A Myriad of News and Great Quotes

First, a fresh insight into the NFL Players Association courtesy of Cold Hard Football Facts:

By the way, can we get past two ridiculous notions about the NFLPA?

 

One, can we get past the ridiculous notion that the NFLPA is actually a union in any legit sense of the world?

 

Sure, they bargain collectively. But the players also bargain individually, too, for the most money. In a real union, here's how it works: the shitty workers and the good workers all make the same amount of money. That's the deal: you trade the right to prosper individual for some collective security. The NFL simply does not work that way.

 

Every man is out for himself. It is NOT a union. In fact, real unions have cement shoes for guys who try to go out and cut their own deals and undermine the legitimacy of the collective power of the group.

I must say that I agree, the NFLPA is not a typical union.  The "cement shoes" line is awesome.

Here is a great Ron Paul quote on the Fed from an interview on CNBC:

"It is delusional to think that one person could know what the money supply should be and interest rates should be, and that you can do total central economic planning through monetary policy is positively baffling. ... I would like to get the monopoly power away from this cartel that pretends they know how to run this entire economy." 

Next is a fascinating take from Sovereign Man on how to protect your retirement if the federal government should come knocking for some extra funds in the name of "ensuring your retirement:"

This certainly jives with the timeline of the US government’s ticking debt bomb; at a minimum, the market will require higher yields, and politicians will need cheap sources of capital to continue financing their waste.

I’ve said before– it’s imperative that everyone establish a foreign bank account, even with a small deposit. There are several banks like Caye Bank in Belize where you can open an account through the mail with just a nominal deposit.

This way, if you ever need to move the bulk of your funds in a hurry, you’ll at least have the established infrastructure to do it.

For US taxpayers, I think the more immediate threat is to your retirement account. If you have an IRA, you can set up an Open Opportunity structure, take back control over your own savings, and be free to move your funds overseas.

(I think this is a no-brainer; you can read more about how to protect yourself with an Open Opportunity structure from my friend Terry Coxon’s book Unleash your IRA, which he’s now offering at a steep discount for Sovereign Man readers.)

And now from the great minds at ZeroHedge, we have a new comparison of the CPI with the MIT Billion Price Project:

If you don't know what the MIT Billion Price Project is, this is the methodology directly from it's site:

Methodology

Data collection: our data are collected every day from online retailers using a software that scans the underlying code in public webpages and stores the relevant price information in a database. The resulting dataset contains daily prices on the full array of products sold by these retailers. Our data include information on product descriptions, package sizes, brands, special characteristics (e.g. “organic”), and whether the item is on sale or price control.
Daily Online Price Index Computation: The daily online index is an average of individual price changes across multiple categories and retailers. The index uses a basket of goods that changes over time as products appear and disappear from a retailer’s webpage. It is updated on a daily basis and leveraged to estimate annual and monthly inflation. This index is not designed to forecast official inflation announcements, but to provide real-time information on major inflation trends.
Monthly Inflation: The monthly inflation rate is the percentage change between the average of the daily online price index of the last 30 days and the average of the previous month. For example, on the last day of September 2010, we compared the average of the daily index between September 1st and September 30th to the average of the daily index between August 1st and August 31st. On the last day of each month, the value of our monthly inflation is equivalent to the monthly statistic reported by official offices.
Annual Inflation: The annual inflation rate is the percentage change between the average of the daily online price index of the last 30 days and the average for the same period a year ago. For example, on the last day of September 2010, we compare the average of the daily index between September 1st and September 30th 2010 to the average of the daily index between September 1st and September 30th 2009. On the last day of each month, the value of our annual inflation is equivalent to the annual (year-to-year) statistic reported by official offices.

While the Consumer Price Index is defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services," the MIT Billion Price Project appears to be measuring inflation in real time more than the CPI.  I can't confirm this obviously, it's just a hunch.  Whatever the case, inflation is appearing to go beyond levels prior to the financial crisis.

Want a quick check on cotton prices?

Apparently the price of cotton is now $1930, its highest price ever according to Zerohedge.

But don't worry, a 100% price jump in the key ingredient of clothing in 6 months will not have a margin impact for consumer discretionary companies.

Obvious sarcasm.

Hate to do this, but I gotta call out Charles Krauthammer on his column today.  On addressing President Mubarak's step down in Egypt and potential for the Muslim Brotherhood to make significant gains:

As the states of the Arab Middle East throw off decades of dictatorship, their democratic future faces a major threat from the new totalitarianism: Islamism.

We need a foreign policy that not only supports freedom in the abstract but is guided by long-range practical principles to achieve it - a Freedom Doctrine composed of the following elements:

(1) The United States supports democracy throughout the Middle East. It will use its influence to help democrats everywhere throw off dictatorial rule.

(2) Democracy is more than just elections. It requires a free press, the rule of law, the freedom to organize, the establishment of independent political parties and the peaceful transfer of power. Therefore, the transition to democracy and initial elections must allow time for these institutions, most notably political parties, to establish themselves.

(3) The only U.S. interest in the internal governance of these new democracies is to help protect them against totalitarians, foreign and domestic. The recent Hezbollah coup in Lebanon and the Hamas dictatorship in Gaza dramatically demonstrate how anti-democratic elements that achieve power democratically can destroy the very democracy that empowered them.

You can't have it both ways Charles.  If democracy means the Muslim Brotherhood makes significant gains, then so be it.  Just because you disagree with their policy doesn't mean you meddle in the affairs of others unless it directly affects you.  All you are doing is pointing out the fatal flaw in representative democracy.  Calling for more American interventionism shows you have learned nothing from this whole incident.  Mubarak was kept in power by American taxpayer money and this country's support.  Turned out real well didn't it?  Once neo-cons quite trying to impose their "values" on everyone else, they won't be considered such a laughingstock by those of us who REALLY desire to cut down on the size of government.