19 September 2007

New Iraq Gov't Growing Cojones

The BBC recently reported that the Iraqi Interior Ministry had recently banned the private security firm known as Blackwater from the country after an incident with some of their personnel left eight or more innocent Iraqi civilians dead. Furthermore, the Iraqi government went on to say that they would be pursuing prosecution of the contractors involved in the incident. What's that? They're going to hold these private contractors accountable for their actions because they're tired of them running around doing whatever they want in their country? Is it because the State Department turns a blind eye to private contractors and doesn't hold them or their parent companies responsible for their actions? Shocking!

Of course, in true cover-your-own-ass fashion, a spokesman for Condi told the press that she wanted to
"ensure that everything was being done to avoid the loss of innocent life and to make sure this kind of incident never happened again.

She is also expected to telephone Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to reassure him that the US had launched its own investigation."

I've been telling people for a long time now that one of the reason's we're doing so badly in Iraq is because of these private contractors that are allowed to run free in the country and do things they're own way, often well outside the lines of the Geneva convention that the rest of the troops are required to adhere to. Perhaps thats why they are paid such ridiculous salaries and aren't held accountable, so that they can kill and torture those civilians that the US Military can't.

For a better look at the folly that are the private contractors in Iraq, check out a documentary called 'Iraq for Sale'. It's rather eye opening to say the least.

16 September 2007

The Thirty Day Plan

The following is an article written by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. and was published in the March 1991 edition of 'The Free Market'. It may have been published and written sixteen years ago, but I think at by this time we're coming to the tipping point and this plan would go a long way to fixing a lot of the problems that plague this country.

Rockwell's Thirty-Day Plan

by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.


When Eastern Europe broke free in 1989, we all realized just how little thought had been given to the transition from socialism to capitalism. Mises had told us the collapse was coming, and we should have been prepared.

As America comes to resemble a command economy, we need a transition plan here too. Yuri Maltsev proposed a "One-Year Plan" for the U.S.S.R. We're not in that bad a shape (yet), so we could do it in 30 days.

DAY ONE: The federal income tax is abolished and April 15th is declared a national holiday. The 40% reduction in federal revenues is matched by a 40% cut in spending. The budget is still almost twice as big as Jimmy Carter's.

DAY TWO: All other federal taxes are abolished, including the corporate income tax, the capital gains tax, the gasoline tax, "sin" taxes, excise taxes, etc. Businesses boom, and the few legitimate federal functions are funded with an inexpensive head tax. People who choose not to vote need not pay it. (Note: this was a mainstream view in the 19th century.)

DAY THREE: The federal government sells all its land, freeing up tens of millions of acres for development, mining, farming, forestry, oil drilling, private parks, etc. The government uses the revenue to pay off the national debt and other liabilities.

DAY FOUR: The minimum wage is reduced to zero, creating jobs for ex-federal bureaucrats at their market wage. All pro-union laws and regulations are scrapped. The jobless rate falls dramatically.

DAY FIVE: The Bureau of Labor Statistics, like the rest of the Labor Department, is sent to that big hiring hall in the sky. Without detailed economic statistics, future economic planners will be blind and deaf.

DAY SIX: The Department of Commerce is abolished. Big business has to make its own way in the world, without subsidies and privileges at the expense of its competitors and customers.

DAY SEVEN: The plug is pulled on the Department of Energy. Oil and gas prices plummet.

DAY EIGHT: All regulatory agencies, from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the Federal Trade Commission, are deep-sixed. Competition is legalized.

DAY NINE: HUD is squashed like a bug. There's a building boom in cheap, private, apartments.

DAY TEN: The interstate highways reopen as private businesses. Road entrepreneurs price travel according to consumer demand. Using modern technology, drivers get bills once a month. Credit risks – and drunks and dangerous drivers – aren't allowed on the road. Non-drivers no longer subsidize car owners.

DAY ELEVEN: Government welfare is wiped out. Bums work or starve. The deserving poor find a cornucopia of private services designed to make them independent. Private charity explodes, as the American people, already the most generous in the world, find their incomes almost doubled, thanks to the tax cuts.

DAY TWELVE: The Federal Reserve closes its open-market operations and stops protecting the banking industry from competition. But banks can now engage in all the non-bank financial activities previously forbidden to them. The business cycle, which is caused by monetary expansion through the credit markets, is liquidated.

DAY THIRTEEN: Federal deposit insurance is scrapped. All insured deposits are redeemed from federal assets, which include the personal assets of high-level government employees. The threat of bank runs forces banks to keep 100% reserves for their demand deposits, and prudent reserves on all other accounts. There are no more inherently bankrupt banks propped up by the government, at taxpayer expense, and no more bail-outs.

DAY FOURTEEN: The shaky fiat dollar is defined in terms of gold, with the ratio determined by dividing the government's gold stock by all existing dollars on that day.

DAY FIFTEEN: The federal government sells National and Dulles airports to the highest bidder, and stops all subsidies to other socialist airports around the country. All constraints on airline prices and service cease. It costs more to fly during peak hours than off-peak, but overall, air travel drops in price.

DAY SIXTEEN: All government regulations that create and sustain cartels are abolished, including those for the post office, telephones, television, radio, and cable TV. Prices plummet, and a host of new and unforeseen services becomes available.

DAY SEVENTEEN: Centrally planned agriculture, as imposed by Hoover and Roosevelt, is repealed: there are no more subsidies, payments-in-kind, marketing orders, low-interest loans, etc. Farm prices drop. Entrepreneurial farmers get rich. Welfare farmers go into another line of work. The poor eat like kings.

DAY EIGHTEEN: The Justice Department shutters its anti-trust division. Companies, big and small, are free to merge – up, down, or sideways. Stockholders can buy any other company, or sell their stock to anyone else. Marginal producers can no longer battle their competitors with bureaucratic weapons.

DAY NINETEEN: The Department of Education flunks the constitutionality test, and is kicked out. Private charities set up remedial reading and writing programs for the former bureaucrats. Federally subsidized sex education and other anti-family programs go out of business. Local school districts become responsive to parents or close, pressured by a fast-growing private school sector (which many more parents can now afford).

DAY TWENTY: All federal monuments are sold, in some cases to non-profit groups based on the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association, which owns and runs George Washington's home. The VFW buys the Vietnam memorial. There is much bidding for the Jefferson and Washington monuments. Nobody wants FDR's, so it's torn down and the land sold to a farmer. (With the federal government cut back to its constitutional size, much of Washington reverts to productive uses like agriculture, as in late 18th century.)

DAY TWENTY-ONE: The computerized financial and political dossier maintained by the government on every American is erased. The public wanders through the federal offices to make sure, in a reprise of the East Berliners' visits to Stasi headquarters.

DAY TWENTY-TWO: Equal rights are granted to all Americans, even members of non-victim groups. There is no affirmative action, no quotas, no set-asides, no public accommodations laws. Private property and freedom of association are fully restored.

DAY TWENTY-THREE: The EPA is cleaned out, with all "clean air" and similar big-government laws repealed. Ten thousand lawyers leap from their balconies. Private property is established in air and water. Americans harmed by pollution are free to sue the polluters, who are no longer protected by the federal government.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR: Americans are given complete freedom of contract, restoring rationality to malpractice and product liability law.

DAY TWENTY-FIVE: Government scrambles for more assets to sell (i.e., the National Zoo, also known as Washington, D.C.) to pay off the liabilities of the privatized Social Security system.

DAY TWENTY-SIX: Porno artists have to earn their own livings, as the National Endowment for the Arts tries to raise its budget through sidewalk painting sales.

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: Foreign aid is outlawed as unconstitutional, unjust, and un-economic. Foreign politicians have to steal their own money. The World Bank, IMF, and United Nations close their super-luxurious doors.

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: The American people are given the unrestricted right to keep and bear arms.

DAY TWENTY-NINE: The Defense Department is reoriented towards defense. American troops come home from all around the world. We adopt a policy of armed neutrality, remembering the Founding Fathers' teaching that we could not have an empire abroad and a constitutional republic at home.

DAY THIRTY: All tariffs, quotas, and trade agreements are put through the shredder. Americans can trade with anyone in the world, without barriers or subsidies. Japanese car prices drop an immediate 25%.

In just 30 exhilarating days, we have established the outlines of free market. Radical? Maybe so. Me, I can't wait until Month Two.

11 September 2007

A Small Aside on the Ten Commandments

An Excerpt from Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion

In his article, Eckstein brilliantly dissects the claim that the justice system is based on a short list of rules for late-Bronze-Age Israelites (i.e., the Ten Commandments). Here's a small taste:

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The first problem is the version to be displayed. My own discussion will be largely based on the traditional King James Version. But there are currently well over a dozen other Protestant translations on the mass market, as well as several Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish translations. Should a state legislature choose one translation favored by just one segment of the Judeo-Christian tradition while excluding those favored by all the others?

Most public displays - including Justice Moore's version - are not the full Ten Commandments. They are abridgments of the originals - Reader's Digest versions - that exclude many of the thornier passages. The King James Version contains 334 words, but Moore has taken it upon himself to whittle them down to a mere 75.

The First Commandment begins, "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt." An increasing number of Americans are Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Shintoists, Taoists, Confucians, adherents of Native American religions, animists, agnostics, and atheists - few of whom claim descent from the Israelite tribes who fled Egypt. Should a state government be in the business of declaring to all its citizens that they shall "have no other gods" above the God of the Israelites?

The Second Commandment forbids making any "graven," or carved, image - and bowing down to one. This warning also ignores the wide range of religious practice. Some Hindus bow before graven images of their gods, and some Catholics genuflect before graven images of their saints. The Vatican is filled with graven images of Christ, saints, and popes. Nor are most state governments innocent of this practice. In Michigan the capitol lawn holds at least six graven images - a stone eagle atop a war memorial, two stags on the state seal, a wolverine on an historical marker, two soldiers, and an imposing statue of the state's Civil War governor. Should these statues display a warning from the legislature that God forbids the making of graven images?

The Second Commandment also threatens to visit "the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." Should a child visiting the capitol start to worry that she may be punished because decades ago a great grandfather she never knew may have hit his thumb with a hammer and impulsively used the name of the Lord in vain? Does any American law seek to punish children, let alone grandchildren and great-grandchildren, for the transgressions of their fathers?

If the founders used the Ten Commandments in drafting the federal Constitution, they did a masterful job of disguising that fact. Not one key word from the Commandments appears in the text. The only allusion to them is to the Second Commandment, and it is a decidedly negative one - an absolute rejection of "Corruption of Blood," the philosophy of punishing children for the crimes of their parents. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote, "It is the essence of the institutions of liberty that it be recognized that guilt is personal." Isn't such recognition a sounder foundation for our laws than the intergenerational vengeance propounded by the Second Commandment?

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So none of these seven Commandments can be seen in any way as part of the "bedrock" of law today. Only three enjoin behavior for which most states currently punish people: the Sixth forbids killing, the Eighth forbids stealing, and the Ninth forbids bearing false witness. But these have been criminal offenses in many societies the world over that were quite innocent of the Ten Commandments. They were part of criminal law in ancient Babylon and Egypt centuries before the time of Moses. The Romans included them as early as the fifth century B.C.E., when they were still worshipping a whole stable of morally flawed gods, led by the lecherous Jupiter. Many indigenous peoples of North America, Africa, and the South Pacific islands had comparable taboos.

[NOTE: Eckstein's many footnotes/references are available in the printed version.]

10 September 2007

A Look At The Candidates

So, who's your pick for Presidential Candidate for the next election? Do you even know who is running? Do you know anything about them? Do you even know there's a presidential election this year?

Anyways, on to the candidates.

Rudy Giuliani


Yeah, I lost track of how many times he's been married also (not too mention once to his cousin). Then there's the fact he's a crossdresser, that doesn't help much. What I can't understand is why the religious right is supporting Giuliani so much, when the man is Pro-Abortion, Pro-Gay Marriage, Anti-Gun rights, and pretty much everything the religious right is against. Oh, but he will continue the 'War On Terror!!!'. One other thing before we move on, Giuliani's law firm is currentyl representing the Spanish company that will own and profit from the CanaMex Super highway the globalists want to build from Mexico to Canada as part of their move for a North American Union. That's right, he's fighting hard for our right to pay a foreign company to drive on the highway in our own country. Let's not forget how Rudy has been so successful in profiting off 9/11 by traveling around talking about it. Way to go Rudy!


John McCain

You know, I used to like McCain, cause he seemed like the one Republican that didn't stick to ridiculous legislation simply because that's what the party wants. But at this point, the guy is a better flip-flop than my shoes.


Mitt Romney

Check out this short video clip on Romeny's issues with Civil Liberties, because after all, he's the Republican Champion of Civil Liberties.



Wait...hold on a second...double Guantanamo? Planting bugs in churches and mosques? This guy should be the posterchild for BIG BROTHER, not civil liberties.

Fred Thompson

My liking of Fred Thompson ceases when I tell TiVo to delete the episode of Law and Order I just got done watching. Fred just recently announced he was going to be joining the race for President in '08, so let's take another look at good 'ole Fred:

In this video we see Fred being confronted in an Airport in Houston before he announced he'd be running for President. The woman asks Fred about his role as part of the Council on Foreign Relations and confronts him about the plans in progress for the forming of the North American Union. He does a decent job of spinning his involvement and outright denies knowing anything about it, though he does admit to being a member of conservative think-tanks.


Here we see Fred's great service as Senator to the American people who needed him:


Hillary Clinton

Where do I start with good ole Hillary? How about a video. Admittedly, there is a plug for Obama at the end of the clip, so don't take this as a sign of my affiliation with any party.


When you get a chance, check out this website on evidence of Hillary's Globalist Agenda.

Interesting Fact: Bill Clinton is the grandson of Winthrop Rockefeller, thus through marriage Hillary is tied to the Rockefeller's. It is also worth mentioning that prior to Bill's election into office, he had attended his final meetings with the Bilderberg group.

When you have some time, about 45 minutes, go on over to google video and watch this video. I'm not trying to push conspiracy theory or anything, but it presents a number of good arguments and facts, so watch it with an open mind. And please excuse the repetitive matrix soundtrack in the background.

03 September 2007

Pat Tillman: What Really Happened?

There have not many very many soldiers thus far that the Government has chosen to use for positive PR for the war on "terrorism". Personally, I think my girlfriend has more chance of success in the war on snoring than the 'war on terrorism', but that's just one guy's opinion.

Remember when Jessica Lynch got captured when her supply convoy was ambushed, then later she was 'rescued' by U.S. Forces? The story they told painted a picture of a convoy being ambushed, and a young private heroically refusing to give up as she continued to fight until she was captured after sustaining bullet and stab wounds. Later we find out that this was all a lie. The humvee she was riding in was struck with an RPG, and although some in the vehicle were killed on impact, one of the soldiers died later in the Iraqi hospital that Lynch was also taken to, as six others were killed in the firefight that ensued.

The Iraqi doctors did all they could to treat her wounds, even to the point of removing shrapnel and performing surgery on her leg. The nurses were kind to her, soothed her, and even attempted to return her to U.S. Forces at one point. Some time later U.S. Forces created diversions around the city as a team went into the hospital, and without firing any shots found her, got her onto a stretcher, and airlifted her out of the town and later out of the country.

Here's the video of Lynch testifying before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who are also looking into the Pat Tillman case:


Here's a video of Tillman's brother testifying before the same committee:


Who was Pat Tillman?




He maintained an almost perfect grade point average, graduated Arizona State University in just three and a half years and won the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honor in his senior year. He was a low draft pick into the NFL but quickly became a rising star. His rookie year for the Arizona Cardinals was sensational and it was no surprise to anybody following football that the then-mighty St. Louis Rams dangled a nine million dollar check at him. The shocker came when he turned the Rams' offer down out of loyalty to the Arizona Cardinals, something you rarely see anymore in professional sports.

Later, after 9/11, Tillman turned down the Cardinals' offer of 3.6 million for another year in order to enlist in the Army. From there he went on to join the ranks of the Army Rangers and headed off to Iraq to serve his country. He was, for a time, the pro-war poster child. To serve the idealogical needs of some, the patriotic image of Pat Tillman in his Army Ranger beret became the perfect recruitment tool and the new gold standard for the red-blooded, God-fearing American male.

Directly following his death, Tillman's family and the American public were told that he was killed by 'afghan rebels' on April 22, 2004. We don't yet know the reasoning behind the lies, but that's what was given to us when we wanted to know how he died. Maybe they were afraid that this coupled with the breaking news from Abu Gharib would severely cripple the support of the war. Later the Government changed their tune and said that he had been killed accidentally by 'friendly fire', but they still tried to shift the focus by playing up his bravery and sacrifice.

But wait! It gets better!


New evidence and testimony has come to light that paints a darker image than a mere 'friendly fire' accident. These new clues tell us that Pat Tillman may have actually been murdered by his fellow soldiers on purpose. The Associated Press reported:
"The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described," a doctor who examined Tillman's body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

The doctors - whose names were blacked out - said that the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

And here's the latest according to the Associated Press:
(Instead of being in a Humvee in a valley firing up at Pat Tillman and his fellow soldiers on mountain, it turns out) the shooters were "close, close enough for me to recognize them, but they sure weren't 10 yards away. They were further than that. I've thought about this plenty of times. They wouldn't have been more than 50 yards away," said Spc. O'Neal who was closest to Tillman at the time of the shooting.

Another key issue raised in the transcripts involved never-before-mentioned snipers who were apparently there when the firing broke out, got out of their vehicle and walked alongside the convoy, cutting up the canyon firing.

O'Neal said Saturday that he knew there were snipers in the convoy that fired at them, but that he can't remember their names. Were they fired at by the snipers? "Not that I know of," O'Neal told the AP.

Will we ever really know what really happened to Pat Tillman, or why he was murdered by his fellow soldiers? Who knows...