Robbing Peter To Pay J.P.

LIeBOR Gets Interesting As Regulatory Capture Reverses Itself In England | ZeroHedge: "Libor manipulation is a crime that already robs the public to create bonuses for bankers. By artificially lowering interest rates, the banks caused cities, towns, countries, and other public entities to receive smaller returns on their variable-rate investment holdings. If it turns out that taxpayers end up paying the fine for RBS's crime of robbing taxpayers, how perfect would that be?

More importantly Matt, synthetically depressed LIeBOR rates artificially lowers the bar for economic profit, in layman's terms it makes the bank look more profitable and less risky than they actually are. As you stated, this leads to bigger bonuses funded by bigger taxes borne by financially smaller taxpayers. Hmmmm....

Who else is in the sights of the upcoming truth? Citbank, Bank of Lynch (robbing) America Coutrywide and JP Morgan!"

WTWT. Yes, Max and Stacy have a weakness for hyperbole in this one. But unfortunately, you can't argue with their facts.

And Reggie reminds us that "regulatory capture" is the only way to understand this situation. One more time for all of you who still don't get it:

And yes, the regulators are bought and sold just like the legislators.

I haven't finished it yet, but already I can't recommend "Ending 'Big SIS' (The Special Interest State) and Renewing The American Republic" strongly enough by way of understanding the mess we are in.

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Speed Bump

WaPo: It’s looking like Obama has nothing new to offer on jobs, economy « Hot Air: "Good luck with that strategy.  Voters routinely put jobs and the economy first in their concerns when contemplating their vote, and any other issue shows up a distant second.  (In most polls, the second-place issue is the federal deficit, which isn’t a good topic for Obama, either.)  Even Robert Reich has tired of Obama dodging the issue of jobs and the economy with the “I inherited a bad economy” excuse.  As the Post implicitly underscores, the issue is no longer 2008, but 2012, and it’s clear that we’re not moving in the right direction.

Investors Business Daily’s Michael Ramirez offers a more concise look at the impact of the jobs report on the Obama campaign:"

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Weather

The folly of blaming the Eastern U.S. heat wave on global warming | Watts Up With That?: "A picture is worth a thousand words:"

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Not There

Are Banks Raiding "Allocated" Gold Accounts? | ZeroHedge: "Given the numerous reports of supposedly "allocated" gold not being there, it should not be entirely surprising that wealthy investors are taking matters into their own hands ... literally.

Kirby Analytics notes:

We are hearing anecdotal accounts that beneficial owners of “allocated” gold bullion in London and other European centers have showing up at bullion banks and demanding their physical metal be a] viewed and assayed, and then b] withdrawn from the vaults of banks."

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Wait...

The Drone Zone - NYTimes.com: "It took a few seconds to figure out exactly what we were looking at. A white S.U.V. traveling along a highway adjacent to the base came into the cross hairs in the center of the screen and was tracked as it headed south along the desert road. When the S.U.V. drove out of the picture, the drone began following another car.

“Wait, you guys practice tracking enemies by using civilian cars?” a reporter asked. One Air Force officer responded that this was only a training mission, and then the group was quickly hustled out of the room."

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What's Really Going On

Articles: How Statists Are Getting Away with It: "I would ask Joe Voter to bear with me as we discuss a thing called compound interest.  Let's take two countries, A and B.  A's GDP grows 1.4% per year, and B's grows 3.5% per year.  Let's say both have the same GDP in year zero.

In 20 years, country A would be 32% more wealthy than it started.  Its citizens would have seen progress and wealth growth.  If they had no one to compare themselves to, they might think things were swell.

But in those same 20 years, country B would be 99% more wealthy than it started.  While they both started out equal, after 20 years, country B will be 50% more wealthy than country A.  Average Joe Voter in country A will start to take notice.  In 2011, for example, Canada was 40% more wealthy than Cyprus (GDP per capita, purchasing power parity).  People can notice differences of such magnitudes.

But statists have a solution to this: try to get all countries to grow at the same rate."

RTWT. You'll finally understand why your mammary glands hurt so much. And that goes for the men too...

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Jindal: It's Bad When The Town Drunk Holds The Moral High Ground Above Us

Jindal: It’s called the Declaration of Independence, not dependence « Hot Air: "Amazingly, facing the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression, President Obama chose to create a new entitlement program when we cannot afford the ones we already have. Republicans like to go on television and say we are borrowing from our children’s and grandchildren’s future. We can throw those talking points out; we are hurting ourselves now. You know we are in trouble when the German Finance Minister rebuffs President Obama and basically tells him to clean up his own mess before offering advice to others. Even the Europeans feel they have the moral high ground to tell us to tackle our own debt problems; that’s like the town drunk telling you that you have a drinking problem. …"

Yup.

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Boson Fireworks On The 4th?

Higgs Boson Confirmed: "The Higgs boson proves the existence of the Higgs field--a field that permeates the entire universe and imparts the quality of mass to particles through the Higgs mechanism. Here is a good video that explains all that. And more background from an older New York Times article.

In the video embedded below, CERN spokesman Prof. Joe Incandela explains the significance of the discovery and talks about what comes next."

"... pretty darn significant."

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COTD: A Statesman Quoting Jefferson On The 4th

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu Delivers Independance Day Message to the United States (Video) | The Gateway Pundit: "I wish Bibi was our president. He is a true statesman. Unlike what we have now."

Of course you're never going to get a meaningful homage to Jefferson from the deceiving ingrate we have as "President".

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This 4th O July We Have The Best Government Money Can Buy

The Wit and Wisdom of P. J. O'Rourke [OregonMuse]: "This truth should be axiomatic to everyone, especially those in government. Of course, it's not."

And from the comments:

41 Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit - PJ O'Rourke
Posted by: kbdabear at July 04, 2012 12:50 PM (Y+DPZ)

42 The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.
Posted by: P. J. O'Rourke at July 04, 2012 12:51 PM (YdQQY)

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A Concise Summary

Re: Tax vs. Penalty - By Mario Loyola - The Corner - National Review Online: "Now, none of that makes this a tax for purposes of determining whether it may be assessed under Congress’s power to tax “for the general welfare.” In that context, “tax” is a technical term, and is highly restricted by the qualifier “for the general welfare.” 

In common usage this is a tax. For purposes of determining whether the Obama administration has kept its promise, it is a tax. But on the constitutional question, the dissent was entirely correct: This mandate is not a proper exercise of the power to tax “for the general welfare” because it is a penalty meant to enforce a mandate that cannot be sustained under the Commerce Clause or any other enumerated power.

The constitutional issue partly overlaps with the popular one: We know for sure that if the Court rules it is a tax for constitutional purposes then it is a tax for popular purposes. The administration has to face the fact that the only reason its law was upheld is that has been ruled a tax for all purposes. But outside that overlap, there is ample room to insist that this mandate is a tax, and also a penalty, and also not a tax “for the general welfare.”"

RTWT -- it's not much longer than this excerpt.

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Powerful -- And Long Forgotten -- Stuff

The Volokh Conspiracy » The Declaration of Independence Annotated: "The assumption of natural rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence can be summed up by the following proposition:  “first comes rights, then comes government.”  According to this view: (1) the rights of individuals do not originate with any government, but preexist its formation;  (2) The protection of these rights is the first duty of government; and (3) Even after government is formed, these rights provide a standard by which its performance is measured and, in extreme cases, its systemic failure to protect rights — or its systematice violation of rights — can justify its alteration or abolition; (4) At least some of these rights are so fundamental that they are “inalienable,” meaning they are so intimately connected to one’s nature as a human being that they cannot be transferred to another even if one consents to do so.  This is powerful stuff."

This is a perfect piece for the 4th -- RTWT and learn. And stop being a drug and television laced serf. If you don't you will deserve your shackles.

Yes, we're on the road to real shackles soon. If you're laughing that means you've never read or watched "Harrison Bergeron":

2081 Trailer from 2081 on Vimeo.

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The Real Reactionaries

The eternal meaning of Independence Day, part 2 | Power Line: "About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers."

"Equality" of outcomes.

"Group" rights.

Dumbed down democracy for television and drug addicts.

Bend over and welcome to hell on this 4th of July...

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Horrors

Articles: The Movie on Health Care That Obama Doesn't Want You to See: "Rémy is dying of an unspecified cancer.  His ex-wife Dominique pleads with their estranged son to fly back to Quebec from London and see his father for the final time.

The source of the estrangement is clear enough from the early minutes of the film.  Rémy is an outspoken socialist history professor, a libidinous devotee of the counterculture.  His son, Sébastien, is an arch-capitalist, a commodities arbitrageur for a bank in the City, who "never reads a book," Rémy says disgustedly.  Each heartily despises the values of the other.  But it is only the son's Gordon Gekko morals -- his willingness to bribe and bully -- and his deep pockets that enable Rémy to escape the horrors of the Canadian health care system."

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Two Mints In One

Re: Surrendering Obamacare - By Mario Loyola - The Corner - National Review Online: "The crucial thing is that it is also a penalty. That’s where the Obama administration is absolutely correct. And because it is a penalty, its constitutionality cannot be sustained under the taxing power. And because the mandate itself could not be sustained under the Commerce Clause, it follows inescapably, from the administration’s own hilarious attempt to escape the “tax” label, that the penalty is unconstitutional.

Every time the administration says this is a penalty, it is saying that it is unconstitutional. So rather than drowning in semantics, let’s just agree to call it a “tax penalty.” What the administration’s critics should be driving home is that the administration cannot have it both ways: Either the mandate is nothing other than a tax or it is unconstitutional. "

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COTD: Falling Apart

Belmont Club » You Can’t Take It With You: "9. Cowboy
I was at a Cub Scout camp last week, camping along the Virginia – West Virginia border. I got home from camp just in time for the lights to go out, and spent almost 3 days with power out all over my town. From this I’ve decided that when the grid goes the next time, I’d rather be in the hills than in the town.

The Cub Scout camp was Olympic themed, having events based around Homer’s Odyssey, and I had ample time in the woods to reflect on that great work. Its major theme is a surprising one to moderns, it’s one that goes almost unnoticed. But once you’re turned onto it you see it on every page, in every one of Odysseus’ encounters. This theme is the abuse of the guest-host relationship, the abuse of goodwill. This is the greatest sin for Homer, it marks the beginning of the Illiad (the Rape of Helen) and the end of the Odyssey (the Death of the Suitors) and every step of the way for Odysseus’ travels.

There I was, surrounded by a group of very ‘nice’ people. These were Northern Virginia yuppies and professionals with their boys, and this was Cub Scout mission striving to reflect all the wholesome values transmitted by that laudable moral institution, the Boy Scouts of America. On the whole, the edifice fell apart repeatedly."

As Orwell put it, they live in a "bourgeoise illusion bred of money and security".

The fall won't be pretty.

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A Reminder: No, Europe Hasn't Actually Gotten Any Better...

Clarke and Dawe - European Debt Crisis - YouTube: "Clarke and Dawe - European Debt Crisis"

And no, the rape of Germany won't yield enough money to really fix anything. All you socialists out there can argue that "social justice" and the bad things Germany once did to Europe justify however good and hard you want to give it to Germany.

Well, you could if Nazi wasn't shorthand for "National Socialist Party".

But then to you, a tax is a penalty. Or a mandate. Unless of course you need it to be a tax, right?

Riiiiiight...

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Cancelled

Blog: A Cautionary Tale: "Friday afternoon the day following SCOTUS' ruling on ObamaCare, I spoke with a friend whose business is high end construction work for smaller projects. After the usual "Hey How Are You," he tells me of the five projects he had on his planner; four called that morning and cancelled.

1. We don't know if we'll be in business after the first of the year. If ObamaCare goes into effect with or without a new President we don't see any way we can go on. The taxes, fees and regulations will destroy us."

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COTD: Big Fire

On why we have a 747 Very Large Air Tanker sitting unused in the U.S. Southwest:

In Colorado wildfires, ‘worst in state history’, why won’t the Forest Service use the biggest firefighting tool available? | Watts Up With That?: "Poems of Our Climate says:
June 30, 2012 at 2:00 pm
The simple answer is firefighting is big business and big money and big union. Putting the fire out ruins the gravy train. This is how firefighting works on every level. They wait until the fires are out of control, then come in to stand there pretty much.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes in my high-fire area. It’s intentional.

Most logging has been banned, enabling incredible danger and a giant anti-fire infrastructure with all the funding. The warmist narritive fits nicely with Big Fire."

UPDATE: And more:

Spend a billion plus dollars fighting with the equipment they got, let hundreds of thousands of acres burn causing many millions of dollars of damage with the disruption and likely injury and death of many humans. But since that 20,000 gallon fast-flying tanker plane can’t be precise enough to guarantee that no slurry will wind up in in some water somewhere, it is all worth it to save the fish. The joke is Green is the new Red. Now Fiery Red is the new Green.

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How Politicians Help Make Us Fat

What Really Makes Us Fat - NYTimes.com: "If we think of Dr. Ludwig’s subjects as pre-obese, then the study tells us that the nutrient composition of the diet can trigger the predisposition to get fat, independent of the calories consumed. The fewer carbohydrates we eat, the more easily we remain lean. The more carbohydrates, the more difficult. In other words, carbohydrates are fattening, and obesity is a fat-storage defect. What matters, then, is the quantity and quality of carbohydrates we consume and their effect on insulin.

From this perspective, the trial suggests that among the bad decisions we can make to maintain our weight is exactly what the government and medical organizations like the American Heart Association have been telling us to do: eat low-fat, carbohydrate-rich diets, even if those diets include whole grains and fruits and vegetables."

So basically for the last fifty years, the government has been propagandizing us to do the WRONG THING -- the government sanctioned food pyramid has killed countless Americans.

No doubt things will be transformed into paradise on earth by giving them even more power over healthcare -- which they have already nearly destroyed even before O DuceCare.

The SCOAMF said we're stupid and need to be transformed after all...

And if the SCOAMF actually weren't a nasty jack*ss on purpose, this would all still be a ridiculous joke because:

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." --Ernest Benn

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