Ron Paul and the Pirates

I like the last part of this speech. It is vain and irresponsible of government to prohibit ships, airline pilots, or citizens from defending themselves. Government has always wanted to be the sole arbiter of force. We must stand up for our right of self-defense.

“A little-known congressional power could help the federal government keep the Somali pirates in check — and possibly do it for a discount price.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe.

Used heavily during the Revolution and the War of 1812, letters of marque serve as official warrants from the government, allowing privateers to seize or destroy enemies, their loot and their vessels in exchange for bounty money.

The letters also require would-be thrill seekers to post a bond promising to abide by international rules of war.” (Read more from politico.com)

Missing the Point

Long time readers will know that I am a fan of Bill Moyers, but I humbly disagree with the thesis of this interview with William Black.

I agree that government regulations on Wall Street have been thoroughly, and blatantly scuttled. (Surprise, surprise.) In my humble opinion however, this observation misses the point.

As usual, they speak honestly, but from a certain set of assumption. William Black seems to take for granted that government needs to subsidize bad home loans. Think back to how Presidents Clinton and later Bush W. both bragged about how a record number of American’s “owned” a home.

If government insists on subsidizing bad loans, bailing out incompetent banks, etc., regulation is need. I agree, but that’s a big IF.

In a free market world where banks simply faced the consequences of irresponsibility, there would be self-regulation and investor-led-regulation more stringent than anything government bureaucrats would ever come up with. Irresponsible companies would go bankrupt.

Liberty works, but we need to give it a chance.

Texas Governor Rick Perry Promotes Sovereignty Resolution

If I had to choose between country and freedom, I would choose freedom.

From the governor’s website:

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

(Don’t expect to hear about this on ABCNNBBCBS)

North Dakota House Passes State Sovereignty Resolution

On April 7, 2009, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 59 (HR59) “affirming North Dakota’s sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to demand the federal government halt its practice of assuming powers and imposing mandates on the states for purposes not enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.” (Read more from tenthamendmentcenter.com)

Goldman Sachs hires law firm to shut goldmansachs666.com

“The bank has instructed Wall Street law firm Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan, warning him in a recent cease-and-desist letter that he may face legal action if he does not close down his website.

Florida-based Mr Morgan began a blog entitled ‘Facts about Goldman Sachs’ – the web address for which is goldmansachs666.com – just a few weeks ago.” (Read more from telegraph.co.uk)

Fined for illegal clearing, family now feel vindicated

This story is interesting to me because it reflects arguments I recently heard for private property as a means of environmentalism. The argument goes that individual owners are better stewards of the environment than the government, and should be allowed to operate freely on their on property. In the event that they cause pollution, say, through contaminating ground water or polluting the air, it should be viewed as an infringement on other people’s liberties and handles as a tort.

More here: Free Market Environmentalism

“They were labelled law breakers, fined $50,000 and left emotionally and financially drained.

But seven years after the Sheahans bulldozed trees to make a fire break � an act that got them dragged before a magistrate and penalised � they feel vindicated. Their house is one of the few in Reedy Creek, Victoria, still standing.

The Sheahans’ 2004 court battle with the Mitchell Shire Council for illegally clearing trees to guard against fire, as well as their decision to stay at home and battle the weekend blaze, encapsulate two of the biggest issues arising from the bushfire tragedy.

Do Victoria’s native vegetation management policies need a major overhaul? And should families risk injury or death by staying home to fight the fire rather than fleeing?

Anger at government policies stopping residents from cutting down trees and clearing scrub to protect their properties is already apparent. ‘We’ve lost two people in my family because you dickheads won’t cut trees down,’ Warwick Spooner told Nillumbik Mayor Bo Bendtsen at a meeting on Tuesday night.” (Read more from smh.com.au)

Debt is the lifeblood of our economy. We desperately need to get more American families deeper in debt.

“The administration and the banks keep talking about a credit crisis, but there isn’t one. Banks are lending. If you want a mortgage and can afford to pay it back, you can borrow at low rates today. You can finance a car at low rates for seven years. But most Americans don’t want more debt because it is a debilitating path to poverty. The average American family already pays 14 percent of annual income in interest to banks.

To fix this fake crisis, there are fake discussions about what the government must do. The endlessly recycled plan to buy ‘troubled’ assets isn’t to get banks lending again, because they haven’t stopped lending. The plan seeks for taxpayers to buy worthless assets at high prices to absorb rich investors’ losses. That’s it. It keeps coming back as a different plan, but with that same goal. There is no goal beyond that one goal: keep rich people from taking losses.

Obama and his economic gurus all chant, ‘Credit is the lifeblood of the economy,’ but they don’t mean credit. They mean debt. Imagine the president saying, ‘Debt is the lifeblood of our economy. We desperately need to get more American families deeper in debt.’ That’s what he means, and that’s what these bailouts hope to do.” (Read more from sfgate.com)

IRS tells government everything about you

“The Joint Committee on Taxation today released Disclosure Report for Public Inspection Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(p)(3)(C) for Calendar Year 2008 (JCX-24-09). . . .

The report reveals that the IRS made 5.3 billion disclosures of tax return information to federal and state agencies (up from 4.5 billion in 2007). Here are the Top 5 recipients of taxpayer information:

1. States: 3,182,927,345 disclosures
2. Bureau of Census: 1,842,087,625 disclosures
3. Congressional Committees: 260,592,773 disclosures
4. Medicare Premium Subsidy Adjustment: 40,431,964 disclosures
5. Child Support Enforcement Agencies: 14,856,897 disclosures
” (Read more from taxprof.typepad.com)