Mexican lawmakers present medical marijuana bill

If Mexican lawmakers proceed with medical usage for marijuana or even legalization before the US gets it's act together, they could effectively end the violent monopoly that the narco-cartels have enjoyed for decades. Prohibition creates large profit potential for those willing to accept the risks, and violence is the only way to defend an illicit industry that works outside of the legal system. Legal industries have much lower violence rates than illegal ones, such as the illegal drug trade. Prohibition fails to alleviate any of the perceiced social ills of drug use, while creating a variety of additional unintended consequences.

More:
http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/worldNews/~3/jrSR47E9FrI/story01.htm

Don't Get Out the Vote, It Makes You Look Ignorant

Stop voting, it doesn't show you can think rationally, but only through groupthink. Sheldon Richman says it shows a lack of individual responsibility:

"A mass democratic system encourages voter irresponsibility, says Sheldon Richman. Because the consequence of any single vote is negligible, individuals have an incentive to vote on some basis other than an understanding of current issues — which would require, among other things, the costly acquisition of a grasp of basic economics. Voters, then, are free to vote their biases. This voter mentality is known as rational ignorance."

More:
http://reason.com/blog/2014/02/16/sheldon-richman-says-dont-get-out-the-vo

Voting is a Lousy Excuse to Inflict your Will over Others

Reason from, well, Reason:

"It matters not at all what any individual voter does. The odds are that no election in your lifetime would have been different had you done something other than what you did that day — including staying home. One vote is like one drop in the ocean: inconsequential."

The act of voting and the system it enables is simply one of mob rule. Whether that is what democracy is, or has devolved into, is aside the point. It is the system in place today. Seeking to inflict one's will over others through government is an immoral attempt to remove oneself from acting through aggression over others, but the act is nonetheless the same. If you would not force others directly, why rely on government for the same effort?

"Some will say in response, But what if everyone thinks like that? This misses the point. No one is waiting to see what you do on election day. The rest of the country will do whatever it’s going to do — no matter what you do. (But if everyone did stay home on election day, think of the message that would send!) You control only yourself, and you undertake actions only when you believe they have a good chance of effecting consequences that matter. Otherwise you don’t act."

http://reason.com/archives/2014/02/09/the-cruel-joke-of-sacralizing-voting

Like they say, if voting changed anything, it would be illegal. I am more encouraged by low voter turnout, a sign that the population is starting to see the futility of electoral politics and government in general.

Keep voting. I'll keep laughing.

The Problem with Public Spending and Debt

Public debt has been a growing problem for decades, but the gap between funded (+$17 trillion and predicted to rise to $20 by 2018) and unfunded (most estimates are well over $100 trillion) liabilities should draw more attention than it does. Revenues are simply not keeping up with the increases in public liabilities, though federal spending far outstrips state and local levels. The debt to GDP ratio is rising to unsustainable levels. The efforts to close that gap will be through such avenues as you as you mention, but those austerity-like measures will hit the public sector hardest. Many public sector jobs are just not as economically-productive as the private sector. Regulation hinders profits more than it encourages them. 

Whether anyone agrees with the pension schemes of states and municipalities, the worry should be recognized. In the short term (the only way politicians seem to think), we are getting by, but it just takes a critical view to recognize what happens when those liabilities overload a system like Detroit when a recession hits hard, a trend that also seems to be slowly becoming more common. Some go down for obvious reasons, others seem unsinkable until they start to show signs of weakness. The rate of increase of the public debt unfortunately has increased, making tough economic times even moreso on the average taxpayer. Naturally, the rate of municipal bankruptcy filings has increased as well since 2008, to 8 cities or counties and 38 total municipalities by December 2013.

The positive side of all of this gloom is that we have numerous examples of the results of poor public policy that enables such out of control public spending and debt levels, which should encourage most municipalities to refrain from irresponsible levels of spending and debt. I try to be optimistic, but what I see in the news doesn't seem to be as encouraging. Perhaps it is time to consider something different, like Repudiating the National Debt?

Defending Cannabis by Blaming Racism

"Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin tells Remnick that in 2007, Obama explained, “I have no desire to be one of those presidents who are just on the list—you see their pictures lined up on the wall. … I really want to be a President who makes a difference.” But Obama’s approval ratings are mired in the low 40s, a reality he partially—and unconvincingly—attributes to racism: “There’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black president.” As HotAir’s Ed Morrissey notes, the existence of rump racists completely fail to explain Obama’s two electoral victories and his 60 percent-plus approval ratings at the start of his presidency. A far better explanation is simply that he’s failed to accomplish much of anything the public likes."

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/21/ending-the-war-on-pot-is-obama-s-last-chance-for-a-legacy.html

What a poor excuse from a lame duck president, that racism, when a large portion of minorities now disapprove of Obama, could be the problem, and ending another example of the inherent failure of prohibition by legalizing cannabis could be nothing more than a token (tokin?) gesture to appease those who have been most harmed by his partisan policies. Given the progress of the legalization movement, which effectively nullifies federal law under the Tenth Amendment and has been used since the northern war of aggression to end slavery on a state level without violence, institutionalized or otherwise. The president would do better to simply recognize reality instead of resisting it. Good ideas do not require force, nor do they need defending. But they do require indefatigable recognition. And is on us as individuals to promote the conscious solutions to predative, collectivist problems that a free society so greatly requires.

What's so Great About Government Health Care

I am at a loss to figure out why anyone with healthcare coverage would want to support Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), especially those working in the public sector where quality is akin to HMO plans today. Maybe that is being too generous. To see the final result of a widespread policy, we only need look at the public sector. As regulation and rising costs forces private firms from the market, government will fill the void, and we will all end up with the same low level of coverage government workers receive. In that transition, costs will likely rise significantly as few large firms are left creating a monopolist market conditions. Obamacare was known to anyone with an introductory education in simple economics would have this effect. Except, of course, those making public policy.

Governmet in a nutshell: providing ineffective solutions to the problems it creates.

Anti-Federalists Prophesied The End Of Freedom

Spooner was right, the Constitution enabled government to infringe upon individual rights. From it's inception, the federal government has been a tool of oppression against the lower classes.

"On the eve of the federal convention, and following its adjournment in September of 1787, the Anti-Federalists made the case that the Constitution makers in Philadelphia had exceeded the mandate they were given to amend the Articles of Confederation, and nothing more. The Federal Constitution augured ill for freedom, argued the Anti-Federalists. These unsung heroes had warned early Americans of the "ropes and chains of consolidation," in Patrick Henry's magnificent words, inherent in the new dispensation."

"After 200 years of just such "consolidation"—in the magisterial “Liberty, Order, And Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government”—constitutional scholar James McClellan distilled the Anti-Federalist argument with the respect it deserves."

More:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/economicpolicyjournal/YZSb/~3/bjgkr5Bh3rc/anti-federalists-prophesied-end-of.html

LBJ Killed JFK

With all of the political corruption and murder conspiracies, Johnson is the most likely candidate as the motivating person behind the murder of president Kennedy.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/feed/

Another Boom-Bust Example from the Fed

An interview with Mark Thornton of the Mises Institute, in which the scholar discusses the Austrian Business Cycle, the Skyscraper Curse, and how Federal Reserve policy enables out of control government spending to demonstrates the former in the form of the latter. Debt is not wealth, and a government cannot spend, through increasing debt, an economy into prosperity. But bad monetary policy can debase the very commodity that policy intends to prop up; the US dollar.

Unfortunately, good intentions do not guarantee good results. Without natural market corrections, reallocating resources through price signals, entrepreneurs will continue to make bad long-term investments. By allowing interest rates to rise and monetary volume to readjust properly and signal spending reductions and savings increases.

When all major economies are in a race to the bottom to debase their currencies to make exports more competitive. But there is only one end-game; the bottom. Our politicians are playing "chicken" with those in the oligarchy, and we in the proliteriat are the cars.

http://feeds.mises.org/~r/MisesMedia/~5/cvITDPKFOwI/Monetary%20and%20Fiscal%20Policy.mp3

Elizabeth Warren 2016 ~ Wall Street's Worst Nightmare

"There are three words that strike terror in the hearts of Wall Street bankers and corporate executives across the land: President Elizabeth Warren. Anxiety over Warren grew Monday after a magazine report suggested the bank-bashing Democratic senator from Massachusetts could mount a presidential bid in 2016 and not necessarily defer to Hillary Clinton — who is viewed as far more business friendly — for the party's nomination." Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks discusses a Presidential bid by Senator Elizabeth Warren.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/CRkw/~3/0PcJ1vVOrKY/elizabeth-warren-2016-wall-streets.html

Considering the economic ignorance of Warren, I would think that it would take quite a campaign to garner much public support. Then again, we did end up with Bush and then Obama, which is why I have little faith in the political process.

Shutdown shows the Civil War never ended

Alternet sometimes get it right. Here, they posit that the latest government "shutdown" is simply a continuation of the division that led to the US Civil War. I won't argue against the idea, but will argue that the government never gets shut down, only a handful of services that it shouldn't be running do. If they are considered non-essential, why should the government run them at all? Why not let the private sector take over, since public debt and out of control spending is what causes these supposed shutdowns every few years?

http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/47699083/0/alternet_breaking_news~Shutdown-shows-the-Civil-War-never-ended

Ohio State Gets Armored Fighting Vehicle: “Specifically Designed for Asymmetric Warfare”

If you don't think the US is a police state, then why would a vehicle such as this be acceptable for a public university when it looks designed for duty in Afghanistan? What a gross waste of taxpayer funds.

"Gary Lewis, a senior director of media relations at OSU, told The Daily Caller via email that the "unique, special-purpose vehicle is a replacement" for the "police fleet." He called the armored jalopy "an all-hazard, all-purpose, public safety-response vehicle" with "obviously enhanced capabilities.""

http://sgtreport.com/2013/09/ohio-state-gets-armored-fighting-vehicle-specifically-designed-for-asymmetric-warfare

Pentagon denies $200 million request for Guantanamo upkeep

First the request is denied, then disavowed?

"A US military request for funding to renovate the prison base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was denied by Pentagon officials in the Obama administration who, while pledging to close the prison, have been consistently prevented from doing so by Congress."

More: http://rt.com/usa/pentagon-denies-guantanamo-upkeep-request-421

Army Veteran Takes A Stand Against Obama

"The primary charge being that the national leadership of Veterans For Peace for the past 2+ years since the organization passed at its 2011 national convention a resolution directing Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against President Obama for war crimes has refused to send an official letter to Congress directing them to do so. The national leadership of Veterans For Peace in that time also has done nothing to alert the public to the 2011 impeachment resolution passed by its rank and file membership at the national level at its national convention in 2011, or of the rank and file of Veterans For Peace reaffirming its call for impeaching Obama at its 2012 national convention by defeating by an even wider margin a 2012 resolution introduced to rescind the 2011 impeachment resolution."

Why after so long has no action been taken toward supporting impeachment proceedings?

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/09/army-veteran-takes-stand-against-obama.html

Politics and Anarchism

Politicians like Harry Reid are always proving their ignorance, but this one takes the cake. He says that Republican politicians and Occupy protestors are anarchists who promote violence. The trouble with that description is that is is quite incorrect. Anarchism simply means "self rule" and not any sort of lawless society. Anarchists simply aren't keen on other people making the rules that govern their lives. Anarchism does not equate violence. 

http://www.freedomfeens.com/AUDIO3/RADIO/9-13/FFP-263_09-14-2013-LB.mp3

Hollow Words from another Empty Suit

No that the warmongering is very civil lately, but Obama's speech is hardly substantive, or responsive to criticism by the overwhelming majority on the potential Syria invasion. Ever the narcissist, he seems to see himself as the king of the world, as did many of his predecessors:

"I just want to say thank you to all the participants in this roundtable.  This is an incredible and very diverse group of civil society leaders.  And this is something that I really enjoy doing at every country that I visit because it is my firm belief that a country's strength ultimately comes from its people and that as important as government is -- and laws -- what makes a country democratic and effective in delivering prosperity and security and hope to people is when they've got an active, thriving civil society. 

Empty words as always...

And all of these leaders, ranging from business leaders to youth leaders to environmental leaders, those who are advocating on behalf of a free press, the rule of law, all of them contribute in one way or another to continuing to strengthen Russian society and helping to make progress on behalf of all people. 

And the same is true in the United States.  I'm now in government, but I got my start as a community organizer, somebody who was working in what would be called an NGO in the international community.  And the work I was doing was helping poor communities have a voice in what was happening in their lives.  And I got elected as President by engaging people at a grassroots level.

So the kinds of activities that are represented here are critically important to Russia's development, and I'm very proud of their work.  And I think it is important for us to remember that in every country -- here in Russia, in the United States, around the globe -- that part of good government is making sure that we're creating a space for civil society to function effectively:  freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, making sure that people can join together and make common cause around the issues that they care deeply about.

Freedoms which every global superpower are curtailing at breakneck speed.

So I appreciate you taking the time.  I'm not going to do all the talking here.  I want to spend most of my time listening. But I want to thank you again and I hope all of you continue the good work."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/06/remarks-president-civil-society-leaders

Orders To Destroy Guardian Hard Drives Came Directly From PM David Cameron

The difference between organized crime and government is that the mafia has no illusions that anything it does is in anyone else's best interests. 

"Government is good at one thing: It knows how to break your legs, hand you a crutch, and say, 'See, if it weren't for the government, you wouldn't be able to walk.'" - Harry Browne

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130821/07033224268/orders-to-destroy-guardian-hard-drives-came-directly-pm-david-cameron.shtml

Everyone Should Be Fuming At The NSA

The thing about government corruption and lies is that when its a left-statist politician, the Liberals tend to hold back their criticism.

"The Obama Administration repeatedly has assured us that the NSA does not collect the private information of ordinary Americans. Those statements simply are not true. We now know that the agency regularly intercepts and inspects Americans' phone calls, emails, and other communications, and it shares this information with other federal agencies that use it to investigate drug trafficking and tax evasion."

"Worse, DEA and IRS agents are told to lie to judges and defense attorneys about their use of NSA data, and about the very existence of the SOD, and to make up stories about how these investigations started so that no one will know information is coming from the NSA's top secret surveillance programs."

More: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/IAu5Sxdeqe4/nsa-domestic-spying-jennifer-granick-christopher-sprigman-2013-8

NewsBusters Catches Piers Morgan's Falsity, Gets Him to Apologize

If only we could get Morgan to stop talking now. 

http://m.newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-hadro/2013/08/16/newsbusters-catches-piers-morgans-falsity-gets-him-apologize

Exposing War Crimes is not a Crime

"Military prosecutors claimed that PFC Bradley Manning was guilty of "aiding the enemy." A federal judge dismissed that charge—the most serious of the lot—but the army intelligence analyst still faces many other counts, which could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. The key ethical question, one that may be debated for decades to come, is this: Was Manning's unauthorized distribution of war videos, diplomatic cables, and top-secret documents to the WikiLeaks organization treasonous—or was it legitimate whistleblowing? According to Independent Institute Research Fellow Anthony Gregory, the author of The Power of Habeas Corpus in America, the latter label applies: Manning did Americans a favor by exposing war crimes—such as the execution of ten innocent civilians in Ishaqui, Iraq, in 2006, and the use of air strikes to cover up any evidence."

"War criminality ranks among the most important types of government wrongdoing warranting transparency," Gregory writes in the Daily Caller. "The American people need to understand what U.S. occupations are like."

"As Gregory notes, Barack Obama might have agreed with that assessment way back in 2008: During his first presidential campaign Sen. Obama called for greater transparency and protection for government whistleblowers. But you can't find statements to that effect on the Oval Office website—they've recently been removed. Perhaps that's because the White House is embarrassed by the dramatic difference between Obama's original promises and the current reality—that the Obama administration is prosecuting twice as many people for leaking classified information under the Espionage Act as all previous administrations combined. Gregory continues: "This is the administration: Nearly unparalleled secrecy, daily scandals, a surveillance state unbound by law, unilateral presidential wars, indefinite detention, the power to kill any terrorist suspect anywhere without a hint of due process, a politicized regulatory state collecting limitless data and harassing political opponents at home, and the persecution of whistleblowers using an anachronistic law from the darkest days of American civil liberty."

http://www.independent.org/publications/the_lighthouse/detail.asp?id=1508#3540

It is quite unfortunate that the Obama we have today is nearly the polar opposite of the one that captured the hope of so many, while bringing more of the same politics as his predecessors. The more things change...