GDP Takes a Big Hit

The false paradigm is slowly stripped away -

Instead of printing at the expected number of +2.5%, the first preliminary GDP data point (two more revisions pending) came out at 2.2%, a big disappointment for a quarter which had a substantial boost from the weather. And while of the 2.2%, Personal Consumption came in strong - as expected, as it was precisely the factor most impacted by pulling in demand forward courtesy of "April in February", 0.59% of the 2.2% was an increase in inventories, something which was not supposed to happen as it means that the quality of the economic growth in Q1 was far worse than expected. Cementing the ugly composition of Q1 GDP was fixed investment which added just a paltry 0.18% - this is the number which is critical for ongoing cashflow generation and unfortunately, the very low print means that growth outlook for Q2 is now even worse than before and we expect economists will promptly trim their already bearish predictions for Q2 GDP. Finally, government "consumption" subtracted just 0.6% from the total number, a decrease from the 0.84% in Q4, which means that once again the government is starting to become less of a detractor to growth - a dagger in the heart to anyone who claims there is "quality" in GDP growth. And the number you have all been waiting for: At March 31, US Debt/GDP was 100.8%.

Denninger is quick to point out -

That's a negative GDP folks when one looks at per-capita and inflation, as opposed to a positive real one last quarter.  This is both bad news and handcuffs The Fed on more QE, as more "easy money" into a negative real GDP print simply makes for a higher number and higher inflation, and thus is self-defeating.

The Real Effect
Contrary to popular opinion and as I am quick to point out, RIGGING THE NUMBERS DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM!!! See folks, we are in a 'wealth extraction' cycle here. The banksters (Note - NOT bankers) have

1. Created the problem
2. Understand the problem
3. Want the problem to continue

Now, doesn't common sense tell you that such a paradigm is not only interested in but devoted to extracting wealth out of your hide!?! Let's review such a concept -

More than 1 million Americans who have taken out mortgages in the past two years now owe more on their loans than their homes are worth, and Federal Housing Administration loans that require only a tiny down payment are partly to blame.

That figure, provided to Reuters by tracking firm CoreLogic, represents about one out of 10 home loans made during that period.

It is a sobering indication the U.S. housing market remains deeply troubled, with home values still falling in many parts of the country, and raises the question of whether low-down payment loans backed by the FHA are putting another generation of buyers at risk.

Half the issue here is that these concepts are being viewed improperly. Price is a necessity of trade as it indicates the relative value at which one entity will pay another for something based on circumstances. For instance, what is the relative value of a glass of water? $1.00 at McDonalds? How about in the Saharan desert? For a man that has no water? That is about to die? 

The truth is, the value of that glass of water goes up or down depending on the needed criteria being met. Part of this price discovery mechanism is the price being able to go down! We count on this every day when we buy everything from TV's to cars. We even have whole stores, like Wal-Mart and McDonald's dedicated to finding the lowest price. Yet when it comes to housing, we view sinking prices as being a crisis?

 

Is it any wonder that things are upside down?

Ron Paul Storms Iowa

As I have been saying, this thing is NOT over -

Now three people have won Iowa during this primary season. Last night, Ron Paul’s delegate finagling strategy paid off as he guaranteed himself at least half of the delegates in Iowa and Minnesota.

Remember, back in January, Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses by eight votes. This official declaration was made by the state Republican Party chairman, Matt Strawn, despite ongoing discrepancies in the way that county commissioners and the state commissioners were reporting vote totals. Rachel Maddow has some of the footage of the news stations that night re-learning how to cover the complicated Iowa voting system (the video seems to be going viral, btw, as at 9 a.m. the video only had 300+ views, but as of 10 a.m. was pushing 9,000).

The Real Effect
Considering that the Republicans are starting to get behind Marco Rubio, a man that according to the Constitution (You know that thing that Republicans love to wipe their rear-ends with when it comes to curtailing their actions? Patriot Act, wiretapping, etc....) is INELIGIBLE to be vice-president, I fully expect the red criers to suddenly support 'popular election' and not the system that's in place. (Delegates)

The fact of the matter is that just like the Democrats, most Republicans support freedom right up until they disagree with it. Coincidentally, that is not freedom or justice or whatever, but a Constitutional dictatorship.

Egypt Cuts Off Israel

The religious war escalates -

Egyptian energy companies, citing a trade dispute, have terminated a deal to supply Israel with natural gas in a step that may further erode bilateral ties strained by a popular revolt that toppled Egypt's pro-Israeli leader last year.

An Israeli partner in the business made the step public on Sunday but an Egyptian firm said the decision to cancel the deal had been made on Thursday.

Israel, which relies on Egypt for 40 percent of its natural gas supply, worried about facing further energy cuts after a series of sabotage attacks on the pipeline running through the volatile Sinai peninsula contributed to shortages. 

Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz expressed "great concern" about the suspension, saying it had set "a dangerous precedent which casts a shadow on the peace agreements and the peaceful atmosphere between Egypt and Israel".

The Real Effect
I love Israel's response to this situation - 'You won't trade with us, then we will subtly threaten you.' At the very least this is forcing the Israeli government to behave like the thugs that they have become.  But the far more important issue is that of the unintended consequences of CIA intervention.

They Were Wrong Part 2

Continuing in the vein of the earlier post (Part of the critical 2010 prediction series, 2, 3, 4, 5) here at The Real Effect, Zero Hedge brings us the absurdity of today's political theater -

Geithner April 2011:  “Is there a risk that the United States could lose its AAA credit rating? Yes or no?” - Tim Geithner: “No risk of that.”
....
Geithner April 2012:  “If we don't deal with these debt problems we are going to be Greece in two years” - Tim Geithner: “No risk of that.”

The Real Effect
As you should be aware, the U.S. did get a downgrade only a short four months later. (Coincidentally, if you want to even try to argue about whether or not Timmy was aware that a downgrade was coming, you belong in a special place with padded rooms.) Looking at the aforementioned posts that came back at the beginning of the prediction series in 2010, one is to assume that there are only two logical conclusions to the question of just why so many government officials get it wrong:

1. They are grossly incompetent and as such should be removed from office, immediately.
2. They are liars who use their position for political and economic gain.

Now, which do you feel is the more likely answer? (Hint - If you answer 1, not only do you have a notable attention span issue, you also  have a padded room reserved right next to the one mentioned earlier.)

This leaves the only historically verified and logical answer which The Real Effect has been proclaiming since the beginning...

...it's ok...take your time...

...you might want to sit down...

...this is hard stuff...I know....

THEY ARE LYING TO YOU.

...whew. Rough stuff.


While we're at it, why do you think the DHS is buying these?

Maybe to use here?

All Roads Lead to Iran Redux

Back in June, we covered the following -

Because we just can't have enough war -

debkafile's military and intelligence sources report that Monday, June 13, the US deployed the USS Bataan amphibian air carrier strike vessel opposite Syria's Mediterranean coast with 2,000 marines, 6 war planes, 15 attack helicopters, including new V-22 Ospreys, and 27 choppers for landing forces aboard.Also this week, US naval units went operational in the Aegean, Adriatic and Black Seas as part of the joint US-Ukrainian Sea Breeze 2011 exercise.
The USS Monterrey cruiser armed with Aegis surface missile interceptors has additionally been stationed in the Black Sea. Western sources additonally report a build-up of ship-borne anti-missile missile strength in the Mediterranean basin.

This huge concentration of naval missile interceptor units looks like preparations by Washington for the contingency of Iran, Syria and Hizballah letting loose with surface missiles against US and Israeli targets in the event of US military intervention to stop the anti-opposition slaughter underway in Syria.

The Real Effect
Please, please, please think about the rationale being offered here. 'We might invade Syria and the local powers might try and stop us. So we have to deploy enough force to repel them.'

It appears that the absolute whupping the IDF took in Lebanon just a few years ago is not enough to deter them from picking yet another fight.

Almost six years after the Second Lebanon War, special Israeli units are preparing to take part in mass incursions into Lebanon if another round of fighting with Hezbollah breaks out. Just as important, they are being trained to heed the legal implications.

Officers say the Israel Air Force would destroy targets like training bases and rocket-launching pads within a few days, based on the intelligence gathered by the Israel Defense Forces. But this would not be enough, so a ground offensive would be necessary.

"When you stick an [Israeli] flag [on enemy territory], there's no question who won," says a high-ranking officer who requested anonymity. "You need to seize a geographic space. This is the only way the concept of victory can be established." 

The Real Effect
In as much as 'Israel' was a victim during WWII (Note, no such nation existed at the time), much of the immediate area in and around Israel is being victimized by Israel in a trading of roles here. What does not matter is whether an individual's untimely demise comes at the hands of a gun wielded by a thug Nazi or a 2,000 pound smart bomb carried by an IAF F-16, a racist, nationalistic cult that seeks to murder other people via the 'theater of war' are just that, murderers. Just as Israel was created by the British as a Mideast 'aircraft carrier', a facade of 'self-defense' immediately crumbles when it turns out that the other side was created by Israel in the first place!

But that seems to be true no matter what the circumstances precisely because it works so well. 

In reality, this is nothing more then a semi-justifiable (in the biblical sense) case of land grabbing where one nation creates proxy agents to act in a fashion to create reasonable justification for an otherwise completely unjustifiable act.

This is not to say that the Muslims' swords are not also stained with the blood of the innocent, rather that the solution to such a dilemma is not further bloodshed, rather an immediate, enforced end to hostilities and a conveyance of justice.

Pentagon Trained M.E.K. Terrorists

Like I keep saying, this is not as clear cut as some people would like you to believe -

The Pentagon trained members of the dissident Iranian terrorist group M.E.K. in Nevada starting in 2005, after which they returned to Iran and may have engaged in covert activities, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reports in the April 6th issue of “The New Yorker” magazine. The group receiving the training incredibly had been listed in 1997 as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, and remains on that list today, Hersh said. Hersh’s article, “Our Men in Iran?” says the training was conducted by the Joint Special Operations Command(JSOC)---a charge JSOC denies. “U.S. Special Operations Forces were neither aware of nor involved in the training of M.E.K. members,” a JSOC spokesperson said.

The Iranian operatives were trained in communications, cryptography, weaponry, and small-unit tactics over a six-month period, a retired four-star general familiar with the details told Hersh. The general said the training was done by JSOC.

The Real Effect
To the critics out there, I'm sure a whole lot of 'retired four-star generals' just make up spurious claims to pass the time in their retirement because they love being sued into oblivion.

This is a tactic that corporations love to engage in. Train an individual, set him loose and then when he is caught later, claim that he acted 'without managerial knowledge or oversight'. Fire the employee, claim that you cannot be held liable for the actions of an individual and poof, get out of jail free card.

To the uninitiated out there, the government routinely trains foreign parties and then uses these 'assets' to carry out various acts against our very own 'disposable' troops. Osama bin Laden was at one point at least a CIA asset going by the name Tim Osman, who was trained by the CIA to fight against the Soviet Union presence in Afghanistan. Of course, no good asset can go to waste so OBL was re purposed for use in the 'War on Terror'.

This is why foreign 'aid' of this variety is such an odious idea. It is commonly used to create the very situation that we have to 'intervene' against at a later date. Perhaps the maker of the Kony 2012 video should look this up?

Judge Napolitano: I Think the President Is Dangerously Close to Totalitarianism

Exactly. The nice thing is that the Judge realizes that this is not a 'democrat only' position. He has been incredibly outspoken and critical of ALL of the past regimes that hold themselves up as the POTUS.

Ron Paul Draws 7,800+ at UCLA Rally! Video of Crowd and Speech

DHS Buying Bullets, Bulletproof Booths - What are they up to?

As if you need a rocket scientist to figure this out -

The Department of Homeland Security recently stoked concern by contracting a company to provide them with 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets. Now the federal agency is also purchasing bullet-proof checkpoint booths that include ‘stop and go’ lights.

A press release from Shelters Direct brags about how they are providing the DHS with bullet resistant guard booths. Images of the booth from the company’s website suggest the guard shacks will be used to control checkpoints.

The Real Effect
Homeland Security is buying tons of bullets and guard shacks that look like this...

Hey, don't we have those already?

 If these aren't for the airports, I wonder what they could be using that for. Papers please? For me?

What would it look like from our perspective?

 Will it look that nice in a few years? Just a few people right?

Why would they do that? I wonder if that's ever happened before...

Funny, Americans like to play games where they shoot Nazis. I wonder if in a few decades the citizens will like to play games where they shoot Americans...

Medical Cuts Start In America

Austerity in medicine begins in earnest -

In a move likely to alter treatment standards in hospitals and doctors’ offices nationwide, a group of nine medical specialty boards plans to recommend on Wednesday that doctors perform 45 common tests and procedures less often, and to urge patients to question these services if they are offered. Eight other specialty boards are preparing to follow suit with additional lists of procedures their members should perform far less often.

The recommendations represent an unusually frank acknowledgment by physicians that many profitable tests and procedures are performed unnecessarily and may harm patients. By some estimates, unnecessary treatment constitutes one-third of medical spending in the United States.

The Real Effect
But...but...but...I thought science only helped people. It is exactly this kind of junk thinking that gives the scientific method a black eye in some individuals minds. Individuals who work with any form of data know exactly what I'm talking about. Garbage in, garbage out.

Believe it or not, there are myriads of issues on display here. Let's look at a few.

1. If you believe a "group of nine medical specialty boards" is not political, you're dense.
2. The scientific method is not synonymous with the scientists practicing it.
1. This bait and switch is often used by dense medical practitioners who couldn't argue their way out of a paper bag.
3. Scientists are not an "authority", they practice a discipline. And are often wrong.
1. Have doubts, review the bold sentence above.
4. The discipline of "science" does not override the capacity for evil by a man.
5. There are whole "profit models" fashioned on man's evil.
1. Still in doubt? Please reread the bold sentence. Again.
6. According to the laws of supply and demand, this change in procedure is necessary to reduce the overall cost of health care.
1. As an aside, how does "mandatory insurance" make this better?
7. I'm certain that this system will be just as idiotic as the system before it. 
1. People tend to think in trends, not specifics. Whereas before the thinking was "better safe then sorry, cost be damned" the new thinking is "Cost is too high! We must cut cost everywhere!"
2. This is one of the predominate reasons why government run anything doesn't work nearly as efficiently as the private sector. There is no possible way to account for and prioritize properly all the necessary decisions to quickly determine the best course of action.
8. This is the start of the big wave of fiscal medical "austerity" which will be used to justify murder later.
9. Just like the scientific frauds before it, (Global cooling, warming, change, HFCS, overpopulation...) this is significantly deeper then they are letting on.

Overall, you have a group of scientists admitting that they order tests that are not only financially unnecessary, but can be detrimental to the health of the patient. (What was that about an oath to a hippo and all that?) Additionally, the only way you hear about this is if they decide you need to hear about it. Tell me again how that's capitalist?

The reality of the situation is that we do not have a capitalist/free market system and haven't for quite some time. The astronomical cost alone should tell you that. (Notice how outside of inflation, the cost of goods generally goes down in time???) If we want a better market, we need to allow these changes to take place but not check our brain at the door.

Video: Houston Cop Goes Nuts – threatening to taser men filming at Wallmart

Ron Paul Rally in Wisconsin Draws 5,200! Media Blacks It Out

Rand Paul Stands Up to the Warmongers

Finally, someone is intervening here -

Rand Paul has effectively single handedly blocked a bi-partisan bill to place yet more crippling economic sanctions on Iran, by demanding an amendment to prevent the White House using the legislation as an authorization to attack the country.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wanted to immediately pass the sanctions bill by unanimous consent Tuesday. However, Paul intervened and blocked it, in order to ensure that unauthorized use of military force against Iran does not transpire. Paul’s one sentence amendment reads: “To clarify that nothing in the Act shall be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization of the use of force against Iran or Syria.

The Real Effect
People, you can get all wigged out abut Iran, Syria, rights violations, nuclear weapons, despots and everything that is evil under the sun. You can scream, cry and obfuscate the facts but in the end there is a supreme law of the land call the Constitution. In this document, there is a process by which we wage war in this country, which coincidentally hasn't been followed in generations. 

This process is the only legal process by which we can wage war on another country and it ensures that the People have a voice at the table via their Representatives. ANY individual who feels we should do an end run around this is advocating treason at the highest level and should be punished accordingly if found guilty by a jury of their peers. ANY politician advocating such a position should be removed from office immediately as they have demonstrated that they have zero desires to live within the lawful constrains of the office that they took an oath to uphold. (Conservatives, I'm looking squarely at you.)

Only after such a process has taken place and we have voted via our representatives, would we as a country go to war. Ask yourself, why would someone oppose this?

The answer is simple: Because they have no respect for the rule of law.

Afghanistan, Another American Mess

Vox points out that NRO has found the elephant in the middle of the room -

This is not a Good War.

In other words, I’m with Andy: It’s time to wrap up this decade-long farce, time for both civilian leaders and military brass to take a long, hard look at the demoralizing mess we’ve made in Afghanistan, and to ask how America can avoid such mistakes in the future.

We might start by forgetting the concept of “nation-building” in places where there are no nations to build. The nation-state, it should be remembered, is very much a Western concept, forged over 1,000 years of often painful European history.

The Real Effect
People often have a very difficult time understanding the finer points of these conflicts and get lost in trying to 'simplify' it. I have maintained that most issues are incredibly easy to understand IF you can get access to the relevant info.However, seeing as how certain individuals have a vested interest in making sure things go the way they want, it is not beneficial to them to allow things to continue, shall we say, unguided. (To this end, tens of trillions is spent managing things.)

Usually this is where another commenter and I will part ways solely due to the fact that these individuals are only interested in confirming what they already believe to be true, not in what the facts say. Perhaps it's this exact sentiment that caused Solomon to write "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:" in the book of Ecclesiastes. 


We were attacked on 9/11/2001. There is no doubt to this fact.
But the question was never answered - Who attacked us? and perhaps more importantly Why?

In the aftermath of 911, the media started investigating and oddly enough, they had 'answers' on the day of the attack. A short time later Bin Laden denied involvement in these atrocities, yet to us, these were just denials. Yet later, another tape surfaces in which 'Bin Laden' suddenly does a 180 and admits to his involvement. Never mind the inconsistencies, one confirmation is all it takes to set the American military loose in your country. Never mind the fact that Bush had the orders to invade Afghanistan on his desk before 911 or that there were already troops in the area waiting to go in.

But like a grieving mother who lost her only son, vengeance is all that mattered to most Americans. We cared far less about the actual human damage then we cared that the 'MIGHTY AMERICA HAD BEEN WRONGED!'. Preachers preached the eeeevuls of those dirty, dirty Muslims, civic leaders hung flags and spoke of solidarity and our young men marched off to war.

Over a decade later, we find ourselves in the same position that the Soviets did in the 80's. Our military has not defeated anyone. True, they have killed plenty, but they have secured little. The country is now turning hostile against our help and our economy is collapsing. Internally, we find ourselves resembling less and less the America of 1776 and more the Russia of 1980. 

Yet we cannot see the handwriting on the wall. Why? Why do we struggle to see that which is so obvious to everyone else? 


Pride.


No more, no less. We, the People have erred in that we have not been diligent about returning the power that was stolen to us. We have been negligent in our duty to insure that our civil servants to not run amuck, raping and pillaging. Now we face a decision. What do we do next?

The answer is always the same, no matter what the situation is. We do the right thing, consequences be damned. We withdraw from Afghanistan, we withdraw from Iraq. We start our own political war here and home and we clean house! WE hold the Representatives responsible and we incarcerate the individuals who have lied to us and pursued fraudulent activiteis on our behalf. 

This is the far greater menace then any existential threat. Only when we have removed the log from our own eye, will we then be fit to remove the speck from our brother's eye.

Hidden Camera Catches Missouri GOP Admitting They Rigged....

"...we tried to come up with a set of rules that were going to best represent the entire county voice."

2012 Election Fraud and Irregularities By State

Maine: Feb 11, 2012 (Total delegates - 24) 
Official Results - Mitt Romney 39 %, Ron Paul 36%

• Mitt Romney declared winner by GOP Party Chairman Charlie Webster, 196 votes with 84% of the votes counted
  • Webster admits there were clerical errors in the tally on February 11. “What I tell people is that I’m not going to fire my staff because they make clerical errors,” he told the Daily Caller. “My poor staffer is in tears, because people are harassing her.” 
• Counties
• Waldo County - Vote held in Belfast on Feb 4th, the majority of the votes will not be counted.
• Initially was reported that Paul got 37 votes to Romney's 30, Ron Paul won 71 to 50. 
• Many cities were reported as 0.
• Washington County (Typically 110 -120 voters, Ron Paul won in 2008) - Concerns over a non-existent snowstorm by a Mitt Romney supporter canceled the election. In Maine.
• Pembrooke - 50% of votes went to Ron Paul, none to Romney.
• Waterville City - Results were reported but not counted in the state's total (Paul won 21-5)
• Hancock County (Feb 18th) had not yet held their caucuses.These votes will not be counted.
• Washington County is  a Ron Paul stronghold
• Unofficial Real Results
• Video

Georgia
Link
- Delegates of the convention attempted to nominate people from the floor yet were summarily ignored without vote by the chairman.
- The Athens Clarke County precinct delegates were disenfranchised (by Matt Brewster, Chairman) and the county convention was closed without majority and without the proper respect to the procedural process as outlined in our party rules and Robert’s Rules of Order.
- The initial “all in favor” request did not give a chance for the “ayes” and the “nays” to have a separate chance to vote. Instead, the chairman called for both “ayes” and “nays” to be voiced at the same time.
- The count of the “ayes” versus the “nays” was inaccurate. According to our count, 25 of the 37 people in attendance were Ron Paul supporters, and did not vote “aye” when a voice vote was called for.

Minnesota
Official Results - Rick Santorum , Ron Paul 27%

Nevada
More votes then voters


Iowa

• 8 precincts of 1774 precincts  worth of votes went missing

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226751.html

Missouri


GOP admits to rigging the vote.  


Note: This is a resource and will be updated as necessary.

Financial "Crisis" in Greece

College Debt, Still Soaring

We are going to have some of the best edumutated dead people on the face of the planet -

The student loan market has expanded like a financial virus in the last decade. Even during the financial meltdown where credit was being restricted across all sectors of the economy, student debt kept on growing at a feverish pitch. It would be one thing if the quality of education had increased or wages were going up for college graduates but the opposite occurred. The quality of education especially at many of the for-profits is suspect at best and borders on thievery. This is where a massive expansion has occurred thanks to the financialization of our entire economy. Student debt has grown from $97 billion in 1997 to a stunning $870 billion according to conservative Fed reports to inching closer to $1 trillion this year by other measures. Higher education is definitely in a bubble and younger Americans are dealing with the brunt of this new predatory financial epidemic.

The Real Effect
"Education is our future!" is one of the misused, wrong and idiotic thought processes I have ever heard. Perpetrated primarily by overcompensated teachers and paranoid mothers, these individuals attack people verbally at local budget meetings in order to 'save the children'. Yet if one peruses the haggard laboratories that are regarded as schools, just see yesterday's article for an example, and factor in the high failure rate you are hard pressed to come up with a justification to allow these monstrosities to continue to exist. Most attempts to bring some sort of accountability to the table are largely rebuffed as being ignorant and fatalistic by the myopic self-important parasites.

Upon closer scrutiny, it turns out that this edifice of importance has grown to monstrous proportions due to several reasons:

1. Denial. Like most bubbles before it, most purchasers of these financialized products are now engaging in mental gymnastics in order to justify their own foolish decisions. Their arguments are often a form of bait-and-switch in which the arguer either deals with the conditions of a bygone era like 100 years ago or  substitutes a program like nuclear physics for an advanced degree in dog grooming. The truth of the matter is that all markets tend to change and this market is no exception.
2. Conflict of interest. Like a used car salesman's 'You need this car!' pitch, there is significant amounts of tax money in play here. (Why do you think your property taxes are so high?) These individuals are heavily invested in making sure things swing their way. However the very justification given for government is to ensure that no one party can steal another person's future. 
3. Bad math. Hard to believe isn't it? But much like our current Federal budget, these yahoos really believe that 70% of your budget can go to education. Food? Secondary. Housing? Get a real job so you can afford one! Literally the argument goes something like this - 'We want a 10% increase, but we're only getting 5%, so we took a 5% CUT.' ...crickets....
4. Bad arguments. The aforementioned bad math gives way to the inevitable argument of the next budget cycle...'We took a 5% cut last year, so we demand a 20% increase to make up for it this year!' Uh yeah, not going to happen. And yes, you guessed it, this equals a 15% cut in their eyes. Sigh...

The long and short of this inevitably becomes that just like housing before it, prices go through the roof. And just like housing, it too shall pop in time. And then we can behold the shrill cries of the teachers as they beg the broken, destitute government to prop up their shattered delusions of grandeur.

Is this how we should treat our children?

Schools Banning Forming "Best Friends"

Hot on the heals of tag bans, hugging bans and other forms of inanity, comes the 'best friend' ban -

TEACHERS are banning schoolkids from having best pals — so they don't get upset by fall-outs.

Instead, the primary pupils are being encouraged to play in large groups.

Educational psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni said the policy has been used at schools in Kingston, South West London, and Surrey.

She added: "I have noticed that teachers tell children they shouldn't have a best friend and that everyone should play together.

"They are doing it because they want to save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend. But it is natural for some children to want a best friend. If they break up, they have to feel the pain because they're learning to deal with it."

Russell Hobby, of the National Association of Head Teachers, confirmed some schools were adopting best-friend bans.

The Real Effect
 Is there really any doubt that these are no longer "educational centers" and are swiftly becoming de facto "reprogramming centers"? The longer these institutions continue to be state run without forced competition, the worse this will get.

Here's the money sentence regarding educators intents with your children their students -

They are doing it because they want to save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend.

The mad scientists in the lab coats are at it again, except this time, they believe your children are fair game for their experiments.But in part, we are all to blame because we not only encourage, we venerate this "change the world" nonsense. Any prepubescent individual that disagrees with someone and wants to "fix the world" is given the reigns of power in an attempt to "make a better world". This madness is on display everywhere from Sesame Street to our local "See something, say something" campaigns.

This creates an environment that breeds hordes of people that think it's normal to wage a form of war against your neighbor and his progeny because you dislike his brand of deodorant. Combine this with instant information via Social Networking and you have an armed populace that feels that it has a duty to fix everyone's outlook. The ultimate conclusion of this is not the MLK "I have a dream" speech, but a Orwellian nightmare where one is castigated for simply not wanting to discuss your choice of breakfast this morning.

The Foolishness of Centrally Planned Economies

Behold the brazen stupidity -

First Solar is an Arizona-based manufacturer of solar panels. In 2010, the Obama administration awarded the company $16.3 million to expand its factory in Ohio -- a subsidy Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland touted in his failed re-election bid that year.

Five weeks before the 2010 election, Strickland announced more than a million dollars in job training grants to First Solar. The Ohio Department of Development also lent First Solar $5 million, and the state's Air Quality Development Authority gave the company an additional $10 million loan.

After First Solar pocketed this $17.3 million in government grants and $15 million in government loans, Ex-Im entered the scene.

In September 2011, Ex-Im approved $455.7 million in loan guarantees to subsidize the sale of solar panels to two solar farms in Canada. That means if the solar farm ever defaults, the taxpayers pick up the tab, ensuring First Solar gets paid.

But the buyer, in this case, was First Solar.

A small corporation called St. Clair Solar owned the solar farm and was the Canadian company buying First Solar's panels. But St. Clair Solar was a wholly owned subsidiary of First Solar. So, basically, First Solar was shipping its own solar panels from Ohio to a solar farm it owned in Canada, and the U.S. taxpayers were subsidizing this "export."

The Real Effect
Part of the malfunction with "modern" anything is the gross disconnect with mathematics, specifically the equation. (You know, the = sign?) Vast fortunes are spent today soothing itching ears with nonsense that purports to be able to continually defy not only the law of supply and demand, but often the laws of physics as well. These, can we call them anything but foolish, individuals really believe that they can get something for nothing in these situations. And when the formula fails? Additional sums are spent trying to find the hidden culprit that the experts are certain stole their purported gains. After all, it most certainly is not their fault, the model said it was all good.

Well, if Climategate taught us anything, it's that the model is slave to the data and if the data is bad...well, you can draw your own conclusions. With that in mind, let's look at a simple formula.

X=X (Input = output)

If we change one side of the formula, the other must change.

X + 1 = X +1

This, we know to be true. However, planners usually try to sell you garbage like this..

X -1 = X + 1

That is, if you add a person "managing" things, they will do such a wonderful job, they will increase the output. While this idea is premised on a very solid foundation, it is generally taken to an absurd end.For instance, organizing your kitchen will help you find items more quickly. Simply put, indexing your search allows for a significantly faster find. However, organizing the kitchen for 6 years will not yield a new car when a search is executed. Why? Indexing will remove inefficiencies to speed a system up, but it will not create new growth. The savings can be reinvested, but it is not a new creation.