Trump vs. the CIA
By Paul Craig Roberts
When I read Trump’s defenders, such as Daniel Lazare, having to balance their defense with denunciations of Trump, I think the CIA’s propaganda is working. In his article, Lazare asks the rhetorical question, “Is a military coup in the works?” He then goes on to describe the CIA and presstitute coup against Trump unfolding before our eyes.
Having described the unprecedented frame-up of the president-elect of the United States by the CIA and the Western media, Lazare has to square himself with those doing the frame-up:“This is not to say that the so-called President-elect’s legitimacy is not open to question. . . . Trump is a rightwing blowhard whose absurd babblings about Saudi Arabia, Iran and Yemen reveal a man who is dangerously ignorant about how the world works.”
Obama The War Criminal Butcherer of Women and Children
By Paul Craig Roberts
There is no doubt that US President Barak Obama is a war criminal as are his military and intelligence officials and most of the House and Senate.
Obama is the first president to keep the US at war for the entirety of his eight-year regime. During 2016 alone the US dropped 26,171 bombs on wedding parties, funerals, kid’s soccer games, hospitals, schools, people in their homes and walking their streets, and farmers tilling their fields in seven countries: Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan.
To Really ‘Make America Great Again,’ End the Fed!
By Ron Paul
Former Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher recently gave a speech identifying the Federal Reserve’s easy money/low interest rate policies as a source of the public anger that propelled Donald Trump into the White House. Mr. Fisher is certainly correct that the Fed’s policies have “skewered” the middle class. However, the problem is not specific Fed policies, but the very system of fiat currency managed by a secretive central bank.
Federal Reserve-generated increases in money supply cause economic inequality. This is because, when the Fed acts to increase the money supply, well-to-do investors and other crony capitalists are the first recipients of the new money. These economic elites enjoy an increase in purchasing power before the Fed’s inflationary policies lead to mass price increases. This gives them a boost in their standard of living.
The Case for Free Trade
By Ron Paul
In 1981 the Federal Register published a declaration from President Reagan: “I determine that it is in the national interest for the Export-Import Bank of the United States to extend a credit in the amount of $120.7 million to the Socialist Republic of Romania (for) the purchase of two nuclear steam turbine generators.”
This loan carried an interest rate of 7¾% for ten years, but the first payment wasn’t due until July 1989.
Not too long before this announcement, the administration had made public its “voluntary” restraints on the number of cars Japan can export to the United States.
These two items—subsidization of trade and its restriction—are all too typical of our present trade policy.
Will Trump Continue the Bush-Obama Legacy?
By Ron Paul
This week, Congress passed a budget calling for increasing federal spending and adding $1.7 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years. Most so-called “fiscal conservatives” voted for this big-spending budget because it allows Congress to repeal some parts of Obamacare via “reconciliation.” As important as it is to repeal Obamacare, it does not justify increasing spending and debt.
It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the Obamacare repeal would be used to justify increasing spending. Despite sequestration’s minor (and largely phony) spending cuts, federal spending has increased every year since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. Some will attribute this to the fact that the Republican House had to negotiate with a big-spending Democratic president — even though federal spending actually increased by a greater percentage the last time Republicans controlled the White House and Congress than it did under President Obama.
It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the Obamacare repeal would be used to justify increasing spending. Despite sequestration’s minor (and largely phony) spending cuts, federal spending has increased every year since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. Some will attribute this to the fact that the Republican House had to negotiate with a big-spending Democratic president — even though federal spending actually increased by a greater percentage the last time Republicans controlled the White House and Congress than it did under President Obama.
State Dept Investigating Obama Admin's Last Minute Donation to Palestinian Authority
Cortney O'Brien
Now, the State Department plans to investigate the former administration's decision to "quietly release" $221 million to the Palestinians. The agency noted it would look at the payment and perhaps make some adjustments that are more in line with the new administration.
The Obama White House sent many a "historic middle finger to Israel," as Guy put it. In December, the administration made the shocking decision to abstain from a vote on a UN resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel, never one to listen to bullies, made clear on Tuesday that they are not going to comply.
The Obama administration, you'll remember, also had no problem offering a plane full of cash to Iran in exchange for the release of American prisoners.
It's Done: Trump Signs Executive Orders For Border Wall, More Federal Immigration Agents, And Targets Sanctuary Cities
Matt Vespa
The second order seeks to end sanctuary cities, identify criminal illegal aliens, triple the amount of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and empower them to enforce federal immigration laws. It will also create victims advocacy office for Americans who loved ones had been victimized by people who should have never been here in the first place.
Via The White House, here's a copy of the immigration executive order:
'We Must Think Big and Dream Even Bigger'
'We Must Think Big and Dream Even Bigger'
As an old Ronald Reagan guy, I have learned through the years that optimism equals true leadership. And yes, true leadership cannot be achieved without optimism.
Toward the end of his speech, Trump said, "We must think big and dream even bigger." To understand Trump and his message on Inauguration Day is to appreciate the importance of that sentence.
He then added: "The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again."
The Recipe for Job Creation: Less “Help” from Washington
The Recipe for Job Creation: Less “Help” from Washington
So what’s needed to boost growth and create jobs? A new video from Learn Liberty, narrated by Professor Don Boudreaux (who also was the narrator for Learn Liberty’s superb video on free trade vs. protectionism), examines how to get more people employed.
A very good video. There are three things that grabbed my attention.
First, there’s a very fair compilation of various unemployment/labor force statistics. Viewers can see the good news (a relatively low official unemployment rate) and the bad news (a lowest-in-decades level of labor force participation)
How Fascism Comes to America
How Fascism Comes to America
by Doug Casey
But I'll put aside those lesser motives, which I tend to view as psychological foibles. Basically, money gives you the freedom to do what you'd like – and when, how, and with whom you prefer to do it. Money allows you to have things and do things and can even assist you to be something you want to be. Unfortunately, money is a chimera in today's world and will wind up savaging billions in the years to come.
The Father of the Euro: The Currency “Will Collapse”
Justin Spittler
The Brexit was only the beginning.
Four months ago, Great Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU). The decision caught investors by surprise and triggered one of history’s most violent selloffs.
It erased more than $3 trillion from the global stock market in just two days. And the pound sterling, Britain’s currency, plunged 8% in one day. The pound is now trading at its lowest against the U.S. dollar in three decades.
Investors sought cover in safe-haven assets. The price of gold surged 5% the day after the Brexit. Meanwhile, yields on many government bonds hit record lows. (A bond’s yield falls when its price rises.)
Four months ago, Great Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU). The decision caught investors by surprise and triggered one of history’s most violent selloffs.
It erased more than $3 trillion from the global stock market in just two days. And the pound sterling, Britain’s currency, plunged 8% in one day. The pound is now trading at its lowest against the U.S. dollar in three decades.
Investors sought cover in safe-haven assets. The price of gold surged 5% the day after the Brexit. Meanwhile, yields on many government bonds hit record lows. (A bond’s yield falls when its price rises.)
The 2017 “Davos Consensus”—More Welfare and Warfare
by Nick Giambruno, Senior Editor
Every year, global elites descend on Davos to discuss the big issues of the day in a Bilderberg-like conclave. This year, George Soros was there. So was Bill Gates.
The most important world leaders go. As do CEOs of the world’s largest companies, mainstream media bigwigs, and prominent academics. Central bankers attend, too.
In short, it’s a bunch of out-of-touch, self-anointed elites meeting to hand down from above their uniformly bad “solutions” to the world’s problems. Then they pat each other on the back for all the good they’re doing.
Is Personal Responsibility Obsolete?
Is Personal Responsibility Obsolete?
By Thomas Sowell
Among the many disturbing signs of our times are conservatives and libertarians of high intelligence and high principles who are advocating government programs that relieve people of the necessity of working to provide their own livelihoods.
Generations ago, both religious people and socialists were agreed on the proposition that "he who does not work, neither shall he eat." Both would come to the aid of those unable to work. But the idea that people who simply choose not to work should be supported by money taken from those who are working was rejected across the ideological spectrum.
Farewell
Farewell
By Thomas Sowell
It was very fulfilling to be able to share my thoughts on the events unfolding around us, and to receive feedback from readers across the country — even if it was impossible to answer them all.
Being old-fashioned, I liked to know what the facts were before writing. That required not only a lot of research, it also required keeping up with what was being said in the media.
Majority Rule Equals Tyranny
Majority Rule Equals Tyranny
By Walter Williams
You say, "Hold it. Before you go further, Williams, what do you mean it is alleged that Clinton received most of the popular vote? It's a fact."
I say "alleged" because according to Gregg Phillips of True the Vote, an estimated 3 million noncitizens voted. Presumably, those votes went to Clinton.
In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote just as Hillary Clinton allegedly did. Such outcomes have led to calls to abandon the Constitution's Article 2 provision for the state electors to select presidents. Despite the fact that the system has served us well for over 200 years, many Americans now call for its abandonment in favor of electing presidents by popular vote.
International Trade Thuggery
International Trade Thuggery
By Walter Williams
Some American companies relocate in foreign lands because costs are lower and hence their profits are higher. Lower labor costs are not the only reason companies move to other countries.
Trumponomics Will Collapse Under a Mountain of Debt
Financial markets are heading straight into a perfect storm of central bank failure, bond market carnage, a worldwide recession and a spectacular fiscal bloodbath in Washington. Investors should be heading for the hills with all deliberate speed.
What is going to stop Trumponomics cold is debt — roughly $64 trillion of it. That’s what is crushing the American economy, and until the mechanics of its relentless growth are stopped and reversed, the odds of achieving and sustaining the 3–4% real economic growth that Trump’s economics team is yapping about is somewhere between slim and none.
Here’s the newsflash. The nation’s monumental debt problem wasn’t newly created by the Obama Administration or the fact that Nancy Pelosi never met a spending program she couldn’t embrace. The last eight years have surely made the problem far worse and the Democrats are culpable without question.
Greenspan's Disastrous Legacy
It was nearly 20 years ago to the day that Alan Greenspan delivered his famous “irrational exuberance” speech. Little did he know how far it could go. Even less has his disastrous legacy been accorded the condemnation it so richly deserves.
At the time he mused publicly about the possibility that the Fed’s prodigious money printing during the first nine years of his tenure might fuel an excess of animal spirits in the stock market, the NASDAQ 100 stood at 850.Less than 40 months later the index peaked in late March 2000 at just under 4600.
In round numbers that was a 5.5X gain in the blink of an eye. It was a prelude to all the madness since then and the mania that has flared up once again in the past few weeks.
In March the Maestro persuaded his colleagues to raise interest rates by a pinprick 25 basis points. But when the stock market promptly sold-off by about 7% during April-May, Greenspan’s resolve dissolved entirely.
Here Come the Big Spenders — Fiscal Bloodbath Dead Ahead
Donald Trump is an utterly accidental President who has fine aspirations to make America great again, but no semblance of a program that can accomplish that goal. And no prospect that the ruling elites will permit him to govern.
In fact, they will thwart him at every turn — as should have been more than evident by the hysterical campaign about Russian hacking that was waged against Donald Trump during the final weeks of the campaign, and then with almost frenzied malice after his shocking victory on November 8.
There can be no doubt whatsoever that the Deep State was attempting to delegitimize his Presidency from Day One, and that it will intensify the mobilization of its vast resources, and the tools and shills it controls in the mainstream media, now that he has taken office.
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