time*treat's Blog

The only votes that still count are those done with your cash and your feet ... although I'm sure there are bills being written to criminalize those sorts of shenanigans.

From the Land of Unintended Consequences ...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/06/amazon-wont-collect-sales-tax-cuts-off-california-affiliates.html

Amazon.com has terminated its relationship with approximately 10,000 Internet business partners in California after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that requires out-of-state electronic retailers to collect sales tax on purchases from Golden State customers.

The termination took effect Wednesday evening, hours after Brown took action on a bill that will produce an estimated $317 million a year in new state and local government tax revenues.

Amazon said it canceled the contracts because it does not intend to comply with the new law.

...

Meanwhile, another big Internet retailer, Salt Lake City-based Overstock.com, said Wednesday that it is ending "the services of its California-based Internet advertising affiliates."

If past history is any indication, a certain busybody gov't is backing the wrong horse.

Ah, but you have to continually create new enemies to keep those "defense" dollars rolling in.

Who would you be able to identify strictly by their writing style?

From the FOMC meeting, August 22, 2000

transcript, page 82,

CHAIRMAN GREENSPAN. President Jordan.

MR. JORDAN. Thank you. I agree that leaving the funds rate unchanged at this point is
the right thing to do. I am also sensitive to the communications issues involved; it would not be
desirable to communicate the expectation that we are not going to raise the funds rate in the
foreseeable future or to imply that the next change might be down rather than up. But it is a
challenge as to how to avoid communicating that.

Regarding the language on the balance of risks, part of me would like to say that the
statement should always be that an unavoidable, permanent feature of a fiat money system is a
balance of risks toward higher inflation. [Laughter] If it ain’t going down it’s going up! But since I
am not likely to win that one, I think we do have to spend a little more time here on what it is that
leads us to believe that the balance of risks is toward higher inflation. I say that because in some of
the discussion today and in previous meetings it sounded to me as if we worry that higher
productivity through various avenues--through demand increases, wealth effects, higher real interest
rates, and liquidity injected by the central bank--causes higher inflation. And as Governor Meyer
suggested, we worry that lower productivity causes higher inflation. So, until we sort out a little
better whether higher productivity causes inflation or lower productivity raises the risk of inflation,
we are not quite ready to explain why we think the risks are toward higher inflation.

(I get the distinct impression they are/were not laughing WITH us.
If you'd like to prove to yourself I'm not making it all up ... )

www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/
http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm

Transcripts and other historical materials
http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc_historical.htm

Year 2000
http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomchistorical2000.htm

August 22 Meeting
transcript (page 82)
http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC20000822meeting.pdf

It's a "cluster", alright. It's just missing a syllable.

http://www.infowars.com/cancer-surges-in-body-scanner-operators-tsa-launches-cover-up/

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/56899-tsa-ignored-warnings-on-cancer-cluster

Oh, the occupational hazards of "just following ze orders".

It's gonna take you a few seconds to realize what you're looking at.

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhU4CTnw76aqB4q3z8

It's gonna take you a bit longer to answer the question 'how do you disincentivize it?'

... with the comment section conveniently unavailable due to "technical reasons".

http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/last-statement-sent-to-sentinel-from-self-immolation-victim/article_cd181c8e-983b-11e0-a559-001cc4c03286.html

but the comment section is working just fine in the follow-up, soft-serve, whitewash article that tries to pretend they don't know why it happened.

http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/familiar-refrain-why/article_55cf9c4b-c97a-5beb-8bb9-5dbc6d399b62.html

Perhaps they'd rather you carry a cop, instead?
Or rely on gov't dial-a-prayer? Some folks would like that.

http://www.wthr.com/story/14959373/police-voice-concerns-over-indianas-new-gun-law

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's new handgun law goes into effect next week. It allows people to carry a handgun without a license under the following conditions:

- if they are on their own property
- it it's unloaded in their vehicle
- if a handgun is carried to a shooting range for an instructional course or during legal hunting
- or if the handgun is unloaded and securely wrapped.

But police have expressed concerns about the new law to Eyewitness News.

Whenever a law enforcement officer pulls someone over, they know there's a risk that someone inside the vehicle may be armed and dangerous.

Now, starting July 1st, a new gun law will allow people to carry guns inside their vehicles without a license.

"If the person just bought the weapon, they have it in a secured wrapper, it's unloaded; it's in the trunk but not in the passenger compartment - it's not an issue. There's no threat to the officer," said Sgt. Dave Bursten, Indiana State Police.

Key word "suspect".

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/033011-court%3A-police-can-draw-dwi-suspects%E2%80%99-blood

Some members of the goon squad (allegedly) can't tell a taser from a firearm; you're supposed to trust Officer Bubbles to jab a needle in you and not give it an extra sadistic twist? Or worse?

Big Pharma's been doing pretty well in the Texas state house. They might soon buy themselves a presidency, too.

One down, forty-nine to go.

http://lewrockwell.com/peters-e/peters-e61.1.html

Gotta love what he says at 05:35 -- 06:10. If that's true ... we're freaking doomed!!!

I'm betting they aren't showing films like this in civics class, anymore.

Apple assumes role of Big Brother by developing patent to automatically disable iPhone cameras at concerts (and police or government abuse incidents?)

http://www.naturalnews.com/032723_Big_Brother_iPhone.html

Instead of a citizen getting "The Key to the City", how about the city getting a key to your house?

Not quite there yet (unless you live in a 6-or-more-plex), but it's earlier than you think.

Gotta change .. er .. reinterpret a few pesky laws, first.

http://aipnews.com/talk/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=21007&posts=1

http://easterniowanewsnow.com/2011/06/13/cedar-falls-lockbox-ordinance/

Do I need to enumerate the ways this can be abused?

http://lewrockwell.com/rep2/collapse-of-society-is-accelerating.html

I think most of these events are less related to the "economy" per se, and more related to people being jerks.

Some are power-hungry jerks, others are just the regular stupid kind.

Either way, the low classed are giving the elites the excuse to do what they've wanted to do all along.

Now, they just have to wait and let the pressure build enough for the middle class (well, those that think they're still in it) to demand that 'something be done'. They've already got the 'something' in mind.

http://morallowground.com/2011/06/09/johannes-mehserle-to-be-released-from-jail-monday/

Guess his actions were less offensive than, say, dog-fighting. He'd have served more time.

A bit of clowning in the beginning, then they get serious. Be careful, you might learn something.

Only thing I'll add is that the "$6.5 Trillion" housing equity mentioned did not disappear -- it never existed, in the first place.

Same thing is going to happen when you go to cash in your IRA.