Archive for the ‘Government and Politics’ category

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Government Plunder Sows The Seeds Of It’s Own Destruction.

June 17, 2013
Pirates

Pirates (Photo credit: Gilmoth)

GOVERNMENT IS TOO BIG

Have we finally reached the point that we can all agree that Government is too big? The latest scandals, concerning Government overreach, should be driving this point home for everyone to see no matter how politically partisan a person may be. But the republicans and the democrats have done a great job of making this a game between two teams, each having a loyal following who will defend their favorite team no matter what the members of the team do. As long as the banner of their favorite team is flying high they let corruption, power grabs, and abuses of individuals rights slide.  The normal solution for any corruption or illegality in Government is to put a new angel in the position that was previously occupied by a fallen angel [aka devil]. This will not cure the problem, it will only temporarily take care of the symptom, but the underlying problem is still there. The underlying problem is (more…)

Categories: Econ. 201, Government and Politics
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NSA Whistle Blower Edward Snowden Fears We Will Do Nothing About What He Exposed.

June 10, 2013

I was impressed with Edward Snowden after I watched this interview. 10:48 on is what I consider the most important part when he talks about what he sees this leading to at some point in the future.  His greatest fear is not for his personal safety, it is that “…..people won’t be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things to force their representatives to actually take a stand in their interest…..if they don’t….. the flip of a switch…..it will be turnkey tyranny.”

Who do you trust, the guy who controls the Government that has power over everything you do, or the guy who pulled back the curtain  allowing us to see what the all powerful OZ is up to?

Mr. President, it all depends on what your definition of due process and the rule of law is. These words mean something different to you than they do to me. If words are not specifically defined, we will talk past each other.

Edward Snowden is taking a huge risk to reveal the truth, can’t we take the baton from him and beat our representatives over the head with it?

Related article, Utah Data Center, by Lydia Warren, at dailymail.co.uk.

Here is an after thought, who is more courageous Jason Collins for coming out about his sexual orientation, or Edward Snowden for what he brought out into the open? When you know the president, the media, and the political elite will support you’re position, how much courage does it take, if any. When you know you will be disparaged and possibly destroyed by these same people when you uncover what they are up to, that’s shows real courage.

Categories: Government and Politics
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Ted Cruz Lets Us See The Magic Show From Behind The Curtain.

May 31, 2013

Magicians hate it when someone shows the audience how a magic trick works. Ted Cruz is showing us how the verbal sleight of hand artists in the Senate perform their misdirections. Big Government Senators from both parties have to be upset with him, which is great for liberty and bad for arbitrary power by Government [tyranny].

As F.A. Hayek stated, “…The battle for freedom must be won over and over again, the socialists of all parties must be persuaded of defeated if they and we are to remain free men.”

If you want to know who a man really is, find out who his enemies are.

Categories: Government and Politics
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Rand Paul RipsThe Senate For Bullying Apple.

May 23, 2013

I had to post these two videos because they relate to my previous post, Proof Once Again That Power Corrupts. Hats off to Rand Paul for talking economic common sense and also for challenging his colleagues, I don’t think Senators get spoken to this way very often. Here is part I of his comments.

Sorry I had a gag reflex when I saw Chairman Carl Levin.

Watch part II, it gets better.

Rand Paul and Ted Cruz give us hope that maybe Government power can be rolled back. Watch Ted Cruz challenge Senator Feinstein in this post titled, Senator Cruz Stirs Up A Hornets Nest.

Categories: Government and Politics
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Proof Once Again That Power Corrupts. Will We Have Enough Courage To Believe It This Time.

May 23, 2013
Per1

Per1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)  If only the IRS had a leash on it like this pit bull.

APPLE AND LOOPHOLES.

The story about Apple, read here, going in front of a Senate committee about avoiding taxes, and the story about Lois Lerner, head of the IRS’s tax exempt division, invoking the fifth amendment, read here, in the hearings before a House committee, are great examples of irony.

The Senate hearings are a show, for the purpose of making the Senators look morally superior to an evil private company. They are trying to make Apple look bad for using the tax laws that these geniuses in the Senate created in the first place. (more…)

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The Most Recent Arbitrary And Unrestrained Exercises Of Power By The Federal Government.

May 20, 2013
English: The Liberty Bell in 2008.

English: The Liberty Bell. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ARBITRARY EXERCISE OF POWER.

On May 10th I posted an article titled, What Is Tyranny? The President Should Know The Definition, in which we defined tyranny as–arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. Synonyms: despotism, absolutism, dictatorship. Arbitrary means – subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one’s discretion: an arbitrary decision. What came to light last week about the IRS targeting specific groups, the Justice Department confiscating phone records and emails from AP reporters without a warrant, and Kathleen Sabelius asking for contributions from health industry officials to help implement the new health care bill, are all examples of “arbitrary or unrestrained exercises of power”, aka tyranny. We should not be surprised by any of this, they are default actions taken by people who think they should not be constrained by the rule of law, even though our country was founded on the rule of law and not the rule of men.

THOMAS SOWELL, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. (more…)

Categories: Government and Politics
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Thomas Sowell Compares FDR and President Obama.

May 15, 2013

Thomas Sowell talks about how FDR’s interventions into the market prolonged and deepened the depression, and how Obama’s interventions are doing the same thing.

Here is a quote from the video, “..one parallel is people are talking about these highly intelligent people with whom the president has surrounded himself. FDR surrounded himself with highly intelligent people, that is no guarantee of anything except brilliant rationalizations for failure …..”. (more…)

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Benghazi And Political Incentives.

May 13, 2013
302_365_Trust

Trust (Photo credit: MichaelKuhn_pics)

TRUTH ABOUT BENGHAZI.

The hearings last week about Benghazi have put politicians, and the witnesses who were on the ground, on opposite ends of the truth. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who understands what a politician values the most, which is his own political power. I wrote a post two days after the Benghazi attack titled, Real Analysis About Middle East Insurgency at SOFREP.com, in which the truth about the attack was known within 24 hours. The way the administration lied about what happened in the weeks following  the incident is standard operating procedure for 99% of politicians and bureaucrats.

POLITICAL INCENTIVES  CONCERNING BENGHAZI.

In a post titled, Mises “Human Action” Explains Lies About Libya, written two weeks before the last election, I talk about how to analyze  political decisions in general, and the Benghazi situation in particular through the lens of “Human Action”. Here are a few excerpts from the post that are as true today as they were seven months ago. (more…)

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What Is Tyranny? The President Should Know The Definition.

May 10, 2013
Constitution Pg1of4 AC icon cut

Constitution Pg1of4 AC icon cut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PRESIDENT’S COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

President Obama gave the commencement address at Ohio State Universities graduation ceremony last weekend. Here are a few quotes from the speech followed by some of my comments.

“ Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.”

CONSTITUTION VS. TYRANNY

This is what you would expect to hear from someone who doesn’t want his power to be challenged. Lets look at what our founders thought about  Government and compare it to our President. (more…)

Categories: Government and Politics
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Charles Hugh Smith, Hits It Out Of The Park With These Articles.

May 6, 2013
Thinker

Thinker (Photo credit: dSeneste.dk)

Lets do some heavy lifting to start the week. Two weeks ago, Charles Hugh Smith, at oftwominds.com, had three outstanding articles that built on top of each other. For him they were relatively short, but as usual were filled with great insights. He talks about what politicians, bureaucrats, central bankers, and intellectuals not only think; but also talks about the incentives and constraints under which they are making decisions: Why their policies of counterfeiting money for funding stimulus programs, bailouts or for increasing their sacred GDP numbers, will continue until economic reality forces a change: Why China and the US are in similar situations, even though (more…)

Categories: Econ. 201, Government and Politics
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