Does this need any commentary, other than this…. “No compact among men…can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable, and if I may so express myself, that no Wall of words, that no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by …
"Former Congressman Ron Paul speaks with Alan Colmes about Edward Snowden and the NSA program, plus the launch of his new news site." Continue reading →
"The big question these days is this: 'When will the Federal Reserve System start to taper off its purchases of U.S.Treasury debt and Fannie/Freddie debt?' The commonly held view is next month. A Reuter’s reporter went up to David Kotok’s annual gathering at Leen Lodge in Maine. He brings in 50 or so big names in the investment world. They can chat with each other. There are formal presentations. She asked several of them when the FED will taper. The answer was unified: not soon. Pippa Malmgren said it best: if the FED moves from buying 75% of the Treasuries issued this year to selling them, the market will react violently." Continue reading →
"Instead of making the schools safer, we simply managed to make them more authoritarian. It used to be that if you talked back to a teacher, or played a prank on a classmate, or just failed to do your homework, you might find yourself in detention or doing an extra writing assignment after school. Nowadays, students are not only punished for transgressions more minor than those—such as playing cops and robbers on the playground, bringing LEGOs to school, or having a food fight—but they are punished with suspension, expulsion, and even arrest. As a result, America is now on a fast track to raising up an Orwellian generation." Continue reading →
"Hulett suffered neurological damage in 1991 after being hit by two trains, causing him to be handicapped. 'Because my back feels better standing up that sitting down...puts more pressure on two herniated disks,' Hulett said. When the driver asked him to sit down, he refused. Syracuse Police were called and officers ordered Hulett to get off of the bus. He again refused, saying he was doing nothing wrong. After approximately a minute of back-and-forth with police, the incident escalated and police deployed a taser. In the video, an officer appears to lift up Hulett’s shirt and then fires the taser. Hulett can be heard apparently howling in pain in the video." Continue reading →
"Jim Boulden reports on why banks are suspending the accounts of dozens of money transfer services." Continue reading →
"This is the Bitcoin Machine. Here's how it works: 1. Scan your Bitcoin QR code. 2. Insert cash. 3. You have bitcoins! Buy yourself something pretty. [..] Do I require a license or permit to operate the Bitcoin Machine? Some jurisdictions may have regulatory requirements (such as KYC/AML). We would advise to consult with an attorney prior to operating these machines. If you are located in the US, we require a signed due diligence questionnaire prior to shipping." Continue reading →
"A new and innovative payment system has a number of Vancouver business owners intrigued. A slew of local businesses, from coffee shops to moving companies, are adopting Bitcoin – a new currency that many believe will revolutionize the way we think about money. Bitcoin is a digital currency, meaning it has no paper trace and lives entirely online. 'Bitcoin was really born out of banking bailouts,' says Michael Bliss with Vancouver Bitcoin Co-op. 'It is the future of money, no doubt.' The Bitcoin Co-op that Bliss co-founded is a local network for people interested in Bitcoins — traders, investors and merchants." Continue reading →
"US fugitive Edward Snowden’s defense fund, launched recently by WikiLeaks to raise money for the legal protection of the NSA leaker, has announced it now accepts donations in virtual currency Bitcoin. The Journalistic Source Protection Defence Fund (JSPD) was set up on August 9 with the goal to provide legal as well as campaign aid to journalistic sources. Snowden, who is behind the biggest intelligence leak in the history of the US National Security Agency (NSA), has been selected the first such source." Continue reading →
"In 2009, according to these statistics, which come mostly from the OECD, U.S. government entities spent $3,795 per person on health care, compared to $3,100 per person in France. Note that these stats are for government expenditures; they exclude private-sector health spending. If anything, the U.S. figures understate government health spending, because they exclude the $300 billion a year we 'spend' through the tax code by making the purchase of employer-sponsored health insurance tax-exempt. So: if we measure by the dollar amount of government involvement in health spending, the French system is actually meaningfully freer." Continue reading →