POLITICAL: So how do we apply the calculation problem today

Saturday, November 6, 2010

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north900.html

The Police State Is Doomed
by Gary North

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In 1920, Ludwig von Mises wrote a short essay, “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth.”

He argued that socialist economic planning is inherently blind. Without free market prices that are based on private ownership, the government’s central planners have no way of knowing where to allocate scarce resources. This is especially true of capital goods. The planners are forced to copy prices in the non-socialist societies. This was his theory. It turned out to be correct in practice.

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Today, in the Gooferment, they don’t know how to use capital or expense dollars? It’s obvious every time you look at their pronouncements. Real people make decisions about trade offs all the time: If I do X, it precludes Y. Does the Gooferment even have the concept of capital and expense? Look at New Jersey’s version of the Big Dig, the new trans-Hudson tunnel. The Guv is expecting a cost overrun. And, how does that get paid for? But the bigger question is: does it make economic sense? A private entrepreneur investing his own capital would say: does the roi exceed the cost of capital? The Gooferment can’t even phrase the question. They don’t know the answer and because it’s the taxpayer’s money. Or the posterity of the taxpayer who will pay. The politicians and bureaucrats just don’t care.

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RECOMMENDED: A florist in Conover NC

Friday, November 5, 2010

http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Thornburgs.Florist.Gifts.And.Interiors.828-464-9750

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Thornburg’s Florist Gifts & Interiors
505 1st Ave S
Conover, NC 28613
828-464-9750

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Highly recommended. Called on Saturday night; they called me back on Sunday morning. (That’s good.) I had a rush request. (Are there any others?) They were able to stay a little later and meet my need for an early Monday morning delivery. The feedback I got was that their work was beautiful. I am stunned that they went the extra mile for me, a stranger. If I need flowers again their geography, then they have my business. I’d suggest that they should have yours as well.

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Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: How about we end the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs”?

Friday, November 5, 2010

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/21298/holy-father-praying-for-drug-addicts-in-november

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Vatican City, Oct 31, 2010 / 06:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has announced his prayer intentions for the month of November, calling for an increased focus on victims of drug and other substance addictions as well as prayers for the well being of the Church in Latin America.

Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention for November is: “That victims of drugs or of other dependence may, thanks to the support of the Christian community, find in the power of our saving God strength for a radical life-change.”

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Now don’t let the milk on your cereal shoot out your nose, BUTT (there’s always a big but) how about we end the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs”?

So, you logically ask, “how does that help”?

First, and foremost, we give people liberty and freedom. That’s always good.

Second, there is a “natural rate” of addiction that doesn’t change much. Some people will become addicted regardless of what we do. Let’s focus on that. So how does locking them up in jail help? The Gooferment can’t even stop drugs in their prisons.

Third, by ending the PWOSD, and putting WalMart, WalGreens, and all the other legitimate ‘drug dealers’ in charge, drugs will be cheaper. Seriously MJ is a weed. I’ve read knowledgeable pundit who say that the currently “illegal” drugs will be priced like generic aspirin. This has four immediate benefits: <a> addicts will not have to commit crimes to get the exorbitant sums needed to feed their habit; <b> we will immediately drain the profits from Drug Gangs (What does a Drug Kingpin do next?) making or streets safer; <c> pure ‘safe’ drug will be available so, that if someone does decide to experiment, they will not die from a ‘hot shot’ or rat poison; <d> now ‘no longer illegal’ drug will lose their ‘bad boy’ allure as it’s no longer ‘kool’, but boring.

Fourth, by pardoning all the non-violent drug offenders, we will free up needed prison space for violent felons. Also, perhaps, some of the prisons and the associated bureaucrats will no longer be needed and can be freed up to do more productive work.

Five, all those ‘savings’ can be aimed at studying how to effectively ‘cure’ drug addiction — probably a mixture of brain chemistry, chemical engineering, and the assumption of personal reliability.

Six, it would end the corrosive effect of corruption in out police forces. And, it would end the militarization of our police force, as the “war” gets more violent. We can get our Fourth Amendment rights back and return to a peaceful civil society.

Time to ‘solve’ the drug problem by ending the PWOSD!

By the way, where in their precious Constitution did they get the power to outlaw a weed and create this whole mess?

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POLITICAL: The Libertarian Pledge to America

Thursday, November 4, 2010

http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance213.html

The Libertarian Pledge to America
by Laurence M. Vance

*** begin quote ***

Here is the Libertarian Pledge to America:

   * I promise to end the war on drugs.

   * I promise to abolish the Department of Energy.

   * I promise to abolish all anti-trust laws.

   * I promise to abolish the Federal Housing Administration.

   * I promise to abolish the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae).

   * I promise to abolish the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddy Mac).

   * I promise to abolish the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).

   * I promise to repeal the Fair Housing Act.

   * I promise to abolish the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

   * I promise to abolish the Federal Trade Commission.

   * I promise to abolish the EPA.

   * I promise to abolish the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

   * I promise to abolish the Department of Education.

   * I promise to end federal funding and control of education.

   * I promise to cease funding Head Start.

   * I promise to cease funding the National School Lunch Program.

   * I promise to repeal the federal minimum wage.

   * I promise to repeal the National Labor Relations Act.

   * I promise to repeal the PATRIOT ACT.

   * I promise to abolish the Department of Homeland Security.

   * I promise to abolish the TSA and return airport security to airports and airlines.

   * I promise to repeal all federal gun regulations.

   * I promise to abolish NASA.

   * I promise to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts.

   * I promise to abolish the National Endowment for the Humanities.

   * I promise to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

   * I promise to cease all drone attacks and covert activities.

   * I promise to bring all U.S. troops home from foreign soil.

   * I promise to close all foreign military bases.

   * I promise to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries.

   * I promise to limit the Department of Defense to actual defense.

   * I promise to end all federal bailouts.

   * I promise to stop funding the UN, World Bank, and IMF.

   * I promise to end all foreign aid.

   * I promise to end all farm subsidies.

   * I promise to repeal all trade restrictions, import quotas, anti-dumping laws, and trade agreements.

   * I promise to abolish the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.

   * I promise to repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act.

   * I promise to repeal all Affirmative Action, minority set-asides, and public accommodations laws.

   * I promise to repeal the Family and Medical Leave Act.

   * I promise to cease funding Planned Parenthood.

   * I promise to abolish the Department of Health and Human Services.

   * I promise to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

   * I promise to end Medicare and Medicaid.

   * I promise to end all federal funding and control of medicine and medical research.

   * I promise to abolish the FDA.

   * I promise to abolish NPR.

   * I promise to abolish the Department of Labor.

   * I promise to cease funding any scientific research on climate change.

   * I promise to end the FED.  

*** end quote ***

Might it not be easier to itemize what should be kept?

I’d add:

* Repeal the 16th Amendment — the income tax.

* Repeal the 17th Amendment — the direct election of Senators that destroyed the feedback loop to State Gooferment and permitted the unfunded mandate.

* Repeal the legal tender laws

And, I’d add one positive “right”: Federal Courts must always find ANY evidence of innocence admissible, timely, and required. To deny any convict the chance of exoneration by DNA evidence for “technical legal reasons” (i.e., not raised on a timely basis; waived by counsel; expense; other administrivia) is unconscionable.

That’s why secession will be easier. Smaller is better!

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: Why are email riot broke out on a jobsearch yahoo group

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Re: Stop Welfare….. and all Government taxing that is out of contr

Posted by: “Dawn”
Wed Nov 3, 2010 9:03 am (PDT)

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i thought this was an IT roundtable discussion group. if we want to talk about job opportunities then ok. I don’t understand the political tone this has taken.

This should be apolitical, focusing on jobs, not politics.

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Dear Ms. Dawn:

Taken off the mailing list to calm the off-topic traffic down.

Unfortunately the political meddling has taken it’s toll on the economy. Many, including myself, are casualties of the bad economy. It doesn’t take long to realize that there are ‘structural reasons’ why businesses are not hiring:

* Uncertainty — with Obamacare — no one knows how much an employee is going to cost in 2011 and beyond;

* Higher taxes — with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, the Gooferment is going to take a bigger cut of any profits. That increases the ‘hurdle rate’ as well as the implied rate of return required for any new project. That gets factored into the risk calculation. So business is “frozen”

* Higher political risk — Gooferment Motors demonstrated that the politicians and bureaucrats will seize the assets of bondholders, like it was a two bit South American dictatorship, for the benefit of the powerful labor unions, the brokerage houses, and the banks. Why would you ever loan money to anyone when it can lost in the blink of a politician’s eye.

I have a bunch more examples of the chilling effect that the Gooferment has had on the economic climate. But three’s enough.

The reason that the firestorm started is some deluded fool suggested that more unemployment benefits was a good thing that Washington should do. And, implied that the Democratic Party was the more charitable organization. A lot of folks who’s nerves are frazzled, like mine, just descended upon that. Neither Party is “charitable”; nor should they be “charitable” with stolen wealth. Fiscal austerity in the Gooferment is what is needed. Less welfare, and less warfare, and less Gooferment is the bitter pill.

That’s why the political tone. Jobs, the economy, and prosperity are now in the political arena. To think that you can now separate them is naive. It’s like looking for a deck chair on the Titanic … as it’s sinking.

imho, trying to change opinions, one person at a time,
fjohn
the big fat old turkey hisself

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GUNS: I trust that women can tell how their attacker got that fatal bullet wound

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Hmmm, we need to issue all women a handgun when they turn … 14? OK, maybe 15. When did pioneer children learn to shoot?

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/crime/4967-hoplophobia-is-curable

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Gun control is the theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own pantyhose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.

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RANT: You still fly. Why?

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The big question is are Americans “We, The People” or “We, the sheeple”. I haven’t flown since this nonsense started and don’t plan to. I’d suggest that each of us has to decide when enough is enough. As a little L libertarian, I object to the Gooferment infringing upon our rights to supposedly “make us safe”.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. — Ben Franklin

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen. — Samuel Adams

Why aren’t we all screaming and boycotting the airlines?

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Kathryn Muratore
[address deleted]

October 25, 2010

US Airways
ATTN: Customer Relations
4000 E Sky Harbor Blvd
Phoenix, AZ 85034

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing regarding my plans for Christmas travel with my family from Washington, DC to [a town in] CA. I purchased my tickets on your airline – via orbitz.com – about a month ago. However, I just learned that BWI has backscatter scanners as primary screening for all passengers, so I am changing my plans. I was not alerted of this gross invasion of privacy when I purchased my tickets and, having flown out of BWI in June without going through a scanner, so I had no knowledge of this requirement at the time of purchase. I am requesting that you do one of two things in order to keep this customer happy:

1. Refund the entire amount of my ticket so that I can use the money to make alternative arrangements. My ticket # is 03777558XXXXXX and I paid $651.80.

2. Or, cover my expenses to fly to BWI from another airport without the scanners installed so that I can make the flight that I’ve already paid for. For example, I can rent a car one-way (est. $100), drive to Norfolk, VA and catch flight 4084 to Philadelphia at around 1:30 pm, then connect from PHL to BWI on flight 3407. Orbitz has this flight listed at $141. I won’t charge you for the time and inconvenience – just the car, gas, and flight.

My husband will be on the flight from BWI to [a CA airport] on ticket # 03777558XXXXXX and I will be traveling with my baby daughter. Because of his work schedule, he can not commit to any of the alternative travel arrangements that I am considering. This is why, if I don’t get a refund, I want to be on the same flight from BWI to [a CA airport] with him.

I made the same trip in June – from BWI to [a CA airport] – for the funeral of my husband’s maternal grandmother. We hope to see his paternal grandmother this Christmas and for many years to come. Unfortunately, unless the airline industry starts protecting their customer’s human rights, this will be the last time I will fly to California.

I am deeply concerned about the non-choice of a backscatter scan or an enhanced pat-down for my daughter and myself. I dare say that US Air’s complicity in the TSA policy is anti-American, since it violates our Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure, without a warrant and without probable cause. I’m sure that, by buying a ticket from your company, I did not become a suspect in a crime. If I did, then you would also be involved in the conspiracy and would presumably be getting an enhanced pat-down with every ticket sold!

I’ve never been frisked in my life. I don’t intend to be frisked now and I don’t want my daughter to be frisked before her 2nd birthday. And I certainly won’t show a stranger parts of me that I intentionally keep covered with clothing around all other strangers. If US Air doesn’t have the guts to stand up for their customers’ rights, then you don’t deserve any business.

The short-term goal of this letter is to fix the problem of my upcoming holiday travel. But, in the long term, US Air must stand up for what is right. For that reason, I will be making this letter public, and, your response or lack of a response will be public as well. I will state the obvious intention here – to humiliate the travel industry into doing what it ought to have done already: tell the TSA that you know how to protect your customers best and to take their mitts off of us!

Sincerely,
Kathryn Muratore

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IPAD: And, a secondary mail account

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Something is odd in how the IPAD handles a secondary mail account. It doesn’t appear to work. Yet this morning, I see the test message in the McBa’s inbox for this account.

Wierd?

IPAD is intended, it appears, to have no “moving parts”, It doesn’t tell you the progress steps for making the connection or what errors, if any, occurs under the covers.

Argh!

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Election Results

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

With all the angst leading up to the election, and the same old characters are reelected over and over again. You can’t beat the system. You an’t change the system. The only choice is to leave the system!

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: You have to be joking me! Gooferment Motors is tax free.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

General Motors won’t have to pay federal taxes on up to $50 billion in profit under an unusual provision of its government-funded bailout, giving the car maker an added boost as it prepares to return to the stock market this month.

GM may use the $50 billion in so-called tax-loss carry-forwards to shield that amount of profit from U.S. taxes for up to 20 years.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704462704575590642149103202.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

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I’m speechless.

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