Laissez-faire vs. Corporate Capitalism and the Rise of The Socialist Republic of America

I have some friends who truly believe that Capitalism is wrong. They debate that it encourages selfishness and greed. They argue that it creates a class system that is unfair to the poor. Now even though I disagree with them, because I live in a semi- free society, I can argue my side and debate the issue and still call them friends. After reading this post, you also will come to your own conclusions of what economic freedom really is. Now I am a Capitalist, but I have a great distain towards the Corporate sector. The reason is that I believe there is very little difference between Corporations version of Capitalism and Socialism. I tend to like the Laissez-faire aproach. Alow me to explain through definition... Daniel Webster defines Laissez- faire as a policy that allows businesses to operate with very little interference from the government. A philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference especially with individual freedom of choice and action. It derives from the French phrase- "allow to do" The origin of the term is uncertain, but folklore suggests that it is derived from the answer Jean-Baptiste Colbert, controller general of finance under King Louis XIV of France, received when he asked industrialists what the government could do to help business. They responded "Leave us alone!" Corporate capitalism is a term used in economics to describe a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical, bureaucratic corporations. Corporate capitalism has been criticized for the amount of power and influence corporations and large business interest groups have over government policy, including the policies of regulatory agencies and influencing political campaigns. Monsanto is a prime example of this. They have the politicans in their back pocket, and the small farmer by the balls! In my opinion, it is the Corporations who are really running the show. The politicans are just their puppets. Corporate Capitalism is unfair, and it contradicts the idea of the American dream. It is a form of Socialism. Now Socialism sounds like a great idea, if you want up your rights as a free human being with a dream to better yourself. You can opt to share everything with strangers who didn't work for your success. It should be everyones dream to make a better life for themselves and their family. If it's not yours, then so be it. But don't act like everyone you something. Nobody owes anybody anything. If you feel your worth something, then go out there and prove it.

From The Halls Of Montezuma To The Shops Of Maurices

Just when you think this administration can't get anymore ridiculously stupid, they go one step more. I swear they act like a teenage girl with her daddys credit card! According to the New York Post, President Obama's plan to create a "unisex" look for the Marine Corps has officials on the verge of swapping out the Marines' iconic caps with a new hat that some have derided as so "girly" that they would make the French blush. To quote a senior Marine source "We don't even have enough funding to buy bullets, and the DoD is pushing to spend $8 million on covers that look like women's hats!" The Marines deserve better. It makes them look ridiculous." They have been dubbed the "Dan Daly" hat, after a sergeant from Long Island who won the Medal of Honor in World War I. You can name it after whomever you want Barry, it still does not change the fact that if this idea actually follows through, you are going to have some very pissed off Marines! The Dress Blues have been a tradition since 1922. I believe that there are more pressing issues that the President should be addressing, Like Health Care, Jobs for Americans, and the invasion of civil liberties!

Big Government= Big Spending

By now through reading my blog, you all know that I am a big believer in small government. It is no big secret that I also believe in personal freedom. I will bet that most of you out there feel the same way that I do. So now that we are all on the same page, why can't we the government to think like this? The Republicans say they want less spending, and complain about the debt yet will not do one thing about it.(except pretend to close down the government and put good people out of work) The Democrats whine about civil liberties yet vote on wire tapping and gun control. These elected officials have systematically taken away our freedoms, and ran up our national debt to where the U.S. Dollar is almost worthless. Let me give you some examples... The National Security Agency (NSA) is the main producer and manager of signals intelligence for the United States. Estimated to be one of the largest of U.S. intelligence organizations in terms of personnel and budget(10.8 billion dollars a year)The NSA is tasked with the global monitoring, collection, decoding, translation and analysis of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, including surveillance of targeted individuals on U.S. soil. The agency is authorized to accomplish its mission through clandestine means, among which is bugging electronic systems and engaging in sabotage through subversive software. As part of the growing practice of mass surveillance in the United States, the NSA collects and stores all phone records of all American citizens. With more than 200,000 employees, The Department Of Homeland Security is the third largest Cabinet department( they spend 61 billion dollars a year)The DHS is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, with the primary responsibilities of protecting the United States from terrorists attacks. Basically a Department in charge of agencies that already exist. The CIA has three traditional principal activities, which are gathering information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals; analyzing that information, along with intelligence gathered by other U.S. intelligence agencies, in order to provide national security. They cost 15 billion a year, to do "half-assed" spying all over the globe and were wrong about the WMD's. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms(ATF)is responsible for the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture and possession of firearms and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms and ammunition.(2 billion per year). Now these are just a fraction of the agencies that we could really do without. There is also the FBI( we do not require Federal cops), the DEA(the war on drugs is subject to a whole other post boys and girls), and the IRS(why do we have an income tax again?) Lets also remember that our government spends an estimated 49.5 billion dollars on foreign aid, and our military budget is 682 billion dollars a year!(by the way China spends 166 billion and Russia spends 90!) We could cut our defense spending in half, and still have the most powerful military in the world! The bottom line is this people, our country is being run into the ground by these fiscal morons in Washington. Our rights and freedoms are slowly dissolving, and I truly believe that if our founding fathers knew what was going now, they would shout "tyranny"!

We Thank You For Your Service

As the government shutdown grinds into its third week, veterans benefits gained the spotlight Tuesday in what was the biggest protest yet aimed at pressing Congress and President Obama to solve the problem. The Military Coalition, a group of 33 veterans and military organizations, rallied at the National World War II Memorial on Tuesday morning. The groups wanted to publicize the impact the shutdown is having on many vets and their families amid concerns of delayed disability pay, GI Bill education stipends and other benefits. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki warned last week that financing vet benefits could become difficult if the impasse continues. Compensation checks to 5.1 million veterans won't be issued Nov. 1; 433,000 fully disabled veterans might not receive payments; and 360,000 surviving spouses and children of wartime veterans may stop getting VA money. The unemployment rate for veterans exceeds 20% in some areas. Some vets are battling disabilities that make them unemployable. Some rely on housing stipends while they attend school on the G.I. Bill. Suicide rates for vets are already high, this could push many over the limit. Look. Enough is enough. These dumbasses need to get it together and do the job that they were elected to do, represent the people for once instead of their own agenda.

The 5th Amendment And The War On Terror

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. That being said, why is Al Libi (suspected mastermind behind the 1998 Embassy bombings in East Africa) receiving due process after being captured? This is not a Police Action on terror. This is not a law enforcement action on terror. This is a WAR on terror. In a war, enemy combatants do not get the luxury of the 5th Amendment in a civilian court. If our government is going to wage this war, then they need to do it right. Al Libi does not deserve a civilian trial. He deserves a bullet in the head. I don't think any of the victims families of 9/11 would mind. Or the victims families of the embassy bombing would mind. This is war, and should be carried out as such. I am tired of these crazy relligous psychos getting the same treatment as an American citizen.

World Police

In his first inaugural address, President Thomas Jefferson cited the essence of a libertarian foreign policy, "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations -- entangling alliances with none." This echoed the advice of President George Washington that "the great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible." Alas, politicians having motives that aren't always aligned with the public, a return to trade barriers began late in the 19th century, starting in Germany, and as French economist Frederic Bastiat warned, "when goods don't cross borders, soldiers may," with the decreasing trade being accompanied by increasing militarism and, ultimately, everyone taking sides in what is now recognized as one of the most pointless conflicts in history, World War I. Although America benefits enormously from being a gigantic free trade zone, US politicians have frequently been reckless in international policy. Perhaps the biggest tariff increase in history, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, was signed into law in 1930 by Herbert Hoover. Not only is it now considered by many economists to be a key factor in precipitating the Great Depression, but it led to massive retaliation by other countries and a trade war that virtually destroyed international commerce and, once again, was accompanied by an increasing militarism and an even more destructive world war. Criminal attacks on innocent civilians are not, properly considered, military issues, but policing matters. Having by far the largest military budget on earth obviously did nothing to prevent the bombing of an Oklahoma federal building in 1995 by American Timothy McVeigh or the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaida. Preventing terrorism is a matter of intelligence, both in the sense of obtaining information and using our brains. So let's try both. We cannot indulge the ignorant desire to blame anti-American terrorism on a "hatred of freedom," "72 virgins," or other such nonsense. After a suicide truck bomber killed 241 US Marines stationed in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, President Ronald Reagan wasn't justifying this massacre when he decided to withdraw American troops from the Middle East. He understood that people, all people, hate foreign armies on their soil. Unfortunately, his successor, George H.W. Bush, went back into the Middle East to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, and his stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia after that war was specifically cited as the primary reason for Al-Qaida's declaration of jihad against America. Since then, of course, the US military has undertaken attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Libya. The best form of anti-terrorism insurance is to remove all troops from the Middle East, stop attempts to either preserve or change their current governments, and end all government-to-government aid.

TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE

When I was a kid back in the 70's and 80's my father worked for the government as a Civil Service Fire Instructor and Station Chief at Loring Air Force Base. I remember him going to several schools for promotions and receiving several commendations and awards while he served. He did this in the promise of financial security for his family. He wanted to make sure that we did not go without. We received excellent medical benefits, that of which we would have never been afforded through the local Fire Department. Dad had always told me that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that nothing in life is guaranteed but a government job was probably the most secure job a guy could have. I went through my childhood believing this, because I witnessed this. I had seen my friends fathers getting laid off or "let Go" in the private sector, and was convinced that something like that would never happen to a government worker. That is, until I grew up. Now I was raised in an Irish Catholic environment. I was taught very young that if you vote for the right people (Democrat) then the government would help you. Would look out for you. I was taught that it was the governments DUTY to look out for the "common man" Boy how times have changed! Gone are the days when Representatives actually served the public. Gone are the days when you could count on your local senator to be YOUR voice in Washington. So, where and when did it all go to shit? Was it always just a fantasy, an unrealistic promise that the government would actually do the job that they were elected to do? Maybe. With this latest "Shutdown" of the government, I can't help but feel bad for the people who are actually out of work. You know the contractors, the " blue collars" the ones that make this country run. It's not fair. It's not fair that they have to suffer while the ones that deserve to be furloughed are still there, and still screwing things up. Is it not logical, that if you are not doing what you were hired to do, and continue to on a regular basis refuse to do the job correctly should be fired? Enough is enough. We need to take control of our country before there is no country left. It's time to clean house people, and it has to start at the local level. We need representatives we can trust again. I don't know what to do other than keep voting third party, and hope for another revolution. Anyway that's my rant for today folk, any comments or suggestions would be great! Thanks for reading!

Libertarian: Conservative or Liberal?

Libertarians are not “left” or “right” or a combination of the two. Libertarians believe that on every issue you have the right to decide for yourself what’s best for you and to act on that belief, so long as you simply respect the right of other people to do the same. How does this compare with the left and right? Today’s liberals tend to value personal liberty, but want significant government control of the economy. Today’s conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but want to use the government to uphold “traditional values.” Libertarians, in contrast, support both personal and economic liberty. Libertarianism is the only political movement that consistently advocates a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. http://www.theadvocates.org/libertarianism-101/101-frequently-asked-questions/

What Is Libertarianism?

Libertarians see the individual as the basic, most essential element of society. The word roughly means “believer in liberty.” Libertarians believe that each individual owns his or her own life and property and has the right to make his own choices about how to live his life — as long as he respects the rights of others to do the same. Liberty is one of the central lessons of world history. Virtually all the progress the human race has enjoyed during the past few centuries is due to the increasing acceptance of free markets, civil liberties and self-ownership. Libertarianism is thus the combination of liberty (the freedom to live your life in any peaceful way you choose), responsibility (the prohibition against the use of force against others, except in defense) and tolerance (honoring and respecting the peaceful choices of others).

Stop Watching Us!

Right now the NSA is spying on everyone's personal communications, and they’re operating without any meaningful oversight. Since the Snowden leaks started, more than 571,000 people from all walks of life have signed the StopWatching.us petition telling the U.S. Congress that we want them to rein in the NSA. On October 26th, the 12th anniversary of the signing of the US Patriot Act, we're taking the next step and holding the largest rally yet against NSA surveillance. We’ll be handing the half-million petitions to Congress to remind them that they work for us -- and we won’t tolerate mass surveillance any longer. https://rally.stopwatching.us/