Maoist in the White House – Media Is Silent

A current White House official explicitly endorses one of the greatest tyrannical butchers in the history of the world, and the main stream media is silent (surprise, surprise).  I think we had better move that moral doomsday clock forward.

It is now 11:57:00.

Maoist in the White House – George Reisman – Mises Institute.

Congressional Motors radio ad for the 2012 Pelosi « Green Hell Blog

A funny ad for the future government-designed car.

Congressional Motors radio ad for the 2012 Pelosi « Green Hell Blog.

Obama’s plans hurting the economy: Yahoo “Poll”

Interesting and somewhat surprising.  An AT&T/Yahoo Poll in progress has the following results so far. 

“Q. The president’s progress with the battered economy has been both praised and criticized. How well are his efforts measuring up with you?

Extremely well. We are undoubtedly moving in the right direction.	19%
Fairly well. There’s still a long way to go.	14%
Not well at all. His plans are hurting more than helping.	65%
Not sure/No opinion.	2%

79205 votes”

Unfortunately, I can’t link directly to the poll or it’s results.  The link pulls up a java window or something.  Of course, this is not a scientific poll, but it is ineteresting nonetheless.  I did not think we would see any wavering among the faithful this early in the game.

Free Government Money!

All of the gold since the time of Christ…

Wow.  The cost of “bailing out” the present economy is already up to six times the value of all of the gold in existence since the time of Christ.

At last count, the Federal Reserve and the government have either lent, guaranteed or spent $12.8 trillion in their efforts to get the economy back on track. We know that these numbers  lose their significance after a while and it’s hard to relate to them but we’ll try…

You may remember a couple of years ago when a study was done by two respected economists estimating that the total cost of the Iraq war would eventually reach $2 trillion. At the time, people were shocked. But compared to the nearly $13 trillion for the economy, the Iraq war expenses now seem small in comparison.

Looking at it another way, the value of all the gold in existence since the time of Christ is currently worth about $2 trillion. In other words, just the costs to bail out the economy and nothing else, like Social Security, military, infrastructure, is so far going to be more than six times all of the gold that’s been produced over the past 2000 years. (Just last December the cost was three times, which illustrates how quickly the costs have multiplied over the past five months.)

That is the cost.  And what do we get for our “money” (I use the term loosely)?  A soon-to-be-worthless fiat currency, devalued savings, redistributed wealth, more crony-capitalism, fascism, legal plunder, socialism, war, and the destruction of what little was left of the free market.

Obama proclaims simpler tax code… “just give us all of it.”

Actually, he didn’t say exactly that, but that would make it a heck of a lot simpler, wouldn’t it.  I admit I got a little tax cut recently.  Unfortunately, the tax cut I got came at the expense of other hard working people (the “wicked rich”), as well as my children and grand children, because the feds did not cut spending concurrently.  In fact, I will probably see the bill in my lifetime, with interest. 

We have yet to learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch.   The government takes our money and spends it where they see fit or simply gives it to others, and tells us we will be better off for it–it will magically multiply.  Unfortunately, the only thing we get is an economy of bubbles, misallocated capital, and redistributed wealth.

We ought to get rid of the income tax altogether.   It is nothing less than forced labor and blatant theft.

Can the media really be this clueless about the Tea Parties?

I watched the video posted here of the Rachel Maddow show–a piece from MSNBC, and I was amazed at how apparently clueless these ladies were about the ideas behind the tea parties.  They revealed a slight amount of knowlege in linking them to Ron Paul’s supporters, but other wise they appeared to have no idea what they were all about.  There are two possibilites:  either these ladies are too lazy to simply pull up the reteaparty.com website, or they are purposely trying to confuse people and misrepresent the movement.   Their strange fixation/obsession  on the word teabagging was a notable.  Journalism is truly dead.

They also engaged in the standard “crazy ideas” assessment of Ron Paul and his movement.  I believe it may seem crazy to them.  As Carabini writes in his new book:

 

I have often wondered why those with strong opinions about social affairs are always attracted toward one of two opposing poles. There are those inclined to liberty—freedom of the individual to live his or her life in any peaceful way. And there are those who are inclined to mastery—permitting others to live their lives only as another sees fit. 

 

 

 

 

Ron Paul Tea Party? « America’s Independence Day Tea Party.

 

The Communist Revolution in America, Part III

A few weeks ago I mentioned the nationalization of the banks by the US government to a Democratic colleague of mine.  He balked, “That’s not nationalization!  They are not controlling the banks, only owning part of them!”  I didn’t buy it then, since it is absurd to own without controlling, but now the issue is beyond question.  The US government is assuming the power to take over failing institutions.  I guess they already “had the power”  to take over banks, now they are broadening that power.    Again, it is time to revisit the ten measures that Marx said would be taken by the rising proletariat in order to overthrow the capitalist system:

1.  Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2.  A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3.  Abolition of all right of inheritance.

4.  Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5.  Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6.  Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.

7.  Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8.  Equal liability of all to labour.  Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9.  Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population
    over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools.  Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form.  Combination of education with industrial production, &c., &c.

Bank nationalization?  See item #5 above.   We get closer to #5 every day. 

What other items have we got covered?  #2 is well underway and sure to increase under Obama.  #3 is sure to increase under Obama through increased estate taxes. #6 is already well underway, but the “stimulus” should move us further toward “goal” here.  #1, 7 and #8 are down the road a bit maybe.  #9 is not relevant–they actually want us all in the cities so the earth doesn’t have to be polluted with our presence as much.  And of course #10 was accomplished more than a century ago. 

So there you have it, we have covered more than half of the items.  I’d say we are on the road, wouldn’t you?

I think it is worth revisting the rest of my original post on this topic as well, with special attention to Bakunin’s thoughts (emphasis mine):

Marx believed that this tyranny of the state was only temporary: 

When, in the course of development, class distinctions have disappeared, and all production has been concentrated in the hands of a vast association of the whole nation, the public power will lose its political character.  Political power, properly so called, is merely the organised power of one class for oppressing another.  If the proletariat during its contest with the bourgeoisie is compelled, by the force of circumstances, to organise itself as a class, if, by means of a revolution, it makes itself the ruling class, and, as such, sweeps away by force the old conditions of production, then it will, along with these conditions, have swept away the conditions for the existence of class antagonisms and of classes generally, and will thereby have abolished its own supremacy as a class.

In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.

That last scentence actually sounds a bit like libertarianism, though I am not sure what he meant by the last clause, “the condition…”  But don’t be fooled, the tyranny of the State does not go away, as we have seen in Russia, China, and in every other Communist country.  No, rather it is as Bakunin warned.  Read it carefully and tell me you don’t already see it in our America:

But in the People’s State of Marx there will be, we are told, no privileged class at all. All will be equal, not only from the juridical and political point of view but also from the economic point of view. At least this is what is promised, though I very much doubt whether that promise could ever be kept. There will therefore no longer be any privileged class, but there will be a government and, note this well, an extremely complex government. This government will not content itself with administering and governing the masses politically, as all governments do today. It will also administer the masses economically, concentrating in the hands of the State the production and division of wealth, the cultivation of land, the establishment and development of factories, the organization and direction of commerce, and finally the application of capital to production by the only banker – the State. All that will demand an immense knowledge and many heads “overflowing with brains” in this government. It will be the reign of scientific intelligence, the most aristocratic, despotic, arrogant, and elitist of all regimes. There will be a new class, a new hierarchy of real and counterfeit scientists and scholars, and the world will be divided into a minority ruling in the name of knowledge, and an immense ignorant majority. And then, woe unto the mass of ignorant ones!

- Critique of Economic Determinism and Historical Materialism, by Mikhail Bakunin

Woe, indeed.

And can you believe how much Bakunin’s description sounds like the direction of the European and U.S. governments today?  Administering the masses “economically”, administration by a “hierarchy of scholars”:  Think bank bail outs.  Administration by a scientific elite:  Think global warming.  Think stimulus and car czars.

Leaked Missouri report links libertarians with “militia groups”.

A leaked Missouri report warns police about the “militia movement” and suggests they watch out for cars with  libertarian and anti-abortion bumper stickers (buy yours here).

It’s crazy that the government of the US would fear those who want to uphold the constitution.

They are worried about people preparing to defend themselves against an increasingly tyrannical government.  But such defense was exactly the purpose of the second amendment .

I’m going to have to move the moral doomsday clock forward for this one.  It is now 11:56:30.

Thanks to Andrew S. for the links.

Free America!

Just in from the Ministry of Information: The economy is fundamentally sound.

Where have I heard that before? John McCain.  He said it during the presidential campaign and was mocked by the press.  Now the Obama administration is saying it, just weeks after scaring congress into approving his colossal “stimulus” plan under threat of immanent economic collapse.  Again I feel like Winston Smith in Orwell’s classic.

I am thankful that this has not gone unnoticed by the press:

During the fall campaign, Obama relentlessly criticized his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, for declaring, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Obama’s team painted the veteran senator as out of touch and failing to grasp the challenges facing the country.

But on Sunday, that optimistic message came from economic adviser Christina Romer. When asked during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if the fundamentals of the economy were sound, she replied: “Of course they are sound.”…

Just a week ago, White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszagdeclared that “fundamentally, the economy is weak.” Days later, Obama told reporters he was confident in the economy.

“If we are keeping focused on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy, all the outstanding companies, workers, all the innovation and dynamism in this economy, then we’re going to get through this,” Obama said, striking a tone that his top aides mimicked.

But he’s right.  We can get through it, as soon as he and the rest of the government stop fiddling around with the markets and leave us alone.  On the other hand, if they continue with their “planning” and intervention, I am afraid we are in for a long, hard time. 

I only wish he would decide that, since the economy is fundamentally sound, we don’t need the stimulus any longer and we can repeal it.