
We're just so ignorant that on a practical basis it's difficult to impossible to predict human behavior when it comes to very specific actions. On a broader level, it's frighteningly easy to know in advance what most dumbass humans are likely to do.
Organic Food Is Pushing Out The Poison
The ignorant tend to be clueless about nutrition. Food to them is all about filling their bellies, nothing more. If five bucks at Taco Bell will satisfy and fill you up, why bother spending time at the supermarket actually shopping for fresh food that takes time to prepare, when instead you can stay seated on your fat ass in your car at the drive-thru? Knowledge is power! Educate yourself! It's really not that hard.
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Real Problem Is Not The Debt Ceiling , The Problem Is The Debt And Raising The Ceiling Makes That Problem Bigger
The countdown to armadebtdon continues and we are just four days away from the debt ceiling deadline. Many agree that the real issue isn't raising the debt ceiling, but the actual problem is the debt itself. Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, tells us what he'd do if he was in charge.
HR 1981
As usual, it's about "saving the children"...
Bill Harming Online Privacy Moving Through Congress
Today, the House Judiciary Committee is voting whether to approve legislation that would create a sweeping new provision requiring Internet companies (email, cloud, social networking, and more) to collect and retain hundreds of millions of records about the identity of online users. The bill, HR 1981, the “Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011,” – if only it were that narrow! – is a direct assault on the privacy of Internet users and overlooks some key fixes that could actually help to address the very real problem of child exploitation.
...
The bill requires Internet companies to log all temporarily assigned network addresses, also known as IP addresses, for a minimum of one year. IP addresses directly link individuals to their online activity and can reveal very private information about everything from health concerns to political interests. And once all of this personal information about innocent Americans is collected, it would be available to law enforcement for any purpose.
Jim Rogers: "Prepare for a lost decade or more"
While Obama and Boehner play chicken Jim Rogers, co-founder of Quantum fund, sounds off on the economic issue. Is this a political charade?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Queen of The Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? - Official Trailer
...a profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from Taggart Siegel...Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world including Michael Pollan, Gunther Hauk and Vandana Shiva. Together they reveal both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature.
via The Prime Directive
Queen of The Sun
via The Prime Directive
Debt Ceiling Theater
As the latest arbitrary deadline for raising the US government’s “debt ceiling” approaches, the two wings of America’s ruling party are increasingly desperate to pin blame on each other for the current political impasse and possibly impending default.
In dueling speeches last Monday night, US President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner waxed eloquent, lecturing their American audience on concepts like “responsibility” and “obligation.” They were, however, both deliberately vague in their use of pronouns: Words like “we” and “our.”
That’s because behind their apparent divisions, Obama, Boehner and the parties they represent are as one in their desire to delude the rest of us into continuing to accept their “obligations” — the trillions of dollars they’ve borrowed already and trillions more to come — as our own.
And, of course, to delude their creditors into believing that that you and I are co-signers who will continue to pick up the check, in perpetuity, for the political class’s follies.
Politicians and creditors alike are united in cautioning all of us that “catastrophe” will follow any default by the government of the United States on its — wait, make that “our” — “obligations.”
Really? Catastrophe for whom?
You and I take it in the shorts no matter what happens.
For the better part of a century, we’ve “invested” — mostly at gunpoint — more of our wealth in political government than in any other single human activity. It was a poor investment. That wealth is gone, frittered away by politicians doing political things. We’ll be lucky to get any significant portion of it back: Pennies on the dollar if we liquidated the state’s physical assets, auctioned them off and found some way to equitably distribute the proceeds to the (surviving) “investors.”
In fact, political government is a less than zero sum game. It doesn’t just move wealth around, concentrating it in the hands of the political class, it actively works to destroy whatever wealth can’t be so concentrated. Every dollar you pay in taxes is turned against you by the regulatory state to reduce your ability to earn additional dollars.
Even if we abolished the state today, we’d have to write off quite a bit of wealth that’s just plain gone — thrown down a rathole, burned up in cockamamie schemes, never to return. Of course, every day we wait to do so, our loss grows.
But then, to top it all off, these jokers have been borrowing even more money in your name over the decades, assuring lenders that they’ll find a way to take that wealth, plus interest, out of your hide too … eventually.
The current episode of political theater — the “debt ceiling debate” — isn’t really about whether or not the politicians will “allow” themselves to borrow more money in your name. That’s no more in doubt than that a wino will drain that next bottle of Thunderbird … if he can get his hands on it.
It’s about that there aforementioned “eventually.”
It’s about whether or not you’ll continue to play your assigned role of “Mr. Moneybags.”
It’s about whether or not you’ll help the political class induce suspension of disbelief in its creditors.
It’s about whether or not you’ll vocally and convincingly beg the political class to continue milking you, shearing you, harnessing you and driving you.
It’s a really bad play. It’s enjoyed far too long a run on history’s stage. Isn’t it about time we walked out on it?
Debt Ceiling Debate: A Night at the Theater by Thomas L. Knapp republished under Creative Commons
In dueling speeches last Monday night, US President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner waxed eloquent, lecturing their American audience on concepts like “responsibility” and “obligation.” They were, however, both deliberately vague in their use of pronouns: Words like “we” and “our.”
That’s because behind their apparent divisions, Obama, Boehner and the parties they represent are as one in their desire to delude the rest of us into continuing to accept their “obligations” — the trillions of dollars they’ve borrowed already and trillions more to come — as our own.
And, of course, to delude their creditors into believing that that you and I are co-signers who will continue to pick up the check, in perpetuity, for the political class’s follies.
Politicians and creditors alike are united in cautioning all of us that “catastrophe” will follow any default by the government of the United States on its — wait, make that “our” — “obligations.”
Really? Catastrophe for whom?
You and I take it in the shorts no matter what happens.
For the better part of a century, we’ve “invested” — mostly at gunpoint — more of our wealth in political government than in any other single human activity. It was a poor investment. That wealth is gone, frittered away by politicians doing political things. We’ll be lucky to get any significant portion of it back: Pennies on the dollar if we liquidated the state’s physical assets, auctioned them off and found some way to equitably distribute the proceeds to the (surviving) “investors.”
In fact, political government is a less than zero sum game. It doesn’t just move wealth around, concentrating it in the hands of the political class, it actively works to destroy whatever wealth can’t be so concentrated. Every dollar you pay in taxes is turned against you by the regulatory state to reduce your ability to earn additional dollars.
Even if we abolished the state today, we’d have to write off quite a bit of wealth that’s just plain gone — thrown down a rathole, burned up in cockamamie schemes, never to return. Of course, every day we wait to do so, our loss grows.
But then, to top it all off, these jokers have been borrowing even more money in your name over the decades, assuring lenders that they’ll find a way to take that wealth, plus interest, out of your hide too … eventually.
The current episode of political theater — the “debt ceiling debate” — isn’t really about whether or not the politicians will “allow” themselves to borrow more money in your name. That’s no more in doubt than that a wino will drain that next bottle of Thunderbird … if he can get his hands on it.
It’s about that there aforementioned “eventually.”
It’s about whether or not you’ll continue to play your assigned role of “Mr. Moneybags.”
It’s about whether or not you’ll help the political class induce suspension of disbelief in its creditors.
It’s about whether or not you’ll vocally and convincingly beg the political class to continue milking you, shearing you, harnessing you and driving you.
It’s a really bad play. It’s enjoyed far too long a run on history’s stage. Isn’t it about time we walked out on it?
Debt Ceiling Debate: A Night at the Theater by Thomas L. Knapp republished under Creative Commons
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Ginx Reads the News 7/27/2011
So here’s the deal. Monday Gun Day was no fun to do. I don’t care about guns, and reading so many stories about guns was irritating to me. If I read another story about a kid being shot accidentally, it will be too soon. I guess all I have to say after doing that piece for a few weeks is please teach your kids gun safety, whether you own a gun or not.
Instead of focusing on something I have no interest in, I figured I would try doing something I do enjoy doing: reading the news. I mean, I enjoy it before I actually see what the news is, then I have to free-base Zoloft. Basically, I’ll read some articles, post the headline with a link, and give a one sentence summary, analysis or opinion.
Tea Party Activists Revolt Against Boehner Amid Debt Crisis – The top story on Fox News, the article is the political equivalent of fans getting pissed off at a player for not spiking the ball after a touchdown.
Time Travel Impossible, Say Scientists – So I can’t travel back in time and warn myself to not bother reading this because it does not take into account the fact that regions of space-time can (and especially around black holes, probably do) travel faster than light.
Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court – A real artist, off his creativity he has profited, yes, hmm?
Stem Cell Lawsuit Thrown Out – I sometimes wonder how many people who oppose stem cell research eat meat, and if they realize every animal they eat was more alive than stem cells (I guess what I’m saying is, I would eat stem cells if they tasted good).
Atheists Sue Over Ground Zero Cross – Was that a cross, or a “t” for “terrorism?”
Instead of focusing on something I have no interest in, I figured I would try doing something I do enjoy doing: reading the news. I mean, I enjoy it before I actually see what the news is, then I have to free-base Zoloft. Basically, I’ll read some articles, post the headline with a link, and give a one sentence summary, analysis or opinion.
Tea Party Activists Revolt Against Boehner Amid Debt Crisis – The top story on Fox News, the article is the political equivalent of fans getting pissed off at a player for not spiking the ball after a touchdown.
Time Travel Impossible, Say Scientists – So I can’t travel back in time and warn myself to not bother reading this because it does not take into account the fact that regions of space-time can (and especially around black holes, probably do) travel faster than light.
Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court – A real artist, off his creativity he has profited, yes, hmm?
Stem Cell Lawsuit Thrown Out – I sometimes wonder how many people who oppose stem cell research eat meat, and if they realize every animal they eat was more alive than stem cells (I guess what I’m saying is, I would eat stem cells if they tasted good).
Atheists Sue Over Ground Zero Cross – Was that a cross, or a “t” for “terrorism?”
Independent Money
Short animation arguing for re-introduction of gold as money because of its independence.
With every headline, it is becoming increasingly apparent how much the governing class has overreached. Those who believe in government are simply running out of other people’s money. For example, President Obama’s call to reverse the tax break given to owners of corporate jets in his 2009 stimulus bill would supposedly raise $300 million a year in revenue, enough to cover less than two hours of current deficit spending. Even if the Federal government could tax 100% of personal income in excess of $250,000 a year, it would collect little more than half of the revenue needed to balance the budget.
These real world results mock the conventional wisdom that given the power to spend, borrow, tax and print money, elite public servants can manage the economy and protect the average individual against the vicissitudes of life.
Instead, government itself has become a source of systemic risk, and a direct threat to our prosperity and liberty.
At the center of this political upheaval is the quality of money itself. “Is gold money?” is a showstopper because it raises the questions: “What is money and what power should government have to manipulate its value?”
Read more: Is Gold Money?
My Internal Republican
I see Republicanism less as a political view as an attitude. Republicans have no real policies anymore, they simply take their cues from Democrats by opposing whatever they perceive the left to support.
Just as an example, before America got involved in Libya, Newt Gingrich criticized Obama for not intervening and fighting for democracy in the embattled nation. Then, when Obama went into Libya, Newt and all those on the right who supported such actions flip-flopped.
Ultimately, Republicans are just pseudo-cynical contrarians who rely exclusively on grade-school insult tactics in order to cater to the lowest common denominator. Just to illustrate my point, I’ll write the rest of this post in Republican voice.
I notice that elitist tanning enthusiast John Boehner is determined to pin the default of the nation on the first black president. And what is with his name? It’s not pronounced “Bainer.” Here in America, it’s pronounced Boner, and that’s just what he’s turned this whole debt ceiling fiasco into.
In fact, what is with Republicans and their stupid names? You got all these Micks in the Republican party: John McCain, Mitch McConnell… who let these dirty, uneducated, disease ridden Irish scumbags into this country? Stay in your own yard, you drunk bastards.
Speaking of bastards. that hag Sarah Palin can’t seem to take the time from spreading her whore legs to find decent, American names for her kids. Track, Piper, Trig… what is she so busy doing that she couldn’t be bothered to properly name her children? Certainly not being governor, a post she resigned in disgrace after being embroiled in scandals and losing the 2008 election. She definitely wasn’t too busy instructing her own children about abstinence or birth control, or she wouldn’t have raised two kids who entered into shotgun marriages.
Speaking of kids, Glenn Beck is trying desperately to remind us he’s still around after getting his ass booted out of the conservative mainstream media. He accused the Norwegian Labour Party of running a “Hitler Youth”-like group, despite the fact that Beck is associated with the 9/12 project which runs a Patriot Camp for kids in grades 1-5 and the “Vacation Liberty School” held by the Kentucky chapter of his organization. But we shouldn’t be surprised, because you have to be downright stark-raving mad to get kicked off a conservative mouthpiece like Fox News.
I would criticize more about what the Republicans are doing, but they don’t do anything. They just sit around bitching, getting nothing done. What policy is there to debate? Oh right, just the debt ceiling, because Republicans won’t let us move beyond that, despite Bush raising it 7 times without incident.
The current Republican line is, “We won’t actually default on August 2nd.” We’re being assured that the debt is the first thing paid off, that we’ll be fine…
This argument kind of sounds like a drug addict who is running out of money assuring themselves they’ll at least be able to buy more drugs come payday, even if they can’t pay their actual bills. Sure, the power and gas might get shut off next month, but at least we’ll be high, right? We’ll just tell them the check’s in the mail, everything will be fine.
Except it’s not fine, because Republicans have hijacked this country and they’re looking to crash it into the nearest building. They are hoping that when that happens, everyone is going to blame the dark-skinned, possibly Muslim guy.
Ah, Republicans… stay classy.
Just as an example, before America got involved in Libya, Newt Gingrich criticized Obama for not intervening and fighting for democracy in the embattled nation. Then, when Obama went into Libya, Newt and all those on the right who supported such actions flip-flopped.
Ultimately, Republicans are just pseudo-cynical contrarians who rely exclusively on grade-school insult tactics in order to cater to the lowest common denominator. Just to illustrate my point, I’ll write the rest of this post in Republican voice.
I notice that elitist tanning enthusiast John Boehner is determined to pin the default of the nation on the first black president. And what is with his name? It’s not pronounced “Bainer.” Here in America, it’s pronounced Boner, and that’s just what he’s turned this whole debt ceiling fiasco into.
In fact, what is with Republicans and their stupid names? You got all these Micks in the Republican party: John McCain, Mitch McConnell… who let these dirty, uneducated, disease ridden Irish scumbags into this country? Stay in your own yard, you drunk bastards.
Speaking of bastards. that hag Sarah Palin can’t seem to take the time from spreading her whore legs to find decent, American names for her kids. Track, Piper, Trig… what is she so busy doing that she couldn’t be bothered to properly name her children? Certainly not being governor, a post she resigned in disgrace after being embroiled in scandals and losing the 2008 election. She definitely wasn’t too busy instructing her own children about abstinence or birth control, or she wouldn’t have raised two kids who entered into shotgun marriages.
Speaking of kids, Glenn Beck is trying desperately to remind us he’s still around after getting his ass booted out of the conservative mainstream media. He accused the Norwegian Labour Party of running a “Hitler Youth”-like group, despite the fact that Beck is associated with the 9/12 project which runs a Patriot Camp for kids in grades 1-5 and the “Vacation Liberty School” held by the Kentucky chapter of his organization. But we shouldn’t be surprised, because you have to be downright stark-raving mad to get kicked off a conservative mouthpiece like Fox News.
I would criticize more about what the Republicans are doing, but they don’t do anything. They just sit around bitching, getting nothing done. What policy is there to debate? Oh right, just the debt ceiling, because Republicans won’t let us move beyond that, despite Bush raising it 7 times without incident.
The current Republican line is, “We won’t actually default on August 2nd.” We’re being assured that the debt is the first thing paid off, that we’ll be fine…
This argument kind of sounds like a drug addict who is running out of money assuring themselves they’ll at least be able to buy more drugs come payday, even if they can’t pay their actual bills. Sure, the power and gas might get shut off next month, but at least we’ll be high, right? We’ll just tell them the check’s in the mail, everything will be fine.
Except it’s not fine, because Republicans have hijacked this country and they’re looking to crash it into the nearest building. They are hoping that when that happens, everyone is going to blame the dark-skinned, possibly Muslim guy.
Ah, Republicans… stay classy.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Why the Right Started Pretending to Care About Budgets
I don’t have a long exposition on this, because it’s really not a complex equation. After eight years of running this country into the ground, spending us into seemingly infinite debt, and basically being anything but “fiscal conservatives,” Republicans are pretending they’re tough on spending.
Where were calls for debate over spending when Bush raised the debt ceiling 7 times and got us mired in trillion dollar wild goose chases?
It’s all theater, and it’s all meant to distract from the real track record of the right. And ultimately, it is costing us the benefits we paid for with our taxes. Republicans lined the pockets of the industries that get them elected using the money that was supposed to go towards a functioning government and social safety net.
Where were calls for debate over spending when Bush raised the debt ceiling 7 times and got us mired in trillion dollar wild goose chases?
It’s all theater, and it’s all meant to distract from the real track record of the right. And ultimately, it is costing us the benefits we paid for with our taxes. Republicans lined the pockets of the industries that get them elected using the money that was supposed to go towards a functioning government and social safety net.
The Balanced Budget Amendment Explained
One of the few redeeming qualities of the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act is that it demands that the Balanced Budget Amendment be passed should the debt ceiling be raised. Not a good one, considering that there is no provision which states that the Balanced Budget Amendment has to be enacted in order for the debt ceiling to be raised. They could just raise the debt ceiling and forget about the amendment itself.
In any case, there seems to be a lot of ignorance with regards to this proposed amendment where people are wondering about times of war and whether there is a loophole in it and other things of that nature. Let me lay it out here and highlight the implications of this amendment, should it be passed and should Congress and the President adhere to it:
`Section 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a rollcall vote.
`Section 2. The limit on the debt of the United States held by the public shall not be increased, unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House shall provide by law for such an increase by a rollcall vote.
`Section 3. Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the United States Government for that fiscal year in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts.
`Section 4. No bill to increase revenue shall become law unless approved by a majority of the whole number of each House by a rollcall vote.
`Section 5. The Congress may waive the provisions of this article for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. The provisions of this article may be waived for any fiscal year in which the United States is engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution, adopted by a majority of the whole number of each House, which becomes law.
`Section 6. The Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and receipts.
`Section 7. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States Government except those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government except for those for repayment of debt principal.
`Section 8. This article shall take effect beginning with the later of the second fiscal year beginning after its ratification or the first fiscal year beginning after December 31, 2016.'.
This a lengthy amendment to the United States Constitution, probably the longest one to be introduced. The amendment addresses Congress specifically and lays out some ground rules for the Federal budget process, which is required to be done each by the procedure laid out in the Constitution. On a side note, I wonder if we could declare all Federal government actions for the fiscal year as null and illegal given that they do not have a budget to do any of it.
Anyway, the amendment first and foremost requires that all spending matches all taxation (I refuse to use the term ‘revenue’ because government does not make money; it steals it). There is an exception in the first section where three-fifths of both Houses can vote to go over projected taxation income. In other words, there is already a loophole for increasing spending and one that is perfectly doable. While it would probably require a large amount of compromise, given the current state of politics here in the United States, I firmly believe that this loophole would be used on a regular basis.
The second section address the debt ceiling and states that it cannot be raised without three-fifths majority of both Houses. I like this aspect of the amendment as well, since it requires an extra majority (not a simple one nor is it a super one) to raise the debt ceiling. Again, it would require no small amount of compromise.
The next two sections deal with common sense in the budgetary process. The President is now required to present a balanced budget instead of one that borrows money. Congress can then choose to borrow money, given its requirements. The fourth section requires a simple majority of all members of Congress to raise taxes.
The fifth section is one I find interesting. It basically says that as long as there is a declaration of war, then Congress can ignore the extra-majority constraints placed on them and have an unbalanced budget. The implications are great because it now places Congress on the hot seat for managing the budgetary requirements of war and demands that they actually declare war instead of allowing the President to simple bomb whoever he damn well pleases. Remember that we have not had a constitutional war since World War II since Congress has not been in the business of declaring war for the last six and a half decades. Unfortunately, I think that Congress would ignore this important piece, even if the amendment was passed.
The next two are just some formal sections that need to exist. The first authorizes Congress to set up rules in order implement the amendment and the second one just states that borrowed money is not considered income in order to ensure that no sleazy Congressperson, of which there are many, can get around this amendment by saying that borrowed money is revenue.
The final section bothers me. It is clear that if this amendment were passed, it would not take effect until any possibility of Barack Obama being President has passed as well. This means that we are going to have to deal with the spending extravagancies of the man-child President anyway. Change this part to make it active on the next fiscal year after it is ratified by the States and I think that will make all the difference.
Granted, this amendment does not matter even if ratified should Congress and the President conspire, as they normally do, to ignore the restraints in the United States Constitution. However, at least it will be codified into law and it will give ample intellectual fuel for people who wish to take a serious stand against government tyranny and extravagance.
The Norwegian Shootings - Muslims and Welfare
Here is a simple thought experiment to help us understand why Muslims are coming to Europe.
Government Man video clip
This is Government Man, come from the Government. The Government sent him.
In case you all were wondering where I got the concept of Government Man from.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Watch Out For Ron Paul
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has fresh bragging rights after picking up what is surely a coveted endorsement on Monday.
Cory Adams - the Republican chairman of Story County in Iowa – endorsed the Texas congressman's presidential bid at a campaign event in Ames, Iowa.-Paul gets big endorsement ahead of crucial Iowa contest
Can Obama Raise the Debt Ceiling Alone?
Judge Napolitano on the 14th Amendment and if it gives President Obama the right to adjust the debt ceiling on his own.
My Response to the Norway Bombing and Massacre
I’ve tried to avoid reading the opinions of others regarding the attacks in Norway, mostly because the few I have read disgust me.
I have seen people associated with this site engage in perpetuating childish denial by crying “false flag” while the bodies were still warm. I also read a contributor’s post on their site where they claim we shouldn’t have multicultural societies, because this sort of violence is just what happens when different people live near each other.
Basically, the response from Americans regarding this incident sickens me.
Without suggesting a false equivalency, because the two sides are not treating this equally the same, both the left and the right are jumping all over this. The left tend to point to quote fragments from the killer and then extrapolate from it what most of us knew before this happened, which is that most people on the right are intolerant assholes.
The thing is, well before this all happened, I didn’t like people who oppose racial equality and cultural inclusion, or are generally intolerant of anyone but white Christians. Not everyone on the right is like that, and certainly not everyone who is like that is a violent threat (just a threat of being a real douche bag).
None of this is surprising to me, and I can’t be alone on feeling that. This may not be very common in Europe, but this has become a common motif surrounding domestic terrorist acts in the US. While Islam gets the reputation for being the main source of terrorism, racist right-wingers who loudly demonize minorities while trying to instigate race wars seem to account for plenty of attacks.
Strange… it usually seems to be gun nuts who claim we live in a dangerous world full of people who want to attack us that end up causing so much of the trouble.
Ultimately, I have a question for all the cultural warriors out there who want to defend their nation from the damned, dirty outsiders: who will protect your nation from you?
I have seen people associated with this site engage in perpetuating childish denial by crying “false flag” while the bodies were still warm. I also read a contributor’s post on their site where they claim we shouldn’t have multicultural societies, because this sort of violence is just what happens when different people live near each other.
Basically, the response from Americans regarding this incident sickens me.
Without suggesting a false equivalency, because the two sides are not treating this equally the same, both the left and the right are jumping all over this. The left tend to point to quote fragments from the killer and then extrapolate from it what most of us knew before this happened, which is that most people on the right are intolerant assholes.
The thing is, well before this all happened, I didn’t like people who oppose racial equality and cultural inclusion, or are generally intolerant of anyone but white Christians. Not everyone on the right is like that, and certainly not everyone who is like that is a violent threat (just a threat of being a real douche bag).
None of this is surprising to me, and I can’t be alone on feeling that. This may not be very common in Europe, but this has become a common motif surrounding domestic terrorist acts in the US. While Islam gets the reputation for being the main source of terrorism, racist right-wingers who loudly demonize minorities while trying to instigate race wars seem to account for plenty of attacks.
Strange… it usually seems to be gun nuts who claim we live in a dangerous world full of people who want to attack us that end up causing so much of the trouble.
Ultimately, I have a question for all the cultural warriors out there who want to defend their nation from the damned, dirty outsiders: who will protect your nation from you?
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Dear Mr. Nikk
Dear Nikk,
Is there a reason the grass is green? The sky blue? The house across the street a dreadful, godawful purple?
signed,
Color Commentor
Dear Color,
It's MISTER Nikk! Who the hell do you think you are, using my first name which is reserved for close friends like my very good friend Mr. Skeptical? I'm not even going to dignify your questions with a response.
Oh, and I'm sending your neighbor some fresh cans of purple paint. Wouldn't want your street to start looking shabby.
Dear Mr. Nikk
Last week you wrote you're a woman? Is that really true? Do like flowers as gifts and boxes of candy? Do you wear dresses sometimes? How about lipstick or false eyelashes? Makeup? A wig? Do you paint your nails? Just wondering if we can get a claer answer to those type of questions, cause then I could figure it out easier?
Your friend,
Toby
Dear Toby,
How dare you! Friend? I don't even know you, you presumptuous idiot! I'm not even going to dignify your questions with a response, fool!
However, for others interested in the truth, yes, I do enjoy giving flowers as gifts, especially when I've taken them from mean Mrs. Miller's yard. Free flowers, all right! Boxes of candy? No, I mostly eat M&Ms out of a tube. Wig? Only when I wear my rainbow wig at the annual children's hospital benefit where I preform my clown routine. Dress up? Oh yes, on occasion, like when I go out looking for fools I can beat to a pulp after they've falsely called me their friend. Lipstick? My lips are naturally red and never need it. My eyelashes are also unusually long, so I don't have to enhance them either. Paint my nails? Always, so they'll match the color of the wood on my carpentry projects.
I hope that clears things up.
Dear Mr Nikk
If you had a pet chicken and a pet dog, and you had to choose between them, what would you do?
signed,
Torn Between Two Animals
Dear Torn,
I'd have me a feast of hot dog and chicken salad, and cry later.
If You Were King
Wouldn't it be great if YOU were in charge of everything? You could fix the world! Maybe. Maybe not.
Who for Hulu?
pp
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Several suitors have been making a play at Hulu in the past months and Yahoo was considered the leading candidate. But with law of economics (demand > supply=high prices) kicking in, the founders of Hulu are raising their asking price—almost by the day. It was reported last week that Apple might be interested in acquiring Hulu and by the looks of things this has gone to Hulu’s head.-Why Hulu Might Be the One That Got Away – From Yahoo!
Run for President for $99
Paul Vasquez, formerly known as the Double Rainbow Guy, is already in the race with a few supporters and back on YouTube, except this time he’s not talking about rainbows.
“If I was to get elected president, I would declare a state of emergency. I would create a section of the government like homeland security but it would be for alternative energy… My main issue is that we need to do what Eisenhower did for the highway system and what Kennedy did for the moon race and declare emergency...”
pp
And just wait until the Jakson/Alan ticket hits the ballot!
“If I was to get elected president, I would declare a state of emergency. I would create a section of the government like homeland security but it would be for alternative energy… My main issue is that we need to do what Eisenhower did for the highway system and what Kennedy did for the moon race and declare emergency...”
pp
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
And just wait until the Jakson/Alan ticket hits the ballot!
Alex Jones Predicted Norway Terror Attacks Before They Happened?
How did I know? How could I not, it was like the media was rolling out a new soft drink it was so in your face.-Alex Jones
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Pineapple Joins The Crew
No, not a new contributor here at Skeptical Eye, though it would be as useful as most of the contributors listed.
I have two small toy cars on my desk at work. I also have a small brass Buddha. In addition, I have a wooden top, that I spin while I'm "working". I like spinning my top. It's more satisfying than my blue glass cat, that sits, dignified, the way a cat should, observing all the other knickknacks with disdain. But I'd rather give up my top than my blue cat.
I have a plastic dinosaur, but I haven't added him yet to my desk. I feel he's a little out of place, and though small, still much larger than the other objects he would join. Well, he is a dinosaur, so I guess he should be the biggest thing there.
I've wanted to buy a small indoor plant for my desk for the longest time, but haven't found a suitable one. I don't want a plastic plant, though such would fit right in.
My mom threw out a bunch of stuff, mostly old papers and junk mail, recently. I discovered, upon finding out about this, that she included in this pile of what she considered trash, a small plastic pineapple. I asked her why she was getting rid of the pineapple, but she had no answer. She also had no clue as to where it had come from. Ah, a mysterious plastic pineapple. Just what I was looking for to add to my desk. I'm going to keep it. It's kind of a plant, though plastic, but at least it will fit in with the other members of my work crew.
I have two small toy cars on my desk at work. I also have a small brass Buddha. In addition, I have a wooden top, that I spin while I'm "working". I like spinning my top. It's more satisfying than my blue glass cat, that sits, dignified, the way a cat should, observing all the other knickknacks with disdain. But I'd rather give up my top than my blue cat.
I have a plastic dinosaur, but I haven't added him yet to my desk. I feel he's a little out of place, and though small, still much larger than the other objects he would join. Well, he is a dinosaur, so I guess he should be the biggest thing there.
I've wanted to buy a small indoor plant for my desk for the longest time, but haven't found a suitable one. I don't want a plastic plant, though such would fit right in.
My mom threw out a bunch of stuff, mostly old papers and junk mail, recently. I discovered, upon finding out about this, that she included in this pile of what she considered trash, a small plastic pineapple. I asked her why she was getting rid of the pineapple, but she had no answer. She also had no clue as to where it had come from. Ah, a mysterious plastic pineapple. Just what I was looking for to add to my desk. I'm going to keep it. It's kind of a plant, though plastic, but at least it will fit in with the other members of my work crew.
Heavy Rains
Overnight rains dumped nearly 7 inches of rain on Chicago early Saturday, breaking a record for the city, canceling flights, and causing parts of highways and train lines to shut down.-Heavy rains soak Chicago as east coast steams
The Heavy Rains was the name of my band. We first called ourselves The Vacuum Cleaners, then Lemon King, before we realized we'd never be big (well, except for Torrance, who weighed almost 400 pounds), and so decided to play a final concert in the rain, hoping it wouldn't really be our final concert after all the publicity we'd get, thus spending our last funds recreating all our promotional items with the new name. We were The Heavy Rains, goddammit! And by golly we we're gonna play our hearts out soaking wet!
We decided then and there to record our new album live. But it ended up sounding like one of the those rain recordings; you couldn't even hear the music. Torrance, you idiot!
Psychological Egoism
Why is psychego proposed as a serious theory? This may be puzzling until you realize the implications of psychego for human behaviour and society in general. If we accept the premise that man really has no choice but to act selfishly, then we can easily buy into the premise that there can be no real cooperation between free people, that we must be controlled in order to ensure the survival of social and global objectives. This leads us directly into the category of belief I label “man is innately evil.” It should come as no surprise that Thomas Hobbes, the most famous proponent of the view that man is innately evil, is also one of the most well-known proponents of psychological egoism.-Against Psychological Egoism
Norway Terror Attack A False Flag Operation?
Police have said a Norwegian man arrested after the twin attacks in Norway is a right-winger with anti-Muslim views, but they do not know whether that was a factor in the attacks.
Comment: Why would a “right-wing extremist” who calls himself a nationalist and hates Muslims choose to massacre scores of young, predominantly white, Norwegian youths? Why not attack a mosque?-Why Would a “Right-Wing Nationalist” Massacre Young, Predominantly White Norwegians?
h/t AdamS
Comment: Why would a “right-wing extremist” who calls himself a nationalist and hates Muslims choose to massacre scores of young, predominantly white, Norwegian youths? Why not attack a mosque?-Why Would a “Right-Wing Nationalist” Massacre Young, Predominantly White Norwegians?
h/t AdamS
Amy Winehouse Dies
Well...
As the internet’s boundaries have expanded a lot of the militant geek culture that was so noticeable at its inception has gotten drowned out by more aspirational conformity and haughty moderatism. It can be painful reading the flurry of liberal technocrats monopolizing sites like reddit these days that claim to be geeks, yet recoil in horror at things as basic as the struggle to abolish all intellectual property. But a few more bourgeois idiots shouldn’t drive us to the mistake of despair. We are anything but in remission.
A Declaration of The Independence of Cyberspace
Over The Counter Encounter with the Patriot Act
The Patriot Act even reaches into the local pharmacy with the government trying to hunt down methamphetamine pre-crime. TITLE VII--COMBAT METHAMPHETAMINE EPIDEMIC ACT OF 2005 SUBTITLE A--DOMESTIC REGULATION OF PRECURSOR CHEMICALS Section 711. Scheduled listed chemical products; restrictions on sale quantity, behind-the counter access, and other safeguards
This section of the conference report is new. Section 711 reclassifies pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, and ephedrine as Schedule Listed Chemicals; reduces the Federal pertransaction sales limit for SLCs from 9 grams to 3.6 grams (the amount recently proposed by the Administration); requires behind-the-counter storage or locked cabinet storage of SLCs; requires that regulated sellers (retail distributors and pharmacies) maintain a written log of purchases; restricts monthly sales to no more than 9.0 grams per purchaser; imposes similar requirements on Internet sellers and mobile retail vendors; and requires each regulated seller to submit a certification that it is in compliance with these requirements, that its employees have been trained as to these requirements, and that records relating to such training are maintained at the retailers location. Such certifications are to be made available by the Attorney General to State and local law enforcement.
This section of the conference report is new. Section 711 reclassifies pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, and ephedrine as Schedule Listed Chemicals; reduces the Federal pertransaction sales limit for SLCs from 9 grams to 3.6 grams (the amount recently proposed by the Administration); requires behind-the-counter storage or locked cabinet storage of SLCs; requires that regulated sellers (retail distributors and pharmacies) maintain a written log of purchases; restricts monthly sales to no more than 9.0 grams per purchaser; imposes similar requirements on Internet sellers and mobile retail vendors; and requires each regulated seller to submit a certification that it is in compliance with these requirements, that its employees have been trained as to these requirements, and that records relating to such training are maintained at the retailers location. Such certifications are to be made available by the Attorney General to State and local law enforcement.
This Guy Sounds Like Me!
Millions of Americans are held for non-violent non-crimes. Thousands of Americans and foreign nationals are held without charges, detained endlessly by the tyrannical political system of dictator Obama. The dictatorial mass murdering filth, Obama, has authorized the execution of American citizens without trial. He rules by decree and lives in luxury while 44.5 million Americans are on food stamps, and millions more who cannot qualify for relief are suffering.-The Coming Hyperinflation
See? The mass murdering filth part is especially in my style of writing about Obama, or just about any government asshole for that matter.
Gold-Plated Atari 2600
I never owned an Atari 2600. I did know a half Asian kid who did. He would sit around all day just playing games. When his mom had guests over for dinner, he hogged the living room. Once, even his 90 year old great, great grandmother didn't count for nothing to him, as he ruthlessly turned off her prime time soap and wheeled the television, with his Atari attached, to his bedroom.
Bob Chapman: Crisis And Collapse, Unfortunate But Inevitable
Fraud the cause of the credit crisis, fraud stalls the recovery, Greece crisis spreads to Italy, Euro zone bound to failure, US debt rating to be revised, debt ceiling to be raised again, Municipal credit ratings also downgraded, harmony in the system is coming to an end soon
International Forecaster
Friday, July 22, 2011
Coke Is It?
I went to the break room to grab a chunk of my car battery sized block of cheese (trying to eat healthy, you know) when I spotted someone from another department enjoying a Pepsi. They said they were trying a different form of caffeine as they'd had their coffee limit for the day. I then noticed that the soda machine now had Pepsi as well as the usual Coke, though the Coke came in both diet and regular (HFCS) versions, while the Pepsi was just the regular (but not, unfortunately, the wonderful Pepsi Throwback with real sugar).
My co-worker commented on the unusual juxtaposition of the rival colas in the same machine, said he was even going to take a photo of it. I did point out that Coke dominates the soft drink market, even though Pepsi, with their real sugar sodas (Sierra Mist and the Throwback versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew) now has much better products than Coca-Cola.
Maybe Coke just has better commercials.
video via Austro-Athenian Empire
The Commentator also had to weigh in recently on Coke:
So, why is Coke "it"? Is Pepsi too sweet? Do sweet colas (like nice guys) finish last?
My co-worker commented on the unusual juxtaposition of the rival colas in the same machine, said he was even going to take a photo of it. I did point out that Coke dominates the soft drink market, even though Pepsi, with their real sugar sodas (Sierra Mist and the Throwback versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew) now has much better products than Coca-Cola.
Maybe Coke just has better commercials.
video via Austro-Athenian Empire
The Commentator also had to weigh in recently on Coke:
When I used to cycle two or three times a week, me and a friend would average anywhere between 60kms and 100kms per ride. Naturally, we'd work up quite the thirst. Along the way we'd stop off some "tabagie" (convenient store) and pick up something. Including popsicles and other items to pump cheap sugar and calories into us. One day we bought Coke in a bottle. We were dying of thirst. It was a Bugs Bunny "water, water" moment.
As we sat there half dazed and exhausted my buddy said, "Cold Coke in a bottle is the best. Fuck the can."And then ran in to get some water.
For that split second there is indeed nothing better tasting than Coke when your mouth is dried out.-Coke Is It
So, why is Coke "it"? Is Pepsi too sweet? Do sweet colas (like nice guys) finish last?
Blog of the Moment: AnonOps Communications
We are fighters for internet freedom. This site is only dedicated to reporting news about Anonymous
On the same day that a major human rights organization issued a scathing report on Bush-era prisoner abuses, the United Nations alleged that the United States had violated a "long-standing" rule meant to prevent the torture of prisoners, by denying an official access to Pvt. Bradley Manning, the lone soldier accused of turning over secret documents to WikiLeaks.
Juan Mendez, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on torture, criticized the U.S. government for preventing a meeting with Manning, meant to ascertain whether the conditions of the soldier's confinement constituted torture. He insisted that an unmonitored meeting is standard practice around the world.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, that's something even Bush officials permitted for their alleged high value al Qaeda detainees, but Manning seems to be a special case for the Obama administration.-U.N. says U.S. broke torture rule in denying access to Manning
Message from Anonymous: Operation Manning
AnonOps Communications
The digital vigilante groups Anonymous and LulzSec, it seems, plan to teach News Corp. a thing or two about hacking.
Just a day after the arrest of Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of New Corp.’s British subsidiary and editor of its The Sun newspaper for phone hacking charges, the hacker groups took credit Monday for defacing the paper’s website to redirect to a fake homepage (archived here) that claimed its owner, News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch, had died of a drug overdose.-Rupert Murdoch Dead
On the same day that a major human rights organization issued a scathing report on Bush-era prisoner abuses, the United Nations alleged that the United States had violated a "long-standing" rule meant to prevent the torture of prisoners, by denying an official access to Pvt. Bradley Manning, the lone soldier accused of turning over secret documents to WikiLeaks.
Juan Mendez, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on torture, criticized the U.S. government for preventing a meeting with Manning, meant to ascertain whether the conditions of the soldier's confinement constituted torture. He insisted that an unmonitored meeting is standard practice around the world.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, that's something even Bush officials permitted for their alleged high value al Qaeda detainees, but Manning seems to be a special case for the Obama administration.-U.N. says U.S. broke torture rule in denying access to Manning
Anarchism is Libertarian-Socialism
During his visit to Ireland to give three other lectures on various topics at the University of Dublin and with Amnesty International Noam Chomsky gave this little known discussion with a Libertarian Socialist group. He answers questions on many topics beginning with the relevance and lessons of the Spanish Civil War.
Today's Question: Should Prisons Be Abolished?
One of the more difficult challenges the libertarian faces when advocating privatization is the case of prisons. There is good reason for this. The sincere libertarian, whether an anarchist or a misguided reformer, wants to do two things:
1) Remove from the state’s monopoly purview all functions the state merely monopolizes which are not inherently criminal in and of themselves.
2) Abolish those state functions which are inherently criminal violations of the libertarian non-aggression principle.
Perhaps no other thing the state does offers so much potential for privatization nightmare stories as prisons do. There’s a reason for this. Prisons themselves, as we understand the term today, are inherently abusive and criminal enterprises — whether managed directly by a state or a state-affiliated monopoly contractor.
Does that mean there will be nothing like prisons in a market anarchist society? Yes and no. Context matters. We’re really talking about two different things — “privatization” under statism is not the same thing as what will likely result in the marketplace if we were to abolish the state and make “law” a free market for consensual dispute resolution with justice understood as restitution rather than punishment.
Under corporate statism, a “private” prison is some company paid with stolen money BY THE STATE (in an environment in which big business is legally privileged anyway, through all sorts of political favoritism). The customer pays and it’s the customers interests that are served. When the customer is legally privileged in the way that the state (and its affiliated corporations) is to do things TO people without their consent, of course monstrous results should be expected. It’s all a matter of economic incentives.
Market anarchists want to turn the incentive issues around by making the “prisoner” the customer. Seriously. We’d really be abolishing prisons AS THEY ARE UNDERSTOOD TODAY (and more or less in line with classical anarchist thought on the topic).
To whatever extent there might be something we can compare to prisons, such would actually be high security hotels that cater to people trying to work off their restitution debts.
That is, the residents would seek to go there as a refuge because that’s the best deal they can get — because nobody else wants them around.
You know how some car dealerships offer “second chance” financing for people with bad credit ratings? Okay, now imagine “second chance” special residencies for people with bad “law ratings”.
The “prisoner” (resident, actually) would be free to leave at any time. They would be customers. Accommodations likely wouldn’t be luxurious, but most people wouldn’t want to endure inhumane treatment. In a freed market for such services, these private “prisons” would compete with each other to persuade “inmates” to move in. If some place starts getting abusive, people will move out for a better deal elsewhere.
-Brad Spangler - Prisons: Abolish, Don’t Privatize (republished under Creative Commons )
1) Remove from the state’s monopoly purview all functions the state merely monopolizes which are not inherently criminal in and of themselves.
2) Abolish those state functions which are inherently criminal violations of the libertarian non-aggression principle.
Perhaps no other thing the state does offers so much potential for privatization nightmare stories as prisons do. There’s a reason for this. Prisons themselves, as we understand the term today, are inherently abusive and criminal enterprises — whether managed directly by a state or a state-affiliated monopoly contractor.
Does that mean there will be nothing like prisons in a market anarchist society? Yes and no. Context matters. We’re really talking about two different things — “privatization” under statism is not the same thing as what will likely result in the marketplace if we were to abolish the state and make “law” a free market for consensual dispute resolution with justice understood as restitution rather than punishment.
Under corporate statism, a “private” prison is some company paid with stolen money BY THE STATE (in an environment in which big business is legally privileged anyway, through all sorts of political favoritism). The customer pays and it’s the customers interests that are served. When the customer is legally privileged in the way that the state (and its affiliated corporations) is to do things TO people without their consent, of course monstrous results should be expected. It’s all a matter of economic incentives.
Market anarchists want to turn the incentive issues around by making the “prisoner” the customer. Seriously. We’d really be abolishing prisons AS THEY ARE UNDERSTOOD TODAY (and more or less in line with classical anarchist thought on the topic).
To whatever extent there might be something we can compare to prisons, such would actually be high security hotels that cater to people trying to work off their restitution debts.
That is, the residents would seek to go there as a refuge because that’s the best deal they can get — because nobody else wants them around.
You know how some car dealerships offer “second chance” financing for people with bad credit ratings? Okay, now imagine “second chance” special residencies for people with bad “law ratings”.
The “prisoner” (resident, actually) would be free to leave at any time. They would be customers. Accommodations likely wouldn’t be luxurious, but most people wouldn’t want to endure inhumane treatment. In a freed market for such services, these private “prisons” would compete with each other to persuade “inmates” to move in. If some place starts getting abusive, people will move out for a better deal elsewhere.
-Brad Spangler - Prisons: Abolish, Don’t Privatize (republished under Creative Commons )
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Government Doesn't Work
Conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe's uncovering of ACORN and Medicaid abuse are glimpses into the overall problem of big government.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Glenn Greenwald: Media Doesn't Care Who U.S. Kills
This week, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism released a report that since August 2010, they've uncovered at least 10 individual attacks in which 45 or more civilians appeared to have died.
Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com
U.S. Drone Strikes Alienate and Inspire Hatred
A UK-based human rights group, together with Pakistani activists, are seeking an arrest warrant for a former CIA legal director, allegedly responsible for drone strikes which killed hundreds of civilians. Now-retired, John Rizzo admitted in an interview, that he'd been approving such attacks in Pakistan since 2004, despite the fact the U.S. isn't at war with the country.
"Why have they not bombed Washington D.C. into oblivion?"
The military, that is..."Curious that the greatest threat to the freedom of Americans remains unmolested by these freedom fighters."
Yes, because they're too busy defending our "freedom" in places such as Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Quote via If the Military Really Defended Our Freedoms
Yes, because they're too busy defending our "freedom" in places such as Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Quote via If the Military Really Defended Our Freedoms
Toll Roads Exposed as Scam
But they can't fool Alex Jones! Here's the thing, in many cases these are existing roads that the taxpayers have already paid for or are still being charged for with taxes. This toll road thing is not free market economics, any more than the railroad barons of the 19th century were free enterprise individualists.
We're already becoming prisoners in our own country, and mere subjects of the state and its capitalist/bankster masters. Wake up, and free the roads (including tearing down all internal checkpoints - hear that "Border" Patrol?)...
We're already becoming prisoners in our own country, and mere subjects of the state and its capitalist/bankster masters. Wake up, and free the roads (including tearing down all internal checkpoints - hear that "Border" Patrol?)...
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
What I'm Up To
I woke up this morning and the first thing I realized was that it was Tuesday and I missed Monday Gun Day. It will probably return next week. To be fair, I spent most of the day working on another topic entirely and I just forgot what day it was.
The past few days I have been reading pages and pages about the growing Rupert Murdoch scandal. I did not expect to find the things I read, I must say. At the risk of sounding conspiratorial (which is why I am reserving judgment until I read more and maybe even just let the scandal run it's course a bit), I was rather shocked by the links between Rupert Murdoch and Israel. It sort of sidetracked my whole research.
I've read that Rupert Murdoch is an Israeli citizen, which I had never heard before. I knew he was born in Australia, was educated at Oxford in England, and became a US citizen in the 80's in order fulfill legal requirements for owning a television network. I was ready to just file the Israeli citizenship claims under "crackpot" until I found this acceptance speech given by Rupert Murdoch upon acceptance of an award from the ADL, the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish lobby group.
Some highlights:
But then I realized... I know a Jew who loves Fox News, and when I talked to him about it, he told me there is a clearly pro-Israel narrative on Fox News.
Basically, I have written about everything I know on the matter. I have never been fascinated by Murdoch and I knew very little about him beyond basic background info, and I don't watch a lot of Fox News (I would rather do less brain damage and just huff paint).
I basically don't have enough information to form a cogent opinion on the matter, because the information I have now is scant and pointing toward a rather spectacular conspiracy that would require far more evidence (so I won't go into detail, for fear that it would be ridiculous for even entertaining the idea), so if anyone has anything substantial they think would be worth reading, let me know. Otherwise, this is just another news story I will be quietly watching.
This one time, I just had to share my rather odd revelations about a story in progress.
The past few days I have been reading pages and pages about the growing Rupert Murdoch scandal. I did not expect to find the things I read, I must say. At the risk of sounding conspiratorial (which is why I am reserving judgment until I read more and maybe even just let the scandal run it's course a bit), I was rather shocked by the links between Rupert Murdoch and Israel. It sort of sidetracked my whole research.
I've read that Rupert Murdoch is an Israeli citizen, which I had never heard before. I knew he was born in Australia, was educated at Oxford in England, and became a US citizen in the 80's in order fulfill legal requirements for owning a television network. I was ready to just file the Israeli citizenship claims under "crackpot" until I found this acceptance speech given by Rupert Murdoch upon acceptance of an award from the ADL, the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish lobby group.
Some highlights:
andWhen Americans think of anti-Semitism, we tend to think of the vulgar caricatures and attacks of the first part of the 20th century. Today it seems that the most virulent strains come from the left. Often this new anti-Semitism dresses itself up as legitimate disagreement with Israel.
These are his words, the official transcript on the ADL website. I had, before reading this, never so much as put one bit of thought into the idea that Rupert Murdoch was a pro-Israeli sympathizer. I had always equated "liberal media" with "Jew media," so naturally Fox News was outside the realm of Jewish influence, in my mind. Fox News is propaganda for WASPS, right?Far from being dismissed out of hand, anti-Semitism today enjoys support at both the highest and lowest reaches of European society – from its most elite politicians to its largely Muslim ghettoes. European Jews find themselves caught in this pincer. We saw a recent outbreak when a European Commissioner trade minister declared that peace in the Middle East is impossible because of the Jewish lobby in America.
But then I realized... I know a Jew who loves Fox News, and when I talked to him about it, he told me there is a clearly pro-Israel narrative on Fox News.
Basically, I have written about everything I know on the matter. I have never been fascinated by Murdoch and I knew very little about him beyond basic background info, and I don't watch a lot of Fox News (I would rather do less brain damage and just huff paint).
I basically don't have enough information to form a cogent opinion on the matter, because the information I have now is scant and pointing toward a rather spectacular conspiracy that would require far more evidence (so I won't go into detail, for fear that it would be ridiculous for even entertaining the idea), so if anyone has anything substantial they think would be worth reading, let me know. Otherwise, this is just another news story I will be quietly watching.
This one time, I just had to share my rather odd revelations about a story in progress.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Proof YouTube Is Rigged?
Alex Jones continues his crusade against the video site's practices...
Only the partner videos they want you to watch are updated. SlimeTube is force feeding you mindless drivel and keeping popular truth down.
No More Star Ratings!
Listen, you fucking little cowards, if you have a negative opinion of a post (mine, Bret's, anyone's), you're now going to have to actually leave a comment saying so (and stating a reason - hate for the sake of hate will be deleted!), and no more anonymous comments, either. Go ahead, make my day, assholes! I no longer care! This blog is not getting any comments anyway, so shove it where the Sun don't shine motherfuckers! It's a new day at Skeptical Eye, and I'm prepared to kick statist and loser ass! I don't care if you disagree, but say so! If not, fuck you and the lousy horse you rode in on!
Is North Dakota Really a State?
An 82-year-old Grand Forks man has found a constitutional flaw that may mean North Dakota is still a territory.
Well, if it's not a state, its residents would be fools to want to make it a real one, considering the Federal Criminal Government in Washington long ago abandoned even the pretense of obeying the limits imposed by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including the completely ignored ninth and tenth amendments.
IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
pp
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Review of Ghost Adventures
In this show found on the Travel Channel, 3 guys have themselves locked inside supposedly haunted buildings and then proceed to record themselves talking smack to the walls and then run away as if they were frightened by their own set up encounters.
God and the Pledge
I would argue that removing the two words “under God” from the pledge of allegiance is one of the pillars of atheist activism in America, along with getting rid of “In God We Trust” from money and maybe an openly Atheist president. Personally, I think some recent presidents were closet atheists, and the last five are certainly proof that there is no God.
But I have a little problem with the “One Nation, Indivisible” movement being advertised on billboards, bumper stickers and blogs. I certainly wouldn’t oppose such a change, by any means. Rather, I take issue with the pledge itself and how it’s administered.
What the hell is with putting your hand over your heart and standing? They even have you face a flag, a la facing Mecca. Is there a real reason for this, like does the magic of an oath not work if you’re sitting and picking your nose, facing an inspirational poster? Why do people take a pledge by standing and putting their hand on something, but they pray by kneeling and putting their hands together? This also has me wondering where people put their hands when taking an abstinence pledge…
I don’t like hardly anything written in the pledge of allegiance itself, either.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,”
I don’t want to pledge allegiance to a flag. This strikes me as an eerily empty religious ritual.
“and to the republic, for which it stands,”
… in case you didn’t realize that the flag is symbolism…
“one nation”
… and its several incorporated and unincorporated territories…
“under God”
Do I really have to mention the first amendment here?
“indivisible”
I’m calling bullshit here, because not only have we literally divided once before, we’re also sharply divided today along political, geographic, and economic lines.
“with liberty and justice for all.”
… those who can afford it.
I’m not suggesting atheists end their “One Nation, Indivisible” campaign, I’m just saying I have problems with more than two words in the pledge.
So, what would I suggest replacing the pledge with? Some snarky, pro-atheist, pro-liberal agenda parody that vaguely follows the meter of the original?
Well, since it’s primarily said in schools and government buildings, how about we replace the pledge with teaching and real work?
Cash Cab or Death Cab?
This was the Canadian version of the Cash Cab show "Taxi" that killed a pedestrian. Can't Canadians get anything right? Or were the Cash Cab folks in the Northernmost North American Statist Paradise just tying to imitate the Canadian health care system?
Fuck you, Ryan Stelting, you copyright Nazi! Everyone should know that Ryan Stelting is a little piece of Canadian shit! You are pond scum, Ryan!
A taxi with the production "Cash Cab" struck and killed a 60 year old male. The male appeared to be crossing near a crosswalk and was transported to hospital where he died. Police say the cameras were not rolling when the Cash Cab was involved in the accident.
Fuck you, Ryan Stelting, you copyright Nazi! Everyone should know that Ryan Stelting is a little piece of Canadian shit! You are pond scum, Ryan!
A taxi with the production "Cash Cab" struck and killed a 60 year old male. The male appeared to be crossing near a crosswalk and was transported to hospital where he died. Police say the cameras were not rolling when the Cash Cab was involved in the accident.
Get Your Torture Degree From The School Of The Americas!
It's been 30 years since Colombian soldiers kidnapped, beat, tortured, starved and electro-shocked Hector Aristizabal — but it's a memory he lives with everyday. Aristizabal said the Colombian military held and tortured him for ten days, all for having a "subversive book."
"Few people have survived torture in Colombia, so I am very lucky to tell this story. Most people get tortured for ten days, that's the standard, and then they get shot and killed," said Aristizabal. "Many have been disappeared — more than 80,000."
Aristizabal says that the Colombian soldiers who tortured him and later killed his brother were trained right here on American soil, at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.
SOA Watch: Close the School of the Americas
"Few people have survived torture in Colombia, so I am very lucky to tell this story. Most people get tortured for ten days, that's the standard, and then they get shot and killed," said Aristizabal. "Many have been disappeared — more than 80,000."
Aristizabal says that the Colombian soldiers who tortured him and later killed his brother were trained right here on American soil, at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.
SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work.
On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests, their co-worker and her teenage daughter were massacred in El Salvador. A U.S. Congressional Task Force reported that those responsible were trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft. Benning, Georgia.
In 1990 SOA Watch began in a tiny apartment outside the main gate of Ft. Benning.
...
The goal of SOA Watch is to close the SOA and to change U.S. foreign policy in Latin America by educating the public, lobbying Congress and participating in creative, nonviolent resistance.
Dear Mr./Ms. Nikk
Dear Nikk Dude (you are a dude, aren't you?) Anyway, I was wondering why you have so many videos on your blog? What gives? Your blog could use some original stuff, like hows about a few posts about a guy who lives in Indiana and left to go down south and got into a fight with the local Dudes of the Confederacy, which fight started when he accused them of being supporters of slavery and a bunch of racists morons who had losers for ancestors cause they got their asses kick but good by the Yanks in blue! How about telling that story? I could write it all up and send it to you and then you'd have a better blog, especially when I tell my other stories, like the time I wound up at a KKK meeting which I thought was gonna be a beer party with lots of chicks, and I got drunk anyway, and thought I was making out with a hot chick in a white robe, which turned out to be a dude with a hood on!
What do you say? I can make this blog great!
signed,
Down South Larry (from the Midwest and parts East and North -oh, i miss the North, but I get great stories down South!)
Dude,
This blog is written by a Southerner and a transplanted Southerner. I will admit my Southernness is adopted to some degree. I was raised out West, but the family roots are deep in Alabama. We also have many such tales to tell, except ours are real. I know I've been slacking when it comes to posting recently, but I've discovered I enjoy not blogging almost as much as I used to enjoy blogging. So, at this time, your services are not needed.
Thank you,
Nikki (yeah, I'll come clean right here and now; I'm really a woman!)
Dear Mrs Nikki
Are you carzy?
signed,
Not Carzy!
Dear Stupid,
I am still carzy after all these years! I love cars! True, I drive a beat up old Toyota with over 200,000 miles on it, but what the hell, I still dream of Maseratis and Ferraris.
Dear Nikk,
When are you going to bring back Bret "Ginx" Alan as a contributor? Oh, I'm on to your little game of creating a fake blogger profile and then using Bret's name to post unoriginal trash amd copy and paste bullshit and vidoes. That's not Bret! He wrote all-original materiel! I'd know a Bret Alan post a mile away! Gibe up the farce already and bring back Bret!
Bring Back Bret! Bring Back Bret! Bring Back Bret!
signed,
Bring Back Bret!
Dear Bret,
What can I say? You caught me! This whole blog is one big lie! First my femaleness has been exposed, and now you discover we have no Bret actually posting here anymore! So okay, I'll gibe it up, for good!
Gibe it up! Gibe it up! Gibe it up!
However, the questions are, does Bret want to come back? And where can I get a cheap sex change operation?
Nikk/Nikki
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