Happy Earth Day!!

Video: “If I Wanted America to Fail”

40th (Now 42nd) Anniversary of 1st Earth Day – A Grim Reminder of Immigration and Devastation of a Vision

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Whodunit? Sneak attack on U.S. dollar

It’s the biggest mystery in global finance right now: Who conducted a sneak attack on the U.S. dollar this week?

It began with a thinly sourced but highly explosive report Monday in a British newspaper: Arab oil sheiks are conspiring with the Russians and Chinese to quit using the dollar to set the value of oil trades — a direct threat to the global supremacy of the greenback.

Is it true? Everyone from the head of the Saudi central bank to U.S. officials scrambled to undercut the story, but no matter.

With the U.S. economy on the ropes and America by far the world’s biggest debtor, investors aren’t feeling as secure about the dollar as they used to. And the notion of second-tier economies ganging up on Uncle Sam didn’t sound so far-fetched.

For American officials, the possibility of the dollar losing its long-term dominance in global commerce is a nightmare scenario because it would likely mean sharply higher interest rates at home and a declining ability to finance the U.S. debt. No one believes it could really happen right now, but stories like the British report this week make it seem incrementally more likely.

So the piece by Robert Fisk of the Independent shocked currency traders around the world and almost instantly sent the value of the U.S. dollar spiraling downward and the price of gold skyrocketing to an all-time high, as a hedge against a weakened dollar.

The website drudgereport.com quickly amplified the impact of the story with a headline atop the site: ARAB STATES LAUNCH SECRET MOVES WITH CHINA, RUSSIA, FRANCE TO STOP USING DOLLAR FOR OIL TRADING ...

“You read that story, and you do two things: You sell the hell out of dollars and you buy gold,” said Les Alperstein, president of the financial research firm Washington Analysis. “The story has a lot of credibility, with some caveats.”

So who wanted dollars diving and gold rising? In other words, who is Fisk’s source, and why did he or she want to tank the dollar? It’s the global currency version of the old Washington parlor game of speculating on the real identity of Deep Throat.
No one knows.

But one thing is for certain: With the price of gold jumping to $1,048.20 per ounce, traders who moved early enough stood to make millions.

So in government circles in Washington, speculation immediately centered on gold traders: With the skyrocketing price of gold, they’d be the biggest beneficiaries of the article.

Fisk’s story itself isn’t much help in solving the mystery — it is sourced vaguely to “Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong,” and it included one blind quote, attributed to “a prominent Hong Kong broker.” That doesn’t narrow down the pool very much.

The story doesn’t name any officials who had allegedly participated in the secret meetings involving the Arab states. It didn’t say where the meetings occurred or when. Other than saying the plan is to stop using the dollar by 2018, there was precious little detail to the account.

Around the world, traders turned to Wikipedia to find out more about Fisk himself. There, they learned that Fisk is a legendary British foreign correspondent who has been based in Beirut for more than 30 years and has won a slew of journalism awards. They also learned that he is one of only a few journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden (three times) and that he has expressed doubts that the United States has told the full story about the Sept. 11 attacks.

An analyst’s report from the Royal Bank of Scotland concluded, “Fisk is a veteran of the Middle East. ... he is also increasingly associated with more radical theories thus weakening the credibility of the story.”

Beyond the specifics of the story, the geopolitical implications of the report sent shudders from Riyadh to London to Washington: Has the long-dominant American economy been so humbled by the economic crisis that these nations would mount a frontal attack on the dollar, the underpinning of the world’s biggest economy?

That question is on the minds of global investors, who are keeping a skittish eye on the weakening dollar. And over the past several months there has been a steady drumbeat of Chinese, Russian and other officials who have talked openly about finding a replacement for the dollar as the global economy’s default currency. Any effort to do that would be fraught with difficulty. But however unlikely, the possibility represents a threat to the American economy, which has come to depend on the significant advantages it reaps from minting the currency most used around the world.

In another era, the dollar could shrug off such a vaguely sourced, thinly detailed story.

But not anymore.

The dollar is weak and vulnerable to rumor-mongering because many traders believe it will only get weaker. “The fundamental reason why this occurred is that after 9.8 percent unemployment on Friday, nobody can say with certainty that the recovery is sustainable,” said one analyst familiar with the situation.

“In years past, when the U.S. economic dominance was more pronounced and emerging markets were marginal players in the global economy,” noted an analyst’s report from HSBC, “the debate on pricing commodities in currencies other than the [U.S. dollar] typically came down to the lack of practicality. ... Today, emerging markets are clearly wielding much more influence in the global economy, and they want more, as will be borne out in this week’s IMF meetings.”

And that means U.S. officials whose job it is to defend the dollar may have their work cut out for them in the months to come.

© 2009 Capitol News Company, LLC

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power - Cross-posted: Daily Thought Pad

It is truly time for all Americans to read up on the Weimar Republic and the new book:

The Dollar Meltdown: Surviving the Impending Currency Crisis with Gold, Oil, and Other Unconventional Investments

Related Posts:

DeMint: U.S. Like Germany Right Before WWII - Saving Freedom

The Weimar Solution

We the Sheeple...

House Health-Care Proposal Adds $600 Billion in Taxes (Update-2)

What we are looking at:

$600 Billion in tax increases and $400 Billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid as the number of Babyboomers added to the rolls increases daily… while we already owe a Trillion in interest on the money the government (Obama Administration) has already borrowed and printed to this point, before this nationalized health-care proposal.

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.

Democrats will work on the bill’s details next week as they struggle through “what kind of heartburn” it will cause to agree on how to pay for revamping the health-care system, Rangel, a New York Democrat, said today. The measure’s cost is reaching well beyond the $634 billion President Barack Obama proposed in his budget request to Congress as a 10-year down payment for the policy changes.

Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion over a decade, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.” Some Senate Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, say the costs will likely exceed $1.5 trillion.

House Democrats plan to release their legislation next week. Obama is working with Congress to get legislation to his desk by October.

Democrats in the House and Senate are crafting legislation that would require all Americans to have health insurance, prohibit insurers from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions and place other restrictions on the industry.

Online Exchanges

The legislation would establish online exchanges for individuals to purchase insurance and would require employers to provide health benefits to workers or pay a penalty. Some Democrats also are backing creation of a government-run program to expand coverage to the uninsured. The issue is the subject of bipartisan negotiations with Republican who oppose the so-called public option.

Rangel said Democrats are still considering options for tax increases that might be in the bill, including a possible end to the income tax exclusion for employer-paid health benefits.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, is considering a proposal to apply income taxes to health-care plans if they are significantly more expensive than the basic health plan for federal employees -- $13,000 for a family of four.

Rangel said House Democrats want to avoid the deeper cuts to projected spending under Medicare and Medicaid that Obama has been putting forth. House Democrats want to achieve cost-savings by cuts in payments to private insurance plans under Medicare.

Covering the Costs

Obama has pledged that health-care changes won’t add to the deficit. To accomplish that, he’s proposed getting about $600 billion by reducing tax deductions available to the wealthy, and by trimming Medicare payments to insurance companies.

That won’t be enough to cover the overhaul costs. Obama said this week he plans in the coming days to disclose more proposals for raising “additional sources of revenue.” In a letter last week to Senate Democrats drafting legislation he said he will be proposing between $200 billion and $300 billion in further Medicare and Medicaid cuts.

Obama plans to give a speech Monday in Chicago to the American Medical Association as part of his campaign to build up support for what could be the biggest changes to healthcare policy since Medicare was established in 1965.

Rangel said that while House Democrats will likely release more details about health policy changes in their legislation next week, the package of offsetting tax increases and spending cuts likely will come later. Democrats, he said, want to put forth the more-positive aspects of an overhaul first. Rangel also wants to let lawmakers have time to study and weigh in on proposed offsets.

“We have a problem in not wanting to attract enough negative attention to the bill in terms of the pay-fors,” he said. “Let them get a good feel for the coverage.”

By: Laura Litvan in Washington at: llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 12, 2009 19:05 EDT

Source: Fox Nation

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

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• Voters Steer Europe to the Right – Why… Because Socialism Isn’t Working
• Progressivism – The Progressive Movement Is A Cancer – How We Got Here

Stop the Insanity!!

Updated: If you'd like to contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, here's the contact information that you'll need.

Contact info for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Please contact your representative, your Senator and Speaker Pelosi on this matter and others as they arise (almost daily these days).

Where Were You??? - Supporting Those Around You Who Are Standing Up, Being Successful or Making a Difference

Many years ago a young lady who was attending a seminar shared an interesting story with me. Apparently she and two or three of her girlfriends went and tried out for a place in a stage play. She got the starring role while her girlfriends were not even picked for the supporting cast. Opening night she said she was really excited but afterwards became very disappointed when her girlfriends never came out and supported her. She was explaining the situation to an elderly friend of her fathers named Hap. He wrote her a letter and she gave me a copy with her permission to share it with others.

Read it carefully and think.

Dear Ann,

Once upon a time there was a fellow by the name of Al Capp who wrote a comic strip called "L'll Abner." Many years ago he had some characters in his strip who lived in a town near Dogpatch. They were the town bums, the n'er do wells, the failures whose whole aim in life was to pass judgment on others. Their criticism and ridicule became so vehement that in time the rest of the people in the town became acutely conscious of it. "The boys down at the stable," as they were called because that's where they spent most of their time, soon set the social standards of the town. Nobody could do anything without their sanction.

Because they lived within the structure of their crummy little world, they would laugh and point their fingers at anyone and everyone who tried to be better than they were. As a result the people feared the ridicule of the boys down at the stable so much that they stopped trying. Soon everybody became bums and the town died.

In every social structure, Ann, whether it be family, town, county or state, there are "The boys down at the stable." They are the jealous ones. They are too scared to try something different. They show their ignorance by laughing at those who do. Learn to recognize them Ann, for what they are. Don't let them hurt you. It takes a certain amount of toughness to succeed. One has to rise above those who would tear you down so that they can laugh and say, "I told you so!"

There are too many of us who love you and want you to make it. I could put myself at the top of the list. You aren't going to fall flat on your face as they would have you. You are going to do a superb job. Remember this show is only a small step in the direction of greater things you will do, many of which are beyond your wildest dreams. All you have to do is want to. One of the things I like about you best is that you always give it hell for try.

The show will be a success because of you and others like you who try. There are only winners in the cast. The losers are gathered down at the stable laughing and hoping for your failure. If we could dig down deep inside them, I'm sure we'd find they want to win also, but are too scared to try, and they attempt to cover up their own failures as human beings by laughing at others. In a sense I'm sorry for them. Their guilt must make them very unhappy people.

Much love, Hap

Source: From the files of Bob Proctor...

This is where so many of us find ourselves today… not willing to fight "The boys down at the stable", too afraid or lazy to try, and not even willing to support those who are fighting the good fight for us. Many of us are not even willing to listen to an alternative news source; read a book or two to inform ourselves of what is really going on and why; or even check out a blog or two by those who are putting themselves on the line in an era where Homeland Security and ‘big intrusive government’ labels anyone who has an alternative thought as a ‘right-wing extremist’.

If there was ever a time to dig deep… get informed, get involved and stand up for the beliefs and principles you believe in, grew up with and make our Country… the United States of America, the Country people die to get into… IT IS NOW!!!!!

You are not alone! There are grassroots movements springing up all over the Country and people are writing; speaking up; talking about their fears and what is important, one-on-one and in groups; and peaceably taking to the streets: Tea Parties, Tax Revolts, Protests for Traditional American Beliefs and Rights as written in the Constitution...

Now is the time for all Americans to stand up and step out of our comfort zones!

As Ronald Reagan said, “Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. And, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

What will you say when your children and grandchildren ask you where you were when American Democracy died and when the crippling debt they inherited from our generation was allowed to be amassed; when the once super power, America, died like the small town near Dogpatch... where everyone gave in and then gave up. - Ask Marion/Marion Algier~

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Related Resources:

• Progressivism – The Progressive Movement Is A Cancer – How We Got Here
• American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper - Pravda

We the Sheeple? – Glenn Beck

America's March to Socialism: Why we're one step closer to giant missile parades
is now available as an audio book...

GLENN: Okay, so I'm reading the story in Pravda, American Capitalism Gone With a Whimper. They are taking us that it's happening at breathtaking speed because we're sheeple, that Russia, they already went through this, and you need to learn the lesson. And this is what they say is happening. First the population in America was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education based on pop culture rather than the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in D.C. that directly affects their lives. True. They care more for their right to check down a McDonald's burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights and then they turn around and lecture us in Russia about our rights and about our democracy? Pride blind the foolish.

That line sticks out to me: Pride blind the foolish. We're arguing over things we should not be arguing about. The other line that sticks out to me is the substandard education based on pop culture rather than the classics. I was with George Wythe University who was the guy who was really the mentor to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson had a way of education, and it's all based in the classics. At George Wythe University, they only have textbooks. They only use the classics. I've seen the difference.

Pravda goes on and says, "Then their faith in God was destroyed until their churches, all tens of thousands of different branches and denominations were for the most part little more than Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega-preachers were more than happy to sell their souls in flocks to be on the winning side of one pseudo-Marxist politician or another. Their flock may complain but when explained that they would be on the winning side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes of earthly power. The final collapse came with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months have been truly impressive. His spending and money‑printing has been record‑setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year ‑‑ and there is no sign that it will not ‑‑ America will best resemble the Weimar Republic and, at worst, Zimbabwe."

My friend, I have told you these things were coming. I tell you now, they are coming. We must educate ourselves and be involved and put down our differences and connect with ‑‑ make a vow to yourself today that there are Democrats out there, if you're a Republican, that there are Democrats out there that truly get it. They don't hate America. There are Democrats now that are saying in their own circles, they don't want to say anything. I really, truly believe not enough people are reaching out to the other party and to the independents as well. They are saying to each other, this is crazy. This can't... but they want to believe. There's nothing, there's nothing wrong with being wrong. What's wrong is being wrong and then not admitting that you were wrong and just keep going down the path because you're too proud. Pride blind the foolish. The media elite will ask me, "Where were you when George Bush..." well, for the first half, blind. For the second half, speaking out. It doesn't matter. I'm not on any side. Are you? When it really comes down to it, are you on any side other tha n your children's side? The minute the Democrats say, "Whoa, Marxism, oh, wow," and they turn around and they say small government, I'm with them. I'll call myself a Democrat. I don't care. Minute the Republicans do it, fine. If the it's the, you know, polka dot purple people eater party, then guess what button I'm wearing. I don't care.

Let's just start speaking the truth to each other. These past two weeks have been the most breathtaking of all, Pravda continues. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system by the they thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loss and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look more than ordinary street thugs in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in sheer volumes. These men, of course, are not elected panels but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs of their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress. Again congress has put up little more than a whimper to their masters. And then came Barack Obama's command that GM's president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader of Pravda. In the land of pure free markets, the American president now has the power, the self‑given power to fire CEOs, and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions. More advice to us and then to the people of Russia from the e ditorial this weekend in Pravda, next.

(OUT 10:43)

GLENN: So this weekend I'm reading an article out of Pravda, an editorial, American Capitalism Gone With a Whimper, and it has so much in it. They are warning us against Marxism and saying that it is coming at a breathtaking speed here in America. The article continues, "So it's no surprise that the American president is followed up with his bold move of declaring that he and another group of unelected chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automotive policies. I'm sure that if given a chance, they would happily try to redesign for the whole world. Prime minister Putin less than two months ago warned Obama and the U.K.'s Blair not to follow the path to Marxism; it only leads to disaster. Apparently even though we suffered 70 years of this Western‑sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish drunken Russians. So let our wise Anglo‑Saxon fools find the folly of their own pride. But again the American public has taken this with barely a whimper, but a free man whimper. So it shouldn't be any surprise to discover that the Democratically congress of America is working on regulation that would give the American treasury department the power to set fair minimum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private businesses give out pay raises and bonuses. Barney Frank stresses that this only a ffects the companies that receive government monies. But it is retroactive. And taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive. The Russian owners of American companies ‑‑ listen carefully, America. The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at what is happening in America and look at the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left. The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world how free he really is. And the world will only snicker.

Now, there are going to be those who dismiss this coming out of Pravda as political games. They will dismiss this as, "Well, of course they are saying that because they want to destroy America." Whatever. Sometimes there's a great amount of truth in an imperfect messenger. There is an awful lot of truth in this editorial. We'll include it in our free e‑mail newsletter. Don't have to agree with it, don't have to agree with everything in it. Some of the stuff is pretty harsh. But let's just make sure that the last sentence isn't true. The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world how freely he truly is. That is why I say we must stop arguing back and forth about the parties because we're not seeing the real issues. They are giving you the scraps off the table and we beat our chest and we say, "We're free. No, but I like freedom because the Republicans." "No, no, the Democratic freedom is better." They are both slavery. One's just slavery light and the other is socialism. The world will only snicker because of our arrogance for so long. Let's just think the unthinkable. Think of it as an actual possibility so we can avoid it. And unite together and rediscover who we truly are, not what we've allowed ourselves to become.

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power

Related Resources:

• American capitalism gone with a whimper – Pravda
• The Weimar Solution
• "The Future of Capitalism" - Capitalism Could Fail
• HOW OBAMA'S SOCIALISM WORKS
• March to Socialism: Out of Money – Glenn Beck
• Senior creditors: Chrysler deal violates 5th Amendment
• Confusion: Fascism vs Socialism... Progressivism... And What Happened to Capitalism?
• Confirmed: The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real
• Michael Farris - United Nation’s Convention on Rights of a Child Material
• Click here to read the DHS extremism report
• OBAMA'S LEAP TO SOCIALISM
• The Late Great U.S.A.
• American Progressivism – A Must Read
• Liberal Fascism – Just out in paperback

American capitalism gone with a whimper - Pravda

Wow… Is this really how we want to go out… without a fight??

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

By: Stanislav Mishin

Source:  Pravda.Ru – 04.27.09

The article has been reprinted from the author and originally appears on his blog, Mat Rodina – Posted on Hannity.com

Comment:

This is why when I hear someone say "I have faith in the American people",  I just *sigh*!
Americans have become like bugs going directly for the "bright light".
The most frustrating thing is Nobody is doing anything about it.

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power

Related Resources:

• The Weimar Solution 
• "The Future of Capitalism" - Capitalism Could Fail 
• HOW OBAMA'S SOCIALISM WORKS 
• March to Socialism: Out of Money – Glenn Beck 
• Senior creditors: Chrysler deal violates 5th Amendment
• Confusion: Fascism vs Socialism... Progressivism... And What Happened to Capitalism?
• Confirmed: The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real 
• Michael Farris - United Nation’s Convention on Rights of a Child Material
• Click here to read the DHS extremism report
• OBAMA'S LEAP TO SOCIALISM
• The Late Great U.S.A.
• American Progressivism – A Must Read
• Liberal Fascism – Just out in paperback
  

"The Future of Capitalism" - Capitalism Could Fail

President Obama: Neo-Marxist The topic: "The Future of Capitalism." Time magazine, to discuss this, assembled a "stellar cast." One such "honoree" works as a Public Broadcasting Service/National Public Radio host. The tax dollars produced by the capitalism he criticizes help pay his salary. (The irony was apparently lost.) At least other "business roundtable" panelists -- commentator/publisher/author Arianna Huffington and singer John Legend -- make their money the old-fashioned way, by enticing consumers to buy what they sell. "I don't think that left to its own devices," the taxpayer-supported broadcaster/pundit said, "capitalism moves along smoothly and everyone gets treated fairly in the process. Capitalism is like a child: If you want the child to grow up free and productive, somebody's got to look over the shoulder of that child." Good grief. Every dollar spent by government is one less dollar spent by taxpayers. Money comes from somewhere -- taxes, borrowing (taxes on layaway) or printing, which, if not offset by productivity, causes inflation, a stealth tax on everyone. Who can spend, save or invest more efficiently and humanely, you or some tenured bureaucrat in D.C. who's never run so much as a hot dog stand or lent himself out as a United Way volunteer? Private enterprise is the most proficient job- and wealth-creating "system" ever designed. But many, if not most, Americans think only government can and should build and run "infrastructure" and that government "investment" creates jobs of which the private sector is incapable of creating. Really? People point to President Dwight D. Eisenhower's construction of the interstate highway system. It is, they say, an example of both an appropriate and productive federal government expenditure and an obviously legal role of the federal government necessary to spark economic growth. In the early 1900s, a businessman, Carl Fisher, owned the Prest-O-Lite headlight company. He organized an association to finance coast-to-coast paved roads so that motorists could drive both day and night, ideally using his headlights. The association soon disbanded, when Congress passed the Federal Road Aid Act of 1916. What would have happened had government not built an interstate highway system? A consortium of truckers/gas stations/hotels/motels/roadside restaurants would likely have built one with their own money in order to make more money. They would have charged tolls for maintenance. Motorists actually using the roads would bear their costs. Private business built the first leg of the New York subway system. And it made money -- at least before local government used taxpayer money to build competing systems and undercut the fare charged by the private operator. Tax dollars hid the true cost, allowing the city-owned service to charge less. Ultimately, the private operators sold out to the city. Did Eisenhower have the constitutional authority to build the interstate highway system? Yes, but not to improve economic development -- and he knew it. In fact, the official name of the interstate highways is the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and DefenseHighways. Ike argued that the country needed paved highways to move missiles around to protect the country. From a military standpoint, the argument was dubious. Missiles could be launched from fixed positions, as technology continually increased range, speed, accuracy and power. The Founding Fathers identified a handful of allowable federal duties, not least of which is national security. But what about economic development? President James Monroe cast his only veto when Congress appropriated money to expand the Cumberland Road -- even though the road went through and would have helped his home state of Virginia. The Constitution, said Monroe, prohibits spending money for this purpose. Rather than expanding "entitlements," they must be dealt with -- and eventually ended. What about selling land (the fed is by far the largest landholder) and using the proceeds to pay for current and near-term obligations to Social Security and Medicare -- with a view toward complete eventual privatization? What about private charity instead of Medicaid? What about a free market approach to making health care more accessible and affordable? This means IRA-type accounts; cutting health care insurance regulation; allowing nonlicensed practitioners to perform tasks now done only by government-licensed doctors and other medical practitioners -- which shuts out competition and keeps prices high; allowing health care plans to be purchased out of state; allowing individuals to deduct their health care premiums as businesses do now; and adopting an English-style "loser-pays" legal system, which would likely minimize the incentive for doctors to practice expensive "defensive" medicine. Even if all of this makes sense, the toothpaste is out of the tube, right? So let's just try to stop things from getting worse. Unraveling the welfare state can be done. Indiana, for example, just leased one of its highways to a private consortium that charges tolls for maintenance and profit. Obama's anti-capitalist, Big Government, command-and-control economic vision exceeds mere "childishness." It is dangerous. After 100-plus days, the jury reached its verdict. Obama is a neo-Marxist. By Larry Elder

Investment guru Marc Faber says the financial system must be cleansed to save capitalism.

"I think the final low in markets will occur when the system is cleaned out," Faber told CNBC.

Unless that happens, "the way communism collapsed, capitalism will collapse," he says. "The best way to deal with any economic problem is to let the market work it through."

He sees the Federal Reserve and other central banks continuing to print piles of money. And the outcome won’t be pretty.

"The U.S. government for sure will go bust,” Faber says. “That I guarantee you. Not tomorrow, but it will go bust."

He isn’t optimistic for the fate of the global economy either.

“I don’t think that the global economy will recover anytime soon,” he says. “And we have to define what a recovery is.”

If economic output drops far enough, a mere revival of inventories can push growth up a bit, creating a mild rebound, Faber says.

“I take 2006 and early 2007 as the peak of prosperity in this long cycle, and I don’t think we’re going back there anytime soon.”

Many other experts share Faber’s bearish view of the global economy.

“The debate will continue on whether it’s going to be a V, U or L-shaped recession,” former World Bank president James Wolfensohn said at a recent conference.

“My own judgment is that it’s more likely the latter. I don’t believe we’ll get a quick fix any time soon.”

By: Dan Weil – NewsMax

The Elephant in the Room: Obama vs. United States

The president is contemptuous of American values. And one key nominee prefers the judgment of other countries and global elites.

By Rick Santorum

Watching President Obama apologize last week for America's arrogance - before a French audience that owes its freedom to the sacrifices of Americans - helped convince me that he has a deep-seated antipathy toward American values and traditions. His nomination of former Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh to be the State Department's top lawyer constitutes further evidence of his disdain for American values.

This seemingly obscure position in Foggy Bottom's bureaucratic maze is one of the most important in any administration, shaping foreign policy in the courts and playing a critical role in international negotiations and treaties.

Let's set aside Koh's disputed comments about the possible application of Sharia law in American jurisprudence. The pick is alarming for more fundamental reasons having to do with national sovereignty and constitutional self-governance.

What is indisputable is that Koh calls himself a "transnationalist." He believes U.S. courts "must look beyond national interest to the mutual interests of all nations in a smoothly functioning international legal regime. ..." He thinks the courts have "a central role to play in domesticating international law into U.S. law" and should "use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system."

Koh's "transnationalism" stands in contrast to good, old-fashioned notions of national sovereignty, in which our Constitution is the highest law of the land. In the traditional view, controversial matters, whatever they may be, are subject to democratic debate here. They should be resolved by the American people and their representatives, not "internationalized." What Holland or Belgium or Kenya or any other nation or coalition of nations thinks has no bearing on our exercise of executive, legislative, or judicial power.

Koh disagrees. He would decide such matters based on the views of other countries or transnational organizations - or, rather, those entities' elites.

Unsurprisingly, Koh is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court, which could subject U.S. soldiers and officials to foreign criminal trials for their actions while fighting for our security. He has recommended that American lawyers work to "undermine" official American opposition to the court.

If only Koh's transnationalism ended there. Our Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment? Koh believes it should be reinterpreted in light of foreign and international law to pay "decent respect to the opinions of humankind."

Old fogies like me believe we ought to pay more attention to the opinions of the Founders who wrote the Constitution and the people who have lived under it. If Americans want to end the death penalty, they can do so through their elected state representatives.

If foreign opinions trump those of Pennsylvanians on capital punishment, why not on other issues? Why not, indeed: Koh thinks "international comity" trumps American sovereignty. He believes that, since certain nations recognize a right to same-sex marriage, our courts should, too. He wrote that "the principles of human dignity and autonomy that are the essence of the modern right-protecting democracy demand that civil marriage be available to all couples and that the equality of all citizens triumph over historical attitudes."

What's beneath this legal jargon? Simply this: Even if marriage in Pennsylvania has always been understood as involving one man and one woman - even if Pennsylvanians, through referendum or constitutional amendment, decide it should remain so - none of that should count. What should count are the views of courts in other nations or international bodies.

"I'd rather have [Supreme Court Justice Harry] Blackmun, who used the wrong reasoning in Roe to get the right results," Koh wrote of the landmark abortion case, "and let other people figure out the right reasoning."

Stunning and revealing: Koh tells us it doesn't matter if the right to abortion can be found in the Constitution. In fact, he concedes that Blackmun's reasoning was wrong. But it is up to others to get it right. How? By finding out what the United Nations, European Union, or particular European nations think.

Koh tops the list of Obama's potential Supreme Court nominees. Is this what Sen. John Kerry meant when he once suggested that American policy must pass a "global test"? Or what Barack Obama meant when he said last week that we have failed to "appreciate Europe's leading role in the world"? Or when he spoke of "change we can believe in"? And just who are "we"?

Source:  Daily Thought Pad

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power

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