statism

New York City bike share tech woes enrage normally even-keeled New York bikers

"More than 38,000 New Yorkers have paid $103 for a year-long subscription, but many are still awaiting their blue key — needed to access the bikes. Officials have said 'batches of keys' are going out daily to fix the problem. But those with weekly and day passes are also dealing with spotty problems. Sometimes, docking stations in popular neighborhoods are full and users cannot park their bikes. Other times, the locking mechanisms do not work. And near busy Midtown offices, it is sometimes impossible to find a bike at night. And at some stations, payment via debit or credit card — the only way to purchase a short-term pass — does not function." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York City bike share tech woes enrage normally even-keeled New York bikers

Housing Vouchers: Equal Opportunity Crime-Sharing

"There is an alliance. Libertarians do not like tax-funded education, so they oppose vouchers. The teachers' union does not like inter-school academic competition, so they oppose vouchers. Suburban parents do not like forced integration, so they oppose vouchers. All in all, vouchers have been a gigantic failure. After 50 years of failure, HUD has decided to use another form of vouchers: vouchers that are not subject to local voting. HUD has broadened the scope of vouchers. Entire families will be granted tickets out. HUD will offer subsidies of all kinds to persuade cities to let the inner cities of America spread into the suburbs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHousing Vouchers: Equal Opportunity Crime-Sharing

Obama Seeks to Reshape Neighborhoods With Housing “Diversity”

"The Obama administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is under fire after announcing a proposed executive decree to make American neighborhoods more 'diverse.' Under the new HUD policy, dubbed 'Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,' the federal government will gather and track data on 'segregation' and 'discrimination' across America before deploying a wide range of social-engineering schemes to ensure more 'diversity' in U.S. neighborhoods. Among the many federal targets in enforcing centrally planned diversity: local zoning regulations, public transportation, land-use policies, government housing agencies, and more." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Seeks to Reshape Neighborhoods With Housing “Diversity”

Common Core Exams Put on Hold

"The common core curriculum mandates a common core system of exams. Most students will flunk these exams. This is inevitable. The results in New York are the canary in the coal mine. The failure rate was 69%. Blacks and Hispanics failed at an 84% rate. Parents are up in arms. The common core curriculum will not redeem the public schools. It will instead expose the public schools as utter failures. This will not be tolerated by local politicians, who take the heat for the failures in public schools. They will demand that the educrats turn down the heat. The tests are in the first stage of a roll-back. The Obama Administration is blaming the sequestration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCommon Core Exams Put on Hold

Attorney General hits up Donald Trump for donations while probing his school

"Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s campaign hit up Donald Trump and his pals for contributions while he was investigating the real-estate mogul’s for-profit trade school for illegal business practices. The investigation began in May 2011 and, for more than two years, Trump aides claim Schneiderman’s office told them the case was 'very weak' and would 'go away.' While the probe was under way, Trump aides said their boss, his family and his associates were repeatedly approached for thousands of dollars in campaign donations by Schneiderman’s political operation. Trump aides say now they’re being informed Schneiderman’s office is filing a civil suit against the school." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAttorney General hits up Donald Trump for donations while probing his school

Manufacturing of Zeppelins temporarily shut down sausage makers in World War I

"According to a new documentary, the quantity of cow intestines used in manufacturing the airships was so enormous – and the military appetite for the dirigibles so strong – that the making of sausages was temporarily outlawed in Germany and allied or occupied parts of Austria, Poland and northern France. With the guts from more than 250,000 cows needed to produce the bags that held the hydrogen gas in each Zeppelin, the German war machine had to choose between long-range bombing and wurst. It chose the former." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingManufacturing of Zeppelins temporarily shut down sausage makers in World War I

Bitcoin’s complex and changing regulatory environment

"A compliant multi-state MSB needs all of the following: Maintaining a net worth greater than $1.5 Million; Securing millions of dollars in surety bond coverage to insure customer transactions in the event of insolvency; Completing a financial audit; Creating proper KYC, AML, and other compliance systems; Going through an independent compliance audit; Hiring a compliance officer with at least five years of experience; Extensive background checks and financial disclosures from officers and investors; Due diligence on every partner and intermediary that is involved in the flow of funds. After all these conditions are met, obtaining licenses can take as long as a year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin’s complex and changing regulatory environment

The wealth transfer effect of bitcoins

"Earlier this year, I wrote about a number of countries that would do well by adopting bitcoins, mostly because of either inflation or poor investment options in those countries. Those are still valid reasons for investing in BTC for citizens of those countries. But it now seems that in hindsight it would be a complete governmental collapse that would fuel increased interest in bitcoins. A loss of faith in a monetary system by a country’s citizens and stakeholders is likely more of a predictor of increased interest in bitcoin. So, what are the countries out there today that face big problems in terms of credit risk?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe wealth transfer effect of bitcoins

David Galland: I’m from the Government, I’m Here to Bend You Over

"Yet, just as a woman can't be 'a little pregnant,' constitutions can't really be a little—or, in the case of the USA these days, a lot—flexible. When that happens, the constitution becomes something else. A document with some general suggestions? A paper with loose ideas that governments are free to accept—or not—depending on the day and circumstance? But it's not a constitution any more. The problem, as I hope you begin to see, is that once a nation—scratch that: once the government of a nation—is allowed to make it up as they go along, the system of laws is certain to quickly deteriorate. The consequences are as clear as the mountain across the valley from where I sit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: I’m from the Government, I’m Here to Bend You Over