http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/10/04/nearly-75-people-reportedly-overdose-on-laced-heroin-in-3-day-span-chicago/?intcmp=hplnws

HEALTH
Nearly 75 people reportedly overdose on laced heroin in 3-day span in Chicago
Published October 04, 2015FoxNews.com

*** begin quote ***

Nearly 75 people reportedly overdosed on dangerous narcotics, possibly heroin laced with painkiller fentanyl, in Chicago over a three-day span, according to city health and fire officials.

The Chicago Tribune, citing hospital officials, reported by Friday afternoon at least 14 people were rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago to be treated for possible heroin overdoses, and some patients still had needles in their arms.

*** and ***

”We suspect what is happening is the same thing that happened in 2006 when people were getting heroin that was cut with fentanyl, which is a very strong narcotic,” she told the newspaper. “That’s what we think is happening.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Chicago police are teaming up to try and find the source of the batches.

*** and ***

The last major outbreak of fentanyl-related deaths took place between 2005 and 2007. The outbreak killed more than 1,000 people across the country and dozens specifically in Chicago.

*** end quote ***

Doesn’t anyone remember their history lessons?

OK, anyone remember Robert Stack playing Elliott Ness in the Untouchables? Where during Prohibition, he had to track down a moonshiner who was making contaminated bathtub gin. That gin was causing folks to die or go blind!

Can’t you see the similarity here?

Argh!

Now imagine an American where drugs were “legal”. Let’s have a mental experiment.  The addiction rate would be at a historical norm — since back in the days when that Chinese emporer study the problem and couldn’t fix it then by killing addicts — of 10%. Walmart, Walgreens, RiteAid, and every drugstore would be selling “drugs”. Clean, pure, of know quantity and quality. And, of course, they would offer treatment alternatives. 

Also, since it would no longer be illegal or “dangerous”, children would find some other alternative to rebel. Dye their hair, pierce their bodies, and listing to bad music — oh wait they’ve done that through the decades already. (But it doesn’t kill them!)

Of course, currently “illegal” drugs would be cheap, so one could have a “habit” and hold down a job — which was common in late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Now let’s consider the poor Drug Lords, Cartels, and drug dealing gangs. Guess they’ll have to find other employment since Walmart can drive the profit out of anything.

And, all the money that the USA spends on prisons, courts, cops, DEA, FDA, BATF, etc. etc. can be redirected to treatment.

Wow, what different country this would be.

How many people would still be alive?

How many people would be better off?

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” — attributed to Einstein

Time to end the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs”!

# – # – # – # – #  

http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/storminfo/11L_tracks_latest.png

JOAQUIN BECOMES HURRICANE…
TRACK…
COMPUTER MODELS…

# – # – # – # – # 

And, yet they can’t predict the storm a few days in advance, but they can predict climate decades from now?

You have to be kidding me!

And, of course, the answer is more taxes and Gooferment power!

Argh!!!

“Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Come back when you have a better lie.

# – # – # – # – # 

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150929/us–mystery_ambulance_rides-2f39c3677a.html

Medicare’s $30M ambulance-ride mystery
Sep 29, 3:46 AM (ET)
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

*** begin quote ***

WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare paid $30 million for ambulance rides for which no record exists that patients got medical care at their destination, the place where they were picked up or other critical information.

The mystery ambulance rides are part of a bigger problem with Medicare payments for transporting patients, according to a federal audit being released Tuesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general’s office also found that some urban ambulance services got paid for an average distance of more than 100 miles per ride. That contrasts with a national average of just 10 miles for urban ambulance rides.

*** end quote ***

How many times do I have to say: “The Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient”?

Simple fix here — copays.

Make it near trivial. Say 1%. Medicare doesn’t pay until the patient pays 1%. So if the bill is $100, then they pay a dollar. 

And, most of the seniors I know scrutinize their bills.

End of phantom billing.

You could even cap the copay at $100. 

Or include the patient in the audit team and the patient gets half of any mistake. Like treasure hunt.

I know from patients that I advocated for that the bills were always wrong and in one case bordered on fraud.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/16/9340511/perstin-experian-bank-death-credit-reporting

This man’s bank keeps telling him he’s dead
With agencies relying on automated bank reports, coming back from the dead is just as hard as it sounds
By Russell Brandom  on September 16, 2015 04:09 pm

*** begin quote ***

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers can dispute any fact in their credit report, giving agencies 30 days to confirm it or back down — but that measure was little help to Jokinen. He reported the mistake to Experian and the two other major agencies, but they simply confirmed that Chase had marked him as dead and moved on. He reported the issue to Chase, but the bank was slow to react, and as soon as one agency made the fix, another report of his death would echo back through a different channel. Ultimately, he had to appeal directly to the Social Security Agency for a “living letter,” but even that wasn’t enough to restore his credit. “I have been spending an average of seven hours each week, just keeping these mounting credit errors under control,” Jokinen told the Senate Banking Committee. “I am a living case example of how our current fair credit reporting laws still don’t work as intended.”

*** end quote ***

Argh!

How about the Congresscritters say “treble damages”?

Bet that fixes things in a heartbeat!

# – # – # – # – # 

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/09/florida-cops-unable-to-turn-off-new-360-degree-pinac-cam-during-arrest-of-fair-dui-lawyer/

Florida Cops Unable to Turn Off New 360 Degree PINAC Cam During Arrest of Fair DUI Lawyer
Carlos Miller  

*** begin quote ***

Ever since PINAC’s Jeff Gray rode through a DUI checkpoint earlier this year with his drivers license hanging out the window in a Ziploc bag – along with a Fair DUI flyer from South Florida attorney Warren Redlich – the flyers have generated tons of media coverage as well as threats of arrests from tough-talking sheriffs.
But it was only until last month that the flyer got him arrested.

And we were there to capture that arrest with several cameras, including a new 360 degree camera we are now selling that was attached to the dashboard of my car, the PINACmobile, which he was driving.

Police tried their best to turn the camera off, but were unable to do so as you can see in the video below.

*** end quote ***

They’re not going to react well to having their “criminal activities” disrupted.

“Inventory” the car, my <synonym for donkey>; that was a warrantless search.

And, how many “deputies” were deployed at the DUI checkpoint and who’s paying for their time.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/09/william-l-anderson/never-trust-a-prosecutor-2/

You Really Cannot Make Up This Stuff: The Ordeal and Vindication of Tonya Craft
By William L. Anderson
September 8, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Accused: My Fight for Truth, Justice, & the Strength to Forgive, by Tonya Craft with Mark Dagostina, BenBella Books, 2015, 348 pages, Hardback.

To give a brief synopsis of Accused, Catoosa County, Georgia, authorities in 2008 charged Craft, then a kindergarten teacher, of 22 counts of child molestation, with the three accusing children being two daughters of former friends, along with her own daughter. Not surprisingly, she lost her job, her two children, her home, and was vilified in the local media.

Craft endured a five-week trial in April and May of 2010, and in the end, the jurors declared her not guilty. The trial itself was a farce, a spectacle that one had to follow closely to believe. The judge permitted the two prosecutors to run the proceedings and acted as a third arm of the prosecution, openly declaring his disdain for the defense. However, despite all efforts to rig the trial, the jury gave its pronouncement and the two prosecutors literally ran from the courthouse to their vehicles, one of them covering his face with a notebook. As the title of this article states, you really cannot make up this stuff.

*** end quote ***

Wow, this is a blockbuster that I never heard about.

If half is was is asserted is true, then the judge should be impeached, the prosecutors disbarred, and the law changed.

Talk about miscarriage of justice … …

I’d be seeking damages, arrests, and jail time for all the felonies exposed.

Argh!

I know “life’s not fair”, but the law should be — supposed be — maybe isn’t?

# – # – # – # – # 

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/09/ryan-mcmaken/is-there-a-moral-argument-for-a-living-wage/

The Failed Moral Argument for a “Living Wage”
By Ryan McMaken
Mises.org
September 5, 2015

*** begin quote ***

A Low Wage Is Unacceptable, but a Zero Wage Is Fine

And this leads to the fact that when faced with high wages, employers will seek to replace employers with non-human replacements — such as these automated cashiers at McDonalds — or other labor-saving devices.

But this phenomenon is simply ignored by the living-wage advocates. Thus, the argument that employers are morally obligated to not pay low wages becomes strangely silent in the face of workers earning no wage at all.

Indeed, we see few attempts at passing laws mandating that employers hire human beings instead of machines. While it’s no doubt true that some neo-Luddites would love to see this happen, virtually no one argues that employers not be allowed to employ labor-saving devices. Certainly, anyone making such an argument is likely to be laughed out of the room since most everyone immediately recognizes that it would be absurd to pass laws mandating that a road builder, for example, hire people with shovels instead of using bulldozers and paving machines.

*** end quote ***

The reason that economics is called the “dismal science” is because it rubs our nose in “scarcity”.

It makes no moral arguments; it merely points out that limited resources are a finite constraint upon us.

Like the “Law” of Gravity — and the politicians’ use of the word ‘law’ has really corrupted our understanding that a physical “LAW” has no exceptions — describes how a rock drops. So too the “Laws” of Economics describe how society — not Gooferment — can organize to maximize satisfaction, minimize discomfort, and ensure that everyone is equally “happy”. Laugh.

The truly free market serves to ensure that everyone cooperates. 

And, then along comes the gang that calls themselves Gooferment and messes it all up.

Crony Capitalism and corruption makes them interfere with the smooth operation of the market.

SO why are wages any different than apples, cars, plumbers, or any other good or service?

Beats me?

Just by them passing a diktat or regulation, black youth unemployment skyrockets.

Didn’t we have civil rights marches to free the Black population?

Only to put them in welfare poverty!

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

Eliminate all licensing requirements for medical schools, hospitals, pharmacies, and medical doctors and other health care personnel. Their supply would almost instantly increase, prices would fall, and a greater variety of health care services would appear on the market. Competing voluntary accreditation agencies would take the place of compulsory government licensing….Eliminate all government restrictions on the production and sale of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. This means no more Food and Drug Administration, which presently hinders innovation and increases costs.… [Our country’s robust legal profession will keep drug companies in line.]Deregulate the health insurance industry. Private enterprise can offer insurance against events over whose outcome the insured possesses no control…. [Like insuring one’s home against fires and floods, buy insurance that covers expenses for major injuries and illnesses, not like current misnamed health “insurance” that covers routine doctor visits.]Eliminate all subsidies to the sick or unhealthy. Subsidies create more of whatever is being subsidized. Subsidies for the ill and diseased breed illness and disease, and promote carelessness, indigence, and dependency. If we eliminate them, we would strengthen the will to live healthy lives and to work for a living. In the first instance, that means abolishing Medicare and Medicaid. [Private charity will once again play an important role in medical care.]

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/09/03/harrisburg-paying-officer-who-hasn-t-worked-since-1993/21231588/

Harrisburg paying officer who hasn’t worked since 1993
Sep 3rd 2015 7:15PM

*** begin quote ***

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Imagine spending your last day working, and then getting paid your full salary with benefits every year for more than 20 years. This is the reality for one Harrisburg police officer.

Maritta Adley, 57, has not worked a day with the Harrisburg Police Bureau since 1993. However, she is not a former employee. She is still on the city’s payroll under its workers’ compensation program, and has been for 22 years.

City officials were made aware of the ghost employee when they took office in 2014. City Solicitor Neil Grover says officials are currently working to figure out their options.

*** end quote ***

Well, that seems “fair”.

Gooferment bureaucrats bear no responsibilty for their failures.

Only the taxpayers suffer and suffer and suffer.

Argh!

Any doubt that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient?

# – # – # – # – # 

http://www.blacklistednews.com/School_Officials_Used_Young_Girl_as_%E2%80%9CBait%E2%80%9D_in_Rape_Sting%2C_She_Was_Raped_and_they_Covered_it_Up/45680/0/38/38/Y/M.html

SCHOOL OFFICIALS USED YOUNG GIRL AS “BAIT” IN RAPE STING, SHE WAS RAPED AND THEY COVERED IT UP
Published: August 13, 2015

*** begin quote ***

BHJ’s lawsuit was even thrown out by a lower court who sided with the school board.

However, on Wednesday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals brought back the lawsuit and granted BHJ’s attorney the ability to sue the Madison County school board.

“This is a unique case because the administrators effectively participated in (the boy’s) sexual harassment by setting (Jane) Doe up in a rape-bait scheme involving (the boy) in order to ‘catch him in the act,’” found the appeals court.

The lawsuit will now continue and with any luck, BHJ will receive just compensation for her role as a pawn in the school’s ridiculous plan.

*** end quote ***

I’d say the word “ridiculous” is a VAST understatement.

The Taxpayers and the Parent if the “inmates” at this “school” should be up in arms.

Argh!

I’d say fire everyone involved or in a supervisory or managerial or leadership role.

Immediately!

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/the-long-range-social-securitymedicare-deficit-72-trillion-and-counting/

CONTRA NEWS AND VIEWS, STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK
The Long-Range Social Security/Medicare Deficit: $72 Trillion And Counting
by Forbes • August 11, 2015
By John C. Goodman for Forbes

*** begin quote ***

The Social Security/Medicare Trustees have issued their latest reports and they are not easy reading for the uninitiated. I suspect most of the Trustees hope you don’t read them at all. They prefer their own spin. Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, these reports are invariably accompanied by a press release that completely ignores what is important and focuses instead on what is unimportant.

What’s unimportant? The trust funds and when they will run dry. Like most social security systems in the world today, ours is a pay-as-you-go system. Nothing has been saved or invested. What we call trust funds consist of nothing more than IOUs the government has written to itself. (More on that below.) Yet, that is what the official press releases emphasize and this focus is reflected in the first graph below.

What’s important? Cash flow. In fact, in a pay-as-you-go system, cash flow is the only thing that matters. As the second graph shows, Social Security and Medicare are paying out more than they are taking in. As the baby boomers retire, the total deficit will grow dramatically. Currently, we are using about one in every seven general revenue dollars to cover these deficits. By 2020, we will need more than one in five. By 2030, we will need about one in three.

*** end quote ***

Like most Ponzi schemes, eventually the suckers’ money runs out.

And, all the politicians and bureaucrats from FDR are going to be long gone.

So what should be done about this and ALL the unfunded liabilities?

At the very least, everyone should REALIZE that the current system is unsustainable.

Even a fat old white guy injineer or a reasonably competent accountant can demonstrate that there ain’t no free lunch.

• Old advice: “when in a hole, stop digging” seems to apply here.
• Hard stop on all new “pensions”. Require all such to be fully funded!
• All plans must “mark to market” with honest accounting.
• “Chile” style social security reform
• Congress must live within what the taxpayers can afford
• Any deficit is paid for my Congress folks personally

Stockman’s Corner

STOCKMAN’S CORNER

Chart Of The Day: Mr. Deng’s Drastic Yuan Devaluation And The Long Mercantilist Peg Which Followed

by David Stockman • August 15, 2015

Read on→

STOCKMAN’S CORNER

Chart Of The Day: The Tesla ‘Cash Burn’ Inferno

by David Stockman • August 13, 2015

  … 

Read on→

STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK,STOCKMAN’S CORNER

CNBC’s Alfred E. Neuman Luncheon Club—–Beyond Clueless

by David Stockman • August 13, 2015

I just heard one of CNBC’s cheerleaders admonishing viewers not to worry about China’s full-on plunge into currency wars. You see, the US is growing strongly at 2-3% in the second half, jobs just keep on coming, and, besides, the USA is completely “decoupled” from whatever troubles may be brewing abroad. So this regular CNBC noon… 

Read on→

CONTRA NEWS AND VIEWS,STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK

China’s Beggar The World Deflation——Global Steel Industry Getting Hammered By Its Steel Dumping

by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at The Telegraph • August 12, 2015

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at The Telegraph Chinese steelmakers are preparing to flood the global market with cut-price exports as they take advantage of this week’s shock devaluation of the yuan, setting off furious protests from struggling competitors in Europe and the US. It is the first warning sign of a deflationary wave of cheap products… 

Read on→

PATER TENEBRARUM,STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK

The True Cause Of Greece’s Economic Failure——An Omnivorous State, Not Lazy Workers

by Pater Tenebrarum • August 12, 2015

  The Industrious Greeks Mystery In the course of the Greek crisis, animosities between creditor countries like Germany and Greece didn’t take long to surface. They were fired up in the tabloid press, which was quick to revive various stereotypes. In Greece, Germans soon found themselves compared to their Nazi predecessors, while German tabloids inter […] 

Read on→

Stockman’s Corner Media

AUDIO AND VIDEO, STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK

Reagan OMB Head: Fed Fueling Ill-Gotten Gains

by David Stockman • January 30, 2015

Read on→

AUDIO AND VIDEO, CONTRA CLUB,STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK

Stephen Roach Nails It Again: Fed Is In Total Denial, Replicating Same “Deadly Trap” As Last Time

by ZeroHedge • January 9, 2015

The Fed “is in total denial,” Roach rants, adding that it “hasn’t learned the lessons of what it put the world through a decade ago.” 

Read on→

AUDIO AND VIDEO, STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK, STOCKMAN’S CORNER

David Stockman Interview: The Case For Super Glass-Steagall

by David Stockman • December 21, 2014

Read on→

AUDIO AND VIDEO, STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK, STOCKMAN’S CORNER

David Stockman Talks Historical Dominoes—–Rise Of the Warfare State And Keynesian Central Banking

by David Stockman • December 15, 2014

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/thompsonstockman121214.mp3 Click here to listen. David Stockman interview on the Political Badger: Today I had the pleasure of interviewing David Stockman.  He is a former Congressman from Michigan, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, and former partner at The Blackstone Group.  Stockman is the author of The Triumph of Politics: Why the… 

Read on→

Top Posts & Pages

• The Great China Ponzi—-An Economic And Financial Trainwreck Which Will Rattle The World
• Chart Of The Day: The Tesla ‘Cash Burn’ Inferno
• CNBC’s Alfred E. Neuman Luncheon Club—–Beyond Clueless
• Hey Fed! Get A Grip On Your Inflation Reality Gap With July PPI
• How To Shrink Bloated Food Stamp Rolls——Rescind Obama’s Work Requirement Waivers
• No Monsters Here——A Pictorial Essay On Everyday Iran
• Beware Of China’s Latest And Greatest Export——Black Swans
• Initial Claims Send Longest Bubble Peak Warning In History
• Mind The Gold-Lumber Ratio—–It’s Signaling A Spot Of “Risk-Off” Bother In The Equity Markets
• China’s Beggar The World Deflation——Global Steel Industry Getting Hammered By Its Steel Dumping

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CONTRA NEWS AND VIEWS, STOCKMAN’S BEST OF THE WEEK

The Long-Range Social Security/Medicare Deficit: $72 Trillion And Counting

by Forbes • August 11, 2015

By John C. Goodman for Forbes

The Social Security/Medicare Trustees have issued their latest reports and they are not easy reading for the uninitiated. I suspect most of the Trustees hope you don’t read them at all. They prefer their own spin. Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, these reports are invariably accompanied by a press release that completely ignores what is important and focuses instead on what is unimportant.

What’s unimportant? The trust funds and when they will run dry. Like most social security systems in the world today, ours is a pay-as-you-go system. Nothing has been saved or invested. What we call trust funds consist of nothing more than IOUs the government has written to itself. (More on that below.) Yet, that is what the official press releases emphasize and this focus is reflected in the first graph below.

What’s important? Cash flow. In fact, in a pay-as-you-go system, cash flow is the only thing that matters. As the second graph shows, Social Security and Medicare are paying out more than they are taking in. As the baby boomers retire, the total deficit will grow dramatically. Currently, we are using about one in every seven general revenue dollars to cover these deficits. By 2020, we will need more than one in five. By 2030, we will need about one in three.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_1976_KILLING_DNA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-08-13-22-03-44

Aug 14, 1:53 AM EDT

JUDGE TOSSES MURDER CONVICTION OF MAN IN PRISON FOR 34 YEARS
BY JOE MANDAK
ASSOCIATED PRESS

*** begin quote ***

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man who spent 34 years in prison for the rape and shooting death of a teenage girl was released from prison Thursday after a judge vacated his murder conviction, citing new DNA evidence.

Lewis Fogle, 63, was freed on bond because he remains charged and could be retried by District Attorney Patrick Dougherty, who filed the joint motion to vacate the conviction with the New York-based Innocence Project.

“We are incredibly grateful to District Attorney Patrick Dougherty for working with us to conduct the DNA testing and for acknowledging that Mr. Fogle’s conviction should be set aside,” said David Loftis, managing attorney for the Innocence Project.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but this is why I oppose the death penalty.

And, “our” “system of justice” is flawed.

There must simply be a better way.

It’s a real knock on Gooferment and whatever happened to “better 100 guilty men go free than 1 innocent man go to jail”?

# – # – # – # – # 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/million-gallons-contaminated-water-turns-river-orange-colorado/story?id=32989366

Three Million Gallons of Contaminated Water Turns River Orange in Colorado
Aug 10, 2015, 10:22 AM ET
By KAYLEE HECK via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

*** begin quote ***

A team of workers with the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally released 3 million gallons of waste water from the Gold King Mine in Silverton, Colorado, on Aug. 5, the agency said. It was initially estimated to be a third of that size at one million gallons, the EPA said.

*** end quote ***

Laugh! Sadly shaking my head.

I get a lot of flak from folks about my continued assertions that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient!

Here’s a classic example.

I wonder who’s responsible for the damages?

Guess it’s the taxpayer.

Wonder how whoever owned this mine, and those who profited from it, were allowed to escape liability?

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3190363/NYC-fired-dead-worker-Geoffrey-Toliver-missed-18-months-work.html

New York City bureaucrats fire government worker who died of cancer a year ago – for missing work
Medicaid eligibility specialist Geoffrey Toliver, 65, died in December 2014, 11 months after he had to stop work due to his illness
But the city’s Human Resources Administration moved to fire him this year
A judge approved the sacking when he did not turn up to the hearing
The father-of-three was earning $38,000 per year at the time of his death 
By EVAN BLEIER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:34 EST, 8 August 2015 | UPDATED: 11:26 EST, 8 August 2015

# – # – #

The Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient.

Here’s a classic example.

I assume that he had direct deposit!

Argh!

Requiescat In Pacem, Geoffrey Toliver.

You’ve pointed out what is wrong with the system.

# – # – # – # – # 

http://news.slashdot.org/story/15/08/02/1831240/dod-ditches-open-source-medical-records-system-in-43b-contract

DoD Ditches Open Source Medical Records System In $4.3B Contract

*** begin quote ***

The US Department of Defense opted not to use the Department of Veterans Affairs’ open source VistA electronic health record system in its project to overhaul its legacy systems, instead opting for a consortium of Cerner, Leidos and Accenture. The initial $4.3 billion implementation is expected to be the first part of a $9 billion dollar project. The Under Secretary for Acquisition stated they wanted a system with minimum modifications and interoperability with private sector systems, though much of what passes for inter-vendor operability in the marketplace is more aspirational than operable. The DoD aims to start implementation at 8 sites in the Pacific Northwest by the end of 2016, noting that “legacy systems are eating us alive in terms of support and maintenance,” consuming 95% of the Military Health Systems IT budget.

*** end quote ***

The Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient.

And, ignoring that VA has an open source solution is even more so!

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/08/doug-casey/destruction-of-world-moral-values/

Doug Casey on the Real FIFA Scandal
By Doug Casey
Doug Casey’s International Man
August 1, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Recently, high-ranking officials at FIFA, the world’s governing soccer (aka “football”) body, were charged with corruption and fraud. The US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is deeply involved in the case. Doug Casey weighs in on the real scandal… the one you’re not reading in mass media.

The truth be known, I really don’t give a damn about soccer. Nor do most Americans.

*** and ***

Second, and much more important, it’s really none of our business. Despite the fact that the FBI has taken it upon itself to prosecute at least 14 FIFA officials for corruption.

Why is it none of our business? Because FIFA is a Swiss association that’s been around over 100 years. All of its officers and directors are non-US persons. And about 99% of its players, officials, and spectators are non-American.

But that doesn’t matter. The FBI has decided to prosecute FIFA’s officials for corruption, and is successfully moving to have them all extradited to the US for trial.

Were FIFA officials treating themselves to huge salaries and expense accounts, and paying and receiving millions to decide where the World Cup should be played? Of course. Is that corrupt? We have to first define “corruption.” I devote a lot of thought to the subject here, and suspect you’ll find it of interest. But, essentially, corruption is about a betrayal of a fiduciary trust. In simple terms, it’s sticking your hand in a till that you’re supposed to guard for the interest of someone else.

*** end quote ***

A very fundamental observation about “jurisdiction”.

The Gooferment has to rush ahead of the “headlines” to get in front so it pretends to be leading.

What has the FBI done about Planned Parenthood and the baby parts scandal?

Nothing because that is “politically inconvenient”.

MYOB (Mind Your Own Business)! 

It’s a great principle.

Maybe not up there with the Non-Aggression principle, the Law of Gravity, or even the Law of Supply and Demand, but up there on my list.

I think the world would be a much better place if more folks adopted it.

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https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/07/gary-north/take-a-federal-nickle-get-the-federal-noose/

S-1177: Common Core Will Be Imposed on Private Schools That Get Fed Funds
By Gary North
The Tea Party Economist
July 20, 2015

*** begin quote ***

Senate bill 1177 is a bipartisan measure to federalize education, all in the name of preserving local control.

It will be imposed on charter schools and all private schools that accept a nickel of aid.

As I said 30 years ago, “If you take the government’s nickel, you also take its noose.”

*** end quote ***

This is the last thing that “We, The Sheeple” should permit.

There is no Constitutional authorization for this centralization.

Where in the enumerated powers is it?

Argh!

“Inasmuch as the Constitution was never signed, nor agreed to, by anybody, as a contract, and therefore never bound anybody, and is now binding upon nobody; and is, moreover, such an one as no people can ever hereafter be expected to consent to, except as they may be forced to do so at the point of the bayonet, it is perhaps of no importance what its true legal meaning, as a contract, is. Nevertheless, the writer thinks it proper to say that, in his opinion, the Constitution is no such instrument as it has generally been assumed to be; but that by false interpretations, and naked usurpations, the government has been made in practice a very widely, and almost wholly, different thing from what the Constitution itself purports to authorize. He has heretofore written much, and could write much more, to prove that such is the truth. But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain – that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.” Lysander Spooner (1808-1887), No Treason (1870) http://praxeology.net/LS-NT-6.htm#no.6 

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http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/07/08/fbis-amazing-trick-to-avoid-accountability/

JULY 8, 2015 | MATT CONNOLLY
FBI’S AMAZING TRICK TO AVOID ACCOUNTABILITY

Though FBI reports are often admitted as evidence, they are sometimes so unreliable that even a federal judge once refused to be interviewed unless he could review the report first. 

Matt Connolly is a former Deputy District Attorney of Norfolk County, Massachusetts

*** begin quote ***

How credible are the reports of interviews filed by FBI agents working a case? In fact, such reports are known to be so unreliable that in one case, a federal judge refused to be interviewed by agents unless he was allowed to review their report and make corrections.

*** and ***

The FBI’s process for handling 302s is hardly an ideal one for accurate recording and transmittal of what was said during an interview.

The process is thus: two FBI agents ask questions and listen to the answers—without tape recording or obtaining a certified transcript. Instead, they return to their office and, based on their recollection and any notes they may have taken during the interview, write up a summary of what transpired. Summaries are, in most cases, written hours later, sometimes even the following day.

*** and ***

It would be easy to remedy this ancient system of conducting interviews that has existed since J. Edgar Hoover became FBI director in 1924. Why not establish a rule that all interviews be electronically recorded? In this high-tech age it’s hard to conceive of valid arguments against mandatory electronic recording, except in instances where circumstances make it impracticable. Other than such exceptions, the most trustworthy evidence—the person’s voice—would be preserved.

The FBI did recognize the pressure to change it in 2006. Its reasons are specious, boiling down to it likes the way things are now done so why change? It also states there are no federal laws requiring it to record the conversations which allows it to refuse to do it.

The issue is straight forward: do we want the best evidence—a record of the words spoken between an FBI agent and another person—or would we rather continue with the evidence the FBI agent looking to solve a case figured she heard and decides to write down. It is time that Congress acts to require federal agents to do the same thing when they interview witnesses and suspects as they do when listening to intercepted communications… which is to record them.

*** end quote ***

Consequently, NEVER make any statement to any bureaucrat without making your own recording.

If you can’t, then just repeatedly assert your Fifth Amendment right.

Argh!

I remember a story back when a lawyer would not let his Client make any statement to the FBI that he wasn’t recording. Hence that interview never took place.

Trust no one in the criminal gang that calls itself “the State”!

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http://www.economics21.org/commentary/energy-advantage-keystone-natural-gas-oil-07-09-15

Eleven Reforms to Extend America’s Energy Advantage
Oren Cass | 07/08/2015 

*** begin quote ***

Now may seem an odd time to emphasize the importance of increasing U.S. oil and gas production. Domestic output has reached an all-time high, prices have plummeted, and drilling activity is slowing in response. Job cuts in the industry are approaching 100,000. Headlines announce that the boom has already gone bust.

Yet failing to press America’s current energy advantage would be an enormous mistake. Demand forecasts indicate that any oil and gas glut is temporary. Further, U.S. energy policy, still based on an assumption of resource scarcity, is ill equipped to manage the new abundance. Indeed, America’s private sector has driven an oil and gas revolution in the face of an ambivalent federal policy.

A new report released today presents 11 reforms to help craft a smarter U.S. energy policy. Reforms 1-5 would amplify the boom, by enacting regulatory reforms to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of U.S. energy markets. Reforms 6-11 would extend the boom, by opening federal land and waters to energy development to replicate the extraordinary growth of tight oil.

*** and ***

4. Streamline permitting for natural-gas and crude oil export terminals. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has specifically cited the “number of permits and reviews required by federal and state law” as a cause of delays. Designate these natural-gas and crude oil export terminals in the public interest, without a need for case-by-case review, and enact a single approval process with clear timelines.

5. Exempt new and expanded natural-gas plants, new and expanded refineries, and new drilling sites and export terminals from the Clean Air Act’s and Clean Water Act’s new-source requirement. These heightened standards discourage refineries from retooling or expanding to accommodate new volumes and types of crude, weakening America’s energy advantage. Instead, existing standards should be applied to new energy projects.

*** end quote ***

Like that is ever going to happen.

The Keystone pipeline was entangled in a permitting process that made no sense to me as a Business Process engineer. Unless it was designed to slow, confuse, and frustrate.

How many bureaucrats does it take to say “hell, no”.

Argh!

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http://www.northjersey.com/news/casinos-forfeit-12-000-in-winnings-by-underage-patrons-1.1326438

Casinos forfeit $12,000 in winnings by underage patrons
May 6, 2015, 1:01 PM    Last updated: Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 1:04 PM
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

*** begin quote ***

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Four Atlantic City casinos have forfeited more than $12,000 won by underage gamblers.

The casinos seized the money from patrons found to be under the legal gambling age of 21. The state Gaming Enforcement Division ordered them to forfeit the winnings to a state fund for seniors and the disabled. The forfeitures were made public this week.

*** end quote ***

So why does the Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerzee “win”.

Did they restore the money to the “underage gamblers”?

I remember a time when in Vegas there was no drinking age, no gambling age, no speed limits, and prostitution was legal.

How far we have fallen!

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May 4, 2015
Mr. Ferdinand Reinke
1641 International Dr Unit 414
McLean, VA 22102-4831

Dear Mr. Reinke:

Thank you for contacting me about the report on interrogation techniques by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It was good to hear from you.

I believe that torture has no place in national security methods; it should not be used as it contradicts our values. In December 2012, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) voted 14-1 to approve a more than 6,000-page report that included detailed information on each detainee the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interrogated, the methods used, and the accuracy of the intelligence. Since 2005, the SSCI has worked on this report, conducting its own investigation into these tactics. Following this investigation, on April 3rd, 2014 the SSCI voted in a bipartisan manner to declassify certain sections of the report. On December 9th, 2014 the SSCI released an unclassified executive summary and findings of the report to the public. The report found that enhanced interrogation methods were not effective or properly justified. In addition, the study cited discrepancies between management, oversight, and reporting to the administration of interrogations the CIA conducted.

While I am well aware of the unique national security challenges faced by our nation, I have always believed strongly that torture is not a proper method for ensuring our security and does not belong in the pursuit of our foreign policy or national security goals. I support the Committee’s thorough work to properly oversee and review intelligence collection methods, and support the report’s release. I believe that intelligence collection is critical to our national security and counterterrorism efforts, and I deeply respect the work of the professionals who remain vigilant and keep us safe. I hope that by fully exposing these past interrogation measures we can help guard against the future use of such a program, which is inconsistent with American values.

I am encouraged that the SSCI carefully reviewed the information presented to it and continues to evaluate a number of important issues. As a member of both the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, I recognize the important implications the declassification of this report has on our servicemembers and intelligence community, which are so closely tied to Virginia, as well as on efforts to maintain diplomatic relations to and manage future conflict.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me with your views on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Signature

Tim Kaine

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I tried!

# – # – # – # – #  2015-May-04 @ 21:13  

2015-Apr-18 1225

Bus tapped bumper of little car. 3 cop cars, fire engine, ambulance, deputy fire marshal.

My tax dollars at work!

Well, it’s a nice day for them to be out and about.

# – # – # – # – #  2015-Apr-18 @ 12:26  

http://www.targetliberty.com/2015/03/ross-ulbrichts-lawyer-blows-up.html

Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Ross Ulbricht’s Lawyer Blows Up Following News of the Charges Against Government Agents That “Investigated” Ulbricht

*** begin quote ***

In addition, the government failed to disclose previously much of what is in the Complaint, including that two federal law enforcement agents involved in the Silk Road investigation were corrupt. It is clear from this Complaint that fundamentally the government’s investigation of Mr. Ulbricht lacked any integrity, and was wholly and fatally compromised from the inside.

Also, it is clear that Mr. Force and others within the government obtained access to the administrative platforms of the Silk Road site, where they were able to commandeer accounts and had the capacity to change PIN numbers and other aspects of the site – all without the government’s knowledge of what precisely they did with that access.

*** end quote ***

More evidence no justice in Gooferment courts!

More misconduct by the Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats!

Argh!

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