News Items

Neocons Roast Dick Cheney in NYC – Joke About Waterboarding and War Crimes

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On Monday night, the disgraced neocon establishment gathered at the Plaza Hotel in New York City to celebrate the depravity of Dick Cheney by having a gigantic laugh about all of the pain and suffering they inflicted on the rest of the world while they held the reigns of power. The event was hosted by Commentary … Read more

Looks Like it’s Finally Lights Out for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a thought piece about the enormous change happening in the Republican Party in an article titled: What the Ted Cruz Filibuster Really Means – It’s the End of the GOP as We Know It. That article noted the need for two of the most despicable GOP neocon Senators to be booted out of office once and for all, John McCain and Lindsey Graham. While it seems video-poker war hawk McCain may be retiring, it appears Graham plans to fight it out. It’s going to be an epic battle as he already has three contenders in the 2016 primary: Lee Bright, Nancy Mace, and Richard Cash.

More from Breitbart:

“Graham, who is facing competition from the libertarian wing of the party in the June primary, was liked by 53 percent of those polled,” Shain added. “More than one-third of GOP voters had an unfavorable opinion of the Seneca Republican.”

Clemson University political scientist Dave Woodward suggests that Graham could be unseated by one of his three primary challengers: State Sen. Lee Bright, businesswoman Nancy Mace, or pro-life activist Richard Cash. “Republican primaries regularly attract about 20 percent of the registered voters, and they are more conservative and more ideological than voters in the general election,” Woodard said. “It often happens that popular incumbents are derailed on the way to re-election by upstart challengers in GOP primaries.”

“Most incumbents have a ‘re-elect regardless’ number in the 30s, so the governor’s numbers are quite strong,” Woodard added. “That cannot be said about Graham, his numbers show that more than two-thirds of the base GOP voters are unhappy with him.”

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It’s Official: American Adults are Dumber Than Average

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The study is called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies and it tested 166,000 people aged 16 to 65 in more than 20 countries.  It found that in math, reading and problem solving, American adults scored below the international average.

I can’t say this is surprising, after all, the public allowed the big banks that destroyed the economy to gift themselves trillions in the aftermath of the financial crisis with barely a peep in response. You don’t have to be a problem solving genius to figure that one out. Finally, there is some proof behind our long-held suspicions.

From the Associated Press via the New York Post:

WASHINGTON — It’s long been known that America’s school kids haven’t measured well compared with international peers. Now, there’s a new twist: Adults don’t either.

In math, reading and problem-solving using technology – all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength – American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.

Adults in Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland and multiple other countries scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test. Beyond basic reading and math, respondents were tested on activities such as calculating mileage reimbursement due to a salesman, sorting email and comparing food expiration dates on grocery store tags.

Not only did Americans score poorly compared to many international competitors, the findings reinforced just how large the gap is between the nation’s high- and low-skilled workers and how hard it is to move ahead when your parents haven’t.

Yes, it’s called feudalism.

The study, called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, found that it was easier on average to overcome this and other barriers to literacy overseas than in the United States.

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Video of the Day: Veterans Arrested at Vietnam Memorial in NYC

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The following is a powerful, touching and very well done video that includes veterans of various wars, ranging from World War II to Vietnam as well as some of our recent imperial adventures. It is entirely clear that this is no stunt, but rather a heartfelt and genuine expression of grief and disillusionment from Americans … Read more

Deaths from Prescription Drugs Now Exceed Those Related to Cocaine and Heroin Combined

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A report released yesterday by the non-profit organization Trust for America’s Health has revealed some startling data on prescription drug abuse in these United States. The results are pretty damning to the prescription drug industry. Specifically, it found the majority of total drug related deaths in the U.S. come from prescription drugs, and they now account for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

More from Trust for America’s Health:

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Meet the Disability-Industrial-Complex: Up to 45% on Disability Insurance are Frauds

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If the American public knew what was going on in our system, half would be outraged and the other half would apply for benefits.

– Marilyn Zahm, one of the 1,500 disability judges operating in the U.S.

I’ve known about the “disability” scam for many years now, but I had never read a report that details the racket until I checked out the following from CBS’ 60 Minutes. As usual, the real money being made in the whole scheme is not centered around the people collecting the checks, but rather attorneys, doctors and even judges who grease the wheels of the $135 billion “disability-industrial-complex.”

For example, in the economically depressed border area of Kentucky and West Virginia we find 10%-15% of the population on disability, or three times the national average. The regional disability racket is essentially run by attorney Eric Conn, who’s clients for disability enjoy a 100% success rate thanks to Mr. Conn’s relationship with doctors and a local judge named David Daugherty.

Here are just a couple of examples of how Mr. Conn uses his advertising budget:

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Senator Tom Coburn explains to CBS’ 60 Minutes that:

Coburn says the report — to be released tomorrow — will show that Conn collected more than $13 million in legal fees from the federal government over the past six years and that he paid five doctors roughly $2 million to regularly sign off on bogus medical forms that had been manufactured and filled out ahead of time by Conn’s staff.

Just another scam from a scam economy. More from 60 minutes:

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Quote of the Day: The Fourth Turning Has Arrived

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An impasse over the federal budget reaches a stalemate. The president and Congress both refuse to back down, triggering a near-total government shutdown. The president declares emergency powers. Congress rescinds his authority. Dollar and bond prices plummet. The president threatens to stop Social Security checks. Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. Default looms. Wall … Read more

How the IRS Seized $35k from a Michigan Grocery Store With No Warning or Explanation

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I covered the out of control practice of government theft known as “civil forfeiture” earlier this year in my post: Why You Should Never, Ever Drive Through Tenaha, Texas. At the time I explained: In a nutshell, civil forfeiture is the practice of confiscating items from people, ranging from cash, cars, even homes based on … Read more

Thoughts on the Silk Road Raid, “Trolling” the FBI, and the Future of Bitcoin

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Before I get to the humorous FBI trolling story referenced in the title, I want to write a few overdue paragraphs about the whole Silk Road affair and the future of Bitcoin. The garbage that was being emanated from across the internet about what would become of Bitcoin in the wake of the news that the feds has arrested the founder of the Silk Road, Dread Pirate Roberts aka Ross Ulbricht, represented the height of ignorance. As soon as I heard the news, witnessed the price plunge and heard the hyperbole being spewed by commentators I tweeted:

The ignorance of people saying this is “game over” for Bitcoin is astounding.

and

This is game over for the most successful online illegal drug market. It is not the end for Bitcoin. Other nations will take the lead on BTC.

I also said I’d be happy to take Bitcoin donations in light of their sudden so called “worthlessness,” and I told folks they could send some to LBK’s Bitcoin donation wallet. Unfortunately, no one took me up on the offer.

Now I want to be clear. Although the price has shot back up and is only down slightly since the FBI raid (see chart below), I wasn’t making a near-term call on the price direction. I was merely saying that those claiming “Bitcoin is over” as a result of the Silk Road shutdown are clearly quite ignorant on the subject, and were just spouting ill-informed nonsense.

As far as price, there may still be dangers ahead. We know that the FBI already has taken 27,365 BTC from user accounts, and in the event they can get their hands on the $80 million in BTC commissions earned by Mr. Ulbricht, this could represent 5% of all BTC outstanding. Should the feds get their hands on all of these, they could certainly cause intentional, large sell-offs in the market should they desire. While I think there will be plenty of buyers on such a move lower (as we saw on Wednesday’s plunge), it is something to be aware of.

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Personally, the biggest surprise in the entire Silk Road raid saga to me was the fact that the guy running it was doing so from within the U.S. I had always assumed he was located outside of this Banana Republic for the obvious reasons of government thuggery and insane incarceration rates for non-violent crimes, particularly drug crimes.

Looking ahead, if the U.S. moves to demonize BTC, or make transactions in it more difficult, Bitcoin businesses will simply all move abroad and other countries like Germany, which is already taking a leading role, will dominate. It could be potentially the largest loss of future business and entrepreneurship in U.S. history, merely because a tiny faction of corrupt financial oligarchs want to protect their money monopoly turf.

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Video of the Day: Jesse Ventura Returns to Piers Morgan

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A year ago, I posted a “discussion” about the attacks of 9/11 between Jesse Ventura and Piers Morgan. To this day it remains one of the most popular posts I have ever published, with 128 comments. I’m sure Piers’ staff was well aware of the buzz that episode created, and so earlier this week Jesse was … Read more