THE MORTGAGE PROBLEM IS A CANCER THAT WILL LINGER FOR YEARS AND MAY KILL US

The truth is finally starting to leak out, bit by bit. This isn't just sloppy paperwork and minor details. This is a case where fraud of an unimaginable magnitude has been committed against the American people and the only way out will be a complete restructuring of the banking system and decades of battles in court over who owns what.

You don't think this affects you? If you own real estate or are in the process of paying off a mortgage there is a very good chance that you don't have a clear deed to the property. In other words, because of the systems set up by the banks to avoid paying fees in counties and to defraud investors somewhere a long the line the chain of title has most likely been destroyed for your property. Without going to court and re-establishing a clear title, in a majority of cases, you may not be able to state with any degree of certainty that you own the property you paid for.

This isn't just a problem for residential properties; it affects commercial property, too. This may be the final straw for America.

VOTE NO ON MISSOURI PROP B - DO IT FOR THE PUPPIES

You can read the actual bill here.

I'm not against treating dogs or any other animals kindly but we don't need more laws and regulations to do it. This is a lot like the gun regulations constantly being proposed by the Progressives. Regardless of how many laws are on the books the bad guys will have guns or some other weapon. They're criminals! The law means nothing to them. The same goes for the breeders that mistreat their dogs. They don't follow the laws now, why would they follow more of them?

This is about control and restricting the use of animals for damned near anything. That's what the HSUS stands for. This bill gets their foot in the door and next time they'll go after the pig farmer and the guy like me that keeps a few chickens.

Vote this down, Missouri.

"Have you ever wondered why politicians come up with great-sounding titles for proposed legislation that sounds too good to be true? It is always some clever title that, in most cases, masks what's really in the bill.

Accordingly, voters easily can fall prey to the "devil" in the details. Missouri Proposition B is a dramatic example of this with its very provocative title, "The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act." Unfortunately, when you read the details of Proposition B, you realize that there is nothing in the bill to stop "puppy cruelty" or increase enforcement of the laws.
The proponents of Proposition B, especially the sponsor, the Humane Society of the United States, are counting on you, the voter, to stay uninformed and "just take their word for it" and blindly support Proposition B. Who in his right mind wouldn't vote for a measure claiming to prevent puppy mill cruelty?

But the Animal Care Facilities Act passed in 1992 already regulates dog breeders. These tough regulations are enforced by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture already requires licensed dog breeders to provide animals with proper care and adequate food, water, shelter, veterinary care and an exercise plan. Under current Missouri law, animal cruelty and animal abuse are illegal.

So, what will Proposition B accomplish that current laws cannot? Therein lies the deception. Proposition B will not increase enforcement to target the unlicensed illegal breeders operating substandard kennels in Missouri. Those operations will continue to operate should Proposition B pass on Nov. 2.

Proposition B is designed to over-regulate Missouri's licensed, law-abiding kennels — over-regulate them out of business — while increasing the state Department of Agriculture's responsibilities. Proposition B would destroy jobs and could significantly decrease revenue to Missouri-based dog food producers, pet-supply stores, pet-product suppliers, feed stores, veterinarians, veterinarian suppliers, fencing companies, real estate companies and trucking companies."
STL Today

A Product of Innocence
by Rep. Ed Emery

"Proposition B will be on Missourian's November 2, 2010 ballot. No matter how it is promoted it is fundamentally the product of ignorance. It reflects ignorance about breeders, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the power of the free market, property rights, and liberty. It is being driven by propaganda rather than truth and depends on emotional appeal rather than the achievement of meaningful reform.

Missourians love their pets and hate to see animals abused. Dog breeders, and I have met a number of them, raise dogs because they love dogs and enjoy seeing others find just the right dog for their family. The goal of these small business people is to satisfy the public's longing for pets at a cost most can afford. My family used to raise basset hounds, and I remember that even a single flea bite on an otherwise perfect puppy meant an unacceptable price penalty along with the determination to find and fix any problem. If a puppy had anything more serious, they might just be refused. It simply does not pay to mistreat animals. But the best breeder would be hurt the most by Prop B.

Many are ignorant about the nature and objectives of HSUS-- the organization behind Prop B. A visit to www.humanewatch.org or www.activistcash.comwill help you assess whether their intentions have anything at all to do with the treatment of animals. While less than $500,000 went to animal shelters (less than 0.5% of HSUS's budget in the same year HSUS's own website lists 14 executives who, it is reported, received $2.5 million in 2008 in pension benefits alone; their salaries are not available.

However, most harmful is ignorance of the significance of property rights to basic American freedoms. There is no more important unalienable right that our constitution secures than that of property rights. Personal property - almost unheard of before the United States exceptional founding - is the right that guarantees all others. It is the only right that once lost will almost certainly not be restored short of armed conflict. Prop B directly assaults property rights and for that reason alone is completely unacceptable and should be ruled unconstitutional. But the courts aside, no issue is important enough to concede to government our last defense against its abuse of the people.

Dispelling ignorance about what is actually in Prop B will help defeat it at the ballot box. First of all, the use of the word "cruelty" is to invoke prejudice, not reason. For example, keeping 51 dogs is cruel but keeping 50 is not; keeping a dog in a 5' by 5' 11" enclosure is cruel while adding one inch to the length makes it kind; kennel temperature of 45 degrees F is kind while 44 degrees is cruel. "Cruelty" is not for the dog; it is for the emotional appeal. We're told Prop B is for "large-scale" breeders, but just 11 female dogs makes you a "large-scale" breeder, and your animal quarters will have to be heated and air conditioned. Finally, if Prop B is about animal cruelty then why are hunting dogs excluded from the regulations?

Proposition B is not about animals or about cruelty, it is an assault on property rights, small businesses, and the free market. It employs a proven strategy for stripping rights from the people and empowering the elitists: 1) find an innocent lovable party - puppy, 2) make them a victim with an emotion-stirring label - puppy mill, 3) make "more government" the solution - Prop B. If voters take a broader and thoughtful perspective and if they insist that freedoms be protected and that policies be logical rather than emotional, then American ideals will win, and Prop B will fail in November."
The Alliance for Truth


A Message From the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association

"The over 1,250 members of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association care deeply about the welfare of dogs in breeding facilities in our state. Our member veterinarians, like all people who love and care for animals, are appalled at conditions in some of the dog breeding facilities. As animal health professionals, our entire lives are devoted to the treatment of animals and the prevention of suffering and pain. We strongly denounce any animal neglect and cruelty.

There is no doubt there is a need for healthy, well-adjusted puppies in our society. American families deserve to have a source for puppies bred and cared for by compassionate people who practice good animal welfare standards. Such breeders and care-givers may work in small or large facilities.

In our experience, reported problems with some breeding facilities are generally caused by unlicensed individuals. Such facilities are allowed to escape the scrutiny and regulations of existing laws and inspections.

The ballot being proposed for this November would completely shut down our state’s properly operated, inspected and licensed facilities that have over fifty breeding dogs. We see this proposal as unfair and misguided. These properly and humanely operated facilities are providing families with pets under the guidance of extensive current regulations enforced by state government.

We believe a better approach would involve legislation that reviews the current breeder regulations, and that would increase needed resources for inspection of unlicensed breeders. These actions will actually target the real problem and not punish responsible breeders who are working carefully within the law.

As veterinarians we would strongly support legislation that will better protect these dogs through any necessary changes in regulations, but more importantly, through giving our state the resources needed to broaden inspections, hold breeders to high standards and to abolish unlicensed breeders."
The Alliance for Truth

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE IN THE STOCK MARKET?

"The reports last week of increased jobless claims, increasing trade deficit, and an inflation rate for food and energy prices that doubled over the last month should have put a lot of pressure on the open trading markets. Frankly, the stock market is now brushing off most poor economic news at the moment--a trend that analysts worry about because it shows a decoupling of economic fundamentals, and the effect it has over real stock market moves. The electronic trading industry continues to move markets irrespective of economic fundamentals.

In the real world, and on the street, higher jobless claims at a time when seasonal employment should be improving the rate are worrisome. With it, we have to add the notion that producer prices rose 0.4 percent in September. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, inflation moved up just 0.1 percent. One of the concerns over inflationary pressure is that the Fed is likely to add stimulus to the U.S. economy through a Quantitative Easing strategy--which essentially has been called "printing money." The result of this action typically creates inflationary pressure on products.

Lastly, the trade deficit for August moved up 8.8 percent on record imports from China. This is both good and bad. The good side of it is that it shows demand in the U.S. for products is still strengthening, which equates to improved economic activity. But it is also a concern because of the growing trade deficit and the perception that it ships jobs overseas."
YRCW

This article points out something that I don't think many people are aware of; the completely irrational nature of the stock market at this point. You might as well just take your money to the casino and bet it on the game of your choice because that's what we've got with the markets. It used to be that a person could invest based on research and fundamental economics. Now however, the game is being rigged. The markets are controlled by traders with access to computers and software that allow them to trade in milliseconds, changing the value of investments all over the world for no reason outside of short term gain. Remember the "flash crash"?

How can anyone be comfortable knowing that their savings and maybe even their primary source of income is at the mercy of some kid with a computer playing what is essentially a giant game? Can the normal investor understand this system well enough to take advantage of it? Can they even understand it enough to make a cogent argument for the market as a safe repository of their funds? Does the average retiree even understand computers well enough to conceive of the system that is working against their interests?

Of course the investment guys they deal with tell them that everything is under control, that their money is safe. Really? How can they know? They don't control the guys with the computers, either. They can be the best investment guys in the world, doing research and analysis, carefully charting a course through the markets when all of a sudden somebody, in less than the blink of an eye, makes a move that drops the value of an investment for no logical reason, like a tornado sweeping across the plains. Is that a manageable form of risk or just a disaster waiting to happen?

If you don't think I'm right just ask yourself why the market keeps going up when the economy keeps retracting? Doesn't there seem to be a disconnect?

And where does the government come up with these inflation numbers? They don't count food and fuel? What? I don't know about you but outside of my house payment those are the two biggest items in the budget and they're going up fast.

The Producer Price Index keeps going up yet producers aren't passing this on to consumers? If that's the case then we're either on the edge of big time inflation as the cost of goods sold will rise to reflect the cost of production or businesses will start shutting their doors. It's that or the government is lying about the true rate of inflation by somehow cooking the books, again.

It seems to me that nothing can be trusted any longer. The world has become a cesspool of lies and deceit. The government lies, the media lies, even our priests and preachers can't be taken at face value. I know that in the Catholic Church we are seeing constant and purposeful distortion of the truth by many Church leaders to satisfy a political agenda that runs counter to the teachings of the Church itself.

We can no longer be complacent in our daily lives. Everything must be checked for truthfulness. Everything we read, hear and see has to be doubted until we can verify its accuracy. Personally, I don't trust anyone except family and a few friends. I believe in the Catholic Church and the deposit of faith but not the people that control it. I certainly don't trust our federal government at all. I have some confidence in the state and local government but not much. I do trust local law enforcement but believe that they are going to be presented with some horrific choices in the near future that may make it impossible to completely trust them, too.

So what can we do? Personally, I don't worry about it. I figure that it'll all work out the way God wants it to and I'm just going with the flow. I pretty much figure life's going to suck for the foreseeable future and that's just the way it is. The thing is, there's only so much we can do outside of prayer and some basic preparedness. The rest is up to God.

I just hate to see the people that just don't get it, especially the older ones, keep on living as though nothing has changed, as though it's still 30 years ago when America was on top and the rest of the world be damned. Because that's an illusion being sold to them by the money interests to buy enough time to suck every last bit of wealth out of the system. And when they've done it and they pull the plug all the people that bought into their snake oil will be shocked, confused and angry. And a bad situation will quickly become a nightmare.

And that is the truth.

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL?

H/t I Own the World

There is much to disagree with Ayn Rand about. I don't agree with her Godless philosophy of Objectivism which puts man in the place of God in a sort of Darwinistic version of the "Rights of Kings". She seems to suppose that some are made for greatness while others are made for slavery and that the market will always lead to truth. While these ideas are not completely without merit, the removal of God and original sin and concupiscence and all the other parts of reality she denies distorts the reality she proposes so badly that it must be denied.

That being said, her ideas about the nature of money as described in the video above are essentially correct. In the end money, and wealth, are one thing and one thing only, a representation of labor. When I go to work I trade my labor for money. Someone else's labor created the money I worked for and it was traded to my employer because of his labor, either through direct application of his labor our through a product his labor supplied.

This is why the income tax is so abhorrent. It makes a claim on my money, which in reality is my labor. If someone or some entity can force you to supply your labor to them through force it is slavery. In essence, the income tax makes slaves of us all. The government is the owner and the IRS is the overseer, ready to strike the whip any time we get out of line.

We need to begin to understand something about the true nature of the money we so willingly hand over to thieves and tyrants. It's not just a piece of paper. In many ways it's a part of our souls.

WALMART ROLLS BACK THE ROLL BACKS

So, while the government tells us that inflation is nearly nonexistent and that Social Security and other programs will see no increase because of it, the real story is something far different.

Walmart's not alone in raising prices. It's happening everywhere.

"Walmart has rolled back its rollbacks. Earlier this year, the retailer tried to spark sluggish U.S. sales by lowering its prices — already bargains — even further. One analyst called it "an initiative that screams: Price! Price! Price!" These rollbacks, as they are known in Walmartspeak and in the company's advertising, were intended to overwhelm the shopper. In May, according to one shopping website, the price of a 40-oz. bottle of Heinz ketchup, which had been $2.42, was chopped to $1. Kraft mac and cheese, which had been going for $3.58, was reduced to $2.50. The rollback of a 50-oz. bottle of Tide laundry detergent, which was priced in the $7.48-$8.12 range, gave shoppers a $2.50 discount. Walmart expected a flood of customers to its stores, which would help lift the company's stock out of its rut and get Walmart rolling again.

Instead, cutting prices depressed sales, as shoppers took the bargains and ran. For the quarter ending July 31, Walmart's U.S. same-store sales fell 1.8%. The company's same-store sales have now fallen for five straight quarters. Of the rollback strategy, Bill Simon, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., told investors at a September conference, "It did not do what we had hoped it would do. It did, however, drive price perception. It did not drive sales or traffic." As a result, Walmart rolled back the deeper discounts, and prices started inching upward this summer. According to a new report from J.P. Morgan, the price of a 31-item basket from a Walmart store in Virginia rose 2.7% in September alone. Walmart prices have jumped 5% since the start of the year and have been at their highest levels in the 21 months J.P. Morgan has tracked pricing data."
Time

BERNANKE CALLS FOR INFLATION - BUT JUST ENOUGH, GOLDILOCKS

The Fed is calling for an increase in inflation to a mandated two percent. But why? How do the pointy heads at the Fed think that inflation will benefit the economy?

Let's step into the way back machine, to the last great depression:



Doesn't that sound just like "trickle down economics" in reverse. If the progressives constantly scream that the conservative version of this same thing, only using private monies instead of public monies, doesn't work then how come they're so convinced it'll work this time?

So, here's the thing. The last Quantitative Easing (money printing for those of us that like clear speech) that the Fed did had no real impact on the economy as a whole. Most of the billions and billions (thanks, Dr. Sagan) that the taxpayers so graciously borrowed went into the coffers of the banks or was used to buy back stock by the giant corporations that had access to it. Very little of it filtered its way out into the private sector unless you count the obscene salaries the bankers paid themselves for destroying the country. I guess they probably used some of that to hire illegals to keep their lawns tidy, but then most of that was sent back to Mexico.

Bernanke is walking a tightrope with this. If the inflation rate gets much over the two percent mark the country won't be able to service the debt and it'll default. However, if we were to go into deflation people will not spend money as quickly because they know prices will be cheaper down the road.

The main question I have is this; do any of these guys ever go to the grocery store or buy gas? My cost of living is accelerating at much faster than two percent and I'm thinking that everybody else is probably seeing the same thing. So what's the deal? Why does the government constantly act as though inflation is non-existent?

Just acting as the devils advocate here I have to wonder; could it be because all those social programs that the left are so wild about are tied to inflation? And could that be the reason Social Security recipients aren't getting a raise? How does artificially depressing the real rate of inflation affect other areas of the federal budget?

That's why the plan to "increase" inflation to two percent won't work and could possibly cause more damage than good. If the Fed creates more money the value of the dollar will collapse even further. It's already in a free fall. So all of us here in America that are already having trouble making ends meet will find it increasingly difficult to spend money on anything but the essentials. That will not cause any sort of trickle up effect as the fed is hoping for.

Worse, as the dollar continues to decline and and investors run from it we'll find it increasingly hard to raise the money to pay the debt and keep the government afloat. I know that inflation, by cheapening the dollar also lightens the debt load but two percent isn't anywhere near enough to do it.

This is an end game, Hail Mary pass scenario. The Fed has shot just about all their bullets now. The markets will go up with this plan because the Wall Street guys are looking for another bailout which is exactly what more quantitative easing will give them. Bond prices continue to fall as the thirty year auction barely sold anything. The world sees us as a bad risk and is refusing to buy any long term debt and very little short term. So what the market does or doesn't do, in the bigger picture, is somewhat meaningless.

So buckle up boys and girls, the last part of the ride is about to begin. And this is the scariest part of all, the one where we go over the cliff.

OBAMACARE FORCES CLOSING OF CATHOLIC HOSPITALS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Could it be that Obamacare is forcing the closing of Catholic Hospitals? And is this just the beginning as more and more hospitals of all sorts realize that they can't keep there doors open under the payment schedules forced upon them by government?

I wonder if any of this will make it into the main stream media?

"Can you say "October Surprise"?

A mushrooming political battle over ObamaCare involving the White House, two incumbent Pennsylvania congressmen, three Catholic hospitals and a nun has just exploded in, of all places, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Charges from the Scranton medical community of intimidation by the Obama White House and its allies are filling the air.
All of this just as Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Scranton today to raise money for one of the participants.

There are two issues at the core of the controversy.

1. ObamaCare and the sale of three Scranton-area Catholic hospitals.
2. The re-election prospects of the two House members, Democrats Paul Kanjorski and Chris Carney, both of whom cast key votes to pass ObamaCare.

Here's the list of players -- major and minor -- so far.

• The President of the United States.
• The Vice President of the United States.
• Three Scranton-area Catholic hospitals suddenly for sale.
• The CEO of the three Scranton-area Catholic hospitals for sale.
• ObamaCare, otherwise known as "health care reform" or the "Affordable Care Act."
• A Catholic nun.
• Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak.
• A pen.
• Victoria Reggie Kennedy, widow of the late Senator Ted Kennedy.
• Time magazine.
• The Scranton Times
• The two Scranton-area House members Kanjorski and Carney, both losing in the polls.
• U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Jr., a native and resident of Scranton.
• Congressman Joe Sestak, the Democrats' nominee for the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat.

Where to start? That would be…."

To read the rest go to the American Spectator.

MRS. OBAMA BREAKS THE ELECTION LAW IN ILLINOIS

So, you think that there'll be any legal repercussions for Mrs. Obama?

One law for them, another for us.

"First lady Michelle Obama appears to have violated Illinois law today -- when she engaged in political discussion at a polling place!

The drama began after Mrs. Obama stopped off at the Martin Luther King Center on the south side of Chicago to cast an early vote.

After finishing at the machine, Obama went back to the desk and handed in her voting key.

She let voters including electrician Dennis Campbell, 56, take some photos.

"She was telling me how important it was to vote to keep her husband's agenda going," Campbell said.

According to the pool reporter at the scene, the conversation took place IN the voting center not far from the booths.

Illinois state law -- Sec. 17-29 (a) -- states: "No judge of election, pollwatcher, or other person shall, at any primary or election, do any electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion within any polling place, within 100 feet of any polling place."

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS ELECTIONEERING

When questioned about the brazen nature of Mrs. Obama's campaigning, press secretary Robert Gibbs defended the action.

"I don't think it would be much to imagine, the First Lady might support her husband's agenda," Gibbs smiled."
Drudge