Bullshit Artists

Reefer Madness… by Executive Order

"In Meridian, Idaho, Mayor Tammy de Weerd has taken it upon herself to use tax dollars to spread Reefer Madness to her constituents. By Executive Order, Tammy established the Mayor’s Anti-Drug Coalition (MADC), which received $625,000 from a Drug-Free Community Grant through the federal government. Now a Meridian resident notes that the town has been distributing these anti-marijuana leaflets inserted in the water bill! The flyer is full of discredited nonsense, exaggeration, and misdirection. Remember, this is a city government, most likely using federal grant money, to send false information about a political issue in official communications to their citizens." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReefer Madness… by Executive Order

How long can this rally last?

"Is today’s rally in stocks something you can count on and invest in with profitable results? Or is it likely to end soon — most likely, just as you put YOUR money on the table? Among the thousands of investors flocking to Las Vegas for the Money Show this week — in workshops, during cocktails and around the hotel’s gambling tables — this is the big question being asked over and over again. It’s the same question debated on Yahoo! Finance, CNBC, and in the halls of big Wall Street firms. Everyone wants to know. Many venture to guess. But we do know that most stocks are going up for all the wrong reasons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow long can this rally last?

An open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

"I keep hearing from your side that you have noble motives for your opposition to marijuana legalization. I hear that all you care about is using scientific inquiry to determine what is best for the people. However, I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but you keep talking about things in ways that aren’t scientific, or that are meaningless without the proper context. That kind of thing may have worked once, but in general, people are a little more sophisticated about scientific knowledge — they no longer uncritically accept 'Here be dragons' for cartography or 'If she floats, she’s a witch' as a judicial system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

Bill Bonner: This is not a normal economy at all

"'Normal' is what you get when you don't experiment. So, how can you get to 'normal' from a 'Great Experiment?' We will leave that for the philosophers of tomorrow. Today, we'll merely suggest that maybe this economy isn't so normal. What's normal about an economy where the major financial institutions can borrow money at zero real cost? What's normal about an economy in which people who have run their businesses so recklessly that they had to be bailed out by the government are still running their businesses...and can now borrow at lower rates than good businesses?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: This is not a normal economy at all

Maryland: Another City Forced To Refund Illegal Photo Tickets

"Hagerstown, Maryland announced Wednesday that it would refund 808 illegally issued speed camera tickets. Brekford Corporation mailed the citations between the end of December and January using three automated ticketing machines that failed to meet the certification requirements of state law. A motorist who intended to fight a photo ticket requested the calibration certificate for use at trial in January, but the city responded with a March 5 letter denying the request, despite the law's requiring calibration documents be kept on file." Continue reading →

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How to Spot a Market Top

"The wide array of optimistic extremes in sentiment measures includes several readings that exceed the extremes of 2007, when the Dow made its previous high. With a finishing structure that Elliott Wave Principle describes as occurring at 'the termination points of larger patterns,' the market is ripe for a decline of historic magnitude. The sudden, loud chorus of market bulls, which has grown to a full-blown crescendo, fits perfectly with the terminal stages of a major advance. This chart shows the stunning breadth of optimism extending to every class of investor." Continue reading →

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Devastating News for ObamaCare Backers

"A new study finds that (as far as physical health is concerned) there is no difference between being in Medicaid and being uninsured. It’s hard to exaggerate what a blow this is to the people who gave us the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). Everything about ObamaCare—from the money we are spending to the damage being done to the labor market to the hassles the whole nation is going through—depends on one central idea: that enrolling people in Medicaid will give them access to better health." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDevastating News for ObamaCare Backers

IRS official knew in 2011 of ‘Tea Party’ targeting: watchdog report

"A senior Internal Revenue Service official knew in 2011 that IRS agents were giving extra scrutiny to conservative Tea Party groups, according to documents from a watchdog office obtained by Reuters on Saturday. A report from the Treasury Department's Inspector General For Tax Administration (TIGTA) was expected to be issued publicly next week on the IRS practice, who knew about it and when. The TIGTA report finds that Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS's tax-exempt groups unit, knew of the extra scrutiny as early as June 2011. The number of groups seeking 501(c)(4) status more than doubled from 2010 to 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS official knew in 2011 of ‘Tea Party’ targeting: watchdog report

Benghazi Talking Points Underwent 12 Revisions, Scrubbed Of Terror Reference; Risk Of Impeachment

"When it became clear last fall that the CIA’s now discredited Benghazi talking points were flawed, the White House said repeatedly the documents were put together almost entirely by the intelligence community, but White House documents reviewed by Congress suggest a different story. ABC News has obtained 12 different versions of the talking points that show they were extensively edited as they evolved from the drafts first written entirely by the CIA to the final version distributed to Congress and to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice before she appeared on five talk shows the Sunday after that attack." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBenghazi Talking Points Underwent 12 Revisions, Scrubbed Of Terror Reference; Risk Of Impeachment

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Next Bull Market

"A funny thing happened on the way to the next Bull market: the price-earnings (P/E) ratio has entered bubble territory--again. Note the P/E soared to bubble heights in the early 2000s, which set up the epic collapse of stock valuations in 2008-09. Thanks to Federal Reserve manipulation/goosing/QE, the SPX P/E has once again reached bubble levels. It's clear the SPX is extended far above what can be considered historical fair valuations. What's more profitable, a slow melt-up or a panic sell-off and sharp rebound? Definitely the latter, if you're heavily short, the market is teetering on record margin debt and you can kick out the critical 2X4." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Next Bull Market