Free kibbles

TAX AND SPEND:

Remember when the Greeks ousted their PM and brought in a central banker to fix things? His government declared no new austerity measures are needed. Apparently this guy doesn't remember how easily Germans go to war.

"The deal includes provisions for banks and other private holders of Greek bonds to write off 50% of their Greek debt holdings — potentially cutting the country's debt by €100 billion and reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 120% by 2020 from an expected 161.7% this year . But the details have not yet been worked out, and negotiations have only just begun."

Does that make you feel more confident?

Federal debt tops $15 trillion. That's over $160,000 per US worker.

If Republicans pass this revenue plan, voters will blow a gasket.

Apparently we're supposed to be outraged that GE pays significant taxes in China but almost no taxes in the US. But there's a couple reasons for this. First, GE probably makes a ton of money in China, and it makes almost none in the US because China's economy is growing and ours is shrinking. Second, the US is an old government so moneyed interests have had centuries to insinuate themselves with government. Note GE's donations to Obama.

HEALTH CARE:

Thanks to government domination of Europe's health care system, antibiotic resistant super-bugs are sweeping the continent.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY:

It turns out El Nino is a bigger driver of global climate than previously thought.

POLICE STATE:

Microsoft tries to patent software that identifies and punishes obnoxious workplace behavior. Homeland Security will require it on every computer.

Is it coincidence that just as the government shut down Occupy protests all over the country, Twitter has buried the OWS hash tags?

POLITICS:

This is why Ron Paul's anti-establishment message continues to gain steam across the political spectrum.

"To outward appearances, it might seem as though the left and right have never been more at odds. And for the average man in the street, drawn to the Tea Party on one side or the Occupy movement on the other, this might be true. But it is not so true for elite opinion. The nation's high and mighty may be divided about many things, but on one point they often agree: Americans are still too darn free."

That's a terrible fact.

There's suddenly a lot of buzz about Ron Paul being competitive in Iowa. Maybe he won't be ignored in the next debate. Maybe he'll be attacked. Watch the CNN guy ask him when he stopped being a racist.

Gingrich under fire for accepting lobbying money from Freddie Mac, Big Med and Pharma, and ethanol and other big business.

Bachmann thinks the end of the world is at hand. I don't want anybody who believes that to be president.

Occupy protesters seizing more property.

"Mr. Lafferty, who has helped Occupy Los Angeles protesters look for indoor space, is now aiding the group to form a nonprofit foundation because, as Lafferty points out, “the city has arrangements with other nonprofits to lease space for as little as a dollar a year.”"

Now this is a positive sign.

MEDIA:

Why is Time publishing a hagiography on Hillary Clinton now? Maybe she really will replace Biden on the 2012 ticket. Notice how power is smart when Democrats use it to advance their interests but dumb when Republicans use it to advance their interests. That's because the mainstream media are cronies to Democrats.

Great fact-checking piece on Ron Paul out of Cincinnati.

LOCAL:

Another consequence of government looting us to economic collapse: suicides up 40 percent locally.