Bullshit Artists

Will the Federal Reserve Taper Off on QE?

"Why on earth would Mister Bernanke announce at this time that the Fed might taper off on QE? After all, Mister Bernanke is a committed Keynesian. Further, he is an ardent fan of President Roosevelt and his economic 'solutions.' So, what's up? It is highly unlikely that the leopard is changing his spots. Rather than assume he has, we might want to consider that his recent announcement to taper off on QE is a mere smokescreen – a tactic that will create a scare sufficient to give the Fed license to print like never before." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill the Federal Reserve Taper Off on QE?

Chicago Firearms Confiscation Begins

"There’s a good reason that law abiding gun owners don’t want their names on a national gun registry — namely, registration leads to confiscation. Gun control advocates immediately spout that “no one wants to take your guns” and other assorted platitudes. In Illinois, gun owners are required to get a Firearms Owners ID card, or FOID. Cook County police officers have become increasingly worried that when someone’s FOID card is revoked, their guns aren’t instantly confiscated. So they’re doing exactly what gun control advocates have said that registration would never result in — door to door confiscation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago Firearms Confiscation Begins

Ex-Obama Aide (Stupidly) Dismisses Glenn Greenwald as a Fake Journalist

"Steven Rattner, a former member of Barack Obama's Treasury Department, appeared on the news show Morning Joe on Monday offering an opinion about The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who broke the story about NSA spying. Rattner's opinion? Greenwald isn't a journalist. This is apparently because Rattner may not have seen how Greenwald's reporting has shifted public opinion and moved public policy. Rattner may actually be unaware of what journalists do. Perhaps this blind spot is because the journalists he hangs out with work for Morning Joe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Obama Aide (Stupidly) Dismisses Glenn Greenwald as a Fake Journalist

President of American Academy of Arts and Sciences Resigns Over Resume Fraud

"Leslie Cohen Berlowitz, the embattled president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, will officially depart her post at the end of the month, the academy has announced. Ms. Berlowitz has been on paid administrative leave since early June, following reports that she had falsely claimed, on several grant applications and other documents, to have a doctorate. In a letter sent to members, Louis W. Cabot, the chairman of the academy’s board, said that Ms. Berlowitz would resign effective July 31, without any severance. She will receive a one-time payment of $475,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPresident of American Academy of Arts and Sciences Resigns Over Resume Fraud

Obama Change.gov Promises Disappear from Web

"It may be that Obama's description of the importance of whistleblowers went from being an artifact of his campaign to a political liability. It wouldn't be the first time administration positions disappear from the internet when they become inconvenient descriptions of their assurances. Obama's vision for lobbying transparency has similarly been discarded along the way, but the timing here suggests that the heat on Obama's whistleblower prosecutions has led the administration to unceremoniously remove their previous positions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Change.gov Promises Disappear from Web

Holder promises not to pursue death penalty against Snowden

"Former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden would not face the death penalty or be tortured and would have all the protections of the U.S. civilian court system if he were sent home, the chief U.S. prosecutor wrote in a letter to his Russian counterpart this week. In the letter dated July 23 and released on Friday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder wrote that he sought to dispel claims about what would happen to Snowden if Russia handed him over to face charges of illegally disclosing government secrets about surveillance programs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHolder promises not to pursue death penalty against Snowden

House protects surveillance program before passing military spending bill

"After fierce debate over the limits of domestic spying, the House on Wednesday voted to protect the federal government's ability to collect phone records and other data related to U.S. citizens who aren't suspected of terrorism. The Obama administration lobbied against Amash's amendment, and members of congressional intelligence committees defended the NSA's actions. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said it was 'a false narrative that the federal government is taking in the content of American phone calls and emails.' She said there was more information about U.S. citizens in a phone book than in the NSA database." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHouse protects surveillance program before passing military spending bill

Fantasy Land Financial Analysis for Investors

"Here is the most recent chart from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This is the adjusted monetary base over the past 12 months. This reflects the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is in control of the monetary base. Perhaps we should look at the longer-range policy. Do you see any change since 2009? The MarketWatch writer draws a conclusion from this 'tightening.' He writes: 'The Fed’s tightening is primarily to prevent a full-blown asset bubble. Its burst could bring another financial crisis.' But if the FED is not tightening, what happens to the asset bubble?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFantasy Land Financial Analysis for Investors

NSA Says It Can’t Search Its Own Emails

"The NSA is a 'supercomputing powerhouse' with machines so powerful their speed is measured in thousands of trillions of operations per second. The agency turns its giant machine brains to the task of sifting through unimaginably large troves of data its surveillance programs capture. But ask the NSA, as part of a freedom of information request, to do a seemingly simple search of its own employees' email? 'There's no central method to search an email at this time with the way our records are set up, unfortunately,' NSA Freedom of Information Act officer Cindy Blacker told me last week. The system is 'a little antiquated and archaic,' she added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Says It Can’t Search Its Own Emails