statism

The Left’s New Attack on Self Insurance: Obamacare Sleaze?

"It starts with a brief description of the ERISA law that allows self insurance – including the fact that those who self insure escape the costly and corrupt state-level mandates that cause regular insurance policies to be needlessly expensive. While ERISA traditionally was something that only big firms could utilize, many small employers are now looking at self insurance as a way of providing health insurance to their employees without getting dragged into the costly swamp of Obamacare. Needless to say, the left is unhappy about this development because Obamacare only 'works' if a large amount of people are forced to join the infamous exchanges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Left’s New Attack on Self Insurance: Obamacare Sleaze?

Can the Internet Tax Be Stopped Just Like the Attack On Syria?

"This time we would be stopping a direct attack on us. A new national comprehensive survey commissioned by National Taxpayers Union and the R Street Institute finds that Americans overwhelmingly oppose new legislation, like the Marketplace Fairness Act, that lets states force tax collection obligations on Internet purchases made from businesses outside their borders. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in recent polls opposed changes to Internet sales tax policies like those provided in the Marketplace Fairness Act. Will Rand Paul, Justin Amash and 'Leader' Mitch McConnell take up this cause?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCan the Internet Tax Be Stopped Just Like the Attack On Syria?

What Happens When You Can’t Believe A Thing The President Says?

"These are only a few of the many, many instances where Obama or his minions have been caught in false, deceiving or misleading statements — even under oath. It has become so pervasive that people have grown very skeptical of the president’s assertions. Yet amazingly, some of those same skeptics now defend Obama’s claim that U.S. troops will not be used in Syria. Would that be like his absolute denial to Russert? Maybe Obama means it, or maybe he’ll change his mind. No one can know for sure. The country needs to be able to trust a president and his staff and believe what they say. But that’s not the case anymore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Happens When You Can’t Believe A Thing The President Says?

Bill Bonner: Ike’s Warning

"In a modern context, America’s wars seem silly, stupid and counterproductive. But they are as popular as the Super Bowl. Both of those explanations have merit. But Ike understood it differently. He saw how powerful internal forces drive a military machine to become an empire… and to make war. An educator will try to aggrandize himself by insisting on more education. A butcher will want more meat on the menu. And a man with a gun in his hands will declare – with a straight face and in solemn sincerity – that we need to kill someone in Syria to protect our manhood!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Ike’s Warning

Now That Hybrids Have Become Popular…

"First, egg-on the production of hybrids and electrics via artificial inducements and special perks (such as being able to drive in those High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, even if it’s just you in the car). Wait for these unconventional cars to become pretty got-damned conventional. Then whine about the 'lost revenue' which must be recovered. Meanwhile, pass laws that double (and soon, will triple) the fuel economy of the average non-hybrid car – knowing that will provide even more excuse to whine about all the 'revenue' lost. Then hit them up with the notion of a tax-per-mile. It will not even be necessary to discuss the means by which it’ll be implemented. That will follow almost automatically." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow That Hybrids Have Become Popular…

Minnesota Obamacare exchange disclosed personal info of at least 2,400

"While MNsure officials said the mistake was quickly resolved and was the first security breach, the incident highlights concerns of those who have hounded the state for years about privacy issues surrounding the online-based health insurance exchanges. The new marketplaces are a key vehicle for implementing the federal health law, often called Obamacare. Users of the exchange will need to provide sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, that will be sent to a federal hub to verify such things as citizenship and household income. This information will determine whether consumers using MNsure qualify for public health programs or tax credits that will lower premiums." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMinnesota Obamacare exchange disclosed personal info of at least 2,400

ICANN: How top-down ‘implementation’ replaced bottom-up policymaking

"To understand the significance of this, suppose that the U.S. Congress or British Parliament had just passed a law, but one lobbying group didn’t like it. Suppose that the President or the British Prime Minister convened a closed meeting with a small group of invited 'stakeholders' and agreed on a 'strawman proposal' to amend the legislation. The new legislation makes the first group happy but most other stakeholders unhappy. But nevertheless, the chief executives went on to order its executive branch to implement the revised legislation without any review and approval by the Congress/Parliament. That is exactly what ICANN did." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingICANN: How top-down ‘implementation’ replaced bottom-up policymaking

Glenn Greenwald: Inside the mind of NSA chief Gen Keith Alexander

"Now, on the website of DBI Architects, Inc. of Washington and Reston, Virginia, there are what purports to be photographs of the actual Star-Trek-like headquarters commissioned by Gen. Alexander that so impressed his Congressional overseers. It's a 10,740 square foot labyrinth in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The brochure touts how 'the prominently positioned chair provides the commanding officer an uninterrupted field of vision to a 22'-0' wide projection screen'. Its "primary function is to enable 24-hour worldwide visualization, planning, and execution of coordinated information operations for the US Army and other federal agencies.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Inside the mind of NSA chief Gen Keith Alexander

How the US government inadvertently created Wikileaks

"So here you have a non-US citizen at a foreign university doing graduate work studies, and the United States government came barreling in and not only snuffed out the funding and killed his studies, it also barred him from knowing what it was he had been funded to research. It was at that moment, Julian told me, that he decided he would devote himself to exposing organizations that attempted to keep secrets and withhold information in an effort keep the masses ignorant and disadvantaged. So you see, depending on who you ask, the US government actually helped create of Wikileaks. And the rest, as they say, is history." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow the US government inadvertently created Wikileaks

Why Do They Need FATCA When They Have SWIFT?

"Given the growing ease with which people conduct transactions that don’t involve physical cash, or even leaving your house, one should wonder just how much financial data Uncle Sam’s spy network has, and why it feels entitled to it. What does this all mean? Hard to say. These days the American government is fairly cagey about its reasons for anything, but on the surface it appears as though the United States government will happily steal whatever information on the finances of ordinary people and financial institutions of other countries that it can’t coerce out of them through extra territorial law making schemes like FATCA. Whatever is going on, it’s not about taxes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Do They Need FATCA When They Have SWIFT?