galtgulch

I think I get your point although I am not familiar with this stuff. I am reminded of what happened a few years ago when banks in Cyprus being used by retired former Soviet KGB officials became insolvent and a law was passed enabling those banks to help themselves to the depositor's accounts. I don't really know what caused the insolvency in the first place. I do hear about the ominous size of derivatives being a sword over all our heads to the tune of 1.4 quadrillion dollars worth of such derivatives. I don't know just what makes them so vulnerable or how high interest rates would have to go if indeed that is the likely cause of a collapse. Given that every country in the world with a central bank and a printing press is in high gear in order to facilitate their exports such a collapse is supposed to be world wide and coming to your neighborhood soon. The fact that no one seems to be worrying about such things is similar to the way people living in the shadow of an inactive volcano ignore it too until it becomes suddenly active again. I wonder if facts involving the Founder's vision of limited government, free markets, no intangling alliances, sound money backed by constitutional gold and silver coins, nullification by the states of unconstitutional federal laws, etc are part of the core curriculum we hear so little about? The sun is shining so I will make believe all is well and go shopping for food as long as the shelves are not yet empty. gg

Surely you are aware that the money you deposit in a bank for safe keeping can be used by the bank if it is facing bankruptcy to "bail-in". http://ellenbrown.com/2014/12/01/new-rules-cyprus-style-bail-ins-to-hit-deposits-and-pensions/ I think that banks who hold derivatives might find themselves in trouble once the interest rates go up a little bit. But don't worry the banks can access your assets to restore their solvency. Your savings may take a hit but you shall have done your patriotic duty by rescuing your bank gg

I came across this website, National Liberty Alliance, where you will find this recent posting: <<<"Breaking News - December 8th 2014 - Fifty Common Law Grand Juries filed Presentments indicting Code Enforcement Officer Pantaleo for the murder of Eric Garner in the United States District Court for the Southern District of NY: Read the Presentment HERE > Officer_Pantaleo_NY._Presentment.pdffor the murder of Eric Garner">>> What follows is a video which asserts that the "government controlled puppet grand jury that failed to indict" http://nationallibertyalliance.org/breaking-news The "Presentment" filed by the fifty common law grand juries includes this quote from Lysander Spooner: <"“Any government that is its own judge of, and determines authoritatively for the people, what are its own powers over the people, is an absolute government of course; It has all the powers that it chooses to exercise. There is no other --- or at least no more accurate --- definition of despotism than this.” -- Lysander Spooner; this unfortunately is the present condition in every American courthouse. "> Looks like it is time for another declaration of independence! I have no idea who these people who are involved in the National Liberty Alliance are. They are evidently organized in all fifty states. Just wanted to inform you all of its existence and to stir the pot. gg

My wife told me the sad news of Nathaniel Branden's death when I got home from work. I just had the occasion to recommend Breaking Free to a new patient who had acknowledged his own self esteem problem tonight. I met Dr. Branden when he invited me to attend a group he held in Manhattan years ago. It was quite enlightening to watch him work with impressive ingenuity. Knowing that he exists will now have to be modified to knowing that he existed.

It is tempting to suggest that Alan Greenspan never really understood Objectivism despite his grasp of the concept of gold as money and its significance to the functioning of the free market. I suppose it is possible for him to have been aware of the role of gold and the evil of government paper and the temptation of politicians to inflate it, yet not fully conscious of the philosophical nature of what he was doing. He might have been immersed in contemplating the economic consequences of his manipulations not the ethical significance of his actions. Just because he visited Ayn Rand and was present when others were discussing her ideas doesn't mean he grasped any of that or any of the effects of contrary ideas in the real world. When the USSR fell I recall reading that some communists were saying that it was not their ideology which failed rather it was, because of the adoption of certain laissez-faire policies by previous leaders of the USSR, the failure of Capitalism! There is blindness and there is the refusal to see. It is conceivable that Alan Greenspan is not and never was even a Student of Objectivism. I doubt that he could even explain what Objectivism is in detail without the necessity of doing so while standing on one foot as Ayn Rand once did. I may be mistaken but it appears that he does not possess the comprehensive, integrated rational philosophy which Objectivism is. gg

<<<" HENRY MARK HOLZER LEGAL AND POLITICAL COMMENTARY www.henrymarkholzer.blogspot.com The Alan Greenspan Story (Part II) The Long Way Home? In March 2009I wrote and posted on this blog the article which appears under the asterisks below. Although it disappeared, thanks to some of the recipients of this blog I have it again. I’m reprinting it now for two reasons: First, because hundreds of people have joined this blog since I posted the essay five years ago and have never seen it. Second, because per the title of today’s blog, Alan Greenspan may in his old age be returning to a belief in first principles regarding “gold (and silver) and economic freedom.” Here is an excerpt from Mr. Greenspan’s recent appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Asterisks signify material I have omitted. For the entire transcript, seeTranscript. I have added the emphasis.) Alan Greenspan on Central Banks, Stagnation, and Gold. A Conversation with Alan Greenspan. Speaker: Alan Greenspan, President, Greenspan Associates LLC; Former Chairman of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System Presider: Gillian Tett, U.S. Managing Editor, Financial Times October 29, 2014, New York Council on Foreign Relations This is [an excerpt from] the corrected transcript of the meeting in its entirety. TETT: OK, well, good morning, everybody, and welcome to this morning's breakfast debate with Chairman Greenspan. My name is Gillian Tett. I'm the U.S. managing editor of theFinancial Times, so I hope you've all got your free copy of the FT out in the lobby. * * * TETT: I'm going to turn to the audience for questions in one minute, but before I do though, I just want to ask though, one of the really interesting chapters in your book is about gold. And there's been a lot of media debate in the past about your views on gold. You yourself pose a question as to why would anyone want to buy this barbarous relic -- I don't know whether John Paulson is in the audience -- but it's an interesting question. Butdo you think that gold is currently a good investment given what you're saying about the potential for turmoil? GREENSPAN: Yes. (LAUGHTER) TETT: Do you put... GREENSPAN: Economists are usually perfect in equivocating. In this case I didn't equivocate. Look, remember what we're looking at. Gold is a currency. It is still by allevidences the premier currency where no fiat currency, including the dollar, can match it. And so that the issue is, if you're looking at a question of turmoil, you will find, as we always have in the past, it moves into the gold price. But the gold price is actually sort of half a commodity price, so when the economy is weakening, it goes down like copper. But it's also got a monetary characteristic which is intrinsic. It's not inbred into human beings -- I cannot conceive -- of any mechanism by which you could say that, but it behaves as though it is. Intrinsic currencies like gold and silver, for example, are acceptable [with]out a third party guarantee. And, I mean, for example at the end of World War II, or just at the end of it, Germany could not import goods without payment in gold. The person who shipped the goods in would accept the gold, and didn't care whether there was any credit standing -- associated with it. That is a very rare phenomenon. It's -- it's the reason why, for example, in a renewal of an agreement that the central banks have made -- European central banks, I believe -- about allocating their gold sales which occurred when gold prices were falling down, that has been renewed this year with a statement that gold serves a very important place in monetary reserves. And the question is, why do central banks put money into an asset which has no rate of return, but cost of storage and insurance and everything else like that, why are they doing that? If you look at the data with a very few exceptions, all of the developed countries have gold reserves. Why? TETT: I imagine right now, it's because of a question mark hanging over the value of fiat currency, the credibility going forward. GREENSPAN: Well, that's what I'm getting at. Every time you get some really serious questions, the 50 percent of the gold price determination begins to move. TETT: Right. GREENSPAN: And I think it is fascinating and -- I don't know, is Benn Steil in the audience? TETT: Yes. GREENSPAN: There he is, OK. Before you read my book, go read Benn's book. The reason is, you'll find it fascinating on exactly this issue, because here you have the ultimate test at the Mount Washington Hotel in 1944 of the real intellectual debate between the -- those who wanted to an international fiat currency which was embodied in John Maynard Keynes' construct of a banker, and he was there in 1944, holding forth with all of his prestige, but couldn't counter the fact that the United States dollar was convertible into gold and that was the major draw. Everyone wanted America's gold. And I think that Benn really described that in extraordinarily useful terms, as far as I can see. Anyway, thank you. * * * SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2009 The Alan Greenspan Story: From Objectivist to Statist In the mid-1960s my wife, Erika Holzer, and I were members of a small circle the hub of which was Ayn Rand, whose magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, had been published in 1957. Another member—who by then had been associated with Rand for several years—was Alan Greenspan. In addition to our social relationship with Rand we were also her lawyers, so frequently we made “house calls” to her apartment to conduct legal business. On more than one occasion when Erika and I arrived, Ayn and her husband would be finishing a private dinner with Alan Greenspan. It was apparent to us that Ayn had a special relationship with him, an impression buttressed by comments Ayn made occasionally to the effect that Alan was a brilliant man. In those days, Rand and her erstwhile “intellectual heir,” Nathaniel Branden, edited and published The Objectivist, a journal devoted to expounding and disseminating her ideas. One was allowed to write for The Objectivist only if the content was in accordance with Rand’s philosophy, and could withstand the laser-like editorial scrutiny she unmercifully delivered (but to the great advantage of the essay’s author). Erika and I were victims/beneficiaries of Rand’s almost supernatural abilities as a non-fiction editor. In the July 1966 issue of The Objectivist there appears an essay entitled “Gold and Economic Freedom.” Its opening paragraph is as follows: “An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue that unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense—perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire—that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other.” (My emphasis.) The essay goes on to explain the role of gold in a free society, the meaning of money (see my Blog of February 12, 2009), and the history of the Federal Reserve System. Then, the author notes critically that “[w]hen business in the United States underwent a mild contraction in 1927, the Federal Reserve created more paper reserves in the hope of forestalling any possible bank reserve shortage. * * * The Fed succeeded: it stopped the [british] gold loss, but it nearly destroyed the economies of the world, in the process. The excess credit which the Fed pumped into the economy spilled over into the stock market—triggering a fantastic speculative boom. Belatedly, Federal Reserve officials attempted to sop up the excess reserves and finally succeeded in braking the boom. But it was too late: by 1929 the speculative imbalances had become so overwhelming that the attempt precipitated a sharp retrenching and a consequent demoralizing of business confidence. As a result the American economy collapsed.” (My emphasis.) The balance of “Gold and Economic Freedom” emphatically endorses the gold standard, disdains government interference in the economy, and condemns the statists who repudiated the former while fostering the latter. The essay’s penultimate and concluding paragraphs eloquently reiterate this point: “In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold [see my Blog of January 25, 2009]. If everyone decided, for example, to convert all their bank deposits to silver or copper or any other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods. The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves. This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists’ tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the ‘hidden’ confiscation of wealth. * * * (My emphasis.) The author of “Gold and Economic Freedom” is, of course, Alan Greenspan. The “statists” whom Dr. Greenspan rightly condemned are adherents to, and promoters of, “statism”: “concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government often extending to government ownership of industry.” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary, On Line). Or, as Greenspan’s editor, Ayn Rand, once explained it: “The political expression of altruism is collectivism or statism, which holds that man’s life and work belong to the state—to society, to the group, the gang, the race, the nation—and that the state may dispose of him in any way it pleases for the sake of whatever it deems to be its own tribal, collective good”: (“Introducing Objectivism,” The Objectivist Newsletter, August 1962, p.35). Since it was Ayn Rand herself speaking through Alan Greenspan in “Gold and Economic Freedom” in the author’s lauding of laissez-faire and condemnation of statism, it was incredible that he accepted Gerald Ford’s appointment as Chairman of the President’s Council of [three] Economic Advisers. Putting aside four of the Council’s main duties and functions, the fifth is “[t]o develop and recommend to the President national economic policies, to foster and promote free competitive enterprise, to avoid economic fluctuations or to diminish the effects thereof, and to maintain employment.” What? An acolyte of the political philosopher who, among other achievements, built a moral foundation for capitalism, signing on with a statist President to “develop national economic policies” (like the bureaucrats in Atlas Shrugged?), “to foster and promote free competitive enterprise” (through stricter anti-business anti-trust laws?), “to avoid economic fluctuations” (by wage and price controls?), and “to maintain employment” (with FDR-like public works projects?)? Not only did Greenspan sign on with Ford, but Rand signed on with the both of them—sanctioning the new Greenspan-Ford economic partnership by her glowing presence at the new Chairman’s White House swearing-in ceremony. Soon after Rand died, President Reagan put Greenspan in charge of a boondoggle called the National Commission on Social Security Reform. One of its recommendations was an anti-laissez-faire, pro-statist, large tax increase. Then came the Fed job, making Greenspan the world’s economic/financial puppet master. According to a 2007 speech by a Federal Reserve Board member Frederic S. Mishkin, “In a democratic society like our own, the ultimate purpose of the central bank [the Fed] is to promote the public good by pursuing a course of monetary policy that fosters economic prosperity and social welfare. In the United States, as in virtually every other country, the central bank has a more specific set of objectives that have been established by the government. This mandate was originally specified by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and was most recently clarified by an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act in 1977. According to this legislation, the Federal Reserve's mandate is “to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.” (My emphasis.) So for year after year, the fallen pro-laissez-faire, anti-statist, Objectivist, Chairman of the Fed, went about pulling on the Fed’s strings, doing the government’s business of “promoting the public good” and “fostering social welfare.” Repudiating everything he had written, and Rand had sanctioned, in “Gold and Economic Freedom,” Greenspan manipulated the “creation” of “money,” opened and closed the credit valve, and virtually if not actually controlled the economic/financial system of the United States and thus of the world. And then, finally, at the end of 2008 when the system imploded, Rand’s brilliant acolyte finally confessed . . . and his confession continues: Yes, he was wrong about self-regulating capitalism. Yes, this time laissez-faire didn’t work. Yes, the bailouts were/are necessary. Yes—and that noise you hear is Ayn Rand spinning in her grave—the government must now nationalize banks (in the “public interest, and only “temporarily,” of course). And with these unrepentant anti-capitalism confessions, Alan Greenspan is nakedly exposed for what he became when first he drank from the inebriating waters of the Washington trough, abandoning not only “Gold and Economic Freedom,” but the moral principles which it implies, and about which he wrote with Rand’s approval those many years ago. Alan Greenspan is a person whom he, and Ayn Rand, deplored: just another statist. ">>>

You are probably correct as usual. When the GOP had the Presidency, the Senate and the House several years ago, they increased Federal spending, borrowed more to increase the national debt to levels never seen before, and involved the US in foreign wars. They remained ignorant of the evils of the unconstitutional nature of the Federal Reserve and made no attempt to even just audit the Fed, with the exception of Dr. Ron Paul who was disrespected and ignored. Now the Federal Reserve will allow the stock market to dip a certain percentage, then the Republicans will be blamed for the loss in preparation for the 2016 elections. Did you hear that president Obama pointed out that only a third of eligible voters cast ballots and he claimed that the other two thirds who did not vote are his supporters. A schizophrenic has been described as someone who lets his own consciousness take precedence over reality. That may be true of sociopaths and certain ideologues as well. You don't have to be crazy or psychotic to be evil and you can delude yourself to think that you are right and good in the process. I would suggest that anyone here take a few minutes each day to read the introductions to audio interviews at www.KingWorldNews.com. Meanwhile China buys more gold which is sold be the Western central banks who think gold is worthless. The yuan will replace the dollar in the future. That is unless the newly elected Republican establishment types listen to reason. The GOP establishment outnumber the Tea Party GOP in both the Senate and the Congress. Hard to know whether the Tea Party members understand the role of gold and the need to audit the Fed and abolish it with a return to gold and silver as money as enshrined in the Constitution. See Article 1 Sections 8 and 10. Or are Tea Party types just angry because of the bailouts and as ignorant at the establishment GOP? gg

Perhaps I am just dreaming but it is conceivable that as the numbers of individual freedom advocates increases through the efforts of SFL and YAL and IHS and TAS and others that they will be able to influence schools at the local level to include pro freedom ideas into the curricula within the public schools at a level which will counter the indoctrination which has been going on for generations because of the progressive agenda. gg

I detect a bit of pessimism because of prior unsuccessful efforts to achieve political toeholds years ago. I had a little something to do with the start of the LP, first as a delegate to the first national LP convention, then sent out letters to Reason subscribers in PA which led to the creation of that state's LP. The day doesn't go by over the years that I don't encourage someone to read AS or give out a list of many books. I like to think that the numbers of us in the pro individual freedom movement doing that has grown and will continue to do so. I will not begin to list so many organizations which didn't even exist half a century ago. Certainly the growth of Students For Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty will continue to enlighten the brightest and most dedicated young educated of the younger generation around the world and all across our Republic. They are both affiliated with the Atlas Society and other movement orgs which will assure their becoming aware of the basis of a free society and economy. Just last evening I watched a cable program about a movement within black conservatives who are aware of the way blacks are misguided by the Democrat Party who instead have used policies which have rendered so many of them to a life of dependency. They pointed out the the Democrat party receives less support down from 75% to 68 % in elections. This org is composed of many black men who succeeded in overcoming the obstacles they faced growing up. Many are ministers who preach which suggests their insights will spread within the black community rapidly. Admittedly I have also encountered people who have concluded that since more than half the population receives a check from the government that we are already doomed. It did happen to the Roman Empire after all. But we know things they didn't know in those days so there is still hope. Readers of www.kingworldnews.com know that the Fed is likely to keep printing a fiat paper currency doomed to fail in the foreseeable future. So it is clear there is not that much time left for us to save the day. gg

I just want to take advantage of the opportunity to recommend a book about the Federal Reserve which also presents the history of central banking in America: G. Edward Griffin's The Creature From Jekyll Island In case anyone reading this is unaware, there was a secret meeting at J.P. Morgan's lodge in 1910 at which the Federal Reserve Act was written and subsequently passed into law in 1913. Another revealing book discusses the relevant nine supreme court cases which turned the Constitution on its head regarding money. Richard H. Timberlake : Constitutional Money: A Review of Supreme Court Monetary Decisions I own them both but surely they would be available at your local library. gg

I sure hope this isn't true, but if it is there appears to be no way to stop it now. I found this article on www.beforeitsnews.com <<<"DOOMSDAY: How BP Gulf Disaster May Have Triggered A 'WORLD-KILLING' Event Contributed by Eyes For You (Editor) July 10, 2010 3:45 Ominous reports are leaking past the BP Gulf salvage operation news blackout that the disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico may be about to reach biblical proportions. The warning signs of an impending planetary catastrophe—of such great magnitude that the human mind has difficulty grasping it-would be the appearance of large fissures or rifts splitting open the ocean floor, a rise in the elevation of the seabed, and the massive venting of methane and other gases into the surrounding water. Such occurrences can lead to the rupture of the methane bubble containment—it can then permit the methane to breach the subterranean depths and undergo an explosive decompression as it catapults into the Gulf waters. [6] All three warning signs are documented to be occurring in the Gulf. Ground zero: The Gulf Coast The people and property located on the greater expanse of the Gulf Coast are sitting at Ground Zero. They will be the first exposed to poisonous, cancer causing chemical gases. They will be the ones that initially experience the full fury of a methane bubble exploding from the ruptured seabed. The media has been kept away from the emergency salvage measures being taken to forestall the biggest catastrophe in human history. The federal government has warned them away from the epicenter of operations with the threat of a $40,000 fine for each infraction and the possibility of felony arrests. Why is the press being kept away? Word is that the disaster is escalating. Cracks and bulges Methane is now streaming through the porous, rocky seabed at an accelerated rate and gushing from the borehole of the first relief well. The EPA is on record that Rig #1 is releasing methane, benzene, hydrogen sulfide and other toxic gases. Workers there now wear advanced protection including state-of-the-art, military-issued gas masks. Reports, filtering through from oceanologists and salvage workers in the region, state that the upper level strata of the ocean floor is succumbing to greater and greater pressure. That pressure is causing a huge expanse of the seabed-estimated by some as spreading over thousands of square miles surrounding the BP wellhead-to bulge. Some claim the seabed in the region has risen an astounding 30 feet. The fractured BP wellhead, site of the former Deepwater Horizon, has become the epicenter of frenetic attempts to quell the monstrous flow of methane. The subterranean methane is pressurized at 100,000 pounds psi. According to Matt Simmons, an oil industry expert, the methane pressure at the wellhead has now skyrocketed to a terrifying 40,000 pounds psi. Another well-respected expert, Dr. John Kessler of Texas A&M University has calculated that the ruptured well is spewing 60 percent oil and 40 percent methane. The normal methane amount that escapes from a compromised well is about 5 percent. More evidence? A huge gash on the ocean floor—like a ragged wound hundreds of feet long—has been reported by the NOAA research ship, Thomas Jefferson. Before the curtain of the government enforced news blackout again descended abruptly, scientists aboard the ship voiced their concerns that the widening rift may go down miles into the earth. That gash too is hemorrhaging oil and methane. It’s 10 miles away from the BP epicenter. Other, new fissures, have been spotted as far as 30 miles distant. Measurements of the multiple oil plumes now appearing miles from the wellhead indicate that as much as a total of 124,000 barrels of oil are erupting into the Gulf waters daily-that’s about 5,208,000 gallons of oil per day. Most disturbing of all: Methane levels in the water are now calculated as being almost one million times higher than normal. [7] Mass death on the water If the methane bubble—a bubble that could be as big as 20 miles wide—erupts with titanic force from the seabed into the Gulf, every ship, drilling rig and structure within the region of the bubble will immediately sink. All the workers, engineers, Coast Guard personnel and marine biologists participating in the salvage operation will die instantly. Next, the ocean bottom will collapse, instantaneously displacing up to a trillion cubic feet of water or more and creating a towering supersonic tsunami annihilating everything along the coast and well inland. Like a thermonuclear blast, a high pressure atmospheric wave could precede the tidal wave flattening everything in its path before the water arrives. When the roaring tsunami does arrive it will scrub away all that is left. A chemical cocktail of poisons Some environmentalist experts are calling what’s pouring into the land, sea and air from the seabed breach ’a chemical cocktail of poisons.’ Areas of dead zones devoid of oxygen are driving species of fish into foreign waters, killing plankton and other tiny sea life that are the foundation for the entire food chain, and polluting the air with cancer-causing chemicals and poisonous rainfalls. A report from one observer in South Carolina documents oily residue left behind after a recent thunderstorm. And before the news blackout fully descended the EPA released data that benzene levels in New Orleans had rocketed to 3,000 parts per billion. Benzene is extremely toxic and even short term exposure can cause agonizing death from cancerous lesions years later. The people of Louisiana have been exposed for more than two months—and the benzene levels may be much higher now. The EPA measurement was taken in early May. [8] Doomsday While some say it can’t happen because the bulk of the methane is frozen into crystalline form, others point out that the underground methane sea is gradually melting from the nearby surging oil that’s estimated to be as hot as 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Most experts in the know, however, agree that if the world-changing event does occur it will happen suddenly and within the next 6 months. So, if events go against Mankind and the bubble bursts in the coming months, Gregory Ryskin may become one of the most famous people in the world. Of course, he won't have long to enjoy his new found fame because very shortly after the methane eruption civilization will collapse. Perhaps if humanity is very, very lucky, some may find a way to avoid the mass extinction that follows and carry on the human race. Perhaps. ………… SOURCES AND THEORY READ IN FULL www.helium.com/items/1882339-doomsday-how-bp-gulf-disaster-may-have-triggered-a-world-killing-event ">>>

I know nothing about that woman, for all I know she may be the Devil Incarnate, but that article is downright silly. It is written by fundamentalist morons who think that just citing someone with bad ideas is in itself a sign of being evil. With such "friends" you need no enemies. D. Kagan made her sympathies readily evident. She bewailed the failure of the socialist party. She identified herself as a "radical" who wanted and still wants to change America. It is not just that she mentioned Werner Sombert in the first line of her thesis. It is no wonder that she chose to write her thesis on the subject. If there were a gene for the type she would have it as would Hillary and Barack. On another subject, the news reported that a Marist poll found that many were not able to identify the country from whom the Founders won their independence. Six percent mentioned other countries such as France, China, Mexico, Spain and Japan. A sad commentary on the public school system. Who knows what they are teaching children these days. No wonder we are on the verge of collapse. gulch

http://beforeitsnews.com/news/92/999/SHOCKING:_Kagans_Princeton_Thesis_Cited_German_Socialist_Who_Endorsed_Nazis.html I grew up dreading the Nazis. My older brother bought a copy of The Third Reich which I perused to my utter horror as a boy. Now we have to contend with this leftist trash, who reminds me of the female communist in We The Living, sitting on the Supreme Court. Her evasions during questioning are so typical of those whose agenda needs to be hidden from the public. Another bloodsucking vampire aspires to drain whatever juice remains in our once free country. I am still confident that the pro freedom movement will spread among the young in time to save the day. The Young Americans for Liberty is on over 150 high school, college and university campuses and is quite active. www.YALiberty.org Here is a link to an article in The Daily Caller which in turn has a link to the original Kagan Thesis itself. She mentions Werner Somber in the first line. The very last paragraph shows her feelings on the subject of the failure "of the SP (in NYC,) a sad story but a chastening one for those who, more than half a century ... still wish to change America." http://dailycaller.com/2010/05/17/elena-kagan-princeton-thesis-sad-that-u-s-socialist-movement-imploded/

Jury nullification is a distraction in our times. Nullification has to do with perhaps our last best hope for controlling and even reversing the growth of our central federal government and holding it to the limits set in Article 1 Section 8. Nullification has everything to do with restoring state sovereignty. I am sure you all noticed that the Feds tentacle in the form of the DEA has asserted its authority be removing the six marijuana plants from the home of two elderly women who live in California where the medicinal use of mj is legal. The women had prescriptions for use of mj for their painful medical conditions and the plants were home grown and never were involved in interstate or intrastate commerce. As you all know virtually all attempts to tax, regulate and control any business are based on the commerce clause whose original purpose was simply to make trade regular meaning no tariffs on trade to protect one business from competition from producers in other states. It gives new meaning to the concept of sophistry. A farmer in NY State who grew his own wheat for use on his farm and which never entered any kind of trade was ruled taxable upheld by the supreme court because if other farmers did the same, grew wheat and withheld it from interstate trade, (they like to say: "in the aggregate") it would affect the price of wheat, hence it is justifiable to tax and regulate the farmers wheat. My point really is that perhaps our only potentially viable means to stop the tyrannical growth of the Federal government is for the states to exercize the right of nullification as exemplified in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolves of 1798 which were written respectively by Jefferson and Madison who argued that the States, having created and limited the Federal government, could interpose the states and nullify laws passed by the Federal government which exceeded the powers granted by the states. Nullification has historically been used successfully to deal with Adam's egregious Alien and Sedition Acts, the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1850, more recently the National ID Act and the Medicinal Marijuana Laws and others spelled out in Wood's book on nullification. This thread has gone off on a meaningless tangent of jury nullification which as important as it is pales into insignificance compared to the potential of nullification to restore State sovereignty and limitation of federal powers which exceed its constitutional authority and which are destroying our currency, our economy, the middle class, individual freedom and our future as a country of individualism and freedom. www.campaignforliberty.com over 450,000 strong with three new feature articles six days a week. gulch

David, Worst case scenario envisioned by geologists who imagine a huge bubble of trapped methane gas deep within the sea floor under tremendous pressure which will explode and cause a Mt. St Helens event which would cause a tsunami which would cause destruction and death in the Gulf states including Florida which has an average height above sea level of six inches. http://beforeitsnews.com/news/81/462/How_the_ultimate_BP_Gulf_disaster_could_kill_millions.html Sorry to ruin your day! If you have loved ones in the region you might want to invite them up north until after the cataclysm. Geologists have been warning about this prospect long before drilling began.

Mr. Davis After reading your post in which you make it clear that you find rational discourse appealing it occurs to me that you would also find that certain authors likewise are enjoyable to read because of the lucidity of their writing in whatever field of endeavor. In no particular order certain authors come to mind: Ayn Rand's essays and her journal, The Objectivist Newsletter. For The New Intellectual, The Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal... Brand Blanshard: Reason and Analysis, The Nature of Thought... Henry Hazlitt: Economics In One Lesson... Nathaniel Branden: The Psychology of Self Esteem, Honoring The Self, Breaking Free, The Disowned Self, ... Ludwig von Mises: Planning For Freedom, Planned Chaos, Human Action... Murray Rothbard: Man, Economy and State, The Great Depression, Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion Christian Hitchens: God Is Not Great... Andrew Dickson White: The History of the Warfare Between Science and Theology in Christiandom... David Hackett Fisher: Washington's Crossing, Paul Revere's Ride, ... Enough for now. Ron Paul: The Revolution: A Manifesto, End The Fed... Tom Woods: Meltdown, Nullification Andrew Napolitano: Lies The Government Told You... Dominick Armentano: The Myths of Antitrust Stephen Jay Gould: Isaac Asimov Michael Ruse... Niles Eldredge... Sheldon Richman Jacob Hornberger www.campaignforliberty.com 231506

My wife and I just watched Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchette with William Hurt and Max von Sydow in a marvelous creative rendition of Robin Hood. Most reviewers said that the film lacked the essence of the original story and that there were nothing but fight scenes with nothing else to commend it. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 44. But among those negative reviews was one that suggested in no uncertain terms that Tea Party folks would find much to enjoy and be inspired by and he was right. Any lover of individual freedom and liberty who opposes tyranny in any form and place will find this film to his or her liking. My wife whispered to me while we read the opening lines that she liked it already. I am not surprised that I find no mention of it here on OL hence this post to encourage you to see it while it is still on large screens all over playing to almost empty theaters though. Well done. gulch www.campaignforliberty.com 231,279

I agree with Barbara that it is worthwhile to subscribe to TIA and in particular to let others know about it. Despite the naysayers, know it alls and condescenders here, most people are ignorant of these ideas with no help from the educational establishment. I see this as an opportunity to enlighten as many of our compatriots and fellow citizens of our ideas. I will copy and paste Barbara's post on as many other sites once I follow my wife's entreaties to vacuum the pool now that the thunderstorm is passed and the sun is shining again. For those above the fray who chose to keep the ideas of Ayn Rand to themselves or who find fault with Tracinski I am reminded of Hank Rearden's response to the effect that I am sorry that our attempt to save ourselves will save your miserable souls as well. I want to thank Barbara for making us aware of this opportunity and wish others here were in agreement that it is a worthwhile endeavor. gulch www.campaignforliberty.com 231,226

Do you really thing that the current House of Representatives will bring a Bill of Impeachment against Barak Obama? Do you really and truly think that? If you do, you are extremely deluded. Ba'al Chatzaf Of course I don't believe that Obama will have to face impeachment. Just that he should. he took an oath to preserve the Constitution and to defend it but he doesn't appear to grasp the meaning of the oath. Treason comes to mind.

<<<"Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution reads: "The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." If Obama had knowledge of this Sestak offer, then we could add the charge of "bribery" to the "high crimes and misdemeanors" he has already committed while in office. Remember the words of Judge Napolitano: "Federal law makes it a felony to offer 'anything of value' to an official of the government in return for a decision in your favor by that official of the government; it is called bribery." Is a "high ranking" cabinet position a thing of value? If so, it could be easily argued that we have a DUTY to Impeach Barack Hussein Obama. ">>>

here is the link: <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value=" &hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" &hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>One of the best parts is the interview of Chairman Ben Bernanke by the Democrat Grayson of Florida. The fact that almost three quarters of a million views of this video have occurred is inspiring. America is waking up! www.campaignforliberty.com 231,070

Interesting - but doubt it'll get anywhere [unless after November?] Nothing ever happens unless those who value liberty, make it so. Is it not in our best interest to take a stand and make our own future? Shoud we just say it'll never happen and not even attempt to take the action neccesary for it to be possible? What will our lives be like if we sit on our haunches, spinning tales of furture losses before we even move a muscle to take up a shield to defend our own lives from these despots? I'm tired of fighting for those who don't bother to fight, since there are others fighting. Standup already and wipe the potato-chip bits from your chest and turn your television off. Getting 'angry' and 'taking action' are NOT the same thing. If you want to be free, you're going to have to work for it. If you agree this legislation is good, blast it out to different sites... Call your local news and ask them to cover the story... write an editorial or hell... just write the story and submit it. If you can't do that, then tweet... Just do something to earn what you take for granted. Antony, Thank you for your post. I notice it is your very first one here. There are others here who do take actions and do get involved. We do not always get to know just what they do. For example I recently bought a copy of The Vision of Ayn Rand which is the complete text of Nathaniel Branden's lecture series originally only available on vinyl records entitled Basic Principles of Objectivism. I own the original series which I listened to once upon a time. It is now available in book form and that is the result of the labor of love of a member of this board. His name is Robert Campbell and he has also taken the trouble to listen to tapes of the Ford Hall Forum lectures by Ayn Rand and typed the Q and A . See The Rewrite Squad on this site. I am also not the only one here who admires Ron Paul despite certain substantial disagreements with his beliefs and who is active in The Campaign For Liberty www.campaignforliberty.com which just keeps growing 231,070 although not at the exponential pace which characterized its first year of growth and perhaps will recur as elections approach. Feel free to join with us to enlighten those we encounter through personal encounters or by writing etc. Thanks again for your passionate post. gulch

This appeared on today's Campaign For Liberty site this morning. <<<"Introducing the Private Option Health Care Act Statement of Congressman Ron Paul United States House of Representatives Statement Introducing the Private Option Health Care Act May 27, 2010 Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Private Option Health Care Act. This bill places individuals back in control of health care by replacing the recently passed tax-spend-and-regulate health care law with reforms designed to restore a free market health care system. The major problems with American health care are rooted in government policies that encourage excessive reliance on third-party payers. The excessive reliance on third-party payers removes incentives for individual patients to concern themselves with health care costs. Laws and policies promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from a desperate attempt to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs further took control over health care away from patients and physicians. Furthermore, the third-party payer system creates a two-tier health care system where people whose employers can afford to offer "Cadillac" plans have access to top quality health care, while people unable to obtain health insurance from their employers face obstacles in obtaining quality health care. The Private Option Health Care Act gives control of health care back into the hands of individuals through tax credits and tax deductions, improving Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Savings Accounts. Specifically, the bill: A. Provides all Americans with a tax credit for 100% of health care expenses. The tax credit is fully refundable against both income and payroll taxes; B. Allows individuals to roll over unused amounts in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); C. Provides a tax credit for premiums for high-deductible insurance policies connected with a Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and allows seniors to use funds in HSAs to pay for medigap policies; D. Repeals the 7.5% threshold for the deduction of medical expenses, thus making all medical expenses tax deductible. This bill also creates a competitive market in heath insurance. It achieves this goal by exercising Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause to allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines. The near-monopoly position many health insurers have in many states and the high prices and inefficiencies that result, is a direct result of state laws limiting people's ability to buy health insurance that meets their needs, instead of a health insurance plan that meets what state legislators, special interests, and health insurance lobbyists think they should have. Ending this ban will create a truly competitive marketplace in health insurance and give insurance companies more incentive to offer quality insurance at affordable prices. The Private Option Health Care Act also provides an effective means of ensuring that people harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system. The bill achieves this goal by providing a tax credit for negative outcomes insurance purchased before medical treatment. The insurance will provide compensation for any negative outcomes of the medical treatment. Patients can receive this insurance without having to go through lengthy litigation and without having to give away a large portion of their awards to trial lawyers. Finally, the Private Option Health Care Act also lowers the prices of prescription drugs by reducing barriers to the importation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceuticals. Under my bill, anyone wishing to import a drug simply submits an application to the FDA, which then must approve the drug unless the FDA finds the drug is either not approved for use in the United States or is adulterated or misbranded. This process will make safe and available imported medicines affordable to millions of Americans. Letting the free market work is the best means of lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Madam Speaker, the Private Option Health Care Act allows Congress to correct the mistake it made last month by replacing the new health care law with health care measures that give control to health care to individuals, instead of the federal government and politically-influential corporations. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.">>> www.campaignforliberty.com 231,040 www.YALiberty.org over 170 campuses

SherryTX, Since you will be reading Ayn Rand's non fiction books I want to be sure to encourage you to obtain a copy of The Objectivist Newsletter. In The Virtue of Selfishness and in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal you will find that the essays all were originally published in The Objectivist Newsletter, affectionately referred to at OL as TON, you may think that there is little point to getting a copy. There are a wealth of essays and book reviews as well as Intellectual Ammunition Dept articles in TON printed no where else. Worth finding and keeping! Sources include The Atlas Society bookstore www.atlassociety.com and The Ayn Rand Institute http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/searchprods.asp Others may recommend The Objectivist and The Ayn Rand Letter also but TON dealt with more fundamental issues to my way of thinking. Others here may disagree and suggest those too. In any case welcome to the future, or what might be and ought to be, if we can help to make it happen. http://www.campaignforliberty.com http://www.fff.org http://www.mises.org http://www.cafehayek.com Sooner or later you will discover that Ayn Rans admired Victor Hugo and was inspired as a child by overhearing her mother reading one of his novels to her grandmother, in particular a scene from Ninety-Three. She felt awed that such a man could exist in this world and she decided that that was the kind of world in which she wanted to live, a world inhabited by such heroic men and women. gulch

I am not sure what kind of data you are hoping to find. Lots of sources come to mind. Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal presents the moral case for capitalism. Ludwig von Mises Institute www.mises.com has all of his books available on line. He wrote Human Action, Planned Chaos, Socialism, Planning For Freedom, Critique of Interventionism etc The Atlas Society www.atlassociety.org The Ayn Rand Institute www.aynrand.org The Future of Freedom Foundation www.fff.org Foundation for Economic Education www.fee.org Reason Foundation www.reason.com CATO Institute www.cato.com to name a few