Sanctions Backfire On Those Imposing Them

File under: oops.

Western sanctions against Iran have had a dramatic negative effect on the U.S. economy.  In addition to restricting the Iranian people's access to trade, the two-decade long policy by the West has hurt people in the West.
 
According to the National Iranian-American Council the U.S. has lost one million new job opportunities thanks to the inability of the North American people to engage in trade with the Iranian people.

Is it worth putting up with twenty years of economic chaos because a few dozen politicians in the U.S., U.K., Israel and Iran are upset with each other?  

Find the full report at the NIAC.

Do You Need An "Immigration System"?

There are a handful of people in Washington, D.C. who are very concerned about children walking around freely in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

These D.C. people say they need more of your money in order to "detain, care for and transport" a bunch of these children who according to them have walked too far in the wrong direction.

Children from Guatemala allegedly walking the wrong way

(Omar Torres/AFP/Getty)

Allegedly these children were only supposed to walk so far north until they were not supposed to walk any further.  Despite this "illegal walking around" taking place 2,000 miles away from the D.C. people they want you to know they are working to fix the immigration system.

But first... they need another $3,700,000,000.  

Before you give them more of your hard earned money to fix the system, ask yourself if you really need an "immigration system" at all.

NSA Not Welcome, Says California Senate

The California Senate overwhelmingly passed the 4th Amendment Protection Act earlier this month.  The bill forces California to withdraw material support for federal agencies attempting to collect electronic date without a valid warrant.  This support includes the partnerships between the NSA and six state universities.  

If signed into state law the NSA would have a really hard time getting water and electricity to power their operations in the largest state in The Union.

The Tenth Amendment Center has more details.

California's Seven Year Long Recession

The LA Times reports that thanks to the financial recession, middle aged Californian's are moving in with their parents at a staggering rate:

For seven years through 2012, the number of Californians aged 50 to 64 who live in their parents' homes swelled 67.6% to about 194,000* 

Can we call it a depression yet?  

*data from UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Insight Center for Community Economic Development.