"In the past, pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods. Today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions." --Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney

Drug prohibition laws spawned the runaway federal health care monopoly and fund terrorism.

Drug Prohibition Laws and Rising Health Care Costs

I worked for a company named Mallinckrodt in St. Louis, Missouri for eleven years during the 'eighties and 'nineties as a chemist. At the time, Mallinckrodt was one of two legal manufacturers of bulk narcotics like codeine, morphine, cocaine, fentanyl, etc., which all have legitimate medical uses. All dosage form manufacturers had to purchase their bulk narcotics from one of these two manufacturers. During the late 'eighties and early 'nineties Mallinckrodt and the other manufacturer multiplied their prices by 400% each year for years on end at the behest of the DEA, who wanted to bring the medical price of narcotics to parity with the street price in order to reduce the incentive for diversion. In other words, the DEA's policy was to astronomically increase the cost of medicine to innocent consumers in order to make their job easier. My mother suffers from chronic pain and is now paying over $1,000 per month out of her own pocket for drugs that would cost less than 10% of that were it not for the DEA's policy. The Volstead Act that began national drug prohibition eventually gave the federal government complete control over the health care system. You cannot receive cancer treatment, for instance, that is not approved by the federal government. I could go on, but to me it is so obvious that the federal government has a de facto monopoly on health care that it bores me to even talk about it any more, other than the fact that monopolies always breed inefficiency and corruption, which goes a long way toward explaining why health care costs have risen from 1.5% of GDP in the 1950s to 15% of GDP today, and it is still rising. During that same period, health care products and services that the federal government does not control have been going down. Look at laser vision correction, for instance. It used to cost thousands of dollars per eye, but since medical insurance and Medicare don't cover it, the suppliers had incentive to reduce costs, and they have. You can now get quality, safe laser vision correction for a few hundred dollars per eye. This would not have happened if the federal government had gotten its hands on laser vision correction through Medicare.

From the offical teaching of the Catholic Church, the Catechism. 2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility. "Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... "There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. "Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. "One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. "Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? "But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. "Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." -- Ayn Rand, 'Atlas Shrugged' (1957) HOW TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN OFF DRUGS If you actually participate in your childrens' lives and actively teach them to respect themselves and other people, and help them achieve a taste of success in their early lives, they won't have the time, much less desire, to ingest drugs. If you only have time for drive-by parenting, where you keep them under surveillance rather than actually pay attention to them, and if your idea of "teaching" is to find something to criticize your children for every time your paths happen to accidentally cross, then you have a lot more than drugs to worry about. "> The Ethanol Scam ABOLISH THE FDA Too bad the FDA is nothing more than a puppet of Pfeizer, Merck, Bristol-Myer-Squibb, etc., because you really have no idea if an FDA-approved drug will be effective or if it will kill you. When a drug company registers a drug for FDA approval, they also hand over $500,000 for the FDA to hire people to evaluate the clinical study. If the FDA finds anything wrong with the drug, the money stream ends. If they don't find anything wrong, the drug companies keep handing the FDA more money to fund the oversight until the drug is approved. You do the math. I actually did vote for John Kerry, before I voted against him. WHAT EVERY INFIDEL SHOULD KNOW: HOW GEORGE BUSH STOLE ELECTION 2000 "Al, this is David Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, America's richest trial lawyers. I apologize for calling so late, but this won't wait." "Look, I know you've already conceded, but I've been talking to some folks in Florida and they think they can find enough extra votes down there to give you the state in a recount." "Just a recount in Volusia, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, though." "If it goes statewide our people will be spread too thin to keep things under control." "Do you want to give it a try? At this point you've got nothing to lose." "That's great, Al. I'll give 'em a call and we'll get this show on the road." "Call Bush right away to let him know you've changed your mind." "On second thought, call a press conference first." "Talk to you later, Mr. President." THE CLINTON LEGACY "There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals." --John Kerry, Meet the Press, April 18, 1971 John Fraud Kerry North Viet Nam War Hero American Traitor ANTI-TERROR ÜBER ALLES The mythical "freedom versus security" tradeoff is a false choice. The 911 attacks did not occur because Americans have too much freedom. They occurred because terrorists were able to gain access to the cockpits of hijacked aircraft. Instead of equipping all commercial aircraft with doors which could actually be used to keep hijackers out of cockpits, Washington created an Orwellian monster named the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and hired tens of thousands of minimum-IQ Gestapo to root through the underwear of airline passengers and arrest/prosecute those who object. Simply setting foot in an airport is now considered to be a terrorist act. The fact that the TSA created a national airport police force without ever addressing the cockpit-door scandal is damning evidence that their mandate has nothing to do with protecting anyone.  The true mission of the TSA is to turn America into a police state. Airports are the incubators.  The statists want to condition us to accept the idea that probable cause is dead and they can search our houses, our hard drives and our persons and demand to see our papers at any time.  Boycott the airline industry and its airport/POW camps now, or live in a national POW camp later. Click to download poster in PDF format Film Review: THE FLIR PROJECT   CAUSE AND EFFECT U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Fatalities per 100,000 Year 1999 Commercial Fishermen 162 Timber Cutters 154 Air Pilots 65 Construction Laborers 37 Garbage Collectors 34 Truck Drivers 28 Electricians 12 Gardeners (non farm) 11 Police 11 Carpenters 7 What About Hate Crimes by Blacks? Welcome to President George Dubya Bush's HOMELAND PENITENTIARY Where Everyone Is a Suspect (Except Muslims) ANTI-TERROR ÜBER ALLES We've got your numberTM The entire race-based agenda could be demolished if everybody started calling themselves "black" on all official government forms. It would not be a lie, because biologically, there is no such thing as 'race.' And the feds could never win a prosecution for falsifying information, because who is to say who any of our ancestors are? The Sally Hemming controversy cuts both ways. Zapruder CORRECTIONS TO THE MANN et. al. (1998) PROXY DATA BASE AND NORTHERN HEMISPHERIC AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SERIES The data upon which Kyoto is based (Mann, Bradley, Hughes: Global-Scale Temperature Patterns and Climate Forcing Over the Past Six Centuries, Nature, No. 392, pp. 779-787, 1998) has been documented to be fraudulent by a recent paper published in the British journal "Energy & Environment" and available on the Internet at http://www.multi-science.co.uk/mcintyre_02.pdf In their paper, titled "CORRECTIONS TO THE MANN et. al. (1998) PROXY DATA BASE AND NORTHERN HEMISPHERIC AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SERIES," Canadian researchers Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick examined the data set of proxies of past climate used by Mann, Bradley and Hughes for the estimation of temperatures from 1400 to 1980. McIntyre and McKitrick determined that the Mann data "contains collation errors, unjustifiable truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, incorrect calculation of principal components and other quality control defects." Applying the Mann methodology to the corrected data "yielded a Northern Hemisphere temperature index in which the late 20th century is unexceptional compared to the preceding centuries." The fact that Kyoto is based upon fraudulent data should be troubling to anyone without some hidden agenda. From Washington, DC... America has no shortage of oil Washington has a shortage of political will to let American workers go get it By the House Committee on Resources As oil prices climb to record highs above $50 per barrel, some have asserted that we are "running out" of this resource. In truth, we are not running out of oil in America. We can safely increase domestic production by at least 17.2 million barrels per day by 2030. "America has no shortage of oil for the foreseeable future," House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) said. "Washington has a shortage of the political will required to let American workers go get it. We have not increased domestic supply in thirty years. As a result, our dependence on foreign oil has skyrocketed to the point where we are sending $200 billion dollars overseas to import this resource. At least a fraction of that sum should be spent at home, to increase supply, lower prices, and create jobs." "Increasing conservation and the use of renewable and alternative fuels must also be part of a balanced energy plan," Pombo continued. "That is why more than one half of the domestic recommendations in the Administration's energy plan - held up in the Senate for the last four years - targeted these goals. But like it or not, the reality is that America runs on oil right now. We cannot conserve our way out of an empty tank of gas. We have to produce more at home, and there is plenty at home to produce." By combining conservation efforts with additional domestic production, the United States can close the gap between supply and demand to become more energy efficient. With current production and proposed development in North America, the United States could increase its supply by 17.2 million barrels per day by 2030. Click here to see how. "Contrary to the claims of special interest groups, we can produce more energy to grow our economy, and continue environmental achievements at the same time," Pombo said. "These efforts go hand in hand. They are not mutually exclusive."   Since 1973, the fuel efficiency of passenger cars, vans, pickups, and SUVs has increased by more than 60 percent. ("Energy Information Administration", Monthly Energy Review, October 2003)   From 1970 to 2000, total emissions of the six major pollutants decreased almost 30 percent. At the same time, total energy consumption rose 45 percent, GDP increased 160 percent, and population grew 38 percent (Environmental Protection Agency, EIA, U.S. Census Bureau)   From 1970 to 2000, the number of drivers on American roads increased 68 percent, total vehicle miles traveled per year grew 142 percent, and heavy-duty truck travel increased 227 percent. At the same time, however, the EPA estimates that total on-road vehicle emissions decreased 77 percent. "Secure and affordable energy supplies fuel our economy - they are its lifeblood. In turn, a strong economy fuels investment in the research and technology that give us the positive environmental trendlines we see today. We cannot have one, without the other." Occupation Relative Risk* Leading Fatal Event Average All Jobs 1.0 Homicide and Accidents Fishers 21.3 Drowning Timber Cutters 20.6 Struck by Object Airplane Pilots 19.9 Airplane Crashes Structural Metal Workers 13.1 Falls Taxi Cab Drivers 9.5 Homicide Construction Workers 8.1 Vehicular, Falls Roofers 5.9 Falls Electric Power Installers/Repairers 5.7 Electrocution Truck Driver 5.3 Highway Crashes Farm Occupations 5.1 Vehicular Police, Detectives, Supervisors 3.4 Homicide, Highway Crashes Nonconstruction Laborers 3.2 Vehicular Electricians 3.2 Electrocution Welders and Cutters 2.4 Falls, fires Guards 2.3 Homicide Groundkeepers and Gardeners 1.9 Vehicular Carpenters 1.6 Falls Auto Mechanics 1.1 Highway Crashes, Homicide Supervisors, Proprietors, Sales 1.0 Homicide Cashiers 0.9 Homicide SOURCE: Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics - Compensation and Working Conditions Online

This Speakout has not been edited

By Robert Hardaway

Few politicians can resist the urge to exploit consumer angst over gasoline prices, and thereby deflect where the blame certainly lies — with them.

Here are 10 things the politicians won’t tell you:

1. At over $3.00 a gallon, the U.S. inflation-adjusted price for gasoline in May 2007 is now less than it was in 1981, a remarkable decrease in price over a 25 year period during which real prices in other sectors, such as health and education have tripled and quadrupled.

2. This decline in the price of gasoline since 1981 is enjoyed almost exclusively in the U.S. In most other developed counties in the world, the price of gas is at least double what Americans pay. Consumers in the Netherlands now pay an average of $7.77 gallon, while those in Great Britain pay over $7 and consider it a bargain.

3. The gross profit margins of the major oil companies is far less than that for many other sectors, such as beverages, electrical equipment, chemicals, and computers.

4. At present gas prices, the major oil companies make a profit of between 10 cents and 12 cents a gallon. (If you really think that’s a lot, buy the stock; but most people feel investing in oil companies is a pretty risky business-witness the devastating losses oil company investors lost during the 1980’s).

5. At present prices, combined federal and state government profit (i.e. taxes) on each gallon of gas is 28-68 cents a gallon, depending on which state you live in. Pelosi’s San Francisco enjoys tacking on an extra 26 cents bite.

6. As a result of gas prices in the U.S. which are less than half that in much of the industrialized world, gasoline consumption in the U.S. increased dramatically during the last year.

7. Oblivious to, and largely insulated from the $7-8 per gallon consumers in other industrialized countries now pay, energy-greedy Americans continue to buy such gas guzzling behemoths as Hummers and SUV’s at a feverish pace.

8. If government singled out oil companies for a confiscatory 50% profit surcharge, it is tempting to think that the price of gas might decline by up to 6 cents a gallon, say from $3.38 a gallon to $3.31 a gallon; in fact, gas prices would soar, as investors would no longer capitalize oil companies (turning instead to industries with higher profits, such as beverages and cigarettes). The oil companies would then either have to cut back exploration (Exxon alone has invested $15 billion in new capital investments) or go out of business, thus causing supplies to tighten and prices to skyrocket.

9. Crude oil prices, which make up 90% of the total cost of running gas refineries, are set by the international market of supply and demand, which fluctuates hourly, and not by private companies; while the major oil producing countries can form cartels (such as OPEC) which can set prices at higher than a free market, these countries are not subject to U.S. antitrust laws.

10. If government is serious about both curbing oil company profits as well as curbing U.S. reliance on foreign oil, the only way to do it is the way the Europeans do it: a gasoline tax that raises the pump price of gas to about $8. And that’s one thing you can be sure the politicians will never, ever tell you.

Robert Hardaway is Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and the author of “Population, Law, and the Environment” (Greenwood Press).

Kyoto: Tightening the Screws

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