ECB Hikes Rates (Yawn), Sen. Graham Wants War and So Does MSNBC, China Hyperinflation?, and Ron Paul's 10 Principles for Liberty

You probably already know, but the European Central Bank raised rates 25 basis points today to 1.25%.  This is the first rate hike since 2008.  Big freaking whoop.  It won't stop stuff like this from happening:

Business Week: Corn is at its highest level in nearly three years on expectations that supplies will remain tight even if a bountiful crop is produced this summer.

Corn settled up 3.3 percent to $7.6025 a bushel Monday.

Zerohedge: Gold hits new high:

Guardian:

Ireland is unlikely to wrest control of its finances even in 2013 when the current IMF-EU deal runs out and will be forced to seek a second bailout, according to a former IMF executive

And now Obama is bitching at us to stop bitching about higher gas prices:

"If you're complaining about the price of gas and you're only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know," Obama said laughingly. "You might want to think about a trade-in."

What he should have said was, "don't worry about higher gas prices, that's why we invaded liberty."
Gas prices aren't going down anytime soon though, from FT:

Oil production in rebel-controlled eastern Libya has stopped after troops loyal to Muammer Gaddafi bombarded several oilfields, the opposition said on Wednesday.

At least we have the rebels back right?  HuffPost:

AJDABIYA, Libya -- Rebel fighters claimed NATO airstrikes blasted their forces Thursday in another apparent mistake that sharply escalated anger about the military alliance's efforts to cripple Libyan forces. At least five rebels were killed and more than 20 injured, a doctor said.

So with a Democratic president waging three wars across the globe, maybe the G.O.P. (besides Ron and Rand Paul) would change their mind about the American empire.  Keep dreamin':

Sen. Graham urges GOP presidential candidates to avoid isolationism

He urged GOP candidates to support foreign aid to Middle Eastern countries and said they should be ready to criticize President Obama if he fails to force Moammar Gadhafi to vacate power in Libya.

Graham, one of his party’s most forceful voices on foreign policy, warned that presidential candidates will encounter a “war-weary” public that wants to troops to return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Candidates also will find that pitching increases in foreign aid to key Middle Eastern nations like Egypt “goes over like a lead balloon.”

Yeah, that's right.  Don't do something stupid like listen to the public who is tired of paying for endless war.  Sen. Graham is disgusting.  Why the hell doesn't he grab a gun and go fight over there himself?  Both parties love war, pure and simple.  Just watch this hilarious MSNBC video:

And now the U.S. is starting to get competition on war making, see China's new aircraft carrier:

Building an aircraft carrier while expecting 9% inflation this year?  Only in China:


I will end by posting a bunch a few things.  First is P.J. O'Rourke's review of Atlas Shrugged Part 1, apparently it is rather boring.  Next is Glenn Beck wanting Judge Napolitano to replace him at the 5:00 P.M. spot, I can't think of anyone better to.  Here is a rather depressing chart from The Economist:

I highly doubt any of the responders know what capitalism truly is.  In another great example of crony capitalism, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is granting Twitter a tax break to keep them in the city.  Taxes are always well and good till you piss off business.  Richard Salsman has a decent Forbes article today on F.D.R. and the executive order which made it illegal for citizens to own gold:

During those crucial months (November 1932–March 1933), with Herbert Hoover still in the Oval Office but FDR waiting in the wings, the run on banks intensified, not because the banks were fundamentally unsound but because depositors sought dollars to convert into gold before FDR could act as he ultimately did. It was a run on the U.S. dollar, a vote of no confidence in FDR himself, but the private banks and depositors were made to suffer by it, and unfairly shouldered the blame.

Here is an interesting open letter that urges Ron Paul to get rid of Bernanke from Antal Fekete, a former professor of Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Check out this excerpt:

The fact is that the Federal Reserve banks can purchase Treasury paper only if they pay with F.R. credit that has been legally created.F.R. credit (F.R. notes and F.R. deposits) is legally created if it has been issued in accordance with the law. The law says that F.R. credit must be backed by collateral security at the time of issuance, usually in the form of an equivalent amount of U.S. Treasury paper. The procedure is as follows.
The F.R. bank seeking to expand credit takes its Treasury paper, owned outright and free from encumbrances, and posts it as collateral with the Federal Reserve agent who will then authorize the issuing of credit. In other words, if the F.R. banks do not have the unencumbered Treasury paper in their possession, then they cannot create additional credit legally.
There is some evidence that the F.R. banks do not have F.R. credit available to make the kind of purchases Dr. Bernanke is talking about as part of his Quantitative Easing.

And here is the appendix from Ron Paul's new book Liberty Defined, 10 principles for a free society:

1. Rights belong to individuals, not groups; they derive from our nature and can neither be granted nor taken away by government.
2. All peaceful, voluntary economic and social associations are permitted; consent is the basis of the social and economic order.
3. Justly acquired property is privately owned by individuals and voluntary groups, and this ownership cannot be arbitrarily voided by governments.
4. Government may not redistribute private wealth or grant special privileges to any individual or group.
5. Individuals are responsible for their own actions; government cannot and should not protect us from ourselves.
6. Government may not claim the monopoly over a people's money and governments must never engage in official counterfeiting, even in the name of macroeconomic stability.
7. Aggressive wars, even when called preventative, and even when they pertain only to trade relations, are forbidden.
8. Jury nullification, that is, the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts, is a right of the people and the courtroom norm.
9. All forms of involuntary servitude are prohibited, not only slavery but also conscription, forced association, and forced welfare distribution.
10. Government must obey the law that it expects other people to obey and thereby must never use force to mold behavior, manipulate social outcomes, manage the economy, or tell other countries how to behave.