constitutional liberty coalition

Americans Forced to Close Their Intrade Accounts

"Intrade decided all its U.S. customers must now close their accounts and withdraw their money from the site. Why did the American government sue Intrade? It was not for operating an online gambling operation, but for allegedly violating America's incomprehensible financial regulations. The government says that many of the things Intrade allows people to predict - everything from what the price of gold will be in the future to whether the U.S. will go to war soon - are legally considered 'commodity options,' and that Intrade broke the law because it isn't licensed to trade those. The penalty is $140,000 per violation." Continue reading →

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The U.S. Plot to Nuke the Moon

"Shortly after the Soviets lunched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, the U.S. government seriously considered a nuclear strike against the Moon in order to intimidate Russia. A missile carrying an atom bomb would have been launched from an undisclosed location and then detonated on impact. Preparations were made for a missile launch in 1959, but the program was quietly scrapped. What is truly strange is that the plan to nuke the moon was supposedly inspired by the need to catch up with the Soviets in the space race. Yet there’s evidence that Washington actually spotted Moscow a lead by allowing the Russians to launch the first satellite." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe U.S. Plot to Nuke the Moon

Merry Christmas: Congress Could Vote for an Online Sales Tax before the End of the Year

"With less than five weeks to go in the year, supporters are concentrating most of their efforts on the Senate, where a measure giving states greater latitude to collect sales taxes from online purchases has a powerful backer in Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), says Politico. Both the Senate and House proposals would allow states to collect sales taxes from internet retailers located in other states, an approach that also has been backed by prominent GOP governors, such as Cato favorite Chris Christie." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMerry Christmas: Congress Could Vote for an Online Sales Tax before the End of the Year

Student Debt Bubble Officially Pops; 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Goes Parabolic

"It shouldn't be a surprise, at least to our readers who read about it here first, but what will stun the general public are the two charts below, the first of which shows the amount of 90+ day student loan delinquencies, and the second shows the amount of newly delinquent 30+ day student loan balances. The charts speak for themselves." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudent Debt Bubble Officially Pops; 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Goes Parabolic

Thank You Ron Paul

In 2007, I was just a conservative commentator who was lucky enough to have a weekly column in the Charleston City Paper and regular segments on 1250 AM WTMA’s The Morning Buzz with Richard Todd. I believed in the GOP of National Review contributors like Russell Kirk and Richard Weaver, politicians like Robert Taft and Barry Goldwater, and political commentator [...]

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As Europe Plots Closer Ties, Britain Mulls Split

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel called last week for turning the European Commission, which currently drafts legislation and regulates competition, into 'something like a European government.' The phrase alone rattles the teeth of many British politicians, who have warned for decades of the specter of a European superstate. Last month, Cameron faced a huge rebellion within his own party as 81 of the 303 Conservative lawmakers defied his orders and voted to hold an urgent referendum on EU membership in 2015." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs Europe Plots Closer Ties, Britain Mulls Split

Kyle Bass On The End Of The Debt Super-Cycle

"'When you let the politicians run monetary policy, well, that is how it [ends]... All of the ingredients are there [for Japan now] for this vicious cocktail to fall apart' is how Kyle Bass concludes this broad and succinct recent interview. With total credit market debt-to-GDP globally around 350% (or ~$200 trillion), his thesis remains that many countries will reach their profligate endpoint soon (if not already in Greece's case - where investors have already lost 90c on the dollar); but that managing around this current evolution is the single-hardest period for investing of the last few decades." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKyle Bass On The End Of The Debt Super-Cycle

TX teen ostracized for protesting school GPS chip

"A Texas teenager’s attorney told RT on Friday that her refusal to wear an ID badges with a GPS tag has led to her being ostracized from all school activities. 'She’s not being treated equally,' said John Whitehead, who is representing Andrea Hernandez in an upcoming trial next week. 'If she doesn’t have the chip, she can’t access the library, cafeteria, she was told she couldn’t vote for the homecoming king and queen.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTX teen ostracized for protesting school GPS chip