The Gadfly

World Bank Blames U.S. for Global Financial Collapse

“For socialists, not just the wealth, but the guilt, must be redistributed” – Andrew Sandlin

The article entitled World Bank Offers Dire Forecast for the World Economy, as published in the Harold Tribune, would have been more accurately titled as as “Greedy American Capitalist System Destroys Economies of Innocent Poor Nations of the World”.  Wow, is GUILT a powerful tool or what? This is the kind of journalism that IGNORANT liberals love to grab onto as PROOF (for dummies) that the “conservatives” with their free-market philosophies are the terminators of the universe as we know it.

Take a look at how the World Bank points its long, green nose – I mean finger – at the U.S.:

In a report prepared for a meeting next week of finance ministers from the 20 industrialized and large developing countries, the World Bank said the economic crisis that started with junk mortgages in the United States was causing havoc for poorer countries around the world, not only stifling their growth but also choking off their access to credit as well.

So THIS is how they are going to sell this economic crisis to the Americans Sheeple– that it is the fault of THEIR junk mortgages in the U.S? This, my friends, is propaganda, a la – al Gore. And it works because most Americans don’t have a clue as to what is going on in the rest of the world, let alone what is going on here. Let’s take a little look at what has been going on with subprime mortgage lending in Eastern Europe. Now don’t fall of you chair here, but the sad truth of humanity is that in Eastern Europe, mortgages were being written in terms of FOREIGN CURRENCY! That’s right. Guess what happens when the scales tip against them and their currency begins to collapse against their creditor nations? Well, no one could even HOPE to pay up and so the internal economy, not to mention trade, collapses completely. Social mayhem, non-existent zombie economies, a deep need for someone to BLAME:

The long ticking time bomb of Eastern European debt is starting to explode with an even greater inevitability as that of subprime mortgages exploding in the United States, as at least in the United States the determining factor of whether or not the mortgage market would go bust is the state of the US housing market. With Eastern Europe the big and obvious question mark that has been raised many times long before the housing markets peaked and the stock markets crashed was the degree of borrowing by Eastern Europeans in foreign currencies that set the borrowers up for the ticking currency time bomb when the forex trends reversed against them would send the value of debts soaring in the domestic currencies thus pushing for example the housing borrowers into negative equity WITHOUT A FALL IN HOUSE PRICES.

This originally implied that the Eastern European governments would be forced to raise interest rates much higher than they would like to so as to defend their currencies that weakened against the creditor nations namely the Euro and Japanese Yen so as to reduce the debt burden on borrowers for if they failed to do so then the debt levels would explode to levels that would bankrupt the borrowers both corporate and mortgage borrowers, which would trigger economic contraction and hence worsen the situation as debt default rates soared.

However now we have the added problem of the world economy going into a deep economic slump that has resulted in the collapse of global trade and hence Eastern European economies are falling off the edge of a cliff as they are hit from all sides, by currencies collapsing as exports slump and investments being repatriated back to western countries coupled with the frozen credit markets.

Latvia the Next Iceland?

The situation has reached such a crisis point in Latvia that anyone that reports on the truth is being arrested by the Latvian security forces as an omen that economic turmoil means a return towards tyranny as I wrote of in early December 08 - (Latvia Protects its Banking System by Arresting Economist For Speaking the Truth),as the Latvian secret police arrested Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a university professor for delivering gloomy forecasts on the prospects for the Latvian economy and the state of the Latvian banking system.

Since then, Latvia has continued its economic and financial meltdown as evidenced by the 10% slump in GDP as the credit rating agencies cut the countries credit rating to junk level. Latvia following the collapse of the soviet union had sought to burn its bridges with Russia with a view to moving towards the EU, now the EU has shut its door in the face of its own banking sectors toxic liabilities of $23 trillion that threaten a collapse of the Euro, Latvia is left a drift on its own seeking an IMF bailout that itself has gone cap in hand to the EU for more emergency funds.

Not far behind Latvia are Lithuania and Estonia, which are all along the same path as Latvia having adopted similar policies of burning their bridges with Russia, which must now be looking on with gleeful satisfaction. Although the collapse in the crude oil price has put a severe strain on its own state budget as much of it was on the expectations that crude oil would stay north of $80 instead of the recent range of $45 to $30.

The rest of eastern europe is gearing up for a chain reaction of Iceland-esk collapses, with those topping the list in addition to the 3 already mentioned being Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary in total threatening to default on some $2 trillion of debt to the European banks.

EU countries hit hardest by loans to Eastern Europe are Austria, Italy and France as most exposed, for example Austrian banks have loaned as much as 70% of the countries GDP to Eastern Europe. That liability is OFF its public debt level which stands at 60% of GDP therefore real liability is somewhere north of 250% of GDP for Austria allowing for all banking sector liabilities.

So there you go. What could have possessed ANYONE with even half a brain to create mortgages such as these? One would either have to be a dummy or EVIL. I am going with EVIL, because I believe that most of leaders love a GOOD CRISIS (Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Henry Kissinger). Why does the World Blank-Check  blame America? Because America’s currency is going to turn out to be the STRONGEST of the weakest in the hard times to come. The world will still look to us to bail THEM out. The World Bank know that Americans will not put up with bailing out the whole world unless our mendacious leaders convince the sheeple that we are GUILTY and REPONSIBLE for the crisis in the first place.

When I read the news every day, most of what I see is calculated and determined “entity” that is hell-bent on creating GUILT in the hearts of the American people so that it continue its EMBEZZLEMENT of funds from the richest and most giving people on the planet:

Zoellick (World Bank el Presidente) called for rich countries (that would be YOU) to set aside 0.7 percent of the amount of money they spend to stimulate their own economies for a "vulnerability fund" to help stabilize poorer countries.

Zoellick said the new fund could then make the money available to countries through the World Bank, the United Nations or other global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

He said the World Bank had the potential to triple its own lending in 2009 to $35 billion, though that would still be a small fraction of even the most optimistic estimate on the shortfall facing poor countries

The Obama age is not just about a new Welfare-Nanny state for the U.S. He is only a piece of the greater pie which sets out to make the World Bank master of the financial universe, and the greatest MOTHER in the world. Read the word “mother” any way you like. Either way, you will still get screwed.

Something Evil This Way Comes

"The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles." (Also, Ayn Rand)

Rahm Emmanuel once said. Now Hillary’s singing it – to young European sheeple:

"never waste a good crisis"

Only a sociopath would take that kind of position in times like these where we are at the brink of a worldwide catastrophic depression the likes of which we have never seen before. No one knows exactly what is going to happen or what is coming, but most who are awake know it isn’t good. Yet still, Hillary and the sick power hungry, self-centered ghouls who surround her and her president are standing on the sidelines licking their chops, in hopes of pouncing on a good number of the succulent sheeple who wander by unawares and completely ignorant of the EVIL that surrounds them.

That’s right: Evil.

Who else would have called people like Hillary, Timmy TurboTax, Duncy Pelosi and Obummer AND even the some of the American people EVIL?

The standard of value of the Objectivist ethics—the standard by which one judges what is good or evil—is man’s life, or: that which is required for man’s survival qua man. Since reason is man’s basic means of survival, that which is proper to the life of a rational being is the good; that which negates, opposes or destroys it is the evil. (Ayn Rand, “The Objectivist Ethics,” The Virtue of Selfishness, 23)

One principle of REASON that we have forgotten is the very same principle upon which our Constitution was written. That principle says that a good government is a government defined by its LIMITS. Our Founding Fathers knew that government was a NECESSARY EVIL, not something that should be given free reign. Certainly not something that should replace personal, personal growth, personal rewards and personal freedom.

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." (Thomas Paine)

"A government is like fire, a handy servant, but a dangerous master." (George Washington)

But hey, unlike Thomas Paine, we let our puppies (even our kids) run around spoiled, stealing food and pooping all over the house (otherwise how would Cesar-"I rehabilitate dogs. I train people." - Millan become so popular in our culture?), it would of course stand to reason that we would also let government do the same.  But I don’t think that government’s problem is lack of exercise – particularly when it comes to Executive Exercising.

Compare the principles of the Founding Father with Jimmy-Snake Oil – Carter, possibly the most embarrassing president in our history:

"Government is a contrivance of human wisdom
to provide for human wants.
People have the right to expect that these
wants will be provided for by this wisdom."

For Jimmy the government is all-wise. Stand aside Socrates. I can SMELL the sulfur in this quotation alone. We the People need the WISDOM of the government in order to get what we want in our lives. THAT is the principle that Obama and those of his ilk hold themselves to. Why? Because it ENSLAVES people and it increases their own perception of their power. The economic chains that we are now putting on due to the DELIBERATE negligence of government are only a means to an even more nefarious end. Not only does our government not want to waste a crisis, they don’t want to waste a crisis that they themselves have put so much effort into creating.

I’ll close with an example of a doctor who wants to offer a flat monthly fee of $79.00 to his patients who do not have health insurance. Is it surprising that the government wants him shut down? Not on your life. After all, the government doesn’t want individual Americans providing affordable healthcare at the expense of the government. People might get the crazy idea that government isn’t the only solution or that people aren’t all self-centered pricks.

NEW YORK - Veteran doctor John Muney says his flat-fee, $79-a-month medical practice is a formula for making health care affordable and patient-friendly. But state regulators see it as self-styled insurance and have told him to shut it down.
The dispute, which emerged this month, reflects a rising issue in what is sometimes called "retainer" medical care. At least two other states have grappled with whether to consider such arrangements insurance, reaching different conclusions.
The question could become more pressing as jobs disappear in the ailing economy, taking many workers' traditional health insurance plans with them.
The debate "makes no sense to me. ... I feel that my flat-rate memberships provide a great service," Muney said at a press conference Wednesday. He is negotiating with the state Insurance Department to try to keep the service at his five AMG Medical Group centers around the city. – Newday

You see if the government REALLY wanted what is good for the American people it – and I mean the media because they are the same thing - would put people like Dr. Muney into the spotlight. Such a man would be portrayed as one of many GOOD ways to be: a person who BY CHOICE and through his OWN FREE WILL, determines the amount that people will pay for the services he provides.  But since our government is EVIL to the core, it does not do that and instead chooses to reward  criminal behavior. Other things it enjoys engaging in is the creation of GUILT (global warming, being too wealthy, striving to be the best) and the creation of HOPE (a dehydrated version of WILL). Guilt and Hope are EXACTLY what Obama is: a phantom of empty nothingness.

It's raining, pouring, economic fallacies by the hour, followed by a flood of horrible policy that is driving us ever further into economic depression. The regime in charge has really gone nuts, revealing itself as both deeply ignorant and horribly evil.

We find ourselves facing the horror of what has always been the Achilles heel of the left wing: its abysmal ignorance of economic science. The ideological tendency has gone from Keynesianism to outright socialism in a matter of a few weeks. – Beating Back Obamanomics

Have a great weekend!

The European Union: A Mirror for Americans?

Global government is on the way – or maybe not. Is Hope still around even after the Obama election? Maybe not. The U.S. is not the only country experimenting with made-to-fail stimulus packages. The European “Union” is also going through tough economic times as well. And why is that? Well, one big reason is the old Soviet bloc countries having been relying on credit issued from western nations. Think they can pay it back now that the western nations need to pay back theirs? Not on your life. It’s gotten so bad that the “rich” nations of Europe have basically flipped off their “poorer” comrades in those eastern countries. Another reason as that countries like France, Italy and Germany can’t keep their businesses within the borders without BRIBING them with bailouts and the like. Sound familiar? Europe, just like America is ANTAGONISTIC towards big business and capitalism and then they get their panties all in stitches when those business want to flee their shores.  Give me an S. Give me an O…Socialism!

When I read this article in the U.K. Times online, I had to chuckle.

It should have been the moment when the whole of Europe pulled in the same direction to rebuild the world’s financial system.

Instead, a gathering of EU leaders yesterday before next month’s G20 summit was marked by suspicion and self-interest [ o my!], with the economic crisis exposing deep faultlines on how best to respond to the downturn

The meeting was overshadowed by a cacophony of competing interests and the rejection of a cry for help from Eastern Europe, even though delegates agreed in a final statement to cooperate and fight protectionism.

This attitude, that it is surprising that countries would be more interested in themselves than the union itself is the product of arrogant ignorance and betrays the truth about the EU: that it is an artificial socialist construct designed to control the credit-zombie economy of Europe. When the crap hits the fan however, countries do what countries do. They look at themselves and attempt to figure out how they are going to pull out of this mess – they look for what is real, not fake unions created in meeting rooms filled with the incense of socialist one-world harmony claptrap.

Okay, now I am going to put Hope away. Because here is where I think this is going. The discord within the EU is almost a mirror (thought not exact) of what is going on in the U.S.  Our union is certainly under siege as more and more people are feeling disenfranchised and ignored by their “leaders”. We have 20+ states passing or planning on passing sovereignty resolutions against the federal government who has clearly overstepped and continues to overstep its constitutional  boundaries:

From WorldNetDaily

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 1003 Feb. 18 by a wide margin, 83 to 13, resolving, "That the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States."

The language of HJR 1003 further serves notice to the federal government "to cease and desist, effectively immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers."

The sponsor of the resolution, state Rep. Charles Key, told WND the measure was a 'big step toward addressing the biggest problem we have in this country – the federal government violating the supreme law of the land."

"The Constitution either means what it says, or it doesn't mean anything at all," Key said. "The federal government must honor and obey the Constitution, just like the states and this citizens of this country are obligated to do, or our system of government begins to fall apart."

The Ninth Amendment reads, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The Tenth Amendment specifically provides, "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."

As WND reported, eight states have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.

Analysts expect 12 additional states may see similar measures introduced this year, including Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania.

Karl Denninger has pointed out that the federal government (both under Bush and now Obama) have clearly BROKEN the law when it comes to how they have (or have not) handled the insolvent banks. Read his post and weep.

So you can look at what is going on in the world right now as a good thing: Countries asserting their sovereignty, states in America asserting there.  You can even consider that the economic “crisis” we are going through is something that we MUST go through in order to allow the zombie economy to self-destruct and rebuild an actual economy not based on credit, artificial representations of value (lies) and lawlessness (TARP). But that is not how the world “leaders” are spinning it. Obama clearly wants to save this fascist economy. Same goes for Gordon Brown who has openly announced his desire to create a “GLOBAL NEW DEAL”. As if the first and local New Deal weren’t bad enough.

GORDON BROWN hopes to forge a partnership with President Barack Obama in Washington this week, to call for a “global new deal” to lift the world out of recession.

As he prepares for his first White House visit since the president’s inauguration, the prime minister has hinted that he is ready to make further tax cuts to boost the UK economy.

Brown will meet Obama on Tuesday and address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Aides say he has both to demonstrate to a sceptical British public that he commands the respect of the president, and to persuade the American political establishment that global action is needed to rescue the US economy.

Brown is under pressure to persuade American political leaders to sign up to bold aims for the G20 summit of industrial and leading developing nations, which is to be held in London next month.

Many US politicians believe economic policy should put America first, and have shown little interest in concerted global action. Brown will argue for a renewal of the transatlantic relationship, with the two powers working together to solve global economic problems.

The prime minister will borrow from the rhetoric of Franklin Roosevelt, who introduced the government-financed New Deal to tackle the US Depression of the 1930s. He will argue that his 21st century “global new deal” will also require public spending on a huge world-wide scale.

Writing in The Sunday Times today, Brown calls for “universal action to prevent the crisis spreading, to stimulate the global economy and to help reduce the severity and length of the global recession. Times Online UK

I have written a bit about the plans for one world government. I don’t need to repeat all that I have said before, but I’ll just include this one quote, since I think it serves well:

Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order [referring to the 1991 LA Riot]. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond [i.e., an "extraterrestrial" invasion], whether real or *promulgated* [emphasis mine], that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this *scenario*, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the World Government.

- Dr. Henry Kissinger, Bilderberger Conference, Evians, France, 1991

Not only are we being depicted as being being enemies of the green earth. We are also shown as being unable to sustain ourselves economically. The solution and our savior of course is One World Government. Unfortunately, since these people are clever in their speech (like Obama in fact), they will have the people lapping it up like puppies at a milk bowl.

Cross-posted at Modern Conservative

Population Control and the New Health Care Provisions in Porkulus

"If I were reincarnated, I would wish to be returned to Earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels." Prince Phillip, World Wildlife Fund

"People are the cause of all the problems; we have too many of them; we need to get rid of some of them, and this (ban of DDT) is as good a way as any." - Charles Wurster, Environmental Defense Fund

"I suspect that eradicating small pox was wrong. It played an important part in balancing ecosystems." John Davis, editor of Earth First! Journal

"This is a political game. It has nothing to do with science. It has nothing to do with health and safety." Sherry Neddick, Greenpeace

Population control,  eugenics, environmentalism, the economy: all of these issues are united by one single mind and it is a mind that wants to take and maintain absolute power over the destiny of the human species and the planet at large.  I have a written a post about the history of eugenics and how it has moved into genetic research. Please check it out here.  Population control and environmentalism are inextricably linked because they are sourced from one simple principle: a complete pathological disregard for human life and a deep insatiable desire for blood and power. Obama's health provisions are laying the groundwork to enable the government to seize control over who and how people get treated. Your doctor will become a servant to this government and he will not only be unable to administer the treatments that he deems necessary, but he will often be prevented from administering life-saving experimental treatments. I myself was treated for cancer using a drug that was made possible out of clinical trials and experimentalism. If it weren't for this drug, I would probably not be here today.

The health care provisions in Obama's Porkulus bill instill such great fear in my being that I am finding it difficult to write about. I am a cancer survivor, as are many others in the world. Consider that, as cancers survivors, we are also cancer risks. My children are cancer risks as well. Keep that in mind and ruminate. Dr. Death Daschle has already plainly said that the elderly are going to suffer most. I suppose he is able to say this on the record because none of the Obama youth these days cares about care for the elderly. Eventually, people will be trained to not care about the sickly either. People will be left to die in the name of environmentalism or economic considerations:

The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).

The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.

In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.                  -Bloomberg.com

So this is the new America we are heading into - like Canada, like Europe or even worse. It is bad enough that corporate America is fast becoming corporate federal America. But now health care is going to be administered under the direction  of the federal government, rather than the direction of doctors themselves.  This direction of course won't be direct - it will be done through financial control of the health industry.

You know it has occurred to me in the past and now it is hitting me on the head. Our nation's character has deteriorated into a cold and calculating technology infused determination and impatience for results. It has also become weak tempered and amoral to the the point where most people don't even have a true opinion about what is right and wrong, unless they culled it off some brain dead liberal web site or some drug infused lyrics from Radiohead. This is the essence of what I term technofascism. It is pervasive in our culture and it is the end of it.  Yes, our health care system has its problems, just like everything else in life has its problems. But that is not an excuse for sneaking, without discussion or debate, these provisions into a bill that is supposedly created in order to help the economy (it doesn't even do that). 

I am sure many of you and many of your friends think that Obama is too kind hearted to let the sick suffer for too long. Think again. He allows babies to die horrible deaths after botched abortions. I don't foresee him having any problem with adults in need of care either. Also, many people think Canada's health system is a model to emulate. Yet in Canada, even back in 2006, they had already discovered the benefits or private hospitals where people pay for better service, better care and better doctors:

The country's [Canada's] publicly financed health insurance system — frequently described as the third rail of its political system and a core value of its national identity — is gradually breaking down. Private clinics are opening around the country by an estimated one a week, and private insurance companies are about to find a gold mine.

Dr. Day, for instance, is planning to open more private hospitals, first in Toronto and Ottawa, then in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton. Ontario provincial officials are already threatening stiff fines. Dr. Day says he is eager to see them in court.

"We've taken the position that the law is illegal," Dr. Day, 59, says. "This is a country in which dogs can get a hip replacement in under a week and in which humans can wait two to three years."  - NYTimes

Remember, always remember: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." H. L. Mencken.

Obama the Great Unifier: A Noble Lie

“If one understands that socialism is not a share-the-wealth program, but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of super-rich men promoting socialism becomes no paradox at all. Instead, it becomes logical, even the perfect tool of power-seeking megalomaniacs.

Communism, or more accurately, socialism, is not a movement of the downtrodden masses, but of the economic elite.” – Gary Allen

 

During  the presidential campaign, Obama gave the impression that he would dissolve the politics of divisiveness and would unify our nation of many – as if such a thing is truly desirable. Now a politician who promises to get rid of politics and political posturing in government is a like a doctor who promises to get rid of the practice of medicine. The entire thing is absurd.  But a politician who says he will mend divisiveness amongst the people and the nation is like a doctor who is promising to cure the patient of death by removing his ability to breath clean air: an absurdity, and a dangerous one.

Barack - “I won” - Obama  and his elite minions consider the presidency to be a winning lottery ticket where the prize is the ability to do whatever he may like.  We all know that people look at Obama as if he were some kind of savior. I have written about this incessantly, particularly in relation to how Obama is simply a manufactured personification of government power. The personalization and bastardization of the Presidency, as if it were a post meant to serve the interests of the majority and the person of the President, instead of the law and the Constitution of our nation, is the foundation upon which Obama is going wield the executive power.  And since We the People have failed to teach ourselves and our children the nature of our government and the nature of our Constitutional Republic, he will be able to achieve this with ease and without much resistance.

America's Constitution is far from an endorsement of majority rule. The founders did believe in voting to select who should be entrusted with the power of government, but the more important, prior question they asked was: "What power will the federal government be granted?" The overwhelming consensus in those classically liberal days was that government should leave society and economy alone.

That is why the Constitution grants so few powers to government and the the Bill of Rights is devoted to what the government is not allowed to do, regardless of majority sentiment. As Jefferson said, our founders fought not for democracy, but for government "tied down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

The Constitution contains several non-majority rules to protect Americans against abuse of their rights by their government, such as the Supreme Court's power to strike down unconstitutional federal laws, regardless of how many votes they received, the presidential veto power, as well as the right of the Congress to impeach the president. In that, it reflected our founders' antipathy toward pure majority rule.

James Madison said "democracies ... have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." Thomas Jefferson warned that "[an] elective despotism was not the government we fought for," and that "The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society." Alexander Hamilton asserted that "Real liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy. – Learn the Constitution, Or Else, Mises.org

Democracy is exactly what Obama is encouraging to fester and in order to achiever the Ignoble Lie that he is a unifier,  Obama will have to silence critics, nationalize or privately centralize financial, corporate and government sectors, control propaganda and education and continue to practice the astroturfing tactics via the internet as he did in the campaign. Sounds like fascism? Yes, ma’am.  The next stop after democracy is in fact tyranny, so all aboard!  Glenn Beck, in fact, just today reported the story about how General Electric is getting in bed with the government. President Obama named GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt to his economic advisory team.

I've got good news and I've got bad news on GE. The GE thing, here they are, they are merging government and business with GE. They've got -- GE, I'm telling you, is going to be bailed out. GE will get all kinds of contracts from the government on green energy and everything else. The CEO of GE has now been appointed, today he's just been appointed as an economic advisor for Barack Obama. That's amazing. The guy who -- the guy who would not -- shareholders are like, "Can we sell NBC? This is really not good." They're like, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. The guy who put MSNBC and put him into the left category, to the point to where Tim Russert said you're destroying our credibility, this guy is, he's down with Keith Olbermann and everything else. You've been asking why for a very long time, yada, yada, yada. Well, now you know. This guy doesn't need the largest lobbying arm in America. He doesn't need that anymore. He's got the president's ear. "Oh, we've got that green week thing. Don't worry. We're doing another green week. We'll help you on that. These people are just stupid. You're exactly right, we'll help you, President Obama and Al Gore, we'll help you convince everybody. We got another Green Week coming up, and we'll do some more green stories and global warming stories, you know, on the news with Brian Williams. GlennBeck.com

But to add insult to injury, guess who will be serving as chairman of this economic advisory board? Why it’s old Paul Volker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Just what we need. The Federal Reserve, the very institution that has caused the depression to be GREAT (along with help from FDR), the institution that makes it a rule of thumb to inflate those bubbles till they go “pop”, is going to offer one of its own to help plan our brand spanking new economic policy. I suppose the philosophy is that we need to preserve and reuse the bathwater even when we no longer have a baby.

Where is that damn change, people? Can’t see anything here except a change in COSTUME.  Obama’s only economic policy is to further centralize government, merge it with business and control the wealth. The same people will always benefit and will always win. The public will continue to sacrifice their hard earned savings in the name of “climate change”, “green” and “collective responsibility”.

But in order to for this to happen and to happen without a glitch, we need the frosting on this cake of socialist goodies. That frosting would be the so-called Fairness Doctrine, coming to a radio station near you.  The suppression of criticism and dissent will allow the cake to remain intact and in its purest form. At that point unity will have been achieved.  WorldNetDaily reports:

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told radio host and WND columnist Bill Press yesterday when asked about whether it was time to bring back the so-called "Fairness Doctrine": "I think it's absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it's called the Fairness Standard, whether it's called something else – I absolutely think it's time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves. I mean, our new president has talked rightly about accountability and transparency. You know, that we all have to step up and be responsible. And, I think in this case, there needs to be some accountability and standards put in place."

Asked by Press if she could be counted on to push for hearings in the Senate this year "to bring these (radio station) owners in and hold them accountable," she replied: "I have already had some discussions with colleagues and, you know, I feel like that's gonna happen. Yep."

The State is going to tell YOU what it means to speak with responsibility. “Responsibility” in Obamaland is simply doublespeak for “in accordance with the State”.  Again, unity here means the destruction or concealment of disunity. Obama is not clean. He simply sweeps the dirt under the rug.  Its downright filthy it is, just like the Chicago soil that he and his hoodlums grew up in.

Oh, and last but not least, after unity is achieved, one would of course want that unity to survive for the longest period of time possible, at least until the next  generation grows up and is able to freely enjoy abortions to decrease the surplus population.

Rep. Jose Serrano, D-NY, would make President Barack Obama President for life. Earlier this month the Congressman introduced H. J. Res. 5 that proposes an amendment to the US Constitution that would repeal the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.  -Times Examiner

Cross-posted on Modern Conservative.

The American Government’s Dream

"Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State." – Mussolini

Once upon a time, a young man had a dream, a dream that would place a desktop computer in every home, in every business.  Well, that dream came true and people loved their computers and how they improved their lies. Meanwhile, the government, not having any talents or skills to make real money themselves, saw an opportunity to take advantage of the hard earned riches in the private sector. The government decided to sue the young man and his enterprise. You see, he and his company were too successful at their success. The government needed to spread the success around in the name of fairness. We all know who that man is. We all know the company. In my opinion, it utterly destroyed the spirit of that company forever. Now we have a shell of a man and a shell of a company.

Google is not following in the footsteps of the once apolitical Microsoft. Microsoft, who once prized creating great software over politics, paid the price for their priorities. Google, as I have said in previous posts, is completely and utterly in bed with the current Administration.  They know what is best for them in this climate of absolute mind slavery. In fact, Google knows that the only thing best for them is what is best for the Obama Administration.

"Google is not just a benign corporate entity. It has a variety of special interests," said Jeff Chester, the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, who has sparred with Google over data-privacy issues. "They're in a great position to push their agenda through with the support of the president and the Democrats in Congress." – LA Times

And like Obama, they still feign political bipartisanship.

Google's spokesman in Washington, Adam Kovacevich, said that despite Schmidt's personal support for Obama, the company has a bipartisan strategy."We know that the incoming administration supports a lot of things that we like," he said. "But we also know you cannot get anything done here unless you have relationships on both sides of the aisle." LA Times

Yes, they are bipartisan as long as the other side goes along with Obama’s policies. Anyone who challenges Obama is going to be labeled as being “difficult” or even “un-American”. There will be no distinction between someone who is challenging Obama in order to get a better view of the truth, and someone who is deliberately being difficult for its own sake. We will be seeing more and more of this kind of behavior.

Folks, this is the FUTURE of American corporatism. It will be in bed with a far-left socialist government and it will do so in the name of technology and the interests of the people.  It will help government appear to be the judge of what is good and evil, not only in the moral sphere, but in the sphere of science and technology. There was a time when a true technologist, such as Bill Gates, would be the one you would go to if you were interested in opinions regarding technology. Now, such opinions will be delivered through the mouth of Obama. You will continue to hear matters of science being delivered from his mouth. There is no subject, no person that he will not comment on. Government will be entangled in everything we do, because Obama believes it ought to be this way. This is what is known as “fascism”. This is what we are becoming.

 The Vatican called Obama “arrogant” because of his executive order allowing U.S. taxpayer dollars to be used to fund international groups who either perform or support abortion. The arrogance in this is not only Obama’s position. He has a right to it, no matter how perverse, particularly in relation to partial birth abortion and his legislation regarding botched abortions. The arrogance is that people who do not believe in abortion or in certain kinds of abortion are being FORCED to give money to causes that they are absolutely against. This is the state of our nation. Obama declared himself that he has the upper hand by saying “I Won”.  Such a statement says volumes. For Obama, the presidency is a victory that he has gained, and it somehow means that he has that victory ticket for the next eight years in the context of every argument and every position he takes.  I hesitate to say that Obama has dictatorial tendencies, but if it quacks like a duck it must be a duck.

Then again, dictators such as Castro, Mussolini and even Chavez always have and always will be loved by the liberal left. Obama is simply a carbon copy of these. How far he will go in contrast to other dictators, I cannot say.

To understand fascism in its full expression requires putting aside Stalin's misrepresentation of the term and also look beyond the Holocaust, and instead return to the period Goldberg terms the "fascist moment," roughly 1910-35. A statist ideology, fascism uses politics as the tool to transform society from atomized individuals into an organic whole. It does so by exalting the state over the individual, expert knowledge over democracy, enforced consensus over debate, and socialism over capitalism. It is totalitarian in Mussolini's original meaning of the term, of "Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State." Fascism's message boils down to "Enough talk, more action!" Its lasting appeal is getting things done.  - Jerusalem Post

So Americans, is this the new American Dream?

Socialism and Moral Persuasion

Many people balk at the notion that the United States will be dissolved into some component of a North American Union, or even a Global Union.  They balk because they know that Americans still have a sense for and love of their individual freedom and constitutional rights.  They also sense that if something like that were to take place now, there could be riots, civil war and possibly succession by various states or groups of states who do not wish to be a part of the union.  People sense we are not ready for socialism because we are not yet persuaded of its so-called virtues.

Unfortunately there are people in America who believe that the love of personal freedoms and prosperity are misplaced in the capitalist system. These people are commonly known as either communists, socialists or both. These socialists fall into two main categories. The first are the moral socialists who believe they are warriors of moral goodness. The moral socialist is the most common and is usually found in well meaning people who don't understand the inherent evil that is a socialist government. The second are those who simply want unbridled power, wealth and control. The third type is the kind that is defined by both categories.

Socialists have taken it upon themselves to transform the American love of individual freedom piece by piece into a love of the State, in whatever form or boundaries it may have. And they will use or do anything to achieve this goal because they either believe it is their moral duty, or they believe it is their way to power.

Since the socialists know that the American people will reject socialism, they must inject it into our consciousness in ways that will not offend our sense of liberty, or in ways we do not notice. It is a process that can take years, even decades, to complete.

One way to achieve moral persuasion to socialism and the expansion of the power of the State is to manufacture "emergencies" or "crises".  This gives socialism an immediate and vivid moral justification. Christopher Westley at mises.org writes about FDR's New Deal and describes exactly the same tactic:

The use of crises to expand the state has now been perfected by the political class, used to end the gold standard, add levels of bureaucracy to Washington, and transform the United States into a costly military empire that fosters blowback against U.S. citizens and interests. 

The financial bailout was one such emergency, and what it resulted in, was the nationalization of the mortgage and financial industries. Then there was the auto bailout where a loan from the government is wrapped up in plenty of ties and obligations to that government. As I have said many times before, debt is slavery. The car manufacturers who took money from the government, are owned by the government.

This is precisely what the Communist Party of America wants to see. From their own mouth:

Political power would be in the hands of working people. Socialism starts with nationalization of the main means of production - the plants, factories, agri-business farms and everything necessary to produce what society needs. The large monopoly corporations and banks come under public ownership, that is, under the collective ownership of the entire working class and people, who have the leading role in building socialism. - CPUSA.org

I encourage you to read that entire page. Their agenda doesn't sound that far off from the agenda Obama espoused during his campaign.

Astute observers see that socialists use populist propaganda and rhetoric to mask what is essentially either a coup or an attempted coup by the government, and that the government, far from giving political power to the hands of the people, is actually taking it away from them. That is the fallacy of socialism. The moral socialists truly believe they are standing up for and helping the little guy. Most people are little and weak -- to the socialist, that is why they need the moral benevolence of the State to take care of them. This idea that the people are weak is powerful in a time of economic insecurity and poverty. In other words NOW is the time. Obama's election in a time of economic downturn and fear is no accident. It is the perfect setup.

I believe that the Obama administration is a continuation of the same socialist movement that found its power expressed in the New Deal of FDR. Obama's election is a huge victory for them. They are unlikely to be careless this time.

In order to evoke a love of the State, the socialists' propaganda needs to be a call to get people involved with their communities. The public consciousness needs to move away from concern for me, myself and my family to "my community". To the socialist, individual prosperity is only true prosperity if it IS the prosperity of the State.

Fascism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived in their relation to the State. - Benito Mussolini

This is the founding ideology behind Obama's USA Service web site. On the front page you will find a statement that illustrates not only the moral arrogance of the socialist movement, but also its apparent innocuousness. Who would, after all, argue that helping your community is a bad thing?

President-elect Obama believes that we, as Americans, have a responsibility to help our communities and fellow citizens.
In summoning a new spirit of service, he is calling on us to make an enduring commitment to our neighborhoods.
Sign up today and let's renew America together. - USA Service

I also received an email from Barack Obama. The subject was "Your Inauguration".  This kind of populist rhetoric is driven home further in the email when he says "This inauguration isn't about me. It's about all of us."  The false idea is that the people have elected themselves as leaders of the state. That is the populist rhetoric of socialism. It identifies the people with their leader who in turn identifies himself with them. That is the nature of the fascist State.

Another tactic of socialism and one which is adeptly used by the Obama administration, is his ability to reach across the isle to his opponents.  Like FDR, people love, even worship, Obama. Most recently, Obama had a dinner with a group of "conservative" pundits and writers. Whether the charm of a seasoned rhetorician is more powerful than their conservativism, time will tell.

Now, by inserting the following quote, I am not equating Obama with Hitler per se. What I am doing is equating his rhetorical abilities with Hitler's. Obama is charming to everyone. Hitler was charming. He was able to reach across the isle to people who objected to him and his views. Just because the President of the United States can make his enemies or opponents love him, it does not mean that he is acting in the best interest of the American people and our nation.

Long ago when he was still far from power, the Führer spoke to a meeting filled primarily with his political opponents. From the beginning, he was rejected. For two hours he struggled with the stubbornness of his audience, addressing all their problems and objections until at the end there was only thundering agreement, jubilation and enthusiasm. As he concluded, someone yelled from the highest row: "Hitler is Columbus!"  - Dr. Joseph Goebbels

THAT is the magic and power of a fascist.

If the Obama administration can use that rhetorical power and propaganda to its socialist advantage and it succeeds in persuading the public of its socialist ideals, it will, in my opinion, succeed in ordering a new Constitutional Convention, which will effectively override our current Constitution as we know it. Currently, 32 out of the required 34 states have called for a Constitutional Convention. We are dangerously close to seeing our beloved country changed forever:

 

"There is no question in my mind that, should a new Constitutional Convention be called, it would be the end of the United States of America as we know it, and our current Constitution and Bill of Rights would be forever altered beyond recognition," Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin wrote in his latest commentary."The globalists who currently control Washington, D.C., and Wall Street are, no doubt, salivating over the opportunity to officially dismantle America's independence and national sovereignty, and establish a globalist North American Union – in much the same way that globalists created the European Union. A new Constitutional Convention is exactly the tool they need to cement their sinister scheme into law."  - WorldNetDaily.com

Obama has repeatedly said that he believes the Constitution is a "living and breathing" document. He believes that it can and should be changed over time. I have posted this video before, but will post it again.

 

There is no way for me to see the future or to know exactly what will happen, but there is a situation in Mexico that signifies its possible collapse. Will this spark another "emergency" or "crises"? Will we be "forced" out of communal compassion to take Mexico under "our" wing. If so, who will we be when that happens? The America we know or the America we don't? Will that require the reformulation of the Constitution and the creation of a new North American Union? If we will have been successfully convinced of the moral superiority of socialism over capitalism, then such a union is no longer something to balk at.

The command's "Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)" report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. "In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.

"The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."

- El Paso Times

Cross Posted at Modern Conservative

Propaganda, Ponzi Schemes and Pontification: The Government at Work

"Madness is rare in individuals, but in groups, parties, nations and ages it is the rule" - Nietzsche

This is the third time I have headed my post with that Nietzsche quote. This time, however, instead of using it to reinforce my position, I am going to juxtapose it against its uglier creature cousin that was created out of Obama's left leaning witches crew.  The brew runs in the following way: "Financial health and virtue is rare in individuals, but in groups, parties, nations and ages it is the rule."

The strategy used to destroy capitalism once and for all is to first create a distasteful image of it in the form of unsavory individuals.  Now this has nothing to do with the true nature of capitalism. It's true nature can only be uncovered by those who spend some time researching and learning about it. But let's face it.  This is the age of YouTube, and people want to learn through images more than ever before. "The more abstract the truth you wish to teach, the more you need to seduce the senses to it". The abstract "truth" the left wishes to teach is best illustrated by the following syllogism: individuals bad; groups good. Capitalism favors individuals. Socialism favors groups. Therefore, capitalism bad; socialism good. A fine example of how logic differs from actual thinking.

This kind of propaganda will teach the sheeple that evil, greed and corruption mostly come in individual packages.  At the same time, the current (a.k.a. incoming) government will appear free from such divergences off the path of virtue, or if they do diverge, it is some schmuck's fault.  So, what the media does and will continue to do is parade each salacious individual, one after the other, for all the world to see and upon which to gape. Then they will hang him one way or another and the sheeple will cheer for their just government. Meanwhile the real - and much more dangerous - crooks get away scot free. Typical of any Hollywood movie.

So here are a few of the sacrificial lambs laying on the alter of the god called The State:

 

Bernie Madoff
This clown is the seven deadly sins personified. No doubt about it.  Kudos to everyone who was responsible for pulling this guy and  his attached sludge out of the sewers. Even the press, in their virtuous posing, continue to howl about the fact that this insect is still sitting comfortably in his multi million dollar duplex in Manhattan. Yet that same press has said virtually nothing about Henry "Ponzi" Paulson, Ben Bernanke and our Congress who all seem to make a pretty good living off spending taxpayer money and debasing the dollar. Madoff may be a roach. But the rest of them comprise the entire roach's nest.

 

And why is the press largely silent? Why haven't they attempted to really "educate" the public on the corruption of our government? Why has only Madoff been threatened with punishment? Because, again, this is not a system of justice that we live in. We live in system that is created and determined by the socialist left who wishes to hang a few individuals in order to divert spotlight away from themselves and their socialist agenda. Roaches like the dark.

Rob Blagojevich
Blago is a disgrace equal to Madoff, with the exception that Blago has more hair than brains. "I went to law school at a place called Pepperdine in Malibu, Ca, overlooking the Pacific Ocean -- a lot of surfing and movie stars and all the rest. I barely knew where that law library was." A self-proclaimed moron, Blago does not have the intelligence to practice his guile in secret. As a result, he was thrown out of the nest, sliding down into the sink and into the garbage disposal. All the rest of the roaches looked shocked and scattered about into the cracks. No one knows who or where they are - exactly. The press is going to keep it that way.

Wow. The roach analogy is working really well. Its always nice to find common ground. For a writer, it's like sitting in a comfortable La-Z Boy.  If this is not diplomacy, I don't know what is.

Timothy Geithner
Whoops! Obama's new Treasury Secretary hasn't paid his taxes. Well that just will not do, will it?

"He's dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction," incoming White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed."

Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes for money he earned while working for the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2003, the transition official said. In 2006, the IRS notified him that he owed $14,847 in self-employment taxes and $2,383 in penalties from 2003 and 2004. - Wall Street Journal

An "honest" mistake. Will they let it slide? Only time will tell. No one knows the ways of the roaches when they connive in their dens.

 

Sheila Dixon
Bribery, theft and fraud. All in a days work. You can read it here. But ho hum. Corrupt individuals are the norm these days. Eventually we will become, if we are not already, bored with the entire show.

And boredom, my friends, is the intended destination. Because boredom is yet a further way to distract and dissimulate. The sheeple get comfortable with the constant stream and reminder of corruption. They sit back and watch the media and the judicial system chase the rascals off the stage. As a result, they learn, like good puppies, to just trust that the media and the government have a handle on it all. They learn to love socialism because the government will protect them from evil individuals.

We are watching a government reinvent itself before our eyes. How is that for Change you can believe in?

You know, I received an email from "Michelle Obama" after I signed up for updates at their new USA Service web site. Here is what she said to me. You have to get the fuzz out from between the ears to really comprehend this one, if comprehension is even possible.

"If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful.
If you want to be great -- wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That's a new definition of greatness."

Who is the greatest among us? Is she referring to Obama? Or are there many greatest ones and even more less great ones? There are always more less great ones, so does that means the servants( the greatest ones) will have to serve way more than they can handle.   In what manner are the great ones always servants of the less great ones? Does this mean that if I am great in economics, I "shall be" (notice the decree) servant of the one who is lesser in economics? Does this mean that we will continue to follow the economic advice of Paul Bernanke or does it mean I will just pick up his Starbucks?

“In politics stupidity is not a handicap.” - Napoleon

“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.” - Plato

The public argument against capitalism is not an argument at all. It is a parade of empty clown suits. Even writing about it feels absurd. But this how the left communicates with its victims. It seduces with emotional imagery and nonsense in order to gain market share. Michelle Obama's vacuous pontification has the appearance of something profound and inviting. It is meant to inspire. In truth it is about as substantial as the black abyss.

"and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche

Cross Posted at Modern Conservative

American Recovery and Removal Plan

The gold standard has one tremendous virtue: the quantity of the money supply, under the gold standard, is independent of the policies of governments and political parties. This is its advantage. It is a form of protection against spendthrift governments. - Ludwig von Mises

The AP headline reads "Obama warns of dire consequences without stimulus".  If you want to show me how more debt will help an economy that is sinking because of too much debt, please email me directly because I am always eager to learn.  But from my viewpoint, Obama's stimulus is not change. It is, unfortunately, more of the same. The dire consequences of which he speaks, namely increasing unemployment numbers and an increasing deficit, will NOT see much improvement if he implements the plan as is. Yet, I am glad he has at the very least "acknowledged" that there are those of us who are skeptical of his stimulus plan.

in December. If accurate, that would bring 2008's total job losses to 2.4 million, the first annual job loss since 2001 and the highest since 1945, though the number of jobs has more than tripled since then.

Speaking a day after the release of a stunning new estimate — that the federal budget deficit will reach an unprecedented $1.2 trillion this year, nearly three times last year's record — Obama acknowledged some sympathy with those who "might be skeptical" of the stimulus. Vast sums already have been spent or committed by Washington in an attempt — largely unsuccessful so far — to get credit, the lifeblood of the American economy, flowing freely once again.

Obama has dubbed his plan as the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." The plan has two aims: to get the American economy back on track and to have the government reinvest in certain points of infrastructure.  He does not say he wants to change or overhaul a (corrupt) system. He does not say that government is the problem here, and that government is the one that got us into this mess in the first place. On the contrary, government and much more of it is going to be the solution:

"At this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe," he said.

So the first thing to consider with Obama's plan is that it will be executed inside of the current system and in terms of the current system; a system that CLEARLY has not worked for anyone but the Wall Street Madoffs and Morgans of the world, who have worked hand in hand with our so-called custodians in Washington. You can bet your bottom dollar or your last morsel of bread, that any plan Obama presents will be one that is acceptable to these dragons and their demonic little friends who want nothing else than to have complete control over the money supply: over who gets it and over who doesn't. This is why Obama -- and I appreciate his candor -- says that government is the only one who will help us out of this recession. His stimulus plan will be the actualization of government directed redistribution of wealth. In other words, it is the implementation of nationalistic socialism.  The government will determine who much money will be given to which states. The government will determine which companies receive bailouts.  The government will choose which people get saved from having to foreclose on their house. And after the government has finished watching the other little fires in Rome burn, it will swoop in and rescue only those who will comply with its directions. Companies who do not want to or cannot comply with the orders and directives of government won't get the cash and will be left for dead. The sheeple, meanwhile, will cheer that those evil capitalist companies who did not comply to insane and expensive government regulations will die a horrible death.

And many of these dying companies are your friends and neighbors. For example, World Net Daily broke this story about a new federal regulation on children's toys. This regulation will effectively put thousands of small companies out of business:

A new government regulation scheduled to take effect next month has thousands of retailers, thrift stores and small businesses worried they will be forced to permanently close their doors – and destroy their merchandise.  The law is expected to have such a devastating impact that Feb. 10 is now unofficially known as "National Bankruptcy Day."

Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, or HR 4040, a retroactive rule mandating that all items sold for use by children under 12 must be tested by an independent party for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable.

All untested items, regardless of lead content, are to be declared "banned hazardous products.'' The CPSC has already determined the law applies to every children's item on shelves, not just to items made beginning Feb. 10.

The regulations could force thousands of businesses – especially smaller ones that cannot afford the cost of lead testing – to throw away truckloads of children's clothing, books, toys, furniture and other children's items and even force them to close their doors.

Go to the National Bankruptcy Day website and read about how government is effectively destroying our economy with phony science. Read it and weep. Don't even get me started with global warming. We know where that one goes and it is directly into Al Gore's pocket.

Of course the sheeple, probably after reading some pseudo-scientific article on the dangers of lead in a Dr. Seuss book, will whole-heartedly cheer as thousands of families suffer the consequences of this ruling. This is going to be the modus operandi from here on out. Obama has proclaimed a relationship with the scientific community. Obama and said community will issue various assertions and theories as fact. These "facts" will be used to justify government actions that would otherwise be considered destructive, unconstitutional and evil. Take it from me, a cancer survivor. This is how cancer rots a body. It pretends to be a good cell. Don't believe it and you will survive. Believe it and you can experience three feet under, the reality show.

So I agree with Obama. Government is the only one who can give us a "short-term" boost.  Emphasis on "short-term".  This is what the government has and will always be engaged in when it comes to the economy: slight of hand tricks to make the people feel secure in the short-term. It's a Madoff style Ponzi scheme from the bottom to the top and it always ends with a disastrous gaping hole in the taxpayers' pockets. This "short-term" boost is usually an emotional boost to the market, delivered air-headed-mail by the media on a daily basis to the sheeple who, used to watching too much ping-pong I suppose, sit there hoping that rise and fall of the stock market will end up in their favor even though they aren't even truly in on the actual game.  Other "short-term" boosts can be seen in the mortgage industry. Check out these "mod loans at WaMu". Balloon loan is right! Hot air is all around us. The bottom line is that the people trust this "economic" system and will continue to trust it, even if the entire economic edifice crumbles down to the ground. Why is that? It is because SLAVES cannot fathom or understand that they are the ones who have the power to create wealth and stimulate their economy. We are so far far away from capitalism that the social consciousness doesn't even know what it looks like.  That is why the media and the government can blame capitalism for the mess we are in. If people knew what capitalism was, what a true economy was, they would know that those who point are pointing at it are pointing at a ghost. Capitalism is dead, folks, and has been dead for years. It is not the cause of the current economic crisis. If we had a true capitalistic system, with gold-backed dollars we wouldn't be in this mess, because we wouldn't have a government who manufactures the illusion of wealth by issuing debt upon debt upon debt and then calling that money.

Of course, as I have said before time and time again. This is all just paving away for the ultimate goal: The final collapse or transformation (depends on how you look at it) of our economy into a world global system. Perhaps a world currency. Yes, that pesky little world government agenda shows its ugly little head again. It calls itself the "new capitalism", in that it doesn't rely on debt or short-term profit. yeah. It it will rely on long term profit and debt for itself. For the sheeple however, they will live on with debt to THAT government creature. Interesting.

So one has to wonder. Does this mean that the Obama plan is a plan to fail, giving justification for us to finally abandon our sovereignty and join in on the one world government suckfest, where Europe pretends to offer anything desirable whatsoever?

PARIS – The head of Europe's biggest economy said Thursday that world leaders should be looking at the massive U.S. deficit and other economic imbalances, not just problems caused by financial markets, as they debate a new global order... Measures will be taken by global leaders meeting in London on April 2, Sarkozy promised, urging the U.S. to join the international consensus. Blair called for a new financial order based on "values other than the maximum short-term profit." - AP

 

    Double, double toil and trouble;
    Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
   

    Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
    Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
    Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
    Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
    Liver of blaspheming Jew;
    Gall of goat, and slips of yew
    Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
    Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
    Finger of birth-strangled babe
    Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—
    Make the gruel thick and slab:
    Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
    For the ingrediants of our caldron.
      

    Double, double toil and trouble;
    Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
      

    Cool it with a baboon's blood,
    Then the charm is firm and good. - Shakespeare, MacBeth

 

  Cross-posted to Modern Conservative

Can I Have Some More (Free Stuff) Please?

 

Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.

The governors of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin -- all Democrats -- said the initiative for the two-year aid package was backed by other governors and follows a meeting in December where governors called on President-elect Barack Obama to help them maintain services in the face of slumping revenues.

"It's clear that the federal government needs to step in and jump-start the economy," said Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. - Reuters

I am not surprised, but I should be.  It defies any kind of of uncommon or common sense. What is perfectly clear however is that the world we live in here and now is going to collapse, and hard.  All bad things must come to an end eventually.  Infusing more green toilet paper into the economy is not going to keep everyone clean and mean in the financial department. Instead, its going to add more fuel to the fire.  I am not sure what the government thinks they are doing here. They do not have the cash to bail these states out. And the very situation these states are in was caused by what?  Well, it was caused by spending money they don't have. So what do they do?  Request money that we don't have to pay back what we don't have. Life is a circle, but this is ridiculous. So what is the catch here? Where is the cheese?

Now I know we are trying to convince ourselves that the new year is like all the other New Years and that there is nothing catastrophic enough that a few New Year's resolutions won't fix.  Most Americans are just hoping the storm will pass like every other cry of wolf from the hemorroidal media, and that they will continue to afford sipping that Grande latte while they browse the internet, reading about other people losing their jobs or how companies collapse into bankruptcy first and then pay servitude to Obama's mobistration second. Think again. This world as we know it will collapse. We are not God, people. We are not too big to fail.

Why do I say it will collapse? Am I a psychic? Hah! Am I an economist. Most surely not. I say it because I have some remnant of common sense left (I think) and I have some ability to distinguish between value and non-value, and the subjective and thus volatile nature of assessing value and non-value.  For example, air has no value to me whatsoever unless I am locked up in some oxygen-deprived closet somewhere. In that situation, I would pay lots of $$$ for some good clean air. Al Gore also believes that if we think we are polluting the air enough with yesterday's lunch, then we will pay big in taxes to compensate for our loss of clean air in the future. The same thing goes with money. If there is too much it and it is too readily available, it won't be worth very much. So once those banks start letting the money flow and once those companies start their spending sprees when/if they get their hands on it, it is going to result in a tidal wave of hyperinflation the likes of which we have never seen before. So yeah, some people will be getting that  cash, but the rest of you won't be able to afford that slice of $1,000.00 bread. Your salaries will not, AS THEY NEVER HAVE, be adjusted for inflation.

So all these bailouts are going to hurt most people and hurt them badly.  Wow! This gives a whole new meaning to income redistribution doesn't it?  What a slight of hand Obama has! When the Obama Administration roles on in, we are going to get that change we voted for in spades, my pretties. The nationalization of the financial industry,  the states (!) and other "deserving" industries will be put under the golden umbrella only shared by those fortunate enough to go bankrupt and be too big to fail. Those who can fail, namely the taxpayer, will watch after what is left of the real economy is strangled till it can barely sell a piece of gum without a loan from the government. The big "chains" are also starting to close up shop. Luxury items down to 34% from last year. After that, you will see the commercial real estate market take the next hit, since no one will be left or be able to afford those huge rents next to that Starbuck's. What is happening is a further and deeper centralization of the entire mortgage industry, the auto industry and banking to boot.  With all this wealth and the accumulation of once-private assets, the national government will fund their welfare state and instantiate themselves as the source of national productivity, authors of the New New Deal and heralds of the grand benefits of socialism. In that way, the people who had absolutely nothing, will get free stuff. The people who worked to buy that house and feed their family and live a decent life will lose everything. It's the system turned on its head. It was a system designed to fail, for the benefit of the few.

Still don't believe me. I guess I will have to turn to someone is who more of an economist myself. Let's look at what Karl Denninger points out at Market Ticker regarding the government's falsification of the GDP that only appeared to be expanding. The numbers,however, show it was actually contracting!

 

In 2000 our GDP was approximately $10 trillion.  At 270% of GDP that would place total debt at $27 trillion dollars.

The reported GDP in 2007 was $14 trillion (again, give or take one.)  At 360% of GDP this places total debt at approximately $50 trillion dollars.

Assuming a linear appreciation over that seven year period we have a total GDP expansion from 2000-2007 of approximately $2 trillion annually over seven years, or $14 trillion in total of "salutary" GDP expansion over that seven year period.

But - total debt went from $27 trillion to $50 trillion, or an expansion of $23 trillion dollars. 

Of course the debt taken on is spent on something, which means it shows up in GDP.

Has the light bulb come on yet?

Let me explain this in very simple terms - again, assuming more-or-less linear expansion of the debt (which is in fact not true since claimed GDP expanded, so the growth in debt rate is actual a derivative function) there was actually a $9 trillion dollar contraction in GDP over the previous eight years, since taken-on-debt that is spent is not actual output expansion any more than I am "improving my wealth" if I go borrow $200,000!  In fact I am damaging it because I must not only pay the $200,000 back I must pay interest as well!

That's right folks - we haven't had an expansion in GDP over the last eight years.  Congress and its organs of reporting economic "facts" have lied.  We have in fact actually seen about a 10% contraction in real GDP from 2000 levels; all of the so-called "expansion" of the Bush Administration has been a lie intended to prevent recognition and working through of the recession that should have happened in 2000.

If you as an American are wondering why it seems you've been taking it in both holes for the last decade, with your real purchasing power decreasing, and have felt "forced" to take out home equity in order to maintain your standard of living (not to mention charging up your plastic until it smokes) now you know the truth.  In fact your purchasing power has been destroyed; you have had a real 10% or more deficit in actual buying power .vs. where you were in 2000. - The Market Ticker

So back to "value".  If we want to continue to survive as free people; if we want to be able to earn a good and honest living, we are going to have to reinvent what it means to create things of value and do work that provides value.  All of that "pursue your dreams" Oprah garbage needs to go. What needs to kick back into high gear is a renewed work ethic, one that motivates us to work hard to support our loved ones and pull us into a future where real work produces real results;  and where we learn to live with (and even enjoy) or limitations. Limitations! Limitations means a comprehension of who we are and what we can afford. It also requires a commitment to preserving our life and our nation. Corruption needs to become the exception, and not the rule.  Free stuff can be given, but only from the private sector, not government handout.  In short we need to relearn who we are, what we can do and what we can create.

The model we give to our children will be theirs to own. So I hope we are to owning it, for their sake.

"It was horrible. Horrible! Like lightning it struck. No one was prepared. You cannot imagine the rapidity with which the whole thing happened. The shelves in the grocery stores were empty. You could buy nothing with your paper money." - Friedrich Kessler law professor at Harvard and University of California Berkeley talks about his experience during the inflationary years of the Weimar Republic

 

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. -Thomas Jefferson