http://www.lewrockwell.com/…

Before the Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology, Hearing on HR 5512, March 11, 2008

Mr. Chairman,

I oppose HR 5512 because it is unconstitutional to delegate the determination of the metal content of our coinage to the Secretary of the Treasury. Under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution, the Congress is given the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof. It is a shame that Congress has already unconstitutionally delegated its coinage authority to the Treasury Department, but that is no reason to further delegate our power and essentially abdicate Congressional oversight as the passing of HR 5512 would do.

Oversight by members of Congress, who have an incentive to listen to their constituents, ensures openness and transparency. This bill would eliminate that process and delegate it to unelected bureaucrats. The Secretary of the Treasury would be given sole discretion to alter the metal content of coins, or even to create non-metal coins. Given the history of Congressional delegation and subsequent lax oversight on issues as important as the conflict in Iraq, it would be naïve to believe that Congress would exercise any more oversight over an issue as unimportant to most members as the composition of coins.

While I sympathize with the aim of Section 4 of this bill to save taxpayer dollars by minting steel pennies, it is disappointing that our currency has been so greatly devalued as to make this step necessary. At the time of the penny’s introduction, it actually had some purchasing power. Based on the price of gold, what one penny would have purchased in 1909 requires 47 cents today. It is no wonder then that few people nowadays would stoop to pick up any coin smaller than a quarter.

Congress’ unconstitutional delegation of monetary policy to the Federal Reserve and its reluctance to exercise oversight in that arena have led to a massive devaluation of the dollar. If we fail to end this devaluation, we will undoubtedly hold future hearings as the metal value of our coins continues to outstrip the face value.

HR 5512 is a sad commentary on how far we have fallen, not just since the days of the Founders, but only in the last 75 to 100 years. We could not maintain the gold standard nor the silver standard. We could not maintain the copper standard, and now we cannot even maintain the zinc standard. Paper money inevitably breeds inflation and destroys the value of the currency. That is the reason that this proposal is before us today.

I’m surprised we haven’t heard about people melting down pennies. They are worth like 50% over the face value.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/…

Even more oddly, there are at least some reports that flatly accuse “gold standard” GOP presidential-candidate Mitt Romney not just of buying a recent Tampa Bay, Florida straw poll, but of outright cheating. It’s one thing, after all, to buy tickets for supporters at a straw poll, but another to have the same person vote over and over again. Perhaps he didn’t know what was happening. Or perhaps, within the GOP’s intricate rule-book, it’s somehow “legal.” Doesn’t sound right, though.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/…

Romney 893; Paul; 534 Giuliani 39; Huckabee 37; Thompson 21; McCain 12; Hunter 4; Keyes 2; Tancredo 1.

Update: In between viewing the videos and posting the user had removed 2 of the 3 videos and added 1. I don’t know why but here they are.

British “Fat Tax” Would Mean More Intrusive Government

A “fat tax” on salty, sugary and fatty foods could save thousands of lives each year, according to a study published on Thursday. Researchers at Oxford University say that charging Value Added Tax (VAT) at 17.5 percent on foods deemed to be unhealthy would cut consumer demand and reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes. The purchase tax is already levied on a small number of products such as potato crisps, ice cream, confectionery and chocolate biscuits, but most food is exempt. The move could save an estimated 3,200 lives in Britain each year, according to the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. …Any “fat tax” might be seen as an attack on personal freedom and would weigh more heavily on poorer families, the study warned. A food tax would raise average weekly household bills by 4.6 percent or 67 pence per person. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has previously rejected the idea as an example of the “nanny state” that might push people away from healthy food.

Does anything really need to be said here? Perhaps they can give tax breaks to those who eat health or work out? The government/NHS could write up exactly how every citizen should live and tax those who don’t follow. Fines for more severe infractions and imprisonment in health camp for the worst of them. It’s for their wellbeing… and the government does pay for the healthcare so they should have a say.

Read More…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p_6eFz7h_g

The first one on the Wii was decent. It could have had a greater diversity of minigames. The whole lacking in widescreen and 480p left it a bit muddy and stretched on my 1080p HDTV. The best part really was the dancing and on rails FPS parts. Online multiplayer, free roaming, FPS bunny plungering would kick major ass.