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Must Reads For The Week 4/30/16

April 30, 2016

Why Did The Industrial Revolution Occur In The United States And Not China? at economicpolicyjournal.com. Technological advance requires financing. U.S. capital markets provided the funding for these projects. But saving provided the funding of the capital markets. Being able to produce and save wealth is important if a society is to continue to advance. How much of the funding in today’s capital markets is from printed money by the Fed, and not real savings from production.

Obama Admits He Couldn’t Convince Americans About Recovery, at zerohedge.com. Obama can’t convince us because he is the only President to not have a single year of his Presidency reach 3% GDP growth. And that’s including the 4 plus trillion dollars printed by the Fed. We can’t even print our way to a high GDP number. If the President would look at the charts in this article, he would understand why we aren’t buying his propaganda about the economy.

UC Berkley Touts $15 Minimum Wage Law, Then Fires Hundreds Of Workers After It Passes, at investors.com. Hoisted on its own petard. No surprise here. You can’t pay labor above what it produces for any length of time before it gets liquidated. The economic reality that less will be consumed at a higher price is always in play. When the cost of labor is artificially set higher, fewer will be working.

Judge Decides Seattle’s ‘Trash Police’ Violates Privacy And Is Unconstitutional, at tammybruce.com. Another example of leftists trying to force their morality on the rest of us. You can’t give in to this kind of tyrannical stupidity or it will never go away.

PA Cops Have Woman’s Rectum, Vagina Searched After Traffic Stop, at copblock.org. A violation of this woman”s fourth amendment rights. She was finally released 5 hours after she was pulled over.

Social Justice Warrior Madness: USC Cancels  ‘Legends Of The Games Industry’ Event For Not Including Women  (On A Seven Man Panel), at targetliberty.org. They postponed this event, ‘In the interest of promoting diversity and inclusion’. This is the kind of nonsense that should be laughed at and mocked.

Opposition Grows To Liberal AGs Targeting Global Warming Skeptics, by Michael Bastasch at cfact.org. In response to democrat politicians and environmentalists calling for RICO investigations into groups seen as casting doubt on the theory of catastrophic global warming, Republican AGs have come out against any such investigations. By the way global warming is a ‘theory’. Isn’t it?

Obama Targets Electric Grid For Power Grab, by Larry Bell, at cfact.org. Obama said he would bankrupt coal power plants with EPA emission regulations. Look out fracking industry if Queen Hillary gets into office.

Taliban Bomber Accidentally Triggers Explosive Early, Killing Himself And 8 Other Terrorists, at tammybruce.com. My first thought when I saw this was; will this guy get the 72 virgins anyway. Does he get rewarded for his good intentions of trying to blow up infidels even though he failed? These are questions that need to be answered.

The Real Meaning Of Competition, by Peter G. Klein, at mises.org. It’s not about having the proper number of competitors in a particular industry that makes it competitive. As long as government isn’t restricting or placing  costs on the entry into these industries you have competition. We’ve written about Uber on this site. The taxi cartel trying to get government to restrict Uber’s entry into the market is an example.

The Problem Of ‘Hoarding’, by Murray Rothbard, at mises.org. Rothbard explains why the velocity of money is an answer in search of a problem.

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Must Reads For The Week 4/23/16

April 23, 2016

EARTH DAY THOUGHTS

18 Spectacularly Wrong Predictions Made Around The Time Of The First Earth Day In 1970, Expect More This Year, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog.  How about this prediction; “Scientists have solid experimental and theoretical evidence to support…the following predictions: In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution…by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half….” The rest are also amusing.

On Earth Day, We Can Celebrate Being The Only Country To Significantly Reduce CO2 Emissions -Thanks To Fracking, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. Natural gas from fracking is being used in power plants instead of coal. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal. This is a free market solution to pollution.

On Earth Day, Let’s Celebrate Fossil Fuels, at austrianaddict.com.

THE REST OF THE ARTICLES

Bernie Sanders Meets Pope Francis, at economicpolicyjournal,com. Bernie took some time off the campaign trail to travel to Italy and meet the Pope. These two Marxist central planners have a lot in common. If they could have had their meeting coincide with the Obama Castro meeting, they could have had one heck of a foursome.

More Than 3 Dozen Cuban Migrants Caught At Sea, at nbcmiami.com. The Coast Guard caught and turned back  39 Cuban defectors (lets say what they really are) in a boat on their way to the US. These defectors think there is the possibility of normal diplomatic relations between our countries, since Obama’s recent visit, which could mean  their status of automatic residency if they get to US soil might be a thing of the past. This has incentivized more Cubans to take the risk of crossing the ocean to get here.  I guess our government has to keep anyone who despises government central planning from entering the country. These people might be able to enlighten US citizens about what lies ahead as we travel down the current central planning road aka. the road to serfdom.

The Terrorist iPhone Snow Job, by Adam Dick, at targetliberth.com. This is another example of why we should be pushing back against government at every turn. Once they get their foot in the door, you’re freedom disappears.

Obama To Butt In To Britain’s Business, at economicpolicyjournal.com. Great Britain will decide in a couple of months if it will stay in The European Union. Obama is trying to persuade them to stay in the EU. Critics of Obama say Americans would never agree to an EU type of arrangement. What they don’t understand is that Obama would just make an executive order and bypass the American people.

Horror At A Maryland Barber Shop, by Thomas J. Dilorenzo, at targetliberty.com. I think this article shows the subjectivity of value. Different people place different levels of value on the same or different thing.

Emails Reveals AG’s Colluding With Al Gore And Greens To Investigate Climate Skeptics, at eelegal.org. This is what happens when scientific battles are fought in the political arena. Politics trumps facts.

The 50 Year Disaster Of Government Trains, Buses, And Street Cars, by Daniel Beir, at fee.org. This is a great article. Here is an excerpt from the article: “Ronald Reagan quipped that “government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. and if it stops moving, subsidize it.” There in a nutshell you have a short history of mass transit in America.”

Why Don’t Bernie And Progressives Live Communally Here And Now, by Jeff Deist, at mises.org. Bernie and his socialist supporters actually have a choice. They can build and move into their own socialist commune. No one is stopping them. They don’t have to win an election to start their socialist utopia. But you can bet the house that if Bernie was the President he wouldn’t allow us to opt out of social security, medicare, Obamacare etc.

Here is an excerpt from the article:  “So while pro-Bernie progressives are free to create their own communities in a libertarian world, libertarians are compelled by force to participate in Bernie’s world. That is the fundamental difference between liberty and socialism, between voluntarism and collectivism, between statism and private property. Nothing prevents progressives from living as they wish now, except the very things they viciously oppose: decentralization, secession, and local control.  Progressives hate hearing that taxation is theft, that government is force, and that every rule and regulation implies violence for noncompliance. It offends them on a visceral level, because their entire worldview hangs on the myth of social contract. But their currency is violence, and real contracts — in the form of voluntary, private communities — are not allowed.”

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Must Reads For The Week 4/16/16

April 16, 2016

I HATE POLITICS!

Donald Trump Blasts Colorado GOP For ‘Corrupt System’ In Picking Delegates, at foxnews.com. Here are a couple of comments. If you are going to play in the political arena, you have to know all the rules in order to compete against the people who do know the rules. It doesn’t matter what you think of the rules, because you are not in a position to change them. I’ll use a golf analogy to explain Colorado, because Donald Trump plays golf.

Trump is playing Cruz in a match and on a par 4 Trump hits his tee shot in the fairway and Cruz hits his tee shot in a water hazard. Trump hits his second shot on the green. Under the rules, Cruz can play his ball from the water hazard with no penalty, play another ball from the tee with a 1 stroke penalty, drop a ball two club lengths from where his ball last crossed the hazard and play it form there with a 1 stroke penalty, drop a ball behind the hazard as far back as he wants as long as he keeps it in line with the flag and the point where his original ball last crossed the hazard (and you thought delegate rules were complicated) with a 1 stroke penalty. Cruz decides on the fourth option. He drops his ball 150 yds from the green which is his perfect 7 iron distance. He hits his third shot to two feet and taps in for par. Trump three puts for a bogey. Trump now complains the the rules pertaining to water hazards are corrupt. He says it isn’t fair that someone can hit it in the water and win the hole. Cruz knew the rules and used what he thought was his best option. He didn’t cheat. He played within the rules.

What if this situation was reversed and Trump hit his ball in the hazard. He than plays his third shot from the tee because not only does he not know all the rules, the caddie he hired doesn’t know the rules. After he loses the hole he complains the rules are convoluted and impossible to understand. The rules are set up so golf insiders have the advantage. The rules about hazards, water hazards, lateral hazards and out of bounds should all be the same. These rules of golf are set up so golf insiders have the advantage.

If you’re playing a competitive game (which is what politics is) you must first know the rules of the game so you don’t lose because of what some would consider a ‘loophole’. The truth is either Trump didn’t know the rules, in which case he isn’t the winner he thinks he is. He didn’t know the rules and is just trying to spin his way out of his ignorance. Or he did know the rules and decided the cost of doing what Cruz did in Colorado was to high compared to the political hay he could make by complaining about the rules after the fact. The truth is Cruz used the rules to his advantage and Trump didn’t. If you want the rules changed you have to figure out a way to use the existing rules to get in positions of power. When you get enough like minded people in these positions, you will now be able to  change the rules. The establishment became the establishment through this process. The rules are written to protect the position of the status quo by making it difficult for outsiders to overthrow them. The only way to change the status quo party system is through the electoral process. Unfortunately this change is slow and incremental which means non political people get burnt our and lose interest.

‘Equal Pay Day’ This Year Is April 12; ‘Equal Occupational Fatality Day’ Will Be In 2027, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. The gender pay gap is another political scam. Since politicians continue to think they can gain by politicizing this issue, it is apparent that we haven’t done enough to educated the ignorant. Educating the ignorant isn’t a one time and your done proposition because our education system is constantly producing new generations of ignorant citizens.

Quotation Of The Day, On The Real Minimum Wage Of $0.00 An Hour, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. Here is another issue that is a winner for politicians and a loser for minimum wage workers. Here is all you need to know about minimum wage. Less is demanded at a higher price than a lower price. This includes labor. Quote from the article by Thomas Sowell: “Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, that is the wage many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage, because they either lose their jobs or fail to find jobs when they enter the labor force.” Read Minimum Wage Laws Create Unemployment and Income Inequality Part II: Increase The Minimum Wage and The New, Old, Buzz Words, “Income Inequality“.

Union Leaders Champion Higher Minimum Wages But Support Loopholes To Exempt Union Workers, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. Do as I say not as I do! Unionized hotels in L.A. have been granted an exemption from paying the higher minimum wage that L.A. city council mandated. Excerpt from the article: “Critics see this as a cynical collusion between politicians and big-city labor interests. By making unions the ‘low-cost option’ for businesses seeking to avoid paying better wages, they assert, the exemptions are designed to drive up union membership – and revenue from dues – at the expense of workers.”

Campaign Lies, by Thomas Sowell, at jewishworldreview.com. From the article: “If you took all the lies out of political rhetoric, how much would be left? Apparently even less than usual this year…..The success of campaign lies depends ultimately on how willing the public is to be stampeded without bothering to stop and think.”

 RELIGIONS AREN’T EQUAL!

Canadian Newspaper Censors Refugee Abuse Of School Children, at tammybruce.com. Muslim refugees criminal behavior is happening all over the world. This is close to home. We are not exempt from this.

Gay Air France Attendants Refuse To Fly To Iran, Fear Executions, at tammybruce.com. Homosexuals are figuring out who they should fear. It’s not Christians who are carrying out executions.

ECONOMICS

The Fed Can’t Save Us, by Robert J. Murphy, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article: “Janet Yellen and her colleagues are stuck with a giant asset bubble that her predecessor inflated. If they begin another round of asset purchases, they might postpone the crash, but only by making the subsequent reckoning that much more painful…You don’t make the country richer by printing money out of thin air, especially when you then give it to the government and Wall Street.”

Cash Banned Freedom Gone, by Thorsten Polliet, at mises.org. In order for central banks (Government) to steal your money with negative interest rates, the Government must first ban cash. If negative interest rates are implemented and people still have the ability to take their cash out of the banks, Negative interest rates are useless.

Austria Just Announced A 54% Hair Cut In Senior Creditors In First Bail In Under New European Rules, at zerohedge.com. An example of government force being used to steal people’s money. I know…It can’t happen here!

THE DAY AFTER TAX DAY

“Brutus” And Our Brutal Taxes, by Gary Galles, at mises.org. One of our founders Robert Yates was a profit when he talked about the taxing power of the federal government over 200 years ago. His predictions are amazing.

101 Years Of The Income Tax, at zerohedge.com.

CARTOONS

 

 

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Must Reads For The Week 4/9/16

April 8, 2016

 These Have To Be From The Onion, Don’t They?

Sec. of DOT Denounces Inequitable Distribution Of Sidewalks, at tammybruce.com.  Statements from bureaucrats, like Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, reveal what they think of our intelligence. I don’t think they realize these statements also reveal what some of us think of their stupidity. From the article. “Only 49% of low income neighborhoods have sidewalks compared to 90% of affluent neighborhoods.” Since 51% of low income neighborhoods have sidewalks and 10% of affluent neighborhoods don’t have side walks we can safely say that sidewalks are not the cause of the economic status of a neighborhood.

Obama Administration To Landlords: You Cannot Refuse To Rent To Criminals, at tammybruce.com. Quote from the article, “The Fair Housing Act doesn’t include criminals as a protected class, but HUD says refusing to rent based on a criminal record is a form of racial discrimination, due to racial imbalances in the U.S justice system.….” What if a landlord refuses to rent to white criminals, is that racial discrimination? What if black landlords refuse to rent to black criminals, is that racial discrimination? You have to have a useless degree from an elite university and no common sense to say things like this. Or as my friend has so eloquently said, “One of us in this conversation is a real dumb ass.”

Watch TA’s $1.4Million ‘Randomized iPad App Randomly Point Right or Left, at tammybruce.com. I can’t even explain this. You have to watch this short video to even believe this is real. This is what 1.4 million in tax payer dollars gets you. If they would have paid me $1.4 million, I would have drawn an arrow on a piece of cardboard and instructed the TSA agent to randomly flip it to the right and left.

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere.

Here We Go Again: Obama Pushes Banks To Lower Home Loan Standards, at zerohedge.com. Lowering lending standards (along with central bank money printing) lead to the housing bubble of 2008. If at first you don’t succeed try try again.

Why The Auto Loan Bubble Matters, by Edward Niedermeyer, at thefederalist.com. Sub-prime auto loans allows people, who wouldn’t meet normal lending standards, to get car loans. Remember the 08 housing boom and bust.

More Than 40% Of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments, by Josh Mitchell, at wsj.com. Many of these student loans were made to young people who shouldn’t have gone to college in the first place. Graduates can’t find jobs that pay enough to live on let alone pay their student loan debts. The government student loan program is making debt serfs out of students. It’s a student loan bubble.

Green Energy Boondoggle.

Ethanol Is Bad For Cars, The Environment, The Poor, And America, at fee.org. This is an example of why it is hard to shrink government. Even though ethanol increases green house gas emissions and is more expensive than gasoline, Big Agriculture will not allow their government subsidies to go away. This proves government is too big when it can’t even get rid of this boondoggle.

Another Government Backed Green Energy Company Goes Bankrupt, at dailycaller.com. Once again tax payer dollars are wasted because politicians and bureaucrats are”investing” in our future. Read – Green Energy Proving Venture Capitalist Are Smarter Than Government Bureaucrats.

Check Mate.

Oops: Hillary Supporters’ Twitter Hashtag Backfires, at tammybruce.com. Hillary supporters were playing checkers while everyone else was playing chess.

Bill Clinton Sec’y Of Labor (Unknowingly) Gives 4-Point Endorsement Of Ted Cruz, at tammybruce.com. One mans condemnation is another mans endorsement.

Making A Stand Against Political Correctness.

Standford Students Fight Campus Iconoclasts For Western Civilization, by Joy Pullmann, at thefederalsit.com. Here is an excerpt from the article, “Most Americans, who are part of Western civilization, know nothing of its achievements, making them prey to precisely the sort of grievance-mongering now infecting not just American campuses but our politics and culture….How Can Standford and other name-brand graduates go on to lead our society if they dislike it so much they do not want to learn its history? How can they hope to correct Western civilization if they do not know what it is?” …..”One does wonder how young people who confuse tantrum-throwing with argument managed to get admitted to Stanford in the first place.”

Cartoons

Political Cartoons by Glenn McCoy

 

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Must Reads For The Week 4/2/16

April 2, 2016

Feds To Fine Schools For Not Following Michelle Obama’s Lunch Rules, at tammybruce.com. The Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service is going to fine schools who don’t abide by the regulations set forth by The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. They will fine schools for ‘egregious or persistent disregard’ for the rules imposing limits on sodium and calorie intake and banned white grains. Two questions. 1) Did you know there was a Food and Nutrition Service agency as part of the Dep. of Agriculture? 2) Who decides what constitutes ‘egregious” and “persistent disregard’? This has been a disaster from the start, read, Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Doesn’t Work As Planners Planned. Read, Michelle’s ‘Eat What I Tell You To Eat’ Program is Crashing. Read, Black Market In Food Items Springs Up In Schools, Thanks Michelle. I like that people have decided to not complying with the law. This is the spirit of our founding fathers.

At Emory University, Writing ‘Trump 2016’ On Sidewalks Is A Racist Microaggression, by Robby Soave, at reason.com. No comment needed.

Mises: The Individual Within Society, at mises.org. Article taken from ‘Human Action’ by Ludwig von Mises. Here is an excerpt; “The natural condition of man is extreme poverty and insecurity. It is romantic nonsense to lament the passing of the happy days of primitive barbarism. In a state of savagery the complainants would either not have reached the age of manhood, or if they had, they would have lacked the opportunities and amenities provided by civilization. Jean Jacques Rousseau and Frederick Engels, if they had lived in the [p. 166] primitive state which they describe with nostalgic yearning, would not have enjoyed the leisure required for their studies and for the writing of their books.”

When Will This Awfulness Be Over?, by Jessica Hagy, at thisisindexed.com. Jessica Hagy puts a lot of insight on 3 by 5 cards using venn diagrams, charts, and graphs. Here is the best insight I’ve seen about the election season.

card4829

Apple Has Done It Again, at theburningplatform.com. I don’t know if this is true, but it is funny. “Apple has announced that it has developed a computer chip that can store and play Hi Fi music in women’s breast implants.” Go to the article for the punchline.

CIA Leaves Explosive Materials On School Bus, at targetliberty.com. The CIA borrows a bus for a training exercise. They return it to the school district but forgot to take the explosives out of the bus. Mechanics found the explosives after the bus was back in service for 2 days. I can here the agents conversation when the exercise was over; “Are you sure we have everything? I feel like we’re forgetting something.” And we’re trusting government with our healthcare? Whisky Tango Foxtrot!

The Climate Change Central Planners, by Robert J Murphy, at instituteforenergyresearch.org. Excerpt from the article; “It is an unbelievable act of hubris to suppose that a group of natural scientists and economists, armed with computers, can today make quantitative predictions of how much massive new taxes and draconian regulations will make people better off in the year 2150. And yet this is precisely what today’s central planners do from 9-to-5 in the office.”

Hillary Investigation Enters a Dangerous Phase, by Andrew Napolitano, at lewrockwell.com. Is the FBI just dotting all the I’s and crossing all the T’s? Is the ruling aristocracy trying to figure a way out of indicting the Democrats nominee? Are the Clinton’s trying to bribe someone to take the fall? Will the rule of law prevail; or will the break down of the rule of law continue?

Price Controls May Be On The Way, by Paul-Martin Foss, at mises.org. If fixing the Fed fund rate at 0% since 08 hasn’t worked, why would central planners think price controls would work? Nixon tried wage and price controls in the 70’s. How did that work out?

The Seen and Unseen, by Walter E. Williams, at jewishworldreview.com. Walter E. Williams examins the results of the Bush administrations 2002 tariff on imported steel using Bastiat’s suggestion to look beyond what is in front of you so you can see the whole picture.

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Must Reads For The Week 3/26/15

March 26, 2016

This is from Mark J. Perry at carpediemblog. “Scaling Back Government: a) A state legislative subcommittee in North Carolina recently approved draft legislation that would dissolve 15 occupational licensing boards in the state, and b) Nebraska hair braiders can’t be jailed for performing their services without a government permission slip, thanks to a new law.” This is a move in the right direction. Shrinking government is possible at the state and local levels. It is difficult at the Federal level.

Venn Diagram Sunday, by Mark J. Perry, at carpediemblog. Mark Perry’s Venn diagrams are always interesting. He shows 12 of his most recent diagrams in this post. Here is an example.

Venn7

Obamacare Turns 6 – $55 Billion In Waste, So Far, at investors.com. We had lower cost healthcare when the 30 million who didn’t have health insurance went to emergency rooms for their care. Why did we pass 2500 pages of rules to help 30 million people when they weren’t denied healthcare in the first case? Answer. Politicians wanted more power.

Under Revised Policy, College No Longer Threatens To Lock You Up For Passing Out The Constitution, at thecollegefix.com. I bet the college administrators are worried that the Marxist propaganda they’re feeding the students might have some competition.

Transgenders And School Bathroom Question Solved, at targetliberty.com. This is an outside of the box solution. “Abolish the public school system.” This would also solve a lot of other problems.

Forget “Unity” We Need The Freedom To Disagree, by Gary Galles, at misesca. In a world of scarcity and subjective value, there can be very little agreement. Using government power to force people to agree has a high cost. To have less contention between people all we need to agree on is individuals have property rights and voluntary exchange (contract). Our country was founded on these basic principles.

This Place Needs A Recession, at economicpolicyjournal.com. From the article: “The power center of America (Washington D.C.), where politicians, crony capitalists and lobbyists plot, continues to grow……..built on the backs of US taxpayers. DC needs a recession.” The growth in the power of government has allowed politicians to split Americans up into groups and pit us against each other. While we waste time bickering with each other about which party or politician has the “solutions”, government power continues to grow. We don’t realize that answers to our problems can’t come from government because the problems were caused by government “solutions” in the first place. Read (People Want A President Who Will ‘Get Something Done”.)

The Nanny Always Wins: Fantasy Sports Stop Operations In New York, by Scott Shackford, at reason.com. This is an example of private property and voluntary exchange being trumped by politicians and bureaucrats using the force of government.

German Response To Negative Interest Rates, by Paul-Martin Foss, at mises.org. Just as Japanese people responded to negative interest rates by purchasing more safes, German people are responding by withdrawing money from their accounts and putting it in safe deposit boxes. This is a perfectly logical response. But it is a response that our anointed central bankers somehow failed to see. Do you think the banks, sanctioned by government, would go into these safe deposit boxes and take the money and leave an IOU?

THE MUST READ OF THE MUST READS

Markets Are Our Best Hope For Peaceful Cooperation, by Andres Syrios, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article: “…although selfish, human beings are a social species who long for a sense of community….and while morality – such as the golden rule, may be applied universally – human cooperation and empathy are not…The question left before us is what societal arrangement does such a nature best lend itself to. Karl Marx envisioned a future that would be “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” But as the biologist E.O. Wilson cleverly noted of communism, “Wonderful Theory, wrong species.” Yes, what works well for ants doesn’t so much for human beings.”…….”Cooperation is a great thing, but it has only been shown to work in small groups. All that’s left with regards to large group interactions is force or exchange. So democracy, on a large scale, is merely people voting on if, when and how to use force against each other.” Read, Individual Liberty Is The Least Contentious Way Of Settling Differences.

 

BERNOPOLY: NEW BOARD GAME FROM BERNIE SANDERS

bern

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Must Reads For The Week 3/19/16

March 19, 2016

Tea Party Candidate Wins Primary For Boehner’s Old Seat, at thehill.com. Warren Davidson won the Republican primary election for John Boehner’s old seat. Davidson was endorsed by US congressman Jim Jordan. Jordan is a member of the freedom caucus which was the driving in getting Boehner to give up the speakership. Change happens inch by inch.

Fantastic Lies And Aversion To The Truth. The Duke Lacrosse Case 10 Years Later, at lewrockwell.com. I watched ESPN’s 30 for 30 titled Fantastic Lies last week. The world view of the media, Dukes administration and faculty, the political left, and an over zealous prosecutor was able to trump the truth. If you didn’t see ‘Fantastic Lies’ you probably should take the time to see it. The Duke Lacrosse case happened 10 years ago, and we haven’t learned any lessons from it, (read Rolling Stones UVA Rape Debacle).

Chaffetz Wants To Take Guns Away From ‘Rambo’ BLM. Forest Service Agents, at desertnews.com. What do you want to bet the anti-gun crowd is not in favor of taking guns away from the Bureau of Land Management?

7-Eleven Customer Shoots Dead Hatchet-Wielding Attacker, at tammybruce.com. I bet the anti-gun crowd wants this guys gun taken away. They probably want him arrested.

Loretta Lynch And The Governments War On Free Speech, at zerohedge.com. Attorney General Lynch said she asked the FBI to see if the federal government should take legal action against so-called climate change deniers. This is government trying to stifle the first amendment right to free speech. They don’t want anyone speaking out against what they believe to be the ultimate truth.

Caught On Tape: “Enormous Crowds” Of Unemployed Chinese Miners Take To The Streets, Clash With Riot Police, at zerohedge.com. When the Central bank electronically prints counterfeit money this is the result. On the one hand demand is pulled forward in time. The increased demand eventually fades as the printed money loses its stimulative effect. Production of these demanded goods has increased. When this false demand eventually fades, the jobs and capital that was used to fulfill this false demand will eventually be liquidated in order to match production with real demand. On the other hand, the process of production is distorted. Labor, resources, and capital are used to produce things for which there is no demand (Ghost cities and malls). When there is not enough demand to match this false production, the jobs, capital and resources will eventually be liquidated. Will the Chinese government be able to keep millions of its disgruntled citizens from rebelling?

Boris Johnson Accuses Obama Of Blatant Hypocrisy For Telling British Voters To Stay In EU, at dailymail.co.uk. When Obama’s presidency ends in less than a year, do you think he will ride off into the sunset, or will he keep sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong?

ECB To Stimulate Europe By Taking Peoples Money, by Patrick Barron, at mises.ca. A zero interest rate policy is just another way of taking peoples money. Countries are so far in debt they will continue to find creative ways to take what you produce.

A First-Hand Look At What’s Really Happening In Subprime Auto, at zerohedge.com. Does this sound like the housing bubble?

The We’ve Created Millions Of Jobs Myth, by Ryan McMaken, at mises.org. What is the truth behind the Obama administrations assertion that millions of jobs have been created. Look at the numbers.

GOP Official: We choose The Nominee, Not The Voters, at tammybruce.com. GOP rules committee member admits this on TV. The establishment of the Republican party doesn’t want to lose its power.

 

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Must Reads For The Week 3/12/16

March 12, 2016

Crack Dealer Freed Under Obama Plan Murders Woman, 2 Kids, at tammybruce.com. This reminds me of Kate Steinle being murdered in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who had previously been deported. Obviously the perpetrator  bears the responsibility for his actions. But Do politicians bear some responsibility for the crimes committed by criminals who are let go because of some social justice crusade? I think they are playing God when they think they understand the mind of a criminal.

Any Moran Can Get A Good Score Now, at lewrockwell.com. The SAT test is going to be changed to become more in line with Common Core. This can’t be good?

State Department Warns Employees: ‘Microaggressions’ May Count As Harassment, at tammybruce.com. We have raised a generation of wimps. Sticks and stones as my mother used to say.

Sexual Assaults Soar At Swedish Swimming Pools After Refugee Influx, at zerohedge.com. No one would accept this kind of behaviour from anyone. Why would you allow Illegal immigrants to get away with this unless you are paralyzed by political correctness.

Libya: How Hillary Clinton Destroyed A Country, at lewrockwell.com. Once again a big government central planner knowing what is best for Libya.

Thanks Bush And Obama: 1 In 7 Americans Were On Food Stamps In 2015, by Ryan McMaken, at mises.org. Food Stamps have taken the place of people waiting in line at soup kitchens during the great depression. I get behind these people at the store every week. I guess food is an entitlement?

It’s Official: Kate Brown Signs Minimum Wage Bill For $14:75 In Portland, at oregonlive.com. Hey Governor Brown, I bet this bill will put minimum wage workers out of jobs. But don’t worry, you will be able to pat yourself on the back for “doing something”.

Former ECB Chief Economist Dissed Negative Interest Rates And Praises Deflation, by Joseph T. Salerno, at mises.org. Deflation is the correction that has to come about because of all of the printed money.

Former Fed President: We Injected Cocaine and Heroin Into The System To Create The Wealth Effect, at zerohedge.com. All the money printing was intended to create a wealth effect in housing and stocks. People would spend more if they thought they were wealthier because their home price went up as did their stock prices. This spending was supposed to stimulate economic growth. But we know spending doesn’t drive an economy, production does.

Feel The Bern Sanders Gets Epic Twitter Smackdown About Internet Access, at tammybruce.com. Bernie Tweeted: “Today, people living in Bucharest, Romania have access to much faster Internet than most of the US. that’s unacceptable and must change.”     Someone tweeted back; “In Romania we have faster internet b/c we killed our commie dictator on Christmas morning in 1989 then we opened up the markets.”  Romanian Communist Leader Nicolae Ceausescu was shot and hung from a lamp post.

Mr. T. Says goodbye To Nancy Reagan With Sweet Tweets, at thefederalist.com. Who knew Nancy Reagan and Mr. T. worked together to keep kids from trying drugs.

Amazing Northern Lights Across The Sky In The UK.

I’ve been fortunate to see the Northern Lights when I was on a fishing trip in northern Minnesota. They are spectacular to see.

 

 

 

 

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Must Reads For The Week 3/5/16

March 4, 2016

 Scientists Finally Admit Climate Models Are FAILING, by Michael Bastatasch, at thelibertarianrepublic.com. The scientific climate models are showing something different than what has actually been observed over the last 20 years. Climate scientist Ed Hawkins stated, “Reality has deviated from our expectations – it is perfectly normal to try and understand this difference...” I bet Ed Hawkins will try to make reality fit his climate model.

Government Subsidies Will Erode Freedom Of The Press, by Jaana Woiceshyn, at capitalismmagizine.com. Since newspaper subscription and advertising revenue is down, be ready for the newspapers to ask for a government bailout. As biased toward big government as the press is today, at least it is free to stumble onto the truth every once in a while. The press will never bite the hand that feeds them if they receive subsidies from the Federal government.

MSNBC Host Tries To Show Trump Is Racist, Segment Backfires, at tammybruce.com. Here is an example of journalism at its finest. The host fell into a pile of $#!+ and didn’t come out smelling like a rose.

The Two Party Illusion, at zerohedge.com. The republican party used to be the party that stood for free markets, while the democrat party stood for collectivism while trying to sell it as freedom. Now both parties stand for collectivism with the democrat party making no excuses that it is for socialism. What choice do people who believe in individual liberty and free markets have???????

Japan Sells 10Y bond At Negative Yield For First Time Ever, at zerohedge.com. What would you do if I offered to pay you $95 dollars in a year if you give me $100 dollars today? You would laugh at me, wouldn’t you? Japan is finding “investors” who will do this?

Bernie Sanders Criticizes The Fed For The Wrong Reasons, by C. Jay Engel, at mises.org. Criticizing the Fed doesn’t mean your not a socialist. People who are for free markets think interest rates should be set by individuals interacting in the market. Bernie likes the fact that the Fed has the power to over ride market interest rates. He is just upset that the Fed chose to raise them.

Tell A Joke, Don’t Pass Go, Pay $200,000, by Gavin McInnis, at thefederalist.com. Free Speech vs. Political Correctness. Comedian taken to court because someone was offended by is joke.

A User’s Guide To Free Expression And Bathroom Sanity, by Ryan Anderson, at thefederalist.com. More PC insanity  coming to a public bathroom near your.

How Sweet It Is Maple Syrup Cartel Crumbles, by Joseph T. Salerno, at mises.org. If a cartel raises prices too high or restricts supply, economic forces will eventually crush it. The maple syrup cartel has restricted supply which raised prices. The high prices brought in new producers who saw a chance to make a profit. OPEC is facing the same economic forces. Fracking is the new producer that is making OPEC sweat.

How Progress Occurs, at economicnoise.com. Government only gets in the way of progress. Individuals acting in free markets is where progress occurs. As George Gilder has said – “Socialist and totalitarian Governments are doomed to support the past, because creativity is unpredictable, it is also uncontrollable. If the politicians want to have central planning and command, they can not have dynamism and life. A managed economy is almost by definition a barren one.”

The Greatest Entitlement, by Jeff Deist, at mises.org. Excerpt from the article: “The 20th century was the progressive century, marked by the rise of war and socialism as entrenched features of American life. But perhaps the most lasting effects will be felt in the entitlement mindset woven into the American psyche, via decades of successful incrementalism.”

“Social Security and Medicare in particular represent brilliant political achievements for American progressives. Both programs created a vast middle-class constituency, both programs are now thoroughly embraced by progressivism’s nominal opponents (conservatives), and both programs have become sacrosanct “rights” in the eyes of the public.”

The hard work is just beginning. Changing minds takes a generation. We’ve only been at this for the last decade. We have a lot more work to do. One person at a time.

 

 

 

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Must Reads For The Week 2/27/16

February 27, 2016

Pentagon Orders Military To Prioritize Global Warming In All Actions, at hypeline.com. I can see it now. The military can’t act until they do an environmental impact statement. Government intervention makes everything more difficult.

4 Reasons To Fear Encryption Back Doors Even Though You’re Not A Terrorist, by Scott Schackford, at reason.com. Apple is standing against the FBI grabbing power that it doesn’t possess. Here is an excerpt from the article: “…the federal government has made it very abundantly clear that they want to bypass encryption not just in this one case, but in others as well, including cases where the suspected criminal is alive but uncooperative or unavailable. The government is attempting to coerce citizens into assisting the government to gain access to somebody else’s property. This sets a dangerous precedent that is easy to ignore because of the circumstances of this case.”

Judge Orders Discovery, Testimony From State Department On Hillary’s EMail, at tammybruce.com. Judge orders that Judicial Watch will be able to question Hillary’s staff under oath about her e-mails. Judge says there is “reasonable suspicion” that staff members tried to thwart the Freedom of Information Act. I find it hard to believe that a Clinton would stonewall, delay, and outright defy the law! There is no pattern of this, Is there? Read here, Hillary and Benghazi: Call In The Cleaners.

Germany’s Looming Demographic Cliff, at zerohedge.com. Demographics is destiny. In a totally unrelated article, Germans Cheer As Refugee Center Burns, Crowds Stop Firefighters From Extinguishing Blaze, at zerohedge.com.

Greek Attempt To Force Use Of Electronic Money Instead Of Cash Fails, at zerohedge.com. The Greek government will start to ratchet up the force to get people to use electronic money instead of cash. The carrot didn’t work, get ready for the stick.

New Campus Social Justice Cause: Fat Liberation, at tammybruce.com. Fat studies courses are popping up at colleges. Students go into large amounts of debt to take these rigorous academic courses that every business wants their future employees to take. Fat studies is a game changer for these students.

Clinton And Sanders And Progressivism, by Walter E. Williams, at jewishworldreview.com. Excerpt from the article,”…progressivism sought to grant the state vast new authority to manage all walks of American Live while at the same time weakening traditional checks on government power, including private property rights adn liberty of contract, two principles that progressives hold in contempt.”

Why Women Pay Higher Prices For The “Same” Products, by John Dotson, at mises.org. The operative word is “same”. Just because a product may be similar doesn’t mean it is the same. Subjective value by consumers also contributes to price differences between similar (not the same) products. Since men and and women value things differently, price differences shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.

The Economics Of Free Stuff, by Jonathan Newman, at mises.org. Free stuff costs somebody something. When government is giving out free stuff, who do you think bears the cost? Good answer!

Cartoons From The Burning Platform

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson

Political Cartoons by Nate Beeler

 

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