SURVIVAL: Being fragile “animal” in a dangerous world

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/25/2-missing-sisters-visiting-family-in-michigan-found-after-nearly-2-weeks/?intcmp=latestnews

MIDWEST
2 missing sisters visiting family in Michigan found after nearly 2 weeks
Published April 25, 2015
FoxNews.com

*** begin quote ***

The women – Leslie Roy, 52, and Lee Marie Wright, 56 – survived on Girl Scout cookies while stuck in their snow-crippled SUV. A pilot noticed a reflection off the Ford Explorer and landed the police helicopter on shore, ending the women’s unexpected wilderness adventure.

*** end quote ***

Tough world out there. Especially when you’re unprepared.

It’s not like you don’t have room in an SUV for a “Bug Out”, “Get Home”, or “Holy Hell What’s Happening” bag.

Fire making materials, survival blankets, food and water seem obvious.

And people think an SUV is a ATV.

At least they were smart enough to stay with the SUV!

Dumb that they didn’t start burning the spare after a week?

Recently when I was driving from Manchester NH to Keene NH, I found large stretches with no cell phone service. So you can’t depend upon that.

Most important is a survival mindset. 

If you’re depending upon a road being plowed, then you better do some research.

When in Vegas and we’d go for a ride, there were always two gallons of water in the rental car. And we were NOT going of the beaten track. But it’s dry and hot there.

And, finally, you always have to leave a route with your “canary”. That is someone who knows where you are, where you’re going, and when you’ll check back in. I acted as a “canary” for someone traveling alone in Japan. (We even had a code word!)

These women were very lucky.

The human being is a fragile “animal” in a dangerous world.

# – # – # – # – # 

 

 

TINFOILHAT: OKC Bombing story starts to crack open;

http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/04/22/exclusive-oklahoma-city-bombing-breakthrough-part-1-of-2/

Exclusive: Oklahoma City Bombing Breakthrough, Part 1 of 2
April 22, 2015 by Roger Charles

*** begin quote ***

So, were McVeigh, Nichols and Fortier disgruntled domestic terrorists operating on their own? Apparently not, according to one long-time FBI Confidential Informant (CI).

Shortly after the April 19, 1995, bombing, John Matthews, a CI targeting right wing and neo-Nazi groups (but expressly forbidden to target OKBOMB-related information), reported to his FBI handler information relevant to McVeigh. Matthews recounted how, a few years before the Oklahoma City attack, he had attended a weekend training session in Austin, Texas, for a suspect paramilitary group. While at this meeting, Matthews met two ex-soldiers, introduced as “Tim” and “Andy.”

In the post-bombing media deluge, Matthews realized that “Tim” was Timothy McVeigh, When Matthews related his information about “Tim” and “Andy the German” to Don Jarrett of Phoenix, his FBI handler, Jarrett responded, “We know, John. Don’t worry about it. We got it covered.”

*** end quote ***

So McVeigh was executed.

The trial judge didn’t order DOJ to explain the FBI and ATF involvement.

It’s probably that this was either bungled or prompted.

Argh!

Just once, I’d like to get the straight truth about anything.

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.” Colonel Jessep in A Few Good Men played by Jack Nicholson

“We, The Sheeple” are ENTITLED to the truth.

# – # – # – # – # 

RANT: Drug addiction is a MEDICAL problem

Advisory: Police / Health Officials Warn of Spike in Overdoses Related to Synthetic Marijuana

Dear Nixle User,

Police and Health Officials Warn of Spike in Synthetic Marijuana Overdose Cases

The New Jersey Poison Information and Education System is issuing an alert for a “Street Drug” causing life-threatening reactions. The agency along with state health officials are warning people not to use products sold as synthetic marijuana (often called spice, k2, etc.). In the past week, there have been approximately 30 people admitted to hospitals in NJ and many more in NY suffering the consequences of using these products. As of now, no one really knows what is in these substances. However, what is known is that people are getting very sick from it; severe agitation, seizures, renal failure, and other life-threatening reactions are being reported.

On Tuesday South Brunswick Police and EMS responded to a township home where a 22 year old female was convulsing and throwing up. Officers found her lying on the ground shaking uncontrollably. Friends indicated that the woman had been smoking synthetic marijuana. Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad transported the woman to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for treatment.

The large increase in overdose cases in New Jersey mirrors recent activity in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania where more than 39 cases have been reported in the past week. Lehigh County officials indicate that some of the patients had various degrees of intoxication that resulted in at least one being intubated. In some cases patients have shown aggressive behavior toward police officers and emergency medical services personnel.

Health officials want parents and community members to be aware of the dangers of these substances. For more information please contact a poison expert at 800-222-1222.

# – # – # – # – # 

When was the last time you heard something like this in the non-illegal drug marketplace?

Excedrine poisoning, maybe.

And the makes immediately resigned the packaging to be tamper proof.

The “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” ENSURES that we will suffer these types of episodes REGULARLY.

Maybe that’s what the Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats want!

Drugs are bad. We need Mommie and Daddie Gooferment to protect us.

Argh!

Drug addiction is a MEDICAL; not legal problem.

Repeal the drug laws. (How did they ever get passed in the first place with our experience with Prohibition!)

Let WalMart, Walgreens, RiteAid, and CVS dispense “good” “illegal” drugs — that are clean and of a know quantity and quality.

Just like at the casinos, tell folks where to go to get help if they have a problem.

(Why is that “good enough” for problem gamblers and problem drinkers, but not for some drug abusers?)

Argh!

# – # – # – # – #  

LIBERTY: War comes to the USA

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/john-w-whitehead/battlefield-america-2/

Battlefield America: The War on the American People
By John W. Whitehead
April 22, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Noam Chomsky summed it up when he said that Washington regards any information that does not repeat Washington’s propaganda to be intolerable.

Washington’s assault on truth as a threat helps to make sense of the gigantic National Security Agency spy system exposed by William Binney and Edward Snowden. One of the purposes of the spy network is to identify all “dissidents” who challenge Big Brother’s “Truth.”

*** and ***

Trust me, if it looks like a battlefield (armored tanks on the streets, militarized police in metro stations, surveillance cameras everywhere), sounds like a battlefield (SWAT team raids nightly, sound cannons to break up large assemblies of citizens), and acts like a battlefield (police shooting first and asking questions later, intimidation tactics, and involuntary detentions), it’s a battlefield.

Indeed, what happened in Ocala, Florida, is a good metaphor for what’s happening across the country: Sheriff’s deputies, dressed in special ops uniforms and riding in an armored tank on a public road, pulled a 23-year-old man over and issued a warning violation to him after he gave them the finger. The man, Lucas Jewell, defended his actions as a free speech expression of his distaste for militarized police.

*** end quote ***

Clearly, the “Rubicon” has been crossed.

When does “We, The Sheeple” resist? If resistance is possible.

It has to be peaceful resolute non-violence in the tradition of Gandhi and MLK.

“Yes. In the end, you will walk out. Because 100,000 Englishmen simply cannot control 350 million Indians, if those Indians refuse to cooperate.” — movie Gandhi (1983)

In this case, it’s 320 million “sheeple” and several million politicians and bureaucrats. 

But the answer is the same — withdraw your consent, put sand in the machinery of Gooferment, and just say no!

# – # – # – # – # 

 

JLINKEDIN: McCrosson, Matt (MC????) new job Partner, O’Connor Davies, LLP

2015-Apr-26

Matt McCrosson has a new job: Partner, O’Connor Davies, LLP

# – # – # – # – # 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmccrosson

McCrosson, Matt (MC????)
Partner,O’Connor Davies, LLP
Greater New York City AreaAccounting

Summary
My diverse professional experience and background provide a better understanding of the challenges faced by my clients. I strive to offer practical guidance that improves operating capability and helps the organization as a whole.

I am a partner of the Firm and have more than 20 years of experience in public accounting. I provide a broad scope of management advisory services to a diverse range of clients, including business finance, operations, technology, and performance improvement. I have significant experience in planning for organizational change, and helping my clients remain on track in a rapidly-changing corporate environment.

Prior to joining O’Connor Davies, I held a senior position at a Big Four accounting firm and focused on clients in the not-for-profit, higher education and government sectors. Earlier in my career, I served as the Chief Operating Officer or Chief Financial Officer for several national and regional not-for-profit organizations, including the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and the New York Urban Coalition.

I regularly speak on the topics of financial reporting, organizational efficiency and operations management. I am also a dedicated volunteer and sit on numerous not-for-profit organization Boards.

# – # – # – # – #  2015-Apr-26 @ 12:44  

ECONOMICS: Forget gay marriage; is marriage over

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/no_author/men-go-on-strike-against-marriage/

Why Men Won’t Get Married Anymore
Women complain chaps today won’t settle down. Sorry, ladies, but it’s all your fault, argues a wickedly provocative new book
By Peter Lloyd
Daily Mail
April 21, 2015

*** begin quote ***

When it comes to marriage, men are on strike.

Why? Because the rewards are far less than they used to be, while the cost and dangers it presents are far greater.

‘Ultimately, men know there’s a good chance they’ll lose their friends, their respect, their space, their sex life, their money and — if it all goes wrong — their family,’ says Dr Helen Smith, author of Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage, Fatherhood And The American Dream.

‘They don’t want to enter into a legal contract with someone who could effectively take half their savings, pension and property when the honeymoon period is over.

‘Men aren’t wimping out by staying unmarried or being commitment phobes. They’re being smart.’

*** end quote ***

This is a scary trend. That will remake society.

It’s part of the trend that makes the woman rich out of any marriage. 

Palimony was just the first step.

Used be that divorce was a Hollywood thing.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

POLITICAL: Make the FDA advisory, not dictatorial

https://downsizedc.org/etp/fda/

Make the FDA advisory, not dictatorial.

All too often the FDA has been demonstrated to be in bed with Big Pharma. I believe the term is “regulatory capture”. It’s time to separate medicine and government!

Government’s proper role is prevent force or fraud on its citizens. Hence, the proper role is left to the courts for redress of damages. When government decides what’s “best” for individuals, that far exceeds it’s proper role.

The easiest way to fix this is to take the FDA out of the approval process completely and let the people decide. Since they will bear the brunt of the decision, I’m sure they will do a good job.

When the FDA delays or blocks, the victims have no choices.

That’s not the American way.

# – # – # – # – # 

POLITICAL: “Balance” means no change?

April 20, 2015
Mr. Ferdinand Reinke
1641 International Dr Unit 414
McLean, VA 22102-4831

Dear Mr. Reinke:

Thank you for contacting me about the National Security Administration (NSA) and the PATRIOT Act. I appreciate hearing from you.

In June 2013 details of two NSA programs were published in the media as a result of leaked confidential documents. News articles indicated that since 2007, under provisions within the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the PATRIOT Act, the NSA has monitored private communications in an effort to increase national security.

The primary mission of the U.S. intelligence community is to detect and prevent the very real threat of terrorism on our homeland. According to General Keith Alexander, Director of the NSA, and Robert Mueller, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the intelligence community has successfully used these programs to identify and thwart dozens of terrorist plots at home and abroad. Additionally, leaders from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have defended these programs stating that they are transparent, lawful, and have been instrumental in defending our homeland.

Many have expressed legitimate concerns about the privacy implications of this policy. I believe we must balance the need for privacy with the need to maintain national security. I also believe there needs to be an open discussion about the limits of surveillance and the need for transparency.

In December 2013 the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies issued a report on “Liberty and Security in a Changing World.” The report recommended forty-six changes to our national surveillance programs, some executive and some legislative. In response to the report, in January 2014 President Obama announced a series of executive reforms, including the development of a blueprint for consumer privacy in the digital age, a commitment to declassify certain court opinions, and changes in the bulk collection of phone data.

On July 29th, 2014 Senator Patrick Leahy reintroduced legislation, the USA FREEDOM Act, to end bulk collection of the telephone records of Americans, to reform the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), and to improve transparency. On November 18th, 2014 a vote to begin debate on this measure failed to receive the 60 votes required to cut off a filibuster; the vote was 58-42. The updated legislation would have required the government to narrowly limit and define surveillance targets, enhanced transparency and reported how many individuals – including U.S. citizens – have had their information collected. On March 19th, 2015 Representative Mark Pocan introduced the Surveillance State Repeal Act, also designed to improve transparency and reform the targeting and surveillance of individuals.

I will continue to closely monitor future proposals and will work to ensure that efforts to improve our national security also protect constitutional rights in a balanced way. Thank you once again for contacting me about this important matter.

Sincerely,

Signature

Tim Kaine

# – # – # – # – # 

argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

POLITICAL: Prefer Entrepreneurs and Business over Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats

http://keywestlou.com/a-busy-monday/

A BUSY MONDAY
Posted on April 21, 2015 by keywestlou

*** begin quote ***

Monday’s E-Blast carried an article re the Waterfront brewery remodeling. The property is city owned. It is being remodeled for the two tenants who will be occupying. A brewery and restaurant.

My concern is with over costs/over runs. Everything Key West does construction wise, involves the taxpayers getting hit with additional costs for alleged unexpected problems. The brewery thus far has run into two. An additional cost of $64,000. Not much, but more.

Over costs seem to occur on every type construction Key West is involved in. Sometimes in the millions. I never ran into this situation in other areas. Key Wet calls them unexpected. I call them a series of screw ups by the city in not properly investigating and/or discovering the work initially.

Key West never seems to learn.

*** end quote ***

And you should ask “why is the Gooferment in the property business at all?”

Entrepreneurs, risking their own capital, will do a much better job. 

Think Donald Trump and NYC Central Park’s Wollman Ice Skating Rink!

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/06/nyregion/who-can-fix-the-wollman-rink-faster-city-and-trump-agree-it-s-trump.html

Argh!

Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient.

Your examples of “overruns” is just more evidence that it is “bad news”.

Let the politicians and bureaucrats go into private business if they want to be developers.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

JOBFINDING: CFO

2015-Apr-22

Good day,
.
I’m reaching out to advise you of a very special CFO opportunity. The Thor Group is assisting our client, a major state government authority, hire a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to replace their retiring CFO. Our client is one of America’s largest public authorities in terms of its construction and financing output. This Authority has been the top issuer of municipal bonds in the United States at one point, issuing US$3.16 billion of municipal bonds in one year. In 2006, this Authority was ranked fourth in the USA for municipal bond issuance. In 2005, the Authority’s construction expenditures topped US$1 billion. The Authority has the power of eminent domain to get construction projects built.
.
JOB OVERVIEW – Chief Financial Officer

In the capacity of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and reporting to the Executive Director the person selected would manage the accounting and financial side of this large Government Agency. This CFO serves in two capacities: as Chief Financial Officer responsible for all financially­ related operations and Information Systems of the Authority; and as Treasurer serving as a statutory Officer of the Authority. The CFO is responsible for Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable which disburses from $2 Billion to $5 Billion annually. The CFO manages the direct investment function for a Portfolio of $4 to $6 Billion. And, the CFO oversees a portfolio of 900 + construction projects totaling more than $6 Billion, 200 of which are active construction totaling $3.3 Billion. The construction projects are managed within their Oracle Primavera Contract Management I.T. system. To accomplish this the CFO oversees a department of 40 managers, accountants, and analysts, plus an additional 30 to 35 Information Services personnel and contractors.
.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS:

1. ESSENTIAL: Working knowledge of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) standards.

2. ESSENTIAL: Working knowledge of Internal Controls, Strategic Planning, Federal Tax Regulations related to tax exempt bonds, and debt issuance process

QUALIFIERS:

· Large staff management experience.
· CPA OR Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Economics, or related field
· Experience in finance, consulting, or management within a major business or government enterprise and/or nationally recognized CPA or consulting firm.
· Experience with the preparation of financial statements,
· Exposure in the areas of financial management, debt capital markets, and investments
.
· PREFER (but not required): Knowledge of complex governmental operations, higher education and health care industries, current information technology, trends and strategy is strongly preferred.

· PREFER (but not required): Experience in construction or financial industries

.

INTERESTED – APPLY

To apply or learn more about this terrific full-time employment opportunity – I.D. #31123 – simply return this email to me with resume and your phone number.

.
….. Remember include your resume & phone number (___) ___-____…..
.
REFER a COLLEAGUE
If Job #31123 does not fit you – be a friend – refer a colleague – send them this email – or – forward their contact information to willm@thorgroup.com ……

.

Regards,

 

Will McElroy

The THOR Group

Dallas Regional Office

Direct Line: 214-547-1244

Office Line: 310-727-3089

E-mail: willm@thorgroup.com

# – # – # – # – # 

ECONOMICS: Pulling up the lower rungs of the economic ladder

http://cafehayek.com/2015/04/minimum-logic-maximum-straw.html

Minimum Logic, Maximum Straw
by DON BOUDREAUX on APRIL 18, 2015
in SEEN AND UNSEEN, WORK

*** begin quote ***

What minimum-wage hikes do unleash, however, is devastation upon a relatively small number of largely invisible workers – workers who are the least skilled and most disadvantaged.  Raising the minimum wage destroys jobs for many of these poor workers while making the jobs of other such workers more onerous.  But because these workers are so relatively few in number, their suffering, while very real, is easy to miss when looking at the aggregate data.  This fact explains why some – by no means a majority – of minimum-wage studies (particularly those that examine only short spans of time) find no negative employment effects.

*** end quote ***

Minimum wage “laws” are devestating to the poor, minority, low income, and senior citizens.

Why are they pushed?

Cui bono.

How many of the salaries of union and “public service” jobs are tied formally or informally to the minimum wage?

Of all the stupid legislation, this ranks right up there with the dumbest of the dumb (i.e., rounding off Pi; time zones; etc.).

Argh!

INTERESTING: Ancient Roman Concrete was better than today’s?

http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology/ten-amazing-inventions-ancient-times-001539

4. Ancient Roman Concrete was Far Superior to Our Own

Scientists studying the composition of Roman concrete, which has been submerged under the Mediterranean Sea for the last 2,000 years, discovered that it was superior to modern-day concrete in terms of durability and being less environmentally damaging. The Romans made concrete by mixing lime and volcanic rock. For underwater structures, the combination of lime and volcanic ash with seawater instantly triggered a chemical reaction in which the lime incorporated molecules into its structure and reacted with the ash to cement the whole mixture together. Analysis of the concrete found that it produces a significantly different compound to modern day cement, which is an incredibly stable binder. In addition, the ancient concrete contains the ideal crystalline structure of Tobermorite, which has a greater strength and durability than the modern equivalent. Finally, microscopic studies identified other minerals in the ancient concrete which show potential application for high-performance concretes, including the encapsulation of hazardous wastes. “In the middle 20th century, concrete structures were designed to last 50 years,” said scientist Paulo Monteiro said. “Yet Roman harbour installations have survived 2,000 years of chemical attack and wave action underwater.”

# – # – # – # – # 

Who would have thought that?

Never was mentioned in my strength of materials class back in Ingineering Skrule!

Hmm, what else don’t I know that I don’t know I don’t know?

# – # – # – # – # 

RANT: Repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard now

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150418/OPINION02/150419168&source=RSS

April 17. 2015 10:02PM
It’s time to repeal the costly Renewable Fuel Standard
Michael James Barton

*** begin quote ***

In a rare act of bipartisanship, Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., and Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., recently introduced a bill that would repeal the corn ethanol mandate in the Renewable Fuel Standard.

That’s good news for American workers and families.

Although Congress created the Renewable Fuel Standard with good intentions, it’s no longer workable. Instead of bolstering energy security as intended, the RFS is merely undermining the economic success of our recent energy boom while posing a threat to the environment and even raising food prices. It’s time for Congress to repeal the fundamentally broken RFS.

Congress created the RFS under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The intention was to simultaneously reduce dependence on expensive foreign oil while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The act mandated that each year an increasing amount of biofuels be blended into transportation fuels.

*** end quote ***

Why should politicians be interfering in the pseudo “free market” anyway?

I do NOT stipulate their “good intentions” EVER!

When they first proposed this whopper, everyone said it will hurt the poor WORLDWIDE by raising food prices.

And, wow!, now they discover that the world has changed.

Argh!

Separation of Food and State, Energy and State, and whatever else we can separate.

# – # – # – # – #  

POLITICAL: A condemnation of Bill and thus Hillary I hadn’t realized

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/david-stockman/class-president-of-a-failed-generation/

Hillary Clinton: Class President Of A Failed Generation
By David Stockman
David Stockman’s Corner
April 17, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Their job was to have at least the vision of Warren G. Harding. After all, he did demobilize the US war machine completely, eschewed the imperial pretensions of Woodrow Wilson and actually launched a disarmament movement which resulted in the melting down of the world’s navies and the Kellogg-Briand treaty to outlaw war.

Yet the opportunity at the Cold War’s end was even more compelling. There was absolutely no military threat to American security anywhere in the world. The Clintons could have drastically reduced the defense budget by mothballing much of the navy and air force and demobilizing the army. They should have cancelled all new weapons programs and dismantled the military-industrial complex. They could have declared “mission accomplished” with respect to NATO and made good on Bush’s pledge to Gorbachev to not expand it “by an inch” by actually disbanding it. And, as legatees of 1968, they were positioned to lead a global disarmament movement and to end the arms export trade once and for all.

That was their job—-the unfinished business of peace. But they blew it in the name of political opportunism and failure to recognize that the American public was ready to end the century of war, too.

So they capitulated to the pork barrel politics of the Pentagon, plunged into the lunacy of the Balkan wars, launched the misbegotten project to expanded NATO, failed to bring Iran back into the community of nation’s when its leaders reached out to Washington, and kept America in harm’s way by keeping our war machine in the Persian Gulf and extending the pointless campaign against Saddam Hussein that could only open the gates to hell in Bagdad.

*** end quote ***

I remember the discussion of the “peace dividend” when the USSR broke up. What happened?

Ike was right to warn us of the Military Industrial Complex!

So how does anyone be like Harding? (Who has moved up in my estimation with my being educated about his disarmament stance.)

I think a good start is to —as most good MBAs will assert — is to cut G&A 10% immediately.

That goes along with my wish to cut — a real bottom line cut; not the phoney “District of Corruption” cut to the rate of growth — 1% every year. (At least, until real people scream! Not astroturf people.)

One can only hope.

# – # – # – # – # 

dotcomeraden! https://reinkefaceslife.com/2007/10/23/fun-dotcomeraden/ Aprundlebreakhttp://tinyurl.com/34n533

GOVERNACIDE: Common factor in tragedies — psych drugs

https://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/psychiatric-drugs-and-the-downing-of-germanwings-9525/

Psychiatric Drugs and the Downing of the Germanwings A320
Peter Breggin, MD, talks to Lew Rockwell about Big Pharma and mass murder.
April 14, 2015

# – # – #

Interesting that this exposes the corrupt relationship between Big Pharma, the FDA, the psychiatrists, and the media.

He draws the common factor between Germanwings A320, the mass shootings, and mothers killing children — psych drugs.

It’s worth the 30 minute listen imho.

# – # – # – # – # 

RANT: IF history is falsified, then …

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/paul-craig-roberts/the-power-of-lies-can-be-broken/

The Power of Lies
By Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org
April 14, 2015

*** begin quote ***

The reason I am writing about this is to illustrate how history is falsified in behalf of agendas. I am all for civil rights and participated in the movement while a college student. What makes me uncomfortable is the transformation of Lincoln, a tyrant who was an agent for the One Percent and was willing to destroy any and every thing in behalf of empire, into a civil rights hero. Who will be next? Hitler? Stalin? Mao? George W. Bush? Obama? John Yoo? If Lincoln can be a civil rights hero, so can be torturers. Those who murder in Washington’s wars women and children can be turned into defenders of women’s rights and child advocates. And probably they will be.

*** end quote ***

IF history is falsified, then …

… what can I believe.

Very simply, that which I can see and hear. Or that which I can “prove”.

The Earth may very well be flat, but there’s a lot of “evidence” that “proves” it isn’t.

Have to remember the difference between the “LAW of Gravity” and the “Theory of Evolution”,

Oh, and those things that the politicians and bureaucrats make up are not “laws”.

Calling a cat a lion doesn’t make it so. And visa versa.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

TINFOILHAT: Boston Marathon Bombings’ trial seems to be gross injustice

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/no_author/kangaroo-court-2/

Boston Marathon Bombings’ Guilty Verdict Exposed as a Gross Travesty of Justice
By Joachim Hagopian
GlobalResearch.ca
April 13, 2015

*** begin quote ***

And if a basic tenet of the justice system in the United States holds that a defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty, then again this verdict outcome is an obscene farce and a shameful joke exposing America’s justice system for its gross injustice. Just as the 9/11 commission failed to adequately address and answer dozens of questions that its official narrative failed to deliver, and years earlier the Warren Commission failed JFK and America, so does the prosecution’s case of evidence of Tsarnaev’s guilt fail to be convincing, much less provide definitive and unequivocal proof that the 21-year old Chechen American with his brother committed the Boston Marathon crimes.

And the prime reason why is that so much of the testimony and so called evidence was based on the FBI and local law enforcement’s dishonest versions of events that were based near exclusively on the government’s one star witness’s faulty, changeable, non-credible accounting of events. The identity of this sole witness that even through the trial was never revealed, testified in court by his fake name “Danny.” Later it was learned that Danny’s real name was Dun Meng. A Chinese national finishing his masters at Northeastern University in engineering, during his alleged carjacking, Meng claimed that the deceased brother Tamerlan confessed that he and his younger brother were responsible for both the Marathon bombings as well as the murder of the MIT campus policeman.

*** end quote ***

The more I read about the trial, “evidence”, and illusions of duplicity, the more I doubt that we are getting the Truth.

Did the Gooferment prove its case? Or did the defense take a dive?

With all the inconsistencies, seem like there is an automatic ineffective counsel appeal.

Then, there is the “conveniences” around the bombing: a security drill with paid mercenaries and backpacks, the large Gooferment response with troops, and — of course — the house to house searching.

Sorry, it just doesn’t sit right with me.

# – # – # – # – # 

POLITICAL: Abolish the IRS

http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/2015/04/enough-is-enough-abolish-the-irs/

Enough Is Enough: Abolish the IRS
By Editor on April 12, 2015

*** begin quote ***

The income tax is absolutely crazy if one takes a moment to think about it. We’ve become so conditioned to accept it that we don’t even realize how ridiculous it is. The government taxes one for being productive, for creating income for one’s family, for doing one’s part to grow the economy. It doesn’t make any sense.

*** and ***

The IRS has also become a political tool as the Lois Lerner debacle illustrated. 

*** and ***

We should seriously consider a flat tax. Forget consider, we should institute a low flat tax tomorrow. 12.5% across the board. I could live with that (for right now.) 1 postcard on April 15th. No forms. Easy. Actually EZ.

*** end quote ***

I say 10%!

With reduction every year.

Until it’s zero.

Like Prohibition, “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs”, and the Federal Reserve, “We, The Sheeple” have allowed a lot of mistakes to be made.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

SOFTWARE: ABANDONWARE should be “free”

http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/10/fighting-to-keep-abandoned-games-dead/?ncid=rss_truncated

Publishers are fighting to keep abandoned games dead
Jessica Conditt | @jessconditt | April 10th 2015 at 3:23 pm

*** begin quote ***

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit group that defends civil liberties in the digital world, is facing off against the Entertainment Software Association, the organization that represents most major video game publishers in the US. The EFF wants to allow players to put abandoned games back online and has asked the US Copyright Office for an exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This would allow players to legally modify the code of online games that are no longer supported by publishers, in the hope of reconnecting these titles to new, third-party servers. This includes games like Battlefield 1942, Star Wars: Battlefront, SOCOM 4, Resistance: Fall of Man and Mario Kart Wii. Many modern games rely on servers to function; if Activision pulled the plug on Destiny, for example, even its single-player campaign would disappear, since the entire game needs an online connection.

*** end quote ***

I’ve often thought that ABANDONWARE and Out-of-print-books should be in the “public domain”.

When we, as a society, seek to encourage writing by means of the “copy right”, then it’s is incumbent on the writer to keep his copyrighted published work available. When a book is “out of print”, the copyright should lapse or suspend.

Argh!

It’s like the content creator reneges on their side of the bargain.

# – # – # – # – # 

RANT: Asking the government to solve your problems?

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/jack-perry/let-them-eat-cake/

Let Them Eat Cake!!
By Jack Perry
April 9, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Christian bakeries feared they’d be compelled by law to bake cakes for gay weddings. So, what’d they do? They lobbied the government to pass a law saying they don’t have to. Now everyone is in a lather about that. Hey, you guys, listen. Asking the government to solve your problems is like asking ISIS to measure your hat size: It’ll get done, but maybe not in the way you’d like. To the pro-gay wedding cake people, you stepped in it when you made a fuss over a frickin’ cake and wanted the government involved. All that did was rally the activists on the other side and they went to the government, too, and got a law passed you don’t like. Hey, just take your money elsewhere. That’s what I did when Starbucks wanted to turn my cup of coffee into a social engineering experiment. I got a cheaper cup of coffee, too, and that’s always a good thing. To the pro-religious freedom people, guess what you did? You just opened the door for Sharia law, which you said you were against and wanted laws passed to ban not long prior to this mess. See what I mean? Asking the government to solve your problems just creates problems. What is the government anyway, the yard duty on the playground?! Really, grow up, people. It’s food, ok? That’s what this is about. A flippin’ cake!

*** end quote ***

I can’t imagine a better way to INVOKE a disaster — getting the Gooferment involved in anything.

Pick anything that it “solves” and I think you’ll find: it created the problem AND managed to make it worse by the “fix”.

Just remember that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient!

And everything arises from its monopolyof force.

# – # – # – # – # 

RANT: Some reasonable questions and observations?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/06/two-days-after-sharing-this-open-letter-to-obama-on-facebook-veteran-coach-was-handing-in-his-resignation/

Two Days After Sharing This ‘Open Letter’ to Obama on Facebook, Veteran Coach Was Handing in His Resignation
Apr. 6, 2015 5:42pm
Jason Howerton

*** begin quote ***

Two days after posting a controversial open letter to President Barack Obama, written by “An American Citizen,” on his personal Facebook page, a lacrosse coach said he was forced to resign by school officials at Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, Maine.

*** and ***

Dear Mr. Obama:

Have you ever seen a Muslim hospital?

Have you heard a Muslim orchestra?

Have you seen a Muslim band march in a parade?

Have you witnessed a Muslim charity?

Have you seen Muslims shak[ing] hands with Muslim Girl Scouts?

Have you seen a Muslim Candy Striper?

Have your seen a Muslim do anything that contributes positively to the American way of life????

The answer is no, you have not.  Just ask yourself WHY???

Were those Muslims that were in America when the Pilgrims first landed?  Funny, I thought they were Native American Indians.

Were those Muslims that celebrated the first Thanksgiving day? Sorry again, those were Pilgrims and Native American Indians.

Can you show me one Muslim signature on the United States Constitution?  Declaration of Independence?  Bill of Rights?  Didn’t think so.

Did Muslims fight for this country’s freedom from England?  No.

Did Muslims fight during the Civil War to free the slaves in America?  No, they did not.  In fact, Muslims to this day are still the largest traffickers in human slavery.  Your own half-brother, a devout Muslim, still advocates slavery himself, even though Muslims of Arabic descent refer to black Muslims as “pug nosed slaves.”  Says a lot of what the Muslim world really thinks of your family’s “rich Islamic heritage,” doesn’t it Mr. Obama?

Where were Muslims during the Civil Rights era of this country?  Not present.  There are no pictures or media accounts of Muslims walking side by side with Martin Luther King, Jr. or helping to advance the cause of Civil Rights.

Where were Muslims during this country’s Woman’s Suffrage era?  Again, not present.  In fact, devout Muslims demand that women are subservient to men in the Islamic culture.  So much so, that often they are beaten for not wearing the ‘hajib’ or for talking to a man who is not a direct family member or their husband.  Yep, the Muslims are all for women’s rights, aren’t they?

Where were Muslims during World War II?  They were aligned with Adolf Hitler.  The Muslim grand mufti himself met with Adolf Hitler, reviewed the troops and accepted support from the Nazis in killing Jews.
Finally, Mr. Obama, where were Muslims on Sept. 11th, 2001?  If they weren’t flying planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon or a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people on our own soil, they were rejoicing in the Middle East.

No one can dispute the pictures shown from all parts of the Muslim world celebrating on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other cable news networks that day.  Strangely, the very “moderate” Muslims who’s asses you bent over backwards to kiss in Cairo, Egypt on June 4th were stone cold silent post 9-11.  To many Americans, their silence has meant approval for the acts of that day.

And THAT, Mr. Obama, is the “rich heritage” Muslims have here in America…

Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to mention the Barbary Pirates.  They were Muslims.

And now we can add November 5, 2009 – the slaughter of American soldiers at Fort Hood by a Muslim major, a doctor and a psychiatrist, who was supposed to be counseling soldiers returning from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That, Mr. Obama is the “Muslim heritage” in America!

P.S. Now, you can add the Boston Marathon bombings, too…

*** end quote ***

Seems like reasonable questions and observations?

# – # – # – # – # 

LIBERTARIAN: My little L libertarian “Litmus Tests”

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/04/laurence-m-vance/gop-prevaricators/

The Drug War Litmus Test
By Laurence M. Vance
April 7, 2015

*** begin quote ***

The libertarian view on the drug war is simple and consistent: Since it is not the business of government at any level to prohibit, regulate, restrict, license, criminalize, limit, or otherwise control what someone wants to smoke, snort, sniff, inject, or swallow, then there should be no laws whatsoever regarding the buying, selling, possessing, trafficking, using, growing, cultivating, processing, or manufacturing of any drug for any reason.

Therefore, on both the federal and the state level, all drugs should be legalized, all drug laws and regulations should be repealed, all DEAs should be eliminated, all incarcerated drug offenders should be pardoned and released from jail or prison, and every facet of the drug war should be ended. And because the drug war is such a great injustice, this should all be done immediately.

The drug war is a great libertarian litmus test. No one who supports government at any level having any kind of a war on drugs is even remotely a libertarian. It doesn’t matter what else he believes about foreign policy, the welfare state, the warfare state, or the surveillance state. No one can “lean libertarian” and support such a gross violation of individual liberty, personal freedom, property rights, a free market, and a free society as the war on drugs.

*** end quote ***

Of course, the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” is an easy one.

Shut down the DEA and the FDA. Clear out the prisons of non-violent drug offenders. 

But moving on from that, I’d propose some other “litmus tests”.

(1) The “Crony Capitalist” test to rule out: subsidies, price supports, parity payments, price floors, and any other form of translation of privilege into “campaign contributions”.

(2) The “Welfare” test to rule out: Gooferment handouts of any type that trap people into a cycle of poverty and despair. 

(3) The “Warfare” test to rule out: Gooferment propping up it’s military – industrial complex by failing to MYOB overseas. (Bring all the girls and boys home NOW!)

(4) The “gun” test to rule out opponents of Constitution Carry. Roll back the thousands of laws that only the lawful gun owner obeys anyway. 

This will be my rating system for the next Presidential election — if there is one!

# – # – # – # – # 

POLITICAL: No subsidies for sports

http://gameto100.com/

Wild words on public subsidies for sports arenas
Posted on April 6, 2015 by Paul Clegg

*** begin quote ***

Far out, man!

That’s my throwback reaction to this morning’s editorial in the Sacramento Bee bearing this headline: “Ditch tax break for pro arenas/ Obama’s budget would end subsidy.”

The headline is so preposterous coming from the Bee that I thought it might be a late April Fools’ joke. This is the same newspaper that led the cheerleading for a huge public subsidy to help build a downtown arena for the Kings and their wealthy owners.

*** and ***

The Bee comes to several astounding realizations about public subsidies for sports arenas and stadiums: they reflect a transfer of money from the nation’s poorest citizens to some of the wealthiest, and they undermine the concept of a level-playing field because the benefits go to a few well-organized and well-funded interests that wield outsized influence with the decision-makers.

*** end quote ***

How did “We, The Sheeple” allow the Gooferment to subsidize “circuses”. 

Argh!

The Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient!

This just demonstrates that the immoral cycle. Tax breaks recycle into “campaign contributions” or graft.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

RANT: Pro life and anti-death penalty

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0403/Alabama-man-released-after-decades-on-death-row-Sign-of-a-flawed-system-video

USA USA UPDATE
Alabama man released after decades on death row: Sign of a flawed system? (+video)
As the number of death-row exonerees continues to grow, fundamental questions are being raised about potential flaws in the system.
By Cristina Maza, Staff writer APRIL 3, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Hinton is the third death-row inmate freed in the United States in less than a month. Since 1973, 151 people besides Hinton have been released from death row. And as the number of exonerees continues to grow, fundamental questions are being raised about potential flaws in the system.

“The fact that there’s innocent people in prison or death row has transformed people’s understanding of the death penalty,” University of North Carolina political scientist Frank Baumgartner, author of “The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence,” told Monitor reporter Patrik Jonsson.

“Your opinion about the death penalty in the abstract is one thing, but meeting exonerees changes the death penalty from an abstract principle to a very practical issue of: Can the government do it right every single time?

*** end quote ***

And, we don’t know exactly the extent of the “error rate”.

Now isn’t the saying better that 100 guilty go free than 1 innocent goes to jail?

No erasers on the “pencils” of the death penalty!

Given that a trial costs 4 times the cost of life in prison (read that somewhere; good enough for a swag!) seems like we should just eliminate it for the most part. (Maybe it’s retained for those felons convicted of killing a correction officer?)

Sorry, but being pro-life means being anti-death penalty.

# – # – # – # – # 

POLITICAL: Kerik Predicts a Criminal Justice ‘Implosion’

https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/bernie-kerik-jailer-to-jailed-criminal-justice-prison/2015/03/31/id/635536/

Former Top Cop Kerik Predicts a Criminal Justice ‘Implosion’
Tuesday, 31 Mar 2015 12:31 PM
By David A. Patten

*** begin quote ***

Give us an example of an absurd law that should be taken off the books.

You have people who kill the wrong animal while hunting, use the wrong weapon, or kill some animal on the wrong day — there are a thousand of these things. Catch too many fish, catch the wrong type of fish, catch too big of a fish. They make these people felons. With some 2.3 million U.S. prisoners, what will happen in your view without serious criminal justice reform?

It is an economic catastrophe for this country. It’s unsustainable, and over time, the system will implode. … The states have budgets they have to adhere to. But the federal government just keeps printing money and throwing it into the system.

*** end quote ***

As a little L libertarian, I rant about the Gooferment being immoral, ineffective, and inefficient!

Here’s yet another convert to the “church” of anti-Gooferment!

There are just too many attempts to legislate the unlegislatable.

No one can follow all the rules, diktat, “laws”, and regulations.

Unless you’re a member of the political class (i.e., Bill and Hillary), then it doesn’t matter.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – #