Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/7/2010

• DHS Retires Its Stoplight of Terror
  The Homeland Security Department's much-joked-about "stoplight" consisting of different colors for different levels of terrorist threat--which few people paid attention to, few people clearly understood, and the rationale for the changing of whose colors was rarely explained by DHS--has quietly disappeared, with no appreciable diminution in the security of the American people.
• US to Host World Press Freedom Day 2011?
  After the way the US government has treated Wikileaks, how can it even pretend to have an ounce of respect remaining for the First Amendment? The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are to be unabridged. Period. The federal government has no Constitutional authority to prosecute Wikileaks or any other messenger of information, even if that information is the most confidential of State secrets. If the State is too incompetent to hold on to its own secrets, that's its own fault.
• Govt Workers Told Not to Read Wikileaks
  Why doesn't the government want its own employees to know the truth? Half of the time, the official line is that the Wikileaks revelations were so damaging because they destroyed the US government's reputation and credibility (which implies that the leaks revelations were pretty bad). The other half of the time, the official line is that the Wikileaks revelations didn't reveal anything truly bad at all. Which is it?
• Chavez Blames Capitalism for Heavy Rains
  Early socialist "utopias" started as a very mystic, practically religious phenomenon. From the prophetic claim that the course of history would inevitably lead to pure communism, to the promise that in the socialist utopia the oceans would turn to lemonade (not even joking), socialism has always represented an atavistic reversion to the naive, discredited ways of thinking of ancient, failed civilizations.
• UK Govt Subsidizing Prostitutes, Lap Dances
  If you're depressed, you could get a subsidized lap dance, one-night-stand, or gambling trip from the UK government. The best way to achieve a sense of purpose and self-worth, however, is to be a self-supporting, productive member of society. Instead of further destroying private industry and increasing Briton's dependence on one another, the UK government should slash their welfare state and taxes.
• Obama: Jobless Benefits a Priority
  Comments David Shellenberger: "The two wings of the Socialist Party [the Republicans and the Democrats] have decided to reinstate the estate tax and extend unemployment benefits thirteen more months, while concocting a mess of temporary tax provisions. There was a better alternative: drastically cut federal spending, permanently end the estate tax, and permanently simplify and lower corporate and income taxes."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.

Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/6/2010

• Young Americans in Debt Crosshairs
  Writes Dustin Siggins: "The debt commission['s]...recommendations are the best effort since the 1990s to at least take a stab at real deficit and debt reform. Young Americans should thank the Commission for being this courageous, especially in the face of our nation's current and impending fiscal crisis. Estimates of our national debt obligations range from a few tens of trillions to National Review's Kevin Williamson's estimate of $130 trillion. Merely cutting non-defense discretionary spending, or dealing with earmarks, won't cut it."
• 100s of Wikileaks Mirror Sites Appear
  Cracking down on Wikileaks seems to be more of a game of Whack-a-mole for the feds. The question does have to be asked: if Wikileaks, which is merely a messenger of information, deserves to be prosecuted and silenced, don't all the major media outlets that also report the leaks deserve to be treated like terrorist organizations too? Or any individual who reads or disseminates the leaked info? After all, "information is warfare," right?
• 77 Years Without Prohibition
  Yesterday marked the 77th anniversary of one of the few good things FDR accomplished: the repeal of Alcohol Prohibition. With the end of Prohibition, we saw the end of much organized crime, ineffective government spending, and the enabling of police to stop real crimes. When will we make the same connection to the present-day prohibition of even less harmful drugs?
• Govt Propaganda at Walmart Checkouts
  Walmart is joining the corporatist bandwagon in agreeing to display government propaganda videos at checkout lanes, as part of a new DHS campaign. While many conservatives may feel the message Big Sis wants to display in this instance is harmless enough, this gives the government a disturbing foot in the door. How long until the government is using these screens to brainwash consumers into supporting causes conservatives don't agree with?
• Pump Prices Hit 2-Year High
  Bernanke is eager to crank up the monetary printing press to avoid "deflation," yet anyone who is paying bills for health care, education, energy, gasoline, or government programs will tell you prices are going up, despite what the government's official numbers say.
• Web-Based Learning Revolutionizes India's Education
  Comments David Shellenberger: "This is another insightful article by Matt Ridley. One reason to remove government from education is to allow experimentation in approaches to teaching and learning. Only a free, competitive market, unencumbered by politicians, bureaucrats, and unions, will allow the best ideas to be discovered."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.

Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/5/2010

• State Dept Buying Surface-to-Air Missiles
  Will the government never be able to grasp the most basic economic concepts? In an effort to rid the world of Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), the US State Department is using your tax dollars to buy them up and destroy them. Only problem is, this is only increasing the profits of MANPADS producers, which in turn is causing them to produce more MANPADS. ...Yeah.
• Schumer Wants End to TSA Storing Scans
  Sen. Schumer (D-NY) wants to pass a bill that fines TSA workers who store or distribute nude scan images. While laudable on Schumer's part, we need to be realistic. This is the same TSA who told us the bald-faced lie that not only were nude scan images not being saved, it wasn't even possible to save the scans. A leak of hundreds of saved scans from Orlando debunked that deception. What guarantee is there that the TSA would actually abide by this law? What we need to do is abolish the TSA entirely and allow private firms to provide security once again.
• State Legislators Bolt Democratic Party
  State lawmakers are defecting to the Republican Party, following last month's GOP electoral wave. In one case (Louisiana), the defections have actually caused the state legislature to flip from a Democratic to a Republican majority. The number one reason these ex-Dems are giving for their switches? Economic philosophy. The Krugmaniac Keynesianism of the Democratic Party is crumbling.
• 14 y.o. Drug Cartel Hitman Nabbed
  Another tragic symptom of the Drug Prohibition: a 14-year-old kid was found working as a hitman for a drug cartel in Mexico. Does anyone really think that people would be sawing off other people's heads for marijuana, if marijuana were allowed to be a boring, old consumer good, sold in stores alongside alcohol and cigarettes?
• KKK Snowman Causes Controversy
  I can't condemn this strongly enough, but I also hope that this hateful racist's neighbors respect his private property and his right to free expression. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, let even vile racists like this man "stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it."
• Censured Rangel "Still Loves Congress"
  Comments David Shellenberger: "The harm Rep. Rangel has done to the country goes beyond his ethical violations. The National Taxpayers Union gives him a grade of 'F' on his votes on taxes, spending, and debt for every year in the period of its ratings, back to 1992."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.

Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/4/2010

• The Newest Gateway Drug: Nutmeg
  The clamor to "do something about" the latest "gateway drug" is already rumbling. Turns out everyone's favorite holiday spice, nutmeg, is what some kids are using to get "high". Guess we'll have to call for a government prohibition on this too, despite all of nutmeg's non-drug uses, just as we must endure a government prohibition on hemp, despite all its non-drug uses.
• Cops Launch War on Bad Haircuts
  Armed police burst into barber shops throughout Orange County, California, recently, handcuffing barbers in front of customers. Thirty seven arrests were made (mostly black and Latino). What heinous conspiracy was brewing in these barber shops? "Barbering without a license". Of course, this isn't really about protecting consumers from bad haircuts. It's about scaring barbers into paying the State its "taste".
• Principal Enters Truant Student's Home
  Mirroring a scene from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," a NY principal snuck inside a sleeping student's home to wake him up and drag him to school. The principal is being charged with trespass, but what really stands out to me is how revealing this is of the compulsory schooling system. These days, students "belong" to the government school system, and the State is justified in all manner of rights violations to control "their" kids.
• FTC Goes After Online Dating
  The Federal Trade Commission is now using your tax dollars to go after online dating, since individuals clearly aren't smart enough to handle their own romantic affairs. If you meet someone online and want to contact them through a personal email address, if you claim feelings of love too soon, if you claim to be an American overseas, or if you make plans to visit your romantic interest but have to cancel, then be careful, because the FTC will have its eye on you. How long until the government tries to regulate offline dating as well?
• Busted for Playing Chess
  Watch where you move that pawn. Seven elderly chess-players in a NY park were busted by police for not being accompanied by a small child, as the law dictates. The regulation is supposed to deter pedophiles, but I'm not that only letting into the park adults who are accompanied by small children is the best way to keep out pedophiles. Cops say they were following the "broken window" theory (the theory that says if there's a broken window, it creates an atmosphere that encourages worse crimes), but will old men playing chess in a park really make thugs feel more comfortable mugging or raping, in the same way that a dilapidated building might?
• US, S.Korea Agree on Trade Deal
  Comments David Shellenberger: "People need protection from their own governments, not from trade. Protectionism is an immoral use of government power to force the public to support uncompetitive industries, at great cost to the general economy. Rather than entering into trade agreements, and accommodating special interests, countries should simply remove their own barriers, enjoying unilateral free trade."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.

Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/3/2010

• 9.8% Unemployment
  When will we learn from history? All the economic crises that are responded to with loads of government intervention become long, drawn out depressions. All the economic crises that are left to the free market correct themselves within short order, and are actually forgotten about by most historians. Jobs will not begin appearing again until the market is allowed to work through all the malinvestment, free from government meddling.
• Japan Leaves the Kyoto Treaty
  The government of Japan has refused to extend the Kyoto Treaty. And why should they? The Kyoto Treaty was not about conserving the environment--it was designed as a way for countries who were wallowing in socialist impoverishment to eat the wealth of the freer, capitalist countries. There is a reason why socialist countries are the most polluted on Earth: enforcement of property rights is the answer to the pollution problem, and that is precisely what socialist countries lack.
• Govt Surveillance Legally Out of Bounds
  Previously secret government documents obtained by the ACLU after a court battle show that the State has repeatedly overstepped its legal limitations in spying on American citizens. If the government can pry into the most private and sensitive areas of our life, why should citizens not be able to do the same to the government?
• City Cuts Police & Fire by Half
  Camden, New Jersey, the "second worst" city in the nation for crime, is cutting 50% of its police and fire departments, in an effort to balance its budget. Hopefully the government allows citizens, freshly unburdened by the taxation that was previously used to support these public services, to invest in private security and property protection services. If the market is allowed to provide these services instead, Camden will enjoy an immediate improvement in safety.
• Govt to Disable Cell Phones in Cars?
  Some in the government want to put devices on all of our cars, that would disable all cell phone usage within the vehicle. This is, of course, highly problematic, for obvious reasons. The most obvious being: what if there is an emergency? In reality, people would quickly find a way to circumvent these disabling devices I'm sure, rendering the whole endeavor a complete waste of money.
• Chinese Govt Tries to Rein in Private Lending
  Comments David Shellenberger: "The problem in China is not that lending is taking place outside the control of the government. It is that the government maintains too much control through its ownership of banks and its regulation. The government's effort to dictate the allocation of credit is just another component of its central planning, based on the myth that government is wiser than the market."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.

Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/2/2010

• Taxes Hiked on $250k Earners
  Congress passed an extension of Bush's "middle class" tax cuts, but neglected to pass an extension of the "high income" tax cuts (for people earning over $250,000). Regardless of the fact that most people earning $250,000 are small business owners who take home only a small fraction of that amount after paying taxes, bills, and payrolls, the notion that taxing the people who provide the jobs will not be a tax on "lower classes" is ludicrous.
• Palin Wants Assange Dead
  Sarah Palin says no distinction should be made between Wikileaks spokesman Julian Assange, and Taliban or al Qaeda. Calling for Assange to be assassinated without a fair trial or due process of law, because Assange is exercising the freedom of speech and the press (which the US federal government is absolutely forbidden to abridge in any way), shows that Palin could use some brushing up on the text of the Constitution.
• McCain: Keep DADT
  John McCain think US soldiers are not ready to handle serving side-by-side with openly gay troops. He obviously feels that American soldiers are less mature or emotionally sensible than the soldiers of all the other modern, Western countries that allow gays in the military, since other militaries seem to have no problem with it.
• Boehner Tries to Block Ron Paul from Chairmanship
  According to House rules, Ron Paul, as the senior member of the subcommittee on monetary policy, is due to become the chairman of that subcommittee. Soon-to-be House Speaker John Boehner, however, is looking at ways to subvert the rule to keep the House's most prominent Federal Reserve critic from acquiring the chairmanship. Looks like we shouldn't be expecting any real reform from a Boehner House.
• Portlanders Condemn FBI Tactics in Bomb Plot
  The main goal of terrorism is not actually to destroy people and property. The main goal is to terrorize. Destruction is a means toward that end. Portlanders are condemning the FBI for singling out a Somali-American kid, convincing him to try to commit an act of terrorism, and then providing him with fake resources. Residents say this tactic created far more terror in Portland than if the kid had been merely left alone (unconvinced and unequipped to become a terrorist) and watched by the FBI. In this case, it appears the FBI are the real terrorists.
• Economists Hunt for Post-Crash Model
  Comments David Shellenberger: "No model will enable central banks or government policy makers to succeed at steering the economy. The free market is always superior to central planning. Central banks should close down, and governments should stop interfering in our lives."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.

Hardcore Capitalist's Perspective - 12/1/2010

• Foreign Banks Got Most Fed Aid
  The Federal Reserve, originally only intended to be a lender of last resort for American banks, has taken "moral hazard" to a whole new level. Turns out the biggest beneficiary of the Fed's trillions of dollars worth of printing were foreign banks. Now foreigners know they too can take all sorts of wild gambles and fall back on the American taxpayer if their investments don't pan out. Thanks Bernanke.
• Biden Botches Senate Swearing-In
  As though it would make a difference. Why don't we just forget the whole swearing in thing altogether? Senators usually break their oaths with the first vote they cast, so it's not like oaths mean anything anymore. If they did, then we would be trying legislators for perjury the moment they cast their first unconstitutional vote.
• Courts May Gut Obamacare
  A federal judge in Virginia may soon declare that Obamacare's central element--the purchasing mandate--is unconstitutional and void. Yes, I'm aware that the federal government has, at times, forced Americans to purchase things as far back as the George Washington administration, but as Raoul Berger put it, "Usurpation, the exercise of power not granted, is not legitimized by repetition." Let's hope our courts still have some integrity left in them, and overturn the mandate.
• FCC Wants Internet Control
  Over the past twenty or so years, the Internet--with extraordinarily little government involvement or oversight--went from a handful of bland webpages that took minutes to load, to the ultimate information resource where virtually any piece of data you want can be accessed within a few seconds or less. And Internet service continues to get faster and faster. The government, of course, thinks it can improve on this (or rather, it feels compelled to try to control and suffocate an incredible and vibrant free market phenomenon, because of the State's libido dominandi).
• Treasury Bills Fall to Record Low
  Comments Peter Rudolph Zidek: "For the first time ever, the rate on 30-year mortgages slipped below that of 30-year Treasury bonds. In effect, the market was saying that an individual looking to borrow against his home is a better credit risk than the US government."
• Deficit Commission Wants More Taxes, Less Spending
  Comments David Shellenberger: "The plan naturally is focused on maintaining big government, rather than freeing the American people from it. The commission, merely tinkering, ignores the reality that most federal government programs are inherently not only a waste of taxpayer money, but also destructive of our freedom and economic well being. The commission’s bias is reflected in its caution that "budget cuts should start gradually so they don’t interfere with the ongoing economic recovery." To the contrary, huge budget cuts should be made immediately, to help restore both the economy and our liberty."

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Published at RightOSphere.com.