Free kibbles

ECONOMY:

Just when you thought the Facebook IPO was funny, government gets involved...

"Investors and regulators raised new concerns about the $16 billion IPO as Facebook shares (FB) fell a second straight day, extending losses to 18 percent below the $38 offer price.

Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter, released a statement defending its handling of the May 17 IPO after the Massachusetts security division yesterday subpoenaed the investment bank over its communications with clients. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the brokerage industry’s watchdog both said they may review the offering, and a buyer of Facebook stock sued Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) (NDAQ) over glitches in opening-day trading.

The anticipation that preceded history’s biggest technology IPO has been replaced by investor ire, including about whether the offer was priced too high."

Oh yeah. The CIA funded Facebook, and it expected a big profit from the IPO. Oops. And since investors don't agree, the government is going to punish somebody. Make sure it isn't you. Run away from Facebook as fast as you can. Don't be fooled by temporary manipulations by government agents. The new dot.com bubble is bursting fast, and the government is angry because it's losing money.

TAX AND SPEND:

Hopefully this SpaceX launch signals the end of NASA, not a new future for it.

Air Force One costs $179,750 per hour to operate.

"Costs for each trip are even higher when factoring in the passenger and cargo aircraft that often accompany the president's plane, although those figures weren't specified in the eight-page report."

What else would you expect for the greatest emperor in history? Video of the launch.

As often as the CBO has stuck a stick in the eye of Obama's policies, only half right about this:

"A new government study released Tuesday says that allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire and a scheduled round of automatic spending cuts to take effect would probably throw the economy into a recession.

The Congressional Budget Office report says that the economy would shrink by 1.3 percent in the first half of next year if the government is allowed to fall off this so-called "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1 -- and that the higher tax rates and more than $100 billion in automatic cuts to the Pentagon and domestic agencies are kept in place."

Raising taxes will hurt because people will perceive they have less money. On the other hand, cutting Pentagon spending will boost the economy because it will free up resources scheduled to be squandered by the government for people to use to create wealth.

Pretty much every day government's irresponsible (redundant, I'm sure) interventions in the economy produces bizarre consequences. Here's one of them:

"A widow who conceived a baby from the sperm of her late husband is not automatically entitled to Social Security survivor's benefits to help raise the child, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The 9-0 decision rejected the claim that a biological child of a married couple, even one born years after the father died, always qualifies as his survivor under the Social Security Act."

Like most of the conflict we suffer in society, this conflict could only be created by govenment. It could not exist in a natural, free society.

EDUCATION:

Robots teach statistics faster than humans. It's as if government money makes people less efficient.

HEALTH CARE:

Because of over-prescription of anti-biotics, sinus diseases and pneumonia are becoming resistant to anti-biotics.

I feel like a fool for never hearing this before, but one of the founding fathers declared,

"Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution the time will come when medicine will organize itself into an undercover dictatorship. To restrict the art of healing to doctors and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic."

I often make fun of Marx for failing to mention health care in his ten totalitarian tenets to introduce Marxism. I believed that nobody understood the implications of government run health care. I was wrong. My apologies to Dr. Benjamin Rush.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY:

Obama hinders greens by restricting imports of Chinese solar panels. You can't make this stuff up.

NASA elites show up to criticize current NASA scientists for promoting the great global warming fraud.

POLICE STATE:

Let's send this lunatic to the moon.

Another government cartel formed by government wants to help rape and pillage American travelers. Because TSA doesn't allow them to join in the profits.

WAR:

Afghan President Karzai thanks Obama for stealing money from US taxpayers to pay to make his criminal faction the supreme criminal faction in Afghanistan.

""I'm bringing to you and to the people of the United States the gratitude of the Afghan people for the support that your taxpayers' money has provided Afghanistan over the past decade and for the difference that it has made to the well-being of the Afghan people," he told Obama."

I guess by well-being he means death, destruction and opium production. I'm sure Karzai, his family and his cronies have enjoyed a fantastic improvement in their standard of living, but I bet the vast majority are worse off than they were before our government invaded.

Bill Krystal declares that the Republican establishment has exorcised libertarians. The sad part of this is, having done so, Mitt Romney is likely to win this election. As a result, Americans will twist in the wind of government excess for eight years and the US as we know it will be gone. As goes California, so goes the nation. And California will be the first to succeed.

High profile cooperation between the US military and its rich supporters in Hollywood.

"If the most powerful armed force in history isn't winning in reality, it certainly is on the big screen."

For the looters, perception is far more important than reality.

MEDIA:

Dutifully sucking up to the politicians, the USA Today proclaims that Syrian rebel are under-armed, meaning the US government hasn't stolen enough money from us to arm the sufficiently, and they are under-sieged, meaning Americans have yet to be manipulated enough to allow our government to steal enough money to arm them sufficiently. I give the USA an A+ in propaganda for this message. I just tried to post a similar comment on the USA Today page for this article, but I was stymied because I didn't have a Facebook account. It's like the government, Facebook and USA Today are all working together to screw us. Spooky.

US propagandists want us to think that Egyptians, since they can vote fore president for the first time ever, are free. They will learn the hard way that elections are tools of oppression, not freedom. This propaganda is all about stealing more money from Americans.

LOCAL:

Cheviot internet sweepstakes cafe.

""As long as he's not doing anything illegal there cant be a problem with it," Councilman Matthew McGowan said. "However, that area's still a little murky which is why we're doing our research.""

What's murky about it?

""By establishing oversight of these previously unregulated games, Law enforcement, consumers, and charities can operate in a more fair environment," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine stated."

What's unfair about it? To whom is it unfair?

DeWine on internet sweepstakes cafes in front of Lucky's on Dixie. More. HB 195. Here's a provision that supports the bar business.

"That is because the bill — House Bill 195 — would limit to five the number of sweepstakes machines allowed in each Internet cafe or business."

And here's a provision that supports the casino business.

"Also, HB195 would prohibit the awarding of cash prizes to those who play sweepstakes machines. Cash prizes are the norm in local Internet cafes."

They're also planning to limit the number of businesses in counties based on population. This is all about money. A new business model threatens to compete with two well established business models, so those establishments are using government to restrict or wipe the upstart. They compete with casinos, bars and charity bingo. Some cafes welcome regulation because it will harm their competitors. Butler county towns block cafes. Here's the gray area:

"The biggest question - whether the activity is gambling - hasn't been answered at the state level. However, courts around Ohio are split on the issue, allowing Internet sweepstakes cafes to open, primarily in northwestern Ohio.

"It's definitely a gray area," said Christy Prince, who practices gaming law for Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter in Columbus. "One judge in Toledo ruled it was legal. In Akron, a judge said it is illegal gambling.""

Why did the Akron judge rule it was illegal? Here's why I say this is all a money grab:

"Expensive permit fees are being used to regulate the businesses in some cities. Brook Park, a suburb of Cleveland, decided in June that it would charge operators $41,000 a year for an establishment with 100 machines."

If you have deep pockets, you can afford to pay off politicians, so you're allowed to open an internet sweepstakes cafe. If you don't too bad. Akron operator plead guilty to gambling.

"At the same time as Powley was making his announcement, Cynthia Groff, 56, of Akron, was pleading guilty in municipal court to operating a gambling house in connection with the Ohio Internet Cafe.

Powley said Groff applied for the prosecutor's diversion program and agreed to forfeit to the city all the items seized, including the $2,300 and the computers."

Talk about a naked money grab.

"''Their theory being, if they sell a phone card along with a chance to gamble, that would be no different from a McDonald's kind of Monopoly game or some other sweepstakes prize game.

''This business of selling phone cards is just a front for gambling,'' he said."

So why is it different for McDonalds? And of course, it isn't really gambling because the maximum payout is determined in advance.

Rob Dabish Players Club article. Phone number. Fremont raid. Harrison Township raid. DeWine says he wants to protect people from being swindled, but they can't be swindled because they have no skin in the game.