As Support for Fed Transparency Grows, New York’s Representatives Lay Low

In my latest dispatch for The Examiner, I look at the snowballing support for H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, which now has 124 co-sponsors. Missing among those co-sponsors, however, are any congressmembers from New York City or Long Island. Why might this be the case?

The biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s unchecked power are Wall Street investment houses and commercial banks. They benefited in the early part of the decade from the artificially low interest rates set by the Fed, and they benefit today from the massive TARP bailouts, the recipients of which the Federal Reserve refuses to disclose.

Are our local members of Congress in the pockets of the big banks? A quick perusal of their donation records indicates as much.

Read the rest here.

Cannabis Shows Promise as Treatment for Swine Flu

In today’s Examiner column, I jump on the swine flu bandwagon with a drug war twist:

Cannabis could alleviate many of the symptoms and harmful effects of the H5N1 bird flu and H1N1 swine flu viruses, according to a report from Cannabis Science, an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company based in San Francisco. The timing could not be better for New York, which has the largest number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States, and where identical medical marijuana bills have been introduced in the Assembly and Senate for the first time.

Read the rest here.

Assembly ambushes gun owners with early vote on 4 bills

In my latest dispatch for the Examiner, I write about today’s passage of four new anti-gun bills in the state Assembly:

The New York State Assembly passed at least 4 bills today that would further restrict gun rights in the state, according to the Assembly’s website. Additional anti-gun bills are like to be passed before the Assembly adjourns this week. Although the passage of the bills was hardly a surprise – the Assembly perennially votes for a slew of anti-gun legislation each year, only to see it stall in the formerly Republican-controlled Senate – the timing of today’s votes raised eyebrows.

Unlike in past years, when the Assembly would pass lots of new gun-control measures only to see them die in the Senate, these bills have a very good chance of becoming law now that the Democrats control both houses in Albany.

Read the rest of the article here.

NY Libertarian Examiner

Starting today, I have a regular column at Examiner.com. My first column covers Saturday’s Audit the Fed rally:

The New York rally featured an impressive lineup of heavyweight Fed critics – columnist Becky Akers, economics professor Murray Sabrin, and former Congressman Jospeh DioGuardi, who has the distinction of being the only CPA ever elected to Congress. (Why am I not surprised that nobody in Congress is qualified to count the money?)

The star of the show as far as most of the crowd was concerned was clearly Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital. Schiff earned notoriety for predicting the current economic meltdown and enduring the ridicule of the talking heads on CNBC.

Read the rest here.

Buzzing Lower Manhattan with a Jet is Bad, Mmmm-kay?

So the geniuses at the Defense Department decided it would be a good idea to fly a 747 low over the southern tip of Manhattan this morning, escorted by two F-16 fighters. And just for good measure they ordered local authorities not to let the public know what was happening.

In the ensuing panic, workers evacuated downtown office buildings. Finally, the pranksters at the FAA revealed they just wanted to take some pictures of the Statue of Liberty!

Idiots.

Melt the Switchboards on the Fed’s Hidden Tax

If there is one issue that both the left and right would miraculously agree on is the abolition of the Federal Reserve. From Ralph Nader to Milton Friedman, to even former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, the Fed has heard its share of intense criticism and scrutiny. That’s because it is ultimately and directly responsible for one tax the rich and poor alike end up paying – inflation. And it’s a well-hidden tax at that.

The Federal Reserve’s policies and its somewhat difficult to understand process of creating money, which at times seems to be out of thin air now that we are officially off the gold standard, is an issue which is rarely addressed in the media. That’s because it’s hardly understood by most. Which is why it’s so difficult to prove whether the Fed’s inflationary machinations are caused with malicious intent, or simply unintended consequences that arise from convoluted economic policies.

What is more interesting than this quasi-public/private institution’s process of creating and ultimately controlling our money supply – by depositing cash into member banks and then charging the banks for this newfound money by directly dictating the discount rate at which they repay the Fed (not to be confused with simply setting interest rates which it targets by selling or buying Treasury bills) or something like that – are the conspiracy theories that abound regarding the Federal Reserve.

Was John F Kennedy assassinated because of his tampering and questioning of the Fed? Hmm. Or what about Abraham Lincoln whose assassination is attributed to earlier money lenders led by the Rothschilds? You know, the five Jews that secretly run the world and may (or may not) happen to run every bagel shop in the country.

But certain facts are well, certain. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 as was the birth of the income tax we’re stuck with every paycheck. And it’s to the chagrin of other critics such as former 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul that the Federal Reserve continues to exist. It was not for nothing hundreds gathered at an “End the Fed” rally this past weekend in the Financial District led by Congressman Paul’s Campaign for Liberty organization to do just that.

Though ending the Fed anytime soon is highly unlikely, this Monday April 27 is the day to “melt the switchboards” by calling Congress at 877-851-6437 and insisting your Senators and Congressional district representatives push forward HR 1207, a bill that will finally audit the Federal Reserve. It may (or may not) resolve John F Kennedy’s assassination, but it will most certainly force open the books to this private institution that somehow answers to no one, even every time it raises a tax nobody should have to pay.

Hundreds Protest the Federal Reserve in NYC

Yesterday’s rally to Audit The Fed was a rousing success. Hundreds turned out on a warm spring day, and the speakers were fantastic. I’ll have more to say about the rally later, but in the meantime here are two early video reports from inflation.us.

Here’s a yippie Uncle Sam denouncing the bankers:

And here is the great Peter Schiff explaining the history and destructive nature of the Federal Reserve:

VCR ALERT: Manhattan Libertarian Party Chairman on Fox Business News Tonight

I just received confirmation from our media relations director, the lovely and talented Gina Miller, that Isaiah Matos, chairman of the Manhattan Libertarian Party, is scheduled to appear on Fox Business News with Neil Cavuto tonight at 6:15 p.m. Isaiah will be discussing the big Audit The Fed rally, which takes place tomorrow. Check your local cable listings for Fox Business News.

Also, please please PLEASE attend the Audit The Fed rally tomorrow. We meet at the Federal Reserve building, 33 Liberty Street, at 11:00 a.m. We’re marching up Broadway to the rally at City Hall Park, which will commence at 2:00 p.m. Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, is the keynote speaker.

The focus of the rally will be to gain support for H.R. 1207, Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve. Unlike last week’s Tea Parties, this is not a partisan event or cause. Everyone from every party should be able to agree on greater government transparency. The Fed, nominally an “independent” organization that functions like a government agency, has no transparency or accountability. So far, H.R. 1207 has over 80 co-sponsors, including Democrats and Republicans. The goal now is to get it out of committee and onto the floor of Congress for a vote and final passage.

We hate to say we told you so, but…….

Advocates of free markets have been trying tell the tax-and-spend and borrow- and- spend crowd since Adam, ( that’s Adam Smith) that central planners in government just don’t have the information (not to mention the motivati0n) to allocate resources effectively.   Seems like the stimulus package is just another example of a billion  (or two or three) of taxpayer money, and your retirement money, and your children’s money down the government rathole.

Accdording to this article on yahoo news today

Some town leaders say the federal stimulus package, with its promise of creating jobs, is neglecting to invest in the cornerstones of community life, from new city halls to recreation centers.  There’s some money to hire police officers, but no money to rebuild the stations they work in. The opposite’s true for firefighters. No money to hire more, but at least some funding to improve firehouses. Money for wind turbines? Yes. New traffic signs? Yes. Hybrid car discounts? Yes. Money for new libraries? No. New town halls? No. Swimming pools? No. School athletic stadiums? No.  While there may be some money to plunk solar panels on that aging municipal building, there’s no money set aside to replace it.

“This is trickle-down stimulus,” said Joseph Fernandes, town administrator in Plainville, Mass., a town of about 8,000 south of Boston. Fernandes was hoping for help building a new, $12.5 million fire, police and town hall complex, which he said could put people to work as quickly as some of the highway projects receiving stimulus dollars.

Gee- could it be that we can make better decisions with our own money than the bureaucrats in Washington?  What a concept?  Why doesn’t someone tell the President?

The article continues:

Early on, many state officials hoped the stimulus money would arrive in huge blocks with few strings. Most states pulled together what amounted to massive statewide wish lists, raising hopes for municipal makeovers.  In the end, Congress opted to funnel much of the money through existing federal channels and created a confusing hodgepodge of rules about which local projects might be eligible.  “Does it really matter if it’s … a police station or a fire station?” Fernandes said. “At the end of the day it’s money that would have to be spent eventually.”

Let me see if I have this straight.  It doesn’t really matter what it’s spent on as long as it gets spent?  So we may as well just drop it out of helicopters after all.  At least then the bubble gets spread evenly.  Oh – but make sure they are green helicopters.

Activists Demand Audit of Federal Reserve, Call for Transparency of Government

Press release from the NYC Campaign for Liberty and the Manhattan Libertarian Party:

New York liberty activists, comprised of members of Restore the Republic, NYC Campaign for Liberty, and the Manhattan Libertarian Party will gather at 33 Liberty Street Saturday, April 25, 2009, at 11 a.m. to demand a full and independent audit of the Federal Reserve. Demonstrators will gather at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City and will march to City Hall Park for a rally at 2 p.m., where Peter Schiff, President of Euro Pacific Capital and author of Crash Proof, will address the crowd.

The New York City protest of the Federal Reserve Act is part of a nationally coordinated action organized by members of Restore the Republic, the grassroots freedom movement founded in 2007 by filmmaker Aaron Russo. Inspired by Rep. Ron Paul’s Federal Reserve Transparency Act H.R.1207, the rally will highlight the lack of accountability in the Federal Reserve System, and protesters will call for President Obama to honor his campaign pledge for increased government transparency.

“Regular independent audits are standard practice for any legitimate financial institution, so we believe our demands will receive strong mainstream support,” said Isaiah Matos, regional coordinator of the Campaign for Liberty. “Americans need to know what is really happening to their money, and we know an audit will expose the true and fraudulent nature of the Federal Reserve.”

For additional information, visit http://www.endthefed.us , http://www.restoretherepublic.com or http://www.nyccfl.com.