A huge hat tip to Wally Conger who writes on his own blog "Out of Step",

Old friend and longtime comrade Jack Shimek writes, “I'm looking for an MLL pamphlet called: ‘Our Enemy, the Party’ — didn't you do an update of that pamphlet? I can't seem to find it anywhere.” Well, I did update a few of the late Samuel Edward Konkin III’s old Movement of the Libertarian Left pamphlets a few years back; you can find links to them along the right side of this blog and at Agorism.info. But alas, Sam’s classic handout “Our Enemy, The Party” wasn’t among them. What’s worse, a quick online search indicates that the text is nowhere to be found on the Internet. Since Election Day approaches rapidly, and there are still plenty of unimaginative “libertarians” out there who consider the vote sacred, I offer here the full text of MLL Issue Pamphlet #5, “Our Enemy, The Party,” written by SEK3 and published in 1980 (later reissued by Sam in 1987)

Click here to access the full pamphlet on Wally's site.

Yes, that's deficit, not debt.


A heckuva legacy for the Bush administration.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I know I am luckier than most people...if only because of how happy my marriage with Brad is. No one has a long term relationship based on luck; over time, you get what you deserve and, so, I know the rock-hard trust and the fact we're still each other's "best time" is 50% due to me. But it was largely luck that we met at all, and met at a moment when both of us were in the right "personal place" to look at each other and say "yes."

Marriage has taken quite a political bashing of late; the bitter criticism is justified when you review the record of marriage as a government-sanctioned and regulated industry. But when you view it as the most-personal-of-all-commitments two people can make to each other -- the vow to love and honor through the best and worst of times without condition or hesitation...then, I tell you, it is the single most rewarding experience a human being can have. I wish each and every one you the same wonderful luck I've had...the same chance to establish a long-term relationship with someone who makes your heart skip and your brain run the equation -- "Okay, so it can be a totally shit world but, you know, it also contains 'him'...so I'm way ahead of the game."

Happy Thanksgiving.

I heard about this last Friday:


First of all, "not buying equity" doesn't stop it from being a bailout. Paulson wanted to buy toxic debt without taking an equity stake; that was a bailout, plain and simple.

Their logic seems to be that (a) these are healthy assets and not toxic assets, thus it's not a bailout, and (b) these mortgages are insured by the government, so the government is already on the hook for their value, thus it's not a bailout. Since (b) seems to assume that the assets are toxic, I don't know how the politicians reconcile these simultaneous claims.

This is also perplexing because I haven't heard any stories in the news about Canadian banks being in trouble. Canadian banks are notoriously conservative -- 20 years ago, when you could buy a U.S. home for 10% down, you needed 25% down in Canada. We've had a much smaller housing bubble, and no mention of a domestic subprime crisis. Yet we get a bank bailout comparable in magnitude to the U.S. buying $210 billion of mortgage assets. (Canada has roughly one-tenth the population of the U.S.)

My guess is that the Canadian bankers were feeling left out, seeming to be the only bankers in the world not getting wads of cash from the government. And we have a Conservative government right now, so I imagine the bankers have Friends in High Places. And -- just a coincidence, I'm sure -- Canada has a national election tomorrow.

A game of very high-stakes poker is playing out with the future of America and its liberty. The Los Angeles Times already reported that Members of Congress were told America could face martial law if the $700B bailout bill was not passed. (For a YouTube of U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman of California confirming the threat of martial law, click here.) This means martial law is being used as a poker chip for political leverage. Those who threaten to stifle the last gasp of American liberty could be bluffing; they could throw in their hand and walk away if their bluff is called.

But I don't think so.

Bush has already de facto struck down the Posse Comitatus Act and, so, made it legal for the US military to be used against US citizens in police actions. Indeed, since October 1st, the First Brigade of the Third Infantry Division -- three to four thousand soldiers -- have awaited federal instructions as to where and how to assume that function should civil unrest erupt. The May 2007 National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (NSPD 51) gave Bush the power to declare such an emergency -- almost at his own discretion -- and, then take total control of the country, bypassing all other levels of government at the state, federal, local, territorial and tribal levels. In short, it is the power to declare dictatorship.

Now Naomi Wolf provides a fascinating account of an interview she conducted with "Vietnam veteran, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and patriot David Antoon."



In the case the final comment is too cryptic, the referenced "coup" is Bush's unilateral ability to assume a de facto dictatorship of the United States. Let's hope he -- or, rather, the behind-the-scene powers of the Bush administration -- are bluffing.

Shortly after doing a parody C-Span conference lampooning George Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and miscellaneous others on the bailout plan, NBC pulled the skit from their web site. The Mashable blog speculates as to why.

Of course, the Internet being the Internet, the skit keeps popping up in new places. Here's another copy, in case you missed it the first time. Thanks to CB750 on the forum.

(Update: another take here, thanks to Ragnar on the same forum thread.)

You know that G7 honchos are in over their heads when they resort to careless metaphors* to explain their intended actions:


"Unfreeze" the (not frozen) markets? Do you do that with a blowtorch? Or with a heating pad? What kind of action does this prescribe?

Freely translated, the G7 "communiqué" says "we're going to do something effective to make things better." In ordinary times I relax when I read such vague fluff....in contrast with, say, a laundry list of specific government interventions. But these aren't ordinary times, and ill-defined notions get translated into sweeping powers with frightening speed.

* On the bright side, no laxatives were mentioned.

As long as I am mesmerized by and unable to work because of the economic meltdown, I may as well indulge in the guilty, guilty intellectual pleasure of spinning a 'conspiracy theory.' Note: The following is an unlikely scenario but one that keeps popping up as I browse: namely, that the US Presidential elections will be cancelled or postponed due to "a state of emergency."

BTW, Intrade, self-described as "the World's Leading Prediction Market,"
has opened a market on the 2008 US Presidential Election being postponed and estimates there is [currently] a 5.5% chance; the betting and prediction site Hubdub puts the likelihood at 12%. I think 5.5% is a fair estimate and I only place it that high largely because there was active discussion of postponing the Presidential election in 2004 -- thus, precedent. The Washington Post (July 12, 2004) reported,



TruthOut (July 11, 2004) added,In his letter, Soaries wrote that while New York's Board of Elections suspended primary elections in New York on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, "the federal government has no agency that has the statutory authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election." (Note and see PrisonPlanet quote below: Bush subsequently received that power.]

And, so, I offer the following mini-drama for its entertainment value -- a fictional mix of SF and horror -- although all the links and quotes are real.

Flashback to last February: American icon Willie Nelson loudly stated his belief that the Bush administration would do anything to stay in power, including cancelling the election due to a crisis. Prison Planet comments on Nelson's semi-prediction



Note: according to the May 2007 National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (NSPD 51), a "catastrophic emergency" is virtually undefined and left to the president's discretion. It could a terrorist attack, a natural disaster or an economic meltdown. And the President could declare a “national emergency” without Congressional approval. According to the terms of NSPD 51, the emergency could be followed by the suspension of constitutional government and the instatement of martial law under the authority of the president and the vice-president.

I could add that, as of October 1st, another "unprecedented dictatorial power" has been added to Bush's arsenal. As I posted to this blog on October 1st:



In short, if a state of emergency is declared and widespread civil unrest occurs because the election is cancelled, the feds now have the military ability to impose martial law and restore 'the peace.'

As I said, I think the foregoing is SF. Some voices on the left have been discussing the possibility for over a year now. For example, on the Common Dreams site, Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis stated in the article "Will Bush Cancel The 2008 Election?" (July 31, 2007), [W]e must also assume that if it appears to Team Bush/Cheney/Rove that the GOP will lose the 2008 election anyway (as it lost in Ohio 2006) we cannot ignore the possibility that they would simply cancel the election. Those who think this crew will quietly walk away from power are simply not paying attention.

And lest Wasserman and Fitrakis seem to be "paranoid lefties", former US Ambassador Dan Simpson wrote in the Toledo Blade (July 18, 2007), There is also the late-at-night, eerie concern that Mr. Bush has in his head some sort of scenario where, for reasons of national security - real or drummed up - the 2008 elections will have to be postponed and he will get to stay on

It seems far more likely to me that the Republicans will rig the vote as I believe they did in 2000 and 2004. For one thing, even Bush's own party doesn't want his ass in the White House for a minute longer than necessary.

Nevertheless, the foregoing mini-drama shows how easy it is to construct a plausible conspiracy theory.

A reader and correspondent writes to me in his typically interesting fashion:

Iceland melted yesterday, but it had nothing to do with global warming. And the ignorance displayed by some alleged financial professionals, including some who have rightly been skeptical of bubble economies, is truly frightening. The person who writes the Calculated Risk blog concluded an article written October 8 with the line "The financial crisis is worse today than in 1990, and there are many problems ahead (like less consumer spending and business investment), but I believe progress is being made." The problem is that his article cited exactly zero evidence to support that conclusion. How many more of these supposed pros are now just sticking their index fingers in their ears and chanting "lalalalalalala..." to drown out reality? Funny (not ha! ha!), less than two weeks ago I saw an opinion expressed by a financial analyst who described himself as a pessimist, projecting that the Dow could fall as low as 8,400 before recovery set in. It now looks like we may sail right past that number (in the Black Pearl into Davy Jones' Locker sense of "sailing"). Today should be an interesting day on the NYSE. If the bargain hunters and bottom fishers do not come out to play with the DIA at 8579, they are in deep seclusion, and the bottom may truly fall out over the week-end.

Actually, the main reason I write this morning is to send you links to two articles that are on the subject of surveillance, not economics. These have been fairly widely reported (by today's pathetic MSM standards, at least) but in case you weren't yet aware of them:

Panel to Study Military Eavesdropping - Washington Post, 2008-10-09
and,
Activists Mislisted as Terrorists Are Blocked From Keeping Copies of Intelligence Files - Washington Post, 2008-10-09

Quoted in full from Yahoo Daily News:




The U.S. national debt is shown at $9.5 trillion on Sept. 23.

I haven't read the McCain homeowner bailout plan. But if Brad DeLong (h/t Paul Krugman) is correct, the McCain plan is a blatant giveaway to bankers. Thus:


Right now, bankers stand to lose money because they lent out too much money on properties which have now dropped in value. The homeowners can refinance at a lower rate or a lower principal (bank takes a loss), or can enter foreclosure (bank takes a loss). Our Hero McCain wants the government to buy those mortgages for face value (bank takes no loss) and then refinance them for a lower amount (taxpayers take a loss). Bottom line, he wants to shift the costs of the banks' irresponsible behavior onto the taxpayers.

Once a banker's friend, always a banker's friend, I guess.

I've hit on the voter fraud tactics used by Republicans so it is only fair to spotlight the Democrats' sleight-of-hand in this area and to ramble a bit about how very low the Democrats can sink. (BTW I stand by my belief that the Republicans are running the dirtiest and most extensive election rigging by far...but I don't want to appear to be giving the Dems a 'pass'.) Sky News reports,



Although ACORN has offices in 41 states and DC, it is no coincidence that the raid happened in Nevada, which is a hotly contested state. ACORN is officially neutral but it is well known to lean left and focuses on registering minority or low-income voters who are much more likely to vote Democrat than Republican. Sky reports, Last year five Acorn employees were sent to prison in Washington State after they went into the Seattle public library and used records to create 1,800 fake registration documents. Similar concerns about ACORN has been raised in various states, including Missouri.

Meanwhile, last night on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 show, former-Clinton shill James Carville seemed to indicate that there would be riots if Obama is not elected President.

[ Read the rest ... ]

[Allow me to apologize in advance.]

Bad news from Asia this afternoon as Japanese banks are the latest to be hit...

Origami Bank has folded .
Sumo Bank has gone belly-up .
Karaoke Bank has gone for a song.
The Bonsai Bank is cutting back its branches .
Shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived.
Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks .
Ninja Bank took a hit but they remain in the black.
500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop .
Analysts report something fishy at Sushi Bank where staff may get a raw deal.

Yeah, yeah...I'm pounding the frugality drum again. It is not because I want to proselytize (I don't enjoy it) but because I want people to come through the coming depression with a minimum of damage to their prosperity and psyche. As usual I'll start out with a bit of frugal philosophy (that I hope doesn't sound too sappy) and, then, give a few practical tips.

Philosophy: Frugality is an appreciation of the worth of things rather than the pricetag attached to them. It is a way to measure the value of material goods against the value of your own time and the quality of your life. Is a diamond ring worth the solid month of your labor -- an irreplaceable month of your life -- that it may represent? If the answer is "yes", then ask yourself why. Perhaps it is a wedding ring that symbolizes the most important person in your life and, so, the sight of it brings you constant joy or reassurance. Such a ring might be worth a solid month of both your lives. But perhaps you wear to flash out the fact that you are a "success" or to make friends jealous. Believe me, if you need to flash your success, then you don't really have it. And jealousy is not something to cultivate in friends.

Frugality means putting "things" in context. Just about everyone wants a new sports car. Ask them. "here are the keys to a new Porsche, (Jaguar, whatever)...do you want it?" In a cost free world, we would all want everything. But the context is that nothing is free. Only one of the costs is the money or freedom (if it is a gift) that you are willing to give up for the car. Other costs include the expense of upkeep, the car's lower reliability, the extra insurance, the stress of assuming another monthly payment, the need to maintain a second 'family' or haulting vehicle, the opportunity cost of driving something else, the greater risk of theft, the higher consumption of gas... When placed in context, the new sports car seems like a wretched deal, especially since the pleasure of driving it is likely to wane within a few weeks while the costs would remain intact. BUT if the sports car is truly worth it to you -- and I know at least one person who appreciates the genius and engineering of cars THAT much -- then the frugal move would be to buy it.

In short, frugality requires you to reverse the way you think about material goods. Typically, people run with "I want, I want, I want..." when they look at all the wonderful things in the world. A frugal person looks at the costs, including the hidden ones -- the intangibles like opportunity costs -- and runs with his or her judgment of whether the thing is a good trade-off. (It is an Irony, perhaps, that frugal sorts tend to end up being financially richer than those who are more materialistic; they tend to be "the millionaire next door" who still wears faded blue jeans.)

Practical tips: As I said, I believe we are going into a depression and nothing government does can prevent the economic devastation. Government can only deepen and prolong the situation. You have to take care of yourself.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Mike Thompson: Taxpayer Bailout
Tom Toles: Let's Hope It's Confined
Marshall Ramsey: You Can Always Tell a Wall Street Executive
Gary Varvel: This Is For Your Own Good