Obama's Stimulus Plan Dangereous for Elderly

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey

Commentary by Betsy McCaughey

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

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UK NEWSPAPER GIVES GRIM DOOMSDAY WARNING

I can't even begin to explain the implications or ramifications behind this. Check out the three piece series entitled "Black Jack", for yourself. Read Article

THE FEDREAL RESERVE ISSUING IT'S OWN BONDS?

Here's an article from NYTIMES.com

Bonds a Bad Bet

The prospect of the Federal Reserve issuing its own bonds now that the United States Treasury has stopped borrowing on its behalf could paradoxically make the world a riskier place. It threatens to reduce the effectiveness of Fed policy moves or, worse, influence them.

The tactic is only at the trial-balloon phase, and Congress may well reject it as an end run around its right to determine government borrowing. But lawmakers have blessed questionable strategies before.

If the Fed did issue traded debt, the market prices would act as a barometer of how investors viewed its policies. Even if the debt were explicitly backed by the government, prices would probably still reflect market sentiment. After all, bank-issued bonds insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the quasi-guaranteed debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac trade with effective interest yields that exceed Treasury securities by notable, and in some cases volatile, margins.

It’s likely that rates on any Fed-issued bonds would diverge from Treasury bonds too, especially since the central bank lacks the power to raise tax revenue to pay interest. The market would probably look to the Fed’s own balance sheet, which has more than doubled in the last year, and weigh that against its ability to raise money by increasing reserves, when determining the risk of the bonds.

If the Fed pursues policies that could result in a loss — like its plan to lend to entities that buy packages of consumer loans — the risk premiums on its bonds should increase.

Such snap judgments on policy moves could undermine the Fed’s effectiveness. If the bond market gave a thumbs-down to even a sensible policy, it would throw doubt on the Fed’s willingness to follow through, especially because the higher risk premium would increase the Fed’s future borrowing costs. Since monetary policy has a large psychological element, that could be a big problem.

Of course, there are already indicators of market sentiment about Fed policy. And the devil of any Fed debt would be in its details. But with the Fed’s resources stretched and its mandate expanding, giving the markets another red flag to wave seems foolhardy.

WALL STREET JOURNAL ENDORSING NORTH AMERICAN UNION / AMERO?

TODD HARRISON

How realistic is a North American currency?

Commentary: Uniting U.S., Canada, Mexico money could result from crisis

By Todd Harrison

Last update: 6:12 a.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009

"World, hold on. Instead of messing with our future, open up inside." -- Bob Sinclair

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Thomas Jefferson once said: "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." As the global financial system pushes on a string, investors are desperately trying to hold tight.

The New World Order is upon us, full of hope, promise and a fair amount of fear. In our recent discussion regarding the direction of our country, we noted the risks of catering to conventional wisdom and the implications for the U.S. dollar. See MarketWatch column on New World Order.

The Minyanville mantra is to provide financial news you need to know before you know you need it. That's a fine line to walk, as foresight often flies in the face of mainstream acceptance.

In 2006, it seemed counterintuitive to forecast a "prolonged socioeconomic malaise entirely more depressing than a recession." See Minyanville column.

For years, the notion of an "invisible hand" was conspiracy theory until we learned that the Working Group on Financial Markets was a central policy tool. See Minyanville column.

And now, as we gaze across our historically significant horizon, we must open our minds to thoughts and ideas that may seem foreign to folks conditioned by the past and stunned by the present.

Currency crossroads

As governments take on more risk -- as they price assets on behalf of the market and transfer debt from private to public -- the common denominator, or release valve, becomes the currency.

If our economic condition is allowed to take medicine in the form of debt destruction, the greenback will appreciate, and asset classes as a whole will deflate. If we continue to inject drugs that mask symptoms rather than address the disease, the likelihood of a seismic readjustment increases in kind.

The deflationary forces in the marketplace are pervasive, and the "other side" of our current equation, hyperinflation, may be years away. Given the magnitude, breadth and pace of the global financial epidemic, however, we must explore each side of the twisted ride.

Years ago, the Federal Reserve wrote a "solution paper" regarding the need to combat zero-bound interest rates. The concern was the flight of capital from the U.S. and an option discussed was a two-tiered currency, one for U.S citizens and one for foreigners.

Canadian economist Herbert Grubel first introduced a potential manifestation of this concept in 1999. The North American Currency -- called the "Amero" in select circles -- would effectively comingle the Canadian dollar, U.S. dollar and Mexican peso.

On its face, while difficult to imagine, it makes intuitive sense. The ability to combine Canadian natural resources, American ingenuity and cheap Mexican labor would allow North America to compete better on a global stage.

Experience has taught us, however, that perceived solutions introduced by policy makers and politicians don't always have the desired effect.

Unintended consequences I've long contended that, much like the Internet prophecy proved true -- but not before the tech crash -- so too would globalization, albeit not without painful-yet-necessary debt destruction.

To get through this, we need to go through this. If we're not allowed to go through it, foreigners will seek alternative avenues. Remember, for holders of dollar-denominated assets, seeds of discontent have been sowing under the surface for years, with the greenback off 30% since 2002.

More likely than not, global leaders will watch how our new administration attempts to tackle the financial crisis before taking drastic steps. They understand that co-dependent risk exists as a function of the derivatives that interweave our financial infrastructure. If they could disassociate from our economic ecosystem without inflicting massive damage on themselves, they would have done so long ago.

If forward policy attempts to induce more debt rather than allowing savings and obligations to align, we must respect the potential for a system shock. We may need to let a two-tier currency gain traction if the dollar meaningfully debases from current levels.

If this dynamic plays out -- and I've got no insight that it will -- the global balance of powers would fragment into four primary regions: North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In such a scenario, ramifications would manifest through social unrest and geopolitical conflict.

This particular path isn't something one would wish for, but the cumulative imbalances that steadily built in our finance-based economy must be resolved one way or another. Therein lies the critical crossroads we together face as our wary world attempts to find its way.

Scary? Yes. Probable? Not so much, at least for the time being. Possible? Certainly, although I'll again offer that it could take years before the pieces of this prickly puzzle fall into place.

Effective money management dictates weighing the entire probability spectrum of potential outcomes and factoring them into our decision making process. While the notion of a seismic currency shift may seem obscure, we must respect the possibility long before it becomes front-page news.

For if we've learned anything through the last few years, proactive thought provocation is a necessary precursor to effective preparedness.

Man recounts strip search after filing suit against police

Father of two 'felt like I was raped that day' by city officer

By Tricia Bishop | tricia.bishop@baltsun.com

3:15 PM EST, February 4, 2009

In an interview this morning, Daryl A. Martin recounted the details of the April afternoon in 2006 when, he says, a Baltimore police officer stripped him of his dignity on a city street, performing a baseless cavity search on the football coach and father of two before two dozen onlookers.

"I felt like I was raped that day, like my manhood was gone," Martin said quietly, pausing to collect himself. "I didn't deserve this at all. I don't think anyone deserves what I went through ... I thought they were going to kill me."

Martin, who has never been charged with a crime according to the Maryland court system, yesterday filed a $210 million civil lawsuit against several officers and the Baltimore City Police Department, alleging a pattern of civil rights violations, including falsifying charging documents, racial profiling and illegal searches and seizures.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment on the lawsuit or the allegations until a legal team has had sufficient time to review the court documents.

According to Martin, he was on his way to have a suit made April 26, 2006, when he says several officers pulled his car over for no clear reason and searched his vehicle. One officer, Shakil Moss, frisked Martin through his pants, grabbing his genitals and running his hands along his buttocks, making lewd comments.

"It was horrifying," Martin said.

Moss then stripped Martin below the waist, donning a clear plastic glove and searching Martin's rectum in front of a growing crowd of gawkers. The officers, part of the elite Special Enforcement Team, which has since been disbanded among allegations of professional misconduct, then sped away, chasing after a car playing loud music. Another lawsuit alleging similar infractions by the SET unit was filed last year.

"I think this group of officers randomly pulled over and searched dozens of people a day. If they found something, they altered the statement of charges to make [the search appear] constitutional. If they found nothing, they would send you on your way," said Martin's attorney, Steven D. Silverman.

Martin's experience changed him forever, longtime friend Ryan Byers said.

"He's not the same happy-go-lucky guy he always was," Byers said. "Now he's a little more defensive of everything. He questions how it happened. You ask questions about yourself, even though you've done nothing wrong. He'll never forget it, but he has to learn to deal with it."

How Did We Get Here? A 2010 Police State

In an attempt not to sound like Chicken Little, running around shouting "the sky is falling", I'm setting out a time line of the last three years (with links) showing America's road to a Police State.

- Feb. 3, 2006: Halliburton Subsidiary (KBR) Gets No Bid $385 Million Contract to Build Detention Centers. The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention centers to Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary that has been criticized for overcharging the Pentagon for its work in Iraq.

KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space, company executives said. KBR, which announced the contract last month, had a similar contract with immigration agencies from 2000 to last year.

- June 16, 2006: Supreme Court Backs No-Knock Police Searches. The Supreme Court ruled that police armed with a warrant can enter homes and seize evidence even if they don't knock, a huge victory for the government and law enforcement agencies.

-Oct. 17, 2006: H.R. 5122 John Warner National Defense Authorization Act. President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.

-May 9, 2007: Bush Changes Continuity Plan. Administration, Not DHS, Would Run Shadow Government. NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51 & HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20 These two orders established that the White House administration would take over all local governments under a national state of emergency, instead of Homeland Security.

-Aug. 5, 2007: Protect America Act of 2007. The Protect America Act of 2007 (PAA) is a controversial amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that was signed into law on August 5, 2007. It removed the warrant requirement for government surveillance of foreign intelligence targets "reasonably believed" to be outside of the United States. Many critics have asserted that the Administration's warrant-free surveillance program is a violation of the Fourth Amendment against warrantless search, and, a criminal violation of FISA.

-Feb. 14, 2008: U.S. Northern Command, Canada Command establish new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan. For the first time in its history the United States has granted rights to a Foreign Army to have ‘full power’ over the life and death of American Citizens in their own country. It is interesting to note, too, that the Canadian peoples, like their American neighbors to the south, were not told of these plans for their Military Forces.

-Aug. 28, 2008: President Bush Extends National Emergency Declared After 9/11. In his last full year in office, President Bush announces that he is again renewing the national emergency he proclaimed in response to the 9/11 attacks. Bush issues a notice that states: “Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2008. Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, with respect to the terrorist threat.” The national emergency has been renewed on a yearly basis since 2001.

-Sept. 30, 2008: U.S. Northern Command gains dedicated response force. Northcom has nnounced that two more U.S. military units will be assigned for domestic homeland security missions, bringing the total number of combat ready service members operating inside the U.S. to around 4,700, as fears grow about the increasing militarization of law enforcement.

- Dec. 1, 2008: Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security. The U.S. Military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials. There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

- Jan. 22, 2009: National Emergency Centers Establishment Act. A new bill introduced in Congress authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to set up a network of FEMA camp facilities to be used to house U.S. citizens in the event of a national emergency.

Now, take into consideration according to the Bureau of Labor Statics there where 2,275 mass layoffs in December involving 226,117 workers. The current national unemployment rate is 7.2% (BLS), and states like California are suspending tax refunds, welfare checks, and student grants because their running out of money. Other states such as Michigan (which has the highest unemployment rate in the country, 10.6%) are simply overwhelmed with the volume of people seeking benefits. Ohio, New York, and North Carolina have all had thier unemployment websites crash due to the level of job seekers looking for benefits.

Massive layoffs, rampant home foreclosures, lack of or access to unemployment benefits, coupled with rising food costs and it's only a matter of time before before people are hitting the streets protesting and rioting. Just look at what's happening in Iceland, France, and Russia and once the flood gates are open there's no turning back; Martial Law is eminent.

Canadian Troops To Patrol US Cities As Food Riots Feared

This is an article from www.fourwinds10.com With links to the official Northcom website.

Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the United States has, for the first time in its history, granted rights to a Foreign Army to have ‘full power’ over the life and death of American Citizens in their own country.

Though not being reported to the American people by their propaganda media organs, the United States Northern Command Military Leader, US Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, and his Canadian counterpart, Air Force Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais announced this new Military Pact this past week, and as we can read:

"U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, and Canadian Air Force Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command, have signed a Civil Assistance Plan that allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

“This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our respective national military plans to respond quickly to the other nation's requests for military support of civil authorities,” Renuart said. “Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives, prevent human suffering and mitigate damage to property, is of the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making in a collaborative environment.”

It is interesting to note, too, that the Canadian peoples, like their American neighbors to the south, were not told of these plans for their Military Forces, and as we can read as reported by Canada’s Canwest News Service, and who say:

"Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal. Neither the Canadian government nor the Canadian Forces announced the new agreement, which was signed Feb. 14 in Texas."

Russian Colonel Gen Vladimir Bulgakov, Commander of Russia’s Far East Military District, points out in these reports that it is ‘no wonder’ that neither the US or Canadian War Leaders want the masses of their citizens to know about these ‘unprecedented’ events as ‘soldiers by their inherent training are for use in war, not peace’.

These reports further note that though Canada currently possesses 125,000 active Military and 36,500 Reserve Troops, the majority of which have been ‘combat hardened’ in the US Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the only Canadian Troops available for any, so called, ‘civil emergency’ in the United States, are soldiers from its Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), and which Russian Military Commanders rate as being one of the top Special Forces Units among all of the World’s Army’s.

The more likely use of these Canadian Troops on American Soil, these reports go on to say, would be for the patrolling of US Cities during times of civil war, internal unrest, or, most fearfully, the assisting of US Police in the rounding up of masses of US Citizens for arrest and internment.

This assessment of the truest intentions of the United States War Leaders granting power over their own citizens to Canadian Special Forces Troops, appears to be supported by information coming from US Troops returning from Iraq, and as we can read as reported by the Prison Planet News Service in their report titled "U.S. Troops Asked If They Would Shoot American Citizens", and which says:

"U.S. troops are being trained to conduct round-ups, confiscate guns and shoot American citizens, including their own friends and family members, as part of a long-standing program to prepare for the declaration of martial law, according to a soldier who recently returned from Iraq.

We received an e mail from "Scott", a member of a pipefitters union that runs an apprenticeship program called Helmets To Hard Hats, which according to its website, "Is a national program that connects National Guard, Reserve and transitioning active-duty military members with quality career training and employment opportunities within the construction industry."

Scott writes that his company hired a soldier who had recently returned from Iraq, who told him that U.S. troops were being quizzed on whether or not they would be prepared to shoot their own friends and family members during a national state of emergency in America."

An estimated timeline in these reports states that the American people could begin seeing Canadian Soldiers in their cities as early as this summer, as many experts are predicting that the massive food shortages being reported all around the World will begin causing food riots in many American cities.

To how bad the Global Food Crisis is becoming we can read as reported by Australia’s Adelaide Now News Service, and which says:

"A WORSENING global food shortage is a problem far more urgent than climate change, top Australian scientists have warned. The Australian Science Media Centre briefing heard why prices for some staple foods had risen by as much as 60 per cent in the past year, and how dramatic price rises are expected to sweep across all staples in the near future."

There remains no evidence to suggest, either, that the American people themselves are aware of the brutal future being planned for them. Even more sadly, perhaps, is the evidence suggesting that they don’t even want to know.

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Congress Passes Legislation Authorizing FEMA Detention Camps in AMERICA!

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A new bill introduced in Congress authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to set up a network of FEMA camp facilities to be used to house U.S. citizens in the event of a national emergency.

The National Emergency Centers Act or HR645 mandates the establishment of “national emergency centers” to be located on military installations for the purpose of to providing “temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster,” according to the bill.

The legislation also states that the camps will be used to “provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations”.

Ominously, the bill also states that the camps can be used to “meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security,” an open ended mandate which many fear could mean the forced detention of American citizens in the event of widespread rioting after a national emergency or total economic collapse.

Many credible forecasters have predicted riots and rebellions in America that will dwarf those already witnessed in countries like Iceland and Greece

With active duty military personnel already being stationed inside the US under Northcom, partly for purposes of “crowd control,” fears that Americans could be incarcerated in detainment camps are all too real.

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National Emergency Centers Establishment Act HR 645 IH

California controller to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants

John Chiang announces that his office will suspend $3.7 billion in payments owed to Californians starting Feb. 1, because with no budget in place the state lacks sufficient cash to pay its bills.

By Evan Halper and Patrick McGreevy
January 17, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento -- The state will suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants and other payments owed to Californians starting Feb. 1, Controller John Chiang announced Friday.

Chiang said he had no choice but to stop making some $3.7 billion in payments in the absence of action by the governor and lawmakers to close the state's nearly $42-billion budget deficit. More than half of those payments are tax refunds.

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