The Latest Victim of Inflation: Subway’s “Footlong” Sub

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In what has now become a series of posts on how people in the western world are being shortchanged by stealth inflation, we now find out that: “four out of seven Footlongs — purchased at Subway locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens — measured only 11 or 11.5 inches.”

Subway

Not to worry.  The stock market is near all time highs and the politburo’s statistics agencies continue to ensure us that there is no inflation.  From the New York Post:

Stingy Subway sandwich honchos are shorting customers by serving 11-inch “Footlong” subs, hungry New Yorkers say.

Four out of seven Footlongs — purchased at Subway locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens — measured only 11 or 11.5 inches, according to the test.

And that’s not the only corner Subway is cutting — the shops have sliced their cold-cut sizes by 25 percent in the past few months, a Manhattan franchise owner told The Post.

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West Point Issues Report on the “Far Right” Terrorists in America

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If this article does not serve as a wakeup call for all those on the fence regarding who your loving government now considers a “terrorist” I don’t know what will.  The power structure loves to use language to divide and conquer their subjects, and this report is a perfect example of that technique.  These days, when the term “far right” is used in the mainstream media or in government/military reports, they are talking about those that believe in the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.  A preeminent set of laws that must be followed by everyone, including the President, Congress, large corporations and the military.  Meanwhile, the “moderate right” is defined as Neo-cons.  You know, the torture loving, Constitution-ignoring, militaristic chicken-hawks that still hold on to the reins of power within the Republican establishment.  This is supposedly the “moderate right,” while the “far right” just wants to uphold the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Of course, the power structure doesn’t want to have to deal with the Constitution any longer, so of course those that defend it are “far right” or “terrorists” in the mind of the state.

The report I am referring to was just released by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy and it is titled: “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right.”  From the Washington Times:

A West Point think tank has issued a paper warning America about “far right” groups such as the “anti-federalist” movement, which supports “civil activism, individual freedoms and self-government.”

Those seem like the types of things only an America terrorist would support, right? (see my piece You Know You Are a Conspiracy Theorist If…)

The report issued this week by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., is titled “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right.”

The center — part of the institution where men and women are molded into Army officers — posted the report Tuesday.

The West Point center typically focuses reports on al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists attempting to gain power in Asia, the Middle East and Africa through violence.

But its latest study turns inward and paints a broad brush of people it considers “far right.”

No more Al Qaeda, you are the terrorist now.  I and others have been predicting this for many, many years.  We have arrived.

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Amazing Video: The Great Awakening of U.S. Soldiers

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Don’t show me one side and tell me it’s patriotism, it’s courageous.  Nothing I did in Iraq was courageous. – Kyle Snyder, Iraq Veterans Against the War I was bombarded by a range of wild emotions while watching this video.  Sadness, hope and resolve were felt almost simultaneously.  The dominant feeling; however, was hope.  These … Read more

A Broken Justice System: “Most Americans Commit About Three Felonies a Day”

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This article from the Huffington Post is timely and important, particularly in the wake of the Aaron Swartz tragedy.  It demonstrates a criminal justice system that has become completely void of justice. A system in which medical marijuana dispensaries and raw milk farms are raided by SWAT teams, but in which bankers that rob trillions with a pen face a slap on the wrist at worst and promotions to higher office at best. This kind of system, where federal prosecutors will target citizens just for publicity or because they know Washington D.C. doesn’t like the person is more reminiscent or Nazi, Soviet or East German justice than traditional American justice.  It is another symptom of a nation in rapid societal decline. From the Huffington Post:

Prosecutors have enormous power. Even investigations that don’t result in any charges can ruin lives, ruin reputations, and drive their targets into bankruptcy. It has become an overtly political position — in general, but particularly at the federal level. If a prosecutor wants to ruin your life, he or she can. Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it.

But by most estimates, there are at least 4,000 separate criminal laws at the federal level, with another 10,000 to 300,000 regulations that can be enforced criminally. Just this year 400 new federal laws took effect, as did 29,000 new state laws. The civil libertarian and defense attorney Harvey Silverglate has argued that most Americans now unknowingly now commit about three felonies per day.

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Whole Foods CEO Says ObamaCare is “More Like Fascism”

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I’ve been saying this for years.  Obama is no socialist, Obama is a fascist.  Only a fascist would steal from the middle class and the non-oligarch wealthy and hand it to the 0.01% oligarch class.  At the same time, he pays off the poor with food stamps and/or disability checks.  He doesn’t do this because he cares about them, he does this so that they remain quiet while he loots the country.  It is also a great way to keep a large part of the population dependent on him and the government for survival.  Now we hear from Whole Foods’ CEO, John Mackey, who also just recently released a book titled, Conscious Capitalism.  From NPR:

When Inskeep asks him if he still thinks the health law is a form of socialism, as he’s said before, Mackey responds:

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3D-Printing Meets the 2nd Amendment

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“This isn’t 1994. The Internet happened since the last assault weapons ban. This is a fledgling tech, but look what we’re able to do. We printed that magazine out.”

– Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed

This article about the 3D-printing of gun magazines absolutely blew my mind and confirms what I had already suspected.  There is no way gun confiscation or even restrictions will ever work in the United States.  As I have been saying from the beginning, we need to confront the root causes of violence in the country (gun or otherwise) not resort to ridiculous knee-jerk reactions that won’t do any good anyway.  I expressed my thoughts on the gun debate in the following articles:  How to Spot a Hypocrite in the Gun Debate and Other Reflections on Newtown and It’s Time to Ban Suicide.

From Forbes:

Over the past weekend, Defense Distributed successfully 3D-printed and tested an ammunition magazine for an AR semi-automatic rifle, loading and firing 86 rounds from the 30-round clip.

That homemade chunk of curved plastic holds special significance: Between 1994 and 2004, so-called “high capacity magazines” capable of holding more than 10 bullets were banned from sale. And a new gun control bill proposed by California Senator Diane Feinstein would ban those larger ammo clips again. President Obama has also voiced support for the magazine restrictions.

But Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson says he hopes the group’s recent work demonstrates the futility of that proposed ban in the age of cheap 3D printing.

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White House Raises Petition Threshold to 100,000 Signatures

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I don’t have a problem with them doing this.  In fact, I think it is a good thing because it will only make successful petitions more powerful.  Let’s remember that the “Petition to Deport Piers Morgan,” which undoubtedly annoyed the White House, easily reached over 100,000 signatures within the 30 day period, proving that issues that people care about and that strike a nerve will be able to break this new threshold.  The White House ultimately responded to that petition after it hit 109,334 signatures, at which point the signing stops.  From the Daily Caller:

President Barack Obama’s deputies have quadrupled the number of signatures that petitioners on the administration’s “We the People” website must collect to get an official response from the White House, following a series of popular, provocative and disrespectful signature drives by his critics.

Some of the petitions sought approval for states to secede after Obama’s re-election, while others called on the White House to disavow executive orders that restrict gun rights, or to deport CNN’s British-born, progressive host Piers Morgan.

“Starting today, as we move into a second term, petitions must receive 100,000 signatures in 30 days in order to receive an official response from the Obama Administration,” said an early evening Jan. 15 statement from Macon Phillips, the White House’s digital strategy director.

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Picture of the Day: Modern Monopoly!

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Wow, I hadn’t seen the modern version of the board game Monopoly in a while.  The one with the “All-New Electronic Banking Unit!”  Gotta get em young I suppose… Like this post? Donate bitcoins: 35DBUbbAQHTqbDaAc5mAaN6BqwA2AxuE7G Follow me on Twitter.

R.I.P. Retirement: 28% of Americans are Raiding Their 401k Plans

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This trend has been in place since the financial crisis, but the fact that it is accelerating is extremely disconcerting.  First off, this is not the kind of behavior that should be witnessed in an “economic recovery.”  Second, we need to remember the huge percentage of Americans on food stamps and/or disability.  As I have discussed previously, many of them also have jobs.  So essentially, a wage and a check from the government is still not enough to survive.  They still need to tap into a loan from their 401k plans.

From the Washington Post:

More than one in four American workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts use them to pay current expenses, new data show. The withdrawals, cash-outs and loans drain nearly a quarter of the $293 billion that workers and employers deposit into the accounts each year, undermining already shaky retirement security for millions of Americans.

A report due out this week from the financial advisory firm HelloWallet found that more than one in four workers dip into retirement funds to pay their mortgages, credit card debt or other bills. Those in their 40s have been the most likely culprits — one-third are turning to such accounts for relief.

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