Penn Jillette Presents: ‘An Atheist’s Guide to the 2012 Election’

Magician and comedian Penn Jillette sounded off on the 2012 election earlier this month in a video from website Big Think. A noted atheist, he laid his thoughts out in the aptly-titled, "An Atheist's Guide to the 2012 Election."

A few tidbits from Big Think:

• On Barack Obama: You have two choices with Obama. You either believe that he is a man of Christ…or you think he's a liar. And I'm surprised by the number of atheist free thinkers that support Obama and their argument is essentially, he's lying about being religious 'cause you have to do that to be elected. I'm not happy with either one of those….It's a horrible reason to like somebody. I like him because he might be a liar. Horrible.

• On Michele Bachmann: I have tried with friends to say the most blasphemous sentence I can possibly say and it does not come close to the blasphemy of Michelle Bachman saying that earthquakes and hurricanes were the way God was trying to get the attention of politicians.

• On Mitt Romney: Under his pants, he is wearing magic underwear. Magic underwear.  And he believes that a convicted con man got golden tablets that no one else could see, and sat with an angel to find out that the original Jews of the Bible were living in North America. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/penn-jillette-presents-an-atheists-guide-to-the-2012-election

MSM: Stick to Approved Opinions, Citizen

I read a Reuters article the other day alleging that Ron Paul supporters are drawn from people who don't have a very good grasp of the issues. Translation: they learn about them from sources other than Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal, so their understanding isn't in the form of the propaganda the establishment would prefer. In fact, his supporters typically understand the major issues at a far deeper level, not distracted by the spoon-fed talking points and Orwell-inspired slogans the media would be much happier to hear them parroting.  Read more »

http://www.texasgopvote.com/2012-elections/msm-stick-approved-opinions-citizen-003685

Was the Iraq War Worth it?

The Council on Foreign Relations recently asked the above question of some of its favorite commentators. One of the answers sent to this seat of the Eastern Liberal Establishment likely surprised whoever received it.

Read more...

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/foreign-policy/10386-was-the-iraq-war-worth-it

I'm hard pressed to find anyone in the general populace (politicians aside) who believes American military actions in any foreign, sovereign nation are justified these days...

US Aircraft Carrier ‘Spotted’ Inside Iran Wargame Zone

Washington announced Wednesday that possible closure of Strait of Hormuz by Tehran 'would not be tolerated' A US aircraft carrier entered a zone near the Strait...

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Intelwar/~3/fvgmUjfPLtE/

How is it our business what the Mid-East does? We have no valid interests there. If America continues its campaign of tyranny abroad, I would expect things to get much worse before they get better. If anything, I see Iran's efforts as sanctions against america for meddling in their affairs. Imagine if China were to impose sanctions on what America could import from other nations through blockades of our shipping routes...

37 Food Items You Won’t Find In A Crisis

Some of you already know, but some will be brand-new in a threatening way…

The bottom line in any disaster (big or small) could force you to go weeks without food.

Without essentials we may not survive. And there's going to be no way to get them when a crisis hits (or if the news even smells like a crisis for that matter).

Can you really fight through a crowd to get your kids food? If you know what food items to buy in advance you'll never have to find out…

That's why you must get these crucial items before the panic. And why we're going to be the people on top of the game when crisis hits.

37 Food Items You Won't Find

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/sponsors/37-food-items-you-wont-find-in-a-crisis

Syria: One-eyed quest for democracy

The first Arab League accounts of what is going on in Syria have been met with both widespread disbelief and discontent. Experts say the opposition only wants to hear what falls in its version of the events.

http://rt.com/news/syria-protests-opposition-observers-047

Licensed to Kill

The Bush Justice Department does have an essential law enforcement mission, though sometimes it seems to behave much more like a criminal syndicate. It warmly embraces the crime of torture as a [...]

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/licensed-to-kill-by-scott-horton

The fact that America maintains a military base in Cuba for the primary purpose of circumventing our justice system speaks volumes to the American tyrannical empire, and why so many nations and cultures hold such contempt for us. 

Proof that more freedom makes for more productive employees

Best Buy was one of the first Fortune 500s to create a flexible work-schedule program for its corporate employees

http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/30/proof-that-more-freedom-makes-for-more-productive-employees

More freedom is always a good thing, for the populace that is. 

Ron Paul is the most conservative presidential candidate

Dick Morris doesn't understand the difference between being a Republican and being a conservative.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/30/ron-paul-is-the-most-conservative-presidential-candidate/

I see conservative as being closer to what Libertarians promote, ather than what the GOP and lamestream media call it. Being of the Republican party does not make one conservative, nor does it speak to the politician's support for individual liberty. Aside from the garbage in the media, I have a hard time telling the difference in policy between the Democrats and Republicans these days.

Two sides of the same coin...

Turkey: Cold War v2.0

Amidst its growing engagement in the Middle East and the Arab Spring, as well as its resurrecting Kurdish insurgency problem, Turkey installed the NATO Missile Defense Shield in September 2011. Many observers interpreted Turkey's decision as a move against Iran, as a response to its expanding nuclear and missile capabilities, while Turkish officials indicated that the installment of this missile shield in Turkey was agreed upon much earlier and has nothing to do with Iran. The purpose of the missile shield also exposed differences within NATO countries. For example, French President Sarkozy had claimed "We call a cat, a cat; today's threat is Iran", while Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said "We also call a cat, a cat, but we haven't specified a threat like [Iran]". Hillary Clinton too had commented on the matter by "The shield is not directed against Russia; in fact it has to do with Iran".

Russia wasn't convinced however; Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov indicated "words fly, military technic is permanent; we want written guarantees". To follow up, Russia's decision to re-direct Kaliningrad missiles to European capitals increased the interpretations of a 'new Cold War'. Yet, some observers indicate that Russia's Kaliningrad move is not a mere reaction, but a part of a more profound thinking. According to Nevazisimaya Gazeta, Kremlin was informed of a U.S.-backed Israeli air raid against Iranian nuclear facilities and argued "… there will soon be a surprise raid. Iran will retaliate and the war will spread out. If Iran is invaded, Russia will not sit idly and will certainly send military aid." Indeed, Russia Minister of Defense supported this perception, explicitly warning the United States in a Reuters interview that "an attack against Iran would be a wrong decision".

Russia also considered Gebele radar installation as a test case for American intentions. When the Bush administration considered the installation of the radar site in Poland in 2007, Russia suggested that two countries should use Gebele radar base (with 6000 kilometer range extending from the Indian Ocean to North Africa) together. Bush government's refusal was interpreted by Russia as a sign of American expansionism, as the Gebele radar base is more than sufficient to act as an early warning system against Iran. Together with the installation of the NATO missile defense shield in Turkey, Russia no longer believes that this is intended as protection against Iran.

[...]

http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2011/12/30/turkey-cold-war-v2-0/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=turkey-cold-war-v2-0

The Author of the Racist 'Ron Paul' Newsletters

This interview took place in May of 1992 after the Los Angeles riots. (Gee, I "wonder" if Rachel Maddow will do a segment excoriating left-winger Robin Williams for his racist quips?)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/102517.html

It's hard to find many people outside of the statist Left-Right paradigm who has a greater insight into the political and socioeconomic systems which are collapsing around us. 

I Thought the Iowa Caucus Doesn't Matter? « LewRockwell.com Blog

It doesn't—but only if the enemy of David Rockefeller and Evelyn de Rothschild wins. (Of course, if will matter to those two monsters.)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/102526.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

The Author of the Racist 'Ron Paul' Newsletters | LRC Home | LRC Blog

U.S. Universities Feast on Federal Student Aid

The public is in a foul mood over increasing college costs and student debt burdens. Talk of a “higher education bubble” is common on the contrarian right, while the Occupy Wall Street crowd is calling for a strike in which in which ex-students refuse to pay off their loans.

This week, President Barack Obama held a summit with a dozen higher-education leaders “to discuss rising college costs and strategies to reduce these costs while improving quality.” The administration plans to introduce some policy proposals in the run-up to the presidential campaign.

Any serious policy reform has to start by considering a heretical idea: Federal subsidies intended to make college more affordable may have encouraged rapidly rising tuitions.

It’s not as crazy as it might sound.

As veteran education-policy consultant Arthur M. Hauptman notes in a recent essay: “There is a strong correlation over time between student and parent loan availability and rapidly rising tuitions. Common sense suggests that growing availability of student loans at reasonable rates has made it easier for many institutions to raise their prices, just as the mortgage interest deduction contributes to higher housing prices.”

It’s a phenomenon familiar to economists. If you offer people a subsidy to pursue some activity requiring an input that’s in more-or-less fixed supply, the price of that input goes up. Much of the value of the subsidy will go not to the intended recipients but to whoever owns the input. The classic example is farm subsidies, which increase the price of farmland.

[...]

U.S. Universities Feast on Federal Student Aid: Postrel - Bloomberg

Unemployment claims rise after steady declines

Number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to 381,000

http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/29/unemployment-claims-rise-after-steady-declines/

Reality comes back around to take the wind out of the Obama ship's sales. 

Occupy-Linked Hacker Group Anonymous Releases Survival Guide For Violent Revolution

At the same time hacker group Anonymous was hacking Stratfor Global Intelligence and now a second veterans' owned website which sells military-inspired merchandise, giving part of their proceeds to charity, they were also circulating what they call "a snapshot of what Anonymous thinks will be useful for your survival in case of a violent revolution in your country." The 15 page document is available here via Scribd. The excerpt below is the foreword for the document. As website Zerohedge notes, one or two hacks of system critical financial institutions could easily produce widescale chaos, setting the stage for any number of significant events of this nature.

This Guide is for civilians who feel they are about to be caught up in a violent uprising or revolution to overthrow the oppressive government of their country. Although a revolution in favor of the people is a joyful thing when seen from the outside, it can be a bloody mess for those inside it. This guide will give you some basic ideas and tips for how you and your friends/neighbors/family can stay safe in the violent turmoil around you. It is not a ready-made recipe, but it contains general survival tactics and strategies.

Don't panic, stay cool headed. • Take a break and rest if your body needs to relax, lack of sleep is a major weakening factor. • Avoid consuming mind altering substances like alcohol and drugs. They will cloud yourand act rationally. You are also arming the regime with propaganda that the crowd is made up of a bunch of intoxicated rioters. Don't allow your movement to be portrayed in an unfavourable light. judgement and ability to think

The document's index lists the following sections:

2. Noticing first signs 3. Make preparations 4. Food & water 5. Getting special assistance 6. Create a "take box" 7. First aid kit 8. General strategies 9. Additional security tips 10. How to deal with exceptional situations 10.1 Rape 10.2 Looting and robbery 11. How to deal with violent riots 12. Your safety when confrontations are unavoidable 13. Protesting violent opponents 14. Other references, tools, hints, strategie 15. Essential checklists

Perhaps also of note, New York Times best selling author Michael Thomas was predicting violence on behalf of the Occupy movement in a December 26 opinion item at the Daily Beast, though there's nothing to suggest the two developments are at all linked.

But it won't just end with taxes. When the great day comes, Wall Street will pray for another Pecora, because compared with the rough beast now beginning to strain at the leash, Pecora will look like Phil Gramm. Humiliation and ridicule, even financial penalties, will be the least of the Street's tribulations. There will be prosecutions and show trials. There will be violence, mark my words. Houses burnt, property defaced. I just hope that this time the mob targets the right people in Wall Street and in Washington. (How does a right-thinking Christian go about asking Santa for Mitch McConnell's head under the Christmas tree?)

A scenario in which a significant hacking of critical computer systems leads to mass panic and social unrest cannot simply be dismissed.

http://biggovernment.com/driehl/2011/12/29/occupy-linked-hacker-group-anonymous-releases-survival-guide-for-violent-revolution/

Many of the people tearing the system down are the same ones who built it in the first place, jaded by the misuse as tools of manipulation and oppression. 

Bailing Out European Banks: Bernanke and Fed Deceived Congress

The Fed's latest actions in cooperating with foreign central banks to undertake liquidity swaps of dollars for foreign currencies is another reason why Congress needs enhanced power to oversee and audit the Fed," writes Ron Paul. "Under current law Congress cannot examine these types of agreements. Those who would argue that auditing the Fed or these agreements with central banks harms the Fed's independence should reevaluate the Fed's supposed independence when the Fed bails out Europe so soon after President Obama promised US assistance in resolving the Euro crisis.

http://implode-explode.com/viewnews/2011-12-29_BailingOutEuropeanBanksBernankeandFedDeceivedCongress.html

We need accountability to the citizens and our government for central bank actions, when it is the wealth and resources of the working citizens which is being manipulated and corrupted by these banks. 

Millions Of Americans Are Realizing They Can Default On Their Mortgage And Live Scot-Free For Years

Thanks to record long waits for foreclosure reviews this year, 40 percent of homeowners in default have been sitting pretty in their homes for the last two years without paying a dime

http://implode-explode.com/viewnews/2011-12-29_MillionsOfAmericansAreRealizingTheyCanDefaultOnTheirMortgageAndL.html

With mortgages taking twice as long to process as in 2007, it's not surprising to see this happen. A society with such large numbers of homeless and empty, foreclosed homes has something wrong with how it operates. 

Two S&P Executives to Leave

"Two executives who helped steer Standard & Poor's through the financial crisis plan to leave the credit-ratings firm and its corporate parent, the latest stage in the company's gradual makeover."

http://implode-explode.com/viewnews/2011-12-29_TwoSPExecutivestoLeave.html

Maybe we just need to downgrade the world and get it over with...

Spanish Mortgages Decline for the 18th Straight Month as Bad Loans Surged

``The number of home loans fell 43.6 percent from a year earlier after a 42 percent drop in September, the Madrid-based National Statistics Institute said in an e-mailed statement today. Total capital lent on all mortgages fell 40.6 percent, it said.''

http://implode-explode.com/viewnews/2011-12-29_SpanishMortgagesDeclineforthe18thStraightMonthasBadLoansSurged.html

Global recession, fueled by out of control fiat currency and lenders, finally running out of steam. 

US: A Military Base 'On the Brink'

The toll of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is catching up with the Washington state communities near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the form of suicides, slayings and more. Mary Coghill Kirkland said she asked her son, 21-year-old Army Spc. Derrick Kirkland, what was wrong as soon as he came back from his first deployment to Iraq in 2008. He had a ready answer: "Mom, I'm a murderer." He told her how his team had kicked in the door of an Iraqi house and quickly shot a man inside. With the man lying wounded on the floor, "my son got ordered by his sergeant to stand on his chest to make him bleed out faster," Kirkland said. "He said, 'We've got to move, and he's got to die before we move.'" Not long after, Derrick told her, he had fallen asleep on guard duty, awakening as a car was driving through his checkpoint. He yelled for it to stop, but the family in the car spoke no English. "So my son shot up the car," she said.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/239421-US-A-Military-Base-On-the-Brink-

More and more soldiers are having a conflict of faith, wondering of the actions of the American empire around the world are morally right. This can only be a good thing, bringing a conscience to our military ranks, in turn guiding policy. 

Pakistani Police Arrest Christian For Blasphemy in Church on Christmas

In Lahore, Pakistan, police arrested Amanat Masih while he was in church on Christmas day. Masih, 50, was arrested for blasphemy — the second such arrest based on what he insists are trumped up charges by one man. He was previously sent to jail for more than three years for blaspheming Islam.

He was held for nine hours as hundreds of Muslims gathered outside calling for his death. He is now in hiding.
He was previously accused of burning pages of the Koran, but was acquitted of the false charges. However, he spent years in jail on the account of one man. He was tortured during his captivity and his family's home was burned down. Recently, one his daughters and son-in-law were kidnapped and forced to "convert" to Islam.

In the meantime, a Christian minister who converted from Islam in Uganda was attacked on Christmas day by a man who threw acid him his face in a crime believed to be religiously motivated.

Pakistan is one of the nation's pushing for an international blasphemy law. I have been critical of the work of the Obama Administration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in finding "middle ground" between protecting religion and free speech. The Administration has rightfully point to the latest draft of the U.N. resolution as an improvement in that it convinced the OIC to drop blasphemy language and embrace the standard of "imminent violent speech" from Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969). I have spoken to top Administration officials about this effort following my critical column in The Los Angeles Times. I do believe that they succeeded in moderating the language of the OIC in Resolution 16/18 — no small feat. However, there remains the foundational question of whether the United States should engage the OIC on this ill-conceived mission. For countries like Pakistan, any statement against Islam threatens imminent violence. The Brandenburg standard is controversial in the United States because of its ambiguity and chilling effect on speech. Placed in the hands of a country with a blasphemy law, it legitimates religious orthodoxy and limitations on free speech and the free exercise of religion. Countries like Saudi Arabia do not even allow public worship by other faiths. They are not going to embrace the free speech sentiments of the resolution. Rather they will continue the stated purpose of getting the West to embrace limitations of free speech in the name of religion.

I do believe that moderate Muslim nations are trying to steer a course away from blasphemy prosecutions and that the Administration is acting in what it considers the best interests of free speech. However, I see this effort as only promising more limitations on speech — a trend seen in West countries.

http://jonathanturley.org/2011/12/29/pakistani-police-arrest-christian-for-blasphemy-in-church-on-christmas

Old Cartoon Warning of Future Failures of Freedom

50-year-old CARTOON TRIED TO WARN US - YouTube: I took this from TheRedPillNews channel.. I thought it was worth spreading around.

The Coming Economic Collapse

Ron Paul warns Americans of coming economic collapse and possible martial law - YouTube: Ron Paul warns of a monetary collapse and ensuing social unrest. He also warns of possible government actions.

Economic Collapse

http://www.newamerica-now.blogspot.com

The hard truth as to why we as a society can not stop the economic collapse.

My interpretation and creative license used in adapting an very good article
called The Shape of Things To Come written
by Charles Hugh Smith
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjuly11/shape-of-things6-11.html

Economic Collapse -- Why It Won't Be Stopped - YouTube

US warns Iran over threat to block oil route

Admiral Habibollah Sayari says Iran could easily close the Strait of Hormuz

Quote:

The US Navy has said it will not tolerate disruption to a vital oil-trade route, following an Iranian threat to close it. Iran warned it would shut the Strait of Hormuz if the West imposed more sanctions over its nuclear programme.

Quote:

Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if sanctions are widened and Iran's navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayari said that closing the strait would be "easy". "The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place," Mr Rahimi was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the official news agency Irna. Adm Sayari later told Iran's Press TV that closing the Strait of Hormuz would be "really easy" for Iran's armed forces "or, as Iranians say, easier than drinking a glass of water".

Quote:

Washington and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran's nuclear facilities if sanctions and diplomacy fail. Iran has vowed to respond by attacking Israeli and US interests in the region. An embargo on Iranian oil exports has been considered before but dismissed as it could also drive up global oil prices and harm Western economies, particularly in Europe.

BBC News - US warns Iran over threat to block oil route

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t855808

A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn

A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn - YouTube:

Empire or Humanity?
What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me about the American Empire
by Howard Zinn
Narrated by Viggo Mortensen
Art by Mike Konopacki
Video editing by Eric Wold

To read more from Howard Zinn visit www.TomDispatch.com.

How Banks Cheat Taxpayers

A good friend of mine sent me a link to a small story last week, something that deserves a little attention, post-factum. The Bloomberg piece is about J.P. Morgan Chase winning a bid to be the lead underwriter on a $400 million bond issue by the state of Massachusetts. Chase was up against Merrill for the bid and won the race with an offer of a 2.57% interest rate, beating Merrill's bid of 2.79. The difference in the bid saved the state of Massachusetts $880,000. Afterward, Massachusetts state treasurer Steven Grossman breezily played up the benefits of a competitive bid. "There's always a certain amount of competition going on out there," Grossman said in a telephone interview yesterday. "That's good. We like competition." Well ... so what, right? Two banks fight over the right to be the government's underwriter, one submits a more competitive bid, the taxpayer saves money, and everyone wins. That's the way it ought to be, correct?

http://www.fr.sott.net/articles/show/239387-How-Banks-Cheat-Taxpayers

It's more of a lesser of two evils, like Obama going up for the presidency against McCain...

Society still loses, we just feel better getting to choose who is raping us, I guess. 

Siberia Earthquake: State of Emergency declared in Tuva, Central Siberia, Russia

A state of emergency has been declared in Tuva, Central Siberia, close to the border with Mongolia. An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 on the Richter scale hit the area in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has dispatched extra units to the region to deal with the aftermath of the quake, as well as the aftershocks which have occurred. Inhabitants of the region remain upbeat, joking about the coming of the often predicted end of the world.

About 16 thousand people are checking houses on the ground and from the air, as well as electricity stations and other essential facilities, and are helping the people of Tuva. The republic was hit by the most powerful quake in its history, on the night of Wednesday. Estimates put the quake's magnitude at 6.7 and 9 in the epi-center, which lies 100 kilometers east of the regional capital of Kyzyl, at a depth of 10 kilometers. Several aftershocks have been reported. In the morning, the magnitude of the quake had come down to 4.7. Seismologists report several smaller quakes of low intensity near the epi-center.

Read More

http://thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com/2011/12/siberia-earthquake-state-of-emergency.html

Did Bankers Deliberately Crash MF Global to Crash Gold and Silver Prices?

Did bankers use the MF Global bankruptcy to suppress gold and silver prices and create the panicked appearance of collapsing precious metals to give themselves additional precious time to delay the crash of the Euro and the US Dollar? As crazy as this sounds, a closer investigation of some key data seems to imply this possibility. Though bankers claim that they created futures markets to provide a mechanism for commodity producers to hedge against volatile market prices, I have never bought the kool-aid the bankers were selling in this explanation for the rationale behind their creation of futures markets. Given that today, futures and spot prices for gold and silver in the short-term are entirely set by banker manipulation of the supply and demand for paper derivatives that often have no backing of any physical metal, I believe that bankers created futures markets for the explicit intent of allowing themselves to manipulate the prices of commodities and to enrich themselves, and themselves only, through the process of alternately and artificially inflating and deflating prices as would not be allowed in any type of free market. In other words, bankers invented futures markets to allow themselves to siphon off and steal money from other parties that wanted to invest in commodities with a mechanism, risk-free to them, that required deception and zero honest work and zero integrity.

The futures markets in commodities is such a deceptive market that it is hard to know even where to begin to unravel its many mechanisms of deceit in all their glory. Futures contracts traded on the world’s largest commodity markets such as the COMEX in New York and the LBM in London allow bankers to commit reverse alchemy, turning real physical gold and real physical silver into nothing but false paper contracts and air. Secondly, through futures contracts traded in New York and London, bankers routinely defy the economic principles of supply and demand, and set short-term prices for gold and silver that literally have zero to do with the supply and demand dynamics of the physical gold and physical silver market. In the world of physics, such an illogical, comparable feat of deception would be the indefinite suspension of the law of gravity. Bankers invented paper derivative gold and silver markets to allow themselves to literally defy and suspend every single sound economic principle that exists.

[...]

Did Bankers Deliberately Crash MF Global to Crash Gold and Silver Prices?

Obama to Ask for Debt Target Hike

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House plans to ask Congress by the end of the week for an increase in the government's debt ceiling target to allow the United States to pay its bills on time, according to a senior Treasury Department official on Tuesday.

The approval is expected to go through without a challenge, given that Congress is in recess until later in January and the request is in line with an agreement to keep the U.S. government funded into 2013.

The debt is projected to fall within $100 billion of the current cap by December 30, when the United States has $82 billion in interest on its debt and payments such as Social Security coming due. President Barack Obama is expected to ask for authority to increase the borrowing limit by $1.2 trillion, part of the spending authority that was negotiated between Congress and the White House this summer.

Under the agreement struck in August during the showdown over the government's debt limit, the cap is automatically raised unless Congress votes to block the debt-ceiling extension. Lawmakers have 15 days within receiving the request to vote, which is largely symbolic because the president can veto it and Congress would be unlikely to muster the two-thirds majority to override it. Moreover, the U.S. House of Representatives also is in recess until January 17.

The deal called for raising the debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion to serve the nation's borrowing needs into 2013 and also included mandatory cuts to the federal budget deficit. Since then, the extension has been increased twice by a total of $900 billion.

And we wonder why the national debt is so high. Scary to think of that kind of money being tossed around and I have a hard time paying the federal taxes as they already are. When we keep raising these limits, we have to pay it back sometime, and it's your federal tax dollars and mine that will be paying this debt. It means our federal taxes are going to increase even more. I already know they are going up. Let's quit with borrowing more and do with what we have. There is so much waste that could be cut away within the federal government itself WITHOUT cutting social programs!

Unfortunately, with the voting record of most politicians, I imagine they will give Obama more than 1.2 trillion. We the People must end the madness within our government by throwing out most of the scummy politicians in D.C. and State capitols. Ron Paul will cut one trillion dollars, end five federal departments, and bring sanity back to this nation.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-ask-debt-limit-hike-treasury-official-152416457.html

Don't forget that our currency is inflating and devaluating in the meantime...

Debris Field The Size Of California From Japanese Tsunami Begins To Litter West Coast

Debris Field The Size Of California From Japanese Tsunami Begins To Litter West Coast - YouTube

Capitalism and Socialism

Capitalism and Socialism - YouTube: Capitalism has done more to bring prosperity to the world than any other economic system. Nevertheless, free markets continue to be assailed by academics, politicians, pundits, musicians, and the public in general. Indeed, it isn't cool to be a fan of capitalism these days. Instead, most young people would much rather wear a Che Guevara t-shirt and read Noam Chomsky than think about how their lives have been enriched by free-market, capitalism.

This video is the first of many free-market manifestos from the staff at My Daily Roast (http://www.mydailyroast.com). If you like what you see and want some more, or if you'd like to get involved... be sure to check out My Daily Roast for the site's official launch on March 17, 2010 (St. Patrick's Day). We'll see you there.

Tea Party vs. Informed Citizen - YouTube

Tea Party vs. Informed Citizen - YouTube

Freeze Flash Mob & Police Brutality

As requested this version shows previously unreleased footage and an unedited shot of the police punching the shopper and breaking her ribs!

CodePink Austin, along with allies from Veteran's for Peace and Women in Black staged a Don't Buy War "freeze" at Barton Creek Mall (Austin, TX) on Saturday, December 3rd. The strategically chosen mall location was between the Santa photo station and the Gamestop store, which prominently advertises the 'Modern Warfare 3' video game.

The goals were to raise awareness about the continuing wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, to educate shoppers about the costs (both human and economic) of the wars, and to dissuade parents from purchasing war toys. The creative action was well received by shoppers, and several veterans approached the group to thank us. All was peaceful until mall security and APD arrived, and an APD officer brutally attacked a young woman who had joined the group spontaneously. She was seriously beaten and ended up with three cracked ribs and bruises all over her body!

Produced for Austin Indymedia by Jeff Zavala.
A ZGraphix Production.
‪http://zgraphix.org‬
‪http://twitter.com/zgraphix‬
‪http://facebook.com/zgraphix.org‬
‪http://austin.indymedia.org‬

Freeze Flash Mob & Police Brutality - Unedited Cop Punch - YouTube

Occupy Geeks Are Building a Facebook for the 99% | Threat Level | Wired.com

They hope the technology they are developing can go well beyond Occupy Wall Street to help establish more distributed social networks, better online business collaboration and perhaps even add to the long-dreamed-of semantic web — an internet made not of messy text, but one unified by underlying meta-data that computers can easily parse.

The impetus is understandable. Social media helped pull together protesters around the globe in 2010 and 2011. Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak so feared Twitter and Facebook that he shut down Egypt’s internet service. A YouTube video posted in the name of Anonymous propelled Occupy Wall Street from an insider meme to national news. And top-trending Twitter hashtags turned Occupy from a ho-hum rally on Sept. 17 into a national and even international movement.

Now it’s time for activists to move beyond other people’s social networks and build their own, according to Knutson.

“We don’t want to trust Facebook with private messages among activists,” he said.The same thinking applies to Twitter and other social networks — and the reasoning became clear last week, when a Massachusetts district attorney subpoenaed Twitter for information about the account @OccupyBoston and other accounts connected to the Boston movement. (To its credit, Twitter has a policy of fighting such orders.)

Occupy Geeks Are Building a Facebook for the 99% | Threat Level | Wired.com

March of the Bonus Army

This is the way its been since the Revolutionary Wat vets were thrown into debtors prisons. Soldiers were asking for compensation, with the politicians and media using the term bonus to imply that they were asking for something more, something undeserved.

There's also a book written by Paul Dickson and Thomas Allen that is very well done in detailing the origins and progression of the movement. The Bonus Army: An American Epic. Paul Dickson and Thomas Allen presented a talk about their book, the compelling story of World War I veterans whose demands for better treatment became the Bonus Army March. The bonus was finally paid in 1936, but its ultimate importance lay in paving the way for the passage of the G.I. Bill of Rights on June 22, 1944. Dickson and Allen's book talk marks the 61st anniversary of that bill's passage.

March of the Bonus Army - Part 1 - YouTube

Voters Leaving Republican, Democratic Parties in Droves

A USA TODAY analysis of state voter registration statistics shows registered Democrats declined in 25 of the 28 states that register voters by party. Republicans dipped in 21 states, while independents increased in 18 states.

The trend is acute in states that are key to next year's presidential race. In the eight swing states that register voters by party, Democrats' registration is down by 800,000 and Republicans' by 350,000. Independents have gained 325,000.The pattern continues a decades-long trend that has seen a diminution in the power of political parties, giving rise to independents as Ross Perot and Ralph Nader and the popularity this year of libertarian Republican Ron Paul.

"The strident voices of both the left and the right have sort of soured people from saying willingly that they belong to one party or the other," says Doug Lewis, who represents state elections officials. "If both sides call each other scurrilous dogs, then the public believes that both sides are probably scurrilous dogs."

Voters Leaving Republican, Democratic Parties in Droves

Call for Ron Paul from Home

Phone From Home for RON PAUL!!

Sign up @ http://phone.ronpaul2012.com/

For information on how to get started, call 917-515-5355 today or contact the
National Phone From Home Director Nick Spanos at nicks@ronpaul2012.com. Thanks!

At Phone Bankers for Ron Paul (aka the Phone Banksters), our goal is to get people even more excited to participate in the Ron Paul campaign, and one of the most important ways to do that is through phone banking! We can help you set up your own phone banking operations in your location. We can answer all FAQs and direct you to locations across the country.

I repeat, this is the most powerful tool at our disposal to win! This effort is about to dwarf any previous phone banking effort ever! This is history in the making! Join us!

http://phone.ronpaul2012.com/v/login.php?return_url=%2Fv%2F

We desperately NEED more callers!

read more

http://www.dailypaul.com/196864/call-ron-paul-from-home

Who are George Soros and the Freedom Group?

Got an email forward (I know, I  know) from one of our faithful readers and twitter friends this afternoon about some concern about and organization called the Freedom Group buying up all sorts of ammo manufacturers. The Freedom Group is supposedly traced to another organization which is traced to apparent anti-gun superhuman, super-Marxist liberal George Soros.

Here's the deal. The Freedom Group is real, BUT it's not what it's being made out to be and George Soros is nowhere to be found with association to the group. However, notable gun right supporters such as former VP Dan Quayle and Bush's treasury secretary, John Snow hold associations with the group.

Here is a link to the article on Snopes refuting the claims towards this group and said firearms companies: CLAIM: GEORGE SOROS IS BUYING UP FIREARMS MANUFACTURERS THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE FREEDOM GROUP.

http://www.hausofguns.com/2011/12/27/who-are-george-soros-and-the-freedom-group/

So what does it mean?

Nigeria's Worst Offshore Spill in a Decade Expands While Shell Says Spill Is Contained

While Shell says the spill not make it to shore, fishing communities along the coast are saying otherwise.

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/nigeria-worst-offshore-spill-decade-expands-while-shell-says-spill-contained.html

Lee Munson: When Finance Hijacked Our Economy

Finance has hijacked capitalism, and we need to take it back. Now is the time for finance to sign up to defend capitalism, not usurp it. Can we change the course? Yes we can.
Read More...
More on Financial Crisis

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-munson/how-to-retake-capitalism_b_1171216.html

4.8 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS - 26th Dec 2011

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck Southeast of the Loyalty Islands at a depth of 57.7 km (35.9 miles), the quake hit at 23:04:59 UTC Monday 26th December 2011.
The epicenter was 211 km (131 miles) West Ile Hunter, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

http://thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com/2011/12/48-magnitude-earthquake-southeast-of_26.html

Investing in Junk Silver, Pre-1965 90% Silver Circulated Dimes and Quarters

Here is a good reference for various coins of this period and their minting years and silver content. Compare prices between large banks and small, local coin dealers. Consider supporting local businesses, which can give much better deals, since they don't have the overhead that large banks do.

Junk silver is an informal term used in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia for any silver coin which is in fair condition and has no numismatic or collectible value above the bullion value of the silver it contains. Such coins are popular among people seeking to invest in silver, particularly in small amounts. The word "junk" refers only to the value of the coins as collectibles and not to the actual condition of the coins; junk silver is not necessarily scrap silver.^[1]

Precious metals including silver are measured in troy ounces (ozt). A spot price for silver is the price for a troy ounce of silver which is 99.9-percent pure, or 999 fine. Silver coins including junk-silver coins have set silver-alloy contents ranging from 35-percent to 90-percent or more. The term "coin silver," for example, refers to 90-percent silver alloy which was the most common alloy used to mint silver U.S. coins.

Any combination of 90-percent silver U.S. coins which have a face value of US$1.00 contains 0.715 troy ounces of 99.9-percent silver^[2] (0.7234 troy ounces if uncirculated), except for the silver dollars (Morgan and Peace) which contain .7736 troy ounces of silver. In other words, a full troy ounce of 99.9-percent silver is contained in any combination of 90-percent silver U.S. coins which have a face value of US$1.40.^[3]

The most commonly collected junk-silver U.S. coins were minted before 1965 and include Morgan and Peace dollars; Liberty Head "Barber," Walking Liberty, Franklin and Kennedy half dollars; Liberty Head "Barber," Standing Liberty and Washington quarters; Liberty Head "Barber," Winged Liberty Head "Mercury" and Roosevelt dimes; and Jefferson "Wartime" nickels.^[4]

Dollars

• Morgan (1878–1921) -- 90-percent silver
• Peace (1921–1928 and 1934–1935) -- 90-percent silver

Half-Dollars

• Liberty Head "Barber" (1892–1915) -- 90-percent silver
• Walking Liberty (1916–1947) -- 90-percent silver
• Franklin (1948–1963) -- 90-percent silver
• Kennedy (1964) -- 90-percent silver
• Kennedy (1965–1970) -- 40-percent silver

Quarters

• Liberty Head "Barber" (1892–1916) -- 90-percent silver
• Standing Liberty (1916–1930) -- 90-percent silver
• Washington (1932, 1934–1964) -- 90-percent silver

Dimes

• Liberty Head "Barber" (1892–1916) -- 90-percent silver
• Winged Liberty Head "Mercury" (1916–1945) -- 90-percent silver
• Roosevelt (1946–1964) -- 90-percent silver

Nickels

• Jefferson "Wartime" (1942 (partial)-1945) -- 35-percent silver

Junk silver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the most popular ways to invest in silver bullion is with the 90% U.S. silver bags. Misleadingly called “junk” silver bags, this name developed in the 1970s and was used to describe a bag of average circulated silver coins, meaning no rare coins were included.

All silver coins are struck in 1964 or earlier with 90% purity. Each bag contains $250 face value of either all dimes or quarters, and contains approximately 178.75 ounces of silver.

$250 Face Value Bag of 90% Silver Coins - Bullion

Junk Silver Coins are coins which derive most of their value from silver content alone. Traditionally, this has been a low premium method of investing in silver. It also has an interesting benefit. Because the coins are actual legal tender coins, the face value of the coins will provide an ultimate back stop for the value of the investment.

On a dealer level, junk silver coins are usually purchased in $1,000 face value bags. They are sold based on the value of the silver content plus a mark up. A $1,000 face value bag of junk silver will contain over 700 ounces of pure silver. See the various junk silver coin values for different coin series.

On a retail level, junk silver coins can be bought in any size, although its often convenient to purchase based on face value increments. This makes determining the silver content value easier.

On this site you will find $5, $10, $100, and $1,000 face value junk silver coins for sale. Also various values of 40% junk silver and 90% silver dollar rolls.

Junk Silver Coins | 90% Silver Bags & Rolls

Mises Canada In Vancouver January 2012

Mises Canada will be bringing the Austrian School of Economics to British Columbia at the

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference – January 22-23, 2012

Vancouver Convention Centre West - 1055 Canada Place | Vancouver, BC | V6C 0C3 | Canada

Register for this important event at the following page

Redmond Weissenberger, Director of the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada will be in attendance.

The Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada is also presenting Kel Kelly, author of The Case for Legalizing Capitalism as a lecturer for the CAMBRIDGE HOUSE INVESTOR COLLEGE.

Kel will be teaching two classes: Austrian School of Economics 101 and Applied Austrian School for Investors.

For more information, contact Redmond Weissenberger at 416-624-8848 or email Redmond@mises.ca

You can watch Jeffrey Tucker, of Laissez Faire Books interviewing Kel Kelly on his book below.

Redmond is the director of the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada.

http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/mises-canada-in-vancouver-this-january