Confronting American Empire, by The Daily Caller

Are we an American Empire?

But just as an alcoholic must begin the recovery process by admitting that he has a problem, we must question whether our country has become abnormal or at least out-of-step with its founding principles. In fact, it is long past time to ask such questions.

Were the founders right about empire? Must America remain one? Can we afford to?And can we finally admit it?

SoCal Couple Threatened With $500-Per-Meeting Fines For Home Bib - KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - News

MISSION VIEJO (CBS) — An Orange County couple has been ordered to stop holding a Bible study in their home on the grounds that the meeting violates a city ordinance as a "church" and not as a private gathering.Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, of San Juan Capistrano, were fined $300 earlier this month for holding what one city official called "a regular gathering of more than three people" that requires a conditional use permit, according to Pacific Justice Institute, the couple's legal representation.The Fromms also reportedly face subsequent fines of $500 per meeting for any further "religious gatherings" in their home, according to the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI)."We don't like lawsuits, but we have to stand up for what's right. It's not just a personal issue," Stephanie Fromm told The Capistrano Dispatch. "Can you imagine anybody in any neighborhood, that one person can call and make it a living hell for someone else? That's wrong … and it's just sad."After city officials rejected the Fromms' appeal, PJI, which represents both the Fromms and other Bible study participants, will appeal the decision to the California Superior Court in Orange County.Neighbors have written letters to the city in support of the Fromms, whom they said have not caused any disturbances with the meetings, according to PJI.The city of San Juan Capistrano was founded as a mission in the late 1700s by Catholic priest Junipero Serra, who established a local chapel that remains the oldest standing building in California.Officials with San Juan Capistrano did not respond to requests for comment.

"We didn't mean to track you" says Facebook

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2042573/Facebook-privacy-row-Social-network-giant-admits-bugs.html

Ron Paul: Media Black-listed

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Financial Sense Newshour: William Black: Why Nobody Went to Jail During the Credit Crisis

William Black: Why Nobody Went to Jail During the Credit Crisis

Evidently, the FBI is no longer chasing white collar criminals.   

According to Professor of Economics and Law William Black to Financial Sense Newshour, he explains to Jim Puplava, of Financial Sense NewsHour, why no one has gone to jail four years after the beginning of the historic Credit Crisis. 

Professor Black believes that the level of corruption and fraud is so pervasive that very few of the guilty will ever be brought to justice.

Bill Black is an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007. He has taught previously at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and at Santa Clara University, where he was also the distinguished scholar in residence for insurance law and a visiting scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

Go here to either read the interview transcript, or to get access to listen to the podcast.

US officials flunk test of Amerian history, economics, civics

Back in 2008, The Intercollegiate Studies Institute released the results of a national civics test.  Here are the results...

US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.
Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).
"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.
"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.
The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

We're not bragging or anything, but the author of this blog scored a 93%, answering 31 out of 33 questions correctly.

Mutually Assured Destruction vs Mutually Assured Respect

The 2nd Edge Of Modern Financial Repression: Manipulating Inflation Indexes To Steal From Retirees & Public Workers by Daniel R Amerman

Financial Repression is the academic term for how governments can pay down enormous debts by forcing interest rates below the rate of inflation, and then systematically confiscate the purchasing power of their citizens' savings over time, while keeping people from being able to escape or defend themselves.  It is a hidden form of investor wealth confiscation and redistribution with a very long track record of "success", that is as effective in its own way as taxation.

Interventionists Ready a Media Lynching for Ron Paul by Michael Scheuer

Michael Scheuer of Non-Intervention.com anticipates a media lynching of Ron Paul.

Mr. Paul’s attackers use any and every kind of slander to defame him and to ensure the United States will fight to protect Israel against the rising and uncontrollable tide of anti-Israel sentiment that is being produced by the so-called Arab Spring.

Quotes of the Day - September 21st, 2011

"The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists." ~ Ernest Hemingway

"Though the Federal Reserve policy harms the average American, it benefits those in a position to take advantage of the cycles in monetary policy. The main beneficiaries are those who receive access to artificially inflated money and/or credit before the inflationary effects of the policy impact the entire economy. Federal Reserve policies also benefit big spending politicians who use the inflated currency created by the Fed to hide the true costs of the welfare-warfare state." ~ Ron Paul

Hate Begat Hate

A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook today. I thought it was a great overall picture. Ron Paul has tried to educate Americans on the danger of nation building. This is a failed policy, promotes hatred and is bankrupting the American people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/opinion/sunday/and-hate-begat-hate.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all%3Fsrc%3Dtp&smid=fb-share