Mad Statists

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 →

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“State Control”: What the UN Firearms Treaty is All About

"For more than fifty years, the United Nations, with the enthusiastic support of the U.S. government, has pursued a vision of 'general and complete disarmament' in which the world body, or its successor, would claim a monopoly on the 'legitimate' use of force. Within that global monopoly, each national government would have an exclusive territorial franchise. It was in pursuit of that formula that UN 'peacekeepers' were deployed in Rwanda in 1993. Despite that country’s history of bloody ethnic conflict, Rwandans were assured that they had nothing to fear from a UN-approved government that claimed a monopoly on weaponry." Continue reading →

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NY Dad’s Pistol License Suspended Over A Comment His 10 Year Old Son Made

"TheBlaze on Thursday broke the story of a New York dad whose pistol license was suspended indefinitely over something his 10-year-old said following a schoolyard incident. Officials have reportedly informed John Mayer, of Commack, N.Y., that he may not get his license back until his son moves out of the house — which could be 8 years or longer. In the meantime, he will without any of his handguns as the lack of a pistol license means no right to own a pistol in the Empire State." Continue reading →

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Backfire on Obama — Gun Control

"How serious are Americans about buying guns? Enough to apply for a background check to buy one. How many Americans have applied for a background check since the day Obama was inaugurated? Go on. Guess. The answer: over 70 million. Think about this. Over 70 million adult Americans went to the trouble of identifying themselves as gun owners. This sends a message to Congress: 'Don’t mess with our guns.' This sends a message to gun control advocates: 'You haven’t got the votes.' Talk about futility. Gun controllers say that they represent the true feelings of Americans on guns. But where is their evidence?" Continue reading →

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Gun Control in Connecticut Is a Bonanza for Gun Sellers Outside of Connecticut.

"This sends a message to the world outside of New York, Illinois, Connecticut, and California: buy while you still can. Buy at gun shows. Pay a little more. Get off your duff. Is gun control coming? No. Then why buy? Because newcomers think gun control is coming. Prices will go up. The mania will spread. This is not a bubble market. This is the new normal. The liberals want gun control. They are not going to get it in heartland America. What they are getting is the opposite of what they say they want: a new dedication to buy guns and ammo is spreading like a prairie fire across the nation." Continue reading →

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Connecticut’s Gun Control: A Rush To Pass Laws That Couldn’t Have Prevented Tragedy

"The grab bag (PDF) of background checks, gun, ammunition and magazine restrictions, limitations on eligibility to own firearms and a new registry of 'weapon offenders' inconveniences people who had nothing to do with the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, and certainly would have had no impact on Adam Lanza's ability to commit that crime. But don't think anybody will get to point that out in a public hearing; the legislation is being sent directly to a vote through an emergency procedure that allows for no stops on the way." Continue reading →

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The Colorado Shooter Was on Psycho Drugs

"The news is out. The killer, James Holmes, who dressed up as The Joker and shot up a movie theater full of people in Colorado, had been taking Zoloft, the same dangerous psychotropic drug that the Columbine killer, Eric Harris, had been taking. According to the information released by the judge in the case, Homes had also been taking a drug called Clonazepam. How long do we have to wait until there is a thorough investigation into the dangers these drugs pose to society?" Continue reading →

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You Are an Anarchist. The Question Is How Often?

"Everyone, at least sometimes, is an anarchist. Consider Cambodia in the late 1970s. The Khmer Rouge government intentionally killed more than two million of its own citizens. That’s an average of 8 percent of the population killed each year while government simultaneously inflicted countless other horrors. Do you think the Cambodian people, faced with that government, would have been better off with no government at all? Congratulations. You are, sometimes, an anarchist. The real issue is found in an area economists call 'comparative institutions.' That is, in a specific time and place, how well would anarchy work compared to an actual obtainable state?" Continue reading →

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The State: Crown Jewel of Human Social Organization

"Since the earliest stage of human history (say, the time of Cain and Abel), human beings have been homicidal maniacs. Yet, for untold ages, something was missing, something with the capacity to raise their murderous mania to truly magnificent heights. Only very late in human history—perhaps 10,000 years ago or thereabouts—did the long-awaited breakthrough take place: men finally devised the state. By employing its powers of organization, command, violence, and plunder, rulers could finally bask in the glories of heretofore undreamed-of atrocities." Continue reading →

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