CHRYSLER FILES CHAPTER 11

FINALLY. After taking billions of tax payer dollars in the United States and Canada, it's going bankrupt as it should.

Are we all happy our governments wasted our money on them now?

UPDATE: I just saw this nonsense. Our government, business savvy as one can ever be, is investing $3 billion to buy a 2% stake in Chrysler, a failing car company, as it files Chapter 11. Can you please give me money back so that I can properly protect it?

HR1207 Hits 100 Cosponsors

HR1207 is a bill authored by Congressman Ron Paul to audit the Federal Reserve.

Now, why is this important to us Canadians? Simple. US Dollars are used as a reserve currency by our government, our central banks, our banking systems, and even private enterprises. The Federal Reserve prints these dollars out of thin air, which means they have a direct control over the value of these dollars, and therefore, they have a have a direct control over the value of our reserves. This is similar for most nations across the world and has been since World War II. Therefore it is in the interest of people across the world for this bill to be passed so that the actions of the Federal Reserve can be brought out into the public.

Today, the number of cosponsors on this bill hit 100. Campaign for Liberty members and Ron Paul supports all over the United States have been lobbying their respective Congress person to cosponsor this bill for months and they have been slowly accumulating support. The week after the Congress took a break and went back to their constituents the bill gained 33 new cosponsors. Ron Paul has made statements that his colleagues are continually telling him their constituents are demanding action on this bill.

A great example of the pressure these representatives are feeling has been exemplified via South Carolina Republican Congressman Barrett. A little while ago I posted a video him speaking at a Tea Party protest. He was booed the entire 5 minutes he spoke. Today he joined to cosponsor the bill.

It has been the most successful bill introduced by Ron Paul, EVER.

Let us hope they can push this bill to the floor of the Congress for a vote so that all representatives will be forced to show where their interests lay: with the bankers or with the people.

Daily Dr. Paul Quote - Inflation

The monetary unit cannot remain as it is today, a tool of the rich, the powerful, the politicians, the central bankers, and the international corporations. For the middle class to survive and the poor to gain an opportunity to improve their lot, a sound currency is a must. Destructive wealth redistribution through inflation should not be tolerated any longer. Although eventually all economic classes will suffer with economic upheaval and loss of political freedom, up to a point certain groups do benefit at the expense of others. Many a businessman has expressed his acceptance and approval of the inflationary process to me since it affords him a chance to accumulate more material wealth. The unscrupulous businessman, banker, politician, or union leader who encourages inflation for personal gain is guilty of committing the serious crime of theft, and must bear the responsibility of participating in the destruction of our market economy and what remains of our free society. Those who understand inflation and protect themselves and their families to the best of their abilities should be complimented and not criticized; only the perpetrators of the inflationary process are deserving of our harsh condemnation.

Ron Paul, Congressional Record - U.S. House of Representatives, July 1, 1980

Sam Dobson vs. The State

Sam Dobson, who is part of the Free State Project in New Hampshire, was arrested on April 13th for challenging the legality of a sign prohibiting the use of cameras in the Keene District Court. Dobson visited the court with his video camera running and asked for a copy of the sign to verify if it was signed by the judge or not: it was not. Not that it matters, apparently, as there is no law in New Hampshire that allows a judge to arbitrarily restrict the use of cameras in a court.

The NolanChart.com gives a description of the incident:

Apparently not expecting to be arrested that day, Dodson wore a metal bracelet that had square edges. Naturally, when he was cuffed, these square edges began digging into the flesh of his wrist, causing bruises and lacerations. The arresting officers assumed Dodson was 'hamming it up' and/or attempting to agitate the Free Staters in the next room over. Keene police Sgt. Eliezer Rivera explained to a local newspaper that Dodson screamed every time a police officer touched him. It was only later that the police noticed Dodson's injuries, and readjusted the handcuffs.

Dodson was not booked, as he declined to give his name to the police. Throughout the arrest and the aborted booking process, Dodson refused to provide any information, submit to a TB test, or even walk. At no point was he belligerent or combative—and at no point was he cooperative. A hearing was held in Dodson's absense, and he was charged with three Class A misdemeanors carrying a sentence of up to three years in jail. Bail was set at $10,000.

Dodson is remaining silent. That is his right. Also among his rights are the rights to a speedy trial and the right to legal council. However, in Keene, NH, these rights are mutually incompatible—at least, insofar as they have been interpreted in Dodson's case. According to his captors, until Dodson abandons his right to remain silent, his rights to a speedy trial and to legal council have been suspended—indefinitely. Let me remind you, gentle reader, of Prof. Hoppe's definition of government above: "government is the ultimate arbiter, for the inhabitants of a given territory, regarding what is just and what is not".

Apparently, if you don't talk, you don't have rights.

On April 21st, Dobson had a friend transcribe a letter for him which has been posted on FreeKeene.com explaining what has happened after the initial arrest. Here's a portion:

I was quickly transported to the Cheshire Country Caging Facility. I was dragged into the visitation room. Before removing the handcuffs, I was told if I moved I would be sprayed. The sadist guard then suggested getting the taser. Luckily the man uncuffing me understood what I was doing and held my arm against my chest so I wouldn’t be tear gassed. I was eventually dragged into a holding cell in a noisy booking room where the lights were kept on 24 hours a day. I was once awoken to a 6′3″ imposing man barking questions. He didn’t like my answers and left. Some might consider these to be sleep deprivation tactics. I stayed there for 2 days without a toothbrush, toilet paper, or even soap. Until I scratched “FreeKeene.com, there is a better way” into the rubber wall of the holding cell. Then I was stripped out of my street clothes, dressed in prison orange, and moved into a solitary max-security cage called E Block, where I sit now on Thursday morning writing this. Yesterday I was delivered an order from Judicial Dictator Burke. Apparently they held a hearing without me. I’ve been charged with 3 Class A misdemeanors carrying up to 3 years in jail, with a $10,000 cash bail. The order says I have options; I can motion the court, hire a lawyer, bond out, etc. Only problem? The jail won’t allow me to use the phone, write a letter, petition the court, unless…I consent to their authority and tell them everything they want to know. You see, in New Hampshire, rights guaranteed by the government are only given to those who bow before the government’s authority. Otherwise, they are perfect willing to railroad me through the system, throw away 3 years of my life, cost the tazpayers over $100,000 dollars; all to be right about a system that boasts a 5% rehabilitation rate. Any animal trainer will tell you positive reinforcement is the way to change behavior. The current system is designed to control, restrict, anger, and enrage. When the prisoners lash out as expected, the state comes crashing down upon them. The lesson? The state’s authority cannot be challenged. “We will break you, so submit to our whims like a good slave.”

This brings me back to Burke’s order. All of the terms are subject to change if I’ll just consent, and he’s awaiting my response, which I can provide once I consent.

I’ve been on a hunger strike since I arrived. The guards are moving past their initial response of anger, to curiosity. They have started coming by asking why I won’t eat. I didn’t have an answer at first. I would simply tell them, “I’ll eat when I’m free.” Now I understand my motives. The state has taken away almost all of my freedoms. This is one of the few choices I have left. The fact is, I own me, at least until the state’s doctors decide they need to take that are from me as well.

On April 28th, FreeKeene.com posted a letter from a cell mate of Sam's describing the hunger strike and the treatment he is receiving:

I am writing this letter to make known to the outside some occurrances here regarding “Sam.” As you know “Sam” has been on a hunger strike…I believe, he has been on this strike since his arrest. Recently the correction officers here in jail have started a new strategy against Sam. At various times they are refusing to give him food. During the 3 times a day we are fed in jail, we line up and are each individually handed a tray of food by a corrections officer. Sam has been taking his tray, and after everybody is seated to eat, Sam gives his tray of food away to another inmate. Today, April 25 @11:30am, at lunch, when Sam approached to receive his tray of food he was refused. The corrections officer, officer Anderson, refused to give Sam a tray of food and Sam moved on and returned to his cell, without food while the rest of us sat down & ate. I have witnessed this type of incident happen to Sam several times before. Also, it must be said that this does not occur all the time.

It doesn't seem right for the officers to refuse to provide Sam food, regardless of whether or not he will eat it.

This is yet another sad incident in the United States justice system.

The Judge in question is known for his rational behaviour, as seen below:



For more insight into who Sam Dobson is, watch this:

Ottawa Won't Rule Out Buying Stake In GM

From the Globe and Mail.

Says Ontario Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant,"Regardless, any equity stake held by Canada or Ontario would be very, very, very small and the main purpose of it would be to provide supervision so that the taxpayers' dollars are protected".

Someone please explain how investing my money into a failing company is protecting it? If you want to protect my money, give it to me. I will make sure it is protected!

Russia To Cut 200,000 to 355,000 Military Officers Between Now And 2012

I often wonder, at which point in time did Russia and China become the countries that seem to be maintaining and implementing sensible policies while the West seems to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off?

Here's the link.

Adam Kokesh Of Iraq Veterans Against War

LOL

Politicians and Union bosses are going to own GM and Chrysler. LOL

Read here.

The article calls it the "reshaping of American capitalism". LOL. IT'S SOCIALISM! Some things are just so absurd all you can do is sit back and laugh LOL. I feel bad for the poor individuals who get stuck working for these gangsters. I feel bad for the American tax payers who will have to subsidize all of their failures over the next 10 to 20 years. But I can't stop laughing. LOL.

UPDATE: I feel bad for myself because Canada just bought a 3% stake in Chrysler, and now I'm a taxpayer subsidizing their failures.

Obama Asks Congress To Send Aid To Palestinians Via Hamas

I've slammed Obama quite a bit the past week or two, and it was all well deserved. However, this move is a positive one.

I don't support any foreign aid, what-so-ever. It typically lands in the hands of corrupt governments and groups that do not disperse it with the best intentions, and I don't believe the government has a right to determine where to donate the money I worked for. If I wanted to donate it to a particular country, I would.

In the political landscape of today, foreign aid is inevitable, I guess. The best we can hope for is that governments which do provide foreign aid do so in a fair manner. I'm not exactly sure how the US government is still able to provide any aid to countries though. If I were a US citizen I would wonder why the government is transferring so much wealth outside of the country when the unemployment rate has hit double digits in 10 states.

The Palestinians have had a hard go of it, partly because of the Unite States subsidization of the Israel military. For them to be willing to provide aid to the Palestinian government, dominated by Hamas, to be distributed to their suffering people is a step in the right direction. Hamas might be one of those corrupt governments I mentioned before, but they were elected and do represent the Palestinian people.

You can read about Obama's request in the LA Times.

I'm not a big fan of the article. The writer has referred to Hamas as a "militant group". I doubt he would ever give such a biased label to the governments of Israel, United States, Canada, or England, even though, given their very militant actions of the past decade, it would be completely accurate.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty? Not in Canada.

Canada's Supreme Court has ruled that Police are able to confiscate money and property of individuals as "proceeds of crime" even if the individual they are stealing from has neither been charged nor convicted of a crime.

This reasserts my perspective that government is simply a legalized mafia.

Read about it here.

Daily Dr. Paul Quote - Education

Currently, consumers are less than sovereign in the education market. Funding decisions are increasingly controlled by the federal government. Because "he who pays the piper calls the tune," public, and even private schools, are paying greater attention to the dictates of federal "educrats" while ignoring the wishes of the parents to an ever-greater degree. As such, the lack of consumer sovereignty in education is destroying parental control of education and replacing it with state control. Loss of control is a key reason why so many of America's parents express dissatisfaction with the educational system.

According to a study by The Polling Company, over 70 percent of all Americans support education tax credits! This is just one of numerous studies and public opinion polls showing that Americans want Congress to get the federal bureaucracy out of the schoolroom and give parents more control over their children's education.

Ron Paul, Congressional Record - U.S. House of Representatives, February 11, 2003; from the introduction to The Family Education Freedom Act.

4 CONFIRMED CASES OF SWINE FLU IN WINDSOR, NOVA SCOTIA

4 individuals have a mild case and are recovering. Will provide link when I get home.

This Gave Me Very Real Chills

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but this was one week before the swine flu outbreak. . .

Ron Paul @ Wake Forest University

UPDATE: This is a pre-speech video done up by the hosts:





Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Chuck Baldwin On CIFTA: Back Door Move To Control Guns

Read about it here. Here's an excerpt:

Should the Senate ratify CIFTA, Americans who reload ammunition would be required to get a license from the government, and factory guns and ammunition would be priced almost out of existence due to governmental requirements to "mark" each one manufactured. Even the simple act of adding an after-market piece of equipment to a firearm, such as a scope or bipod, or reassembling a gun after cleaning it could fall into the category of "illicit manufacturing" of firearms and require government license and oversight.

In addition, CIFTA would authorize the U.S. federal government (and open the door to international entities) to supervise and regulate virtually the entire American firearms industry. Making matters worse is the fact that, as a treaty, this Act does not have to be passed by both houses of Congress, nor is it subject to judicial oversight. All Obama needs to do in order to enact this unconstitutional and egregious form of gun control is convince a Democratic-controlled Senate to pass it.

Daily Dr. Paul Quote

"Capitalism should not be condemned, since we haven't had capitalism. A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determine by savings, not credit creation by a central bank. It's not capitalism when the system is plagued with incomprehensible rules regarding mergers, acquisitions, and stock sales, along with wage controls, price controls, protectionism, corporate subsidies, international management of trade, complex and punishing corporate taxes, privileged government contracts to the military-industrial complex, and a foreign policy controlled by corporate interests and overseas investments. Add to this centralized federal mismanagement of farming, education, medicine, insurance, banking, and welfare. This is not capitalism!"

Ron Paul, Congressional Record - U.S. House of Representatives, July 9, 2002

"Obama Disappoints Civil Libertarians By Seeking To Limit Defendants' Rights"

This is the headline on the front page of the Huffingtonpost this morning, in reference to an Associated Press article in which they write, "The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to overrule a 23 year-old decision that stopped police from initiating questions unless a defendant's lawyer is present, the latest stance that has disappointed civil rights and civil liberties groups."

Obama seems to be on a roll disappointing "civil rights" and "civil liberties" groups as well as "civil libertarians". Stupid hippies.

It seems that these news organizations are implying that its only the people who fit into these small groups who are disappointed, when in reality, Obama's record in these first 100 days is one that should disappoint humanity.

Quote - Ron Paul

Yes, the Fed does help to finance the welfare state. Yes, the Fed does come to the rescue when funds are needed to fight wars and for us to pay the cost of maintaining our empire. Yes, the Fed is able to stimulate the economy and help create what appear to be good times. But it's all built on an illusion. Wealth cannot come from the printing press. Empires crumble and a price is eventually paid for arrogance toward others. And booms inevitably turn into busts.

Ron Paul, Challenge to America: A Current Assessment of Our Republic , February 7, 2001

One Business Still Growing During The Recession

L-3 Communications saw first quarter profit rise 5% due to increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance business with the United States Federal Government.

Read here.

Him.

The past eight years in the United States are thought, by most, to be the years of the worst presidency in the history of the United States. It began on a rainy day in Washington, DC in January of 2000. Protesters were all over the capital shouting at the man that some had thought did not honestly win the election. I know some share my opinion that he was appointed by the Supreme Court. He spent a large portion of his first two years as President on vacation, and when his moment to shine arrived, he was asleep at the wheel. The attacks of 9/11 provided the United States government an opportunity to thoroughly re-evaluate its foreign policy. They could have listened to those that wished to do them harm and acted to bring more peace to the world. Instead, in what he must have considered an attempt to save his presidency, he failed to allow a proper investigation of these attacks and 9/11 is now, shamefully, known as the excuse a government, unaware of its own limitations, used to initiate two aggressive and invasive wars that have offered nothing to the world but hundreds of thousands dead, millions dislocated, some tortured, and with the greatest world power left standing on weak knees.

He certainly was the worst President of the United States. So awful you would think it would be easy for the individual who followed to bring positive change. All he would need to do is bring transparency and honesty to a government which has lacked any; a government which owes this honesty and transparency to the people which it serves. He could bring justice to those who have suffered injustice at the hands of the government. He could end the ridiculous deficits and military spending. He could do all of this and at least some respect would be awarded. He simply needed to act on those atrocities which have brought the most shame to the American people, and he would win most people over. He doesn’t even need to support the same ideals that I do; he could simply do the right thing. Unfortunately, instead of a president who would take action to bring change for the better, who would do the right thing, we’ve got an above average speaker, with a strong voice and a nice smile, who appears to lack any ambition to do anything at all that might ruffle any feathers, anywhere, ever.

He’s a president who calls on his citizens to sacrifice, while he spends like a drunken sailor. He’s a president who calls for change, while he requests continual funding to fight the same wars. He’s a president who called for the injustices of Guantanamo to end, while defending his right to commit the same injustices in Bagram. He’s a president who calls for responsibility, while expects no corporation to take responsibility for their mistakes. He’s a president who releases only some of the information he has on the torture the US Government has committed, WHILE CALLING FOR NO INDEPENDENT CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION ON THOSE WHO COMMITTED THESE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. He’s a president who says absolutely nothing while a member of his own party, a House Representative, is caught on tape selling out her country for a job. He’s a president who laughs off an individual’s right to ingest whichever plant he or she wants as if it’s just those crazy internet people who want it. He’s a president who is unjustly taxing our future generations without representation, while continually appointing members to his cabinet who are too inept to pay their own. He’s a president who calls for transparency, promises to put every bill online for 5 days, and passes a $800 billion bill without even giving congress time to read it. He’s a president who calls for transparency and has offered no support for HR1207, a bill that would require an audit of the Federal Reserve.

While TV pundits argue over if what he has done is right or wrong, I’m more concerned over that which is most obvious. It’s obviously wrong to tax future generations with extravagant deficits as they have no representation today. It’s obviously wrong to defend holding prisoners from third-party countries indefinitely without charges or trial. It’s obviously wrong to pass a law without allowing the people whom you serve time to read it. It’s obviously wrong to claim to support individual liberties, and then grant immunity to the telco’s for breaking the law (though, he did this before he was President). It’s obviously wrong to support imprisoning someone for smoking a plant. It’s obviously wrong for the people to not have full oversight over the Federal Reserve. It’s obviously wrong to not investigate and charge ALL who were involved in torturing individuals; the soldiers, the doctors, the lawyers, the CIA agents, and the politicians.

It’s obviously wrong for those in the media to focus on the republicans making an ass of themselves while they should be focusing on the obvious wrongs his administration is committing. As an individual, I don’t care if some right-wing talking head thinks we should’ve ignored that torture happened, I’m more concerned that the “leader of the free world” lacks the testicular fortitude to go after those who broke the law. I’m more concerned that he laughs off a law which is responsible for America having the highest incarceration rates in the world, when he himself isn’t so innocent. I’m more concerned that when the citizens of the United States hold protests across the country, the media focuses on the fringe and his administration laughs it off, because, even though they’re creating deficits that will haunt their country and its citizens for generations, they’re not raising taxes.

Often people compare this president to the great Abraham Lincoln or FDR. As I reflect on his first one-hundred days, give or take one or two, I have a nervous feeling his term as president will unfortunately bring about a mixture of those two presidencies that no one, even those of us across the border up north, will remember fondly.

Hillary Impressed By Ron Paul's Following

Comic: Pirate Bay

Taken from here.

Pirate Bay lost a legal battle in Sweden the past week for providing an avenue for people to share information and not censoring how individuals use their service. For this, these individuals have been fined $3 million and sentenced to a year in prison.

They were essentially charged for the same thing Yahoo! and Google do on a daily basis.

Jim Carrey On Vaccines

Today Jim Carrey wrote a stirring rebuttal to Campbell Brown's declaration that the "judgement is in" on the dangers of vaccines. I do not usually write about health matters here, but it was intriguing to see Jim Carrey write an editorial on a social matter. Carrey is personally invested in this topic as some claim vaccines lead to autism as he has a strong relationship with Jenny McCarthy and her autistic son (as I understand from the tabloids on the shelf by the cash register at Sobeys).

The controversy around vaccines is enough that once I have a child, I'm going to be reading up on every drug the hospital suggests should be put into him or her. While some depend on the government to properly approve and regulate these things, I'd rather depend on my own personal research when the time comes.

From the editorial:

The truth is that no one without a vested interest in the profitability of vaccines has studied all 36 of them in depth. There are more than 100 vaccines in development, and no tests for cumulative effect or vaccine interaction of all 36 vaccines in the current schedule have ever been done. If I'm mistaken, I challenge those who are making such grand pronouncements about vaccine safety to produce those studies.

If we are to believe that the ruling of the 'vaccine court' in these cases mean that all vaccines are safe, then we must also consider the rulings of that same court in the Hannah Polling and Bailey Banks cases, which ruled vaccines were the cause of autism and therefore assume that all vaccines are unsafe. Clearly both are irresponsible assumptions, and neither option is prudent.

In this growing crisis, we cannot afford to blindly trumpet the agenda of the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) or vaccine makers. Now more than ever, we must resist the urge to close this book before it's been written. The anecdotal evidence of millions of parents who've seen their totally normal kids regress into sickness and mental isolation after a trip to the pediatrician's office must be seriously considered. The legitimate concern they and many in the scientific community have that environmental toxins, including those found in vaccines, may be causing autism and other disorders (Aspergers, ADD, ADHD), cannot be dissuaded by a show of sympathy and a friendly invitation to look for the 'real' cause of autism anywhere but within the lucrative vaccine program.

A Reminder

Ron Paul On Secession

Heavy Budgetary Cuts (Not Really)

Through parts of Sunday and yesterday, there were headlines in the news in regard to Obama calling for government agency heads to come together and cut $100 million.

Can you imagine? I think he's asking for a little too much. $100 million is an awful lot of money for government to cut. American citizens NEED the government to spend that money, because otherwise, who would???

Also, it would seem to have a negative effect to Obama's economic strategy of creating aggregate demand in order to keep prices up and keep people employed. Less money spent equals less demand and less jobs, supposedly. Didn't he say the other day that because individuals are saving money, the government needs to spend?

Instead of pulling all of these agency heads away from their day-to-day work of screwing the taxpayer, Obama could simply put the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on hold for 12 hours. This way he'd save more than $100 million; maybe a few lives too.

The Pledge Of Allegiance

From LewRockwell.com. Apparently Americans didn't start putting their hands over their heart until after World War II.

"Fascism By Any Other Name"

Butler Shaffer on LewRockwell.com:

If Jon Stewart and the gang at MSNBC are now determined to become the defenders of Obama in much the same way that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh were the electronic Swiss guards for George W. Bush, they ought to at least play according to the accepted definitions of words. The Obama protectors are incensed that tax-protesters would characterize modern government as "fascist." Stewart and the MSNBC crowd tried to create the impression that this term was used exclusively against Obama, carefully editing the words of tax-protester Cody Willard to serve that end. But as Willard, himself, has illustrated - with film of the entire interview - the fascist label was being applied to both Republicans and Democrats, as symptomatic of the corporate-state system that is the essence of fascism. Had any of these network babblers bothered to check a dictionary, they would have discovered that "fascism" is a system in which "title to property remains in private hands, but control is exercised by the state."

Some of the MSNBC gang also took offense at the suggestion that Obama's efforts to get his numerous departments to cut $100 million from their budgets was but a token gesture designed to deflect attention away from the $4 trillion (or more) dollars being shoveled out the back door to the corporate recipients of this bipartisan fascist plunder scheme. Are intelligent men and women - whose minds, apparently, are engaged in more productive pursuits than viewing MSNBC - to take comfort in knowing that Mr. Obama is telling his top officials: "for every $40,000 that your department spends, make certain you reduce spending by $1."

Maybe this is what the Obama campaign slogan was all about: "change" simply meant "chump change."

Western Envoys Walk Out On Ahmadinejad

Given Ahmadinejad has made some very offensive statements in the past, this is very low on the totem pole.

What does it say about Canada's and the rest of the West's envoys at the UN anti-racism conference in Geneva that they would walk out on a speech defending the Palestinians? I'm rather disappointed that we do not have more mature, and more sympathetic, representatives on the international stage. Ahmadinejad will continue to make the West look like Israeli lackies and fools on this issue because this is certainly one thing he has gotten right: the Palestinians suffer extreme oppression from an extremely racist Israeli society that is illegally occupying their land.

Quote - Thomas Jefferson

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds . . . [we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our mis-managers to account to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers . . . . And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for [another] till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automotons of misery . . . . And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."

--July 12, 1816 letter from Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval

"If you pay people to be poor, you'll never run out of poor people"

Daniel Hannan, a Conservative MEP from South East England, is becoming one of my more favored politicians. I do not know too much about him as of yet, but when he does cross my radar he seems to typically have intelligent things to say.

You can read a short article written by him on the Conservative's role with poverty in England here.

He's certainly correct to say "poverty is not simply an absence of money."

Blowback from 1953

For Liberty Trailor

Friedrich Hayek - The Pretense of Knowledge

The following is the first paragraph of the speech Hayek gave when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974. You can read the entire speech here. It is a great introduction to economics as a science and provides an enlightening description of the limitations of mathematical models used by mainstream economists to attempt to "fix" the economy. I would recommend taking the time to read the entire lecture:

The particular occasion of this lecture, combined with the chief practical problem which economists have to face today, have made the choice of its topic almost inevitable. On the one hand the still recent establishment of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science marks a significant step in the process by which, in the opinion of the general public, economics has been conceded some of the dignity and prestige of the physical sciences. On the other hand, the economists are at this moment called upon to say how to extricate the free world from the serious threat of accelerating inflation which, it must be admitted, has been brought about by policies which the majority of economists recommended and even urged governments to pursue. We have indeed at the moment little cause for pride: as a profession we have made a mess of things.

Jon Stewart Called Out On Deceitful Edit

I'd like to see Stewart pick a fight with Willard the way he did with Jim Cramer. It would give some serious air time to someone that understands the problems in the United States better than most others.

I doubt it will happen though. Since the election, Stewart has been idolizing Obama like most of the mainstream media. His message has been especially statist the past couple of months and he wouldn't risk giving air time to someone that speaks out against government.

Cody Willard should consider sticking the word "economic" before "fascism" though as it better describes the situation.

How An Economy Grows and Why It Doesn't

Young Girl In Wisconsin Gives Stirring Speech

If only the lady would stop shouting in the background.

Dr. Rand Paul In Bowling Green, KY

Behind The Scenes Of CNN's Tea Party Coverage

The lady in this video really gives it to the CNN reporter; she sounds like she's been listening to Ron Paul. I love the "Republicans Suck Too" sign.

Congressman Barrett Booed At For 5 Straight Minutes

Some think Ron Paul enables the Republicans; I have a feeling there's something quite different occuring.

The Successes of Regulation . . .

. . .are few and far between.

Let us first flash back to the Madoff scandal and how the FCC completely failed to do their job despite several warnings.

Yesterday I read this article about the Food-safety agency in Canada waiting a month to disclose where the contaminated ready-to-eat meats had been distributed during the outbreak of listeriosis.

Then today this article was on the RawStory in which an investigation by the Associated Press unveils the United States Government's "don't ask don't tell" policy on big pharma's water pollution.

Anyone else feeling safe?

The Onion: Obama's Double Homicide

There's a theory out there that mainstream news in the United States is pro-left wing, as in the "left-wing media". However, I subscribe to theory that the media is pro-government; as shown by the Iraq war in 2003.

This recent artice from The Onion is hilarious in its satire of the media's adoration of Obama.

Campaign For Liberty In Albany, NY

NASA Study: Clean Air Regulations Warm Earth

I'm skeptical about most studies released, especially government sponsored ones. You never know what politics have played out in the background to push for certain results.

It is interesting though that NASA has released a study that links sulfates (which come from coal and oil) to regulating "climate change" and keeping the earth cool.

Read about it here.

My Garden

Last weekend Mom and Dad helped me plant some organic leaf lettuce and strawberries on my balcony. They're growing :).

Congressman Shimkus on HR1207

Quote - John Maynard Keynes

"Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back."

Ron Paul On The Drug War

Quote - Alan Greenspan

As Alan Greenspan comes out defending his policies while blaming capitalism and the savings rate in China, lets reflect on what he said in regard to the stock market crash of 1929:

"The excess credit which the Fed pumped into the economy spilled over into the stock market -- triggering a fantastic speculative boom."

I took this from LewRockwell.com. The quote was taken from Ayn Rand's 1966 book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.

Rachel Maddow on Bagram

Right-Wingers are RADICAL DUDE

The Department of Homeland Security just released a report warning of right-wing home-grown terrorism.

I suppose labeling the opposition as "radicals", "extremists" and "terrorists" is certainly one method to divide in order to conquer.

It's beyond frightening that the government would release a report that is so obviously biased against a whole political wing within the country in an obvious attempt to divide the people.

This is just the beginning folks.

Read about it here.

Disney Tax Propaganda

Police Brutality in Maine

Watch a video of police brutality at Colby College in Waterville, Maine here.

Pirates and Emperors

Inflation: The Tax Everyone Shrugs Off

The following data is concerning the United States. Similar data is harder to find in Canada.

Adam de Angeli from The Campaign For Liberty did some calculating and came up with the following:

. . .using the change in the price of gold seemed wiser than an arbitrarily made-up "95% purchasing power lost," mandating the change of entry title from 3% to 4%. The rest of the controversy is shown in the comments that follow.

Only 4%? That may sound like a pretty sensational statement at first. After all "since the Federal Reserve was chartered, the dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power," people say. That surely sounds worse than a 4% tax rate. But fpr the loss to occur over a 95-year period, that's about what it was.

Assuming a 5% retained purchasing power since 95 years ago, X95 = 5% (0.05) where X is the percentage of value retained from one year to the next, solving for X we have .051/95 or .9689 (96.89%), subtract that from 100% for an annual average inflation rate of 3.11%.

Update: using price of gold for 1913 vs 2008, the average annual rate of change is 3.9%.

Of course, the danger of hyper-inflation is still very real, and the annual average over a century is no assurance that the pace of the problem isn't accelerating. But don't make the mistake of saying that inflation is the most severe tax--the culprit is still the income tax.

Of course the culprit is the income tax. Why should I live in a society where everyone else gets to tell me how much of my income I can keep? At least the government controls the income tax though, and at least they pretend to be a direct arm of the people.

Inflation is much more insidious. Inflation is an increase in the money supply. So when the central bank creates more dollars, they inflate the money supply. If you've ever taken microeconomics, you know when the supply of a good or service increases, the price, or value of that good or service decreases. This occurs with the value of our money as well. So if there is $10 billion in circulation and the Fed prints another $10 billion, as the money works its way through the economy the value of it will decrease (prices go up) to reflect the increase in supply.

This has a direct consequence to us. If you put $10,000 under your mattress and keep it there for a year, the central bank will rob you of $300 of that money simply by printing more cash. You'll still have the $10,000 under your mattress, you'll simply only be able to purchase $9,700 worth of goods a year ago.

Doesn't seem like such a big deal, but wouldn't it bother you if someone just took $300 out from under your mattress without your permission? Its the same thing, and done over long periods of time it is disastrous to the poor and the middle class. Its a redirection of wealth to bankers and those who are politically well connected. This is why there has been a perpetual increase in the income gap over the past 80 - 90 years.

ITS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. It is unethical and pure thievery.

Some will argue that this is balanced by a steady increase in wages. This is false. Even if wages kept with inflation, the increases only ever occurs after prices increase. The new cash goes to the banks who loan it out to big business who spend the cash before prices go up. Their spending of the cash forces prices up. The middle class is stuck paying these higher prices until they see a raise in wages that matches inflation. So even if wages increase with inflation, we will still see a perpetual redistribution of wealth to the upper classes and a robbing of the middle class and poor because the wages only go up after prices increase.

What we see in reality is that wages DO NOT increase with inflation. Today I read the following from Parade.com:

The Economy Booms, But Most Paychecks Don't

One reason for the widespread pessimism is that most Americans haven’t seen the nation’s economic boom reflected in their paychecks. Last year’s 1.1% average raise was their first real pay increase in a long time. Workers’ productivity grew an impressive 18% between 2000 and 2006—but most people’s inflation-adjusted weekly wages rose only 1% during that time. This was the first economic expansion since World War II without a sustained pay increase for rank-and-file workers. Typical 2007 raises will be small, experts say. They predict slower economic growth and higher unemployment this year.

In the last five years, all the salary gains went to the highest-paid workers, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s economy.com. “ Average income” is a misleading statistic, he explains: If one of 300 million workers gets a $300 million raise, for example, and the other 299,999,999 get none, the average salary has risen—but only one person is earning more. “A better measure is median income—the midpoint between the top 50% of earners and the bottom 50%,” says Zandi. “And median income has struggled to keep up with inflation.”"

This is why I argue for gold backed currency. Gold keeps our economy honest. It restricts a central bank from simply creating cash and redistributing wealth. If you own gold, its value rarely changes. The price of oil versus gold has hardly changed since 1870. Moving toward a solid currency is the most moral action any government could take for the middle class. Think about all of the baby boomers on the brink of retirement but have been robbed of large portions of their pensions and retirement savings because they were forced to invest in stocks (mutual funds) to try to make returns greater than inflation. If they had bought gold, they wouldn't have lost a dime. The purchasing power of their savings would have stayed constant.

Prime Minister Brown Gets Ass Handed To Him

Ron Paul

Obama Continues to Disappoint Part 4

Recently, President Obama referred to himself as un-American and tyrannical. He suggested that his policies provide a potent means for stoking anti-Americanism and fueling terrorism. He also pointed out that he has committed a violent betrayal of core, centuries-old Western principles of justice.

He didn't actually say this about himself directly. He used these descriptions during a speech to the United States Senate in September 2006 while arguing in favor of an amendment to the disgusting Military Commissions Act that would restore Habeas Corpus to prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. The comments were directed toward those who did not support the amendment; to those who support rounding up individuals in foreign lands who are "suspected" of terrorist activity and then holding them prisoner indefinitely without charge or trial.

Not only has Obama changed his position on this subject, he is fighting for the executive branch in the United States to hold this power. Glenn Greenwald writes about Obama's change in position here.

In Greenwald's words, this is what's happening:

Back in February, the Obama administration shocked many civil libertarians by filing a brief in federal court that, in two sentences, declared that it embraced the most extremist Bush theory on this issue -- the Obama DOJ argued, as The New York Times's Charlie Savage put it, "that military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their imprisonment there, embracing a key argument of former President Bush’s legal team." Remember: these are not prisoners captured in Afghanistan on a battlefield. Many of them have nothing to do with Afghanistan and were captured far, far away from that country -- abducted from their homes and workplaces -- and then flown to Bagram to be imprisoned. Indeed, the Bagram detainees in the particular case in which the Obama DOJ filed its brief were Yemenis and Tunisians captured outside of Afghanistan (in Thailand or the UAE, for instance) and then flown to Bagram and locked away there as much as six years without any charges. That is what the Obama DOJ defended, and they argued that those individuals can be imprisoned indefinitely with no rights of any kind -- as long as they are kept in Bagram rather than Guantanamo.

Last month, a Bush appointed federal judge, John Bates, ruled the prisoners kept in Bagram have a right to a trial.

Obama has filed an appeal against Bates' decision, once again disappointing those of us out there who had hoped he would at least bring back the civil liberties that were lost during the Bush presidency.

Obama apparently thinks he has the right to imprison who he wants, for how long he wants, where he wants. Are these not the actions of a tyrant?

Obama Continues to Disappoint Part 3

President Obama continues to disappoint on individual liberties. In regard to the warrantless wiretapping suit he supports throwing out to protect state secrets, Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs had the following interaction with RawStory.com:

During his presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama criticized the Bush Administration for its use of “state secrets” as a legal argument to prevent lawsuits from moving forward. His campaign website listed state secrets under the headline “Problems.”

“The Bush administration has ignored public disclosure and has invoked a legal tool known as the ‘state secrets’ privilege more than any other previous administration to get cases thrown out of court,” his campaign site said.

Raw Story questioned Gibbs about the apparent contradiction.

“Before he was elected, the President said that the Bush administration had abused the state secrets privilege,” this reporter asked. “Has he changed his mind?”

“No,” Gibbs replied. “I mean, obviously, we're dealing with some suits, and the President will -- and the Justice Department will make determinations based on protecting our national security.”

“So he still thinks that the Bush administration abused the state secrets privilege?” Raw Story asked.

“Yes,” Gibbs said.

While such an obvious and idiotic contradiction would have been played to death by the media had it been used by the Bush administration, my bet is that not a word of it gets mentioned by NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, or FOX. Also, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show hasn't said a word about the entire situation, and anyone that watches the Daily Show knows that he would have played it to death had it been George Bush and Dana Perino (Bush's Press Secretary during the last few years) taking such a blatant hypocritical action and making such idiotic statements.

Bruce Fein On Liberty

The Economic Liberty Lecture Series: Bruce Fein from The Future of Freedom Foundation on Vimeo.

Over Regulation

Citizens in Pennsylvania can no longer bake pies at home and sell them at bake sales, unless the kitchen has been inspected by the state Department of Agriculture. That's right, you have to have the State Government inspect your kitchen before you can sell baked goods to your neighbor.

Read here.

The following excerpt makes it obvious who benefits from the regulations:

They hadn't. The Rochester Township church was informed that the pies couldn't be served because they didn't come from an inspected kitchen, according to the state's food code.

Since then, sales of homemade baked goods donated by parishioners have ceased while the church is instead selling store-bought pies, cakes and doughnuts.

The irony behind extreme regulations like this is hilarious because the portion of the political spectrum that supports them is typically the same portion of the political spectrum that is anti-corporate, anti-WalMart and of course the corporations benefit because they're the only ones that can afford the testing to pass the regulations. Small businesses and individuals get hurt because they cannot.

Didn't They Get Rid Of This Guy?

Reuters reports on the President's request for $83.4 billion to murder brown people.

You can read about it here.

I thought this president finished his eight years and went home to Texas?

Ron Paul: Obama Backed By Neocons

The RawStory.com recently picked up on one of Ron Paul's editorials where he makes the following point:

Some may notice that the neo-conservatives who masterminded the policy of global interventions are not complaining about the level of military and foreign spending. This is because rather than drawing down our costly interventions, Obama is largely staying the course on these issues. In fact, this week a group of leading neoconservatives met to discuss how best to support the President on foreign policy! I am disappointed and concerned that, in spite of a change in leadership, we will remain the policeman of the world, placing ourselves at grave danger in many ways.

And of course we know the result of such a foreign policy. If not, you can see it here.

Disney: Cheaters or Resourceful?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Obama Continues to Disappoint Part 2

Glenn Greenwald from Salon.com wrote a piece talking about the position of Obama's administration on wire-tapping, its defense of the Bush administration and how Obama's assertion of power is even more outrageous than anything ever attempted by Bush:

But late Friday afternoon, the Obama DOJ filed the government's first response to EFF's lawsuit (.pdf), the first of its kind to seek damages against government officials under FISA, the Wiretap Act and other statutes, arising out of Bush's NSA program. But the Obama DOJ demanded dismissal of the entire lawsuit based on (1) its Bush-mimicking claim that the "state secrets" privilege bars any lawsuits against the Bush administration for illegal spying, and (2) a brand new "sovereign immunity" claim of breathtaking scope -- never before advanced even by the Bush administration -- that the Patriot Act bars any lawsuits of any kind for illegal government surveillance unless there is "willful disclosure" of the illegally intercepted communications.

In other words, beyond even the outrageously broad "state secrets" privilege invented by the Bush administration and now embraced fully by the Obama administration, the Obama DOJ has now invented a brand new claim of government immunity, one which literally asserts that the U.S. Government is free to intercept all of your communications (calls, emails and the like) and -- even if what they're doing is blatantly illegal and they know it's illegal -- you are barred from suing them unless they "willfully disclose" to the public what they have learned.

Obama Continues To Disappoint

In his continual effort to demonstrate his complete disregard for individual liberties and his complete support of an over-reaching government, Obama is continuing the Bush administration's policies on wire-tapping and invading individuals' privacy. He is also arguing that any abuses by the State are state secrets and not subject to judicial scrutiny.

The government is not subject to judicial scrutiny? Wow.

This man has demonstrated he has no respect for the taxes he steals from citizens by bailing out the bankers that essentially own him, and now he is demonstrating absolutely no respect for the citizens and their constitutional rights.

Read about it here.

Quote - Deng Xiaoping

If capitalism is restored in a big socialist country, it will inevitably become a superpower. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which has been carried out in China in recent years, and the campaign of criticizing Lin Piao and Confucius now under way throughout China, are both aimed at preventing capitalist restoration and ensuring that socialist China will never change her colour and will always stand by the oppressed peoples and oppressed nations. If one day China should change her colour and turn into a superpower, if she too should play the tyrant in the world, and everywhere subject others to her bullying, aggression and exploitation, the people of the world should identify her as social-imperialism, expose it, oppose it and work together with the Chinese people to overthrow it. -Deng Xiaoping

I Miss Rick Moranis

Dark Helmet: What the Hell am I looking at?! When does this happen in the movie?!
Col. Sandurz: Now! You're looking at "now," sir. Everything that happens now is happening "now."
Dark Helmet: What happened to "then?"
Col. Sandurz: We passed it.
Dark Helmet: When?
Col. Sandurz: Just now. We're at now "now."
Dark Helmet: Go back to "then."
Col. Sandurz: When?
Dark Helmet: Now.
Col. Sandurz: Now?!
Dark Helmet: Now!
Col. Sandurz: I can't.
Dark Helmet: Why?
Col. Sandurz: We missed it.
Dark Helmet: When?
Col. Sandurz: Just now.
Dark Helmet: When will "then" be "now?"
Col. Sandurz: Soon.
Dark Helmet: How soon?
Spaceball: Sir!
Dark Helmet: What?
Spaceball: We've identified their location.
Dark Helmet: Where?
Spaceball: It's the moon of Vega.
Col. Sandurz: Good work. Set a course and prepare for our arrival.
Dark Helmet: When?
Spaceball: Nineteen-hundred hours.
Col. Sandurz: Buy high noon tomorrow they will be our prisoners.
Dark Helmet: Who?!

Pat Buchanan On The Fed

Pat Buchanan has written a piece titled Should We Kill the Fed? where he makes a good case to do just that. When reading the piece its easy to see it was inspired by Tom Woods' book Meltdown.

The following large excerpt of Buchanan's piece describes concisely and accurately what cause the Great Depression and what ended the Great Depression with the use of clear logic:

Indeed, in 1932, FDR lacerated Hoover for having presided over the "greatest spending administration in peacetime in all of history." His running mate, John Nance Garner, accused Hoover of "leading the country down the path to socialism." And "Cactus Jack" was right.

Terrified of the bogeyman that causes Ben Bernanke sleepless nights – deflation, falling prices – FDR ordered crops destroyed, pigs slaughtered, and business cartels to cut production and fix prices.

FDR mistook the consequences of the Depression – falling prices – for the cause of the depression. But prices were simply returning to where they belonged in a free market, the first step in any cure.

Obama is repeating the failed policies of Hoover and FDR, by refusing to let prices fall. Obama, with his intervention to prop up housing prices and Bernanke with his gushers of money to bail out bankrupt banks and businesses are creating a new bubble that will burst even more spectacularly.

The biggest myth, writes Woods, is that it was World War II that ended the Great Depression. He quotes Paul Krugman:

"What saved the economy and the New Deal was the enormous public works project known as World War II, which finally provided a fiscal stimulus adequate to the economy's needs."

This Nobel Prize winner's analysis, writes Woods, is a "stupefying and bizarre misunderstanding of what actually happened,"

Undoubtedly, with 29 percent of the labor force conscripted at one time or another into the armed forces, and their jobs taken by elderly men, women and teenagers with little work experience, unemployment will fall.

But how can an economy be truly growing 13 percent a year, as the economists claim, when there is rationing, shortages everywhere, declining product quality, an inability to buy homes and cars, and a longer work week? When the cream of the labor force is in boot camps or military bases, or storming beaches, sailing ships, flying planes and marching with rifles, how can your real economy be booming?

It was 1946, a year economists predicted would result in a postwar depression because government spending fell by two-thirds, that proved the biggest boom year in all of American history.

Why? Because the real economy was producing what people wanted: cars, TVs, homes. Businesses were responding to consumers, not the clamor of a government run by dollar-a-year men who wanted planes, tanks, guns and ships to blow things up.

If Anyone Was Doubting China's Rise As A World Power. . .

I love how the last half of the segment talks about China's factories closing, as if these factories closing were a big deal considering their economy is still booming while the rest of us are suffering. And then they talk as if 30 million of 900 million out of work is this huge problem. That's 3%! If only our unemployment was that low! If the Chinese aren't rich enough to buy their own products, then what was the point of showing all of the footage of Chinese buying their own products? And who is buying their products? Their economy is still growing so somebody must be. . .the problem is that their pegged currency creates an illusion that the per capita annual income of $3000 US doesn't give the average Chinese the wealth to buy their own products when they actually do.

Peace

Main Stream Media Begins To Worry of Collapsing Dollar

Today the Politico ran a story title "A Sneak Attack On The U.S. Dollar?" which communicates a bit of fear of the emergence of a new world currency, specifically a gold backed currency, and the effect this would have on the US dollar.

The following is an except from the article:

But if the Chinese or the Russians or some transnational entity such as a sovereign wealth fund were able to put together a credible replacement for the dollar as a global currency, capital would flow out of dollars and out of the United States in an unprecedented surge. The result would be a world in which borrowing costs for the U.S. could nearly double, requiring hundreds of billions a year in new federal spending on interest on the U.S. debt. The White House and Congress could be forced to make dramatic and politically destabilizing cuts in federal domestic and military spending to keep the government from going bankrupt.

Quote

"The social engineer is the reformer who is prepared to liquidate all those who do not fit into his plan for the arrangement of human affairs."

Mises

Ignatieff Dissapoints

The following Ignatieff quote was recently brought to my attention:

"Adopting lesser evils is that, in a War on Terror, we simply cannot adhere to the existing rule of law as written. If we do, we inevitably will give terrorists the advantage. We cannot abandon the rule of law, however, because this would betray our institutions. To defeat terror, therefore, we will be compelled to traffic in evil, i.e., strategies like indefinite detention of suspects on lower standards of probable cause, coercive interrogations that fall just short of torture, targeted assassinations of terrorist suspects, and even preemptive war. Sadly, the issue is not whether we are going to do these things—America is doing most of them already. The issue is whether we can do these things, yet keep them under democratic control to ensure that America does not lose the soul and substance of its free institutions."

The paper in which it was written can be found here.

This gentleman seems to be absent morality. Targeted assassinations of "suspects" are akin to murder; individuals have a right to a fair trial. Preemptive war is of the same nature, as you are causing harm to those who have committed no crime. I will never vote for a party with this individual at its head.

Peter Schiff Interviews Marc Faber

You can read the interview here.

Dr. Faber studied Economics at the University of Zurich and obtained a PhD in Economics magna cum laude when he was 24. Currently he publishes a monthly newsletter, "The Gloom Boom & Doom" report which highlights unusual investment opportunities. He is also the author of "Tomorrow's Gold - Asia's Age of Discovery" which was on Amazon's best seller list for several weeks. Dr. Faber is a regular contributor to several leading financial publications and regularly appears on financial TV shows and is oft quoted in major financial newspapers and magazines around the world.

The following is one of his more widely viewed clips on YouTube:



Dr. Faber's final statement from the Peter Schiff interview:

We live now in an environment of very, very high volatility, because on the one hand you have the private sector that has tightened lending conditions, and wealth has been destroyed, and households will save more and be more prudent financially than they've been; in other words, credit or liquidity is tightening.

Then on the other hand you have these clowns in government that think that they can solve any problem. As Mr. Geithner said recently,"we know how to fix the problems." Well, if he knew so well how to fix the problems, why did he let the problems happen in the first place? He was the New York Fed Chairman when the conditions were created! And Mr. Bernanke was the Fed Chairman since, I think, 2005, and he was the architect of this ultra-expansionary monetary policy. They have no credibility at all, and in my opinion they're going to make matters worse. And the worse the economic conditions will become, the more Mr. Bernanke will throw money at the system; and that will lead to huge volatility in the market. You can have rebounds in individual stocks, and in whole markets, of 30 percent in one month, then they can drop 20 percent in a month; don't forget, between November and the end of the December, the 30-year Treasury ran at 20 percent; and from its peak at the end of December it dropped 20 percent.

There is huge volatility, and the same will happen in equities. And that's why I think it's very difficult to make long-term predictions. When you have a perfect free-market, it's difficult to predict the future. But when you have a market that is disturbed by government manipulation and money-printing, it's impossible to make any predictions.