McCain either does or doesn't support privatization of Social Security.

The Power of Nightmares

In the past, politicians used to derive their power by enticing the public into believing in and following their dream ideology. Now, politicians derive their power by using fear and convincing the public that they can protect them from unseen dangers. This naturally leads to an exaggeration of the dangers in order to maintain power. This BBC documentary "The Power of Nightmares" illustrates the way this is happening today.

This is a trailer describing the film:






The full documentary can be found here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-53500833677585746&q

Not Yours to Give!

Davy Crockett gives a lesson on how congress is supposed to operate and proves that his head was used for much more than just a place to put a coonskin cap.


"We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money."


http://www.fee.org/library/books/notyours.asp

Small-headed Rat Children begging in the streets

'Rat people' forced to beg on Pakistan's streets

		Outside a Muslim shrine in this dusty Pakistani city, a "rat woman" with a tiny head sits on a filthy mattress and takes money from worshippers who cling to an ancient fertility rite. Nadia, 25, is one of hundreds of young microcephalics -- people born with small skulls and protruding noses and ears because of a genetic mutation -- who can be found on the streets of Gujrat, in central Punjab province. Officials say many of them have been sold off by their families to begging mafias, who exploit a tradition that the "rat children" are sacred offerings to Shah Daula, the shrine's 17th century Sufi saint. The popular belief among many Pakistanis -- that cruel beggar gangs clamp the children's heads in infancy -- is strongly denied by government and advocacy groups, who say there is no evidence to support this. Recent medical studies say the most likely cause is that the normally rare recessive genes behind many microcephaly cases crop up with greater frequency because of the common custom of marrying cousins in Pakistan. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080801163217.6r1x3fyu&show_article=1

Minnesota's reject is now working for Homeland Security

Wednesday: Fired by MnDOT, now at Homeland Security

By PAUL MCENROE and TONY KENNEDY, Star Tribune

Last update: August 1, 2008 - 8:43 AM

Sonia Pitt, the MnDOT emergency response executive fired for taking an unauthorized, state-paid trip to Washington during the Interstate 35W bridge disaster, is now working for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Pitt's letter of discharge states she engaged in activities that violated MnDOT's ethics code and was involved in "activities that cannot withstand public scrutiny without embarrassment. ... do not safeguard the public trust in the integrity of MnDOT, and undermine public trust in the Department.''

Now that's a winner. We need her at the Federal level!


http://www.startribune.com/local/26126214.html?location_refer=Local%20+%20Metro:highlightModules:3

How much paper money equals a silver dollar?

Silver and Monetary Considerations

By David Morgan

Founder of the Silver-Investor.com website

01 August 2008 @ 07:58 am EST

Hyperinflation in Germany

Many of you are probably too young to appreciate the full impact of the hyperinflation in Germany after WW1. It was devastating. This picture shows you the amount of paper that was equal to one silver dollar, or of one troy ounce of fine silver. After seven years of constantly accelerating inflation, the mark is finally stabilized at the rate of over 4 trillion to a U.S. dollar. The black market rate, however, was an incredible 12 trillion to the dollar at this time. The pre-inflation exchange rate for the mark was by contrast a modest 4.2 to the U.S. dollar. Can anyone say Hyperinflation?

I have looked at this picture many times, and during one of my presentations, it suddenly hit me that this amount of paper was roughly equal to the amount of value in a silver dollar. In other words, the commodity value of the paper was worth something, because paper can be burned to give off heat and certainly this is of value.

Full article here:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080801/silver-and-monetary-considerations.htm