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FEDERAL RESERVE:

Bailing out banks is inflationary.

The euro is an example of the tragedy of the commons.

 "The second cause is that the euro is a tragedy of the commons, as I explain in my book The Tragedy of the Euro.
In the eurozone, several independent governments can use one central banking system to finance their deficits. The costs of these deficits can be partially externalized in the form of higher prices on foreigners. Take the following example: The Greek government spends more than it receives in taxes. For the difference, the Greek government prints bonds. The banking system buys these bonds because banks can use them as collateral for new loans from the ECB. When the banks pledge the Greek government bonds as collateral with the ECB, they receive new central-bank money. Banks can then use these new reserves to expand credit. The money supply increases, and prices rise. The deficit is thereby indirectly monetized, and the users of the currency pay."

It's a great scam if you can get in on it. This article does a good job of laying out the two major factions determining who will pay for all the debt and how, no matter which wins, the eurozone might break up.

"But who is likely to win? In principle Germany has the better cards because it is paying and it could just threaten to stop guaranteeing for the periphery. However, there may be even better arguments for the other side to win. France was on the winning side of WWII and has more geopolitical power than Germany. The French government and her allies managed already to get rid of the hated Deutsch Mark. Germany has been paying other countries since WWII due to a combination of guilt complexes and implicit threats of isolation. As geopolitical conditions have not changed radically, it is likely that Germany will keep paying in the future and that the euro will be a weak currency."

Haven't Europeans figured out that's it not a good idea to punish and radicalize Germans?

We often complain that big corporations, especially financial corporations, tend to be short term planners. That mentality has permeated our entire culture with short term thinking and disposable products. In a discussion of how to return to the gold standard, Ron Paul explains one reason that happened.

"In 1971, the international definition of the "dollar" as 1/42 of an ounce of gold was also dropped. The Treasury and Federal Reserve still value gold at $42.22 per ounce, but that is a mere accounting device. In addition, IMF rules now prohibit any member country from externally defining its currency in terms of gold. The word "dollar," quite literally, is legally meaningless, and it has been meaningless for the past decade. Federal Reserve notes are not "dollars"; they are notes denominated in "dollars." But what a "dollar" is, no one knows.
This absurdity at the basis of our monetary system must be corrected. It is of secondary importance whether we define a "dollar" as a weight of gold or as a weight of silver. What is important is that it be defined. The current situation permits the Federal Reserve — and the Internal Revenue Service for that matter — to use the word any way they please, just like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.
No rational economic activity can be conducted when the unit of account is undefined. The use of the meaningless term "dollar" has all but wrecked the capital markets of this country. If the "dollar" changes in meaning from day-to-day, even hour-to-hour, long-term contracts denominated in "dollars" become traps that all wish to avoid. The breakdown of long-term financing and planning in the past decade is a result of the absurd nature of the "dollar." There is very little long-term planning occurring at the present. The only way to restore rationality to the system is to restore a definition for the term "dollar." We suggest defining a "dollar" as a weight of gold of a certain fineness, .999 fine. Such a fixed definition is the only way to restore confidence in the markets and in the "dollar." Capitalism cannot survive the type of irrationality that lies at the basis of our present monetary arrangements."

I'd say another reason is the short term thinking of politicians who look only to the next election and who force policy on us based on that short term outlook. Uncertainty of the value of money in the future combined with uncertainty of the future dictates beyond the next election makes planning for the future a waste of resources.

Inflation and government regulations continue to drive up the price of commodities and therefore the price of farmland.

"As mentioned by one farmer in the film King Corn, “I don’t know a single farm out here that isn’t in a government program.”"

Another Marxist policy fulfilled thanks to Republicans as well as Democrats.

HEALTH CARE:

Smart phones, following computers, are enabling DIY medicine.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY:

Global warming alarmism is triggering a kind of carbon trade war. The pain people are suffering because of these frauds and the policies they've promoted is the real threat.

Are you looking forward to $6 gas like in Florida? The article fails to mention the impact of inflation on these prices.

POLICE STATE:

Chertoff busted for lying to Congress, with no consequences, about a suspected terrorist.

TSA exposed for lying about another suspected terrorist.

Skepticism over claim that a water leak shut down TSA's new, low-def porno scanners, forcing agents to go back to the old high-def porno scanners.

WAR:

US satellite photos of Syria reported used for propaganda purposes. All government programs are used to support the interests of our rulers against us.

LOCAL:

USPS to close Dayton distribution center.

MISC:

More details on the fall of communism in the Virginia colony.

It's only a matter of time until it becomes profitable to mine garbage, especially for rare earth materials in electronics.

The history of post delivery in the US.

"The first postage rates were extremely high, as Congress tried to force easterners to subsidize the more expensive service to outlying settlements on the western frontier. As the Postal Service's official history notes, "Until 1851, the cost of sending a single sheet letter 40 miles was either 6› or 8›. When the letter traveled over 400 miles, it cost 25›. These prices doubled, tripled, or quadrupled with each additional sheet."[3] In 1843, "it cost 18 1/2› to send a letter from New York City to Troy, New York, but only 12 1/2› to send a barrel of flour the same distance."[4] The government charged 25› to deliver a letter from Philadelphia to New York.
Henry Wells (later of Wells-Fargo fame) entered the market, charged 6› a letter, and delivered faster.[5] In the Boston area alone, over a hundred private express companies carried the mail. Private companies delivered letters directly to addressees' homes, while the government still required people to pick up their mail at the nearest post office.
As private business flourished, government postal revenues declined. The postmaster general admitted in 1843 that many people thought the government's monopoly was "odious," but insisted that it had to be preserved for the good of the country.[6] In 1845, Congress tightened the laws prohibiting competition and increased the penalties for violators. In 1851, Congress lowered postal rates and began providing a direct subsidy for postal operations."

Here's more on the private delivery of post.

One of the most important lessons we should teach our kids is that rules don't matter. Celebrity matters. And I don't mean this is the way American society should be. I mean this is the way government has transformed American society, and children should be educated to take advantage of it. What prompted me to write this is:

"Ryan Braun wins appeal of suspension"

And as baseball claims,

"National League MVP Ryan Braun's 50-game suspension was overturned Thursday by baseball arbitrator Shyam Das, and a source told ESPN that Major League Baseball officials are livid over the decision."

I don't want to condemn the guy based on the establishment accusations. But that's how the system works. On the other hand, nobody has ever overcome the system. So maybe Braun is right. Maybe all the other people who've been destroyed by this process were right. The only difference is celebrity. Celebrity is a license to kill. It's also immunity from government oppression. All the rest of us are serfs to be crushed under the jackboots of the state. One more comment: the state's prohibition against people putting stuff in their bodies is illegitimate.