American Ruling Class

White House: Fed Chief Race Down To Two

"The White House whittled down its candidates to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to two names: Current Fed Vice-Chair Janet Yellen and long-time Washington, D.C., economic guru Larry Summers. Both candidates bring strong resumes, decades of experience with U.S. monetary policy, and about an equal amount of baggage. Yellen’s favorables include serving the past three years as Bernanke’s second in command, a factor that would presumably soothe potential market fears of a significant change in Fed policy. Yellen is known as a strong supporter of the easy money policies initiated by the Fed in the wake of the financial crisis." Continue reading →

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Who Owns Congress? The NSA or the FED?

"What did it tell Congress? It did not have to tell Congress anything. Congress knows who has the phone data of every member of Congress. But what about 'We, the people?' Them, too. Then who owns Congress? The NSA spies on the FED. It can blackmail any FED official at any time -- just as it can blackmail any member of Congress. Yes, the FED can cut off the government's money. Maybe Congress will then cut off the NSA's funding. But it never has in the past. So, the Federal Reserve is not the owner of Congress. It merely holds a long-term sublease through a lease arrangement from the NSA." Continue reading →

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NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly defends stop-and-frisk in appeal to public

"With his law enforcement legacy hanging in the balance, New York City’s police chief has turned to the media to defend his most controversial initiatives. Kelly has come under intense criticism for the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices – which disproportionately impact communities of color – and surveillance of Muslims both in and out of the department’s geographic jurisdiction, resulting in multiple lawsuits. With Bloomberg’s tenure coming to an end, Kelly’s future is uncertain. President Barack Obama said Kelly would be 'very well qualified' to head the Department of Homeland Security. Others have disagreed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD commissioner Ray Kelly defends stop-and-frisk in appeal to public

Tax watchdog: IRS travel costs are ‘excessive’

"A handful of Internal Revenue Service officials spent most of their time traveling for work in 2011 and 2012 and amassed thousands of dollars in seemingly excessive costs for transportation, hotels and meals, the tax-collecting agency’s watchdog said in a report on Tuesday. 12 IRS officials claimed more than $60,000 a year in travel expenses for fiscal year 2011 and nine executives surpassed that figure in 2012, mostly in travel to Washington, said the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS watchdog. Some executives traveled for more than 80 percent of their working days in the past two years, the report said." Continue reading →

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Federal Government Consummates Theft of “Camp Zoe” in Missouri

"Rush Limbaugh’s net worth is estimated to be in excess of $400 million, and his annual income more $30 million. He owns several homes and a number of private aircraft. He was certainly a ripe target for prosecution and 'asset forfeiture' – or he would have been, had he been a commoner like Jimmy Tebeau, rather than the politically connected grandson of retired federal Judge Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr., whose name is affixed to the courthouse where the entertainer’s cousin consummated the theft of Tebeau’s business and property." Continue reading →

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Another Revolving Door: Deputy Secretary Neal. Wolin to Leave Treasury

"The Treasury Department today announced that Deputy Secretary Neal S. Wolin will conclude his tenure at the Department at the end of August, more than four years after he was confirmed. Wolin served as Acting Treasury Secretary from mid-January to late-February 2013. He was confirmed as Deputy in May 2009 and is the longest-serving Deputy Secretary in the Department’s history. From 2001 to 2008, Wolin served at The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. as President and Chief Operating Officer for Property and Casualty Operations. Earlier in his career, he also worked in private law practice at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, DC. " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother Revolving Door: Deputy Secretary Neal. Wolin to Leave Treasury

SEC’s Khuzami Uses Revolving Door to Make $5 Million

"Robert Khuzami, the former head of enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is joining Kirkland & Ellis LLP, reports BusinessWeek. Mark Filip, a partner in charge of Kirkland’s government enforcement defense and internal investigations, said Khuzami will help immediately in securities enforcement defense, advising boards and companies and counseling financial institutions on securities regulations." Continue reading →

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Dumb ALEC Runs for Cover on “Stand Your Ground.”

"ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council. It is a little-known conservative think tank. It is the source of the 'stand your ground' laws. It is now running for cover. Bill Gates’s foundation says it will not send money any longer. So has McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Kraft Foods. This reveals what ALEC has concealed for decades. The Establishment Left has always written checks to ALEC, which has kept ALEC on a short leash. ALEC is getting out of the law enforcement and social policy fields. It will return to its 'economic roots.' The Trayvon Martin case is the cause. Zimmerman was declared not guilty. But that does not matter at ALEC." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Should Larry Summers replace Ben Bernanke?

"What sets Summers apart is his readiness to make mistakes on a colossal scale, with other people's money. But as far as we can see that gives him all the qualifications you need to be America's top banker. A high IQ moron is just what you need for this kind of work. You have to be smart enough to talk the talk, pretending that you know what you're talking about. But you have to be stupid enough to believe it. You must think you really can improve the financial decisions of 310 million people. And you have to be arrogant enough contradict all of them...putting your own asinine plans into action even though they will almost certainly bankrupt the entire nation." Continue reading →

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Is The Safety Of The State Really Worth More Than The Truth?

"The federal government was created by the Founding Fathers, begrudgingly, to serve one primary purpose: The defense of individual liberty. But what happens when the federal government no longer pursues this function? What happens when the government becomes the very enemy it was designed to defend us against? Has it not then violated the charter that made it legal in the first place? And if so, should it not then be exposed and disbanded as a broken tool, a useless piece of hardware that no longer does any good for the people overall?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs The Safety Of The State Really Worth More Than The Truth?