". . . a republic, if you can keep it."
* Obama Administration will use BP hype to push intrusive energy regulations.
* Congress hypocritical in grilling BP executives about making fishermans’ lives difficult (taxes, regulations, etc.)
* Freddie & Fannie NOT getting regulated, questioned before Congress.
* Government making ridiculous economic assumption in budget forecasting.
* Gold reflecting the fact that our economy is NOT recovering.
Fantastic lecture at this year’s Property and Freedom Society Conference which I felt privileged to have attended.
PFS 2010 – Terence Kealey, Science is a Private Good – Or: Why Government Science is Wasteful from Sean Gabb on Vimeo.
Jackie Bugnion is an American citizen who has lived in Switzerland for 45 years. She had two securities accounts in her adopted country but in the spring she was told that she should find another home for her money. This summer those accounts were moved into SEC-regulated subsidiaries. “I call them the ‘American ghettos’,” she says. These subsidiaries are subject to higher fees and higher minimum investments than normal accounts. “It makes you feel toxic when this happens to you after you have been the client of a bank for years,” says Ms. Bugnion.
American expatriates are fast becoming the world’s financial refugees. Onerous legislation from the U.S. government is making it too difficult – and too expensive – for banks to service U.S. citizens that live abroad. Expats are being left with a fast diminishing range of options. An increasing number are taking the most drastic step and renouncing their citizenship.
(Read more from lewrockwell.com)
Although Aristotle, in the Greek tradition, scorned moneymaking and was scarcely a partisan of laissez-faire, he set forth a trenchant argument in favor of private property. Perhaps influenced by the private-property arguments of Democritus, Aristotle delivered a cogent attack on the communism of the ruling class called for by Plato. He denounced Plato’s goal of the perfect unity of the state through communism by pointing out that such extreme unity runs against the diversity of mankind, and against the reciprocal advantage that everyone reaps through market exchange. Aristotle then delivered a point-by-point contrast of private as against communal property. (Read more from mises.org)
The communist movement in United States has been portrayed as so many embattled victims of McCarthyism. I think of something that Dr. Yuri Maltsev said: that the KGB considered Senator McCarthy the best agent they never had, because he did so much to discredit the very worthy anti-communist movement in the United States.
Great commentary by Saree Makdisi
If, however, it is unacceptable to say that Israeli Jews don’t belong in Palestine, it is also unacceptable to say that the Palestinians don’t belong on their own land.
Yet that is said all the time in the United States, without sparking the kind of moral outrage generated by Thomas’ remark. And while the nation’s editorialists worry about the offense she may have caused to Jews, no one seems particularly bothered by the offense felt every day by Palestinians when people — including those with far more power than Thomas — dismiss their rights, degrade their humanity and reject their claims to the most elementary forms of decency.
Are we seriously to accept the idea that some people have more rights than others? Or that some people’s sensibilities should be respected while others’ are trampled with total indifference, if not outright contempt? (Read more from articles.latimes.com)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he’s a bit puzzled by surging gold prices. The 30% rally from a year ago, on top of gains in previous years, might be interpreted as a loud signal from markets that big inflation pressures are building in the U.S. Gold is seen by many investors as a hedge against inflation risk.
. . . .
“I don’t fully understand movements in the gold price,” Mr. Bernanke admitted. But he suggested it might be another example of investors fleeing risky assets and flocking to assets that are perceived as less risky, not only Treasury bonds, but also ones like gold. (Read more from blogs.wsj.com)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking ways to “reinvent” journalism, and that’s a cause for concern. According to a May 24 draft proposal, the agency thinks government should be at the center of a media overhaul. The bureaucracy sees it as a problem that the Internet has introduced a wealth of information options to consumers, forcing media companies to adapt and experiment to meet changing market needs. FTC’s policy staff fears this new reality.
“There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism,” the report states. With no faith that the market will work things out for the better, government thinks it must come to the rescue. (Read more from washingtontimes.com)
In case you’ve forgotten, Ron Paul endorsed John Dennis back in January.
Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), this race has HUGE NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. Can you imagine a Ron Paul endorsed Republican knocking off Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, in liberal San Francisco??? It is possible. Freedom is popular, and nowhere is it more popular than in San Francisco. (Read more from dailypaul.com)
The Army has detained a 22-year-old soldier in Baghdad in connection with the leak of a military video that shows Apache helicopters gunning down unarmed men in Iraq, including two journalists, defense officials said Monday.
Army Spc. Bradley Manning of Potomac, Md., now being held in Kuwait pending the results of an investigation, was the third suspected leaker known to have been apprehended under the Obama administration. (Read more from myantiwar.org)
Rep. Sherman: Prosecute U.S. Citizens involved with Gaza Flotilla
On a press call hosted by a pro-Israel organization, Rep. Brad Sherman, Democrat of California, told reporters that he intends to seek the prosecution of any U.S. citizens who were aboard or involved with the Freedom Flotilla.
“The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 [PDF] makes it absolutely illegal for any American to give food, money, school supplies, paper clips, concrete or weapons to Hamas or any of its officials,” Sherman said on the Israel Project call, conflating Hamas and Gaza’s civilian population. “And so I will be asking the Attorney General to prosecute any American involved in what was clearly an effort to give items of value to a terrorist organization.”
Sherman also said that he plans on working with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that any non-U.S. citizen involved with or aboard the Flotilla are excluded from entering the U.S. (Read more from lobelog.com)
Texas senator defends Israel over killing of US activist
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) believes the pro-Palestinian activists who were killed in a clash with the Israeli military had provoked the confrontation.
ABC’s Jake Tapper asked Cornyn how the US should react after Israeli commandos killed Furkan Dogan, a dual US and Turkish national who was part of the aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
“It’s become clear that Israel killed a US citizen in international waters with this flotilla incident,” Tapper said. “What should the US response be when an ally kills a US citizen?”
“We don’t know all the circumstances yet,” Cornyn replied. “But it appears to be a premeditated provocation of Israel and an attempt to run the blockade that’s existed since Hamas took over Gaza.” (Read more from rawstory.com)
Brown launches defense of Israel
Senator Scott Brown tonight launched into a strong defense of Israel, saying critics of the recent flotilla incident were downplaying the security threats against the country.
Brown, addressing a pro-Israel group in Boston, tied Israel and the United States together in fighting against terrorism. He also called for further sanctions on Iran, saying “there is no greater strategic threat facing the world than a nuclear-armed Iran.” (Read more from boston.com)
Jewish flotilla to break Gaza siege
The German-Jewish organization Jewish Voice for Peace in the Middle East is preparing a Jewish flotilla to the Gaza Strip. “We intend to leave around July,” a member of the organization, Kate Leitrer, said to Ynet. “We have one small craft so far, in which there will be between 12 and 16 people, mostly Jews.” (Read more from ynetnews.com)
IDF Admits It Doctored Flotilla Audio Clip. Washington Post’s Kessler Must Retract
The IDF admitted today in a press release that it doctored audio footage from its exchanges with the Gaza flotilla in order to paint the flotilla passengers as anti-Semites. (Read more from maxblumenthal.com)
Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn’t about security
As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as “economic warfare” against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory. (Read more from mcclatchydc.com)
Zionists celebrating and justifying Gaza flotilla murders, chanting “death to Arabs”
US Citizen Executed In Israeli Flotilla Raid?