Mad Statists

David Stockman: This Is a Giant Ponzi Scheme, It’s Just Debt on Top of More Debt

"Two days ago, former White House Budget Director in the Reagan Administration, David Stockman, dropped some financial bombs in an interview on FOX. He said the Social Security Trust Fund was 'filled with confetti.' Stockman said if the Fed was 'gone fishing' for six weeks (meaning it would stop the $85 billion a month 'open-ended' money printing), 'there would be calamity in the markets.' It seems everybody on both sides of the aisle hates his new book called 'The Great Deformation.' That tells me he’s doing something right." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Stockman: This Is a Giant Ponzi Scheme, It’s Just Debt on Top of More Debt

Puppies & Kittens & Censors…Oh my! Government Muzzles Internet Pet Veterinarian

"Can the government silence and shut down licensed professionals for giving advice online? Dr. Ron Hines is a highly regarded licensed veterinarian who's never had any complaints against him. Being a disabled and retired senior citizen, the Internet allows him to remain productive in his golden years. Yet he's been fined and shut down for giving advice on the Internet, often for free, to people around the planet who have no other access to veterinary care for their animals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPuppies & Kittens & Censors…Oh my! Government Muzzles Internet Pet Veterinarian

NASA slams spending cuts that put Earth at risk of undetected killer asteroids

"A trio of experts testified before the House Science Committee of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday and warned that the detection and early warning of approaching Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and other threats from space is imperiled by current political wrangling over the national budget. Holdren, Shelton and Bolden emphasized that while odds of a devastating strike from an object from space are small, the consequences could be enormous. While dozens of objects a meter or more in size strike the Earth’s atmosphere every year, most burn up harmlessly in the upper limits of the stratosphere." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNASA slams spending cuts that put Earth at risk of undetected killer asteroids

Detlev Schlichter: Global economic policy now firmly in the hands of money cranks

"During the early honeymoon between ‘Abenomics’ and financial reality, the idea of printing yourself to prosperity is likely to have imitators, with the UK being a prime candidate. In terms of total indebtedness, the UK is the one industrialized country that can compete with Japan, meaning it is in the same supersized debt-pickle. Over at Threadneedle Street, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Paul Tucker, openly fantasized about negative interest rates recently, outgoing Governor Mervyn King voted for more QE (overruled), and Governor-elect Mark Carney promises to be, well, – flexible. Bottom line: desperation is spreading. Watch this place!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetlev Schlichter: Global economic policy now firmly in the hands of money cranks

Communism Survivor To Gun-Grabbing Politicians: “You Don’t Know What Freedom Is”

"'You don't know what freedom is because you never lost it!' With a pointed finger Manuel Martinez called out Anti-Gun Committee Leader Floyd Prozansky during heated testimony on Friday. You can bet Prozansky got the message. Mr. Martinez escaped the brutal Communist regime in Cuba in 1954. His testimony included how citizens under Castro were first disarmed by legislation similar to that being shepherded along by Gun-Grabber in Chief Floyd Prozanski. Defenseless, many Cuban Citizens were later summarily slaughtered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCommunism Survivor To Gun-Grabbing Politicians: “You Don’t Know What Freedom Is”

Homeowner, 80, charged in shooting of burglar: ‘Unjust that I can’t protect me’

"Awakened by his 75-year-old wife, Wright confronted a 19-year-old burglar who had broken through some plywood over a bathroom window in hopes of stealing liquor, according to police. Wright grabbed his 38.caliber pistol, loaded with four rounds, and shot the intruder in the leg. The suspect was arrested -- but so was Wright. Because of prior weapons convictions, Wright was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, sparking calls by his family and neighbors for prosecutors to back down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeowner, 80, charged in shooting of burglar: ‘Unjust that I can’t protect me’

Jim Bovard: Farmers fight for the right to grow raisins

"Marvin Horne, a 67-year-old raisin farmer in Fresno, Calif., was fined almost $700,000 for refusing to surrender control of much of his harvest to the federal committee in 2002. Horne, who has been growing raisins for more than 40 years, has battled the raisin committee for more than a decade and describes its regime as 'involuntary servitude.' His challenge -- which is supported by many California raisin growers -- landed in front of the Supreme Court last month. According to the Obama Administration and USDA, the Raisin Administrative Committee needs vast power to protect farmers from selling too many raisins." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Bovard: Farmers fight for the right to grow raisins

Will Grigg: Nationalizing Children

"Like many others of her ideological persuasion, Harris-Perry is a stranger to concision. In describing the totalitarian state’s proprietary claim on children, someone who represented a slightly different strain of collectivism – albeit not as different as Harris-Perry would insist – stated the matter much more tidily almost exactly eighty years ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: Nationalizing Children

The Most Dangerous Conspiracy of All Time

"They justified their 'revolution' by saying they’d end the conspiracy and bring order to society. But in reality, they only made things a lot worse. The country I’m talking about is Brazil — and the social blight I described was especially apparent in the central and northern regions where I lived and traveled in the 1950s and ’60s. The conspiracy: The deliberate policy of massive money printing by the central bank, the Bank of Brazil. The immediate consequence: Hyperinflation. The long-term impact: Destruction of wealth, erosion of social institutions, mass corruption in government, enrichment of the few, impoverishment of the many, and chaos." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Most Dangerous Conspiracy of All Time

Bill Bonner: Will Japan’s radical gamble work?

"The BOJ says it just wants to get inflation to 2%. It says it will buy assets with money that didn't exist previously...and keep buying...until inflation reaches 2%. Then what? Well, we guess it will stop. And then what? Then, it will have an economy that has come to expect 70 billion yen in new money every month. And an economy with a monetary base of BOJ assets maybe twice what it is today. People make radical gambles now and then. Businessmen might take a chance now and then. Gamblers might go for long odds. Lovers might hope to get lucky. For a central bank to make a 'radical gamble' bespeaks desperation and lunacy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Will Japan’s radical gamble work?