Essays

The American Surveillance State Is Here. Can It Be Evaded?

"On any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears. Whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency, whether the NSA or some other entity, is listening in and tracking your behavior. Erected in secret, without any public input, these surveillance programs amount to an electronic concentration camp which houses every single person in the United States today." Continue reading →

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Declare Detroit a Free City

"Do not expect overnight success, but who knows? A free market always surprises us with new innovations. At first one can expect lots of mom and pop startups, sidewalk vendors, unlicensed and untaxed services such as simple property repair, home schools, private taxis, etc. But if Nike and other American businesses are enticed by lower costs and fewer regulatory burdens to outsource their manufacturing operations overseas, why would they not take a good look at a Free Detroit? Expect to be amazed. Allow Detroit to become a safe, cooperative city that represents the best that America can be. Economic freedom will ensure the rebirth of Detroit." Continue reading →

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FATCA: ‘Simple premise’ gone terribly wrong

"Most Americans living outside the U.S. are not 'tax cheats,' 'tax evaders' or 'traitors' though they are often characterized that way in the media or even by members of Congress. Instead, they are honest, productive, contributing residents of other countries, which they call home. In many cases, they are also citizens of those countries. President Obama and members of Congress, how did the 'simple premise' of 'cracking down on illegal tax evasion and closing loopholes' become an attack on financial lives and personal integrity of millions of people living outside United States, their banks and laws and constitutions of their countries of residence?" Continue reading →

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America’s best educated kids don’t go to school

"Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, compared home schoolers and public school students on the results of three standardized tests for the 2007-2008 academic year. With public school students at the 50th percentile, home schoolers were at the 89th percentile in reading, the 86th percentile in science, the 84th percentile in language, math, and social studies. Socio-economic factors may have a lot to do with why home schoolers do so much better. Virtually all have a mother and a father who are living together. Nearly two thirds of fathers and 62 percent of mothers have a bachelor’s degree or higher." Continue reading →

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Pippa Malmgren on Success

"I've been very lucky; a lot of interesting things came my way. I used to be like the old Soviet Union with a rigid Five Year Plan. That worked very well but I also learned to make room for surprises outside the original plan; it's a matter of finding a balance between the two. If you love what you do, you'll be better at it than anybody and the money will follow." Continue reading →

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How to Self-Publish a Bestseller: Publishing 3.0

"My most recent book, 'Choose Yourself!' sold 53,000 copies since its release on June 3, hit the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list, was No. 1 on Amazon for all non-fiction books for a few days and is still flirting with No. 1 in its various categories. This post is about what I did differently, why I did it differently, and how I think anyone can do this to self-publish a bestseller. I describe all the numbers, who I hired and why, and how I made the various choices I did." Continue reading →

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Paul Rosenberg: The Beauty and Dignity of the Productive Class

"If you are a member of the productive class, you should re-arrange your mind and stop responding to the demands of hierarchy and status. Instead, pay attention to things that really improve human life in the world. Creating things, improving things, or making it possible for other people to create… these are noble, beautiful, and important things. We should gain a deep and enduring satisfaction from doing them. And, indeed, when we put our minds and efforts to it, that’s exactly what we will gain." Continue reading →

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Chris Martenson: Bankers Own the World – And are ultimately destroying it

"It wasn't that many decades ago that a list of the top companies with the most wealth and influence would have been dominated by companies that produced real, tangible products – that is, those that created wealth by adding value to goods by transforming resources into products. Companies like GE, GM, IBM, Exxon, and other industrial giants would have been the wealthiest, because, well, they create actual wealth. Today the top fifty companies in the 'super-entity' list of 147 from the above study is concerning. Out of the fifty, 17 are banks, 31 are an assortment of investment, insurance, and financial services companies, and only 2 are non-financial companies." Continue reading →

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Iran and Iraq, BFF (Best Friends Forever)?

"Why did Iraq invade Iran in 1980? A major reason was the fact that Iraq's majority is Shiite. Let's not forget that the majority of Iran's citizens associate themselves with the Shi'a branch of Islam. Remember Saddam Hussein? Well he was a Sunni, and the Sunnis were in control in Iraq. Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military were backed by the US, Britain, and other Western countries. Saddam invaded Iran to establish Iraq as the dominant Gulf state, and to also suppress the Shi'a majority from revolting in Iraq. Now the government of Iraq is ruled by Shiites. The government of Iran is also Shi'a dominated, with the majority of the population being Shiite." Continue reading →

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David Galland: “Trained-Monkey Collaborators of Death”

"Acting under political pressure, the government brought a case that clearly had no merit, with no supporting evidence, then proceeded in an underhanded way that clearly demonstrated bias… but when the jury votes unanimously to acquit, somehow the verdict is 'surprising'? Also choosing to ignore the verdict, certain leading lights in the black community have organized protests and even threatened Zimmerman with death. And just to add a little comedy to the proceedings, this week the Detroit City Council took time out from their busy schedule of lording it over their bankrupt domain to unanimously pass a resolution calling for a civil rights investigation into Zimmerman." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: “Trained-Monkey Collaborators of Death”