Sound money in America: A solution

"The #1 goal of monetary reform ought to be to get the government out of the money and banking business."

~ Gary North

What is Money? Part 9: Monetary Reform

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north774.html

Albert Jay Nock - Class Analysis

lewrockwell.com link
Our Enemy, The State

"If we look beneath the surface of our public affairs, we can discern one fundamental fact, namely: a great redistribution of power between society and the State. This is the fact that interests the student of civilization. He has only a secondary or derived interest in matters like price-fixing, wage-fixing, inflation, political banking, 'agricultural adjustment,' and similar items of State policy that fill the pages of newspapers and the mouths of publicists and politicians. All these can be run up under one head. They have an immediate and temporary importance, and for this reason they monopolize public attention, but they all come to the same thing; which is, an increase of State power and a corresponding decrease of social power."

Prof. Gates? Victim of Racism?

i still place this incident under police abuse. the evidence of racism isn't known to be the case (as of yet), and even if it was, police abuse and the misuse of power/authority would still remain.

it's totally false to claim that only black people are harassed by the police. but whatever. for those fighting racism i can't stand in their way if they feel the need to fight the good fight in that respect. racism is stupid, and, all in all, this issue is merely a subset of the statist-collectivist mindset.

UPDATE:
A couple links: Police Brutality Blog, Liberty & Power Blog

The best piece yet on this story of injustice.

War and Praxeology w/ Scott Horton and Roderick Long

Little Alex in Wonderland Radio @ Blogtalkradio

It’s long. 2 hours. Scott for the first half. Song. Then Long to finish.

Good stuff. Highly recommended.

Scott Horton’s blog TheStressBlog

Roderick Long’s blog austro-athenian empire

US-Israeli Relations under fire?

The USS Liberty survivors are big on getting the truth out about what actually happened that otherwise beautiful day in June 1967.

[Rep. Devin Nunes] said, “The government has kept this quiet I think for too long, and I felt as my constituent [Navy Seaman Terry Halbardier] needed to get recognized for the services he made to his country.”

..When USS Liberty Captain McGonagle received his award, the White House .. was all booked up, it seems, and President Johnson .. was unavailable.

..Is it too much to hope that the example set by Nunes may embolden other lawmakers to right the wrongs done to their Liberty-veteran constituents .. to chip away at what’s left of the cover-up?

The Israelis know that Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mullen knows that the attack on the Liberty was deliberate...Olmert might mount some kind of provocation involving Iran. Perhaps President Obama should send Adm. Mullen back to Israel.

Radio interview here: Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years, from the John F. Kennedy administration to that of George H. W. Bush.

Our 11th President:

..nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.

..Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop..

..It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences....There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

George Washington's Farewell Address 1796

NewRepublicans.net not so "new"

below is my response [awaiting moderation] to their post "Is America Safer?"

come on people, shed the tough guy attitude and get a clue.

torture is not okay. it does not “make us safer”. there are many ways of obtaining information. if you think “intimidating dogs” and women’s underwear is torture then you don’t have a clue. and waterboarding, which is torture, is only one technique.

i would recommend The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo’s First 100 Days
http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=10405&SectionName=

i would also recommend Torturing the Rule of Law
http://lewrockwell.com/paul/paul530.html

Still tortured by what I saw in Iraq - Matthew Alexander
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/28/AR2008112802242.html

and hear him on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsXl46C_NSU

and does anyone want to talk about the IRF: Immediate Reaction Force? or General Taguba?

america will be safe so long as the rule of law is upheld. in the meantime, secrecy and the prolongation of carrying out any justice, and not ending these illegal “wars” will continue to be mounted as evidence against this nation.

In addition - a few articles of relevance to Taguba

• "You can't sweep unlawful activities under the table"
• Robert Gibbs attacks Gen Taguba

Scahill's piece on "Extrajudicial Terror Squads"

"Torture is illegal!" - Jesse Ventura on the View. He turns any serious conversation into entertainment whilst making good arguments.

Twitter, IATP, and the congenial? Twilitary

How well do you know IATP, the Internet Access and Training Program?

from wikipedia:

a network of Internet access sites... thousands of individuals per month receive free-of-charge ..[plus].. a wide variety of computer-related training programs.

...In the 11 countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

IATP began in the mid 1990s - aimed at providing .. access and training .. to scholars from Eurasia who had participated in US [gov't] exchange programs. -IATP gradually began to provide Internet access and training to other non-alumni groups such as journalists, lawyers, NGO representatives, and students...

Well that's interesting - considering "Moldova's Twitter Revolution":

"the protesters used their generation’s tools, gathering the crowd by enlisting text-messaging, Facebook and Twitter"....young people have looked to the West [for] economic stability and have defied Mr. Voronin’s government"

And the latest news? It's official! There is a US sponsored Afghanistan (Mili) Twitter-tary in the works:

US troops in Afghanistan can now keep in better contact with their loved ones. The military is launching a Facebook page, Twitter feeds and a YouTube site. Their plan is that it will counter the Taliban, who often publish propaganda on the Internet. ...

And we all know the latest major front in the GWOT is cyberterrorism. Yeah, I'd say things are well on track.

J-Street and AntiwarRadio link-up

From antiwar.com/radio:

Isaac Luria, Campaigns Director for J Street, discusses his organization’s attempt to represent the majority opinion of American Jews on Israel policy, Obama’s limited time to leverage his political capital and push for a 2-state solution, why a second Israel lobby is good news for progressive U.S. politicians and how evenhanded U.S. diplomacy lessens the influence of radicals in Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Also see: Haaretz's: U.S. Jews split over Obama's Israel remarks in Cairo speech

"President Barack Obama, in his major speech in Cairo this morning, struck a balanced tone with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that's what was wrong with this speech," said Director Matthew Brooks, Republican Jewish Coalition Executive. "American policy should not be balanced - it should side with those who fight terror, not those who either engage in it or are too weak to prevent it."

Dovish pro-peace lobby J Street applauded the address, in which Obama reaffirmed U.S. commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and called on Israel to halt settlement building.

"The President was clear. Palestinians must renounce violence and accept Israel's existence, Israel must stop settlement activity and end the humiliation of the Palestinian people that comes with their occupation, and the broader Arab world must step up to a more constructive role as well," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, J-Street Executive Director

Free Keene » Trial Scheduled for Sam: 6/15, 1:30pm ET

Sam Dodson receives a trial date after 2 months of unlawful detention in Keene, NH

Ch. 9: The Austrian School: Capital-Based Macroeconomics

Roger Garrison explains why a recession is necessary, i.e., a "correction" - As opposed to the keynesian gov'ts buzz-word, "crisis":

"As boom turns to bust, much .. unemployment is associated with liquidations in the early stages of production. Too much capital and labor have been committed to new ventures. The liquidations release these factors of production, most of which can be reabsorbed .. not instantaneously .. elsewhere in the structure of production...

Under the most favorable conditions, the bust could be followed by a recovery in which the structural maladjustments induced by the credit expansion are corrected by the ordinary market forces. But because of the economywide nature of the intertemporal disequilibrium, the negative income effect of the unemployment may initially propel the economy deeper into depression... the downturn is likely to be all the more severe if the general operation of markets is countered by macroeconomic policies aimed at preventing liquidation and at reigniting the boom."

AIG: An Unfortunate Scapegoat

From yaliberty.org

The media cycle these past few days has been a massive distraction from the much greater problem — the $11.6 trillion in bailouts the US government has committed in the past year.

When you do the math, $218 million is 1 / 53,000th of the total money committed in the bailouts. The bonuses are .000019% of the total cost. What about the other 99.99998%?!!

AIG could give out the same bonuses every day for the next 145 years and still not reach the total amount of money the US government has given away in one year.

....There were 138 million taxpayers in 2007. If these bailouts were distributed equally to every taxpayer in 2007, we would all receive a $84,000 check.

Obama - Economically Illiterate

Scrambledeggconomics explains with just a few sentences:

The President warned the nation this week to expect continued economic hard times and in the next sentence he asks people not to save. Yet earlier in the week, he advised that it was a good time to invest in the stock market, which first requires people to save in the first place.

The scary thing is that a good number of economists, journalists, and politicians think this all makes perfect sense.

And another thing!...

Not only is perpetuating this horrible illusion of a collective mandate false and dangerous, as it is the defining characteristic of all tyrants, there is another obvious flaw to expose during this "economic crisis".

There are those who like to say that "we must do something". These folks support this notion with a faulty and misleading rebuttal: "it would be disastrous to do nothing".

What?! Do nothing? I don't even think doing nothing is possible. But let's pretend...

Is opposing something doing nothing? No.
Is having another idea about how to proceed doing nothing? No.

This is obviously a false argument for those who choose to engage in it.
But hey, I didn't bring it up. Though I hear it time and time again.
Stop it!

At least ask some more fruitful, substantial, and sustaining questions:

What is the evidence to show that what I, or others, was doing is wrong?
Where is the guarantee that one way is better than another?
Why should I let anyone take what I earn?
Who is it that should be held responsible for the causes of the crisis?
When will the crisis be over?

The Continuity of Illusion

If people like Biden understand the Constitution and the founding ideas, I don't understand how they can, in good conscience, take an oath to uphold the Supreme Law of the Land whilst also being a New Democrat/International Socialist.

It's seems obvious to reason that he knows, as do so many of his colleagues, that the continuity of power "they" seek to maintain can only occur if it is masked by the projections of the populace. That is why Obama both claims to have a mandate from "the people" but is also perceived to be a blank slate. Many people feel empowered and represented while the politics of power is simultaneously engaged and revamped.

The difference between "change" and "continuity" is so vast it seems hard to understand how "the public" could be so duped. But the fact is that "the public" is not united, and it never will be. It is divided, and diverse. The unity that Obama seems to desire is not present, it is an illusion. And he uses that illusion effectively.