ADMINISTRIVIA: Testing textexpander on Chromebook

Friday, May 17, 2019

“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand? . . .” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Works!

But not in the Chrome Address Bar.

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Senator Wyden Leads on Securing Elections Before 2020

Friday, May 17, 2019

Sen. Ron Wyden’s new proposal to protect the integrity of U.S. elections, the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act of 2019, takes a much needed step forward by requiring a return to paper ballots. The bill forcefully addresses a grave threat to American democracy—outdated election technologies used in polling places all over the country that run the risk of recording inaccurate votes or even allowing outside actors to maliciously interfere with the votes that individuals cast.

Source: Senator Wyden Leads on Securing Elections Before 2020

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  • It bans voting machines from connecting to the Internet.

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Seems Obvious!

Captain Obvious

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Ten Years Later—Did QE Work? – The Big Picture

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Altogether, the empirical studies of recent years suggest that large-scale asset purchases can affect real economic outcomes via a bank lending channel. Like an interest rate cut in a conventional monetary policy setting, QE can lead to additional bank lending, which in turn translates into additional economic activity.

Source: Ten Years Later—Did QE Work? – The Big Picture

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It overlooks: (1) increased moral hazard; (2) bailed out Wall Street at the expense of Main Street; and (3) kills the retirement savings of retirees and soon to be retirees.

The only answer is to END THE FED!

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: “Political Capitalism” is the death of “Market Capitalism”

Thursday, May 16, 2019

https://tomwoods.com/ep-1403-the-origins-and-evils-of-crony-capitalism/

I heard a great podcast episode that really cleared away some fog in my understanding of “what’s wrong with the USA”!

The guest, Randall Holcombe, made the point that we no longer live under the system of “Market Capitalism”, but under a NEW system of “Political Capitalism”.

*** begin quote ***

Political capitalism is an economic and political system in which the economic and political elite cooperate for their mutual benefit. The economic elite influence the government’s economic policies to use regulation, government spending, and the design of the tax system to maintain their elite status in the economy. The political elite are then supported by the economic elite which helps the political elite maintain their status; an exchange relationship that benefits both the political and economic elite.

*** end quote ***

He translated Karl Marx’s “oppression of classes” into “those with political influence oppress those without it”.  Occupy Wall Street’s “the 1% oppress the 99%”.

It makes perfect sense as an explanation of how things are now working.

  • Argue against smoking but then giving tax subsidies to tobacco farmers.
  • Decry obesity but give “parity payments” to sugar producers.
  • Ethanol in gas means a payoff to farmers and raises food prices.
  • Bailouts of the “fat cat Wall Streeters” as opposed to the people being foreclosed on.

And on, and on, and on!

I didn’t hear a lot of solutions except for: (1) strongly objecting to anyone seeking “transfers from the public to the privileged individuals; and (2) opposition to every extension of Gooferment into every day life.

Argh!

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Eight Questions for Russia Hoaxers to Answer After End of Mueller Probe | Breitbart

Thursday, May 16, 2019

2 – Were Obama administration officials involved in passing dossier charges of questionable political origin to the FBI or bolstering Steele’s credibility to the bureau?David Kramer, a long-time adviser to late Senator John McCain, revealed in testimony that he met with two Obama administration officials to inquire about whether the anti-Trump dossier authored by former British spy Christopher Steele was being taken seriously.In a deposition on Dec. 13, 2017 that was recently posted online, Kramer said that McCain specifically asked him in early December 2016 to meet about the dossier with Victoria Nuland, a senior official in John Kerry’s State Department, as well as an official from the National Security Council.Nuland’s specific role in the dossier episode has been the subject of some controversy for her.

Source: Eight Questions for Russia Hoaxers to Answer After End of Mueller Probe | Breitbart

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Another great question?

What was McCain’s role in getting even with DJT45?

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Ajit Pai proposes new rule that would allow carriers to block robocalls – The Verge

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

The new rule would make it easier for carriers, like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, to automatically register their customers for call-blocking technology. As of right now, customers have to opt-in on their own. It would also allow customers to block calls coming from phone numbers that are not on their contacts list. Commissioners are expected to vote on the measure at their June 6th meeting.

Source: Ajit Pai proposes new rule that would allow carriers to block robocalls – The Verge

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Sounds like “it’s about time”.

I love how Gooferment always arrive late to the party and then claims to lead!

I’d like an option that non-contact calls get route to voice mail automagically.

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Eight Questions for Russia Hoaxers to Answer After End of Mueller Probe | Breitbart

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

1 – Was a false crime deliberately reported to the FBI?Former British spy Christopher Steele reportedly met on July 5, 2016 with a Rome-based special agent, where he turned over the unsubstantiated, largely-discredited anti-Trump charges listed in his infamous dossier alleging collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.The controversial Fusion GPS firm hired Steele to do the anti-Trump work that resulted in the compilation of the dossier. Fusion GPS was paid for its anti-Trump work by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee via the Perkins Coie law firm.The dossier contents were so unverified that numerous major media outlets briefed on the document refused to publish stories on the salacious material.The BBC reported that Steele’s information served as a “road map” for the FBI’s investigation into claims of coordination between Moscow and members of Trump’s presidential campaign.

Source: Eight Questions for Russia Hoaxers to Answer After End of Mueller Probe | Breitbart

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That’s a good question!

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Will political correctness kill classic movies? | TheHill

Monday, May 13, 2019

One highly controversial film, and its collective shunning, predates the current PC mania. The 1915 drama “Birth of a Nation” glorified the KKK and dehumanized black slaves, among other revolting elements. Cultural critics marvel at some of its artistic achievements, given the technical constraints of the era, but its content makes any public display cultural dynamite.

Source: Will political correctness kill classic movies? | TheHill

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If we forget our “history” — both good and bad — aren’t we doomed to repeat it?

Every mature person should see the horrors of slavery, the Holocaust, the “War of Northern Aggression”, the Japanese internment, the Tuskegee experiments, the Trail of Tears, the bombing of Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.

Sorry if it “hurts”, but it’s “history”.

We need it to remember.

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Why Did it Have to be … Guns?, by L. Neil Smith

Monday, May 13, 2019

Sure, these are all leading questions. They’re the questions that led me to the issue of guns and gun ownership as the clearest and most unmistakable demonstration of what any given politician—or political philosophy—is really made of.

Source: Why Did it Have to be … Guns?, by L. Neil Smith

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Gun Ownership is the palladium of liberty.

The ability to defend yourself is the essence of the non-aggression principle and self-ownership.

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Harvey Weinstein’s ex-lawyer loses position at Harvard despite bowing out of case – ABC News

Sunday, May 12, 2019

“Mr. Sullivan believed that Mr. Weinstein deserved a vigorous defense, and it is a sad moment for us all right now,” Engelmayer said. “We, as a country, have now reached the point when a Harvard lawyer and professor cannot serve his duty to, and belief in, the law and defend a person who may be deemed unpopular or unworthy of a legal defense by segments of the public.”

Source: Harvey Weinstein’s ex-lawyer loses position at Harvard despite bowing out of case – ABC News

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A liberal college “mod” of politically correct snowflakes deprives a defendant of his best defense.  That’s un-American!

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Warfare State Strikes Again: Another Life Lost to Endless War

Friday, May 10, 2019

The military makes up around $989 billion of the US’s current spending. This number alone should raise eyebrows, but the human cost is simply inhumane. At least 8,000 US soldiers have been killed since September 11th, and thousands more have been wounded. None of these deaths happened in defense of liberty. Rather, every single casualty that has occurred is a result of the power-mongers in Washington DC. 9/11, after all, is a result of blowback.

While the American Warfare State has cost Americans trillions in tax dollars, it has cost thousands of lives and millions of people will suffer from PTSD as a result.

War is far from humanitarian. It has made us less safe and less free. Spc. Riley is just one of the millions of examples of the cost of war. The unfortunate truth is that the government has exploited incidents like 9/11 to indoctrinate the public into supporting the US’s illegal and immoral wars.

If we wish to be free, we must bring the troops home and refuse to fall for the siren song of the Military Industrial Complex. Those charlatans are an enemy of liberty, and they do not care for the trail of blood and corpses that they leave behind.

Source: Warfare State Strikes Again: Another Life Lost to Endless War

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“WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.” –Major General Smedley Butler

Only strategy or tactic is to bring the troops home. NOW!

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Pro-Abortion Decision of Kansas Supreme Court Has National Implications

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Clearly, the people of Kansas at the time didn’t think their Constitution protected the right to an abortion.Justice Caleb Stegall wrote a searing dissent, criticizing the majority for “abandon[ing] the original public meaning” of the Kansas Constitution and “arbitrarily grant[ing] a regulatory reprieve to the judicially privileged act of abortion.”He summarized the majority’s ahistorical reasoning in stark terms: “[T]he story told by the majority is a strange one. In it, all the luminaries of the western legal tradition— from Sir Edward Coke and William Blackstone to Edmund Burke and Thomas Jefferson—would celebrate and enshrine a right to nearly unfettered abortion access.

Source: Pro-Abortion Decision of Kansas Supreme Court Has National Implications

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“Activist judges” will be the death of the Republic.

Words mean what they mean.

Finding new “positive” rights in old texts is impossible since the Dead Old White Guys knew the difference between the RIGHT to be left alone (negative) and a RIGHT to something (positive).

“Cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right?” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

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700 rockets, 4 dead Israelis: Is the Iron Dome getting worse? – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

The number of unintercepted rockets and Israeli fatalities sparked inquiry about the effectiveness of Iron Dome.

Source: 700 rockets, 4 dead Israelis: Is the Iron Dome getting worse? – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post

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*** begin quote ***

The missile that did get through in Ashdod killed Pinchas Menachem Prezuazman, a 21-year old American citizen who was hit while running for cover. Even with a high level of interceptions, with enough metal flying, some are bound to get through, Gross said, adding that it was unclear exactly how the IDF had calculated its claimed 86 percent interception rate.

*** end quote ***

Unacceptable.

“This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we’ll be lucky to live through it.” — The Hunt for Red October (1990) by Admiral Josh Painter played by Fred Dalton Thompson

I can understand that the Israelis are going to strike back.

Can’t say as I blame them.

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Florida man arrested after refusing to remove obscene sticker from window

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Webb said he wasn’t even aware of the state’s obscenity law, but after reviewing it since his arrest, he said it needs to be changed. He acknowledged that his sticker could be considered vulgar by some, but the law doesn’t really define what that is.

Source: Florida man arrested after refusing to remove obscene sticker from window

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“We, The Sheeple”shouldn’t have to fight for their First Amendment rights.

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Thomas Midgley, Jr. may have been the most environmentally disastrous person of all time | Popular Science

Monday, May 6, 2019

In just over a decade, tetraethyl lead gasoline—under the brand name Ethyl, cunningly not mentioning the “lead” bit—had actually captured 80 per cent of the US market. All the way, General Motors and Midgley insisted it was safe, despite plenty of what you might call “warning signs.” Huge flashing neon warning signs. Like the fact that in February 1923, when Ethyl first went on sale, Midgley himself had to take the whole month off work due to ill-health caused by the lead fumes. Or like the fact that workers at the factories that made the fuel kept on dying a lot. Five workers died from lead poisoning at the Bayway plant in New Jersey, and 35 were hospitalized, many of them driven insane by the neurological effects of lead—”the patient becomes violently maniacal, shouting, leaping from the bed, smashing furniture and acting as if in delirium tremens” one report recorded.

Source: Thomas Midgley, Jr. may have been the most environmentally disastrous person of all time | Popular Science

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Poor fellow made a “mistake”, but note the impact of the Gooferment’s “patent system” at the root of this and many other problems.

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What to do when US law enforcement asks for your password

Monday, May 6, 2019

Whether or not these tactics are lawful or Constitutional is a matter that has yet to be fully settled in the courts. This leaves a lot of gray area for travelers to worry about when it comes to privacy.

Source: What to do when US law enforcement asks for your password

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Personally, I’d say “hell no” and be prepared to buy a new phone.

YMMV

Clearly, it’s unconstitutional.

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‘Deep Sleep’: How an Amateur Porn Film Set Off A Massive Federal Witch Hunt

Sunday, May 5, 2019

“But Deep Sleep did have its consequences. I realized it was going to make my legitimate acting career virtually impossible. There had just been too much publicity and too much prejudice, and I was too well known at that point. Which is kind of sad. But you can’t turn back the clock. And I have no regrets because I think it was important that we fought. I’m glad that they picked on us, because we didn’t cave in. You can’t have regrets about anything you’ve done—only about the things you didn’t do.”

Source: ‘Deep Sleep’: How an Amateur Porn Film Set Off A Massive Federal Witch Hunt

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Interesting story about an “adult topic”.

All the time I was reading it, I kept asking “were was i?” because I don’t remember it at all.

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Toilets & Skyscrapers: How Chicagoland’s Elite Push Property Tax Bills Onto Average Joes

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Authored by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner via Wirepoints.org, Many of Chicagoland’s elite know exactly how to pass the property-tax buck onto other residents. For decades they’ve used their powerful connections to cut their own property tax bills and push the costs onto other unsuspecting residents.

Source: Toilets & Skyscrapers: How Chicagoland’s Elite Push Property Tax Bills Onto Average Joes

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“Assessed value” has always been a scam.  Taxes are theft.  If we have to be “robbed”, then let’s use the purchase price of the property whenever that last sale was.  There’s no “opinion” or way to fudge that fact.

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Call Anti-Abortion Lies What They Are: Incitements to Violence | The Mary Sue

Friday, May 3, 2019

It gets tiring being forced to explain, over and over, what later abortion is at this point, yet incessant right-wing obsession with it as a salient political talking point have made it clear that this isn’t a topic that’s going away any time soon. There is far more extensive, accurate, and thorough reading about later abortion, but all in all, it’s a normal, safe, legal, and often medically necessary procedure, often to protect the woman’s health, or safely address extreme fetal anomalies. Yes, it’s rare, but that doesn’t make it any less normal or medically necessary.

Source: Call Anti-Abortion Lies What They Are: Incitements to Violence | The Mary Sue

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As a pro-life little L libertarian, I think “abortion” is a national disaster. With its Margaret Sanger Nazi-like eugenics, it is contra-species-survival and on that basis the current Gooferment policy is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy. Clearly, we need to have a more rational less-heated discussion about the principles and policies. Any true “pro-life advocate can no more advocate violence or killing without betraying their principles.

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Inside Sanders’ Soviet ‘honeymoon’ – GreenwichTime

Friday, May 3, 2019

The trip garnered brief mention in the 2016 presidential campaign, but earlier this year, a video from a Vermont community television station was posted online that showed a few minutes of Sanders’ unlikely celebration with the Soviets. Right-leaning websites suggested Sanders was cozying up to communists, underscoring how the trip might be used against the senator if he becomes the Democratic nominee.

Until now, however, relatively few details about the trip have emerged, and most accounts have relied heavily on Sanders’s recollection. An examination by The Washington Post of the trip – based on interviews with five people who accompanied Sanders, as well as audio and video of it – provides a fresh look at this formative time for Sanders, foreshadowing much of what animates his presidential bid.

Source: Inside Sanders’ Soviet ‘honeymoon’ – GreenwichTime

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Interesting that they called Trump a “manchurian candidate” for “Russian collusion”.

Here’s a “manchurian candidate” running in plain sight.

I don’t understand?

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Can Walnuts Help Prevent Inflammation And Brain Decline? | Worldhealth.net Anti-Aging News

Thursday, May 2, 2019

An earlier study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease revealed walnuts help to provide protections against the brain wasting disease; animals studies showed adhering to a walnut rich diet lead to significant improvements in learning skills, memory, motor development, and reduced anxiety.

Source: Can Walnuts Help Prevent Inflammation And Brain Decline? | Worldhealth.net Anti-Aging News

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Eat your walnuts to stay out of “the (old age) home”!

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

2019-May-02

FROM DGiT Daily 

How NASA’s two failed rocket launches came from fraudulent metals

*** begin quote ***

An incredible story of deception emerged in full yesterday, as NASA revealed the details of a decade-long investigation into two launch failures.

The cause? A metal manufacturer, which produced poor quality materials and then deliberately faked the test results to make sure they got paid.

*** and ***

What NASA and the DoJ said:

“For nearly 20 years, Sapa Profiles and Sapa Extrusions falsified critical tests on the aluminum they sold—tests that their customers, including the U.S. government, depended on to ensure the reliability of the aluminum they purchased,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski in a DoJ statement.

*** end quote ***

So you mean to tell me that for TWENTY YEARS no one thought to verify what was being presented as true?

Didn’t  Regan say: “Trust; but verify!”?

Argh!

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Time to End All Foreign Aid – The Future of Freedom Foundation

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Yes, foreign aid should be cut to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and cut completely and permanently. But foreign aid should also be cut to Israel ($3.3 billion requested for 2019), Egypt ($1.38 billion requested for 2019), Jordan ($1.275 billion requested for 2019), Afghanistan ($632.8 million requested for 2019), and Kenya ($624.3 requested for 2019). Even the $100,000 earmarked for Suriname in 2019 should be withheld.

That is because not one penny should be taken from a single American taxpayer and given to foreign governments, U.S. contractors, NGOs, relief organizations, or individual foreigners.

If it is not the proper role of the U.S. government to provide charity, fight poverty, provide job training, undertake disaster relief, fight disease, feed the hungry, increase literacy, build infrastructure, and drill wells for Americans, then it is certainly inappropriate to do those things for foreigners.

Doling out foreign aid is one of the most blatantly unconstitutional things that Congress does. The list of powers granted to the federal government in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution includes nothing remotely related to foreign assistance. And there are no exceptions for natural disasters, humanitarian concerns, national interest, or political objectives.

Source: Time to End All Foreign Aid – The Future of Freedom Foundation

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Yup.  End it all.  “We” — “We, The Sheeple” — are broke and in debt!

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US judge rules Spanish museum can keep Nazi-looted Pissarro painting | News | DW | 01.05.2019

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Despite the ruling, Judge Walter criticized Spain for being “inconsistent” and not following its “moral commitments” under non-binding international agreements to return Nazi-looted art.

Source: US judge rules Spanish museum can keep Nazi-looted Pissarro painting | News | DW | 01.05.2019

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It’s somewhat “humorous” when a USA Gooferment “judge” mentions “moral commitments”.

No?

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US military stops releasing Afghanistan war information

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

A government watchdog agency that monitors the U.S. war effort, now in its 18th year, said in a report to Congress on Wednesday that the U.S. military command in Kabul is no longer producing “district control data,” which shows the number of Afghan districts — and the percentage of their population — controlled by the government compared to the Taliban.

Source: US military stops releasing Afghanistan war information

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“Move along, people. Nothing to see here. Go home, you looky-loos.” Officer Barbrady’s Catch Phrase South Park

Guess it’s a total failure?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1548650218/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=reifaclif-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1548650218&linkId=fbe1ae5d630f09c520e14983fc18c2c2

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A Failsafe in a World of Falling Safes | TAPinto

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

When Farina tells her story, her eyes always tear at the word “foreclosure.” Her Orange home had four-bedrooms and was beautifully furnished but when the bank foreclosed after just a few months of her struggles, “I ended up giving almost everything away,” she said.

She remains hurt and confused about the quick foreclosure, but “I didn’t have anybody there to fight for me or show me the way.

”She was a victim of the predatory real estate shuffle in urban areas that got more than a few banks in hot water with the government, but she ended up with nothing but the satisfaction that the big lenders were fined. But satisfaction doesn’t pay the rent.

Source: A Failsafe in a World of Falling Safes | TAPinto

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Sure your Gooferment will protect you. Notice that this woman’s banks got off with a fine. Shovel more money into the Gooferment cesspool. Did they give it to her to get back what she lost — obviously not. Private charity is efficient and effective; Gooferment “charity” is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy. It’s a sham. And, it deceives “We, The Sheeple” into thinking that they don’t have to be individually responsible to fund charity because the Gooferment does it.

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