Milkman Update

"There is no power greater than the power over money- the power to create and contract the money supply, the power to control the purchasing power of your money.  Throughout history, this has proven to be the most sought after, monopolistic power of man." 

--Ron Paul 1983

I recently was reminded of a debate between Ron Paul and Charles Partee, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from way back in 1983.  In it, Paul uses the same analogy I did in this post:

@0:27 (in the above snippet)

"...I see the issue of power and control over money to be something that we cannot ignore-we must address.  I believe closely associated with this is the issue of morality, as well.  By what moral right do we have to create purchasing power out of thin air?  Whether it's done by the creation of credit and federal reserve notes- or it's done by the creation of SDR's on an international scope, by what right do they do this?  Is it any more moral to dilute the value of the money supply that you hold in your wallet than it is for the farmer to dilute the milk supply with water?  I would say there is an issue of morality here just as strong as the issue of power.  I happen to believe, also, that because it's a moral issue more than an economic issue- it is for this reason that people have lost trust in the government, trust in the banks, trust in business, trust in themselves- and that we are a nation of distrust."

I knew I had "jacked" that milkman analogy from somewhere, just couldn't remember where!  Turns out is was Ron Paul!  

I watched the entire debate between Paul and Partee a long time ago.  I remember it being very interesting and educational.  The video quality is certified poor, but it is worth fighting through it, trust me!  Here is the debate in it's entirety:

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What About Money Causes Economic Crisis?

The above video is the third and final installment of a series of lectures by the office of Congressman Ron Paul about money.  In this video, Peter Schiff analyses what about money causes economic crisis.  He gives both analysis, and personal stories that highlight this phenomenon in a way that, perhaps, many have not considered.  One of my favorite parts is when he gives some perspective on unemployment:

@40:48- Question:  "Can you talk for a minute about your views on unemployment insurance?..."

"Obviously there is an economic truism that you are going to get more of what you subsidize.  I mean, if you are going to pay people not to work, people are going to take you up on it.  I did it myself!  I remember the one time in my life I collected unemployment benefits, I did not look for a job until I exhausted my benefits...There are a lot of people who do the same thing today.  It's not wrong, it's human nature...People forget that leisure has value.  People would rather not work.  People save up so they can retire.  Well, you can retire early now on unemployment."


"A lot of people say 'That's ridiculous- it's only $300/week...'  True!  Yeah, if somebody offered an unemployed person a $100,000/year job, they'd probably take it.  But, what if the only job they're offered is $400/week?  Or $500/week?  Most people won't take it!  They'd rather have unemployment, because it's like a huge tax on getting a job.  The highest marginal tax bracket is faced by someone who is getting unemployment...Not only does he have to pay taxes on what he earns, but he loses all of his unemployment benefits.  So the tax rate is enormous."


"And, of course, people forget when you get a job, you don't get to keep all your income- there's a lot of expenses that the IRS won't let you deduct.  What if the job you get offered is 45 minutes away from your house?  What's it going to cost you in gas money to get there and back?  Maybe you have to eat in a restaurant, maybe you have to wear a suit, maybe you have to have a dry cleaner.  Maybe you have a kid.  What if you have to put your kid in daycare- how much is that going to cost?  So, it's so much easier just not to work.

Previous lectures in the series can be found embedded in these posts:
Lecture #1- Fiat Currency and the Milkman
Lecture #2- What is Constitutional Money?

After watching these talks, I have come away with a much greater understanding of where we are, where we have been, and what we face.  It is well worth the time spent to educate ourselves of these issues- as the money issue has a profound effect on our daily lives, and the nature of society.  I think after you watch this series, the impact of the monetary issue on our liberty will become quite clear.

Two Minute Case for Ron Paul

This is an excellent video by Tom Woods for Ron Paul.  I think he puts it very well:

@ 0:13
"...and he's opposed every bailout- every time.  The other major Republican candidates were all in favor of TARP- which means that when the chips are down, they are going to side with the establishment against you."


@ 0:30
"In 2001, he predicted the financial crisis of 2008- to a T.  We need somebody like this- with his intelligence and insight- to navigate us through a world historic moment like this- not some "empty suit" repeating talking points from 1983."


@ 1:07
"We've been duped into supporting a foreign policy that no "real" Republican worth his salt should be supporting- it's bankrupting the country, and obviously diminishing our strategic position.  And, that's why Ron Paul gets more donations from active duty military than all other Republican candidates combined."


I liked it!

Gary Weiss- Phony Progressive, Closet Fascist

"Just here to help...Where were your

huddled masses, again?"

A recent article in Salon by Gary Weiss claims that Ron Paul is a "fraudulent populist, friend of the oligarchy, sworn enemy of every social program since Theodore Roosevelt."  This claim that "social programs" are populist- and, therefore, helpful to the poor is a common cry we hear from so-called progressives.  But let's think this position through.

Reading through the article, one notices that Weiss uses, as Tom Woods puts it, "one sentence arguments- 'Hey, he wants to get rid of this...Hey!  He wants to get rid of that.'"  Weiss never actually defends these government programs- it is just presumed (with the depth of thought analogous to a puddle) that all these organizations are crucial to common folk.  Of course, the effect of all of these programs has been to the extreme detriment of the working class- or in contemporary terms, the 99%.  To gain a full understanding of how this is so, one has to delve just slightly beyond the name of the agency- something that Weiss is unwilling to do.

Moreover, Weiss treats Paul's opposition to the warfare state and the Federal Reserve as if these positions are just cutesy-patootsy- just no big deal. These cliques are perhaps the most crucial threats to the poor and middle class that progressives so often claim they are trying to ameliorate!  Who else "since Roosevelt" has had the courage to make a stand on these issues?  To ignore this is an extreme disservice to progressives.  Giving these positions more than just a dismissal could, perhaps, persuade progressives towards Paul- who clearly is a friend of the common man.

However, Weiss commits what is either a sin of omission, or perhaps just a transgression of ignorance.  By blindly supporting these agencies of the executive (HUD, Commerce, Interior, Education, and Energy) he reveals himself as a fascist.  As Lew Rockwell has recently said "There isn't anyone around who is willing to stand around today and say, 'I'm a fascist.  I think fascism is a great economic and political system.'  But I submit if they were really honest, the vast majority of politicians, intellectuals, and political activists would have to say just that.  Fascism is the system of government that cartelizes the private sector, centrally plans the economy to  subsidize producers, exalts the police state as the source of order, denies fundamental rights and liberties to individuals, and makes the executive state the unlimited master of society."  Perhaps this is his "coming out"- although browsing through his page on Slate makes me think it is not so.

What is most insidious about the "logic" Weiss applies in this article is that common people are so easily persuaded by this siren song.  Who wouldn't want to get preferential treatment by the government?  After all, it is the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  However, this agency is about as beneficial to common urban folk as the Patriot Act is to true patriots- you know, the sort of folk who might speak out about the Police State- only to be "disappeared" in the name of national security.  The true beneficiaries of these programs is the oligarchy that Weiss so vehemently opposes.

Tom Woods has put together a resource page with links to studies confirming that these agencies are nothing more than an institutionalization of subsidies (at our expense) to well-connected people and organizations.  The amount of money handed over in the name of "progress" is staggering.  Just looking at the corruption in HUD is conclusive that these agencies are solely designed to perpetuate the nexus between those in government power, and their comrades in the (so-called) private sector.

As Rockwell points out, these executive agencies seem so innocuous because we have come to expect fascism as the normal order of business:  "This describes mainstream politics in America today...In fact, it's so much a part of the mainstream, it's hardly noticed anymore."  Indeed- either Weiss hasn't noticed, or is simply disguising his fascist tenancies as "progressive."  What a box to find one's self in- he is either ignorant, and not a true "intellectual," or there is something far more Machiavellian going on here.

Bravo Raw Milk Moms!

In your face, FDA!

The Raw Milk Freedom Riders will be hosting another event today (Dec. 8), taking raw milk from a farm in Wisconsin to Chicago, and then consuming said product openly.  Here is their press release.  A bold statement from that release:


Chicago, IL—On Thursday, December 8, a group of mothers will risk arrest and other penalties by purchasing fresh, unprocessed milk from a small farm in Wisconsin, transporting it to Chicago’s Independence Park and distributing the milk to other mothers who need it for their families from 11:30am-2:00pm.


Why should such a seemingly innocent act risk arrest? Federal law 21 CFR § 1240.61 prohibits interstate movement and distribution of raw milk for human consumption. This U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation applies to individuals, or “agents” acting on their behalf. The mothers who purchase the milk will be acting as “agents” on behalf of other mothers who cannot make the trip.


Here the "Moms" let it be known that they are fully aware of the legalities and possible punishment involved in such an act.  Yet, they are not dismayed...such bravery!  When consumers truly desire a product, they will seek it out even if it means participating in the "black market."

Raw milk?...Let me check

the other side!

I have spoken to several women in my job who have been driven underground to get their raw milk, due to state law prohibiting the sale of such product in stores here in Kansas.  One described how she meets her "dealer" in an unspecified location- where he gives her the "good stuff" and she pays him there on the street.  What a joke!  She should be able to buy this in our store, but endless regulations keep us from being able to satisfy our customers.

On that note, I have requests from customers (usually those I have never seen) about once a month inquiring about raw milk.  I tell them state law prohibits the sale of this product in stores- to which they almost always roll their eyes and shake their head.  Of course, I always follow that up with the suggestion that the government is "just trying to keep you safe...from yourself!"  Almost always- in a hushed tone like they are trying to solicit drugs- they then ask me, "Do you know where I can get some?"  "No", I tell them- and that they should seek out a local farmer who would be willing to sell them the milk.  I never see these customers again.

If we did carry raw milk, we would in all likelihood have a new regular customer- the best type of patron one could hope for.  Why does the government prohibit us from selling this product?  There is a growing market out there for raw milk and we are not being allowed to capitalize on it.  What a shame!

The Clinton Chronicles

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta...

The Clinton Chronicles was an interesting documentary to watch, and a perfect sequel to one of the films on Iran/Contra.  This film brings many Bill Clinton's (former) associates together to paint a picture of what this man's role in the aforementioned scandal likely was- a powerful, well-connected, and corrupt political leader who would facilitate the drug running and money laundering aspect of this "secret government" plot.

Many people connected to Clinton- former bodyguards, girlfriends, and even those involved in Iran/Contra- bravely came forward to share what they knew of this plot.  Many died in bizarre ways- those more fortunate saw their careers ruined, and their lawsuits sabotaged.  For an example, see this statement (a must read to understand legal sabotage) released in 1996 by Terry Reed, a pilot who worked for the CIA during Iran/Contra.

Or, you could just check out these lyrics from the Ghetto Boys on an album released election day 1992:

And now, a word from the president! 

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta 

Gettin voted into the white house 

Everything lookin good to the people of the world 

But the mafia family is my boss 

So every now and then I owe a favor gettin' down 

Like lettin' a big drug shipment through 

And send 'em to the poor community 

So we can bust you know who 

So voters of the world keep supportin' me 

And I promise to take you very far 

Other leaders better not upset me 

Or I'll send a million troops to die at war 

To all you republicans, that helped me win 

I sincerely like to thank you 

'cause now I got the world swingin' from my nuts 

And damn it feels good to be a gangsta

--From Ghetto Boys Uncut Dope: Ghetto Boys Best  Released November 3, 1992

Iran/Contra

Hold on guys...I think we forgot to recite 

the Pledge of Allegiance

I have watched a few documentary films on the Iran/Contra affair recently.  As I was born in 1980, this was all being brought to public light when I was just a small child.  In light of the activities the government was engaging in, it surprises me that more of the people from my parents generation are not completely and totally suspicious of all of our "foreign policy" programs.

These unscrupulous and illegal activities are all based on the "National Security Act of 1947 (NSA'47), which established the National Security Counsel and the Central Intelligence Agency.  Both of these organizations- while intended to be a buffer against foreign threats- have caused incredible havoc on other nations.  When the government pursues such a course, it (predictably) causes what the CIA calls "blowback" or retaliation.

Just supporting my country...

In these documentaries, various people- mostly Oliver North- proudly justified blatant illegal activities such as drug running, arms running, circumventing and lying to Congress as a defense of our nation against the "Communist Threat."  This, of course, all goes back to NSA'47- and the priority of "national defense."  Does this make our drug addicts de facto Super Patriots?

The Secret Government- Bill Moyers PBS
The Iran/Contra Coverup

There is a third documentary I would like to watch called The Clinton Chronicals, which is supposed to be about the connection of former President Bill Clinton, and his role in the affair.  I have yet to watch it, and will post an update when I get a chance to view it.

Thanks to Charles Burris who's post on Lew Rockwell's site inspired the interest in this subject for me.