Getting Judge Napolitano’s “Freedom Watch” on the air

Fox News is considering putting Judge Napolitano’s “Freedom Watch” on the air. Napolitano would be a great spokesman to expose more people to libertarian ideas. Here's a sample of his show.

Please write Fox News at yourcomments@foxnews.com to ask them to put the show on the air. This is a great opportunity to get libertarian, freedom-loving ideas into the main stream media. Most freedom loving people have no love for Fox News, but encouraging them to put this show on the air will only help our cause.

Here's the email I sent them:

I wish to request that Judge Napolitano’s “Freedom Watch” be aired on Fox News Channel. I've been watching the show on youtube for a while and I absolutely am addicted to it.

There is a huge untapped freedom-minded audience that the mainstream media does not really cater to. While this started as a few hundred thousand people on the fringe following Ron Paul, it is now growing into a major nation-wide movement. Recent events only assure that this will continue. It's also likely where the Republican party will turn to in order to find a new voice now that the neo-conservative, social conservative agenda is dead.

I would definitely get my friends and family to watch the show. It would also be a chance for Fox News to change its image as being a mouthpiece for the Republican Party. Please put it on the air.

Austrian Economics in Action: Ron Paul versus Barney Frank

Here's a recent interview with Ron Paul on Morning Joe. Joe reads a prophetic speech that Ron Paul made in 2003 explaining Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's roles in the housing bubble and predicting exactly what would happen.




Here's a speech from Barney Frank in 2005 (two years later) explaining how it was impossible for there to be a housing bubble.



For those of us who subscribe to the theories of Austrian Economics, it isn't surprising that Ron Paul could see in 2003 what Barney Frank still couldn't see in 2005.

By the way, guess which one of these politicians was one of the top recipients of campaign donations from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

John Stossel's "You Can't Even Talk About It"

I like Stossel.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Peter Schiff on the Housing Crisis

Peter Schiff wrote a great article explaining how we got into this economic mess and how all the policies the government is making are just going to make things worse. He really nails it here:

Although both lenders and borrowers were acting in their own perceived self-interest, what can we say of our economic policymakers who are expected to protect the good of all? Their actions encouraged the whole sad circus. Were it not for the excessively low interest rates provided by the Fed, the lax lending standards and moral hazards supplied by Congress courtesy of Freddie, Fannie, and the FHA, and the many real estate subsidies built into the tax code, none of these predatory loans would have been possible.

Had lenders exercised better judgment and had borrowers avoided overly burdensome debt loads, both parties would clearly be in better financial positions today. Instead, as borrowers were demanding the credit to fuel their dreams of instant real estate riches, lenders were being ordered to accommodate them.

In past generations, homebuyers were required to save for down payments and postpone their purchases until they could actually afford conventional 30-year fixed mortgages. But in recent years, as home ownership became a matter of public policy, the government accused lenders of discrimination and urged lower standards and easier terms. With government guarantees in place, the mortgage industry was happy to both expand their revenues and promote a better society.

But by denying credit, even if it requires borrowers to forgo something they clearly want, lenders not only provide a valuable service to borrowers, but to society. Given the mess in which we now find ourselves, due to the bad loans made during the real estate bubble, this lesson should have been well learned. Unfortunately it hasn't, as the same dynamic is now playing out on a much larger scale.

Faced with a prospect of downgrading its lifestyle, the U.S. government is instead borrowing trillions of dollars to artificially inflate our deflating bubble economy. The money is being used to both expand the size of government and finance additional consumer spending. Given our financial position, this is the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

GMAC - so sad

Nice post from Denninger. 

In short, GMAC (financing arm of GM) borrows money from the government at 8% and lends it to customers with below average credit ratings at 0% in to let them purchase cars that GM will lose money on. 

This is wealth destruction at its finest. Every time GM produces a car, thousands of dollars  in wealth are destroyed since the costs of building the car are thousands of dollars more than the price customers are willing to pay for the car. In a normal market, this would quickly drive a company out of business and shift production to more efficient companies that are meeting customer demands. Instead, the United States government levels the playing field by subsidizing the worst companies. After all, it's no fair that GM can't compete -- clearly, the remedy for this is to have the productive members of society (tax payers) subsidize GM inability to compete. It's as if the government were using Atlas Shrugged as its playbook.

Cops raid house growing Christman Trees

This is so freaking awesome.

KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.

The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster’s attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster’s secret mobile office nearby.

Vintage Keynesian propaganda

Oh my goodness. This is hillarious. I can't wait for Bernanke to appear in an updated video that explains how great inflation is. Of course, this is pure Keynesian nonsense. Got gold?

Not to be outdone, the government later came up with the Whip Inflation Now campaign three decades later. I guess the government decided inflation wasn't that great after all.