Free Republic

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents: Our favorite whipping boy Little Brother aka Nanny Bloomberg, formally known as Michael Bloomberg, is at it once again. Nanny Bloomberg wants to ban sugary drinks that are sold in containers larger than 16 ounces. As usual he knows better than you, and he wants you to retain your boyish or girlish figure. But don't be too upset, you can still get that 1,000 calorie milk shake from Mickey D's and as of yet refills don't seem to be on his radar. These out of control, wannabe dictators must stay up nights thinking up these looney ideas. There's...

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents: Episode 185 deals with the massive fraud in Dixon, Illinois. Since 1983, the comptroller, Rita Crumwell, had a nice little racket going on. She stole over $53 million dollars, $30 million alone in the past 6 years. It's truly amazing this could go on for so long in a town of just 15,000 people, with a budget of $8-20 million dollars. This story intrigued me because at some level this type of scam is happening in every governmental entity in the country. This is not to say that all government officials are looting between 10 and 25 percent...

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents: The former manager of Clark County Nevada has written a book Rethinking Public Sector Compensation, which chronicles the ills that thousands of municipalities across the country now find themselves in. Bankruptcy is the only option for a system that has become unsustainable and corrupt to the core. Clark County Firefighters are pulling down $175,000 per year in salary alone, not to mention their exorbitant pensions and free tax-payer-funded lifetime health insurance. No wonder everyone is going Galt. Who can afford this burden?Eventually the promises will be defaulted upon, the sooner the better. Kudos to Mr. Reilly for finally...

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents: Yesterday, on April 26, 2012, I was flying from New York to Florida. I always like to get a window seat so I can watch the “action.” It was a very uneventful flight, calm smooth skies; just the way you want a flight to be. Periodically, I looked out the window to see if I could recognize any landmarks and to watch the planes heading in the opposite direction. About 2 hours into the flight, near the Georgia-South Carolina border, I look out my window, and there’s a predator drone, presumably unarmed. At least I didn’t see any...

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents Teachers in Buffalo New York are up in arms. The State has mandated teachers receive evaluations in order for the schools to receive additional funding. The Teachers' Union has defied the State and refuses to allow evaluations. This all comes to you compliments of a debt based monetary system, which acts to perpetuate corrupt government schemes and ensures that union members get to line their pockets at retirement time, sometimes after just 25 years or less. New York will be completely insolvent in a very short time and will have to rely upon the Federal government to print...

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents The uber Nannies believe that your freedom is what makes the world such a messed up place. If only you could be controlled just a bit more, things would be so much better. Whether it's smoking in New York City, donating "unhealthy" food to the poor, closing nightclubs and dance halls in Weston Florida, banning lead in hunting ammo, or banning feeding and hunting of deer, freedom is lingering in the horizon. Please don't take anything for granted. Will Da Boyz be coming for your guns? Your gold? How about your IRA or 401k? Don't be surprised, these...

www.FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents The uber Nannies believe that your freedom is what makes the world such a messed up place. If only you could be controlled just a bit more, things would be so much better. Whether it's smoking in New York City, donating "unhealthy" food to the poor, closing nightclubs and dance halls in Weston Florida, banning lead in hunting ammo, or banning feeding and hunting of deer, freedom is lingering in the horizon. Please don't take anything for granted. Will Da Boyz be coming for your guns? Your gold? How about your IRA or 401k? Don't be surprised, these...

FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com presents: The extent of the governmental corruption in the United States today is beyond comprehension. With that corruption comes the continuing erosion of individual rights and the escalating movement towards totalitarianism. Here's another example of what we are facing as a nation. A bill, which was passed by overwhelmingly majority in the US Senate, provides for revocation of a citizen's passport in the event of the delinquency of $50,000 or more on federal income taxes. Fortunately, passage in the House is questionable for now, but your government is clearly capable of anything. We see the same types of outrageous...

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan released his budget last week. At first blush, it appeared to be a substantial move in the right direction. It cut spending while decreasing taxation. But the reality is that his budget completely misses the mark. It is still a redistributionist plan that forcibly takes money from the producers and almost as lavishly bestows it upon the beneficiaries. This budget takes less and consequently gives less. In the final analysis, the budget doesn't go nearly far enough to help restore confidence in the rapidly deteriorating status quo. A fiat currency that can be created by the...

Leave it to the fascist state to eliminate the little guy, when they perceive even the slightest threat. Phil Accordino thought he had the solution to exorbitant cigarette prices. Invent and market a machine that enables consumers to roll their own cigarettes, on the spot, thereby saving tons of taxes in the process. Seems Congress, as usual, screwed up when they last increased cigarette taxes. They left pipe tobacco alone and only applied the increase to cigarettes and cigars. Sensing an opportunity Accordino started marketing these machines to tobacco shops around the country. He cleaned up but will soon have...

A trip to Home Depot this weekend revealed the shocking news that while some incandescent (Edison) bulbs are still available, our choice of bulbs has come down to: awful compact fluorescent bulbs that are hazardous to the environment and cost more; halogen bulbs, which cost many times the price of a regular bulb; and, the new and improved $50 LED bulb. While the LED bulbs are cool, 50 bucks is an outrageous price to be on the bleeding edge of technology. And for what purpose, to cut power consumption to stop non-existent global warming? I hope you're as outraged as...

Rush Limbaugh's insults and poor language towards a progressive poster child is still resonating. However, there isn't really a political debate occurring. Rather, it is simply emotional outrage masked as political discourse. This is exactly what's been wrong with the political system for the last 80 plus years: issues are no longer properly analyzed. The Statists have done their best to obfuscate the real debate because they have made every issue a personal attack. The real debate is whether you should work for yourself or you should work for the State. Do your rights flow from nature? Or are your...

We start with a brief critique on the tempest in a teapot that was set off by Rush Limbaugh's derisive comments about a 30 year old student who testified before the US Senate, demanding that college insurance plans be forced to pay for contraceptives. While it was clear that her testimony was a set-up, to distract the American People from focusing on the collapsing economy, the creeping totalitarianism, and the total unfettered government corruption, it's even more clear that Rush took the bait. Becoming a veritable dump site for statist and collectivist attacks, Rush lost advertisers and was forced to...

My friend Greg got a new toy. An Escort Radar Detector that is iPhone/Web enabled. The concept is simple. Your radar detector syncs with your iPhone/Android cellphone. You then become part of a vast network of drivers who automatically report radar and laser speed traps and cops across the continent. If there's a cop up ahead who's turning his radar on and off, not allowing your detector to pick it up, no worries, the network will probably already have gotten it and will furnish you with fair warning. Another revenue raising parasitic governmental activity is red-light cameras. These devices insure...

We all know that every level of government is broke and that in a vicious effort at self-preservation, they will stop at nothing to keep the game going. New York State and New York City have been masters of this game for decades. Visit New York City, and you'll be hit with the full force of the law, regardless how trivial your offense. Yesterday, one of Mayor Michael "Nanny" Bloomberg's boys in blue hit me with a ticket for the egregious offense of holding a cellphone in my hand while driving. When the officer approached the car and asked what...

Jamie Oliver is a one man healthy food crusader, but he has met his match. He actually expected LA public school students to give up the flavor of a real beef cheeseburger for a wheat bread burger. After all, it's so much better for you. And like a liberal statist, he knows what's better for you and your kids than you do. However, when forced substitution of healthy foods was attempted, guess what happened? Kids voted with their knives and forks and dumped the healthy gruel into the garbage. Hopefully the same thing will happen with the forced consumption of...

Yesterday was a watershed event. The Fed capitulated and acknowledged that the economy will require zero percent interest rates into the indefinite future. Just six months ago they were saying the policy would only continue through to the end of 2012. What happened to change their view of the economy? Perhaps, for once, they decided that honesty is the policy. But, that would be too much to hope for. No, they are hell-bent on making things look as good as they possibly can for the upcoming election. They had to acknowledge the obvious: the economy is weak and looking even...

Less than a week ago, we questioned Ron Paul's real impact upon the issues being discussed in the never ending series of debates that have left every American shaking his/her head. If the candidates were celebrities, their PR staff would have warned them against getting over exposed to their market. And as politics is often referred to as, Hollywood for the Ugly, you really have to wonder. Now, there is clear evidence that Ron Paul has raised the bar. Candidate Newt Gingrich, who has more skeletons in his closet than a Roman Catacomb addressed a group several days ago imploring...

The former chief economist of Quantas Airlines believes the super-sized set is costing airlines way too much. He claims heavier passengers are costing an additional $472 per flight, in added fuel costs. His solution, charge passengers by the pound. If you're above average in weight, you pay a price for each additional pound. Not that he's going to give supermodels discounts even though they're "saving" the airlines a fortune. After all, that lower BMI is money in the bank for every greedy airline industry. The nickel and diming that the flying public is continually subjected to isn't addressed either. From...

We've all been plagued by the late night commercials where a New York Lawyer, in an ugly cowboy hat and ill fitting designer suit, harangues us to let him handle our case for Social Security Disability Benefits. His voice is winy and you'd probably just give him the case to shut him up. However, little do most of you know, he's cleaning up on the deal! The Binder & Binder firm grossed $88 million last year, and the Binders went home with one quarter of the gross, $22 million! This is so shocking, it almost restores our faith in free...