Comments on Pro Libertate: The Dollar Falls, The Predators Awaken

2008-04-17T22:37:00.000-06:00

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The common rabble cares little, and knows even les...

2008-04-08T11:01:00.000-06:00

The common rabble cares little, and knows even less, about the Constitution etc. For the majority any head knowledge is merely for answering questions at school and is promptly tossed from their cranial cargo carriers.

Can you blame them?

Why should they religiously fawn over a document that those in power, and who should be invoking and reciting such flowery rhetoric, never mention nor abide by it?

To say that it's dead is to do it too much justice. It would be more appropriate to picture it as the stinking corpse of dear departed relative. Better to remember it for what it was or pretended to be than to call its stench the sweet smell of freedom.

I'm not worried about those who seek to understand...

2008-04-07T17:51:00.000-06:00

I'm not worried about those who seek to understand the Constitution. They're not going to be heeded, anyway. That was the only point of my statement. It's pointless. As pointless as giving a bath to a skunk, or re-decorating a concentration camp.

Those who want to live according to the Constitution (with whom I do not agree) are going to be ignored and overruled by those who don't care what is written on the Constitution. Though I disagree more with the latter group, both groups cause damage. Some cause less.

-Sans Authoritas

You get paid to try to convince people in power th...

2008-04-07T08:56:00.000-06:00

You get paid to try to convince people in power that they should be restrained by words on a piece of paper? -- Sans Authoritas

Those who seek the meaning of the constitution are not the ones you must worry about. Those who prefer avoiding the restraints of the Constitution generally don't bother asking for legal advice.

Incidentally, at this stage of our governance, the actual words of the Constitution have become of far less importance than court precedents intrepreting and applying those words. (Think commerce clause.) Not that I would defend that practice, as most citizens prefer the words that govern them to have more meaning, but that's the way it is. Someday enough people will realize that fact that we, as a governed peoples, will advance to the next stage of governance.

Sadly, the next stage will most likely not be protective of personal freedoms. Instead, the advocation of "gold, guns and grub" will make one a criminal, even if only in thought. So be careful out there -- don't want to be portrayed as helping Emmanuel Goldstein!

You get paid to try to convince people in power th...

2008-04-04T21:13:00.000-06:00

You get paid to try to convince people in power that they should be restrained by words on a piece of paper?

I respect the good you're trying to accomplish, but truly, with all respect, that's like getting paid to give baths to skunks. Or to re-decorate a concentration camp.

-Sans Authoritas

Sans Authoritas:As for your suggestion that we edu...

2008-04-04T09:59:00.000-06:00

Sans Authoritas:

As for your suggestion that we educate others on the difference between paper-based rights and God-given rights, I've tried to do just that for the past several years, every since reading all of Lysander Spooner's works. (You are likely aware of his views and know that, as early as the 1850s he argued, persuasively, that the Constitution was of "no authority.") But does anyone care or even listen, let alone understand? Of course not!
And I do speak from a position of knowledge on the topic, because I'm a lawyer who is paid to analyze constitutional issues! (Yes, the irony gets pretty heavy at times.) Maybe it's just me (after all, the fact I follow Will's blog might indicate my less-than-common views on political issues), but I fear that at least 99% of our fellow citizens don't care, which is why the Constitution has been so easily ignored by our elitist rulers.

Sans Authoritas, You offer sound wisdom. Thank...

2008-04-04T07:41:00.000-06:00

Sans Authoritas,
You offer sound wisdom. Thanks.

No, Bush and 98% of those in power never said it w...

2008-04-03T19:56:00.000-06:00

No, Bush and 98% of those in power never said it was such a piece of paper. But all of their actions are saying it. As well they may: maybe now, people will learn that document does nothing but sit there. As long as people don't realize their rights are not dependent on that piece of parchment, their rights will be trampled. Forget the Constitution. It's gone. Nobody in power cares about it. The sheep don't care about it, let alone know what it originally meant. Let's work on educating people about human nature, and how their rights are based on human nature, not documents.

-Sans Authoritas

to the last anon:the prez never said the constitut...

2008-04-03T15:27:00.000-06:00

to the last anon:

the prez never said the constitution was a GD piece of paper. the author of t piece said that was upset at bush so he made up the incident. he later apologized. even when you think about it, it made no sense that somebody from his staff leaked it, and then he not do anything about it.

rick

By the way, the Fourth Amendment was secretly repe...

2008-04-03T15:24:00.000-06:00

By the way, the Fourth Amendment was secretly repealed seven years ago, the ACLU has learned:

------------

NEW YORK – A newly disclosed secret memo authored by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in March 2003 that asserts President Bush has unlimited power to order brutal interrogations of detainees also reveals a radical interpretation of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The memo, declassified yesterday as the result of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, cites a still-secret DOJ memo from 2001 that found that the "Fourth Amendment had no application to domestic military operations."

The October 2001 memo was almost certainly meant to provide a legal basis for the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, which President Bush launched the same month the memo was issued. As a component of the Department of Defense, the NSA is a military agency.

The Bush administration has never argued publicly that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to military operations within the nation's borders. The memo released yesterday publicizes this argument for the first time.

http://tinyurl.com/22yxqx

------------

Unfortunately, it's probably a crime to reveal this secret information. For all we know, the rest of the Constitution may have been repealed by secret memos since then, under the Decidererprinzip.

"We're going to have to be fleet of foot in order ...

2008-04-03T12:37:00.000-06:00

"We're going to have to be fleet of foot in order to stay ahead of the predators who are arising to exploit the unfolding economic catastrophe." -- Will Grigg

Uh, which predators would those be? One concerns me more than others, when I read stuff like this:

"The Census Bureau has awarded a contract to purchase 500,000 computers, at a cost of more than $600 million. The devices, which look like high-tech cell phones, will be used to verify every residential street address in the country, using global positioning system software.

"But workers going door-to-door will not be able to use them to collect information from the residents who didn't return their census forms. About a third of U.S. residents are expected not to return the forms."

http://tinyurl.com/yuuljq

WHOA, wait a minute here! The USPS, as mandated by its charter, has already "verified" every deliverable address. What's the idea of attaching GPS coordinates to them?

All I can figure is that instead of mere addresses, Big Gov wants to link INDIVIDUAL NAMES (provided by the Census) to GPS coordinates. Then they can track down a wanted person just like a LoJacked vehicle. Nice! (for the State)

By the way, one reason a third of Census forms aren't returned is that they ask intrusive, unconstitutional questions such as how much money you make. One could reasonably decline to answer on Fifth Amendment grounds: if there's a discrepancy between what you tell the Census and what you reported to the IRS, it could incriminate you.

Doubtless the predators will not be deterred by anything as flimsy as the Fifth Amendment, already dismissed by our C-in-C as a "g.d. piece of paper." Which brings us back to the role of metals ...

It is fun on many levels to bash chimperor shrub b...

2008-04-03T09:45:00.000-06:00

It is fun on many levels to bash chimperor shrub but alot of the selling out of the "little people" went into high gear during the clinton era. NAFTA, GATT, WTO, MAI (Multi-Lateral Agreement on Investment), telecom act of 96 were not designed by the clintons but they were on the fast track to getting passed. The Leo(Strauss)Cons, Keynesian free market cultists and the bush-clinton crime family (they don't deserve capital letters) have done so much damage to this formerly great republic that it may be too late to ever recover. Not being naive and knowing that any real "change" candidate will get the JFK/MLK/RFK treatment quicker than you can say stolen election no matter who gets in this years corporate figurehead selection it will be more of the same, business as usual.

Anon 6:40,Good points.

2008-04-03T09:14:00.000-06:00

Anon 6:40,
Good points.

It may be argued that those who pulled money out o...

2008-04-03T08:41:00.000-06:00

It may be argued that those who pulled money out of their houses to buy stuff are really renters at heart anyway.
They really should let the house go and rent. It would be much cheaper for them as the cost of real estate will be dropping and seven years from now, when their credit is viable again, the house they get should be a bargain.
Of course, they are also the same people who haven't been taking the GOOD advice.

"Is it just me, or does anybody else find it odd t...

2008-04-03T07:40:00.000-06:00

"Is it just me, or does anybody else find it odd that the government presumes to tell you what you cannot do with your money? I mean- if you can't melt your nickels if you so desire, do you *really* own them?"

Ask a larger question -- do you really own ANYTHING? Government lays claim to your income, to taxes on your property, and increasingly to your personal details: your health history, your fingerprints, eventually your genetic code. With chattel slavery having been repealed, you can no longer sell or indenture yourself. That's government's sovereign privilege now. And they've already mortgaged all of your future earnings, as well as your children's and grandchildren's, to raise cash today.

Treasury securities monetize future labor, while gold and silver monetized past labor -- big difference.

However, there has been one breakthrough for freedom. The "Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law" tag on furniture now clarifies that it applies only to the original seller. Rip the tags off your furniture, torch 'em to smoking cinders, and tell me what you see. That's the flame of liberty burning, boy.

Rather, the government is going to punish YOU if y...

2008-04-02T22:07:00.000-06:00

Rather, the government is going to punish YOU if you engage in that easy abritrage: on Dec. 14, 2006, the United States Mint introduced new interim rules criminalizing the melting and export of cents and nickels. Violators of these rules can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000, five years imprisonment, or both.

Is it just me, or does anybody else find it odd that the government presumes to tell you what you cannot do with your money? I mean- if you can't melt your nickels if you so desire, do you *really* own them?

The plane loads of freshly printed Federal Reserve...

2008-04-02T21:35:00.000-06:00

The plane loads of freshly printed Federal Reserve notes that pay for the "Idiot King's" senseless war are contributing to the dollar's rapid decline in value. As usual, Government is running the printing presses to plunder and transfer wealth by stealth rather than by raising taxes. McCain may desire perpetual war against an unseen enemy and tactic, but I doubt if destitute Americans will be able to afford his insane plan.

I keep my rage in check by not listening to Party ...

2008-04-02T21:28:00.000-06:00

I keep my rage in check by not listening to Party Hack radio. But on occasion, while driving, I'll peek in to hear their latest drivel. It takes less than a minute before I'm steaming mad at these buffons. These blatherskites (Thanks Will for letting me steal one of your trademark words.) keep spinning the perpetual propaganda. Michael Medvedev, possibly the most obnoxious female talk-show host on the air, says people are over reacting. The dollar is strong, and the economy is just fine says he. Most talk radio seat-moisteners (Nod to Will, again.) don't even talk about the economy all that much; the political race between the Power Elites' sock puppets is all that consumes them. I wish people would call these party toadies -Michelle Medved, Used Hewitt, Lard-Ass Larsen, Dennis Pricker, Lickspittle Levine, Krusty Limberger, Sean Lobotomy, Ann "the former man" Coulter and Whore-a Ingraham, and others- and insult them continuously to the point they become exhausted and their show becomes unbearable for them.

Here's an example:
You: Thanks for taking my call Dr. Shlessinger.
Medved: I'm not Dr. Laura.
You: Oh, I'm sorry Ma'am! I just wanted to.....
Medved: It's MR Medved.
You: You are not yet a woman? Oh, I'm sorry. Are you between the surgical procedures and the hormone injections? 'Cause you sound.....
Medved: (Hangs up)

Next Caller: I love your show, Laura! You sound hot!
Medved: (Hangs up)

You get the idea.

Today going home, listening to the radio, I heard ...

2008-04-02T19:50:00.000-06:00

Today going home, listening to the radio, I heard an add for a company that says all you have to do is bring in your car title and they will pay you cash and you keep the car. Guess all the houses have been tapped out as piggy banks and so now you can use your car in the same way. Another sign. Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain.

Louis

Great analysis of the falling dollar in light of r...

2008-04-02T15:09:00.000-06:00

Great analysis of the falling dollar in light of recent news. The prices of food should just keep increasing, too, since the rising cost of oil will create a push towards using more crops for biofuels and ethanol. Feeding the poor and oneself will be subsumed to the need to feed the car culture, as the last inches of topsoil in American farmland are burned off on highways.

"you must make do with less so we can have more." ...

2008-04-02T14:41:00.000-06:00

"you must make do with less so we can have more." The Elites

Locally the food pantry for homeless and the worst...

2008-04-02T12:42:00.000-06:00

Locally the food pantry for homeless and the worst poverty stricken had its air conditioner and refrigeration pipes and metals raided at night while closed. But the fundamentals of the economy is sound. Is our children learning? The increase of check out lane magazines for the soccer moms with "make do with less", "how to live frugally" is telling.

First time I ever heard of "triticale," Will. Soun...

2008-04-02T12:16:00.000-06:00

First time I ever heard of "triticale," Will. Sounds too valuable to eat. One hopes the Canuckistanis will learn to make beer from it. Oh, wait ... "Tritic Ale" ... DUH!

"This turmoil [is not] just the product of harvest shortfalls." Indeed it's not. On the buy side, government has created artificial demand with its demented ethanol program.

Most ethanol does not even contain as much energy as went into making it -- it's a net loss. But even with the most efficient plants, making the most favorable assumptions, the ethanol might contain 11 calories for every 10 used in producing it.

Any reasonably numerate fourth-grader could discern that this process doesn't scale up. By the time you've made enough millions of barrels of ethanol to back out a substantial amount of imported fuel, the entire North American corn crop has gone into the gaping maw of these dark, satanic mills. In essence, the ethanol industry is a mechanism for burning the last six inches of midwestern topsoil in our gas tanks, in a monumental act of environmental vandalism.

But it gets worse. Diverting food into fuel means that people are going to starve -- if not here, then somewhere broke and poorer.

The four horsemen ride again, including the red horse of foreign wars, the pale horse of famine, and the white horse of the false political prophets who created the Ethanol Death Star. Process them into Soylent Green, say I. Eat "long pig" and corn; starve an ethanol plant while raising the national IQ.

"Metals poaching" is a replay of what happened in ...

2008-04-02T11:05:00.000-06:00

"Metals poaching" is a replay of what happened in 1965, when U.S. silver coinage disappeared and was replaced by "sandwich coins" made of cheaper metals. The reason was that the silver in the coins was worth more than their face value, making it worthwhile to melt them down.

As one might guess, it's happening again -- this time to the non-sandwich U.S. nickel, made of 75% copper and 25% nickel. That much valuable copper content is a death sentence for the nickel as we know it. Wikipedia states that as of March 16, 2008, the metallic content of the 5-cent nickel is worth 7.31 cents.

You might think that government would "do something" to stop the inflation. But you would be wrong. Rather, the government is going to punish YOU if you engage in that easy abritrage: on Dec. 14, 2006, the United States Mint introduced new interim rules criminalizing the melting and export of cents and nickels. Violators of these rules can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000, five years imprisonment, or both.

An even more ludicrous situation has developed with the contemporary plated-zinc penny. Pre-1982 pennies, containing 95% copper, were worth 2.58 cents as of mid-March. But even the new pennies, consisting of 97.5% zinc with a thin plating of copper, have reached 68% of face value thanks to the run-up in base metals prices. Where do we go from here? Either demonetize the penny, or make it of even cheaper materials such as colored plastic, crapalloy, or tungsten cowhide.

The brilliant minds of the U.S. House of Representatives are ALREADY ON THE CASE: on Feb, 8, 2008, a bill was introduced to allow changing the metal components in U.S. coins due to the rising cost of commodities and the declining U.S. Dollar.

One thing you can be sure of: all of the news coverage will treat rising commodity prices as an "exogenous shock" -- an unfortunate event such as a hurricane or a drought, which comes out of nowhere. The simple fact that the "Creature From Jekyll Island" -- the Federal Reserve -- is entirely responsible for this debacle will be obscured by the controlled, government-mouthpiece media. The Fed was licensed in 1913 to counterfeit currency on an industrial scale, and they've performed beyond anyone's wildest expectations. Go, Benny, go!