Carlin on Airport Security

Sarah and I will be flying to Orlando on Wednesday. Not sure, if given the choice, whether I will choose to be molested or have nude photos taken of me. Either way, looking forward to learn how it feels to exist within a fascist state.

Ron Paul at his BEST: Enough is Enough!

15 Storey Building Contructed in 6 Days

This is incredible...



From the YouTube description:

Level 9 Earthquake Resistance: diagonal bracing structure, light weight,
steel construction, passed level 9 earthquake resistance testing
6x Less Material: even though the construction materials are much
lighter(250kg/m2) than the traditional materials(over 1500kg/m2), the floors
and walls are solid with surefootedness, airtight and sound-proofing
5x Energy Efficient: 150mm thermal insulation for walls and roofs, triple
glazed plastic windows, external solar shading, heat insulation, fresh
air heat recovery, LED lighting, yearly HAVC A/C energy consumption
equivalent to 7 liters oil.
20x Purification: after 3 levels of purification, the purification efficiency
for fresh air reaches 95%-99.9%; air exchanged 1-2.5 times per hour, and
indoor air is 20x cleaner than out door air
1% Construction Waste: all components are factory made, construction
waste, mainly package materials, result from on site set-up only and
amount to 1% of the total weight of the building.
This is the first building in human history which combines almost all
environmental friendly, comfortable and secure elements. So, we call it:
Sustainable Building

Also, rumour has it these guys are not unionized.

Silver Update

Fascism is Alive and Well in the US

Talking to Liberals About Rand Paul

Best Lantern of the Year

Why Can't Chuck Get His Business Off the Ground?

Our Embarassing Nova Scotia Government

Let's talk about Bob. Bob earns $50,000 a year. He is currently in debt for $80,000, and he budgets to spend $60,000 over the next year. Can Bob survive indefinitely with this type of budget? Would we look at Bob and say,"Gee, Bob really has a plan to ensure he lives a high quality life in the future." No. Now let's say half way through the year of this budget Bob decides he could really improve his quality of life if he borrowed $10,000 to buy a jet ski. Anyone else think Bob has a serious problem?

And so it is with the Nova Scotia Government. As a whole we have an annual budget deficit of close to $500 million, a total debt of $13 billion, and revenues of just over $8 billion. These numbers alone paint a broad, yet alarming, picture. So what does our government do? They find a new project to spend more money on.

Today Premier Dexter announced to the province that the government would support a plan to build a new convention centre in downtown Halifax in partnership with the Halifax Regional Municipality and the federal government. The total cost to the Nova Scotian taxpayers, over the term of a 25 year capital lease, will work out to about $328 million. This is a government project, so the real cost will most likely be in the $500 million range (if we're lucky). $47 million of the funding is expected to come from the federal government.

Now, I could go on and on about how the tax payers in rural Nova Scotia and Cape Breton shouldn't be on the hook for a convention centre in Halifax. I could talk about how the province's finances are already in a mess. I could point out that we rely on 40% of our provincial revenues to come from the federal government (most of which come in the form of equalization payments). I could point out that its completely irresponsible for a whole province, essentially living on federal welfare, to undertake a project that our private sector will not fund for themselves. But that is not what bothers me the most.

Our government is supposed to lead, but unfortunately the only place they ever lead us is hat in hand to Ottawa. They've become experts at it. The Department of Intergovernment Affairs costs Nova Scotian taxpayers millions of dollars a year with the sole purpose of going to Ottawa to bring home the bacon. And to introduce a new project that requires Nova Scotians to beg the rest of Canada for funds once again? This has gotten to be embarrassing. Extraordinarily so. As a Nova Scotian, this is what bothers me the most. I don't beg for money to support myself, and our government, our representation to the rest of the country, shouldn't be begging to support itself. Especially when it just wants to buy a jet ski it can't afford on its own.

Jon Stewart on the Youth and Politics

He's dead on, and this is exactly why Ron Paul has so much youth support.

Quote - Maxime Bernier

"The federal government today intervenes massively in provincial jurisdictions, and in particular in health and education, two areas where it has no constitutional legitimacy whatsoever. This is not what the Fathers of Confederation had intended."

Link

Maxime Bernier is no Ron Paul, but the language of this statement certainly demonstrates he is paying attention to the political scene south of the border.

Great Glenn Greenwald Interview

Glenn Greenwald is one of my most favorite progressives.

Dylan Ratigan Tears Apart War-Monger

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Niall Ferguson on US Collapse

Ron Paul on Elizabeth Warren

This past week the administration announced its choice for the first credit czar at the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This bureau was created as part of the supposed Wall Street reform bill recently passed by Congress. This new bureau, which represents nothing more than another layer of useless Washington bureaucracy, will be housed within the Federal Reserve - one of the most anti-consumer institutions in Washington.

The appointee named to run the bureau is an Ivy League professor. By her own admission she is an academic, not a businessperson. She has very little real world business experience with the highly complex financial instruments she will oversee. The administration has done nothing to refute her characterization by some in the financial press as an anti-business, ivory tower leftist with an aversion to free market principles.

She also admits to being told, or warned, that the big banks always win in Washington - yet she trumpeted the creation of this new agency as a win against those banks. I would caution her against declaring victory too soon.

Outrageously, she has been appointed as a 'special advisor' to design and lead the bureau, but the administration has not disclosed the exact length of her term. There will be no Senate confirmation hearings, nor will the public or the financial industry be allowed to comment on her appointment. We simply are expected to accept the appointment of an enormously powerful regulator without question, and without regard to the constitutional requirement that the Senate advise and consent with regard to her appointment. This means you, as a voter and citizen, effectively have no say whatsoever for the duration of her appointment. In the meantime, she has unprecedented new powers over private business decisions.

The truth is that this new bureau is just more of the same ineffective and damaging regulation we typically get from a crisis. Just as the FDA serves big pharmaceutical companies, not patients, and just as the SEC serves Wall Street, not investors, this agency will end up serving the banks. All regulatory agencies eventually become co-opted by the industries they regulate, and they become chiefly concerned with restricting the entry of new competitors and protecting market share for the big players. This new bureau is not likely to straighten out Wall Street, so much as it will instill a false sense of security in the public about banking and investing again.

No bureaucrat, no federal agency, and no ivory tower academic can replace the regulatory powers of the free market. 'Caveat emptor' remains the rule for intelligent investors and depositors. Buyers always need to beware, especially when politicians say they have it all under control.

Real reform starts with transparency and an adherence to the rule of law. The administration would do well to adhere to the law, rather than shoving a new economic czar down our throats without congressional involvement. Real reform would mean taking steps toward restoring sound money and getting back to the Constitution. The Constitution does not allow for favors to special interests, or handing out public money to keep private businesses afloat. The Constitution necessitates a small, impartial government that first and foremost, protects liberty, and sees all citizens as equal. It does not recognize a special banking class. The fact that measures to achieve these ends are still quashed tells me that indeed, the banks do still win in Washington.”

Southern Avenger: Rove and Rush: Late to the Party

Peter Schiff on Dylan Ratigan

How does a guy like Dylan Ratigan get a show on the same network as Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, and Chris Matthews?

Leno Dissects the Stimulus

The Plan feat. Sniper