LIBERTY: “Too big to fail” is a gooferment failure

Saturday, May 30, 2009

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=12177

Break Up These Banks
by: Mike Lux
Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 17:00

*** begin quote ***

I also fundamentally agree with David Sirota that if these corporations are too big to fail, then they are too big to exist: a proposition also agreed to by the populists and progressives of the late 1800s/early 1900s, by Abe Lincoln, by Teddy Roosevelt, by FDR, by Harry Truman. Progressives of all eras have understood that corporations that grow too enormous threaten our economy and our democracy, and should be woken up into smaller entities that can’t do so much damage when they are mismanaged. The era of bank consolidation has to come to an end, and these monsters need to be broken into smaller companies just like Standard Oil was in the early 1900s.

*** end quote ***

Very good point.

“To big to fail, then they are too big”

It would seem that’s a great principle of regulation!

Wonder why none of the “brains” ever thought of it?

Could it be that the politicians need things big to get political contributions?

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TECHNOLOGY: Microsoft slips a “vulnerability” into Firefox

Saturday, May 30, 2009

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/05/microsoft_update_quietly_insta.html

*** begin quote ***

When I first learned of this, three thoughts immediately flashed through my mind:

1) How the %#@! did I miss this?

2) The right way would have been to just publish the add-on at Mozilla’s Add Ons page.

3) This kind of makes you wonder what else MS is installing without your knowledge.

Then I found that I wasn’t the only one who had these ideas. Microsoft has heard these criticisms from others who long ago commented on this unfortunate development (see the comments underneath this post).

Anyway, I’m sure it’s not the end of the world, but it’s probably infuriating to many readers nonetheless. Firstly — to my readers — I apologize for overlooking this…”feature” of the .NET Framework security update. Secondly — to Microsoft — this is a great example of how not to convince people to trust your security updates.

By Brian Krebs | May 29, 2009; 7:40 AM ET

*** end quote ***

One reason that I have left the Microsoft “flock” is their continued insistence on “secret hidden updates”. It similar to the problem of “cloud computing” in that your “production quality” software changes under your very nose!

The other huge reason is WGA aka as “You Pirate; You Screwed”. (I’ve had more legitimate copies of XP “nuked” by WGA after all sorts of trivial events!)

Linux everywhere anyone?

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RANT: The goofment punishes taxpayers?

Saturday, May 30, 2009

http://www.lifenews.com/state4165.html

Louisiana Nurse Wins State Supreme Court Battle in Plan B Conscience Case
by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor
May 20, 2009

*** begin quote ***

Baton Rouge, LA (LifeNews.com) — A Louisiana nurse won her battle at the state Supreme Court last Friday when it refused to hear a hospital’s appeal of a lower court decision siding with her. The nurse, Toni Lemly, sued St. Tammany Parish Hospital in 2005 after it refused to grant a reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs.

*** end quote ***

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See this is where it gets confusing to me.

The hospital is the gooferment for all intents and purposes.

The Constitution says we have religious freedom.

So now we taxpayers have to pay for when the gooferment doesn’t follow its own rules.

And, exactly how does this punish anyone but the taxpayer?

Can I get off this delusional merry go round? It’s making me sick.

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MONEY: Why would anyone ever buy a bond?

Friday, May 29, 2009

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Shelby-assails-large-govt-apf-15380626.html?.v=4

Shelby assails large gov’t role in General Motors
Top Banking panel GOP member raps large federal stake in financially beleaguered GM Corp.
    * On Friday May 29, 2009, 8:27 am EDT
    * General Motors Corporation

*** begin quote ***

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Richard Shelby said Friday the government should have allowed the marketplace to decide General Motors’ fate and that the huge federal stake in the company puts Washington on “the road to socialism.”

Shelby, ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, argued that the financially beleaguered GM could have saved “lots of money” if it had chosen six months ago to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

“What I worry about” is Washington’s large interest in the company, the senator said in a nationally broadcast network interview. “It’s basically going to be a government-owned, government-run company … a company that has been sadly run into the ground.”

*** end quote ***

IMHO, the gooferment has no right to steal from the bond holders their rightful value. It would seem that there is a Fifth Amendment (“takings”) suit here.

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RANTING: Men, specifically fathers, not required!

Friday, May 29, 2009

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133640.html

New at Reason: Cathy Young on Why Single Motherhood is on the Rise
May 21, 2009, 3:00pm

*** begin quote ***

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics with the dry title, “Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States,” contains startling news: births to single mothers, which had leveled off in the early 2000s, have risen sharply in recent years. Some sociologists believe we have reached a tipping point: the link between marriage and parenthood is no longer the norm. Why is this happening, and what does it mean for women, children, and men? There are no simple answers, writes Contributing Editor Cathy Young, only difficult questions that we ignore at our peril.

*** end quote ***

(1) Families ensured that children were nurtured.

(2) Positive male role models keep young boys in check and reassure young girls that they are valued.

(3) Intergenerational care was assured.

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MONEY: If You Care About the Uninsured

Friday, May 29, 2009

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133627.html

If You Care About the Uninsured, Please Drink Budweiser. Or Schlitz. Or Coors. Or Hamm’s. It Doesn’t Really Matter What Beer You Drink, Only That You Drink a Highly Taxed Beer. And If You Really Care About The Uninsured, Why Not Drink a Case of Beer?

Nick Gillespie | May 21, 2009, 7:21am

*** begin quote ***

Is it too late to take it all back, this loose talk about legalizing “vices” and then taxing them?

Some details on a “proposed beer tax” currently working its way through Congress like a kidney stone through Ted Kennedy’s man-parts. It’s all over but the shouting, screaming, and gnashing of teeth:

   Consumers in the United States may have to hand over nearly $2 more for a case of beer to help provide health insurance for all.

   Details of the proposed beer tax are described in a Senate Finance Committee document that will be used to brief lawmakers Wednesday at a closed-door meeting.

   Taxes on wine and hard liquor would also go up. And there might be a new tax on soda and other sugary drinks blamed for contributing to obesity. No taxes on diet drinks, however.

   Beer taxes would go up by 48 cents a six-pack, wine taxes would rise by 49 cents per bottle, and the tax on hard liquor would increase by 40 cents per fifth. Proceeds from the new taxes would help cover an estimated 50 million uninsured Americans.

*** end quote ***

And, of course, there won’t be any discussion of:

(1) Why do beer drinkers have to pay for the “uninsured”?

(2) Who is in the 50M “uninsured”? (Young people, people who could afford insurance, illegal aliens, UAW pensioners)

(3) Why is the government in the health insurance business in the first place?

Argh!

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POLITICAL: CA debt is a Federal problem?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090527/D98EPK2O1.html  

Calif. wants federal government to back its loans
May 27, 3:52 PM (ET)
By JUDY LIN

*** begin quote ***

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – If AIG was too big to fail, how about the world’s eighth-largest economy?

In a move with only one modern-day precedent, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration and members of Congress for federal loan guarantees to help the state out of a desperate, multibillion-dollar jam.

California is not asking for cash, like the tens of billions given to AIG, General Motors or Morgan Stanley. (MS) Instead, the state with the worst credit rating in the nation is asking that Washington act as a sort of co-signer on the state’s borrowing, to be backed up with money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

*** end quote ***

No!

The S&L crisis started with Federal guarantees.

And, why should the taxpayers be bailing out CA bond holdrs?

Sorry, that the breaks.

Maybe CA should elect some politicians with fiscal responsibility.

What happens when and if CA goes under?

Has it ever happened before?

Maybe CA should secede? Or the USA from it.

Like voting it off the continent?

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: The Gooferment; do you trust it?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/05/on_the_anonymit.html

May 21, 2009
On the Anonymity of Home/Work Location Pairs

*** begin quote ***

“On the Anonymity of Home/Work Location Pairs,” by Philippe Golle and Kurt Partridge:

   Many applications benefit from user location data, but location data raises privacy concerns. Anonymization can protect privacy, but identities can sometimes be inferred from supposedly anonymous data. This paper studies a new attack on the anonymity of location data. We show that if the approximate locations of an individual’s home and workplace can both be deduced from a location trace, then the median size of the individual’s anonymity set in the U.S. working population is 1, 21 and 34,980, for locations known at the granularity of a census block, census track and county respectively. The location data of people who live and work in different regions can be re-identified even more easily. Our results show that the threat of re-identification for location data is much greater when the individual’s home and work locations can both be deduced from the data. To preserve anonymity, we offer guidance for obfuscating location traces before they are disclosed.

*** end quote ***

Bruce Schneier highlights that “anonymous data” ain’t so anonymous. AND, the Census is going to collect geo tracking data in the next census. Good bye privacy.

Who authorized the gooferment to do more than count?

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LIBERTY: The video camera is the new gun of the Liberty Army

Thursday, May 28, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR0YAghdHSY&feature=player_embedded

Fifteen minute video as Judge N helps rally the People against the power of the overbearing State.

Highly recommended on several levels.

Obviously, the Judge was impressed with the use of technology.

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LIBERTY: Search by the FCC?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/fcc-raid/

FCC’s Warrantless Household Searches Alarm Experts
    * By Ryan Singel Email Author
    * May 21, 2009 |

*** begin quote ***

You may not know it, but if you have a wireless router, a cordless phone, remote car-door opener, baby monitor or cellphone in your house, the FCC claims the right to enter your home without a warrant at any time of the day or night in order to inspect it.

That’s the upshot of the rules the agency has followed for years to monitor licensed television and radio stations, and to crack down on pirate radio broadcasters. And the commission maintains the same policy applies to any licensed or unlicensed radio-frequency device.

*** end quote ***

Sure, the Fourth Amendment no longer applies in Amerika!

Argh!

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