Video: How Come We're So Rich? | Gary North

Interesting thesis.

Economic historian Gary North proposes a thesis to answer the question of what happened that caused economic growth to compound in the 1800s.

He cites the work of Deirdre McCloskey and says that her thesis of a shift in rhetoric is wrong.

Rather, he believes a change in the vision of the future and the theological acceptance of prosperity was the key.

Video: C-SPAN hosts Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth for 40 minutes

I never thought I would see this on C-Span. 

But C-SPAN gave 40 minutes to Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth founder to explain why he (and many) thinks that it was highly unlikely that Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapsed because of an office fire -- the official explanation for the collapse of the only building that didn't get hit by an airplane on September 11, 2001 -- and floated the idea that it was destroyed by controlled demolition. He definitely wants an additional investigation and reports that people that have looked into it already believe that the 9/11 Commission report of the early 2000s was rigged to fail.

His group has 2,000+ architects and engineers across the world that dissent from the official story. (Reminds me of the Dissent from Darwin crowd)

For the Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth Website Click Here

Watch the Whole Architects and Engineers 9/11 Documentary Here

The fact that a major respectable publication such as C-SPAN is giving them a voice is HUGE.

And let's not forget that -- as Gage himself points out -- we started the longest war in American history because of this event.

I think that's it's an important issue but it's down the priority list if I was POTUS in 2016. The economy and the debt is always first. But I think that it should be pursued.

There are several very smart people that don't believe the official story. In fact, it was Paul Craig Roberts, a former official of the Reagan Administration, that tipped me off to the video in an August 3, 2014 blog post.

Gary North also thinks that the whole thing is fishy.

Read Gary North's Column "Of Course the Government is Lying About 9/11"

I'm recently discovering this within the last 10 minutes but Roberts wrote a column reviewing David Ray Griffin's book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking." The column is well worth a read either before or after watching the above video. There is a least one website that sets out to "Debunk" 9/11 truthers, the people who don't believe the official story they were told about 9/11. Griffin's book indirectly addresses them, I assume.

Read Robert's Review of "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" here

Read Roberts' review first. Then watch the video. Then read North's column.

The Most Christian President in History -- and what his politics looked like

The last self-consciously Christian President was Presbyterian Grover Cleveland, who favored a gold standard, low taxes, free trade, and who vetoed more bills in two terms than any other President in history. (He had been known as the "veto mayor" of Buffalo, New York.) He served two terms, 1885-89 and 1893-97. From that point on, Christian politics slid down the road toward modern statism.

Gary North, Honest Money (p.133)

Download "Honest Money" for free here 

Those are his principles. Wikipedia has this nice summary:

Cleveland was the leader of the pro-business Bourbon Democrats who opposed high tariffs, Free Silver, inflation, imperialism, and subsidies to business, farmers, or veterans. His crusade for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the era.[1] Cleveland won praise for his honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism.[2] He relentlessly fought political corruption, patronage and bossism. Indeed, as a reformer his prestige was so strong that the like-minded wing of the Republican Party, called "Mugwumps", largely bolted the GOP presidential ticket and swung to his support in the 1884 election.[3]

Libertarians tend to acknowledge Cleveland as one of the better U.S. president in American history when asked who is the best president. Mr. Libertarian himself, Murray Rothbard, the founder of modern Libertarian, thought that Martin Van Buren was the "best" (least bad) U.S. He briefly mentions Grover Cleveland and his major screw-up: the interstate commerce commission.


For more reading, check out the links below:

• The Last Good Democrat | Thomas DiLorenzo
• The Wisdom of Grover Cleveland | Gary Galles
• Where is Grover Cleveland When You Need Him? Laurence Vance

The Constitution Can't Check Despots, the Founders created a new God, and Christian Constitutionalists are powerless to stop it

An old, but good essay on choosing between the tyranny of the constitution and liberty. He's admittedly a little uncertain on theology as he gets near the end. Here are some excerpts:

Excerpt 1: The Constitution Can't Check Despotism

What I am suggesting is that the Constitution, if the letter of its law was obeyed, would be preferable to the government we have now. But we can't go back. If the Constitution itself was so good, it would have been obeyed from the very beginning. But near the very beginning, it was violated, and has been violated ever since. Whether from a self-perceived higher ethical law, or expediency, the Constitution will always be violated. It has not been, is not now, nor ever will be, a check on despotism. Yes, Americans will still think of themselves as free and therefore morally superior to other nations. But many public school students in the Soviet Union also used to think of themselves as free. Illusion is not reality, not even the grand illusion of our Constitution.

Excerpt 2: Why Isn't the Constitution followed?

But it is not followed. Why is this so? It is because the ethical/religious views of the people and their rulers take precedence.

Excerpt 3: Who is the New God? What Created Separation of Church and State?

North places great importance on the Oath, alleging that this, not the First Amendment, created the Separation of Church and State. No federal officer would have any "religious test," that is, will not be bound by an oath before the Trinitarian, Christian God. This was an about-face from the practice of all twelve of the states that sent delegates to the Convention (and, ironically, consistent with the principles of the one state that was a no-show: Roger Williams' Rhode Island.) The leading Founders were not orthodox, Trinitarian Christians, and their new Constitution was a break with the Trinitarian, Christian God and a new Covenant with a new God, the "People."

Excerpt 4: The Challenge for Christians

Dr. North's approach may be incomprehensible to the unreligious. But his challenge to American Christians is remarkable. Western Christians, even if they try to resist the spirits of the age such as Marxism and Darwinism, must still confront their own Newtonian Modernism, and their innate belief that humans can somehow figure out the universe and play at least some role in saving themselves and society, instead of relying wholly on the infinite grace of the Triune God. 

Why the Constitution Isn't the Bible || James Leroy Wilson

A Conservative Icon Wrote This? F.A. Hayek on Compulsory Health Care

Sounding like Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama wrapped in one, the conservative--not libertarian--intellectual Friedrich Hayek pretty much defends the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature legislative "achievement" in the realm of health.

Via GaryNorth.com:

"There is little doubt that the growth of health insurance is a desirable development. And perhaps there is also a case for making it compulsory since many who could thus provide for themselves might otherwise become a public charge. But there are strong arguments against a single scheme for state insurance; there seems to be an overwhelming case against a free health service for all." -- F. A. Hayek.

Hayek wrote this on page 298 of his magnum opus, The Constitution of Liberty (1960). We could put this another way.

This isn't about putting government in charge of your health insurance; it's about putting you in charge of your health insurance. Under the reforms we seek, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.

These words may sound familiar. They are from President Obama's 2009 speech calling on Congress to pass ObamaCare.

And this little nugget from North (not Hayek) here:

HAYEK WAS A CONSERVATIVE, NOT A LIBERTARIAN

Hayek was much closer to conservatives than to libertarians. He was much closer to Russell Kirk than he was to Murray Rothbard. Neither Kirk nor Hayek believed in economic law. They both rejected the idea on the same basis, namely, their commitment to some form of social evolution. Each of them would come down on the side of free-market institutions, for they did not trust the operations of state bureaucracies, but always on the basis of a pragmatic argument that society had chosen these free market institutions voluntarily. Then the question arises: "How can we stop the state from invading and capturing the institutions of society?" Or this: "How can we stop the politicizing of social institutions by the state?" Hayek had no philosophical answer, and neither did Kirk.

 F.A. Hayek: Obamacare's Defender || GaryNorth

Best Explanation of Obama Re-Election Victory

From the incomparable Gary North:

Why did Obama win? Because he got more votes. But why? Because people stuck with the devil they knew

American Politics: Bipartisan Boondoggles || Gary North

Gary North on Ron Paul's Farewell Address

I like the way he put it:

For a nationally known politician to build a career based on his never having attained political power, never wanting to attain political power, and never having anybody suggest that he was going to attain political power, is one of the great anomalies in the history of American politics.

Ron Paul's Farewell Address: An Anomaly in American History || Gary North

*Gary North was Ron Paul's first staff economist back in the 1970s. Here is the text of Ron Paul's Farewell Speech

Gary North on Political Platforms

A political platform is a statement of faith that the voters ask the politicians to provide. It is quite comparable to the phrase, "Will you still respect me in the morning?" Once the platform emerges from the convention, it will have approximately as much meaning as the assurance, "Why of course I'll still respect you in the morning."

Gold Commission 2 || GaryNorth.com

Gary North on the Crony Capitalism of General Motors

Thanks to the Obama bailout of General Motors in 2009, Gary North had much material to work with in this next piece.

Gary North says there is Keynesianism in the conservative camp

Keynesian is in the conservative camp, Gary North says, and that is not, by the way, a good thing.

It starts with this:

Someone posted a video of a LKeftist millionaire entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in philosophy. He told us that raising taxes on the rich will not reduce jobs. He is an economic idiot, even though he is a smart businessmen. There are lots of them.

What disturbed me was the reply.

It went on with this:

The site member begins with straight Keynesianism: “It is consumers who create demand and therefore jobs. The rich are globalists.” This is the very heart of Keynes’s economics. He began his analysis with the consumer. He assumed that the consumer had come out of nowhere, ready to consume, yet for some reason he was unable to consume. Keynes blamed the refusal of capitalists to invest, to employ unemployed people. He called on the government to borrow money and hire people. Everything centered on increasing demand.

Read the rest for more analysis. It's better in its full context.

Gary North Admits He Doesn't Measure Up To Rothbard

Even Gary North, whom Murray Rothbard is said to have thought highly of, admits that he doesn't measure up to Rothbard.

Writings in Review, Vol.1

When Government Safety Nets Break || Gary North

Obama's Pretzel Logic || Peter Schiff

How To Skin Naive Conservative Donors, Decade After Decade, and How To Avoid Getting Skinned || Gary North

'When You Hear the Word “Collapse,” Ignore It,' says Gary North

This advice is so useful. I remember when Gary North first debunked the National Inflation Association on his subscriber-based website a few years ago.

It was a relief.

However, the NIA's fear mongering was useful in a sense because it produced real concerns--the fear of hyperinflation--that I had to address. I brought those concerns to someone who spent a good deal of his lifetime studying economics.

Part of the reason I joined North's Specific Answers site was because I was terrified of hyperinflation after seeing NIA "Hyperinflation Nation" movie and needed my concerns addressed. But after they were addressed and time passed, I publicly distanced myself from the NIA.

Most people who use the word "collapse" have the right intentions, but they're economics are misplaced.

North's recent article doesn't address the NIA but someone else.

From the Tea Party Economist Blog:

We hear the word “collapse” all the time. The word does not make sense in a free market economy. Collapses come all at once. Prices on a free market change, forcing people to adjust. We can get erosion. We can get recession. Short of a war scenario, such as biological pandemic, we cannot get a collapse.

I will cite an article that promotes collapse. I do not believe it for a minute. It is representative of what you should ignore.

When You Hear the Word “Collapse,” Ignore It. || Tea Party Economist

Why you technically may be an extremist

I put two and two together a long time ago. But Gary North tells it on his news site/blog.

From the Tea Party Economist Blog:

This article indicates how far the U.S. government has gone to define “Constitutionalist” as militia extremist.

Are You a Militia Extremist? Technically, You Probably Are. || Tea Party Economist

The “Underwear Bomber” Had Help from the U.S. Government

From the Tea Party Economist Blog:

In the hoopla about the so-called underwear bomber, this got little publicity. One of the people on the plane has gone public with an amazing account. This is from his blog site.

The “Underwear Bomber” Had Help from the U.S. Government || Tea Party Economist

Gary North on the Price of Liberty

What is good for the world would not be good in the short run for gold bugs, of whom I am chief. That is the price of liberty.

Gary North, Mises on Money

A Constitutional Agenda for Social Conservatives by Gary North

Gary North agrees with me on so many things. He has the same solution to the same-sex marriage/homosexuality debate as I do. You have to read the article to find out.

Social conservatives need to decide: head-banging or the Constitution.

Social liberals want to free up head-banging in these five areas, so as to have more money to spend on head-banging in the areas of federal regulation of the economy.

The correct agenda for social conservatives is simple: vote for Congressmen and Senators who follow these rules: (1) Constitutional authorization of all laws; (2) reduced taxation; (3) budget in surplus; (3) debt reduction; (4) de-funding of the executive. In one phrase: Shrink the federal government. There is only one social conservative who favors this agenda.

It isn't Newt Gingrich.

A Constitutional Agenda for Social Conservatives by Gary North || LewRockwell.com

Ron Paul's Inaugural Address, Written by His First (and Only) Speechwriter | Godfather Politics

In June of 1976, I was Ron Paul’s speechwriter. Shortly after I joined his staff as his newsletter writer and economic analyst, I recommended that he do what I had been doing for a year: buy a Code-A-Phone telephone answering machine and make a weekly 3-minute recording for people in his districts to call.

Ron Paul's Inaugural Address, Written by His First (and Only) Speechwriter | Godfather Politics

Gary North on the Left's "Equalitarians"

Any attempt to equalize outcomes through political power is doomed. The Left's equalitarians are willing to accept inequality in academia, where they think they have an advantage, but not in the economy, where less intelligent people can outperform them.

Gary North, The Super-Smart Do Super-Well, but Not in Every Field

Murray Rothbard's Typewriter -- by Gary North

Rothbard was a lucid writer. Few scholars have ever combined the paraphernalia of academia — footnotes galore — with the ability to write clearly. Rothbard added effective rhetoric; his writing was lively, which has never been common among economists. I once wrote that if the Nobel Prize in economics were awarded for clarity — as John Wayne aptly put it, "that'll be the day" — Rothbard should win it.

Gary North, Murray Rothbard's Typewriter