Hired Killers Named ‘Texan of the Year’

The wise, worldly editors of the Dallas Morning News have seen fit to name the “Heroes of Ft Hood” as their Texan of the Year:

“For their dedication, service and so much more, we salute the heroes of Fort Hood as the 2009 Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.”

The News has chosen to honor those who “hear the call” to kill on command as the ruling regime sees fit. After all, they have pledged their lives to defend those who have lied to, plundered, and tyrannized the American people. They have “sacrificed” to make reality the perverted, depraved, arrogant, murderous, insane plans of the American Oligarchy. It’s their “duty,” by God! Why shouldn’t they be honored?

But seriously, I’m sure the News would not have extended such an “honor” if 13 soldiers hadn’t been gunned down earlier this year at Ft. Hood (by one of their own). For some strange reason, people are honored as “heroes” these days for simply getting murdered.

In addition, it seems like the more the military fails in its job, the more it is revered and honored. Let’s review some of the most recent failures. Despite being advertised as a “defense” force, the US military has been unable to defend against:

· A handful of religious fanatics armed with nothing more than box cutters and a suicidal lust for 72 virgins (if you believe the government’s story).

· Lightly armed, third world peasants flitting around in donkey carts and early model, Toyota pickup trucks.

· And now soft, pudgy psychiatrists who don’t even like to shoot guns.

The News is simply performing its primary duties of state apologist- to actively promote and preserve the myths of a benevolent state. They also want to stay in good graces with the powers that be, for it won’t be long until struggling, bankrupt, obsolete newspapers begin pleading for an Obama-blessed bailout.

It’s interesting to see who the runner-up for this award was- Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who back in January merely landed a US Airways jet onto the surface of the Hudson River as if the craft was designed for such a feat. The good Captain’s demonstration of incredible skill and concentration merely saved the lives of 155 people on board. Maybe if the saved passengers showed their appreciation by beating Capt. Sullenberger to death, he would have had a better chance of winning this award.

But then, how can you compare such a feat of life saving skill to the patriotic, inept, savage barbarism displayed by those in uniform, oozing from the Texas hill country to colonize the far reaches of the world? How can you compare Capt. Sullenberger’s measly water landing to The Troop’s whiz-bang shock and awe destruction of entire neighborhoods, coupled with creative, new torture techniques to apply to uncooperative evil doers? How can you compare the sight of scores of passengers awaiting rescue on the wings of that jetliner to the images of tens of thousands of desperate homeless, orphans and refugees searching for relief from their war-created misery? How can you even begin to compare the reality of hundreds of relieved and grateful family members, exuberant that Captain Sulley’s passengers are alive, with the increasing death toll of thousands of Muslims who are no longer a threat to the “Christian” way of life?

C’mon, these guys are HEROES! Sulley’s a sentimental wuss.

Calculated Chaos

I’ve enjoyed reading Butler Shaffer’s articles at LewRockwell.com for a number of years. I finally got around to reading one of his books, which I believe is his first of several- Calculated Chaos (1985, Llumina Press). Much of the chaos that appears around you is not accidental or random, but rather “calculated” or intentionally created confusion or unrest to benefit institutional agendas, and therefore, increase their power over individuals.

The theme of this book, according to Shaffer is that “institutions are the principal means by which conflict is produced and managed in society. Peace is incompatible with institutional activity. Stated another way, the success of institutions depends upon the creation of those conditions in which personal and social conflict will flourish.”

The concepts explained in this book will help you understand a good part of the insanity appearing daily before your eyes and the questionable and even ludicrous responses individuals offer toward such events- sometimes in ways that do not serve their best interests. As Mr. Shaffer explains:

“Until we are prepared to acknowledge, to ourselves, that the demands and pressures from others can exert influence upon us only if we allow them to and that institutional demands can get in our way only if we help to construct the barricades, we shall go on playing the same old game with only minor variations of the rules. Only when we understand that our complicity in institutional behavior is a denial of our nature and our
capacity for living as self-directed, self-controlling, self-responsible persons, will we liberate ourselves and take ourselves out of conditions of conflict.”

Why is Christian Culture Dead?

Back the in early 1990’s I belonged to a book club and purchased far more books than I could read in the small amount of time I had for such activity. Connecting to the internet (with all the fine material available there to read) took even more time away from book reading. I’m just recently getting caught up with those shelves of unread books.


One of those books is The Death of Christian Culture, by John Senior (1978, RC Books). I don’t recall specifically purchasing this book, so it must have been one of those “bonuses” the club would send if you purchased another, more in demand title; the equivalent of a title offered in the discount rack at a book store.


After laboring through endless passages from “great books of our Christian and classical heritage” I finally got to the essence of the message Mr. Senior was looking to send:

• “Pacifism is international sentimentalism- and it is most definitely not Christian. Particular religious sects such as the Mennonites and Quakers are special cases that come under the rule of clerical privilege: Certain men may set themselves aside from the ordinary duties of society in order to pursue some higher aim that is not against the nature of society. Toleration under the rule of conscientious objection is a luxury a healthy nation can afford. But Christianity is not an idea, a theory, or a special privilege. It is a fact. And the fact remains that the history of Christian nations has been continuously military. Christian pacifists have got to deny the universal actual practice of two thousand years of Christianity, and beyond history to eternity with the wars of thrones and dominations, principalities and powers. Christian pacifists begin by denying the good of war and end by rewriting Scripture so as to exclude the good of hell. [hell is just punishment forever.]”
  

Allow me to analyze this passage line by line:

• “Pacifism is international sentimentalism- and it is most definitely not Christian.
  

So Christ’s plea for peace and to love your fellow man (even your enemies) and “turning the other cheek” is just useless, “sentimental” tripe? The opposite of pacifism is belligerence, combativeness, and acting war like. This is appropriate Christian behavior?

• Particular religious sects such as the Mennonites and Quakers are special cases that come under the rule of clerical privilege: Certain men may set themselves aside from the ordinary duties of society in order to pursue some higher aim that is not against the nature of society.
  

If this “higher aim” is considered exemplary, why is it not encouraged for ALL people in society to live this way? Why would such a lifestyle be cloistered and hid from view instead of glorified and promoted?

• Toleration under the rule of conscientious objection is a luxury a healthy nation can afford.
  

In other words, pronouncing absolute rejection to war is only to be “tolerated” until the nation state decides to pursue such activity. Long held and defended principles of peace and pacifism should be discarded once our secular masters (with the blessing of their religious counterparts) direct us to kill some unnamed enemy that threatens the state/church collective. Spoken like a true Christo-fascist hypocrite!

• But Christianity is not an idea, a theory, or a special privilege. It is a fact. And the fact remains that the history of Christian nations has been continuously military.
  

And this sordid history has produced what? Peace? Hardly. Every war creates a seed or seeds for still more wars as the vanquished counterattack and seek revenge. Death, destruction, misery, poverty, and spiritual incertitude are the consequences. Each war moves us ethically and spiritually further away from Christ’s easily understood commands. Each war seems to make the idea of future wars that much more acceptable and even encouraged.

• Christian pacifists have got to deny the universal actual practice of two thousand years of Christianity, and beyond history to eternity with the wars of thrones and dominations, principalities and powers.
  

No one is denying this “actual practice.” What’s being denied is that this practice has produced anything positive, anything beneficial to mankind, beyond strengthening the corrupt institutions that enslave the lives of individuals and diminish their spirit and sovereignty. Instead, the ethic promoted is that an individual should be motivated by serving the collective needs of the nation state rather than by his God-given free will confirmed by Christ.

Christian pacifists begin by denying the good of war and end by rewriting Scripture so as to exclude the good of hell. [hell is just punishment forever.]”

When did Christ ever promote the “good” of war? The author (and his predecessors and contemporaries) seem to confuse the ideas of spiritual war and earthly, physical war. Christ promoted the idea of spiritual war- fighting evil by enlightening the minds and hearts of men to reject earthly evils (including physical war). Hell as punishment? The state/church alliance’s centuries old attempt to create heaven on earth has created a hell on earth that punishes all.

Needless to say, after reading the above passage I closed the book, seeing no need to read further. Mr. Senior’s worldview (and one which I once held) is certainly not compatible with my present view, and reading further would only expose me to blather that once confused my thinking and distorted my reality. As the saying goes, “I’ve been there, man.”

The “Christian culture” Senior aims to defend and promote is really the culture promoted by Christian institutions. That culture includes loyalty and obedience to church doctrine, militarism (and the accompanying state loyalty), forced conversion of unsaved masses, and the acceptance of popes, priests, and preachers as gatekeepers to salvation. While the true Christian culture is that which results from individuals living amongst each other in a spirit of love, respect of life and property, voluntarism, and peace- the very tenets promoted by the Prince of Peace, himself.

The distinctly aberrant culture Mr. Senior describes as “Christian” may have “died” because it does not promote the civilized behavior necessary for a healthy culture to flourish and survive.

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“To me the primary issues that matter in defining libertarianism are coercion vs. freedom, individualism vs. collectivism, and capitalism vs. corporatism. My libertarianism is based on freedom, individualism and capitalism.”
Garry Reed

“I can only speak for myself, but government is not important enough to die opposing. They really don't matter. Instead, ignore them whenever possible; defend yourself when cornered. Withdraw consent and get on with your life, with or without permission.”
Kent McManigal

“Health care reform isn’t about making sure people are healthy. It never was. Like all actions of government, it is a justification for further control and enslavement of a population. It’s about non-productive fat cats living high off the hog at the expense of the politically unconnected working class. It’s about simple ruthless domination. It’s a cynical, insidious power play. If politicians and bureaucrats were truly concerned about people’s well-being (other than their own, of course), they’d resign their posts, find jobs that are actually useful and beneficial, and put government out of business forever.”
Alex R. Knight III

“The United States’ record with regard to “enabling democracy” is also clear. When it has best served the interests of the corporate world order to replace a dictatorship with a formal democracy, the United States has done so. But when it has best suited the interests of corporate power to overthrow a democracy by force, the United States government has not hesitated to do so.”
Kevin Carson

“There is no way that we can create a government that taxes and spends according to some imaginary formula that "maximizes" the "public good." These are merely terms created to hide the fact that the only calculus politicians can call upon is based upon political costs and benefits.”
William L. Anderson

“In a State of Nature, it is true, that a Man of superior Force may beat or rob me; but then it is true, that I am at full Liberty to defend myself, or make Reprisal by Surprize or by Cunning, or by any other way in which I may be superior to him. But in Political Society ... if I attempt to avenge myself, the whole Force of that Society is ready to complete my Ruin.”
Edmund Burke (1757)

“It is a singular tragedy whenever any human being suffers an avoidable death. When that individual is a police officer, we are expected to prostrate ourselves in inconsolable grief. When the deceased is a victim of unwarranted lethal violence by the police, we are instructed to sympathize with the assailant, who has a difficult and dangerous job. Who will mourn the Mundanes?”
William N. Grigg

“Truth is an inconvenience in the consumer society.”
Jim Quinn

“So, no matter what happens, the next time the U.S. government says that some military action overseas is necessary – just say no. Say no to loss of liberties. Say no to senseless destruction of property. Say no to flag-draped coffins. Say no to billions of dollars wasted. Say no to supporting the troops. Say no to the warfare state.”
Laurence Vance

“Statism runs counter to human nature, since it consists of the systematic, monopolistic exercise of a coercion which, in all areas where it is felt (including those corresponding to the definition of law and the maintenance of public order), blocks the creativity and entrepreneurial coordination which are precisely the most typical and essential manifestations of human nature.”
Jesús Huerta de Soto

“Just as war is the health of the state, economic turbulence is the state’s opportunity for self-advancement.”
Charles Goyette

“Personally, I’m not too concerned about what happens when we remove violence and coercion from a given situation. Things resolve themselves, as history demonstrates time and again. Market forces, with their endless choices and innovations, rectify inequities justly and peaceably, when not artificially distorted by governments and their guns, bombs, and other weapons.”
Alex R. Knight III

“What used to be Christmas, and was a joyous celebration of Mithra’s birthday, or the solstice, or something else reasonable, has become the Winter Holidays or, more candidly, the Winter Shopping Season. It no longer has anything to do with Christianity, which has gone flaccid in the suburbs and in the heartland consists of lunatics waiting to be Raptured up to heaven as by a giant godly Hovermatic. You can’t call it Christmas. We must observe the constitutional separation of church and retail.”
Fred Reed

***************************************************

From the Darkness:
“The bottom line is, having the government shut down is not an option.”
Russ Carnahan (D-MO), explaining why Congress raised the debt ceiling.

“We can actually monitor what takes place through satellite imagery and so forth, so I think we are going to have a pretty good idea of what people are doing.”
B. Obama, explaining how countries will be spyed on to monitor their CO2 emissions.

“I think there are a lot of forces that led to the crisis, a whole range of things were relevant there. I don't think that monetary policy was a particularly important source of the crisis.”
Ben Bernanke, absolving himself of blame.

“There were many people who said, ‘Let them fail. It's not a problem. The markets will take care of it.’ And I think I knew better than that.”
Ben Bernanke,

“He [FDR[ simultaneously made government much bigger and much cleaner. Mr. Obama needs to do the same thing.”
Paul Krugman

"They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militias and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one."
Rhode Island Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, describing the opponents of Obamacare.

"In the long run we can't continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences, as if waste doesn't matter, as if the hard earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like monopoly money, that's what we've seen time and time again, Washington has become more concerned about the next election than the next generation."
B. Obama, The Great Pretender.

"There is a strong case not only here in California but across the country for continued federal aid to the states. Absent additional assistance we could see state governments prolonging the national economic downturn by continuing to cut their budgets."
Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project

“No, but I’ll refer you to the legal counsel for the Senate and they’re the ones that lead there as the full legal basis for the individual mandate — and I assume it’s in the Commerce clause.”
Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), when asked where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority to mandate that individuals get health insurance.

“Well, as we have with so many other countries— obviously, we have troops in a limited number of countries around the world; some have been there for 50, 60 years, but we have long-term economic assistance and development programs in many others. And we think that’s a likely outcome in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, that we would be there with a long-term commitment."
Queen Hillary

Image Review of the Week

And don’t come back!




Quick- tax it before it gets away!




Desperate tax slaves take to the streets:

"Corruption is like a ball of snow, ......

......once it's set a rolling it must increase."
Charles Caleb Colton



Your job- Defend the regime and keep the sheep in line:

It’s an individual thing. Peace doesn’t come......

......from following “leaders"

Even destroying a monument that glorifies death, creates still more death:

What says “Christmas” more than high, impenetrable walls, ......

......armed thugs, ......

......holiday adorned jackboots, ......

......tacky symbolism, ......

......seedy decorations, .......

......the hijacking of your health care freedom, ......

......and eating like a pig:

Make a quick exit.......

......and load up the kids, ......

......to escape the global warming:

“Bombs away,!” says the American Fuhrer:

Smiling faces show no traces.......

……of the evil that lurks [beneath the surface]:

Shakedown for Santa

The US Marines have long operated Toys for Tots to assuage their guilt over the untold numbers of children murdered around the world the past year. Now, there’s a local police force that has one-upped their military colleagues in hubris by extorting citizens to “give” to their own toy giveaway- Tickets for Tots.

This news report starts by claiming people have been calling the Sansom Park, TX police, complaining they won’t be able to provide Christmas gifts to their children this year. Do people really do that- call the police about their predicament instead of a charity? Or this that just a phony premise to justify the extortion to follow.

When the friendly officers pull over a driver for a moving violation, the driver is given the option of donating a toy to this program instead of paying a fine. I love how the police consider it “voluntary.” Your choice is pay a steep traffic fine or donate a $10 toy to the kind hearted police. Some choice!

State agents have found a new reason to exact tribute from the masses- to supply toys to needy children! Now the typical non-thinking Boobus can feel good and generous at the same time he’s being fleeced. Ain’t America great?

People have become so impressed with the program that individuals from around the country are sending in donations- having now been instilled, no doubt, with the precious spirit of extortive giving!

Here’s a better name for these monster’s program- Shakedown for Santa!

DVD Reviews

New World Order:
The documentary focuses on the activities of Alex Jones and others active in the “truth movement.” A dedicated bunch, to be sure.
Recommended

American Violet:
Drama based on a true story in Texas. A falsely accused mother of four takes on a corrupt district attorney. A great dramatization of the depraved drug war that breaks up families, ruins lives, and locks innocent people in cages.
Recommended

Jonestown- The Life and Death of People’s Temple:
A documentary that examines the evolution, life and death of the People’s Temple church, led by Jim Jones. A great study of the hazards of cults and the ultimate destruction of individual lives when the needs of the collective are the priority. In this case, the result was the mass suicide of over 900 people.
Recommended

The Falcon and the Snowman:
I watched this when originally released in 1985. I could only remember that it was good, but no details. Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn star as two young men, fresh out of college, who decide to sell USG secrets to the Soviet Union- primarily as pay back for the CIA’s multiple involvements and disruptions in the sovereign affairs of other countries. Based on a true story.
Recommended

The Heart of the Game:
This documentary follows the work of an innovative and creative high school girl’s basketball coach in Seattle over a period of seven years. It also explores the interrelationships and problems of his players. Very inspiring and enjoyable to watch. This film was obviously a labor of love.
Recommended

Trouble the Water:
Another Katrina documentary, but filmed by and focusing on a few individuals in New Orleans who directly experienced the storm and resultant flooding. These folks didn’t perish because of their self-reliance, tenacity, and teamwork with friends and family. They were completely let down by the government they looked to for help. The only disappointing element of the film is that these same individuals (whose self-reliance proved they didn’t need the state) look once again to government to improve their lives and rebuild their neighborhood.
Recommended

The Maiden Heist:
Despite the talents of Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, and William Macy, this comedy never quite clicks. Not a bad film, just not as good as I would have thought. I honestly laughed more during the blooper reel than the film itself.
Not recommended

Whatever Works:
It’s been many years since I watched a Woody Allen movie, but I was attracted to this one because of the cast that included Larry David. It turns out that David is the perfect conveyor for Allen’s pessimistic misanthropy.
Recommended

Little Dieter Needs to Fly:
A Werner Herzog documentary about Dieter Dengler, a German immigrant who emigrates to the US, joins the military to be a pilot and is shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. He escapes a POW camp and endures an incredible struggle for survival to escape the jungle.
Recommended

The Taking of Pelham 123:
A well orchestrated remake of a 1974 film with Denzel Washington and John Travolta leading the way.
Recommended

The Endurance:
Documentary follows the ill-fated, 1914 voyage of the Endurance to Antarctica. A stirring story of survival that includes original film and still footage, as well as some of the best modern footage of Antarctica you’ll ever see.
Recommended

My Flesh and Blood:
An enlightening documentary that explores the life of Susan Tom, a single parent who adopts 11 children, all with special needs. You’ll fall in love with at least two or three of her kids.
Recommended

Benjamin Franklin:
An extensive, in depth look at the American colonial genius by PBS. The miniseries uses much of Franklin’s and his contemporaries’ own words delivered by skilled actors, as well as accompanying narration and interviews with historians. A true renaissance man.
Recommended

Soldiers of Conscience:
Interesting documentary that contrasts the views of a number of soldiers, some who defend the necessity of war, and others who have become vehemently anti-war.
Recommended

The Take:
This documentary examines the 2001 economic collapse in Argentina and the resulting political turmoil. Workers begin to take over their closed, abandoned factories and operate them as worker controlled collectives. These brave, dedicated individuals then have to battle to keep the state returning those factories back to their corporate owners.
Recommended

Angels and Demons:
Ron Howard and Tom Hanks team up again to bring another Dan (Da Vinci Code) Brown novel to the big screen. Hanks plays the same Robert Langdon character. He follows Illuminati-inspired clues to solve an elaborate kidnapping and murder scheme within the Vatican.
Recommended

Best Headline of the Year

I noticed this headline this morning:

Record-breaking storm closes US federal government

May it appear many more times in the coming new year!

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:

“All we ask is to be left alone by those who would control or meddle; to live our lives as we see fit, harming no innocent person as we do. We will deal with any aggressors we encounter ourselves without asking to be "rescued" by other aggressors in silly suits. It is the only civilized way to live.”
Kent MacManigal

“It is not any secessionist movements anywhere on this globe that have trapped civilians in unending chaos. That is entirely the purview of the nation-state. Confiscatory taxation, unending regulation of every facet of human life, and the destruction of our economic system and currency through central planning is the source of unending chaos, both at home and abroad.”
Russell D. Longcore

“It should not come as a surprise. America is now a one-party state. The one party is the Establishment party, which is also the war party. Unless you are willing to cheer permanent war for permanent peace, you cannot be a member of the Establishment.”
William S. Lind

“Freedom’s current plight in America has little to do with Obama being illegitimate as the President and has everything to do with the people of the states being controlled by a governmental system we never created or approved.”
Timothy Baldwin

“We should never forget that Iraqi society has been destroyed. The people of that unhappy land have lost everything – their homes, their schools, their neighborhoods, their mosques, their jobs, their careers, their professionals, their health care, their legal system, their women's rights, their religious tolerance, their security, their friends, their families, their past, their present, their future, their lives. But they do have their surge.”
William Blum

“And that ‘catastrophic result’ for America if Obama fails? That would be called 'freedom.'"
Garry Reed

“When you slice through the blather about marooned bears and melting ice caps, oceans rising and cities sinking, global warming is a racket and a crock. It is all about money and power.”
Pat Buchanan

“The U.S. Constitution does not embody the American spirit. It is a document that grants power to government. The document that truly embodies the American spirit is the Declaration of Independence, which was written expressly to remove all power from the existing government.”
Tom Mullen

“It’s hard to over-emphasize the role of the media in making politicians seem more important than they are — in giving them the “influence” which Time celebrates. Without Time and its ilk, who among us would take seriously the pretensions to “leadership” of a Connecticut Yankee trust-fund baby transplanted to Texas for the apparent purpose of bankrupting various oil ventures before finding his niche as welfare pimp for the local baseball franchise? Or the presidential aspirations of a small-time Chicago identity politics chiseler?”
Thomas L. Knapp

"I hate the military perpetuating the myth that I couldn’t write the things I do if it weren’t for the U.S. military when the truth is I wouldn’t need to write the things I do if it weren’t for the actions of the U.S. military."
Laurence M. Vance

"Those who have been once intoxicated with power and have derived any kind of emolument from it can never willingly abandon it."
Edmund Burke

“This is an extremely exciting time in which to live in America. The people of the nation have been lulled to sleep over generations. The tyranny laid upon them is destructive, and any type of destructive force is based in low energy. Happily, freedom and liberty are creative forces of a very high energy level. Just like light dispels darkness, so too will liberty eventually win over tyranny. People will be drawn to the energy of liberty as a moth to a flame.”
Russell D. Longcore

“Let the market speak. It is the only institution that seems willing to tell us the truth anymore.”
Lew Rockwell

“Like a teenage boy telling a girl that sex will clear her acne, politicians will tell you anything to fuck you over.”
pasquin

************************************************

From the Darkness:

“It must be laid down as a primary position and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal service to the defense of it.”
George Washington [Yep, that one.]

“Now that President Obama is in office and is directing his best efforts towards ending the war in Afghanistan, it will no longer be necessary for this columnist to constantly harangue his faithful readers with diatribes about the absurdity of the continued slaughter and carnage involved in the commendable American efforts to convert that county's citizens over to advocates of democracy and free elections.”
Bob Patterson

“It is important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from this material. The Government believes that parents want assistance to reduce the risk of children being exposed to such material.”
Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, announcing the government will introduce compulsory internet filtering to block overseas sites which contain criminal content, including child sex abuse and sexual violence.

“He’s an action hero in the movies and a climate action hero for the globe.”
Gordon Campbell, the premier of British Columbia, gushing over the appearance of Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Copenhagen climate summit.

“His arguments aren't partisan or ideological; they're methodical, grounded in data and the latest academic literature. When he doesn't know something, he doesn't bluster or bluff.”
Time Magazine, in naming Ben Bernanke, Person of the Year.

"Gold is used for many purposes, including as a reserve asset, as an investment, and for use in electronics, automobiles, and jewelry. Thus, fluctuations in the price of gold can reflect changes in demand associated with any of these uses, as well as changes in supply. In monitoring the price of gold, the Federal Reserve must attempt to interpret which of these factors is responsible for its fluctuations at any point in time. One of the ways we do this is by consulting other indicators of market sentiment. A number of measures of expected future inflation in the United States, including measures taken from inflation-protected bonds and surveys of consumers and professional forecasters, have been well contained. Accordingly, increases in the price of gold do not appear to reflect increases in the expected future of U.S. inflation. " Ben Bernanke, explaining the “data” used for his well grounded arguments.
[Thanks to Caroline B.]

“We at the Federal Reserve believe that a well-informed public is crucial to our efforts in fulfilling our dual mandate of price stability and maximum sustainable economic growth, The more you know, the easier it is for us to do our job. This is particularly true in these turbulent economic times.”
From a new magazine published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

“As a deterrent, a Taser makes a great weapon. A Taser is the best tool for police because it enforces compliance.”
Lt. John Grant, a “school resource officer” in Philadelphia.

“Let's be blunt here: the only way to stop them is to destroy the Iranian regime, the mullahs, and that can only be accomplished through war. And by war I don't mean ground troops; I mean massive bombing raids intended to destroy every one of the key targets.”
Rush Limbaugh

Image Review of the Week

The lunacy expands. The wind and the rain get its own flag.



“The more law and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.”

La Tzu

The Last Polar Bear:

Not as soft as a pretty rag, but it will have to do:

Democracy- the illusion of freedom. “Getting to vote for the warden of our choice……

…….or passing resolutions demanding larger cages.”
Butler Shaffer

Helping hands for the taking. The ultimate IRS agent:

Chickenhawk- defined:

The ultimate abomination- Using religion to sanctify......

......and justify murder:

Order, noun:
Conformity with law or decorum; ......

......freedom from disturbance; ......

......general tranquility; ......

......public quiet; ......

......as to preserve order in a community or an assembly:

No shoe necessary. Berli gets bounced. ......

......Is Obama next?




The tyrant at 10. What next- a babe in the manger?

The Climate Christ sweats out his future crucifixion:

Obviously, the work of a sick mind:

“There is no crueler form of tyranny......

......than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law......

......and in the name of justice.”

Montesquieu

Helicopter Ben shows his stuff: