Poly-Ticks – Page 30 – Living Freedom

Guest post: Truth in Government, Part II

Published November 12, 2015 6:55 am by Claire

And here’s the second and final part of the guest post by Sandy Sandfort. Part I is here

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TRUTH IN GOVERNMENT? YOU BETCHA! (Part II)
A Short Guide on How to Read Government “Tells”

By Sandy Sandfort

Before I give you two final financial examples, I will give one from my own family. On 5 April 1933, FDR signed Executive Order 6102 (just like Obama, he had a pen and a telephone) which required Americans to turn in their gold in exchange for paper money at $20.67 per ounce.

When my father read about the order in the newspaper, he immediately told my mother, “They’re going to devalue the dollar!” In other words, he skipped past all the order’s rhetoric and jumped to the “why.” When he figured out what and why the order was given (devaluation), he set about illegally amassing as many gold coins as he could. He was able to get rid of a lot of paper in exchange for a lot of gold. As he predicted, the dollar was devalued (40% to $35 per ounce. For decades, he and my mother paid for fun trips to Mexico with gold coins they sold in Mexico for the world price of $35 per ounce.

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Guest post: Truth in Government

Published November 11, 2015 8:10 am by Claire

I’m deadlining this week. Friend Sandy Sandfort has stepped in with an original two-parter about one of everybody’s favorite subjects: politicians moving their lips.

Sandy has a new website in the works. If you’d like to be notified when it goes live, contact Sandy at sandy-at-privilegedcommunications-dot-net (corrected address) with the subject line “new website notice.”

Sandy would also like to exchange some of his Bitcoin for USD (which can be sent to his U.S. bank, though he resides in Panama). Contact him at sandfort-at-gmail-dot-com if you’re interested in making the trade.

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TRUTH IN GOVERNMENT? YOU BETCHA! (Part I)
A Short Guide on How to Read Government “Tells”

By Sandy Sandfort

I don’t need to tell readers here that governments lie. We all know that lies are fundamental to manipulating the citizenry. This does not mean, however, that you shouldn’t pay attention to what government spokespeople say. If you know how to listen, you can gather vital intel to protect yourself and your family. By understanding why certain things are said—or not said—you can improve your chances of surviving government-created calamities and maybe even come out ahead of the game sometime.

Governments do have “tells” just like poker players. If you learn to read those tells, you have an edge over the other players at the table. Believe me, in America, with a third of a billion players at the table, you really want to have that edge.

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Tuesday links

Published November 10, 2015 7:50 am by Claire

Wow. Somebody thinks federal employees aren’t paid enough when compared with people in “similar private-sector jobs.” The article never explains what private-sector jobs are similar to … oh, career money confiscator, thug who tells businesspeople how to run their businesses, or professional killer of nursing mothers. Integrity. Doctors Without Borders refuses Pentagon money to rebuild Pentagon-bombed hospital. There is a war on Christians. It’s being conducted in the Middle East and to a lesser extent in the regulations of western governments. Not at or by Starbucks. F*c*b**k: Now testing a new form of creepy. Yes, it appears (certain) black people…

18 Comments

I try to avoid thinking about proposed legislation

Published October 22, 2015 11:05 am by Claire

I really do. But sometimes the combination of Orwell and Rand becomes too obtrusive to bear. To wit: the CISA blowup. The gloriously bipartisan Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, sponsored by freedom-loving Republican Richard Burr (NC) and — guess who? — our old friend Dianne Feinstein (D-Control Freak) would “allow” tech companies to “voluntarily” share information about their customers with the federal “security” apparatus “so it can be analyzed for signs of lawbreaking – be it computer related or not.” Companies that “volunteer” would be given legal immunity against angry customers. But as the linked article in The Register…

27 Comments

Midweek links

Published October 7, 2015 1:31 am by Claire

Even a gun controller calls Obama’s response to the UCC campus killings a tantrum and correctly states that nothing Our Glorious Leader wants will end violence. Here’s a pretty good fisk of Hillary Clinton’s latest opportunistic anti-gun knee-jerking, too. Again, it’s by somebody who’s hardly a pro-gun purist. Here’s another good one. I’d expect this sort of thing in over-regulated, over-zoned cities, but when rural Colorado tries to keep people from living off-grid on their own land, we’re truly in a pickle. (Via jed in comments) Have you ever complained about how some arbitrary credit score governs too much of…

14 Comments

At random

Published September 15, 2015 7:40 am by Claire

Work

I didn’t get that job I applied for. Not even an interview.

19 Comments

Midweek links

Published August 11, 2015 7:29 pm by Claire

Panama was already better than many countries on guns. A smidge, anyhow. Now, in hopes of combating rising crime, they’re about to get better. Only a little better than the original smidge, but it’s something. Even the most worthless of petty bureaucrats now think they deserve to be treated and feted like Oriental pashas. Who are these people, anyhow? Once again, at least a few on the fringe are sending the message that they’ve had enough. (Tip o’ hat to jed) Yeah, now let’s see if the EPA and its employees get treated like a private corporation and its people…

13 Comments

Friday links

Published August 7, 2015 7:29 am by Claire

I really like this tiny house story (via Shel in comments). These folks aren’t trying to be trendy or green or holier-than-thou. They just know what it’s like to have been economically clobbered and don’t want to be vulnerable again. Cops kill an unarmed white kid and the world says ho hum. In Montana: another Oath Keepers operation to protect miners against fedgov intrusion. 😉 Kickstarter campaign raises billions to wall off the Bay Area during Burning Man. (Via A.G. in comments) Islamists hack to death a fourth non-theist blogger in Bangladesh. Boy, I’ll bet the fedgov wishes it could…

6 Comments

Random thoughts for a cloudy Tuesday

Published August 4, 2015 7:03 am by Claire

I’ve been working on my complicated ceiling for nine days now, along with some related projects on the walls and trim. Feels more like nine weeks. And of course, this being an old ill-built house, every step of progress reveals some new problem. I’m making only a few hours progress a day, but at least it’s getting there. Slooooowly. Why was I not born wealthy so I could sit by a pool sipping a pina colada while someone else gets paid to do this sort of thing? Oh well, when it’s done, I’ll brim with satisfaction about how I did…

22 Comments

Monday links

Published July 27, 2015 1:21 am by Claire

Intriguing DIY all-terrain cart/carrier. (H/T MJR) Drawing — by hand, even doodling — enhances memory and other cognitive functions. Remember last week’s remotely hacked Jeep? Chrysler has now recalled … well, basically every car it’s made lately. No need to take your auto to the shop, though: just wait for the USB stick or download the software. OTOH, given the company’s record of mishandling recalls, don’t be too optimistic. New micro device delivers drugs directly to the brain. Not my brain, buddy! “Don’t Blame Trump; Blame America.” Once you get past the offensive title there’s a lot to agree with.…

12 Comments

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