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happy
christmas from brown the clown - “i’ve just added £8000
to your credit card bill”
“No more boom and bust” - the Clown.
“When Northern Rock collapsed last year, did you think, "We're
going to have to nationalise the rest of them too". No, me neither.
“I also bet you didn't work out that the part-nationalisation
of our banking sector would cost you at least £8,000 in taxes.
And this is just the beginning.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#browns_present_261208
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leading founders hated democracy??! by the auroran
sunset
abelard recently reviewed Liberal
Fascism. I haven’t read the book yet, but I heard of this quotation
from Mussolini found within:
“…fathers of the American Republic, notably Hamilton, Madison,
and John Adams, were as voluminous and vehement [in opposing democracy]
as any Fascist could desire” [p. 103]
Mussolini’s is an impressively bizarre claim:
- All three were heavily involved in writing the Constitution.
- Alexander Hamilton and James Madison together wrote the bulk of the Federalist Papers
[1] - a series of newspaper articles explaining
the democratic principles in order to pursuade the adoption of a revolutionary
system of law.
- John Adams played a leading role in pursuading Congress to adopt the Declaration
of Independence; and as the second President, helped to stabilise and
strengthen the baby nation, still under naked military threat from
both England and France.
- Madison was by far the clearest thinker and most grounded of the
founders; the logical and empirical brilliance of the Constitution can
largely be ‘blamed’ on him.
- Madison is largely responsible for the existence of the Bill of Rights.
[2]
Now, perhaps Mussolini was thinking of this act, signed
by President Adams, under advice from his political ally (and later rival)
Treasury Secretary Hamilton (the same):
1798: Alien and Sedition Acts - Sedition Act
Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall write,
print, utter, or publish, or shall cause or procure to be written, printed,
uttered, or published, or shall knowingly and willingly assist or aid
in writing, printing, uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous
and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United
States, or either House of the Congress of the United States, or the
President of the United States, with intent to defame the said government,
or either House of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring
them, or either of them, into contempt or disrepute; or to excite against
them, or either or any of them, the hatred of the good people of the
United States, or to stir up sedition within the United States; or to
excite any unlawful combinations therein, for opposing or resisting
any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United
States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested
by the Constitution of the United States; or to resist, oppose, or defeat
any such law or act; or to aid, encourage or abet any hostile designs
of any foreign nation against the United States, their people or government,
then such person, being thereof convicted before any court of the United
States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two
years.
Clearly not Adams’ or Hamilton's finest hour
- an act to warm the cockles of many a would-be dictator.
Unfortunately for Mussolini's theory, Madison
spend huge amounts of energy and ink[3] on stopping these 'laws', which were mostly repealed two years later by
his political ally Jefferson. [4]
end notes
 The
Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison and Jay.
The Federalist Papers were published
anonymously after the Constitutional Convention in a successful attempt
to persuade America to accept the Constitution. The papers treat that
amazing document in detail. It is dense going - Hamilton in particular
does not write well, while Madison writes beautifully. However, the writings of both
are logical, informative and persuasive. This is an essential book for
anyone wanting to understand constitutional law - highly recommended.
SOS Free Stock, 2003, pbk
ISBN-10: 0451528816/ ISBN-13: 978-0451528810
£7.15
[amazon.co.uk] {advert}
Signet Classics, 2003, pbk
ISBN-10: 0451528816/ISBN-13: 978-0451528810
$7.95
[amazon.com] {advert}
- Madison continued
to have strong logical objections to the concept of a bill of rights
- particularly that by enumerating rights, it can be implied that others
not included are not included deliberately, which is clearly not the
intention. However, it is very clear from Madison’s writings and
actions that he was always first an empiricist. He saw that the Bill
of Rights was necessary to stop the anti-federalists’ dishonest attempts
to break up the union, and so give the Constitution time to gain strength
and momentum. Without Madison’s actions to force through the
Bill of Rights, the Civil War - a possibility that was clearly in the
Madison’s mind, and is even implied in the Constitution - would
have come much sooner and the moribund [5] slave-owning
aristocracy-based Southern states would have won.
One of his many articles vitiating the Aliens and Sedition Acts,
and the arguments supporting the acts, runs to over 50 pages! You can read that
diatribe and many more fascinating and clear political essays by James Madison in
Writings 1772-1836.
Library of America, 1999, hbk
ISBN-10: 1883011663/ISBN-13: 978-1883011666
$26.40
[amazon.com] {advert}
£27.00
[amazon.co.uk] {advert}
- As far as I can
tell, Madison was the brains behind Jefferson. Jefferson was a more
able performer and liar, so got himself famous.
Alexi de Tocqueville’s De La Democratie
En Amerique (On Democracy in America) has a fascinating description
of a journey he took from a northern state down through border states
to the south. Although he was writing approximately 30 years before Civil War and
roughly 30 years after the Constitution, he paints a clear picture of
the contrast between the affluent, industrial North and the amazing poverty and
backwardness of the agricultural South. As always, the freer Northern societies
thoroughly out-competed the less free Southern societies, overtaking these once much richer
states in only a few decades.
Review of the original French edition: a beautifully
written, clear and insightful look at the origins of American democracy.
Highly recommended. Tocqueville seemed incapable of overcoming his
suspicions of democracy conditioned from living in a country with
no history of freedom, despite that he obviously intellectually
understood why and how the America model was/is so much more successful.
Editions Flammarion, 1991, hbk
ISBN-10: 2070323544/ ISBN-13: 978-2070323548
£6.40
[amazon.co.uk] {advert}
Schoenhofs Foreign Books (January 1991)
ISBN-10: 2070323544
ISBN-13: 978-2070323548
[amazon.com]
Democracy in America by Alexi de Tocqueville
Library of America, 2004, hbk
ISBN-10: 1931082545/ISBN-13: 978-1931082549
Related review:
Thomas
Paine on the fossil media
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#us_democracy_241208
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obama - the only man in history to be able to pick up manure from the clean
end
The Chicago, Illinois political environment.
During the past 30 years, the various elected officials listed below have been convicted of corruption.
“… Among the perps: 27 aldermen, 19 judges, 15
state legislators, three governors, two congressmen, one mayor, two turtledoves,
and a partridge in a stolen pear tree. Especially in this holiday season,
it’s so very important to keep traditions alive for the kids. In
a sense, Blago did it for the children.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#obama_manure_221208
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is
china in worse straights than the clown’s britain?
Is our great leader falling behind?
“According to a leading government think tank, at least 40 million
Chinese are going to lose their jobs because of the global recession.
Tang Min, the deputy head of the China Development Research Foundation,
says that figure is just among migrant workers - the peasants who moved
from the countryside to the sweatshops of the east coast.”
China tries to close the ‘surveillance gap’
with socialist Labour.
“Meanwhile, taxis in Beijing are recording conversations, a giant
electronic surveillance system called Skynet is keeping watch over Tibet,
and the practice of sectioning protesters in mental asylums has returned
to the headlines.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#china_uk_comparison_201208
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printing money and inflation - the government cover-up
The new Banking Bill includes an amendment that
information on the printing of money will no longer be published.
“Banking Bill
Part 7 — Miscellaneous
”Weekly return
Section 6 of the Bank Charter Act 1844 (Bank to produce weekly account)
shall cease to have effect.”
Section 6 of the Bank Charter 1844 reads:
“And be it enacted, That an Account of the Amount of Bank of
England Notes issued by the Issue Department of the Bank of England,
and of Gold Coin and of Gold and Silver Bullion respectively, and of
Securities in the said Issue Department, and also an Account of the
Capital Stock, and the Deposits, and of the Money and Securities belonging
to the said Governor and Company in the Banking Department of the Bank
of England, on some Day in every Week to be fixed by the Commissioners
of Stamps and Taxes, shall be transmitted by the said Governor and Company
weekly to the said Commissioners in the Form prescribed in the Schedule
hereto annexed marked (A.), and shall be published.... ”
Thus, the UK socialist government will be free to conceal
the degree to which it is creating inflation
in the economy.
This is an outrage, but it is to be expected.
Britain is now ruled by a gang of the corrupt. This
is the normal endgame for socialists.
The USA ‘obscured’ similar figures a year
or two ago, but there are sources who are reassembling them. But the USA
does have a considerable degree of freedom.
My first expectation is that similar bricks will remain
available in the UK, at least for a while - just more deeply buried.
In corrupt regimes, the money supply is just one of
the things claimed as ‘state secrets’.
The heavy inflation being driven by Brown the Clown makes
it a bit crazy for people to save. Anyone alert in inflationary times
can only protect themselves by borrowing and not holding money.
For the last three years, you would have needed going
on 15 percent interest just to protect your savings, let alone make a
useful profit.
The Clown is far more implicated in the current UK
crash than most people understand.
And his answer is clearly still more inflation.
The Clown is wholly dependent on corruption and secrecy.
That requires a supine and uneducated population.
Hence, New Labour’s client state and no serious economic
education in schools.
Heads up from James Hammerton and Guido Fawkes.
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#uk_printing_money_131208
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a
cool look at the clown’s undermining and the fragility of the uk
economy
Recommended scan. By Irwin Stelzer.
“None of this is to deny that developments in an economy as
large as America's have an impact on its trading partners and other
countries. Or that America's bankers mismanaged risk. But it remains
an incontestable fact that the Prime Minister is pointing a finger at
America to conceal his mishandling of the British economy and, lately,
the futility of some portions of the stimulus package he has crafted.
Gordon Brown's search for a villain might better take him to the nearest
mirror than to Washington, DC.”
a
solid outline of the pros and cons of the current sterling collapse
Recommended scan. By Martin Vander Weyer.
“If Britain is out of favour, and existing gilts holders are
sitting on losses because the pound has slumped, then the appetite for
British debt will shrivel away. That is the most worrying development
we must watch for, because it will throw Brown’s debt-binge bail-out
strategy into utter confusion. Let us imagine the fateful phone call:
"Hello, is that the IMF emergency helpline? My name’s Gordon.
Yes, that Gordon, the one who not only saved the world...”
—
“So, there are several sides to this story, but here are the basic
facts. First and simplest, the euro looks more attractive than the pound
because the European Central Bank (ECB) "refinancing" rate,
at 2.5 per cent, is higher than the Bank of England’s 57-year-low
base rate of 2 per cent. More fundamentally, investors are convinced
that Britain will be harder hit by recession than the eurozone.
“Why? Because the fate of our economy is, in aggregate, more
tied than Europe’s to the fate of the crippled financial services
sector and the plunging housing market, and less sustained by the kind
of manufacturing businesses that can act as a locomotive of recovery.
“And, because the rest of the world now has a rather higher opinion
than it used to of the monetary-management skills of the ECB, under
its French governor Jean-Claude Trichet, and a rather lower opinion
of the way these things are conducted in London. In particular, international
markets are far from convinced by the Brown emergency-response formula
of unlimited public borrowing, coupled with a piffling VAT cut by way
of fiscal stimulus.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#uk_fragile_economy_121208
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what
is pay to play? how does it work? chicago politics
You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
Context: Rod Blagojevich, the Governor of the State
of Illinois, has been arrested for trying to sell the senatorial seat vacated
by Barack Obama.
Barak Obama with Rod Blagojevich. Image: smh.com.au
“The possibility of charges against the governor had been speculated
upon as at least 21 other people have already been indicted in the corruption
investigation, but the revelations of ongoing criminal activity have
stunned Chicago.”
—
“ Other allegations include:
- “that Mr Blagejovich demanded a $50,000 campaign contribution
from the chief executive of the Children's Memorial Hospital, before
he would hand over $8 million in funding for the hospital. The CEO refused
to pay and the funds are still pending.
- “another developer had been asked for $100,000 in campaign funds
in return for being considered for a $1.8 billion tollway project.
- “demands were made of other businessmen before the Governor
said he would sign a bill which would have benefited the horse racing
industry over the casino industry.
The company you keep defines you.
“His general counsel, ever helpful, suggests that maybe Obama
would get the gov's wife on some corporate boards, according to the
criminal complaint.”
Frank M. Clark, chairman of the Adler Planetarium until May 2008, raised
between $200,000 and $500,000 for Obama. Obama sought a $3,000,000 grant
for the observatory.
“Blagojevich, was already under investigation in relation to
corruption allegations that stemmed from the trial of Chicago developer,
Tony Rezko, a major donor to Barack Obama during his time in Chicago
politics.”
Obama fundraiser Rezko has been found guilty of several counts of
corruption. His sentencing hearing has already been delayed two or three times. The
scuttlebutt is that he is talking.
“Nadhmi Auchi is an Iraqi whose Baathist ties go back to 1959.
A formerly high-ranking official in Iraq’s Oil Ministry, Auchi
left Iraq at the end of the 1970s. His wealth then grew exponentially
as a procurer of arms for Saddam Hussein’s government during the
Iran–Iraq war. He is now one of the richest men in Britain. Saddam
Hussein in 1995 selected BNP, which later merged with Paribas, as the
sole conduit bank handling Oil-for-Food transactions. This Clinton-era
arrangement was changed in 2001 by the incoming Bush administration.
“Auchi was also a key financial backer for Chicago political
fixer and dual US-Syrian citizen Tony Rezko. This writer explained the
complex web of relationships in an August 24 article titled, "Iraqi
Billionaire Threatens Reporters Investigating Rezko Affair".
“A secret $3.5 million loan from an Auchi company to key early-money
Barack Obama fundraiser Antoin Rezko was exposed while Rezko was awaiting
trial on fraud and money-laundering charges earlier this year…”
[Quoted from hawaiifreepress.com]
Perhaps Obama will claim that Blagojevich was just a guy in the neighbourhood
and he doesn’t remember what he said.
No change we can believe in.
No changes at all.
Blagojevich tries to sell Obama’s last job.
How much will he get for the presidency, or even the
presidency elect?
Will the price go down if the Supreme Court decides
to hear the Obama birth certificate case?
Will realclearpolitics.com start a book?
The best politicians money can buy.
How much for Speaker of the House?
related material
obama
- judgment and experience
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#chicago_politics_101208
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bush interferes with another sovereign socialist leader - mugabe’s
exemplar paradise
“President George W. Bush called on Zimbabwe’s president,
Robert Mugabe, to step down and he vowed to help that African nation
rebuild.
“As my administration has made clear, it is time for Robert Mugabe
to go," the U.S. president said in a statement released by the
White House. "Across the continent, African voices are bravely
speaking out to say now is the time for him to step down.” [Quoted
from bloomberg.com]
Brave bishops back Bush:
“THE Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, made a bold call at the
weekend for Robert Mugabe and his henchmen to be removed from power
in Zimbabwe. He said that they must be brought before the International
Criminal Court in The Hague to answer for their crimes against humanity.
“His brother archbishop, Desmond Tutu, also called last week
for them to step down - or face indictment for their gross violations
of human rights. He said that, if they refused, they should be removed
by use of military force …”
Warlike neighbours also don’t like the socialist
father of his nation!
“On Sunday, Kenya's Prime Minister called on the African Union
to deploy its troops and intervene to bring an end to the crisis. Botswana
wants the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to put an embargo
on petrol and diesel exports to Zimbabwe. It believes that this could
dislodge Mugabe from power in little more than a week. Zambia has also
expressed support for his removal.”
Down with imperialism!!
Even Brown the Clown tries to get in on the posing,
but is spurned again.
“Yet when Gordon Brown pressed for a UN Security Council resolution
aimed at isolating Mugabe and his ZanuPF elite - and upholding the will
of the people of Zimbabwe as expressed in their election of March 29
- it was blocked.” [Quoted from yorkshirepost.co.uk]
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#save_zimbabwe_091208
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the clown’s broken britain
family
life
“Nearly half of all the under-21s in the criminal justice system
have been in care, only 12 per cent gain five A-C GCSEs and a third
of all homeless people have been in care."
“What they see is a saga of abuse, at the heart of which is
a woman, mother to seven children by six fathers, sustained on various
benefits, her rent paid and never having held a job in her life.
“Worse still was the comment from many of her neighbours (before
her involvement in the kidnap was known) that this lifestyle was considered
normal. You could almost sense a shudder go down the collective spine
of the nation.”
—
“These young boys are on their way to a life of crime. You don't
have to take my word for it - look at the background of those who as
young offenders end up in custody.
“Over three-quarters of them are from broken homes, just under
half of them experienced violence in the home and half of them have
educational levels below an 11-year-old.
“Girls suffer too. Many have grown up in dysfunctional families
where their mothers had children as teenagers and they have shared the
house with a string of "guesting fathers". Too many will repeat
the lives of their mothers."
Regards from the campaign for franchise
by examination.
the
clown’s benefit britain - karen matthews receives £20,000
pa
“To accuse these young girls of being feckless is unjust. They
understand and are responding to the economics of the situation.”
No, it’s not about sex education. It’s
about socialist incentives.
“Karen’s nine-year-old daughter Shannon was regularly
drugged to keep her quiet, had feet encrusted with dirt, was infested
with head lice and flinched at any sudden noise. Police found a note
scribbled by Shannon to her brother: "Do you think we will get
any tea tonight? If we’re quiet we might get a bag of sweets.
Don’t talk too loud or get a beating." This was in a family
receiving in benefits the equivalent of £20,000 a year before
tax. Seven children were going hungry to bed, not because of social
deprivation but because their mother could not be bothered to feed them.”
—
“What future is there for a girl who graduates from one of these
schools? Skilled and hard-working eastern Europeans monopolise menial
jobs. The next step up - a job in, for example, catering or hairdressing
if she can get it - pays about £10,000 a year before tax. This
is slightly less than a single mother with two children receives in
benefits and does not include somewhere to live rent-free.”
The Clown is not ‘ending poverty’. He’s
causing it!
on
the hypocrisy, lies and incompetence of the clown - the banking clag-up
If anyone takes serious notice of the Clown, then he
will further destroy the UK economy.
“This week the government is calling the bankers into yet another
Downing Street meeting, at which, we are given to understand, they will
be told to "pass on in full" the recent one-point cut in the
Bank of England rate. This is mightily disingenuous, on about 13 levels.
To take a few at random: Gordon Brown and his colleagues at 11 Downing
Street know perfectly well that the banks are not getting their money
at 2% from the Bank of England. For them the critical rate is Libor,
which has fallen by only about a third of a percentage point since the
Bank’s cut.
“The government, meanwhile, is charging the banks an annual coupon
of 12% on the £37 billion of taxpayers’ money for the recapitalisation
of which Gordon Brown is so proud. Brown is especially proud of it because
other countries, such as the US and Germany, followed suit. Yes, we
lead the world in emergency bailouts. What is less well known is that
those other countries have charged their banks a much less punitive
rate of interest: the US treasury imposed a coupon of only 5%, and Germany
between 5.5% and 8.5%.”
related material
congdon
on debt deflation and bank capitalisation
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#broken_britain_071208
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borrowing and housing supply, us and uk style
UK has a housing under-supply, while the USA has a
housing over-supply. Compare the available options for each government.
can the uk government pay back their awesome borrowing?
How many ways can the incredible borrowing by the UK
government be handled?
Irwin Stelzer, 3rd December 2008
“…higher taxes, a shrunken welfare state, a courageous
new government, the IMF or the opiate of inflation.
Your guess is as good as mine as to which of these will prove to be
the path taken.”
on reducing housing oversupply in the usa
Allan Meltzer, 11th November 2008
“To address the housing problem, Congress and the administration
should take actions that increase the current demand for housing. For
a limited time, say up to the end of 2009, allow buyers to use the value
of their down-payment (or some part of it) as a tax deduction. Or, reduce
the tax rate for qualified buyers who purchase a house between now and
January 2010. Or do both. Give the benefit to all home buyers, including
those buying a second or third house.
“Some may be speculators. Not a problem. The goal should be to
remove the excess supply of houses and condos, not to reward or punish
particular groups. Increased housing demand will work to stabilise prices,
not immediately but sooner than would otherwise occur. Reducing the
excess housing stock reduces defaults by slowing price decline. And
it brings nearer the time when homebuilding increases.”
Meltzer has also suggested government insuring the
banks against mortgage loses to encourage lending.
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics1108.php#housing_supply_041208
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