Quote of the Day, 6/14

Legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways; hence, there are an infinite number of plans for organizing it: 

tariffs, 

protection, 

bonuses, 

subsidies, 

incentives, 

the progressive income tax, 

free education, 

the right to employment, 

the right to profit, 

the right to wages, 

the right to relief, 

the right to the tools of production, 

interest free credit, etc., etc. 

And it the aggregate of all these plans, in respect to what they have in common, legal plunder, that goes under the name of socialism.

--Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850)

Sound familiar?

I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice.

-- Friedrich August von Hayek

 

Herman Cain, gun rights, state's rights, and the Constitution

Herman Cain: Gun Control A “States Issue.” Huh?

Doug Mataconis   ·   Wednesday, June 8, 2011   ·   18 Comments

When I saw Herman Cain’s interview with Wolf Blitzer yesterday afternoon, this immediately jumped out at me:

BLITZER: How about gun control?

CAIN: I support the 2nd amendment.

B: So what’s the answer on gun control?

C: The answer is I support, strongly support, the 2nd amendment. I don’t support onerous legislation that’s going to restrict people’s rights in order to be able to protect themselves as guaranteed by the 2nd amendment.

B: Should states or local government be allowed to control guns, the gun situation, or should…

C: Yes

B: Yes?

C: Yes.

B: So the answer is yes?

C: The answer is yes, that should be a state’s decision.

Transcript via Jazz Shaw

This is, of course, entirely incorrect. In McDonald v. Chicago, the Supreme Court ruled that the 2nd Amendment, and its protections as had recently been defined in District of Columbia v. Heller, applied to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. While the decisions in McDonald and Heller do leave unanswered the question of what forms of firearms regulation would be Constitutionally acceptable, it is fairly clear that the protections of the Second Amendment are applicable to the states.

Now, it’s possible, as Jazz Shaw suggests, that Cain simply misspoke under  Blitzer’s rapid fire barrage. The other possibility, though, is that he’s one of those “Constitutional” conservatives who rejects the entire idea that Federal Bill of Rights should be applied to the states. Ron Paul believes this, and it’s one reason I’m not entirely a fan of his. Is this Cain’s position? Does he believe that, not just the 2nd, but also the 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th Amendments shouldn’t apply to the states? Some clarification on this issue would be most helpful.

link

------------------------------------

I believe that the Federal government and the States have no authority to regulate the sale, licensing, or barter of any firearm.  I believe that this is a right reserved to the people, but usurped by the post 1865 National and State governments (mostly a 20th Century phenomenon, after a fascist shift occurred in this Nation).  It would behoove a state, however, to keep a database of convicted felons and psychiatric patients with specific diagnoses prone to impulsive, psychotic, sociopathic behavior, etc. And approve or disapprove purchase of firearms for those individuals on a case by case basis (I have mixed feelings on this type of regulation;  one of the mandates of government is to protect persons and their property.  However, it is a fine line between not encroaching and encroaching on the 2nd amendment right of an individual.  If you give a government an inch, within a few generations, the inch has become a mile...).

I have a problem with using the 14th Amendment to assert gun rights, because it legitimizes the Federal authority, which is unconstitutional and illegal, all the moreso because the authority came through force of arms and persists because of force of arms.

While I am a big State's rights supporter, I support State's rights insofar as they have reserved the right to exercise authority (under proper representation of the people) in passing local laws. Specifically, States have broad authority not specifically delegated to the Federal government in Article I, Section 8.

The pre-1865 amendments to the Constitution/Bill of Rights are inviolate; they are outside the bounds of the Federal or State governments to encroach upon.

That the pre-1865 amendments are superceded by more modern amendments, and rights eroded to the point of being occasionally granted privileges is a testiment to the woefully inadequate assertion of Popular sovereign power, and the bitter fruit of the defeat of the Confederate States of America.

Euro crisis deepens; Greece credit rating cut again

Greece is screwed, and the Greek taxpayers are going to suffer greatly.  Why do we care? Issues of sovereignty of the Greek people, debt obligations with no way of paying for the obligations parallel the situation in the United States. 

Greece may be a telegraphed small version of what will happen here. 

The low income earners are used to government handouts;  they are really upset over government austerity measures and their entitlements being cut/threatened.  Their parallel in the US is the union people such as those seen in action in Wisconsin during the winter, and the SEIU.

Two relevant zerohedge posts today:

And there goes the EUR again. Furthermore, "Outlook Negative" on CCC means CC is next, then C, and lastly, D.
Overview

• In our view Greece is increasingly likely to restructure its debt in a manner that, under the conditions of any package of additional funding provided by Greece's official creditors, would result in one or more defaults under our criteria.
• We are also of the view that risks for the implementation of Greece's EU/IMF borrowing program are rising, given Greece's increased financing needs and ongoing internal political disagreements surrounding the policy conditions required by Greece's partners.
• Accordingly, we have lowered Greece's long-term rating to 'CCC', while affirming its 'C' short-term rating and removing the ratings from CreditWatch. The outlook is negative.
• The 'AAA' transfer and convertibility assessment for Greece, which applies to all members of the eurozone, is unchanged.
• Our recovery rating of '4' for Greece also remains unchanged, indicating an estimated 30%-50% recovery of principal by bondholders. We have revised our recovery rating base case default scenario for Greece to incorporate two hypothetical restructurings: an extension of maturities, followed by principal "haircuts".

link

Last night's major anti-IMF rally at Athens Syntagma square was one of the largest peaceful protests in Greece to date. There was one notable highlight: the dubious distinction of Greece's George Papaconstantinou as Goldman's employee of the decade (speaking of Goldman, whatever happened to that Fed investigation into Goldman's use of "derivative arrangements" with Greece. Reminder: "We are looking into a number of questions related to Goldman Sachs and other companies and their derivatives arrangements with Greece" Bernanke said in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee). Below is a photographic gallery of last night's events courtesy of Preza.tv

link

New Economy humor

This recession has hit everybody really hard...

My neighbor got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

Wives are having sex with their husbands because they can't afford batteries.

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced.

I saw a Mormon with only one wife.

If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her!

A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.

A picture is now only worth 200 words.

When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room.

The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates.

Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

And, finally....

I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline, and reached a call center in Pakistan. When I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.


from an email making the rounds...

Quote of the Day 6/12

“It’s about who we are as Americans; how we define ourselves; how equal we really want to be; how we define federalism from generation to generation; and what we believe government is,” said Blight, a Yale University history professor and keynote speaker at the symposium. “Big government, centralized government was invented in the Civil War by the Lincoln administration. When we debate Civil War memory, we are debating a lot of fundamentals about our social and political systems.”


--David Blight, PhD, Yale University


via The Daily Southerner

Anonymous: Operation Empire State Rebellion

zerohedge.com post today, verbatim

Ctrl+Alt+Bernanke

90 days ago, we requested Ben Bernanke's resignation as Federal Reserve chairman. Mr. Bernanke has not complied with our request.


The Federal Reserve's policies are systematically looting the country to enrich one-tenth of one percent of the population.
The Federal Reserve has deliberately driven tens of millions of people into poverty.
The Federal Reserve is responsible for Crimes Against Humanity!
The Federal Reserve gave trillions of American taxpayer dollars, in secrecy, to the people who were most responsible for causing our economic crisis.
Our tax dollars were handed out as all-time record-breaking bonuses to top executives at the “Too Big to Fail” global banks.
The Federal Reserve gave American taxpayer dollars to foreign banks and corporations.
The Federal Reserve directly subsidized tax evasion by funneling taxpayer dollars into to the Cayman Islands.
The Federal Reserve gave American tax dollars to their primary dealer banks, so the banks could then lend that same money back to the US government at higher interest rates, leading to significant profits for the banks, at the further expense of the American public.
Through bailout programs the Federal Reserve socialized financial losses onto American taxpayers and privatized profits into the hands of global banks.
The Federal Reserve aids and abets trillions of dollars in accounting fraud.
The Federal Reserve routinely manipulates the stock market.
The Federal Reserve deliberately caused inflation in the price of food, gas and basic necessities, while devaluing the dollar!
The Federal Reserve represents the central planning force behind a global banking cartel that has deliberately impoverished people throughout the world.
US Politicians have not taken action to break up the Federal Reserve and the “Too Big To Fail” Banks.
US Politicians have not taken action to prosecute the people who caused our economic crisis.
US Politicians have not taken action to end the system of political bribery, the campaign finance and lobbying racket, which allows global bankers to control our political process.
Democrats have failed us.
Republicans have failed us.
No one is defending our interests.
We cannot remain passive while our future is going up in flames.
It is time for us to stand up for ourselves.
It is time for you to stand up for yourself.
We must restore the rule of law and fight back against the organized criminal class.
We must now launch Operation Empire State Rebellion.
The operation will commence on June 14th.
As a first step, we are calling upon you to occupy a public space until Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke steps down.


Operation Empire State Rebellion, Engaged.


We'll see if any actions back up the words.

DOJ Racial quota scandal: another Eric Holder headache

Judicial Watch uncovered hundreds of documents from the City of Dayton, Ohio, showing that Department of Justice (DOJ) officials pressured the Dayton Police and Fire Departments to lower testing standards because not enough African-American candidates passed the written exam. On May 25, Judicial Watch also filed a lawsuit against the DOJ to obtain additional records related to the Dayton program after the DOJ failed to respond to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 11-971)).

Here’s how messed up the situation has gotten at the Obama DOJ when it comes to racial discrimination.  As you may recall, the DOJ abandoned its own lawsuit against members of the radical New Black Panther Party who threatened and intimidated white voters on Election Day 2008.  (The leftist NAACP appears to have helped call the shots on the case dismissal.)

link to Breitbart Big Government story.

"Sorry I ruined your Black Panther Party"

Soylent Greenbacks

For the uninitiated, Soylent Green

Brilliant stuff via zero hedge contributor williambanzai7.

Legal thugs, wasting your (tax) money: FDA seizes entrepeneur's portable hot tubs

My wife is doctor-phobic and needle-phobic.  While we are conservative both socially and religiously, we ended up with a very "earthy-crunchy" solution for each of my three kid's births.  

My oldest was born in a freestanding birthing center (5 minutes from a hospital).  After I talked myself into a comfort level with the idea, our two girls were born at home.  My wife was attended by a midwife (who has OB backup), and a doula.  We used portable 5 foot diameter heated (96 degrees) birthing tubs we rented from waterbirth.org.  The woman who runs the organization, Barbara Harper, became friendly with my wife during that time, and they still keep in touch.  Recently, Barbara posted the following on her facebook page.

FDA seizes portabale Birth Pools

by Barbara Harper on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 9:20pm

Okay, here is a big problem that has been lurking for a few months. The FDA has seized all the portable birth pools that are currently imported and are threatening to destroy them. They claim they are unregistered medical equipment, but they are not providing a way or means to get them registered. In other words, if the medical authorities can't stop waterbirth, then just have the FDA take away the birth pools. This IS SERIOUS my dear ones!!! VERY SERIOUS!!!


I'll write more very soon. But, put on your thinking caps. Yes, lawyers and business advisors are involved. My first run in with the FDA was in 2000.


Just think, they might knock on your door and seize your bath tub!!!

 

In this case, I hope all's well that ends well:

 

FDA releases tubs, but needs further assistance with education

by Barbara Harper on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 2:59pm

This just in from Waterbirth Solutions......


The FDA called to notify me that they were releasing our Aquaborn inventory that has been on "Retention" for two months, as well as all future inflatable birth pools.


At this time, they are still reviewing birth pools, but they are NOT classifying them as Medical Devices.


The vendors involved were fully prepared to argue strenuously against Medical Device classification and at this time it appears this does not need to be done.  Basic argument is that we are selling a vessel and that the WATER is what provides the benefit to the woman.


They asked me for information about how to collect data from the vendors involved to further their understanding of waterbirth.  I suggested they contact ACNM, MANA etc., professional organizations.  I said the natural birth community would be happy to engage in a fact-based, open discussion about waterbirth.  I suggested that all views be considered as long as they had data to back up their claim.  As in, ACOG has no data to support their position on waterbirth.


This is fantastic news and I wanted to share it asap!
Thanks goes to everyone that offered to help during this tense time.


-------------------


As I was considering writing this post, I came across an article from Harvard Law School from 2002, written in regard to the power of the Food and Drug Administration's power to confiscate.  


It concludes thus:

V. Conclusion
The system may be described as bent but not broken. The seizure power is not wielded constantly, although it may dangle over the heads of some owners like the sword of Damocles. Although the system functions adequately, it could be made to work better. The issuing of warrants on less than probable cause, coupled with post-seizure hearings and a limited right of recompense, although all small potatoes in their own right, together can amount to a genuine burden on the affected property owner.  

Seizure is a weapon: “Some litigators believe that if there is an advantage to be taken, it should be taken. Whatever the propriety of that view in ordinary civil litigation between private parties, it is to be hoped that governmental agencies such as the FDA would take a different approach.”221    

It would not tax FDA or judicial resources too greatly to consider the rights of the wrongly accused owner, or the potentially wrongly accused, a little more carefully. --link

(emphasis added)

My point in posting what you might consider a minor matter:
The arbitrary and brutal nature of government is power; power asserted.   


Sometimes government force is wielded against genuine criminals, sometimes it is wielded against the innocent.


Sometimes against "criminals" that commit no actual crime against persons or their property, but have violated a law passed to assert government control over an industry--such is the case here.  


In Barbara's case, she is a private individual, an entrepeneur, and a passionate woman who's goal is to make a woman's birth process wonderful and memorable.  


Because the birthing pools were held for two months, Mrs. Harper lost the income of the rentals, and lost income in hiring attorneys, not being able to focus on her clients, etc.,.  


Why did she lose all of this time and money?  


Over bullsh*t arbitrary rules that are meant to assert control, not to protect the public.  In other words, this is good example of a betrayal of the mandate of the law--to protect people's lives and their property.  That is the only reason to have a government.


   This incident shows government for what it actually is:  the guys with the most guns, "a gang of thieves writ large", the largest protection racket around, you get the point.  Protecting the public interest has become (or has always been, what do I really know?) the window dressing to legitimize their existence, not the reality on the ground.


Here is your tax money at work:  the FDA spends the man-hours paying their agents to investigate, raid, confiscate and store portable HOT TUBS, alleging that they are unregistered "medical devices".


The FDA agent in charge of this effort either is stupid or disingenuous...either way, not good for us, the public.  


Either he doesn't know a lick about giving natural childbirth in a pool of warm water (can also be done in a hot spring or an oversize bathtub;  is a hot spring an unregistered medical device?  It is the buoyancy of the water and the warmth of the water that takes the edge off of labor, not the tub), or is trying to extort money from this business owner, is trying to crush her business in particular, or is part of an ongoing and broad organized medicine/government collusion against non-physician medical practitioners (e.g. midwives).


So here it is again: (By definition -- Legal) thuggery and theft of private property on a small scale.


If they can do it using the FDA to Barbara Harper, what will stop them from doing it to you or your employer under some other agency or pretext?  How much of your tax money is wasted in this manner?


It was supposed to be the Bill of Rights and Constitutional limits on governmental power to protect us, but less and less and less since the sad conclusion of the War of Northern Aggression.

Evidence supporting the assertion that New Yorkers are retards

More than half of U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner’s constituents want him to stay in office even though the married lawmaker has admitted sending inappropriate photos and messages to women he met online, according to a poll released today.

A survey by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion and NY1, a New York City television news station, found that 56 percent of registered voters in Weiner’s district say he shouldn’t resign, while 33 percent want him to quit.

Weiner has been one of the Democrats’ leading voices attacking Republican positions on health care, with camera-ready sound bites that garnered as many as 1 million hits on YouTube. Registered voters in Weiner’s district are divided on how effective he can be if he remains in office, with 48 percent saying he can continue to be effective and 43 percent saying they don’t believe he can.

Bloomberg link.

.PDF file of SWAT raid for student loan default

"them" vs. "us" mundanes


http://www.news10.net/news/pdf/Ed-dept-Wright-warrant-060711.pdf

Had warrant, but a SWAT no-knock entry  for student loan default?

Via sipsey street irregulars.

Quote of the Day, 6/8

Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.

That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.

--Richard Henry Lee, Virginia Delegate to the Continental Congress, June 7, 1776

SWAT raid for...wait for it...wait for it...student loan default!

fed.gov: really nice, once you get to know them

STOCKTON, CA - Kenneth Wright does not have a criminal record and he had no reason to believe a S.W.A.T team would be breaking down his door at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

"I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers," Wright said.

Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts as a S.W.A.T team barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.

"He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there," Wright said.

According to Wright, officers also woke his three young children ages 3, 7, and 11 and put them in a Stockton police patrol car with him. Officers then searched his house.

As it turned out, the person law enforcement was looking for was not there - Wright's estranged wife.

"They put me in handcuffs in that hot patrol car for six hours, traumatizing my kids," Wright said.

link here, via drudgereport.com

Tom Woods: Nullification, MSM Zombies, Peace, and Liberty

He speaks for 48 minutes, but it is worth it--make the time.

In this recent speech, he references another video he did, which is the 2nd one posted below.





Premise of the 2nd video: the "zombie" represents the left mainstream media; he can only say one word at a time. Implication: No difference between being interviewed by Rachel Maddow, Olbermann, Ed Schultz, etc., because they don't want to discuss the content, only smear...


Enjoy.

Quote of the Day 6/6

 

"You cannot win a bet on the end of the world. You either lose because you're wrong or you lose because you're right and can't collect." -- Karl Denninger, market-ticker.org

The government tornado

Is it windy in your neighborhood? 

From today's Townhall.com conservative cartoon of the day, which I get by email subscription.

Operation Gunwalker update. Escalation; Eric Holder to prison?

Sipsey Street Exclusive: Gunwalker Scandal hearings to proceed in 3 phases."Eric Holder is toast. If he stays out of federal prison I'll be surprised"

The Gunwalker Twins. Under oath, together again. Coming soon to a House committee near you.

There's been a lot of scrambling this weekend behind the scenes at the Gunwalker Corral, especially since Congressman Issa's FOX interview. I just confirmed with a second source this morning that the hearings promised by Issa are planned to proceed in phases. This, it was explained to me, is necessitated by the continuing stonewall of the Obama administration. "They're going to go with with they've got or they'll be waiting for documents until Hell freezes over. They've figured out what the rest of us knew all along -- that the only way to break the cover-up is under oath."

As described by the sources close to the investigation, Phase I will be "the presentation of allegations and factual information, evidence, and intended direction of the continuing investigation." This will include documents already presented to Senaqtor Grassley and Congressman Issa by whistleblower ATF agents. Senator Grassley will be among the first witnesses before Issa’s panel. Family members of Project Gunwalker victims are expected to testify, as well as other witnesses with first-hand knowledge of the conspiracy whose knowledge runs from Arizona to DC.

Phase II, according to my sources, "will focus on Mexico issues with witnesses called who have first hand Mexico information."

Phase III will be when it really gets interesting, when all the big names in ATF and DOJ complicit in this scandal who have been uncovered in the previous two phases are called to explain themselves. One source characterized this as "the testimony of compromised participants to include the numerous ATF and DOJ employees with dirt, blood or both on their hands."

"After Phase III is done, the next step will be a Special Prosecutor with broad powers to get at the rest of the truth and proffer charges against some of the highest officials in the land," said another source. "Eric Holder is toast," he added. "If he stays out of federal prison, I'll be surprised."

 

verbatim from Sipsey Street Irregulars, originator of the Gunwalker story

Where the economy is now, and where it's going.

From one of the most reliable predictors of economic turns, Peter Schiff:

Walter Williams: Welfare society, minimum wage has destroyed the Black family

Strike a blow for freedom: Ron Paul moneybomb today

Believe me, the next step is a currency crisis because there will be a rejection of the dollar, the rejection of the dollar is a big, big event, and then your personal liberties are going to be severely threatened.---Ron Paul

Please donate at least $20.12, or as much as you can afford, to the most consistent and loyal constitutionalist member of Congress in our generation.

Ron Paul for President.

I donated as much as I could afford today, I wish it was more.

I know a lot of you feel the same as I do.  Put your money where your mouth is.






Also, link to moneybomb radio show today.