tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post5520194288994678..comments2024-03-08T07:09:46.527-07:00Comments on Pro Libertate: Sovietizing the Economy: The Final PhaseWilliam N. Grigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14368220509514750246noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-15795820559437224172011-04-08T12:00:02.280-06:002011-04-08T12:00:02.280-06:00Hungary's inflation was the worst. When it wa...Hungary's inflation was the worst. When it was "corrected", the exchange rate was 1 forint to FOUR HUNDRED QUINTILLION pengo!Marie Lynettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06257159233459615934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-21712620678547715012008-12-17T10:41:00.000-07:002008-12-17T10:41:00.000-07:00That quote from Curtis Dall's book appears to be a...That quote from Curtis Dall's book appears to be a composite quote.<BR/>In my copy of the book part of the quote appears on page 49 and the remainder is on page 59.<BR/><BR/>R. CozineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-67606116611286611622008-12-17T07:04:00.000-07:002008-12-17T07:04:00.000-07:00To Mr. Robert Corzine-Great quote from Curtis Dall...To Mr. Robert Corzine-<BR/>Great quote from Curtis Dall's book 'My Exploited Father-in-Law'. Could you give us lazy slobs the page number of that remark? I'd like to highlight it once I buy it from Amazon. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-41809018397653921642008-12-17T04:08:00.000-07:002008-12-17T04:08:00.000-07:00A few comments from across the pond in England.The...A few comments from across the pond in England.<BR/><BR/>There are those, fortunately not too many on here, who blame the people for what has been done to them by governments, when the simple fact is that "our" governments have never been under our control. They do what they like and we take the blame - until we get so thoroughly fed up (keeping it polite) that we take matters into our own hands and depose the despots by force.<BR/><BR/>If we could once establish a true government "of the people", we could solve most of the problems overnight by the simple act of taking back all that stolen (fraudulent) "money" and "credit" into interest-free state ownership, together with the existing banking infrastructure and the fortunes of the traitors, both in banking and in government.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, we could start to issue our own promissory notes, but valued in real commodities. Forget dollars, pounds, euros and all the rest of the worthless denominations and print our own notes to the value of "a pound of tomatoes", "a sack of peas", "a box of ammo" and suchlike. They'd find it difficult to ban such "currency" and it would have a real, fixed value.<BR/><BR/>Just a thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-7976189205294733062008-12-16T19:06:00.000-07:002008-12-16T19:06:00.000-07:00O America, how much longer will you wallow in your...O America, how much longer will you wallow in your stupidity? The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves, and the blood of the patriots cries out from the ground. They are taking your freedoms day by day, and you say to them, "Protect us!!"<BR/><BR/>I'll quote Ben Frankin here: "He that trades Liberty for security deserves neither."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-44276066872879498222008-12-14T14:20:00.000-07:002008-12-14T14:20:00.000-07:00Mr. Grigg,I apologize in advance for this off-topi...Mr. Grigg,<BR/><BR/>I apologize in advance for this off-topic comment, but I couldn't find an e-mail address.<BR/><BR/>A leviathan so enormous will pay no heed to where he steps:<BR/><BR/>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081214/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush<BR/><BR/>It is incredible to me that after having been "schooled" on proper respect for Islam for seven years, the Head of State would not understand the insult. Commenting on the size of the shoe is sort of like commenting on the shade of yellow after being urinated upon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-59517476089095861392008-12-13T00:50:00.000-07:002008-12-13T00:50:00.000-07:00Mr. Dharma (may I call you "Buck"? I love your lea...Mr. Dharma (may I call you "Buck"? I love your lead guitar work with Blue Oyster Cult) -- there are precious few things that deserve to be taken seriously. <I>I</I> am not on that list, but I earnestly hope at least a few of my opinions will make it. <BR/><BR/>I would have replied earlier, but I couldn't hear your natterings above the incessant racket of my target practice and the din generated by my hunting dogs. It's my melancholy duty to inform you that if you're interested in perforating this essay you're going to have to upgrade the caliber of your logic. <BR/><BR/>You've skimmed a bit of the Bible and dipped into a book or two, but I see you're unacquainted with the proper use of an atlas. Payette is in <I>western</I> Idaho. But you have half a point; I grew up in "East Jesus," or Rexburg, as it's formally known, but I'm sure they wouldn't claim me if the matter were pressed on them. <BR/><BR/>Christians like myself gladly admit that Jesus is either the Messiah or a megalomaniac; that presentation of options rules out the preferred option of some agnostics (such as Thomas Jefferson at one phase of his life), namely that He was a splendid moral teacher but nothing more. <BR/><BR/>If He was the latter, his was an oddly undemanding sort of megalomania, seeing that He emphatically refused to assume the power to compel people to follow Him. I suspect that He is consistently aggrieved by those who invoke his Name to sanctify their pursuit of coercive power. <BR/><BR/>Furthermore, unlike most conspicuous figures in history, Jesus accomplished something novel, as opposed to following the megalomaniac's preferred approach of futile repetition. <BR/><BR/>The axioms of Marx, when applied faithfully, inevitably lead to misery, corruption, and bloodshed, yet megalomaniacs continue to insist, with the misplaced earnestness of Bullwinkle the Moose thrusting his hand with unwarranted confidence into his magician's hat, "This time for <I>sure!</I><BR/><BR/>Whenever the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount are applied, by way of contrast, the practical results are vastly different. The true pity is that professed Christians (particularly those pursuing political power) often display so little interest in following those precepts.William N. Grigghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14368220509514750246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-65469048252332359492008-12-12T21:50:00.000-07:002008-12-12T21:50:00.000-07:00Not to effectively shoot your latest quaff of farm...Not to effectively shoot your latest quaff of farm fresh, fringe Christian-Extremist (a la, say, Koresh) "Keep yer' guns loaded fer when Uncie Sam comes" full of holes, but Jesus Christ was, by your very definition, a Megalomaniac. And he was killed for it. I guess the only rousing thing about that one was that he's the messiah. That's what they tell me, at least.<BR/><BR/>You've read the Bible, right? You re-read what you write, right? The appearance of these questions are not to function as sarcastic flourish (OK, they do a little bit), but rather to raise another question that I believe is unequivocal: Do you take yourself that seriously? And also: Do the people of East Jesus, Idaho take you that seriously? I'm sure you've got heaps and heaps of net traffic--numbers I'm sure you're considering vaunting out with an irreverent, "But look at all my hits, my supportive comments!" I have this to say to that: It's not hard to find a transexual in Asia.<BR/><BR/>In perfect honesty, I'd like to comment that I think you're incredibly intelligent, pomp and filigree aside. Use it to proselytize in the Appalachians, where your hackneyed, thesaurus super-sized rubbish won't be easily sifted through by the locals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-58296394935648929602008-12-12T08:53:00.000-07:002008-12-12T08:53:00.000-07:00Maku520,Just because there was "deregulation" in c...Maku520,<BR/><BR/>Just because there was "deregulation" in certain industries does not mean America experienced a true free market — for two reasons:<BR/><BR/>1. Deregulation was not complete. A reduction in government regulations does not mean there was a removal of all government regulations. Any intervention of free markets by government is going to have a detrimental effect.<BR/><BR/>2. It is a law of economics that pressure at any point of an economy is going to show up somewhere. It may not show up in the industry where the pressure is applied but it will show up somewhere. Our economy is interrelated. The detrimental effects of government intervention in one industry could show up in another. Just because the government "deregulated" some industries does not mean it was done for all. Government intervention was alive and well in the 80s and 90s. And, of course, today.<BR/><BR/>You claim that capitalism comes with a boom/bust cycle. That is not true. The boom/bust cycle is a direct result of inflation, which is only possible with fiat money. Our government removed our currency from the gold standard so that it could print money any time it wanted to fund something. The inflation of the currency creates a boom — for a while. When the currency stops being inflated we have the bust — a recession. If our currency was backed by gold the government would not have the ability to inflate it and the boom/bust cycle would be all but gone.<BR/><BR/>Now, there is such a thing as business failures in a capitalist system. But even those are good. When a business does not provide adequate goods or services (i.e. things people neither need nor want) people will not exchange their money for those goods and services. Instead they will exchange it for goods and services they actually will use.<BR/><BR/>Capital is redirected toward productive businesses and productivity is rewarded. Owners of failing businesses then change to more productive pursuits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-5180886505611160262008-12-12T04:43:00.000-07:002008-12-12T04:43:00.000-07:00The US economy was sovietised long time ago. It mu...The US economy was sovietised long time ago. It must be realised that corporations are not private capitalist enterprise but socialist institutions. <BR/>Please, read "Power Without Property" by former US Secretary of State Adolf Berle, 1959.<BR/>US is up to its ears in Jewish communism, the economy, the wars and all the rest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-60595400547235537682008-12-11T20:13:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:13:00.000-07:00Bosunj, honest people acknowledge that Ronnie Ray-...Bosunj, honest people acknowledge that Ronnie Ray-gun played an instrumental role in sinking the people of the U.S. into debt. As far as I know, most people who read this blog are not at all neo-cons, and that in fact, this blog is the antithesis of neo-con. Did you know that? Have you read many other posts here? Most people here recognize that Bush has spent more money that belongs to other people, and inflated the currency more than Clinton ever did, and detest the fact. <BR/><BR/>I didn't see anything in his post that is blaming Barack Obama for the collapse of the economy we are currently riding. What he <I>is</I> saying is that Obama is going to end up doing more damage by pursuing his economic interventions. He is not saying that Obama is going to deliberately make the problems worse because he is a wilfully evil man, but because he does not understand economics, and like most other politicians, republicrat and demopublican alike, he hubristically thinks that he is able to micromanage the billions of voluntary human interactions that comprise the economy.<BR/><BR/>As for your notion that we're "Christofascists..." where on earth do you get that, besides your prejudices? Do you see anyone here claiming the right to force other people to be virtuous? Do you see anyone claiming the right to use state violence to support religion? Do you even see Jesus saying that his followers should use violence to effect their means? No! As Joseph Sobran points out, Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust from their feet and move on when they were rebuked, not "cleanse the land of the impure." You are an arrogant, ignorant bigot, sir, and you owe Mr. Grigg and the readers an apology for your slander. <BR/><BR/>Nothing in Christ's teachings supports the initiation of violence against one's fellow man, or the use of violence to defend an idea in itself. And no one who murders, tortures or taxes does so as a "Christian." If he calls himself a Christian, he does it as a hypocrite.<BR/><BR/>"America," sir, does not need to disappear. If, however, by "America" you mean the bullying, violent tactics used by the state known as the U.S. government, you are absolutely right. <BR/><BR/>But I am not a part or an appendage of the state, and I do not support its actions. <BR/><BR/> -Sans AuthoritasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-53194586027187525952008-12-11T18:28:00.000-07:002008-12-11T18:28:00.000-07:00Bosunj - Great quotes.Religion is what happens whe...Bosunj - <BR/>Great quotes.<BR/><BR/>Religion is what happens when an noble and enlightened human being with a worshipful following dies, and the politicians and shopkeepers see a wonderful opportunity to reorganize those followers into a dues-paying membership club who will do as they are told. Money and power for the taking.<BR/><BR/>For those popes and cardinals and ministers and TV evangelists, it's a lot easier than working. Sheesh! They get themselves up in long dresses and exorbitant jewelry, then go round attacking gays and drag queens, probably because the drag queens have better fashion sense than they do. Everybody hates competition.<BR/><BR/>The inspirational philosophy, which dies with the enlightened one, then becomes an undead thing resurrected to life - an intellectual and moral vampire. In other words, a religion.<BR/><BR/>- Lemuel GulliverAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-52171932323502670032008-12-11T17:57:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:57:00.000-07:00A guy I was talking to yesterday, Bob who Bush apo...A guy I was talking to yesterday, Bob who Bush apologist, said that Bush didn't have much to with the bailout.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-73818891053496734092008-12-11T17:43:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:43:00.000-07:00Hey-wait a sec, I thought this turkey Obama W. Bus...Hey-wait a sec, I thought this turkey Obama W. Bush was all about "change".<BR/><BR/>I guess he was just kidding!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-23664575088404559322008-12-11T15:51:00.000-07:002008-12-11T15:51:00.000-07:00Slavery and profit is what keeps the rich from kil...Slavery and profit is what keeps the rich from killing-off all the poor.<BR/> - MeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-59800368507762564332008-12-11T13:46:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:46:00.000-07:00Bosunj--you have an agenda. A belief in God is not...Bosunj--you have an agenda. <BR/>A belief in God is not a liability and does not cause wickedness in man. <BR/>It is man's perversion and exploitation of this relationship that causes evil. <BR/>Man, with no divine guidance, generally finds little to protect himself from falling for the typical satanic values--greed, corruption, disregard for humanity. <BR/>It is evil that seeks to destroy God. If you work to prove there is no God, you need to ask yourself who you work for...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-68111883819077114012008-12-11T13:42:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:42:00.000-07:00The thoughtful and intelligent readers have alread...The thoughtful and intelligent readers have already pointed out all the flaws in this piece except one. Obama isn't a "decent writer". There is only one instance where obama's authorship can be proven and it was mediocre, at best. <BR/>The books "authored" by obama have been proven to be penned, instead, by Bill Ayers. The literary style, access, etc. strengthen the claims. <BR/>In writing, like so many other things, obama is a fraud.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-13054229328478559012008-12-11T12:14:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:14:00.000-07:00Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the...Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.<BR/>~ Napoleonbosunjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292980282480526542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-78958470193202633112008-12-11T12:13:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:13:00.000-07:00I know of no crime that has not been defended by t...I know of no crime that has not been defended by the church, in one form or other. The church is not a pioneer; it accepts a new truth, last of all, and only when denial has become useless.<BR/>~ Robert G. Ingersoll<BR/><BR/><BR/>You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do.<BR/>~ [Usenet]<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.<BR/>~ Thomas Szaszbosunjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292980282480526542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-73409517751075095612008-12-11T12:08:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:08:00.000-07:00will - i agree that capitalism dictates that we le...will - i agree that capitalism dictates that we let it all run its course. but inherent in capitalism is a boom-bust cycle, and i think that government has a vested interest in trying to lessen those natural business cycles. but of course bush2 did the wrong thing to address the bust this time (and the 2001 recession).<BR/><BR/>chip - since the 1980s the government has been deregulating businesses and industries. that seems like "free market"-izing the economy to me. reagan did it, bush 1 did it, the republican congress during clinton's presidency did it (clinton went along with it to get his plans and programs, such as welfare reform, through the legislature), and bush 2 certainly did it. the us government has been deregulating markets for a while on the assumption that it's good for the economy (thanks, greenspan). but capitalism comes with the boom-bust cycle -- it's inescapable. and that's what we're seeing here. bush 2 just made it worse by not allowing capitalism to work because his friends were loosing a lot of money.<BR/><BR/>i'll admit -- i rely on the way history has painted FDR's programs and haven't read a lot about it, but it seems like people really thought they worked. i definitely agree that the federal reserve was a terrible idea and paved the way for the crappy fiat monetary system we have today, but i really believe that the work programs that were introduced helped get the economy going again. yes, it took a long time, but the hoover dam wasn't built in a day. the "trickle up" effect takes awhile.<BR/><BR/>overall, i respect your opinions but i don't think that obama is a bad guy (i don't necessarily think bush 2 is a "bad guy" either, just horribly misguided and surrounded by bad guys) and think that he'll have a different way to solve our current problem that will work better than 1) giving failing banks more money (which was stupid in the first place and contrary to any and all viable economic theories) or 2) letting the market work itself out (which will create mass unemployment in the short run and an even more severe global depression in the long run). we can't let the depression hurt the world too much or else big wars will start happening again.<BR/><BR/>and as for overconsumption, i think it's pretty common sense. don't buy a gas-guzzler. don't buy a giant house. don't go to mcdonald's every day. don't buy new clothes every month. don't leave the lights on. these are things parents should be teaching their children; rather, the tv is teaching children that <I>things</I> are <I>cool</I> and you <I>need</I> everything that's new and shiny and it doesn't matter if it destroys the environment or was made by starving children in less-developed countries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-14811861171416135442008-12-11T12:07:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:07:00.000-07:00The modern conservative is engaged in one man's ol...The modern conservative is engaged in one man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.<BR/>~ John K. Galbraitbosunjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292980282480526542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-2385410183385106042008-12-11T12:06:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:06:00.000-07:00The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cr...The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed religion.<BR/>~ Thomas Painebosunjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292980282480526542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-31229432872939800442008-12-11T12:05:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:05:00.000-07:00Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or wi...Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion.<BR/>~ Steven Weinbergbosunjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292980282480526542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-41141652283197799612008-12-11T12:00:00.000-07:002008-12-11T12:00:00.000-07:00This freak better keep himself in Payette. Seems h...This freak better keep himself in Payette. Seems he fits in real well there with <B>his bald attempt to blame an administraton that isn't even in office yet</B> with the sins of the extremist-capitalist neo-CON christo-fascist tinkle down Ronnie Ray-gun fellating freaks that infest much of America. <BR/><BR/>It will be interesting to see how long he and his family will last when the collapse is in full swing and the christo-fascist "patriots" come down from their mountain cabins to liberate the "homeland" from the "unpure". <BR/><BR/>My wager is it won't be more than a minute or two. <BR/><BR/>Before you attack me for seemingly insensitive comments let me make it abundantly clear that the America we loved no longer exists. The christo-fascist neo-CON shell that that now exists needs to be destroyed permanently. If it is not the whole world will suffer a much worse fate than the freak who wrote this column can possibly imagine.<BR/><BR/>In short America needs to disappear. Sooner the better. It's not that it will be that great a loss. Americas are only 5% of the world population and Americans have caused 95% of the worlds problems. Good riddance!bosunjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292980282480526542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32869165.post-85097866524213877952008-12-11T09:18:00.000-07:002008-12-11T09:18:00.000-07:00One small nit:The poster of Lenin's silhouette; th...One small nit:<BR/><BR/>The poster of Lenin's silhouette; the caption mentions that he is, "of course," pointing left.<BR/><BR/>But he isn't. Mimic his stance yourself. You are pointing RIGHT.<BR/><BR/>The VIEWER sees "left," the SUBJECT points "right"...<BR/><BR/>What no one seems to notice is that BOTH ARE IN FACT THE SAME DIRECTION.<BR/><BR/>And that's what's really important. It's not Right-versus-Left, because they are really going in the same direction... No matter which you choose, you are still heading in the direction that they (the pointers) want us to go... our belief that it is "right" or "left" is just one more tactic of division, used to distract us from the truth of our slavery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com