galtgulch

A few days ago I posted a story entitled: "Whistle blower proves AU and AG prices manipulated

Trillions involved exceeds Madoff fraud"

Although there appear to have been fifty some odd views of it no one here chose to comment. I am just trying to understand why.

In the article it is pointed out that a whistle blower, a silver trader for one company had first hand knowledge that silver traders for JP Morgan in the London trading pit were boasting of their manipulation of the price of silver and giving advance notice of their intention and plan to bring the price of silver down again so others could prosper by taking advantage of the manipulation.

The article revealed that there is not enough bullion to back up the futures trades rather just enough bullion of gold or silver to back up one in one hundred contracts!

Also that some time ago those who demanded delivery on their contracts were paid off in paper dollars.

Testimony before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by the president of the Gold Anti Trust Action group made those at the hearing aware of the whistle blowers revelations but the live TV broadcast was interrupted for the duration of his testimony.

At first there were almost two dozen requests for interviews with the whistle blower by the main stream media but suddenly they were mysteriously all cancelled.

Not to mention a hit and run accident in which the whistle blowers car was hit but he and his wife were not seriously hurt.

The point is that the gold and silver prices are being manipulated in the major trading places by JP Morgan and the CFTC now knows about it and has done nothing to stop its ongoing manipulations by limiting the amount of naked short positions a company can hold.

It is pointed out that once those who believe they have a contract for delivery of gold or silver bullion demand delivery that would create a squeeze on those who hold naked short futures positions which could not possibly be fulfilled. There is simply not enough gold and silver bullion in the world to fill those contracts.

And no one here cares to comment. When JP Morgan took over Bear Stearns, which was known to hold excessive naked short positions, JPMorgan was enticed by the government to take them over with some sort of assurances. Holding down the prices of gold and silver make the paper dollar look stronger than it is. If the prices of gold and silver were allowed to go to the true free market prices, presumably higher than they are now, that would show the world that the US Dollar is so weak that it might be impossible for the government to raise money by selling US Treasury Bonds backed by the US Dollar.

The fraud involved in the market manipulation of the prices of gold and silver would dwarf any Ponzi scheme in history. Confidence in the financial system would disappear as would the US Dollar as the reserve currency of the world.

Is there nothing to discuss here on this matter facing our country?

www.campaignforliberty.com 230,640

Just to give one a taste of life under Obamacare. I found this link on www.beforeitsnews.com:

<<<" Last month, a urologist in Florida told patients that he’d prefer ObamaCare supporters go elsewhere for treatment. Today, a dermatologist in Arizona warns that he’ll be elsewhere if ObamaCare comes fully into law. Joseph Scherzer says the penalties for dealing with Medicare patients, along with more top-down government control of health care, will drive him to close his doors:

hile it may be years before most Americans feel the impact of President Obama’s health-care bill, a few patients in Scottsdale, Ariz., got a small taste of life under Obamacare last week when they arrived at their Dermatologist’s office only to see a sign with the following taped to the front door:

“If you voted for Obamacare, be aware these doors will close before it goes into effect.” The note is signed Joseph M. Scherzer M.D. and includes the following addendum: “****Unless Congress or the Courts repeal the BILL.”

Scherzer, who attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, has been a practicing Dermatologist in Scottsdale, Ariz., since 1976. Reached yesterday at his office, Dr. Scherzer, 63, said he plans to stop practicing before 2014 when the bill’s full impact will be felt because he refuses to deal with the headache of increased government involvement in health care. …

Scherzer said the bill’s emphasis on punitive measures for physicians not following government-prescribed treatment methods under Medicare would increase his anxiety level to the point he would no longer be able to practice medicine. The maximum fine was previously $10,000; under the bill it will now be capped at $50,000. Scherzer said the fine system makes seeing a Medicare patients a difficult and stressful exercise.

“Doctors have actually committed suicide over these things. There’s no insurance to cover it,” Scherzer said, calling the fine system “tremendously complicated and Frankensteinian.” “It’s absolutely impossible to be certain you’ve complied. I feel like when I see a Medicare patient I have the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head.” ">>>

Your preaching to a choir member; I've been singing the non-interventionist song since the first Gulf War when I was made sick by all of Bush's talk about a kinder gentler America before he goes in and kills 200 K people.

David,

Not my intent to preach.

Appreciate the links by anonrobt.

The Reuters journalists were evidently embedded with the "insurgents" who don't wear uniforms.

www.campaignforliberty.com 230,387

gulch

I suggest that you go to the source at www.beforeitsnews.com to view this article as there are videos there which do not show up here. E.g. the testimony of the president of GATA to the CFTC.

<<<"

BOMBSHELL Whistle Blower Comes Forward With Solid Proof The Price Of Gold And Silver Is Being Manipulated By Major Financial Institutions

|

Contributed by The Economic Collapse Blog (Reporter)

April 12, 2010 2:15

For a long time many of us have had very serious suspicions that the prices of gold and silver were being highly manipulated. But now, thanks to the mind blowing testimony of one very brave whistle blower, the blatant manipulation of the world gold and silver markets is being blown wide open. What you are about to read below is absolutely staggering. Once the American people learn how incredibly corrupt the world financial system is, it is going to change everything. The government that we are all trusting to guard the integrity of the financial system is failing to do that job. It turns out that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission has been sitting on solid evidence that the elite banking powers have been openly and blatantly manipulating the price of gold and silver. Even though they were basically handed a "smoking gun", they have done absolutely nothing with it. But now the information has gone public and the CFTC is red-faced.

Back in November 2009, Andrew Maguire, a former Goldman Sachs silver trader in Goldman's London office, contacted the CFTC's Enforcement Division and reported the illegal manipulation of the silver market by traders at JPMorgan Chase.

Maguire told the CFTC how silver traders at JPMorgan Chase openly bragged about their exploits - including how they sent a signal to the market in advance so that other traders could make a profit during price suppression episodes.

Traders would recognize these signals and would make money shorting precious metals alongside JPMorgan Chase. Maguire explained to the CFTC how there would routinely be market manipulations at the time of option expiries, during non-farm payroll data releases, during commodities exchange contract rollovers, as well as at other times if it was deemed necessary.

On February 3rd, Maguire gave the CFTC a two day warning of a market manipulation event by email to Eliud Ramirez, who is a senior investigator for the CFTC’s Enforcement Division.

Maguire warned Ramirez that the price of precious metals would be suppressed upon the release of non-farm payroll data on February 5th. As the manipulation of the precious metals markets was unfolding on February 5th, Maguire sent additional emails to Ramirez explaining exactly what was going on.

And it wasn't just that Maguire predicted that the price would be forced down. It was the level of precision that he was able to communicate to the CFTC that was the most stunning. He warned the CFTC that the price of silver was to be taken down regardless of what happened to the employment numbers and that the price of silver would end up below $15 per ounce. Over the next couple of days, the price of silver was indeed taken down from $16.17 per ounce down to a low of $14.62 per ounce.

Because of Maguire’s warning, the CFTC was able to watch a crime unfold, right in front of their eyes, in real time.

So what did the CFTC do about it?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Which is extremely alarming, because the size of this fraud absolutely dwarfs the Madoff or Enron scandals. In fact, this fraud is so gigantic that it is not even worth comparing to any of the other major financial scandals of recent times.

But Maguire did not give up. He sent several more emails to the CFTC detailing the open manipulation of the gold and silver markets.

The CFTC did not reply.

Finally he sent them a final email: "I have honored my commitment to assist you and keep any information we discuss private, however if you are going to ignore my information I will deem that commitment to have expired."

The reply by the CFTC?

"I have received and reviewed your email communications. Thank you so very much for your observations."

No action.

No acknowledgement that anything was wrong.

No recognition that a massive crime had been committed.

Fortunately, that was not the end of it.

On March 25th, the CFTC held a hearing on alleged manipulation in the gold market by the major banking powers.

Maguire wanted to testify during that hearing but he was not invited.

But William Murphy, chairman of Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA), was invited to testify. GATA has been compiling data on the manipulation of the gold and silver markets for quite a long time now.

Murphy was only given five minutes to deliver his testimony. He raced through his presentation so that he could get as much information on the record as possible.

Very curiously, the live television broadcast of the CFTC hearing suffered a technical failure the minute before Murphy began his testimony. The technical failure was corrected the minute after Murphy was finished.

Coincidence?

Well, it turns out that there were are lot of coincidences surrounding this hearing.

But we'll get to that in a minute.

When Murphy finished his statement, the panel asked him for some hard proof of market manipulation. Murphy shocked the panel by revealing the name of Maguire and explaining how Maguire had informed the CFTC Enforcement Division of the market manipulation that was taking place by JPMorgan Chase. The CFTC panel seemed stunned by the revelation and seemed reluctant to learn any further and asked nothing else about it.

Video of Murphy's revelation to the panel is posted below....

In another "coincidence", Maguire and his wife were subsequently injured and hospitalized when their car was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the London suburbs.

When a bystander who saw the "accident" tried to block the other driver from getting away, the other driver accelerated directly towards the witness, forcing him to leap out of the way to avoid being hit. The hit-and-run driver’s car then hit two additional cars as he left the area.

But Maguire and his wife were fortunate.

In the past, other would-be whistle blowers that had evidence regarding the manipulation in the gold and silver markets died in "unusual accidents" before they were able to bring their evidence to light.

But there were even more "coincidences" surrounding this hearing.

A week before the hearing, the CFTC announced that they had had a fire in the room where its gold and silver records are held.

Isn't that convenient?

In addition, after the hearing was over, Murphy was contacted by a number of major media outlets for interviews.

Within 24 hours, every single interview was cancelled.

Every single one.

Is that a coincidence too?

It appears that some very powerful people do not want this information to get out.

It also shows how corrupt the mainstream media has become.

This is a story that is so much bigger than the Madoff scandal or the Enron scandal that it is not even funny.

And yet the mainstream media is avoiding it like the plague.

But there were additional bombshells that came out during the hearing as well.

During the hearing it was revealed that the gold manipulators have accumulated a huge short position in gold and that these huge short positions are "naked", which means that these positions are not hedged.

These massive short positions have put some of the largest financial institutions in the world in an extremely vulnerable position.

In addition, it has now come out that most "gold" that is traded is not backed by the actual metal itself. For years, most people have assumed that the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the world's largest gold market, had actual gold to back up the massive "gold deposits" at the major LBMA banks.

But that is not the case.

People are now realizing that there is very little actual gold in the LBMA system.

When people think they are buying "gold", they are actually just buying pieces of paper that say they own gold.

In fact, during the CFTC hearings, Jeffrey Christian of CPM Group confirmed that the LBMA banks actually have approximately a hundred times more gold deposits than actual gold bullion.

Uh oh.

So what happens if everyone decides that they want actual physical delivery of their gold?

It would be such a mess that it is painful even to think about it.

The truth is that right now most of the trading activities on the London exchange are just paper for paper.

But people get into gold because they want to be in a real commodity.

In fact, there are thousands of clients around the globe who think they own huge deposits of gold bullion, and are being charged large storage fees on that imaginary bullion, but what they really own are a bunch of pieces of paper.

If there comes a time when everyone starts asking for their gold it is going to create a squeeze of unimaginable proportions.

Maguire explains this situation this way: "for 100 customers who show up there is only one guy who is going to get his gold or silver and there’s 99 who will be disappointed, so without any new money coming into the market, just asking for that gold and silver will create a default."

The truth is that it is absolutely impossible for the LBMA to ever deliver all the gold and silver owed to the owners of contracts.

Yes, it is a gigantic mess.

But this type of things is not entirely unprecedented. For example, Morgan Stanley paid out several million dollars back in 2007 to settle claims that it had charged 22,000 clients storage fees on silver bullion that did not exist.

But the scale of the fraud going on now is absolutely mind blowing. The following video contains footage from the hearing related to these issues....

So what is the bottom line?

The bottom line is that the precious metals markets are cesspools of fraud and manipulation.

The markets have been suppressed by the major financial institutions for years, and this has created the potential for a "squeeze" in the precious metals markets that could send the prices of gold and silver into the stratosphere.

You see, the reality is that there would be no gold left in the entire world if all the Gold ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) asked for physical delivery.

Are you starting to get the picture?

In fact, Maguire claims that the naked short selling scam by the major financial institutions is well into the trillions of dollars, making it by far the biggest financial fraud in history.

Maguire calls what has been going on "financial terrorism", and he accuses the financial institutions involved in this fraud of "treason" for putting national security at risk.

And national security is at risk.

Because if the true extent of this fraud comes out, it could collapse the entire financial system.

If you have never heard an interview with Andrew Maguire, we encourage you to listen to the audio interview posted below. It will really open your eyes to what is going on in the precious metals markets....

The Century's Biggest Fraud Revealed

This is one of the biggest financial stories of the decade. Because it is complex, most Americans will not understand it. But the fraud and manipulation in the gold and silver markets has the potential to cause a massive economic collapse even without all of the other factors talked about on this blog.

Some very powerful people have been doing some really, really bad things. Once people understand the truth, they will never look at the financial markets the same way again. Already, faith in the major financial institutions of this country has been shaken by revelations about what has been going on over at Goldman Sachs. The American people have no more appetite for any more financial scandals or for any more Wall Street bailouts. But if the fraud and manipulation taking place in the precious metal markets ever gets totally exposed it will change the U.S. financial system forever.

Please get this information out to as many people as you can. There are a number of very powerful people who are not going to be pleased that sites like this are attempting to get the truth about this massive scandal out.

Read the original story at The Economic Collapse Blog">>>

www.campaignforliberty.com 230387

Here is the link to a video I came across on stumble:

http://tinyurl.com/yb7my5b

I will settle for vicarious pleasure.

www.campaignforliberty.com 230,345

gulch

Michael,

I am surprised that you don't mention that our illustrious Fuhrer (I have purposely not used his name in the futile hope that I will avoid surveillance) actually fulfills Ayn Rand's definition of a fascist. I mean FASCIST! Of that there can be no doubt. His advocacy of individual mandates alone is enough to meet the criteria. Ayn Rand pointed out the difference. In socialism the State owns everything including you and the ground you stand on. In a fascist state you are permitted to keep your name on yourself and on your business but the State dictates whatever it wishes regarding how you run your business and your life. Admittedly the distinction is superficial.

Judge Napolitano has a new book out Lies the Government Told You and there is an interview with him on the Reason website. I don't think his solution to repeal the Seventeent Amendment so that the States will have a seat at the table will be enough or goes deeply enough to solve the problem:

http://reason.com/archives/2010/04/08/injustice-system/

If the campaign for liberty and Young Americans for LIberty accomplish drawing the attention of young people to the ideas in a handful of books which the public schools and liberal colleges keep from them perhaps there is some hope.

www.campaignforliberty.com 230,291

Here is Jacob Hornberger's response to the video: (it appeared at www.campaignforliberty.com as a feature article on 8 April2010)

<<<"Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.

He is a regular writer for The Future of Freedom Foundation's publication, Freedom Daily, and is a co-editor or contributor to the eight books that have been published by the Foundation. Visit his blog.

The WikiLeaks Video and Terrorist Blowback

By Jacob Hornberger

View all 47 articles by Jacob Hornberger

Published 04/08/10

I can't improve on Glenn Greenwald's analysis of the WikiLeaks video depicting the slaughter of Iraqi citizens. See here and here and here.

However, there is one part of the WikiLeaks video that I wish to address -- the reaction of the helicopter pilots upon learning that there were two children who were shot and injured during the melee. Their reaction, in fact, perfectly exemplifies the mindset that has long characterized U.S. officials, including those in the Pentagon.

When the pilots discovered that they had shot the two Iraqi kids, here was their exchange:

"Well it's their fault for bringing their kids into a battle."

"That's right."

No remorse, no anguish, no regret, no concern. Just callous indifference to the possibility that the lives of two innocent children might have just been snuffed out.

What will be the reaction of the relatives of those two Iraqi children, who lost their father in the attack? Surely, even the most ardent pro-war advocates would not deny the obvious: the relatives will be filled with anger and rage.

Welcome to the world of U.S. foreign policy and terrorist blowback.

In fact, this most recent episode in Iraq is a minor déjà vu of what took place during the Persian Gulf War and the 11-year period following it. During that war, the Pentagon conducted a secret study that concluded that if Iraq's water and sewage facilities were destroyed, this would help spread infectious illnesses among the Iraqi people.

So, the order was given: Drop the bombs on those facilities.

Then, to ensure that the facilities couldn't be repaired, the U.S. government induced the UN to impose one of the most brutal systems of sanctions in history on Iraq.

The Pentagon proved to be right, with the deadly consequences of drinking the polluted water falling most heavily on Iraqi children. Year after year, tens of thousands of Iraqi children were dying. Two high UN officials even resigned their posts in protest to what they termed "genocide."

What was the reaction of U.S. officials to those deaths? It was the same reaction expressed by those pilots in the WikiLeaks video: callous indifference. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright reflected the mindset of U.S. officials when she told "Sixty Minutes" (and the people of the Middle East) that the deaths of half-a-million Iraqi children from the sanctions were "worth it."

It is impossible to measure the depth of anger and rage that spread not just in Iraq but also the Middle East over the deaths of the Iraqi children, year after year, and over the mindset of callous indifference that characterized U.S. officials. When Ramzi Yousef was sentenced for the 1993 terrorist attack on the WTC, he angrily cited the sanctions and the deaths of the Iraqi children as one of the things that drove him to commit his terrorist attack.

That WTC attack in 1993 was followed by the attack on the USS Cole, the attack on the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and, of course, the 9/11 attacks.

We all know what U.S. officials said: Oh, it's not because of what the U.S. government has done to people in Iraq and the Middle East, including the sanctions and our indifference to the deaths of the Iraqi children, the Persian Gulf intervention, the unconditional financial and military support to the Israeli government, or the intentional stationing of U.S. troops on Islamic holy lands. People in the Middle East don't care about all that. They just hate us for our freedom and values.

Mark my words: they'll say the same thing if relatives of those two Iraqi children -- or the children themselves -- end up retaliating for what was done to the children's father and other victims of the most recent slaughter.

Finally, let us never forget: Neither the Iraqi people nor the Iraqi government participated in the 9/11 attacks or ever attacked the United States. That makes the U.S. government the unlawful aggressor, invader, attacker, and occupier in this conflict, which means that U.S. soldiers have no right, moral or legal, to be killing anyone in Iraq, including those Iraqis who are simply trying to rid their country of an illegal aggressor, invader, attacker, and occupier.

By the way, Joy Gordon, who wrote one of the most insightful articles on the Iraq sanctions, entitled " Cool War: Economic Sanctions as a Weapon of Mass Destruction" has a brand new book out on the Iraq sanctions entitled Invisible War: The United States and the Iraq Sanctions. I haven't read it yet but if it's as good as her article, it's definitely a great book.

For a nice compilation of articles on the sanctions, see: www.fff.org/whatsNew/2004-02-09a.htm

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email.">>>

www.campaignforliberty.com 230243 www.YALiberty.org on over 170 campuses

gulch

I decided to do a bit of further research on this and found this link: http://blog.ajmartinez.com/2010/04/05/wikileaks-collateral-murder/

The blogger points out that the screen that the soldiers had to look at was much smaller than what we see, and even though we can clearly see the two children sitting in the front seat of the van, the soldiers might not have been able to see or in the heat of the moment didn't realize what they were seeing. The cameras seem crystal clear on the wikileak video, but is it as obvious to the pilot and other soldiers? Perhaps not, and from the sound they certainly sound like they thought they were weapons. I'm not excusing all the laughing and congratulatory comments.

Notice how the military asserted that after their investigation they found that there was nothing wrong and all rules of engagement were followed. We can see that none of the men standing in the group who were targeted were acting in any hostile manner towards the Apache helicopter. Didn't you wonder that none of the victims seemed the least concerned about the helicopter overhead? I had the impression that the helicopter was quite far away. There was such a lag from the time the guns were fired and the time that you could see the dust being kicked up. It took several seconds for the bullets to reach the target. I think the helicopter was circling at a greater distance than appears in the video.

The question What in the Hell are we doing over there? comes to mind. Remember that there was no connection between the attack on 9/11 and Iraq. I remember hearing at the time that there was a building in Afghanistan thought to be occupied by Alquida

but by the time Bush decided to authorize an attack the leaders were all gone three weeks later. I think the attack should have been done without delay but although the overthrow of Saddam was morally justified should not have happened at all.

I recall that Clinton didn't authorize taking out Osama bin Ladin when an opportunity arose in the Sudan and that Osama was angry with the US for having military bases in Saudi Arabia where Mecca and Medina were. In other words if the U.S. had no troops stationed over there in the first place 9/11 wouldn't have happened.

Sounds like the wisdom of a non interventionist foreign policy such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had in mind. Instead the U.S. has over 1200 bases in 130 countries at the cost of a trillion dollars a year.

www.campaignforliberty.com 230243 www.YALiberty.org on over 170 campuses

gulch

http://collateralmurder.com/

I imagine this is considered a version of friendly fire. But watch the video.

Here is a link to a more elaborate presentation of the same video with commentary:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=34371

www.campaignforliberty.com 230230

gulch

Once in a while there will be a reference to Ayn Rand on the popular TV show Jeopardy.

Today the contestants were asked which book had the working title "The Strike." The ultimate winner correctly answered with the question, What is Atlas Shrugged?

Always good to see Ayn Rand's famous novel mentioned before an audience of several million people.

www.campaignforliberty.com 230,014

gulch

Here is another excellent article by Sheldon Richman :

<<<"

Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation, author of Tethered Citizens: Time to Repeal the Welfare State, and editor of The Freeman magazine. Visit his blog "Free Association" at www.sheldonrichman.com.

Wishful Thinking on Health Care

By Sheldon Richman

Published 03/30/10

This is an elaboration of my remarks at the seventh annual Jolicoeur Seminar, an event put on this week by FEE and the economics department at Western New England College, Springfield, Mass.

How an issue is framed is crucial to how it is decided. Advocates of the package of health insurance regulations, taxes, and mandates known as ObamaCare managed to frame the issue as "reform versus the status quo." But to call the Obama-Pelosi-Reid plan (OPR) "reform" is to beg the question by assuming precisely what needs to be proved: namely, that the legislative package would actually reform -- that is, improve -- the medical system. Therefore the debate should have been not whether reform is desirable -- real reform (improvement) is always desirable -- but whether OPR is really reform.

A better framing of the issue would have been: real reform versus the status quo on steroids, for in the end OPR is little more than what Holman Jenkins of the Wall Street Journal calls a "doubling down on the system's existing perversities." For example, under OPR everyone will be forced to become a customer of the health insurance industry that the ruling political class just spent a year demonizing, and that industry will reap billions in taxpayer subsidies. Moreover, demand for medical services will be further insulated from true costs. That is already the source of so much of what's wrong today.

Let's look at the newly signed law from four perspectives: moral, fiscal, economic, and political.

Morality

For a century the foundation of medicine in the United States has steadily shifted from cooperation and competition to compulsion and management through government power. In 1910 the Flexner Report, financed by the Carnegie Foundation, set in motion the process by which medical education and practice would be regulated by a physician cartel deriving its coercive power from government primarily at the state level. While the need for such management was publicly justified as a way to protect patients, what doctors told one another when no one else could hear was that their incomes not their patients were endangered by too many medical schools graduating too many doctors. Over the next 20 years, many independent medical colleges were closed. Was it mere chance that women's and African-American medical colleges were the first to go and that, as a result, the smaller, more lucrative medical profession was firmly white and male?

Since that time, coercive administration -- primarily in the form of state licensing -- more and more took the place of patient-driven contract, competition, and cooperation. When fraternal organizations tried to bring affordable medical care to their middle- and low-income members through "lodge practice," the protectionist medical cartel struck back and eventually destroyed this promising alternative to self-serving institutional medicine. During World War II the crucial, if inadvertent, step was taken toward top-down control of the payment mechanism. The tax code became the means of inducing individuals to rely on employers and insurance for medical services. Money individually and privately spent on medical care would be subject to the tax collector, while money that one's employer used for the same purpose would not. The result, intended or not, was to accustom people to rely on big intimidating bureaucracies for the payment of medical bills. Health care appeared to be free or well below its true cost -- as long as the relevant bureaucracy approved of what was bought. The entitlement/supplicant frame of mind was established, which served the cause of centralization and further control by the government-medical complex. OPR is another step, though probably not the last, in that process.

Meanwhile each state became a protectionist-regulatory insurance guild that limited entry and competition in return for compliance with mandates and price guidelines that let regulators masquerade as the people's advocates, while saddling policy holders with expensive, unneeded coverage. Many people were priced out the market, giving politicians a cause: the uninsured.

Government then assumed direct control over a good portion of medical spending through Medicare and Medicaid, bringing us to the point where third-party payments account for more than 85 percent of all medical spending in the United States. As someone has said, the patient is only needed to sign the papers that prompt one bureaucracy to cut a check for another.

Viewed historically, then, OPR is merely an extension of the current force-based bureaucratic system. Its novel contribution is to mandate that people buy medical insurance, the first instance in which the national government will compel us to buy something from a private company. This is said to be consistent with regulation of interstate commerce, but no intelligent person honestly believes that. For one thing, interstate commerce in health insurance is forbidden by the national government.

Adding insult to injury, OPR falsely promises that we can have government-subsidized consumption of medical services, lower prices, and freedom of choice at the same time. In fact, those three things cannot coexist. Subsidies will boost consumption, which will raise prices. If government is serious about lowering prices, it will have to curtail consumption, that is, limit freedom of choice, explicitly through rationing or implicitly through price controls and standards of practice.

Fiscal Considerations

On the other hand, if the ruling elite gives up the objective of lowering prices, fiscal chaos will ensue. The medical "entitlement" called Medicare already faces a $37 trillion unfunded liability. It is a big component of the government's budget deficit and growing debt. Imagine what will happen when the new entitlement explodes. The assertions that OPR will cut costs and lower the deficit are ludicrous, and no one really believes that. It is just a game played in Washington under rules that Congress carefully sets for its fig leaf Congressional Budget Office.

As a result, government borrowing will increase, if lenders aren't scared off; interest rates will rise, squelching economic activity; more new taxes will be thought up, discouraging investment; and the money supply will expand, shrinking our purchasing power.

Economic Considerations

OPR will directly subvert what is left of the insurance market and indirectly subvert what is left of the medical market. Insurance is about pooling risk in the face of an uncertain future. But OPR requires that insurance companies cover people without taking risk or even certainty (preexisting conditions) into consideration. There are no grounds for calling this insurance. Rather, it is welfare mixed with prepayment for future services. (Not that the insurers are complaining; it's a price they'll gladly pay for the captive customers that the mandate will deliver.)

While OPR's advocates extolled the virtues of competition for the last year, they were being either dishonest or ignorant. Competition does not mean a few licensed companies providing identical government-defined products to government-coerced "customers' according to government-defined pricing rules. It means open-entry trial and error by sellers attempting to satisfy buyers who are free to say no thanks. OPR gives us anything but that.

Politicians and bureaucrats cannot possibly know what they would need to know to manage the insurance and medical industries. Yet they convinced themselves and enough others to get OPR passed.

Political Considerations

Finally, OPR puts another nail in the coffin of government transparency. Regardless of how much or little government (if any) people want, they should at least be able to see and understand what it is up to and how much it costs them personally. In every way OPR flouts this principle. The law's 2,700 pages of impenetrable "English" was read in its entirety by few if anyone. But that only begins to describe the offense. The law leaves much to be defined in the future by government departments, boards, and commissions. Hundreds of rules and regulations have yet to be written -- and who do you think will be right there offering counsel as the new insurance rules are formulated? The same insurance companies whom last week were said to be the devil incarnate. (And Organized Medicine and Big Pharma too.) That's how the Washington game is played. And we're the losers.

Moreover, huge costs that could have more honestly been placed on-budget for all to see will instead be hidden in various ways. People will have no idea what this "reformed" system really costs them.

The upshot is this: Today no one knows what the members of Congress passed and Obama signed, including them. Self-government? Representation? Democracy? What a laugh.

At best, this was a triumph of wishful thinking over sound thought.

Copyright © 2010 Foundation for Economic Education ">>>

Mary Lee,

The amazon rankings are for current sales only (over what period of time, I'm not sure, but it's fairly short). They fluctuate from day to day.

I'm also pleased that amazon is carrying the book. There was some concern that it wouldn't be (and not being available through amazon is a significant marketing liability).

Robert Campbell

Thanks for the update. I own the original recordings as well but just ordered the hard cover copy from Amazon as well as the new biographies of Ayn Rand.

gulch

Well, Bart Stupak and his dwindling band have cut a deal.

So now the monstrosity will pass the House without "deeming."

It could get really ugly in the Senate next month, but Obama will have signed the original Senate bill, so he won't care.

It's gonna be a wild year.

Robert Cambpell

Robert C.,

Not to mention that some physicians have indicated that if this monstrosity does pass that they will stop practicing medicine. The poll was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine and is supposed to be authentic. I haven't received my copy of it yet but look forward to it with interest. Most of the 46% are in general practice and internists or family practice docs.

This brings to mind the article which appeared in The Objectivist Newsletter when Saskatchewan was the first province in Canada to establish socialized medicine. The government threatened any doctors who closed their offices would be stopped at the border and drafted into the military! Rand made the point that this confirmed that socialized medicine essentially meant the enslavement of physicians in case anyone had any doubt.

An article appeared on the op ed page of the Boston Globe which spelled out all the chicanery in the bill. The CBO was not presented with the proper data and therefore concluded that over ten years there would be a reduction in the deficit. Untrue as there were items not reported to them to take into consideration.

Our illustrious leader is confident that Bernanke will print up all the currency he will need to pay when this countries enormous debts come due. The dollar is clearly doomed, other currencies are being inflated as well, the new head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is about to curtail manipulation of short positions in gold and silver which are more than likely to reach new highs.

Is there any sign of the existence of a knight in shining armor or of the cavalry coming around the mountain or mighty mouse to save the day?

It is some comfort that there are among the populace men and women armed intellectually with the correct philosophical ideas and a contingent of Americans who have awakened from their complacency. It remains to be seen whether the ideas we all know would solve the problems we face if only enough people accepted them will become the dominant ideology in the near future.

gulch

Not surprised one bit. I'm trying to find a more lengthier vid of it as it is only 8 seconds long. Adam is pretty savvy with links so he may be aware of a vid link that is longer than 8 seconds.

Supposedly this is what was said before the above statement was made but still would like to see a lengthier vid on it: "I wish that I had been there when Thomas Edison made the remark that I think applies here: 'There ain't no rules around here, we're trying to accomplish something.' And therefore, when the deal goes down, all this talk about rules, we make them up as we go along."

CNA,

I believe this kind of arrogant disregard for the basic decency and respect for the rights of the individual which is ingrained in those politicians who are intent on passage of the health care reform bill is a major factor in the anger of so many inside and outside of the Tea Party movement.

Despite whatever disagreements one may have with Congressman Ron Paul, a most appealing quality of his which inspired those who came across him, is the fact that he stood alone over 300 times to vote against a congressional bill which sought a power not enumerated in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. Would that all those who take the oath to preserve the Constitution took their oath as seriously. Rather they believe that if they can get the votes they can assume any powers they want. They may use sophistry to justify their power grabs such as the notion of "implied powers" under the necessary and proper clause.

CNA, I wonder if you have ever perused the Campaign For Liberty website? Most of these folks are educating themselves, reading the books recommended by Ron Paul which includes Atlas Shrugged, and the works of Ludwig von Mises. They attend the Tea Party events and try to encourage attendees to join the C4L and to support likeminded candidates for office.

Three new feature articles appear on the site daily which include those of Jacob Hornberger, founder of the Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org and publisher of Freedom Daily), Sheldon Richmond, Peter Schiff etc.

www.campaignforliberty.com 229384 members and growing and www.yaliberty.org on over 170 campuses both college and high school.

I do think this is the kind of movement which can be influential and are open to the ideas of individualism and limited government.

gulch

Ed,

I share your appreciation and admiration for George Washington. I have read several versions of the story of his role in the revolution including Howard Fast's The Crossing. His commitment to the cause is always impressive, more so because of all the losses he had to endure.

One think that bothers me is his acceptance of Hamilton's contention that having a central bank was constitutional as an implied power. Fortunately Jefferson succeeded in abolishing it when he was in office. Still I wonder why Washington didn't consult with others such as Jefferson and Madison and the anti federalists first.

Wm

I obviously don't agree with every policy decision Washington made, but his achievements far outweigh any of my minor disagreements.

By the way, I like the four-part James Thomas Flexner biography. Check it out!

Ed,

I recently read "TO TRY MEN'S SOULS : A NOVEL OF GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE FIGHT FOR AMERICAN FREEDOM" by Newt Gingrich and found it to be filled with details which brought the story to life.

I will keep my eyes open for the Flexner bio.

On the subject of the loose interpretation of the "necessary and proper" clause, I think it is important that the sovereign people are made aware of it rather than leave it up to the Supreme Court. If we are ever going to restore our constitutional republic I believe only widespread knowledge and understanding of such issues must occur.

That is one reason why I am willing to be involved in the Campaign For Liberty which is still growing although not anywhere near the rate of its first year. At least these people have been awakened to the importance Ron Paul considers the Constitution to be, and the need for each to enlighten themselves and then their neighbors to the ideas of Ron Paul, Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises and Ayn Rand among others.

My impression is that George Washington didn't make a thoughtful policy decision rather just caved to the contention of Hamilton on the subject of a central bank. Of course that was long before the Austrian school emerged. I am surprised he didn't ask to have time to think about the issue and to discuss it with his other advisors.

Our present situation is certainly more compelling and in need of a solution. It is one thing to know the ideal and to have the antidote and quite another to get the patient to swallow it. Rand was correct when she pointed out that it is a struggle for man's mind.

Wm

www.campaignforliberty.com 228,187

A Happy Birthday shout-out today to George Washington! Thanks for the liberty!

Ed,

I share your appreciation and admiration for George Washington. I have read several versions of the story of his role in the revolution including Howard Fast's The Crossing. His commitment to the cause is always impressive, more so because of all the losses he had to endure.

One think that bothers me is his acceptance of Hamilton's contention that having a central bank was constitutional as an implied power. Fortunately Jefferson succeeded in abolishing it when he was in office. Still I wonder why Washington didn't consult with others such as Jefferson and Madison and the anti federalists first.

Wm

<<<" the nature of the proper governmental services must be constitutionally defined and delimited, leaving the government no power to enlarge the scope of its services at its own arbitrary discretion. ">>>

Peter,

This was accomplished once, as we all know, by the writers of the Constitution, in Article 1 Section 8, the so called "enumerated powers." The last clause of which said that the Congress shall have the power to pass any and all laws, 'necessary and proper' to implement the forementioned powers.

As I have learned recently Alexander Hamilton persuaded President Washington at the get go that it was in the interest of the country for there to be created a central bank. When Washington questioned the Constitutionality of such, Hamilton replied that it was an "implied power."

Ever since the Supreme Court has ruled that the Congress would be the entity which would decide which powers were in the best interest of the country.

It is about time that the electorate understood this issue as a first step in reducing the Federal government back down to its limited and enumerated powers and that the Federal Reserve System, for one thing, be abolished once and for all.

www.campaignforliberty.com 228,143

I dread when inflation begins. I heard former Delaware Governor Pete Dupont’s forcast for the percent of GNP that the Debt will consume in the future: from 30 to 70 to 100 to 271 percent around 2050. We are on the threshhold of insolvency and a world wide depression. For Greece, Ireland, Japan, all of the EU, and the United States, disaster looms. China’s bubble may burst in 2010.

Peter Taylor

Peter,

Perhaps you are aware of the new book by James Dines entitled Goldbug! There is a three part interview with Dines on King World News-Broadcast in which he discusses many of the topics covered in his book:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/2/20_James_Dines.html

I was born during the last years of the Great Depression. I don't know what my parents were thinking to have a couple of children with the war looming in Europe as well. When I see young children or babies nowadays I experience a sense of foreboding for them. I hear pundits speak about trends into the next several decades and marvel that they actual are unaware of the financial tsunami gathering power. It is hard to envision the chaos which might or will ensue if the dollar collapses. If Obama is still in power he will certainly take advantage to grasp more powers for the government. It is all rather difficult to contemplate.

Not to mention the message of Chris Martenson in his crash coarse:

www.chrismartenson.com

I have pointed this out here before but no one has cared to watch it and to comment.

gulch

www.campaignforliberty.com 228,103, next AM: 228,148

I was amused to see a naked Fed chairman with a couple of dollars emanating from his behind and thought I would share this with you.

Despite the recent uptick in the rate the Fed charges the outlook is the same for the markets and the economy.

Curious that Ron Paul won the straw poll at the conservative get together with 31% over Romney's 22%. He will turn 75 years of age in August so despite the adoration of his followers even I doubt that he will run in 2012.

Hopefully the Tea Party will come together with the Campaign For Liberty and retake the Congress and the Senate in 2010. Perhaps then we will find out if there really is 8000 tons of gold in Fort Knox?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/189741-inflation-why-markets-ignored-the-fed-rate-hike?source=article_sb_popular

www.campaignforliberty.com 228,078

here is the link to a video of Daniel Hannan speaking to the present Prime Minister in no uncertain terms:

http://tinyurl.com/ykpd4zk

Just thought OL members would enjoy watching a free market oriented politician speaking truth to power.

The video is only three minutes in duration and reminds me of Ayn Rand's For Three Minutes I Felt Free article in The Objectivist.

I found it on King World News where there are many other worthwhile interviews as well.

www.campaignforliberty.com 227,769

gulch

I just read d'Souza's What's So Great About America? It was a nice book, but not especially insightful or startling or provocative. I watched a debate on YouTube between d'Souza and Richard Dawkins. I was impressed or perhaps only amused at Dawkin's coming to life after drinking. Reminded me of the Philosopher's Drinking Song, actually.

As for "life after death," like "extra-sensory perception" the terms are not well-defined. All I know is that while perhaps not everyone transitiosn to another place after leaving this one, some manifestations seem to continue after the moment of mortality. If I tried to tell you, you wouldn't believe it, so I won't bother. All I know is what I know.

MM,

I am reading Richard Dawkins books and find him to be very rational and a credit to the scientific tradition in his defense of evolution in particular and science in general. I just wanted to chime in here because of your comment about Dawkins. I would not have the patience to debate the irrational creationists and am comforted to know that men of his caliber are up to the task. Given that polls show over 42% of the American population believe the universe is only 6000 years old and that evolution is just a theory is distressing and disheartening.

It is a question which form of irrationality is a greater threat to our future, the Islamic radicals or our very own Christian fundamentalists?

Just when the answers and antidotes were known it would be a shame if irrationality wins.

Thanks, everybody.

Ghs

G H S,

I just listened to a couple of enlightening tapes about the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution and was delighted to discover that the script was written by George H. Smith!

galtgulch

www.campaignforliberty.com 227,655

<<<"Gulch, you should have run for that Congressional seat in Massachusetts.">>>

Adam,

I live in the 3rd District in MA which has been represented by The Honorable James McGovern who is reputed to be in the pocket of the unions. The district extends from Worcester all the way down along Route 495 to include enough of Fall River to guarantee the seat for the Democrats.

Since the Scott Brown extravaganza due to the disenchantment of many dems and independents who voted for Obama, an unknown to me Republican has announced that he will run against McGovern in 2010. I have no idea as yet who he is or where he stands on anything. I suppose he is probably a traditional conservative, more than likely pro life, anti drug, pro antitrust, unprincipled and ignorant of Austrian economics but hope I am mistaken.

The thought of running against him in the Republican primary has occurred to me. I am still working full time plus with an hour commute each way. The C4L in this district is invisible, although enough showed up who were registered Republicans to have chosen a delegate to the nominating convention. He buckled under to the goon squad there though and supported McCain so as not to alienate the party faithful for the future.

The idea of getting signature to run as an independent also occurs just to get the Objectivist/Capitalist/Libertarian ideas into the debate or dialog. That might just assure that McGovern gets re elected however.

Not to mention that I don't have the kind of money necessary for such an endeavor to be successful.

Looks like there might be an Atlas Shrugged miniseries on TV contemplated to be produced before the end of this year by LionsGate.

I haven't visited this site in a long time. Where are the more interesting discussions taking place?

Ghs

Ghs,

If you are the very same george h. smith who wrote Atheism: The Case Against God, I want to thank you for that. Not to mention the "other heresies" book as well.

I wonder just what subjects you would find interesting if intelligently discussed?

I would like to know what other sites you explore to find such?

Ron Paul's Campaign For Liberty site has three new featured articles daily. www.campaignforliberty.com

Just discovered www.zerohedge.com so cannot vouch but it has a manifesto which is inspiring

I imagine you already know about www.mises.org and www.cafehayek.com

www.fff.org and their monthly Freedom Daily is appealing.

www.adamwhys.com is a favorite of mine.

Link to video of liberal Mort Zuckerman who said that Obama has done everything...wrong!

Also a picture of Michele Obama wearing an expensive designer coat. Also vacationed in Hawaii at luxury expensive resort over $4000 per night.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/12899/Liberal_Mort_Zuckerman:_Obamas_Done_Everything_Wrong.html

www.campaignforliberty.com 226,711