Thomas Sowell : The Hunger Hoax in Ameirca

If you have ever spent time overseas, as I have, and known that wonderful feeling that comes over you when you return to America --  that feeling the you are back "home" in the most prosperous, civilized country on the planet. And have also been more than a little miffed by all the whining about poverty and hunger in America Thomas Sowell puts it all in some perspective, clearly, concisely, and logically as only he can.

The 'hunger' hoax perpetuates dependency.

Twenty years ago, hysteria swept through the media over "hunger in America."

Dan Rather opened a "CBS Evening News" broadcast in 1991 declaring, "One in eight American children is going hungry tonight." Newsweek, the Associated Press and the Boston Globe repeated this statistic, and many others joined the media chorus, with or without that unsubstantiated statistic.

When the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Agriculture examined people from a variety of income levels, however, they found no evidence of malnutrition among those in the lowest income brackets. Nor was there any significant difference in the intake of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from one income level to another.

That should have been the end of that hysteria. But the same "hunger in America" theme reappeared years later, when Sen. John Edwards was running for vice president. And others have resurrected that same claim, right up to the present day.

Ironically, the one demonstrable nutritional difference between the poor and others is that low-income women tend to be overweight more often than others. That may not seem like much to make a political issue, but politicians and the media have created hysteria over less.

The political Left has turned obesity among low-income individuals into an argument that low-income people cannot afford nutritious food, and so have to resort to burgers and fries, pizzas and the like, which are more fattening and less healthful. But this attempt to salvage something from the "hunger in America" hoax collapses like a house of cards when you stop and think about it.

Burgers, pizzas and the like cost more than food that you can buy at a store and cook yourself. If you can afford junk food, you can certainly afford healthier food.

A Sept. 25 article in the New York Times by Mark Bittman showed that you can cook a meal for four at half the cost of a meal from a burger restaurant. So far, so good.

But then Mr. Bittman says that the problem is "to get people to see cooking as a joy." For this, he says, "we need action both cultural and political." In other words, the nanny state to the rescue!

Since when are adult human beings supposed to do only those things that are a joy? I don't find any particular joy in putting on my shoes. But I do it rather than go barefoot. I don't always find it a joy to drive a car, especially in bad weather, but I have to get from here to there.

An arrogant elite's condescension toward the people -- treating them as children who have to be jollied along -- is one of the poisonous problems of our time.

It is at the heart of the nanny state and the promotion of a debilitating dependency that wins votes for politicians while weakening a society.

Those who see social problems as requiring high-minded people like themselves to come down from their Olympian heights to impose their superior wisdom on the rest of us, down in the valley, are behind such things as the hunger hoax, which is part of the larger poverty hoax.

We have now reached the point where the great majority of the people living below the official poverty level have such things as air-conditioning, microwave ovens, either videocassette recorders or DVD players, and own either a car or a truck.

Why are such people called "poor"? Because they meet the arbitrary criteria established by Washington bureaucrats. Depending on what criteria are used, you can have as much official poverty as you want, regardless of whether it bears any relationship to reality.

Those who believe in an expansive, nanny-state government need a large number of people in "poverty" to justify their programs. They also need a large number of people dependent on government to provide the votes needed to keep the big nanny state going.

Politicians, welfare-state bureaucrats and others have incentives to create or perpetuate hoaxes, whether about poverty in general or hunger in particular.

The high cost to taxpayers is exceeded by the even higher cost of lost opportunities for fulfillment in their lives by those who succumb to the lure of a stagnant life of dependency.

Terry Ponick : Stop bashing poor Ben Bernake

The Washington Times has published a  piece written by Terry Ponick Note to Republicans: Stop bashing Ben Bernanke in which he tries to defend the FED and Ben Bernake, and immediately gets b-slapped back to reality by Mike Shedlock at Mish's Global Economic Trends.

Excerpt from Terry Ponick's article :

In point of fact, whether the Fed’s efforts to provide monetary stimulus to the economy are Keynesian or post-Keynesian is not the real issue here. In the case of an economic emergency (such as 9/11) or an increasingly deflationary environment (such as our current era when plunging housing prices at least initially began to lead to a disastrous decline in the value of commodities), the classic initial fix is to flood the market with liquidity, gradually withdrawing the excess as soon as practicable to avoid the opposite problem of an inflationary environment.

That’s what Bernanke’s Fed has been doing for roughly three years now, yet it hasn’t seemed to have done much good. But the reason is not that the Fed’s policies are necessarily wrong. It’s just that there’s always an implied support expected from the Federal government, courtesy of a competent, concerned Congress that tailors new legislation to aid and abet the efforts of the Fed. In other words, when all the wagons are pulling together, the U.S. can usually extricate itself from any mess—and that means even the current morass.

It’s time to stop the Fed-bashing. It’s time to respect Bernanke for having done what he’s done. And it’s time to give him the hand that he’d been politely requesting all along for those who’d care to listen.

After ten years of  failed stimulus packages, QE1, QE2, and now a new round of stimulus  coming disguised under different names such as the "Jobs Bill"  what do we have to show for it ?  more debt,  higher unemployment, and a economy that is worse than it was when the Keynesian clowns took over. That is exactly the point.

Mish's Global Economic Analysis

Quite frankly that's total bullsheet. History shows the Fed is responsible for blowing bubbles of ever increasing amplitude over the years. The only winners have been banks and Wall Street.

Bernanke deserves no respect. He is an academic wonk with no idea what caused the great depression, and is clueless as to what to do now.

Terry Ponick correctly bashes Democrats and Republicans in his article, but to say the Fed's polices are not wrong is ludicrous. There should not be a Fed in the first place, thus any policy of the Fed can logically be considered wrong.

The only thing that is true is the way in which Perry blasted the Fed is wrong, and I hope that costs Perry the nomination in favor of Chris Christie.

I am not sure I share Mike "Mish" Shedlock's enthusiasm for Christie, yet. Nor do I think that Perry's initial missteps in the campaign will hurt him long term. I am still open on that issue. Let the vetting begin for the presidential election in 2012,  unlike in 2008 when when a "prohibition on thought" thrust an un-vetted, inexperienced  pop-cult  figure into the White House.

And let the fed bashing continue. It's nothing compared to the bashing the American people are taking at the hands of the Keynesian clowns.

Rick Perry : Military Intervention in Mexico ?

Rick Perry's stance on major national issues may be, well, evolving. However he has brought some badly needed national exposure to some "hot button" issues like Social Security, tort reform, and now, illegal immigration.

Rick Perry says he is open to sending American troops to Mexico to help battle drug cartels. Perry, the Texas governor, likens the situation to Colombia, where the government accepted American military support in battling the war on drugs.

Perry says the current violence may require similar military action.

Mexico today very much resembles the lawless, chaotic, highly unstable government of 1834-1846 when Mexico was torn apart by bitter internal political battles that verged on civil war - It makes much more sense then sending our military to Libya.

The situation on the southern border with Mexico has reached a crisis. It is grave and quickly deteriorating situation. Drug cartels are in the U.S. and are infiltrating U.S. law enforcement at an alarming rate, and border patrol agents and law enforcement are living a nightmare along the U.S. Mexico border, and the nightmare is moving north.

Drug cartel activity has escalated to whole new level. Whistle-blowers inside law enforcement have stated that Arizona Law Enforcement Officers are under a direct violent threat to themselves and their families, and some are claiming they are being coerced by the U.S. Federal government to coperate with the cartels. One of the whistle-blowers has said that he was asked by the FBI to accept drug shipments coming from Mexico through his ranching company.Law enforcement personnel are constantly approached by the cartels with bribes and now death threats. The choice is take the money and become rich by helping us, or we will assassinate you and murder your entire family.

In Mexico entire police departments have resigned en mass after threats from the cartels. The cartels are now employing the same fear and intimidation tactics against law enforcement officers in the USA. They will corrupt our law enforcement in the same manner. All Law enforcement officers now face the ugly choice of accepting an envelope of cash and helping the cartels or face an assassination of themselves and kidnapping and murder of their families.

The corrosive effect of corruption is spreading fast. The Government of the USA has lost all legitimacy and is quickly losing the consent of the governed by failing it's primary mandate -- defending the borders and protecting the citizens. Failure to defend the border is treasonous.

The cartels are better funded and with the weapons provided by the US Department of Justice and the BATF the cartels are better armed. The cartels have more personnel and many more boots on the ground. The border Sheriffs are at an extreme disadvantage. The Dept of Justice and the CIA need to be disbanded. They are putting American citizens lives in danger and threatening our national security.

This claim is supported by the announcement of the threat to National security by US ARMY Retired Major General Paul Vallely, who is the first national figure to propose an effective plan for the US government to actually secure the US border with Mexico.

We have now raised the threat level of Mexico and the Southern Border. The threat from our Southern Border is greater now than the Afghanistan/Pakistan conflict. The inactions by our government are treasonous.

Our leadership in Washington, DC continues on a rudderless course when it comes to National Security. We need leaders that understand current threats and vulnerabilities and place them in charge immediately.

It is now time to enforce the rule-of-law and the protection of Americans and our country. No more excuses…no more delays…no more politics., no more kowtowing to special interest groups, or claims by open-border believers and LaRaza. The fact is, the Citizens of the USA are in daily danger and are being killed because the border and interior states of Mexico are controlled by thugs.

Once again, the entire area is festooned with upheaval, violence, and lawlessness as it was in 1846. The northern states in Mexico; Baja California Norte, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Monterrey and Tamaulipas are under rogue control, and the Mexican Police and Army cannot control them. Therefore, it is in the national interest of the United States to restore order because of this clear and present danger to US Citizens and our economy.

Unless we begin to take this issue seriously things will continue to get worse and worse, the corrosive effects of corruption and money is already destroying the fabric of our culture.

There is nothing more powerful than and idea who's time has come. We must act NOW for the welfare and security of our nation. The stabilization of our Southern border and a secure, prosperous Mexico is vital to our national security. The latter may be out of our hands and not be possible, but first,the border must be secured. Mexico will never begin to solve it's own problems until we stop allowing them to export their poverty, and crime, to the U.S.

Please also consider: Arizona Sheriff implicates ATF, Eric Holder and Obama's Dept of Justice in Fast and Furious

MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: "OBAMA MORE INVOLVED IN FAST & FURIOUS THAN ADMITTED!"

The Obama administration just can't catch a break, and is getting hit from all sides with accusations that the administration knew much more about Operation Fast and Furious, that it has admitted, and the trail is leading right up to the White House.

Continued stonewalling by the U.S. Department of Justice in providing documents regarding the controversial Operation Fast and Furious is only fueling the speculation that the operation was "dreamed up" by the Obama administration to show proof that U.S. guns are contributing to the crime and violence in Mexico," something that has been alleged by President Obama, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their supporters in the gun-control lobby.

In a statement released by Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales, she called Operation Fast and Furious “an attack on Mexicans’ security.”

Morales told Mexican reporters that she is demanding a full and honest explanation from the United States government especially since evidence is being gathered that reveals the Obama administration was more involved in Operation Fast and Furious than top officials admitted in their sworn statements.

President Obama said in June he would discipline the Fast and Furious organizers once the investigation is completed. He then stated that the Fast and Furious fiasco was never approved by his Justice Department officials.

However, reports from several sources including the non-governmental agency Judicial Watch, Fox News Channel strongly suggest there indeed high-level government involvement.

According to Fox News, documents obtained by their news staff revealed that the ATF agents involved actually sold some of the guns to gang members. They allegedly purchased the guns with taxpayer money.

Meanwhile Mexico's Attorney General claims she learned about the operation in the news media rather than being told about it in advance by U.S. government officials, including members of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's staff.

Morales said that if U.S. federal officials were involved, it would be a “betrayal” of Mexico while its police and military were fighting a war against drug cartels. Tens of thousands of Mexicans have been killed since the "war on drugs" began in 2006. Almost weekly, Mexican authorities are finding mass graves of those murdered by the cartels.

Ultimately, some or all of the operation's weapons ended up in the hands of Mexican cartel members who allegedly used them to kill Mexicans and two American law enforcement officers: a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona, and an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau who was gunned down on a Mexican road between Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico. Both men worked at agencies that are part of the Homeland Security Department.

From the Cypress Times

Arizona Sheriff implicates ATF, Erci Holder, and Obama Justice Dept in Fast and Furious

Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu opened up last night on CNN. The sheriff implicated the ATF, Eric Holder and the Obama Justice Department as accomplices to murder involving weapons used in Operation Fast and Furious. And talked about the level of government involvement in supply guns to drug cartels in Mexico.

It's frightening. The feds are in this up over their ears. Sheriff Babeu says that more than 200 murders can be traced to guns supplied by the U.S government.

The ATF, the CIA, need to be disbanded, they have been corrupted by Obama's gangster government to work with criminals, and drug cartels NOT protect the the citizens of the United States, but to actually supply the guns that are killing Americans.

We are being betrayed by our own government



Other whistle-blowers in law enforcement are beginning to speak up also. They are revealing information that law enforcement personnel are constantly approached by the cartels with bribes and now death threats. The choice is take the money and become rich by helping us, or we will assassinate you and murder your entire family - they live in fear, and in many cases are being coerced by the Feds to cooperate with the cartels.

It's time to stop dicking around with the border issue. We have a war of gigantic proportions…illegal invasions, treacherous drug cartels, gangs, human trafficking, drugs, smuggling, kidnappings, and corruption of officials on both sides of the borders .

The problem of drugs and illegal aliens is no longer a border issue; it is a national security issue which affects every city and county in the USA.
Once the border is secured and safe again, then we can begin deporting those who entered our country illegally.

I look forward to that day when we no longer have the scourge of illegal aliens, drug dealers, thugs, and criminals undermining our culture and destroying our country… And our Federal government is NOT trying to stop them, they are assisting them.