CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2011-11-11 20:33:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

2011-10-31 22:20:43 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

ok, so i've been conspicuously (or perhaps not to people that don't follow me too closely) absent recently. this is because real life has gotten rather busy.

i did make it a point to come back today though as it's the deadline for g+ to have gotten its act together on the nymwars. i see they have not. this is the primary reason i'm leaving g+; there are others, but this is the most important to me personally.

for those that still wish to follow me, i maintain a blog at http://porcupous.blogspot.com. i realize that blogspot is also owned by google, but they aren't as name nazi-esk over there. also, i realize i haven't posted anything recently, but i plan to when life slows down enough for me to put up the occasional entry.

i am also known as porcupous on friendika. friendika is an example of the future of social networks; the distributed variety.... more »

2011-10-05 23:41:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

it looks like they're not quite at 100% on this movie yet. i expect when it's released it'll be awesome though. who wouldn't want to watch a movie that's anti-fed, pro-sound money, and anti-government control?

when they control the money, they control everything

2011-10-04 22:16:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

holy shit, adam kokesh is awesome. he uses the non-aggression principle to demonstrate the logical fallacies in people's current perception of government.

2011-10-03 21:58:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The first round of "House Hangouts" with presidential candidate Gary Johnson were such a success that we've schedule 9 more until the end of the year.

The upcoming hangout dates are:
Oct 10, Oct 17, Oct 27
Nov 11, Nov 18, Nov 30
Dec 7, Dec 20, Dec 30

Sign up to become a host on the hangouts page.

2011-10-02 03:30:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Looks about right to me.

2011-10-01 00:05:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

@occupywallstreet photo
(CC BY David Shankbone)

2011-10-01 00:02:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Good interview and sometimes funny

2011-09-30 23:45:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2011-09-30 23:16:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Hahahahahahaha:)

2011-09-30 21:37:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

another article detailing the declining standard of living in the US. i think from now on, retirement will only be available to people that have had successful business careers. the 'i'm going to work all my life at an average job and retire off of mediocrity' plan is dead.

this sad state of affairs will continue, and become worse the more government attempts to leach off the economy. the chances of the US becoming a second class country grow larger by the day....

2011-09-30 21:25:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

i don't follow the happenings in the UK as closely as the US, but this seems to be pretty good article.

2011-09-30 21:21:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

hey guys, let's find a way to get banks and government into an even bigger incestuous relationship. i mean, just look at how well it worked in the US when government decided to 'save' banks. oh wait, those same banks are on the verge of failing again in spite of their continued bail-out via the mark-up the FED pays for treasuries.

when banks and government get together, everyone ends up screwed.

2011-09-29 19:25:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I'll be in Mountain View, CA tonight and participating a "Hangout" with supporters from around the country who organized house parties for tonight.

Check here to see if there is a hangout near you or to watch the live stream of the event.

http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/hangouts/

2011-09-29 18:08:55 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

why does the US have a central bank again? oh yeah, so they can print money at will and extract the inflation tax. when official tax rates just aren't enough, government turns to inflation.

2011-09-29 18:05:53 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Berlin savaged plans to boost the EU rescue fund as a "stupid idea" and told the White House to sort out its own mess before giving gratuitous advice to others.

hahaha.....

2011-09-29 17:59:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation...shows that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year.

so assuming 2 working adults per family, that's over $7,500 the employer could be paying his employees that are (in stead) getting sucked up in medical insurance. employing americans is becoming increasingly more expensive. these extra costs are what is keeping employee's salaries from rising, and even driving them down in many cases.

health insurance should not be tied to one's job. not only does this model drive up costs, it also saddles employers with higher operating costs. but then, employers are the great satan, right?

2011-09-29 17:43:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

here's an interesting development. i'm not sure how i feel about this to be completely honest.

2011-09-29 17:36:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Perhaps we should be looking to fix the law that allows arrests on "disorderly conduct" when such a law seems to be regularly abused by police to target those who are respecting the law, but doing things the police just don't like?

Seriously?

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110928/12470016125/does-nypd-really-think-that-shooting-photosvideos-protests-is-disorderly-conduct.shtml

2011-09-29 16:59:39 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

2011-09-29 16:46:14 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

I love this pic!

From the Ron Paul Forums

2011-09-29 16:42:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My interview with Comedy Central's blog Indecision Forever

2011-09-28 19:19:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

for all my liberty minded followers...this is fucking awesome!

2011-09-28 18:42:58 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

how sad is it when i type 'renouncing' into the google search bar, it auto-populates 'us citizenship' as the first choice. i think i'm not the only one to consider this.

2011-09-28 18:24:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

it seems residents of the US really do hate government. who knew?

2011-09-28 18:15:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

$200,000 per job; what a great deal. and this is the moron in charge of the US treasury.

2011-09-28 17:42:53 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

unemployment's only 9%...right....right.... wrong

2011-09-28 17:36:38 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

why is it every time i turn around these days companies are complaining about taxes and regulations? is it because the system is getting increasingly draconian? is it because these problems have always existed, but now they can get the word out easier? or maybe people are getting inspired by peter schiff's blasting of government in front of congress?

2011-09-28 14:03:56 (35 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

this is how elizabeth warren's (now viral) statement translates to me. the similarities between government and the mafia are striking. the only thing that makes the two different is government's aura of legitimacy, and how leaders are selected.

i'm sure i'm going to get a lot of flack for stating this, but it is what i believe to be true. i can hear the un-circling as i type....

2011-09-27 16:47:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

more competition for fiat currencies. i approve.

2011-09-27 16:45:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

having one of these close to me would certainly make my life easier. having to get my gold shipped from a broker introduces serious inefficiencies in my purchasing habits.

2011-09-27 16:41:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

so the IMF says it needs more funding. the problem is that it gets its funding from the same countries that are currently in financial trouble. the only thing granting the IMF more funding will do is bring everyone that give up this funding down with the ship.

the world is in serious financial trouble. the groups that typically bail countries out are now themselves in financial jeopardy. there is no one left to do the bailing.

stock up on your survival supplies; a financial tsunami is coming. if you think what we've just gone through is bad, prepare to be shocked when the next, bigger wave hits.

2011-09-26 18:51:22 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

so apparently, people can petition the government now. not that they'll actually do anything that's suggested, but at least now you can get some visibility on popular issues.

so who's going to put in the 'leave me the fuck alone' petition? and how long do you think it would stay up before someone noticed its presence and took it down?

2011-09-26 18:29:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

it looks like the focus is on europe right now. as soon as this blows over, i'm sure people will once again realize just how shitty an investment the US is. so enjoy a strong US dollar while it lasts; it won't be around long.

2011-09-26 18:06:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

a possible central government scheme to make more money: take it out on the states. by removing the tax free status of municipal bonds, they will force the muni issuers to attach higher interest rates. this will be especially problematic in states that are already having budget issues.

the relationship between the US central government and that states is already strained. a measure like this certainly won't help. could we see more talk of states leaving the US? time will tell.

2011-09-22 17:56:40 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

you know when this many people are willing to lose 1% in storage fees, there might be something seriously wrong with the assets people are fleeing from. in this case, those assets people are trying to unload are fiat currencies. i guess the world considers paper money to be losing more than 1% of its value in a year.

2011-09-22 17:47:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The US will still block it, further destroying its influence over middle east affairs.

2011-09-22 17:23:55 (26 comments, 3 reshares, 2 +1s)

Someone fixed it for her, lol! http://i.imgur.com/ZInte.png

2011-09-22 17:12:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

So two officers have been charged in this case:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kelly-thomas-20110922,0,6115519.story

to which some might say "Finally, some justice is being done."

I would say that the charges are a punishment designed to teach officers that if you want to kill someone, that's fine, but if you take over 9 minutes to do it with a crowd of people watching and recording, you make everyone involved look bad, and that is unacceptable. There's a right way to do these things.

"The investigation also included 151 witness interviews, seven surveillance videos and two videos recorded by witnesses on their cellphones."

This teaching moment will become part of the Policing 101 curriculum for future recruits. I don't believe the idea of justice was involved here at all. The defending attorney certainly... more »

2011-09-22 17:04:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

How New Orleans schools are exceeding expectations - Charter Schools rock

2011-09-22 16:50:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

http://www.cracked.com/article_17216_the-5-most-popular-safety-laws-that-dont-work.html

2011-09-22 16:46:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

So the management of a violent monopoly is grilling the management of Google, a company that enjoys a large share of the market because it provides services that people want. I can opt-out of using Google services but guess what will happen if I try that with the U.S. Government?

2011-09-21 21:54:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2011-09-21 21:45:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110917/01472315992/nycnbcuniversal-pro-copyright-propaganda-contest-school-kids-facts-not-allowed-your-rights-dont-count.shtml

2011-09-21 17:56:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

so i've had some conversations about taxation lately, and i found something interesting. most people focus on the central government's income in comparison to GDP. i've stated a few times that GDP is a misleading metric, and can be artificially inflated. now i've found something more interesting: government revenue per capita.

as we can see in this chart (http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=513), revenue per capita has been rising and is higher now than it has ever been before. is it attributable to inflation? maybe, i'd have to look up some numbers and do some math.

there's also this chart (http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/per_capita) that shows income taxes (what the previous chart showed) plus additional taxes in an attempt to come up with a total level of taxation per capita. it also has some interesting stats on just what... more »

2011-09-21 16:43:29 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

here's a fun little study to look at. some points worth highlighting:

In this year’s index, Hong Kong retains the highest rating for economic freedom, 9.01 out of 10. The other nations among the top 10 are: Singapore (8.68); New Zealand (8.20); Switzerland (8.03); Australia (7.98); Canada (7.81); Chile (7.77); United Kingdom (7.71); Mauritius (7.67); and the United States (7.60).

and a little later...

The world’s largest economy, the United States, has suffered one of the largest declines in economic freedom over the last 10 years, pushing it into tenth place. Much of this decline is a result of higher government spending and borrowing and lower scores for the legal structure and property rights components. Over the longer term, the summary chainlinked ratings of Venezuela, Zimbabwe, United States, and Malaysia fell by eight-tenths of a point or more between 1990 and200... more »

2011-09-21 16:28:26 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

more proof that china is the world's economic future. adjust your investments accordingly.

2011-09-21 16:25:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Holy God, this is scary. Hate the state!

2011-09-21 16:18:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

September 21, 2011

Late yesterday evening, Governor Johnson received official confirmation that he will be included in this Thursday’s Fox News GOP Presidential debate!

The debate will take place in Florida on Thursday, September 22, and will be broadcast live on Fox News at 9 PM EDT.

This is a huge victory for liberty over the establishment. Governor Johnson will share the stage with eight other candidates and you can bet that he will bring ideas and approaches to the challenges we face that would otherwise not be heard.

A balanced budget in 2013, an end to unnecessary foreign wars, and a gubernatorial track record that truly sets Gary Johnson apart.

How will those other Governors be able to compete?

I also wanted to mention that there has been a significant burst in activity during the last 12 hours as a result of Governor Johnson’sinc... more »

2011-09-21 15:06:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

good coverage of the protests in europe and the US. so far i've seen no evidence of the 'right's' claim that these are terrorist groups out to riot and harm people. in fact, the only ones that could be said to be violent (so far) have been the police. good job escalating things 'law enforcement' types.