Religion – Free Markets
Pope attacks ‘tyranny’ of markets, urges renewal in key document
(Yahoo.com)   In it, economic inequality features as one of the issues Francis is most concerned about, and the 76-year-old pontiff calls for an overhaul of the financial system and warns that unequal distribution of wealth inevitably leads to violence. “As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems,” he wrote. Denying this was simple populism, he called for action “beyond a simple welfare mentality” and added: “I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor.”

Mama’s Note: Sadly, he doesn’t seem to have any understanding of the free market, thinking this current system of crony capitalism is the same.

Nathan: I suppose this is the result of living in Argentina for 75 years.  I wonder what Siroco and others will say about this?  I guess you can look at “absolute autonomy” in several ways, but when he mentions politicians only and NOT “businessmen who are genuinely disturbed” then it is easy to see where he falls: back into old-school Roman Catholicism and its alliance with the state.

Mama’s Note: Yeah… with all the information resources at his fingertips, the blinders are just too tight to consider anything but what has failed for so many centuries. A darn shame. I like him for other things, but he can do real damage with this nonsense. Sigh.

Nathan: ANY archbishop or cardinal or pope needs to be a student of history, and their study should point out the obvious: that government cannot be trusted to restrain the free market NOR itself in any meaningful way for any period of time.  Indeed, it is the government that makes it possible for business to run wild, just as it is government and “politicians genuinely disturbed” that go out and create problems that harm the poor, the destitute, the sick, and the faithful.

The “messiah” – Tyranny: Home Front
Obama on executive orders to bypass Congress: ‘There is no short-cut to democracy’
(Washington Post) SAN FRANCISCO President Obama pushed back Monday against supporters who want him to sign more executive orders to overcome opposition to his policies from Republicans in Congress. After a man repeatedly shouted “executive order” during Obama’s speech at a fundraiser here Monday afternoon, the president said there is “no short-cut to democracy” and that he could not sign executive orders to bypass Congress.

Nathan: Please, don’t believe that the “messiah” is trying to play the democrat in this: I’d suggest that the entire thing was staged to give him a chance to piously whinge about how he is limited in power.  The truth is, he has used executive orders to bypass or overturn Congressional action time and time again, and has threatened to do so.  HE IS A DICTATOR, HE IS A TYRANT.  Just because he “restrains” himself a little bit is no reason to believe he is anything but a tyrant and dictator.  He is NOT an “absolute ruler” – but even so-called absolute rulers (the Louises XIV to XVII come to mind) have limits – self-imposed and imposed by the politics and the people’s willingness to bow down and lick the tyrant’s toes.

Theft by government
Inequities in Texas Telecom Taxation
(National Center for Policy Analysis)  The 10 most populous Texas cities generated more than $300 million in fee and tax revenue from cable television and telephone services in 2011, say Pamela Villarreal, a senior fellow, and Kyle Buckley, a former research associate, with the National Center for Policy Analysis… See also.

In many states, telecom and wireless services are subject to “double taxation,” in which both an intermediary good and the services provided are taxed. Currently 20 states exempt on at least one or more services (telecom, voice or broadband), whereas 30 states tax all three. However, Texas consumers continue to face a heavy tax burden that varies widely from city to city

Nathan: $300 million is more than “inequity” – it is more than just theft and robbery, it is the sort of loot that only the biggest dreamers can imagine.  It is obviously an important stream of revenue, which lets these governments grow bloated and powerful, and at the same time denying many human rights to those not able to afford the services because of the greater costs: 10-25% on top of actual costs.

Government-run, Tax-funded Schools – Stupid people
CDC: More Than 20% of 14-Year-Old Boys Diagnosed With ADHD
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: One in FIVE young teenage boys are mentally ILL?  OR the idiots who came up with ADD and ADHD are the ones who are ill, and power-mad as well.  ADHD is the excuse for more and more regimentation, drugging, and control in the Middle and High Schools of America, and one excuse for demanding more billions.  Enough is enough: get your children out of the schools.

Home front: Stupid people – TSA Thuggery
TSA Spent $900 Million on Behavior Detection Officers Who Detected 0 Terrorists
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Ah, but they found a LOT of radical (radicalized?) Americans who despise and fear TSA agents, and an excuse (among others) for arming TSA agents.  Unlike the Dritte Reich’s GeStaPo, the modern FedGov security and secret police are fragmented, compartmentalized, and specialized, and have very thick soft gloves over their stainless-steel, blood-soaked gauntlets.

Economy – Theft by government
Price of Chicken Reaches All-Time High in U.S.
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Once more, we see the government stealing in various ways: taxation, inflation, over-regulation, and campaign spending.  The entire mess is on the government’s hands, and as a result, we are sliding back to Great Depression and pre-industrial economic conditions.  The kind of conditions where meat is a luxury, and most people were expected to live on beans and corn and wheat.  Yeah, I know, it is supposed to be more healthy, BUT that is (or should be) a personal choice.

Mama’s Note: Unfortunately, the predominantly corn and wheat diet is not “more healthy” by any means. Meat, and a goodly amount of it, is truly a healthy part of a good diet. But corn is not a good feed for meat animals, and that has been a big part of their diets for a long time now. Again, all this controversy revolves around politics, power and propaganda, not truth. If you want healthy food, grow your own, or find someone who does.