Bill Bonner: Ike was right!
"There were two big temptations to the American Republic of the 1950s; subsequent generations gave in to both of them."
Pot Will Revive Small-Town America
"Fewer politicians are in a position to say 'no' to legal marijuana. Especially in cash-strapped areas of the country where jobs and opportunities are hard to come by."
‘Peace Through Strength’ Is a Racket
"Government officials, hiding behind classified material, can easily inflate and even create so-called threats, and they have an obvious incentive to do so."
The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth
"Even though the M.T.A. is paying for its capital construction with taxpayer dollars, the government does not get a seat at the table when labor conditions are determined. Instead, the task of reining in the unions falls to the construction companies — which often try to drive up costs themselves."
Why the Worst Humans Are Able to Rise to Power
"Few politicians are ever elected on a platform of brutality of epic proportions."
Clinton aide: 1998 Iraq bombing was impeachment distraction [2016]
"The strikes - known as Operation Desert Fox- were ordered the day after the House of Representatives issued a report accusing the president of 'high crimes and misdemeanors' and ended on the day the articles of impeachment were passed. Previous strikes in 1996, Operation Desert Strike, were ordered during a campaign finance scandal. Among the other allegations leveled in the article are claims that the Gulf War of 1991 was driven by a desire for profits and political gain, with the U.S. government and media glossing over the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis who were 'demonized' and 'characterized as subhuman'."
Why Police Prefer Drug Raids Over Investigating Violent Crimes
"There are numerous reasons why police tend to focus on certain types of law enforcement. Not all of them originate with the police agencies themselves." Continue reading →
GOP bid to rewrite tax code falters
"The GOP's dreams have collided with interest-group lobbying and the tax system's reality. Politicians all profess to hate the tax code, but they don't agree on exactly what they hate. Voters gripe about complexity but are wary of losing cherished breaks that are woven into the economy." Continue reading →
The Biggest Losers in Obamacare Repeal? It Won’t Be Federal Employees
"The bottom line is that people who receive comfortable government benefits don’t have as much skin in the game when it comes to the end-result of the newly proposed healthcare bill." Continue reading →
IRS deliberately targeted innocents for civil forfeiture program
"The Treasury Inspector General released a report this month that reveals that the IRS deliberately targeted people they knew were not engaged in structuring for millions of dollars' worth of seizures, such that 91% of seizures were made in error, taking money away from people engaged in lawful activity. These seizures were 'quick hits' that allowed IRS enforcers the rack up impressive resolution stats because the victims were happy to negotiate a settlement, as opposed to actual criminal acts. The result: for the IRS, depositing $10,000 or more was an inherently suspicious act; but so was depositing $10,000 or less." Continue reading →