Earlier today I came across a story of
a man who was locked in solitary confinement for 22 months after being
picked up for DUI - he was never charged, never tried, never even
brought before a judge. The man was just left to rot - literally, as
when one of his teeth rotted badly enough, he had to extract it,
himself. This was not, however, a deliberate act of injustice on the
part of government - the man was simply forgotten about. That is what
is really more of a threat than whether or not Holder will zap someone
with a drone strike. The government has grown so large that in
practical, day to day terms, no one is in charge and it just rolls along
- with people only intervening when something screws up so badly that
it can't be hidden from the public. I don't think that Obama will ever
actually order a drone strike on an American inside the United States,
but I do believe it could happen because someone, some where in the
bureaucracy thinks it should...and as there's no way Obama can even know
one in ten thousand things which go on each day in government, it'll
just happen. Afterwards, of course, post-facto justifications will be
issued...which is why I think that Holder initially gave his non-answer
to the question...this better answer does, of course, leave some gray
areas there...and if we're one day looking on TV at the smoking rubble
of an American's home, you can bet your last dollar that it'll be said
that the dead were engaging in combat against the United States.
Of course, while we have this gigantic, no-one-in-charge government,
people who want to steal are, naturally, robbing us blind. Via grants,
loans, contracts and kickbacks, there is a massive amount of theft going
on...this is the standard outcome of an organization grown to large to
be managed: the boss can't keep tabs, but those who want to steal will
make certain that their theivery goes on.
Left or right; hawk or dove; conservative, libertarian or liberal,
this has to be recognized as the fundamental problem: government is too
large. Even if you want it to do good things, it is so large that for
the most part only bad things will hapen.
Friday, March 8, 2013
MISH stuff
Just repeating a comment I saw--------
Chuck, everyone has a bias and belief system that guides their thinking. All I know is that the US government is borrowing ~33 cents on the dollar and that the Fed has forced interest rates to near zero and is buying MBS and US bonds to the tune of over $1 Trillion per year.
Add to that the government has 16.5 Trillion in debt and the consumer is $11 Triilion in debt. In other words, the economy is on life support and any attempt to remove it cause a lot of pain.
And soon all the boomers will be retiring and place an even bigger strains on an already bankrupt system. Yep, it's all roses and sunshine from here.
Dow 36,000 is right around the corner.
Chuck, everyone has a bias and belief system that guides their thinking. All I know is that the US government is borrowing ~33 cents on the dollar and that the Fed has forced interest rates to near zero and is buying MBS and US bonds to the tune of over $1 Trillion per year.
Add to that the government has 16.5 Trillion in debt and the consumer is $11 Triilion in debt. In other words, the economy is on life support and any attempt to remove it cause a lot of pain.
And soon all the boomers will be retiring and place an even bigger strains on an already bankrupt system. Yep, it's all roses and sunshine from here.
Dow 36,000 is right around the corner.
Palladium Leading Gold?
I posted a bull call for Palladium a week or two back. Use the search bar for "Palladium" to review prior posts. PGM is also a good keyword, it means Platinum Metals Group, of which Palladium is one of those metals.
This can be seen as a backtest and launch off the down channel, and also a patented "egg bounce". Of course, the fundamentals behind Palladium are also outstanding as is the instability of the two main production countries South Africa and Russia.
This can be seen as a backtest and launch off the down channel, and also a patented "egg bounce". Of course, the fundamentals behind Palladium are also outstanding as is the instability of the two main production countries South Africa and Russia.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Above Top Secret - Shame on President
Below is copied from ATS, he says he voted for Dabama the second time around, and is now disappointed. Seems a bit odd, since Obama was trampling the constitution quite steadily in his first term. But I do like his listed of the ammendments that are now being causally raped. Simply read them and think about the news.
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Shame On You Mr. President. Shame On You.
Hello again ATS. Though the words I am about to write, in a single draft, from a mass of conflicted and tangled thoughts, are for your consumption and consideration – I am opting to phrase most of them in the form of a direct dialogue with a single individual. The use of this device will allow me to be as direct and plain as possible. Besides, it is actually my earnest wish that some underling might happen across these words and transmit them up the ladder. I would like nothing more than for the man I am about to address to see what one of his constituents honestly feels – from the heart.Mr. Obama... Mr. President... Just a few short months ago I was on this very website celebrating your victory over your opponent Mitt Romney. Some might say that I had simply gotten caught up in partisan debate in the months leading up to that night and was as much rubbing my detractors nose in “it” as I was applauding you. Maybe there are slimmers of truth to each theory but the main reason I was celebrating that night is that I truly believed your second term would be a landmark moment in the history of not just this great nation, but that it would be one of the defining moments in the totality of modern human history. I truly believed that, with a second mandate from the people of America and no further worries about seeking reelection, you would have lived up to the potential that seemed to be inherent in every word you spoke to your people.
I was desperately seeking a Franklin Delano Obama. It is appearing that I got a George W. Obama instead. I realize, Sir, that in the post Reagan reality that we exist in, Mr. Roosevelt is seen as something of a villain – as he did not cater to unrestrained and rabid capitalism. What I know is that he came into power to a nation filled with starving people. He left power with the greatest decade of American prosperity as his legacy. We've had thirty years now of corporations taking precedent over the people. We need a return to balance. We needed you Sir to provide us with that opportunity.
That is why we supported you. That is why we allowed you to serve us for a second term.
Just three months in and I have to tell you bluntly Mr. President. You have a chance to leave a great legacy Sir. You have an opportunity to be heralded in the same refrains as men like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Kennedy. Instead you seem determined to wind up being included with the likes of Grant, Harding, Nixon, and Bush. Is that the legacy you wish to leave to posterity?
You are failing us Mr. President. You are failing those who enabled you to serve, those who serve along with you, those who served before, and those who will come after. You are failing us all Sir. You are failing yourself. I must ask, Mr. President... Who are you beholden to in the end? Campaign contributors who managed to hide their bribery behind the travesty known as Citizens United? Are you beholden to Wall Street – the heartless swine who are so busy staring at their profits on computer monitors that they do not even see the nation burning down around them? Are you beholden to back room deals and partisan trickeries that only serve to keep a city full of crooks, liars, and career criminals in their jobs? Or are you beholden to something much less transient and much more profound? Are you going to choose to be beholden to that which withers and dies or to that which will live on? Shame on you Mr. President. Shame on you.
Do you want to be the modern Nero or the modern Trajan. The choice is still yours to make. I implore you Sir, please reconsider the road you seem to be embarking upon.
Have we, as a people, learned nothing from failed policy? Our nearly forty year old war on drugs has not diminished the amount of drugs on the streets. It has only served to fill our prisons with sick people, enable our law enforcement to engage in massive corruption, militarization, and conflicts of interest ( fines – or money as justice and the seizure of property for profit ). Our foreign policy methods, over a similar time, have made us the most reviled nation in the world, and our unchecked gluttony and greed has not only created a culture of mediocrity and apathy – but it literally threatens to damage the very planet that we live upon.
Surely, Sir, you see these things. I cannot imagine how they could be more clear.
Twice now you have taken an Oath upon entering the high office you now hold. Forgive me Mr. President, but I feel that I must remind you of that Oath:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Source
From the Constitution I remind you, Sir;
Of the First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Source
Of the Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Source
Of the Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Source
Of the Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Source
edit on 3/2/13 by Hefficide because: Coding errors
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Source
Of the Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Source
Of the Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Source
And of the Tenth Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Source
The very fact that I find myself compelled, Mr. President, to remind a public official of not just one item from the Bill of Rights – but eight of them? Well, Sir, you have a Juris Doctorate from Harvard – I am sure you understand the implications. We are a people under siege by the very powers entrusted to protect us. This betrayal is made all the more bitter by the stunning and stark reality that those in power have grown so gluttonous and greedy that enough is seemingly never enough. They have forgotten the most basic of life lessons – If you fleece the flock for wool, there is wool, again, come tomorrow. But if you slaughter the herd for meat? Soon the meat is gone and there is nothing left.
Mr President. I am but one voice in the chorus that makes up “We, the People”. But I feel that I am representative of a great many others who wish to know; Is it your intention to take us deeper into the darkness that is ever growing around us, or to lead us toward the light? It is a naive and simple question, Sir – but it may well be the most relevant question one can ask of you today.
What do you intend your legacy to be Sir? Those who would seek to use you now will be long dead while history is still staring directly at what you do with the next four years of your life. We are depending upon you, Sir, as a nation. Please do not let us down.
As always, thanks for giving me a few minutes of your time ATS.
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