Categories
Uncategorized

Sochi Olympics Tells Greater Story

There is one problem with central governmental planning…IT DOESN’T WORK. For all those that extoll its efficiency, the merits of uniformitarian, and that only a central body of elite politicians know what is best for the rest of the country, you need look no further than the Olympics in Sochi to understand that you are incorrect. Remember, Sochi is supposed to be an example of the best Russia has to offer to the world. If this is their best, I’m hesitant to see their worst:

If you enjoy both yellow snow and water, I have the place for you:
 
And this is the best hotel Sochi could provide:
 
Though the pictures are finite, the message they show is endless. Central governmental planning is a failure. Only through free enterprise do people work their hardest and compete with one another to produce the best product or service. You think the above pictured hotel would have ever survived in a capitalistic society? Of course not. It would have went out of business shortly after its opening.

The more our government stifles free business, makes it more difficult to run a business and takes away our incentives to grow a business, the quicker our country will begin to look more and more like Russia. Don’t fool yourselves. The more rules and regulations the government makes, the more civil liberties it takes, and the more involved it becomes in your lives, the quicker our country heads further towards economic collapse.

I’m no anarchist, but I do warn, just like our forefathers, a limited government is the best government. We’ve forgotten what they taught us. Unfortunately, if we continue to go down the path we are headed, it may be too late to restore the country to how it was intended to be.
Categories
Uncategorized

Review The New Reality

My fictional thriller, The Final Reality, will be released in May, 2014. It is the first book of a 3 part series that has political, ethical, medical and religious undertones that forebodes humanity’s tenuous existence in the 21st century.

Stephen Martino 's Medical, Christian, Political Thriller: The New Reality

Please click on the picture if you would like a free copy to review.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Affordable Care Act Cuts 2 Million Jobs

And the news for Obamacare keeps on getting worse. With the latest CBS poll showing a satisfaction rate of 7% for this program, businesses reducing working hours and/or employees to avoid taxes imposed by the program and sky-high Obamacare deductibles, the Affordable Care Act has become an anchor, sinking the American economy into an eventual watery grave.

To add insult to injury, the Congressional Budget Office (a nonpartisan group) came out today with the strong warning that Obamacare will reduce the American workforce by the equivalent of 2 million full-time workers in 2017. They concluded that the health law would lead some workers, particularly those with lower incomes, to limit their hours to avoid losing federal subsidies that Obamacare provides to help pay for health insurance and other healthcare costs.

For example, some Americans nearing retirement could decide to keep their work hours shorter to maintain Obamacare subsidies until they qualified for Medicare. Such a policy would thus “reduce incentives to work” and pose an “implicit tax on working” for those returning to a job with health insurance.

This policy goes against human nature. Remember, incentive is what drives us to invent, work harder and strive for greater things. Incentive is what makes businesses grow, creates jobs and expands the economy. Just like all of the current administration’s policies, Obamacare stifles the human spirit and hinders it from growing.

If you disagree with me and you are a working, taxpaying man or woman, ask yourself this question: has any Obama policy helped you? Has any Obama policy helped your business? Has any Obama policy cut your taxes? Has any Obama policy made your job easier? If the answer is no, it explains why our economy continues to stagnate and the divide between rich and poor continue to grow. Now ask yourself this: can American handle another 3 more years of this?

Categories
Uncategorized

Federal Reserve Rips Off Americans

The only word I can think of when I hear the name Ben Bernanke, Retired Federal Reserve Chairman, is double-cross. Since he’s been the Feds chairman, the gross assets of this organization has grown from $834,663,000,000 in 2006 to $4,102,138,000,000 in 2014. That’s a 391 percent increase!
As the value of the dollar plummets and the cost of living increases, the Feds made almost 400 percent on their return since 2006—and that’s not including all the billions of dollars of interest they collect each and every year from it.
Remember, the Feds are supposed to be our friends. They are the ones who were set up to keep the American economy solvent, banks stable and stabilize the economy from any crashes.
Now let’s look at how the Feds made their fortune…It bought trillions of dollars of both treasury and most importantly Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities.  The Fed purchased these mortgage securities over the last five years in its attempts to stimulate the economy. It seems ironic how the same organization that was meant to stabilize our economy has had the greatest impact on destabilizing it through Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae program and the most to gain through increasing national debt.
Though, the point could further be belabored, numbers speak for themselves. And these numbers speak loud and clear: DOUBLE-CROSS. We’ve been duped by the Feds into thinking that they are helping. When, in fact, they are the source of the economic woes that America now faces. Don’t forget what caused the economy to go bust in 2008- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Why is this not front page news? Why aren’t we Americans yelling foul at this egregious misappropriation of American funds?
Categories
Uncategorized

Angry Birds Snooping Makes Me Angry

Yet again, our civil liberties are chipped away, bit by bit, by the government. And yet again, most Americans remain silent or indifferent about its occurrence. Even those media outlets who highlighted the story have quickly dropped the subject and moved on to more “pop culture” topics that glean more attention.

Where is the public uproar? Where is the mass dissention? Each time we lose even one of our civil liberties, it’s one step closer to a central government tyranny. Just because it is being done piecemeal doesn’t make it any more right than if it’s done all at once.

The last story of the NSA snooping is what had caught my attention. It seems as if the NSA can now take advantage of “leaky” smartphone apps like Angry Birds. Because these Apps can transmit users’ private information such as phone model, screen size, age, gender, location and possibly sexual orientation, the NSA has obtained a wealth of free and easily obtainable information.

Let us all not forget the Fourth Amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 
What is ironic is that the Fourth Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights. These are the rights given to us by the Constitution and fought for by our forefathers. Are we to sit back now and forget the Constitution, The Bills of Rights and all that that makes America great? Are we just supposed to bow down to our supreme congressional leaders and let them rule without the will of the people? If we do, the country HAS become essentially transformed.
Categories
Uncategorized

Chicago Style Politics

Hasn’t it been ironic how our first amendment right to free speech continues to erode as political correctness takes effect. Worse than that, those progressives that so ardently embrace free speech are the same ones who wish to censor anyone who does not agree with them. Remember Hank Williams, the man who sang the Monday Night Football theme song? Just one negative comment about Obama and this country singing icon was axed.

The sad thing that I’m now witnessing is bullying not only from the media but from the White House. Those that do not conform to the status quo are chastised by the media and are now unfortunately harassed by the law. If this is beginning to sound like Nazi Germany with its Gestapo, it is no coincidence. While Governor Christie is being raked over the coals about his alleged involvement with the George Washing bridge closing, our current administration is getting away with murder (don’t forget about Benghazi).

I’ve come across three articles in just one day which proves my point. I will provide the link, some quotes and just say a few words about each of them.

Conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, whose documentary 2016: Obama’s America took a critical look at President Barack Obama, was arrested in New York for allegedly violating campaign-finance laws. Federal authorities accuse D’Souza on trumped-up charges of donating more than is legal to the campaign of  Wendy Long, who ran in 2012 for the U.S.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmaker-indicted-673670

Conservative activist James O’Keefe is accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration of targeting his group with document requests and a subpoena, claiming the Democratic governor’s recent comments critical of conservatives “aren’t simply words.” O’Keefe, whose Project Veritas is behind a series of hidden-camera investigations against left-leaning groups and causes, made the claims on the heels of the controversy over a recent Cuomo interview. O’Keefe claims that Cuomo’s government is acting on his recent anti-conservative words, revealing that the Department of Labor has hit his office in Westchester County, N.Y., with demands for financial documents for months. He compared it to IRS targeting of conservative groups nationwide.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/23/conservative-activist-okeefe-claims-cuomo-targeting-his-group/

Finally, the last story I read explains why our credit rating has not gone down despite the worsening economic pit that our government is digging. The Justice Department’s launched a $5 billion fraud case against Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the United States. This case comes on the heels of recent accusations that former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner threatened S&P with unspecified retribution as punishment for a downgrade of U.S. debt. How ironic.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-22/credit-ratings-and-broken-knees-did-geithner-threaten-s-and-ps-chairman

What is so astonishing about this blog post is that I read all three articles in one day. Welcome to the Fourth Reich.

Categories
Uncategorized

Why Capitalism is Necessary- Milton Friedman

Many condemn Capitalism or chastise its outcomes. Many say that Capitalism is synonymous with greed, inequality and evil. In fact, this message that been parroted across the media and trumpeted from the White House ad nauseam over the past few years.  What is so ironic is that despite America’s success as a world power, the very means that got us there is now being demonized.

Compare the standard of living in any Capitalistic society to other non-Capitalistic run governments. The difference is both striking and appalling. Thus, it is not surprising that as America and other democratic societies embrace more socialistic policies our mean average annual income is dropping, governmental subsidies are rising and the poverty index is at an all time high. Both statistics and history don’t lie. However, no one says it better than Milton Friedman.

Categories
Uncategorized

Is the Federal Reserve the Modern Day Knights Templar?

First of all, who were the Knights Templar? Were they a figment of author Dan Brown’s imagination or were they a real group? In fact, they were totally authentic and were a military branch of Christian monks who protected Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. With their headquarters at the site of Solomon’s Temple, they thus obtained the name, The Knights Templar.

Besides protecting pilgrims, the Knights made an enormous profit in something called  Usury. Usury was a form of money lending where an initial charge was made for a loan, or interest was charged on the repayments. The increase of the Knights Templar wealth in turn led to becoming involved in banking which in turn brought even greater wealth into the Knights Templar order. Their financial power due to their banking activities led to great political power in all of the countries in Europe of the Middle Ages.

The Knights Templar banking activities increased their financial wealth and political power. Powerful monarchs went to the Knights Templar to obtain loans. This was the case of King Philip IV of France, who was already heavily in debt to the Knights Templar when he requested a further loan to finance a war. Fearing the growing influence of the Knights and their economic stranglehold over Europe, he eventually accused them of being Satanist and forcefully disbanded the group on Friday, October 13 in 1307–thus abolishing his loans.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the Federal Reserve. Who are they? First of all, despite the belief of mostly all Americans, the Feds are a private organization run by private bankers. They provide the government with a ready source of loans and serves as the safe depository for federal monies. The Federal Reserve is also a low-cost mechanism for transferring funds and is an inexpensive agent for meeting payments on the national debt and government salaries.
And the resemblance continues. The Feds, just like the Knights, make enormous sums of money from the money they lend out to the US government. Now, instead of The Knights Templar having financial control over France, the Feds have financial control over the United States.
Let us now learn from history. In order for France to remain financially solvent and keeps it sovereignty, King Philip IV disbanded The Knights Templar. Let us learn from those who came before us and do the dissolve the Federal Reserve before it is too late.

 
Categories
Uncategorized

Why People Hate Ron Paul

Did you even wonder why there was such ardent dislike for Ron Paul, or why the media has cast him as some right-wing nut. Most people don’t even know anything about him. Once they hear right-wing, religious or conservative, their mind is made up. Sadly, the same goes thing goes both ways for both parties. However, Ron Paul seems to stand alone in his negative press.
 
So ask yourself this: what does Ron Paul stand for and who are the people who hate him? Let’s run down his supposedly far-right, “crazy” ideas. Ron Paul believes in smaller government, containing/paying off or national debt, abolition of the Federal Reserve, minimizing government interference in business and not being the world’s police force, costing more American lives by the day.
 
Does that sound crazy or does it make complete sense? Honestly, he sounds like our founding fathers. In fact, many of those exact same beliefs were those President George Washington.
 
So who hates him? First, the bankers hate him. Why? Well, because they make money through interest. So it behooves them to make the government bigger and more dependent on loans to maintain its astronomical size. Thus, minimizing America’s spending would be detrimental to their wallets. And who do you think runs the Federal Reserve. No, not our government but private bankers. And since the Feds basically run our monetary system at will, they would lose this control along with the enormous financial perks that are accompanied by it. Now, I’ll give you a hint of where these banker’s money goes. If you guessed progressive political candidates or the media, you would be right.
 
Also a big loser if Ron Paul got into office would be our vast military industrial complex. If we were not waging war across the globe, they would not be making money. Thus, it also behooves them to stand against such candidates as Ron Paul. And you can guess where their money goes. If you guessed peace activist, you would be wrong.
 
Now, with both the bankers and our vast military industrial complexes with the most to lose from a Ron Paul presidency, who do you think is driving the bad press about him? And this is just scratching the surface. Plus, despite D.C.’s financial and moral decay, they want the status quo . A Ron Paul presidency would jeopardize this. Thus, the establishment of both parties see him as a threat.
 
So who supports Ron Paul. Honestly, the people support him. The grass roots are his backers. Why do you think the DC establishment fear him? Why do you think his supporters were targeted by the IRS. Not only does he have the people on his side but he is also the biggest threat the DC establishment has to fear. Go Ron Paul!

Categories
Uncategorized

Unemployment Numbers a Hoax

Did you ever wonder why it seems as if less and less people are working or are underemployed while the unemployment number continues to drop? It almost doesn’t seem to make sense. With the rise in food stamp usage, decrease in average household income, and increased usage of government services, the numbers don’t add up
I’ve recently read an article which nicely explains this discrepancy. David John Marotta from Forbes states that the actual unemployment rate of those not working is at 37.2 percent, not the 6.7 percent advertised by the Fed, and the Misery Index at over 14, not the 8 claimed by the government. He also stated the government isn’t being honest in how it calculates those out of the workforce or inflation, the two numbers used to get the Misery Index figure.
He said, “The unemployment rate only describes people who are currently working or looking for work. Unemployment in its truest definition, meaning the portion of people who do not have any job, is 37.2 percent. This number obviously includes some people who are not or never plan to seek employment. But it does describe how many people are not able to, do not want to or cannot find a way to work. Policies that remove the barriers to employment, thus decreasing this number, are obviously beneficial.”
He went on to state, “Officially-reported unemployment numbers decrease when enough time passes to discourage the unemployed from looking for work. A decrease is not necessarily beneficial; an increase is clearly detrimental.”
Then there is the Misery Index, which is a calculation based in inflation and unemployment, both numbers the duo say are underscored by the government. He said that the Index doesn’t properly calculate how Uncle Sam is propping up the economy with bond purchases and other actions.
Also, he shows how the Misery Index numbers have been skewed by the government. “These tricks, along with a host of other dubious accounting schemes, underreport inflation by about 3 percent,” they wrote, adding that the official inflation rate is just 1.24 percent. Today, the Misery Index would be 7.54 using official numbers,” they wrote. But if calculations tabulating the full national unemployment including discouraged workers, which is 10.2 percent, and the historical method of calculating inflation, which is now 4.5 percent, ‘the current misery index is closer to 14.7, worse even than during the Ford administration.”
        One last interesting observation I made: When the unemployment rate was higher, I had trouble finding the web page that would accurately provide me with the number. However, when I checked today, it was both easy to find and full of great stories about our current administration. Knowing the pitiful poverty numbers, I then went on to search for the Human Poverty Index in the United States. Not only could I not find it on Google, but the first hit I encountered was this endorsement for Obamacare? http://obamacarefacts.com/federal-poverty-level.php. Then when I found some numbers, they were outdated by 2 years?
Can anyone say collusion? However, it does scare me how I could not find this information. Go ahead any try to find it, you’ll hit the same brick walls I came across.