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By Christine Smith
A couple nights ago I watched a most interesting and poignant drama. “The Visitor” is the story of a college professor (played by Richard Jenkins) whose life is changed by his meeting of a young couple (a man from Syria, and lady from Sengal, Africa) and the young Syrian’s mother, all of whom are in this country illegally. The drama unfolds as a friendship develops between the four and strengthens as the professor learns firsthand of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy.
Read the full movie review HERE.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
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Media Alert: Jim Babka will be on the radio today and Sunday. See the P.S. below the signature.
Quote of the Day: "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Sell not liberty to purchase power." -- Benjamin Franklin
Subject: $61 billion stimulus package failed in the Senate
Lost in the noise of the election was the good news that the Senate rejected a $61 billion stimulus package that the House had passed earlier.
But House Democrats are still pushing for another stimulus package that they will try to pass in a lame duck session. The details are constantly shifting, but this proposal would add another $150 billion to $165 billion to a national debt that has grown by nearly a trillion dollars in the space of about a month.
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- Written by: Howard Kupferman
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Now that bailout has become the government’s policy, which bank is next? Well, it won’t be a bank; it will be Ford.
Ford has been saying all along that Chapter 11 is not an option. Of course it isn’t. Ford has been lobbying for government money. The government has already committed itself to bailouts. Why not Ford?
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- Written by: Howard Kupferman
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Does the average American know what the word “liquidity” means? According to the government, it is something that is drying up. It reminds me of that old adage “You don’t miss your water ‘till your well runs dry.” In this case, you don’t miss your credit until your bank tells you to take a hike.
But banks don’t seem to be doing that. Go to any local bank and try to refinance your home. You won’t have a problem. Or try to get a credit line for your business. No problem there either. Or try to qualify for an FHA mortgage. Not much of a problem there either. So where’s the liquidity crunch?
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- Written by: Howard Kupferman
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Most Americans assume that the banking system as we know it has been around since the end of the Revolution. Not so!
We all know of the animosity between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson opposed a national bank on principal. He stated that it was not in the Constitution that there should be a central bank; Hamilton argued that it was implied in the Constitution. George Washington signed the law creating a national bank in order to promote trade and industry. The law expired in 1811 and Congress did not renew it until 1816. Congress attempted to renew the law in 1832 however it was vetoed by Andrew Jackson. Our current banking system was not created until 1914.
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- Written by: Howard Kupferman
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It seems like the mainstream news is beginning to catch up with us. Today’s column by John Farmer on the front page of the New Jersey Star Ledger is entitled “In Bush’s Bailout, Echoes of Marx.” Looks like the Libertarians are way ahead of the curve once again.
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Bush administration has come full circle -- from Karl Rove to Karl Marx.
With its latest gambit -- a $250 billion federal purchase of major bank stocks coming on the heels of an earlier $700 billion federal rescue package -- President Bush has taken a giant step toward partial nationalization of the nation's financial system to save it from its own excesses.
Who'd have believed it? Socialism with a Republican face!
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On September 23, direct infusions of cash into the banking system, according to Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, would be “about failure”, they said in testimony before Congress. Now it is about “success”, according to the same individuals.
How can the markets have confidence when they hear one fairy tale less than three weeks ago and another now? Which is it gentlemen?
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- Written by: Howard Kupferman
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The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it would make over $900 billion available to financial institutions instead of the $150 billion it had said it would make available previously. (This is in addition to the $700 billion pledged to Wall Street for the bailout.) It appears that the Fed has abandoned its fight against inflation and has decided instead to inflate the currency.
There should be little question among those who understand the implications of infusing huge amounts of cash into a failing economic system. Without an increase in GDP, or more goods and services to purchase with all this money, there will be an increasing amount of cash chasing a stagnant amount of things to purchase. This must inevitably lead to higher prices for the average American.
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Dear Concerned Citizen,
At first, it was but three pages.
Then, it grew to 42.
When it was voted on last night, the bill was the size of a novel.
A 451-page novel they most likely did not read before completing the first of three steps into making it law.
Packed with "sweeteners"–the deceptive name for political bribes—the
bill passed with ease. Sweeteners like more regulations on insurance
companies, setting up a "Wool Trust Fund"…and even relief for the
manufacturers of wooden arrows.
"Other goodies intended to attract the votes of individual members of
Congress include $192 million for the rum producers of Puerto Rico and
Virgin Islands, $128 million for car racing tracks, $33 million for
corporations operating in American Samoa, and $10 million for small
film and television productions," says ABC's Jake Tapper.
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- Written by: Howard Kupferman
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I recently attempted to explain to my graduate finance students exactly what happened to companies like Lehman and AIG. I realized that the explanation was so complex that even my students were having difficulty understanding the ins and outs of the problem as well as the implications of a potential bailout. I am going to attempt to explain this as simply as possible.
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- Written by: Walter M. Luers, Esq.
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Have you been watching, reading or talking about the news lately?
Everyone's talking about the Federal Government's takeover of AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but no one's talk about what it means.
It's Government, Incorporated. (I'll call it "GINC" for short).
First, a discussion of the mechanics of what happened to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG. My principal source for this information is today's front page articles in the Wall Street Journal. This is a bit long, but bear with me.
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Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) president Sean Parnell will testify to the New Jersey General Assembly's State Government Committee this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. concerning "The 2009 New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project Act," set to be introduced today.
Parnell's testimony will educate the committee on the results of New Jersey's most recent attempt at taxpayer-financed political campaigns as well as the impact that taxpayer-financed campaigns have had in other states.
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I used to think [the Libertarian Party was] just a bunch of crazy, gun toting, out-of-touch intellectuals. After meeting them, I now know how wrong I was. - Howard Kupferman
The following was posted on May 30, 2008 on a blog at http://lhtblogger.blogspot.com. It's the story of a long-time Democrat who found a home in the LP.
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Although I believe that taxation is theft, I would gladly support any tax reform plan as long as it substantially lowered tax rates or the total amount of taxes collected. I am not a critic of the FairTax because it doesn't do enough; I am a critic of the FairTax because it cannot be considered an incremental step toward lower tax rates or lower overall taxes. It is not even a step in the right direction. The FairTax is a cure worse than our diseased income tax system.
Read the full article on mises.org
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The following is an excerpt from Glenn Greenwald’s new book, Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics. The excerpt is drawn from Chapter Five entitled "Small-Government Tyrants":
Ever since Ronald Reagan famously declared in his 1980 inaugural address that "government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem," Republicans have masqueraded as the party of limited government. Its leaders reflexively pledge to keep government off the backs of regular, hardworking Americans. Homage is paid to the wisdom and insight of the American people, which, Republicans endlessly insist, is far superior to the judgment of government officials.
Read the entire article on lewrockwell.com.