by Ron Frazer
On the streets where illegal drugs are still easy to get at affordable prices, Florida’s police chiefs are losing the decades-long drug war. But, ironically, back in their precinct headquarters, many of these officials depend on drug raids to fatten their operating budgets. While the drug trade still enriches the bad guys, police chiefs now get a piece of the action.
Continue reading “Police Losing Drug War in Florida, but… $$$” »
by Andrew Chamberlain
To an economist, it’s hard to see how taxing illicit drugs could provide a broadly based and stable basis for government revenues. But that hasn’t stopped states from trying.
Continue reading “Are Illegal Drugs Taxable? States Say Yes!” »
by Jack Lee
The more we head into recession and the worse the housing/banking implosion gets the more determined government is to try and solve everything before we suffer too much pain. And the more that happens the more I am inclined to to agree with the purists in capitalism about keeping government out of the equasion.
Here are some of the comments I am hearing from friends who truly believe government serves a very limited purpose in our lives. They say, let government stay out of private business. Let the chips fall where they may and let it be done and over. Let the bad times teach lessons in honesty and integrity to corporate America. Trust in a free market system to handle it’s own checks and balances. Let people who earn their own money spend their own money, on what they want! It’s not government’s job to shift the wealth. Taxes impede growth, no taxes or low taxes encourage growth and prosperity.
And here’s my favorite line: The government that governs least is the government that governs best.
Who are the “they” that say this radical stuff, that just want government to leave them alone and stay out of our way? Libertarians.
UPDATE: When you read the above it’s important to remember government forced banks to make low income loans to marginally qualfied people in high risk areas. That set the stage (in part) for the weak loans that followed over the last 10 years and culminated in the mortgage meltdown.
by Jack Lee
DETROIT – U.S. automakers Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp are desperate for a merger. Their sales are down and the carmakers fear a long and protracted sales decline as the global economy sinks into the foreseeable future. The merger deals that would have caused alarm bells to sound within a half dozen federal watch dog agencies are now silenced by the need to expedite in order to survive, or so say those in favor of “cost cutting” mergers would have us believe.
Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch and Country Wide Financial, Wells Fargo buys up Wachovia, Washington Mutual is picked up for pennies on the dollar by Goldman Sachs and on and on it goes. Mergers, takeovers and buy outs are creating mega players and when the economy recovers what will we have? Titans that are virtual monopolies and that means competition from new start ups will be almost nil, competition in general will be almost nil…and the big boys will be able to simply divide up the consumer pie into thick slices. The former market forces that once led capitalism to doing it better, faster and cheaper will not be the big compelling force it once was. Could be that cooperation will replace competing and that could be a real loser for consumers.
When the economic dust has finally settled on the floor of Wall Street I think there is going to be two words youre going to hear a lot trust busting.
Petraeus Seeking International Support
Posted by Tina
This quite brilliant man is busy looking forward…and thats very encouraging:
“Petraeus seeking broad support for U.S. strategy, by David Morgan – Reuters
* WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Even before he takes command of U.S. military strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gen. David Petraeus is reaching beyond the military sphere to encourage international support for stabilizing the region. *
Continue reading “<font color=black>Petraeus Seeking International Support</font>” »
by Jack Lee
BAGHDAD – Today we witnessed on TV thousands of protesters taking to the street to express their anger and disapproval over US forces staying another 3 years, per the new US-Iraqi agreement.
A good deal of the protestors were followers of the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and that spells big trouble ahead for us, but before we go there, let’s take a brief look at what was right about the protest.. .It is important to recognize what it means on a number of levels that are all critical to the US mission in Iraq. Iraqi’s are demonstrating openly, thats a first! This means they are learning to govern, even if it means taking on the people who gave them this freedom.
The fact that Iraqi’s were able to be openly critical is one of the best advertisements for democracy we could hope for in a region dominated by censureship. Thats really good because such things can be infectuous and lead people into thinking for themselves. And in that context, this freedom of speech/anti-American demonstration was not lost on the hundreds of thousands who did not protest, but instead just observed! They may not have liked us or the protesters, but they have to know in their hearts that this is a sign that people have certain rights and there is the nexus to other rights backed up by the rule of law… they have created. Another really good thing for Iraqi’s to learn and value!
Now this is where it gets ugly, Moqtada al-Sadr is a firebrand, a religious fanatic. He is hate-filled and vengeful, and worse he is a strong willed and skillful leader who appeals to a certain brand of radical Muslims. He is comprised of many dimensions that span the gamet from political to personal and this makes him a dangerously complicated foe that should have and could have been eliminated years ago before he became a symbol for a cause that is underscored by violence and chaos.
Posted by Tina
Boehner: ACORN Recieved $31 Million in Federal Funding Posted by Amanda Carpenter TownHall.com blog
* House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) released information showing ACORN has received at least $31 million in federal funding since 1998 hours after the FBI announced they were launching a nationwide investigation against the non-profit: ACORNs free ride on the backs of taxpayers must end immediately,” a statement from Boehner’s office said. “An initial review of federal records shows ACORN affiliates have received at least $31 million in direct federal funding from American taxpayers over the past 10 years, and millions more indirectly through state and local agencies that receive federal block grants. House Republicans worked together to stop the Majority from using taxpayer dollars to fill a slush fund created just for ACORN, but now we must go further to turn off the spigot of federal grants on which ACORN depends” *** Boehner’s staff noted that one grant to an Albuquerque ACORN affiliate “is notable because it appears to facilitate and encourage the use of risky subprime loans” which is at the root of the current financial crisis. The title of the grant was for Education and Outreach Initiative/Subprime Lending Component. *
Follow the link for a pdf file of the Acorn grant records.
by Jack
HOLLAND, Ohio — Joe the Plumber’s story sprang a few leaks Thursday. Turns out that the man who was held up by John McCain as the typical, hard-working American taxpayer isn’t really a licensed plumber and court documents show he owes nearly $1,200 in back taxes.
“Joe,” whose name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, was cited repeatedly in Wednesday night’s final presidential debate by McCain for questioning Barack Obama’s tax policy.
Who does McCain’s research, Joe Biden?
by Jack
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A Pakistani judge ruled on Friday that a young American man of Pakistani descent could be detained for another two days after he was arrested trying to enter the terrorist enclave region on the Afghan border. His impecably logical alibi was that he wanted to “visit a friend” who lived somewhere in the 200 mile square region. Oddly, he didn’t have his friend’s address nor could he explain how he (an American born person) was even friends with an indigenous Pakistani who lived in a remote region cut off from telephones or even mail service. However, it is littered with terrorist training camps and is believed to be the region where Osama Bin Laden is hiding.
The Reuters story did not say if Osama was the friend Judi was seeking nor should you infer that by the flimsy circumstantial evidence herein…you just remember, they are all innocent untill caught red handed blowing up a building….this is our new national motto.
Continue reading “<font color=red>Pakistani-American Seeks Friend in Lawless Region of Pakistan” »
