Mad Statists

Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Bill: Dead on Arrival

"Feinstein is not just a liberal. She is a California liberal. She is a feminist California liberal. That is, she does not have a lick of political sense. Her bill is creating the biggest wave of gun buying we have seen in my lifetime. Across the nation, there is massive demand to buy guns. Every time Feinstein opens her mouth, another American who never thought of buying a gun heads for Walmart to buy a shotgun or some other weapon. Feinstein is the gun industry’s manna from heaven. Like manna in the wilderness, she keeps coming back every day." Continue reading →

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Read more about the article Nigel Farage: EU wants to steal money from Cypriots bank accounts

Nigel Farage: EU wants to steal money from Cypriots bank accounts

"Taking the bailout model to extremes - the EU has given Cyprus an ultimatum - either force savers to save banks, or go bankrupt. United Kingdom Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage gives his perspective on the deposit levy and Cypriot parliament vote." Continue reading →

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IRS Star Trek Spoof (Cost To Taxpayers: $60,000)

"The US Internal Revenue Service spent $60,000+ of your money to produce this terrible Star Trek spoof. Despite being really bad, the film does demonstrate the culture of government: You, the citizens, are tax cattle to be farmed for the state. Without genius central planners civilization itself would fall." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Star Trek Spoof (Cost To Taxpayers: $60,000)

Robert Wenzel: An Examination of Key Factors in the Collapse of the Soviet Union

"The Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, sponsored by James M. Rodney, presented at the Austrian Economics Research Conference. Recorded 21 March 2013 at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Includes an introduction by Joseph T. Salerno." Continue reading →

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You thought the whole ‘EUSSR’ thing was over the top? Have a look at this poster

"For three generations, the badge of the Soviet revolution meant poverty, slavery, torture and death. It adorned the caps of the chekas who came in the night. It opened and closed the propaganda films which hid the famines. It advertised the people's courts where victims of purges and show-trials were condemned. It fluttered over the re-education camps and the gulags. For hundreds of millions of Europeans, it was a symbol of foreign occupation. Yet here it sits on a poster in the European Commission, advertising the moral deafness of its author (I hope that's what it is, rather than lingering nostalgia)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYou thought the whole ‘EUSSR’ thing was over the top? Have a look at this poster

Bank of Japan vows ‘all means available’ to smash deflation

"The new team is much closer to the Fed and the Bank of England, but critics say the bank risks becoming a mere branch of the finance mininstry -- where Mr Kuroda spent much of his careers. The great fear is that Japan will lurch from stable deflation to an unstable price spiral that suddenly causes investors to question the integrity of the country's 23 trillion public debt, the world's largest. The IMF says Japan's gross debt will reach 245pc of GDP this year. It has been possible so far because banks have gobbled up government bonds worth 100pc of GDP but this makes the banking system ever more vulnerable to a sudden rise in rates." Continue reading →

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Argentina Turns To Gold As Inflation Tops 26%

"In the country Paul Krugman hailed as a Keynesian success story, the people are fleeing the government's currency. Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina’s only bank offering gold bullion coins and bars to investors and savers is negotiating with mining companies to purchase gold direct as surging demand depletes the scrap supply. The bank began marketing gold to clients after Argentina tightened currency controls in October 2011. Banco Ciudad is the only bank left that trades in gold after Fernandez banned the purchase of certified 99.99% pure gold for savings in July. The bank sells it at 99.96% purity." Continue reading →

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Smart Drones

"IF you find the use of remotely piloted warrior drones troubling, imagine that the decision to kill a suspected enemy is not made by an operator in a distant control room, but by the machine itself. Imagine that an aerial robot studies the landscape below, recognizes hostile activity, calculates that there is minimal risk of collateral damage, and then, with no human in the loop, pulls the trigger. Welcome to the future of warfare. While Americans are debating the president’s power to order assassination by drone, powerful momentum — scientific, military and commercial — is propelling us toward the day when we cede the same lethal authority to software." Continue reading →

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U.K. police hope to sniff out pot growers with marijuana-scented cards

"Thousand of houses in the UK are being sent marijuana-scented 'scratch and sniff' cards in a new bid to track down marijuana growers. The charity group Crimestoppers explained the cards were designed to educate residents about the smell of marijuana. They hope once people can recognize the smell of cannabis plants, they will be able to help law enforcement officials identify illegal growing operations. The green-and-black cards also provide other signs to look out for, including homes that have 'visitors at unsociable hours' or buildings that generate an excessive amount of heat. Homes with closed blinds should be under suspicion as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.K. police hope to sniff out pot growers with marijuana-scented cards