Venezuelan Crisis ‘Truly Desperate,’ Bishops Tell Pope, at voanews.com. Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino says; “The country was mired in a truly desperate situation. There are people who eat garbage and there are people who die because there is no medicine….We want to remind the Pope of this again….because the government is doing everything possible to establish a state system, totalitarian and Marxist.” I find this humorous. Why? Because the Pope is a Marxist. Venezuela is a laboratory for Marxist socialism, and the experiment is failing. The Pope probably thinks the reason for the failure is because the Marxist socialism in Venezuela isn’t being implemented by the right people. He doesn’t understand that central planning leads to “serfdom and poverty”.
Pension Ponzi Exposed: Minnesota Underfunding Triples After Tweaking This One Small Assumption, at zerohedge.com. Most of these pension plans are underfunded because they are calculating using sleight of hand math. There is not enough funding to pay for future liabilities so assets are used for current claims. At some point some one is going to have to give something up.
Kentucky Firefighters, Police Pensions Under Contention, at wlwt.com. These ‘public servants’ can retire after working 25 years. Question: Is it possible to save enough production in 25 years to fund your next 30 years of consumption during which you are not producing anything? I don’t have much respect for these people when they complain about the sweet gig they have. Excerpt from the article: “They’re seeing a direct attack on their retirement security,” Professional Fire Fighters Local A-16 President Joe Baer said. For Covington firefighter and father of four Tyler Cherry, it could set his retirement back nine years. “So when you look at planning out your life, for your wife, your children, for your wife, your retirement, all of a sudden you’re looking at eight years to 17 years is a huge difference,” Cherry, a captain in the Covington department, said. Some say the toll the job takes on the men and women who serve would make additional years of service difficult. “That can be a huge emotional drain on an individual by the time they reach that,” Alexandria Fire District Lt. Glenn Kilby said. “My family’s grown and had their own families. It’s just me and my wife. I still want to be assured that I have that income to sustain our life,” Kilby said.”
People who aren’t ‘public servants’ can’t relate to any of the comments by these ‘public servants’. Our taxes pay for your salary. Our taxes pay for your benefits. Our taxes pay for your pension. And yes our taxes pay your taxes. Shouldn’t public servants be more appreciative of what they receive? They don’t understand that the people who fund them don’t have the salaries, benefits, and pensions these ingrates have. ‘Public servants’ have no idea how their whining about salaries and benefits pisses people off.
Sacramento City council Approves ‘Advance Peace’ Program, at fox40.com. City council approves program that offers cash payments to gang members in the hope they will remain peaceful. No this is not from the ‘Onion’. Thecity council calls it an ‘Advanced Peace’ program. It is more like preemptive surrender to the criminals. What’s worse is it passed on a 9-0 vote. I know it reveals the intelligence of the council members, but does this also reveal the intelligence of the voters?
The Four Wheeled Patriot Act, at theburningplatform.com. I’ve never liked the idea of self driving cars. They are supposed to reduce the risk of human error. Since the self driving cars are made by human beings, they are prone to human error. Excerpt from the article: “…the SELF DRIVE Act will exempt automated cars from the necessity – under laws that apply to autonomous cars – of having things like steering wheels and brake pedals and other controls by which a human might intervene to save himself in the event the automated car makes a mistake. It is presumed automated cars will never make a mistake, that their systems and technology are immune to defects, wear and tear and so forth……It’s worth noting that no one is suggesting commercial airliners – which already have the ability to fly themselves, including take-off and landing – do so without human pilots standing by to step in just in case. Much less have cockpit controls removed and the now ex-pilots told to go watch a movie back in Coach….Why is it acceptable to do exactly that with machines that are more dangerous, en masse, than airliners simply by dint of numbers? There are only a few thousand airliners flying on any given day. How many millions of cars are out there?”
European Court Orders EU Countries To Take Migrants, at zerohedge.com. This is why Brexit happened. The EU has become the central planning of the sovereign European countries. Looking at the EU is like looking into the mirror and seeing what our Federal government is doing to our 50 sovereign States. The power consolidated in big government always leads to the usurpation (illegal seizure) of the rights and freedoms of individuals in the sovereign States.
In an unrelated story. Coming To A Town Near You: Expert Warns That No-Go Zones Are Growing In America, at zerohedge.com. I wish Bill Belichick was in charge of immigration policy. Any player who wants to be a part of the New England Patriots has to conform to the teams culture or he will be cut. Players know this before they become a member of the Patriots. So they do have a choice.
What Country Is This? Forced Blood Draws, Cavity Searches, And Colonoscopies, at zerohedge.com. Speaking of individual rights! Is the fourth amendment a threat to the power of the government?
Fearful Cop Mistakes Reporter’s Camera For A Gun – Opens Fire, Shoots The Innocent Man, at thefreethoughtprogect.com. Or try this headline. Ohio Police Officer Accused Of Shooting News Photographer, at huffingtonpost.com. Should you be trusted with a gun after you make a decision that is this bad? A concealed carry holder knows not to do this. Is this an example of a person who can’t perform the job properly? Or is this an example of how some police are trained? What are the ‘rules of engagement’? If you can claim after the fact that you ‘feared for your life’, isn’t that literally a get out of jail free card?
Did Imran Awan Turn On Wasserman Schultz? New Report Suggests He Led Police To Her Laptop, at zerohedge.com. In the words of Andy Griffith; “Oh what a twisted web we weave when first we practice to deceive”. Unfortunately nothing will happen to her. The rule of law doesn’t exist in our country. The ruling elites have a different set of rules than you or I do. Ask Hillary Clinton.
How Welfare States Encourage Bad Economic Thinking, at mises.org. I have gone back and forth over the years as to whether the free market can stay ahead of the growth of government regulations. I am optimistic it can. This writer is not. Excerpt from the article: “Thus, it becomes clear that the welfare state is not something that can be grudgingly tolerated as merely a parasitic nuisance. It is overoptimistic to assume that the remaining vestiges of free-market entrepreneurialism will always be able to outpace its insatiable drive toward capital consumption. Nor is it prudent to believe that the hard institutions of private property rights and market prices will be able to survive, let alone do their job effectively, with their underlying cultural foundations eroded to the core. And it is evident that welfare statism strikes at the latter at least as hard, if not more so, than it does at the former.”
AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT 