In

Let’s Hear It for Scandal!

Gene Healy writes:

 

At a minimum, scandals serve as a useful reminder that we’re usually led by people of questionable competence, miserable judgment and a flexible relationship with the truth. At their best, they can even provoke much-needed reforms.

As disgraced former CIA head Gen. David Petraeus snuck over to the Hill Friday to testify about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, it wasn’t clear whether this would end up being the latter sort of scandal.

With all the focus on “who altered the CIA talking points?” and “what did [U.N. Ambassador] Susan Rice know and when did she know it?” — the Republicans seem to be missing more fundamental questions. For starters, how about, “what are we doing in Libya in the first place?”

Click here to read the article

“Getting Down to Facts,” I actually read about a thousand pages of the reports. And as I wrote back in 2007, buried in all the multiple studies, here is the lead: A review of all California school districts shows “essentially no relationship between spending and student outcomes” and that spending more is futile until “extensive and systemic reforms” are in place. In other words, the problem is much more about the stupid way money is spent than the lack of money.

Read more: Stanford studies showing no correlation between spending, school quality hijacked again | Calwhine.com

What this country needs is a good theory of law. We even lack the language to talk about what is happening to us. One party denounces the other but only in ways that exempt itself from criticism. As a result, the “man on the street” is not even prepared to talk about fundamental questions.

Example: Where did law come from, and what should it do? Sure, people get annoyed at the police, irritated by the TSA or startled to read about periodic injustices of public policy. One party gets annoyed when the other party’s president enacts laws without regard to any constitutional conventions.

Read more: What Is or Should Be the Law?

The Best Cities For Jobs – Forbes

“What’s the training going to entail? According to a web site set up by MoveOn.org:
Inspired by Occupy Wall Street and the fight for workers in Madison, Wisconsin, the 99% will rise up this spring. In the span of just one week, from April 9-15, 100,000 people will be trained to tell the story of what happened to our economy, learn the history of non-violent direct action, and use that knowledge to take action on our own campaigns to win change. “

Click to go to EconomicPolicyJournal.com: Soros Organization to Host Training for Occupy Movement

“99% Spring training”: support Moochers & Looters!

The Ground Rules, to make sure everyone follows the chain of command!

The The Looters and Moochers’ Front Groups funding your action, as an activist to serve their cause, not really yours, though you’re to think you’re fighting in your interest.

Click here to go to EconomicPolicyJournal.com: Soros Organization to Host Training for Occupy Movement

“It’s like the eight years of George W. Bush never happened.
Because DeMint believes that “unless freedom-loving Americans can unite within the Republican Party, the Democrats will win every election and continue to shamelessly lead our nation toward an economic collapse,” he calls on “every citizen who believes in freedom and opportunity” to “abandon the Democratic Party and help us restore a Republican Party that is principled, passionate, and worthy of the trust of freedom-loving Americans.”
DeMint mentions in his last chapter of Now or Never that “the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing expecting different results.” This he applies to the Democratic Party’s economic agenda. But this is exactly what conservatives keep doing: Voting Republican and then wishing, hoping, and praying that something better will come of it than the last time they did so.”

Click here to read the full review of Vote Republican by Laurence M. Vance

“It is a piece of legislation that was essentially supported by both political parties. Indeed the sponsors of the Bill are Carl Levin, a Democrat and John McCain, a Republican. There was no outcry within the systems of power itself, and that of course meant there was no outcry within the media, which allows those systems of power to set the parameters of debate.” Hedges added.

“I’ll sign this into law, but I promise I won’t use it. That’s how stupid your President thinks you are.”

There’s a video on this post I’m reposting here.

Click here to go to Dvorak.org, to read the full post and view the video.

TEXT

The Super Myth of Keynes as a Great Stock Market Investor
WSJ is running a story today perpetuating the super myth that John Maynard Keynes was a great investor. Writes WSJ:

A new analysis of the investment performance of John Maynard Keynes proves that the famous economist also was one of the greatest investors of the past century.

Total BS.

What’s remarkable is that WSJ provides the facts surrounding what really went down with Keynes. EconomicPolicyJournal.com: The Super Myth of Keynes as a Great Stock Market Investor

Excerpt: “But why the Pledge of Allegiance? Is this some sort of pox that Americans have caught? Is it that as their country goes downhill, they believe that this is some sort of ritual incantation that will resurrect its past life? Or, more likely, is this a way of “unifying” the people in the room, of sweeping them under one social umbrella so that they’ll be more receptive to the union messages? A blessing would do that. Is there something wrong with saying a blessing? Is blessing the United States of America supposed to be better? No, but it’s more politically effective.”
Click here to read full post, Pledge of Allegiance at a Union Dinner « LewRockwell.com Blog

“Paul is the strongest candidate with independents, tying Obama with them while the rest of the GOP field trails by 6-15 points.”

“…The new poll reveals that Paul is narrowing the gap between himself and Obama by 5 percentage points since last month’s PPP poll…”

“…Other notables are that among one of the fastest growing voter segments, the Hispanic vote, Paul takes a full third of the Hispanic vote against the sitting President, with no other candidate able to come within 5 points of Paul’s Hispanic support…”

Click here to read the full article, Ron Paul More Electable Than Mitt Romney in Latest Poll – MarketWatch

A test for state’s untouchable pensions
Stockton, on verge of bankruptcy, running up against the 800-pound gorilla known as CalPERS
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
NEW YORK TIMES
Published: Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 4:03 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 4:03 a.m.

When the city manager of troubled Stockton had to tell City Council members why it was on track to become the biggest U.S. city yet to go bankrupt, it took hours to get through the list.

There was the free health care for retirees, the unpaid parking tickets, the revenue bonds without enough revenue to pay them. On it went, a grim drumbeat of practically every fiscal malady imaginable, except an obvious one: municipal pensions.

Click here to read the full article of A test for state’s untouchable pensions | PressDemocrat.com

 I love that Pat Robertson has broken with the Politically Correct and spoke out against the war on drugs.  Here’s Dr. Oz, who another nationally famous, influential and highly respected Pastor has worked with, Dr Oz, on Medical Marijuana and common sense policy.  I hope Rich Warren follows Pat Robertson’s example and speaks with moral authority for the truth, marijuana and the absurdity of our current policy!

You can watch all four parts of this youtube video exhibit here. It starts with Dr Oz.. Medical Marijuana Part 1 – YouTube

Research suggests that the growing numbers of bilingual speakers may have an advantage that goes beyond communication: It turns out that being bilingual is also good for your brain.

Being Bilingual May Boost Your Brain Power : NPR

James Gierach of LEAP (law enforcement against prohibition) talks about the failed “War on Drugs Policy” endorses 420 University. Former State Prosecutor and current LEAP board member, Jim Gierach speaks for LEAP on 420 University about how the War on Drugs is both at the heart of a wide range of social problems, with special emphasis on how it fails our children.

If you want society to get better, if you want people to be safer, if you want to regulate drugs and end the violence, you have to listen to this retired judge’s paradigm shift and realization. Here is Jim Gierach speaking out on 420 University and LEAP

SACRAMENTO
March 14, 2012 1:37pm
• State among the worst for spending transparency

• ‘It’s disappointing and embarrassing’

Want to know how your state servants are spending your taxes? Good luck, if you want to know about California’s state government.

A new report says California ranks among the lowest when it comes to being transparent in spending.

“Transparency in government spending promotes fiscal responsibility, checks corruption, and bolsters public confidence,” says the report from the California Public Interest Research Group’s Education Fund.

California received a “D minus” when it comes to government spending transparency,…
Click here to go to the Central Valley Business Times to read the full article.

Jacob Sullum | March 14, 2012
A new Stratfor primer on the illicit methamphetamine market cites some numbers that illustrate the risk premium associated with prohibition, which delivers big profits to murderous thugs all over the world:

Depending on the price of chemicals used—determined by the quantity of chemicals purchased and the legitimacy of the supplier—the cost of manufacturing 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of meth comes to anywhere between $150 and $4,000….According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Illicit Drug Prices Mid-Year 2009 report, the wholesale market price for meth is $19,720 per kilogram while its street value is $87,717 per kilogram. Needless to say, this is a huge markup.

Stratfor on the Futility of the War on Meth – Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

Doherty coments on the different facets of this race, especially for the delegates, bound and unbound. The factions, groups and organizations that comprise the Ron Paul Revolution, is broad.
 Doherty provides keen analysis of the Tea Party, the grassroots, the campaign groups and begs the contemplation of the potentiality of this movement.

I loved this interview and am listened to it again, and I will do so again, after that:

Brian Doherty Senior Editor of Reason Magazine joins Daily Paul Radio with Kurt (LISTEN HERE) 

Doherty’s editorial at Reason 

Ron Paul Revolution: What Now? 
The Paul campaign definitely isn’t winning first ballot. But there’s still much to win. 
Brian Doherty | March 9, 2012 

After Super Tuesday, it’s officially official: Ron Paul won’t go into Tampa with enough delegates to win the presidential nomination. Still, because of the unbound nature of 197 extant delegates from caucus states, and his campaign’s diligent efforts to ensure that their people rise through the convoluted GOP state convention process, it’s likely that he has many more committed delegates in hand than the media counts. And as still-excited Paul partisans will tell you: Paul can’t go into Tampa with enough to win on first ballot. As The Daily Beast points out, it seems unlikely that Mitt Romney, clearly in the lead now, can do so either. (Click here to read the full article.)

 I thank everyone in my life because it can be harsh and challenging, and love, friendship, and integrity are edifying pillars.  

I am very excited about GadflyRadio.com That’s been my big project and focus in February.  It’s like what happens when your office or home gets flooded and then all of a sudden you have to deal with the damage and keep going.  

We have a nice home for the production of our show, in a nice studio with good audio, and we have a great website for GadflyRadio podcasts and posts about the upcoming guests, shows, and topics. 

There’s a lot going on and I hope to contribute to the conversations, in a way that advances the truth, liberty and stands in integrity. 

“Stockton … Hercules … Lincoln … Milpitas. The list of cities has grown to four in the span of one week. These are all cities in California recently threatened with budgetary insolvency — where expenses exceed revenues. All have started to explore filing bankruptcy or drastically reducing their budgets and effectively doing the same, as would happen in a bankruptcy court.”

Will Stockton Trigger Bankruptcy Run? | CalWatchDog

Mr. Marshall’s bill, HB 1160, has passed BOTH houses of the Virginia legislature, including a 39-to-1 vote in the Senate this past Tuesday. This bill prohibits the state of Virginia from assisting the federal government in the unlawful detention of United States citizens. Remember . . .

The Executive Branch gained this power of “kidnapping” as a result of a confusing provision in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That criminal statue contained tricky language that has fooled many reporters, citizens, and even members of Congress. The measure was deceitfully written to make people think it exempts U.S. citizens when it does NOT! This linguistic deceit was likely intentional. But it’s even more important to defend the principle that citizenship is morally irrelevant, because . . .

The rights that this criminal edict violates are Pre-Constitutional. These rights must be honored for ALL people, NOT just citizens.

Read more about VICTORY in Virginia!

A sci-fi-like skin gun that sprays stem cells onto burned skin is the latest treatment in helping burn victims, scientists say. Dr. Jorg Gerlach of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh developed the gun, which sprays a solution of cells and water onto the damaged skin…      Click here to read more.

Who Knew Cato had shareholders? and Ownership of Cato

TEXT

From Holman Jenkins in today’s WSJ “What’s Right With Gas Prices”:

“Ironically, the best therapy [for higher oil prices] is a higher oil price. It makes it profitable to bring into production more costly resources around the world. The rise in recent years to $100-plus a barrel is a godsend. Peak oil theorists are being refuted; so are greenies who imagined a towering oil price would usher in a carbon-free future. The opposite is seen to be true. Oil sands, shale hydrocarbons and even biofuels have been made profitable with existing technology, and of course technology can be counted on to advance. CARPE DIEM: Why $100+ Per Barrel Oil is a Godsend

Keep posted here, or sign up with your email address so you get the notice when we’re back, up and running!   Don’t miss a show!  Sign up today.   We’ll be back soon!

“Perhaps it is, as Jefferson so eloquently suggested to Yancey, “Quixotic enough to attempt to reason Bedlam to rights….” And yet, this levels an indictment at the Bedlam that has beset our ruling class rather than at the noble one who “dreams the impossible dream… willing to march into Hell for a Heavenly cause,” that magnificent heir to Jefferson, Ron Paul.”

The Empire Of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson, Ron Paul And The Sacred Fire Of Freedom – Forbes

Or you can click on the link below to listen live right from this page. 
To call Martha live, call  805 639 0008

February 7th, 2012  We premiere on 1400 AM KKZZ!  


Today live with Martha Montelongo, along with Ben Boychuk of CA City Journal and John Seiler of CalWatchDog.com, we welcome two special guests:   


Judge Jim Gray, who currently presides over the civil trial calendar for the Superior Court of Orange County, will speak with us about current policy, costs, benefits, ethics and possibilities. Do our drug laws make us safe, safer or are they harmful? What about marijuana and the law? 

Larry Sand of California Teacher’s Empowerment Network writes about public education. While the horrific story of Miramonte Elementary unfolds, the CA Teacher’s Union and the lawmakers who fear their wrath, and who make tragedies like Miramonte possible systemically, moves to further restrict the already scarce alternatives available to families like the families who are living a nightmare at Miramonte Elementary.  We’ll talk with Larry about his new piece published today at Union Watch–CTA Sponsored Legislation Could Cripple Charter School Growth.

We’ll take your calls, questions and comments on the air at 1-805 639 0008, on FB instant chat or Twitter. 


I am a stand for liberty, integrity, empowerment, and prosperity for all people; a stand for vibrant and innovative small businesses that create jobs, that in the process of prospering, nurture and support creative and dynamic culture, in the work place, and in our personal lives.

 

Thank you for supporting our program, by listening, sponsoring, and or sharing this post with others. 

It’s a pleasure to share this program with 
CalWatchDog’s team of government policy watch dogs and the great investigative work they produce! 



Write to us, and tell us what you think!   We want to hear from you.  

Tom Woods, sitting in for Peter Schiff on The Peter Schiff Show, interviews Andrew Bacevich here on My Interview with Andrew Bacevich, Conservative Opponent of Empire

Judge Gray on public policy, safety and well being–Do our policies on drugs make us safer or break down our safety? Larry Sand on the CTA’s move to restrict Charter Schools as a choice to parents, while they push for passage of a massive tax hike, all in the wake of what the current system bred and fostered at Miramonte Elementary.
Gadfly Radio with Martha Montelongo & CalWatchDog AM1400KKZZ Tuesday 1pm – 2pm PST

GovTrack: House Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

GovTrack: Senate Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

“But one night, I’m in bed and these guys in combat gear bust down the door and point rifles at me and my wife. It was a SWAT team of some sort. And then my son came home. They asked him what he was doing there. He told them he lived there. So they arrested him too…

“Of course, the door wasn’t even locked. They could have just turned the doorknob. But I guess that wouldn’t have been so exciting…

“They let me out of jail in a matter of hours…but only after signing a paper saying we wouldn’t sue the police for false arrest, etc. If I didn’t sign the paper they said the arrest would be on my son’s record for life…”

Zombiefied Drug Trade by Bill Bonner

Do you see how meddling busy body Govt knows no way to change your behavior or influence your behavior other than to tax you, or criminalize your behavior?

Maybe if we got literate informed critical thinkers for the billions of $ we spend on public Ed, more people would choose to monitor their own sugar intake, if they chose to.

Instead, all of our choices for sugar pleasures will be going up if these control freaks have their way.  And this will change our behavior how? 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Researchers seeing similar effects from too much sugar and too much alcohol
• Alcohol is simply the distillation of sugar, she says, and sugar should be taxed and regulated
• Schmidt: We may be thinking about obesity and chronic disease in the wrong way
• She says tackling obesity and chronic disease will be hard, but concerned people can do plenty

Opinion: Why we should regulate sugar like alcohol – CNN.com

Brian Doherty | February 1, 2012

The folks behind a proposed California ballot initiative called “Regulate Marijuana Like Wine” have issued the results of a poll they commissioned with some good news for those who want to see marijuana lose its criminality in the state:

A recent poll reveals that California voters, by a 62% to 35% margin, with 3% unsure, support a ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like wine.

The statewide poll, by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, Inc. surveyed 800 likely voters and found that 80% of the respondents agreed to the statement, “State and federal drug laws are outdated and have failed, therefore, we need to take a new approach that makes sense for today.”…

Click link below to read the whole article:
A New Pot Legalization Proposal in California Gets Good Poll Numbers – Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

We move from 8 pm PT to 1 pm PT and we will be able to listen live on the web via 1400 AM KKZZ or you may subscribe to our podcasts which you’ll be able to find at Http://GadflyRadio.com and via iTunes.

The subscription to listen via podcast feeds will be up and running next week,  by Tuesday or Wednesday.

We’re excited about the move and we are very grateful to our hosts at LATalkRadio.com for the time they’ve had us on their network, and we are most grateful to our followers and listeners.

Thank you!

We love being here with you.

By Joel Fox
Editor of Fox & Hounds and President of the Small Business Action Committee
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

A couple of months ago, at a discussion on the initiative process at a Zocalo Public Square meeting in Los Angeles, the panelists were asked what one thing they would change with the initiative process. As a panelist, my answer: Take away the power to write the initiative title and summary from the attorney general’s office.

Now come two newspaper columns that highlight the mislabeling of initiatives by the current Attorney General, Kamala Harris. John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle simply used the word “unfair” to describe some of the titles and summaries written by Harris. Columnist Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee argued that Harris’s titles and summaries “fixed the game” to sway political outcomes.

Click here to read the article.