Lies From High Ranking Liars

After his lie was exposed, this "public servant" defended his statement as being "the least untruthful answer I could have given."

Joke Is On Us

Why Bother Having a President?

Even Paranoids Have Real Enemies

 . . . and the disarmed have especially 

emboldened lethal ones!

Never Forget Wounded Knee

. . . or

Ruby Ridge and Waco

Unanswered Gun Control Point

Multitude of Big Brothers: Coming Soon to a Post Office Near You

Two Superb Reads

Strongly recommend not missing either:

An astute and shocking Wendy McElroy analysis of  the upside-down world we now inhabit that can be accessed by clicking here.

or

The latest outpouring of common sense and true wisdom from the estimable and consistently erudite Thomas Sowell, which can be found here.

Who Can We Trust To Take Those Late Night Crisis Calls?

(a)  The Whoremaster's Hag?

 (b)  The Orating Community Organizer?

(c)  Neither of the Above.

Safe at Home

Old Story About How Grandparents Differ

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Grandmothers and Grandfathers? Well, here it is:

There was this loving grandfather who always made a special effort to spend time with his son's family on weekends. Every Saturday morning he would take his 5-year-old granddaughter out for a drive in the car for some quality time -- pancakes, ice cream, candy-- just him  and his granddaughter.

One particular Saturday, however, he had a terrible cold and could not get out of bed. He knew his granddaughter always looked forward to their drives and would be very disappointed. Luckily, his wife came to the rescue and said that she would take their granddaughter for her weekly drive and breakfast.

When they returned, the little girl anxiously ran upstairs to see her grandfather who was still in bed. "Well, did you enjoy your ride with grandma?" he asked.

Not really, PaPa, it was boring. We didn't see a single a--hole,   qu--r, les--an, piece of c--p, horse's a--, socialist left wing Obama lover, blind bas--rd, dip--it, Muslim camel hum--r or son of a bi--h anywhere we went!"

We just drove around and Grandma smiled at everyone she saw. I really didn't have any fun.

Almost brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

Vengeful Rage of the Ruling Elitists

Hell hath no fury like that of politicians whose criminal acts have been exposed.

That's why almost all members of the U.S. political class and its academic,  media, and military-industrial complex supporters are screaming for the head of Edward Snowden.  Mr. Snowden simply made public that officialdom has expanded the surveillance state to the point that it spies on and monitors all electronic communications of those it distrusts -- namely all of the nation's citizens.

Furthermore, his revelations exposed as outright lies the statements of officials who have testified thatsuch things were not being done.

Don't look for any of those public officials to be called to account for having committed perjury.  After all, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the nation's highest ranking law enforcement official, routinely commits perjury when he testifies before congressional committees and nothing is ever done about that.  One such perjurer even has stated that his testimony was "the least untruthful" he could have given.

On the other hand, in the case of Mr. Snowden, OFF WITH HIS HEAD.

The only "harm" caused by Mr. Snowden's revelations to date has been that they furthered the already existent and growing public distrust of the government.  Those conspiring against the country have long assumed the monitoring of their postal and electronic communications by Big Brother.

Similarly motivated outrage still is being directed at, and vengeance is be wreaked on Bradley Manning, the soldier who revealed the routine commission of war crimes  and other immoral conduct by the American defense, diplomatic, and intelligence establishments.  While awaiting trial in a military star chamber proceeding, Mr. Manning was held in protracted tortuous confinement -- conditions far more barbarous than anything experienced by terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay.

The ruling class recognizes that crushing such conscience-driven young men is imperative lest an uncontrollable number of citizens join them to curb government that is excessive, self-serving, and anti-social.

From the Annals of Big Brother

The record of its stewardship of the money it takes in indicates that the IRS is less than the ideal fiduciary.

For example, take a gander at this report.

The handling of taxpayer dollars by the IRS appears to be in line with the practices of the federal government in general, according to this account:

Federal Employees Paid to Work for Unions

More than 250 employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs are being paid to work for government employee unions rather than veterans — even though the VA has a backlog of nearly 1 million unprocessed benefit claims.

These employees are on "official time," defined as "paid time off from assigned Government duties to represent a union or its bargaining unit employees," according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Their salaries range from $26,420 to the $131,849 being paid to a nurse in San Francisco who represents the Nation Federation of Federal Employees.

Government workers on "official time" have office space at the agency that employs them, are paid for full-time work, and receive medical insurance and other fringe benefits, even though many are not required to show up at the agency, reports Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

The VA spent $42.5 million on official time in 2011, including salaries and benefits.

Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Rob Portman of Ohio sent a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki saying: 

"Documents show that your department recently employed at least 85 nurses, some with six-figure salaries, who were in 100 percent official time status. At the same time, the department is recruiting more people to fill open nursing positions."

But official time is not limited to the VA. The OPM reported that the federal government paid more than $156 million to workers on official time in 2011, up from $139 million in 2010.

Sen. Coburn told Furchtgott-Roth: "It is unacceptable for employees to spend 100 percent of their time away from the job taxpayers pay them to do."

Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia has introduced a bill to limit official time, and in the Senate, Kentucky's Rand Paul has a bill that would completely eliminate it.

Neither bill has any realistic chance of being enacted into law.

One More Astute Observation

Priceless Observations

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, "Lillian, you should have remained a virgin."


     Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter) 


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Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.


Mark Twain 



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The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible
.

George Burns

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Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.


Victor Borge

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By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.


Socrates 



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I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.

Zsa Zsa Gabor

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Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.


Alex Levine 



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Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was "SHUT UP."

Joe Namath

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I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon.  Then it's time for my nap.
-

Bob Hope 



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I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.


W. C. Fields 



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Don't worry about avoiding temptation.   As you grow older, it will avoid you.


Winston Churchill 



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And the cardiologist's diet:  If it tastes good, spit it out!


Mark Twain Nailed It

An Honest Candidate

In Xalapa, Mexico, a cat named Morris is running for mayor. Do you know the difference between a cat and a politician? Cats don't pretend to care about you.

. . . from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

The Fattest of Fat Cats

To see how they live at our expense, click here.

From a Newletter

Inventing the Homeland

Twelve years ago – when the "homeland" was first invented (a smooth adaptation of Hitler's "fatherland") and TSA agents began frisking grandmothers – the whole thing seemed like a joke.

It looked as though America's leaders had gotten themselves into a hysterical panic. They thought al-Qaida really existed... that there were terrorist sleeper cells in every hamlet and burg... and that these infiltrators were about to wreak havoc on the nation.

It was a preposterous lie, but we figured they'd come to their senses soon.

Instead of coming to their senses, America's leaders – Republican and Democrat – began to see the advantage of a war that could neither be won nor lost.

As long as the country was "at war," the money flowed freely to zombie "defense" industries and the good citizens submitted to indignities that would be intolerable in a more civilized nation.

Leaving the US, our 93-year-old mother was forced to go through the body scanner twice. Wheelchair-bound, with severe osteoporosis, she was unable to put her hands above her head as ordered. So the TSA enforcer insisted that she do it again.

Why? Did anyone really think our mother posed a threat to air traffic safety?

Welcome to Ireland

Arriving in Ireland was entirely different. The agent barely looked at our passports.

"Welcome to Ireland," he said.

In Henry Downes bar in Waterford, a group of Irishmen recounted their own experiences with America's border guards.

"It is unbelievable the way they treat you," said one man. "We got in line. Someone began shouting at us. The woman in front of me didn't speak English well. She was French, I think. The guard asked her what she was in the US for. She explained that she had come to visit her daughter who had just had a baby. The guard acted like she was lying. He kept challenging her until she started crying. I don't think she was used to being treated like that."

"I go to the US often," said another young man. "I know I have to have a story to tell them. I work for a US company. But if I say that, they think I am working in the US without a work permit and it gets very messy. So I have to come up with a plausible reason to go. But you have to be careful. They'll try to catch you up. It's very unpleasant. I only go when I have to."

"It feels like you're entering a police state," a young woman took up the conversation. "They have guns and dogs. And they yell at you. I'm afraid of being taken out of the line for closer inspection in a little room somewhere. I know it is not reasonable, but I feel like I'd never come out. That I'd just disappear."

Unreasonable? Yes. But not unthinkable. People can now disappear – electronically.

The NSA has 14,000 smart people in its employ. They can know exactly what you are writing to friends and associates. They can put down an electronic cone of silence around you. Your phone and your computer could stop working. You may never know why. Whom would you call? How?

They could also shut down your bank account and all your credit cards. Then how would you support yourself?

Suppose you were traveling when this happened? Again, you may never know why... and may never have any means of remedying the situation. You simply disappear.

As far as we know, the feds, and their private-sector zombie contractors, are not disappearing American citizens... yet.

But the fruit hangs too low to resist. With a few keystrokes, they can silence their critics. They can muzzle their enemies. They can disappear anyone who cares about privacy or liberty.

And then, if you try to leave the country, you will find that your passport won't work, either. You will arrive at the border (assuming you find a way get there without money) and the border guard will take you into custody. You have been traveling with a fraudulent passport, he will say.

Paranoia? We hope so.

_______________________

The above is an excerpt from an article that originally appeared at www.billbonnersdiary.com/ARTICLE-URL.

About The Author

Bill Bonner founded Agora, Inc in 1978. It has since grown into one of the largest independent newsletter publishing companies in the world. He has also written three New York Times bestselling books, Financial Reckoning Day, Empire of Debt and Mobs, Messiahs and Markets.

His free daily e-letter Bill Bonner’s Diary of a Rogue Economist is your gateway to Bill’s decades of accrued knowledge about history, politics, society, finance and economics. Sometimes funny, sometimes frightening – but always entertaining and packed with useful insight, Diary of a Rogue Economist can help you make sense of the complex world we live in today.