Category Archives: Weekly Articles 2013

My Response to David Brooks’ Hit Piece on Edward Snowden

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Where does the New York Times find these people?  I used to think Paul Krugman was bad, but David Brooks makes Krugman look like the reincarnation of Nostradamus and Adam Smith. A few minutes ago, I had the unfortunate experience of reading the latest nonsensical, statist drivel from David Brooks in an Op-Ed on Edward Snowden titled “The Solitary Leaker.” I’m not sure if my brain cells will ever forgive me the experience.

It’s one thing to write a hit-piece on Snowden (something we all knew would happen), and I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that the New York Times would be the “paper of record” to bring us such an editorial.  It’s quite another to write one that would only influence the simplest and most ignorant, brainwashed mind.  He sounds like a 15 year old boy arguing in the high school cafeteria.

At this point, I’m convinced that 90% of the people that call Edward Snowden a traitor are merely expressing a subconscious recognition of their own cowardice. The other 10% work for the military-industrial-Federal Reserve-propaganda complex.  David Brooks seems to uniquely fall squarely into both categories.

So let’s get into it.  It appears that David Brooks dusted off his copy of “How to Write a Hit Piece for Dummies” before getting started as he begins with an attempted character assassination.  He writes:

Though obviously terrifically bright, he could not successfully work his way through the institution of high school. Then he failed to navigate his way through community college. 

What drivel.  So many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and thinkers failed to thrive in the school system.  They were simply too bright.  Even Albert Einstein was known to have struggled in many high school classes.

Brooks then writes:

He has not been a regular presence around his mother’s house for years. When a neighbor in Hawaii tried to introduce himself, Snowden cut him off and made it clear he wanted no neighborly relationships.

Really David, that’s the best you could do?

So after he completes his ineffective character assassination, he attempts to actually make an argument.  Something David Brooks is not very good at.  He writes:

This lens makes you more likely to share the distinct strands of libertarianism that are blossoming in this fragmenting age: the deep suspicion of authority, the strong belief that hierarchies and organizations are suspect, the fervent devotion to transparency, the assumption that individual preference should be supreme. You’re more likely to donate to the Ron Paul for president campaign, as Snowden did.

But Big Brother is not the only danger facing the country. Another is the rising tide of distrust, the corrosive spread of cynicism, the fraying of the social fabric and the rise of people who are so individualistic in their outlook that they have no real understanding of how to knit others together and look after the common good.

Brooks doesn’t even attempt to explain why Libertarianism is booming.  He sort of just implies that it has sprung out of thin air and then deeply laments its existence. This “deep suspicion of authority” did not spring from the ether.  Rather, it is the quite natural response to a corrupt, criminal and out of control corporate-financial and political oligarchy that has taken too much control and remains subject to zero accountability.  This isn’t about the balance between the individual and the political system we live under.  It is a realization that the “state” is being run to the benefit of the 0.01% at the expense of the 99.9%. It isn’t any more complicated than that.

Then he writes:

For society to function well, there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures. By deciding to unilaterally leak secret N.S.A. documents, Snowden has betrayed all of these things.

While I do not disagree with this statement, trust must be earned.  Our leaders have lost the trust of the citizenry and rightly so.  Then he makes another bizarre generational slander:

He betrayed his friends. Anybody who worked with him will be suspect. Young people in positions like that will no longer be trusted with responsibility for fear that they will turn into another Snowden.

That’s not all though.  He follows it with another childish knock on Snowden’s high school performance:

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Some Money Launderers are “More Equal” than Others

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“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
- George Orwell’s Animal Farm

It’s been many, many years since I read George Orwell’s Animal Farm, but the message conveyed in it will remain with me forever.  The book is many things, but more than anything else, it is a portrayal and critique of human nature and the political systems that we create. For those that need a refresher, or have not read the book, here’s the basic plot.

There’s a farm headed by a Mr. Jones, who drinks so much he becomes unable to take care of the farm and feed the animals.  Over time, the animals (in particular the pigs), decide human beings are parasites and the pigs lead a revolt and run Mr. Jones off the property.  They change the farm’s name from Manor Farm to Animal Farm and create a list of 7 commandments.  They are:

  1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
  2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
  3. No animal shall wear clothes.
  4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
  5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
  6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
  7. All animals are equal.

Rather quickly, the pigs assume leadership over the farm and one pig in particular, Napoleon, consolidates power after running his primary competitor off the property.  It goes downhill from here fast.  The pigs start to walk on two legs, drink alcohol and sleep in beds, amongst other things. Understanding that their new lifestyle in in direct contrast with their original seven commandments, they simply decide to make some adjustments.  The adjustments are:

  1. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
  2. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
  3. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.

Rather quickly, even these adjustments becoming too binding for the glutinous and power hungry pig oligarch class.  They decide to just condense everything down to one commandment:  All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

The above process is one for the ages, a process that has been reenacted time and time again by our species over the millennia.  It is exactly what is happening in these United States right now.

The reason I spend so much time on the Constitution and civil liberties these days is because I can see the above unfolding right before my eyes.  I also see an opportunity to stop it before it reaches its final, most destructive stage.  Whether it’s the Department of Justice turning journalism into a criminal act, the IRS going after political enemies, or our Noble Peace Prize winning President droning thousands of innocent men, women and children all over the world with flying robots, the oligarch class in this country is dismantling the Bill of Rights one amendment at a time.

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Bitcoin Goes Parabolic: My Updated Thoughts

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Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency without a government, something necessary and imperative.

- Nassim Taleb on Reddit yesterday

So Bitcoin has finally dipped its electronic toe into the fringes of mainstream consciousness. The results have been, to put it mildly, explosive, divisive and highly emotional.  I can see why.

While I had been aware of it prior, I never truly became curious about Bitcoin until I read an excellent six page article about it in the New Yorker on October 10, 2011.  I had no clue how the technology worked, but it intrigued me to such a degree that I sent it to my email list of close contacts.  What really struck me was the rationale for creating Bitcoin by its creator, the anonymous “Satoshi Nakamoto.”  This cryptographer was well aware of the cancerous nature of the world’s monetary system and the key role of Central Banking in that system.  This wasn’t just some technology geek playing games with virtual currency, this was a well thought out monetary revolution.

He had thought this entire thing out like a chess grandmaster.  He knew he had to be anonymous and that Bitcoin had to be decentralized, because he knew the Central Bank overlords would fight to the death to protect their money monopoly.  He created a currency that central planners could not naked short to infinity and manipulate with derivatives as they do with the precious metals markets.  It was this foresight that has led to its tremendous success today.

It wasn’t until I started accepting Bitcoin donations in September of last year (donate here) that I truly started gaining a small understanding of the technology and who the major players in the “Bitcoin Economy” are.  It was at 10 back then, it is 73 as I write this today.

BTC

A chart like the one above is nothing short of parabolic, and parabolic charts beget parabolic emotions.  From my end, I have received some complaints from “gold bugs” who seems annoyed that I am highlighting Bitcoin seemingly in preference to precious metals.  To them I have a few things to say.

First, I spent four years writing about gold and silver non-stop.  Sorry, it just gets repetitive and boring.  Never once have I wavered in my conviction on the need to buy and hold these metals; however, the world is dynamic and when new things enter the picture I will formulate new thoughts.  Some of the complaints against Bitcoin are valid, others are not.  The one I hear the most, which is completely untrue, is that Bitcoin is another “fiat currency.”  I’m often shocked that people make this error, as the definition of fiat is: 1. A formal authorization or proposition; a decree and 2. An arbitrary order.  Synonyms include: decree, diktat, directive, edict, rescript, ruling.  Bitcoin is 100% voluntary.  No one is declaring it the “money of the land,” forcing you to pay taxes in it, or invading the Middle East to protect the pricing of oil in it.  So let’s move on.

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Bitcoin and Kim Dotcom: Why it’s Time to “Encrypt Everything”

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Encryption may end up being the biggest trend in 2013, as the concept, usage and term itself move from the realm of computer geeks and hackers into mainstream consciousness.  The reason why such a moment must occur relates to the fact that governments and intelligence agencies the world over are rapidly moving in the direction of spying on their citizenry twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.  Those of us that don’t like this privacy invasion will have to move toward encrypting as much of our daily lives as possible.  In the world of money, Bitcoin has emerged as the most popular alternative currency in existence today, and is likely to only become exponentially more popular due to its substantial anonymity (relative to fiat currencies) thanks to encryption.

Of course, encryption doesn’t stop with crypto-currencies.  It is in this regard that Kim Dotcom (born in Germany, residing in New Zealand and originally named Kim Schmitz) could lead the charge.  Encrypted email is one of his solutions.

While his new site Mega already has 3 million users since its launch in January, where Kim could really make a massive difference for the billions on this planet that use email is through an encryption service for the masses.  While nobody likes it, everyone pretty much assumes that some bureaucrat or petty intelligence official with nothing better to do with their lives has access to every email you write.  But does life really have to be this way?  Kim Dotcom says no.

The irony of the U.S. government’s case against Kim is that they accuse him of essentially providing the infrastructure for people to pirate movies, while at the same time they claim the right to spy on their citizens without a warrant.  Why is the U.S. government so obsessed with Hollywood’s intellectual property rights but not the right of its citizens to privacy?  As Kim Dotcom states:

“If files are your property, then the U.S. government has taken millions of people’s property without warning or legal standing.”

The complete hypocrisy of the U.S. government will simply be exposed more and more everyday until their arguments ultimately fall apart in pile of lies.  In the meantime…we have encryption.

For coverage on Kim Dotcom’s recent chat at South by Southwest check out this article from NBC in which they call him the “anti-Zuckerberg” and this one from Wired.

In Liberty,
Mike

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#StandwithRand: The Filibuster that United Libertarian and Progressive Activists

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“I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan’s nomination for the CIA I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court. That Americans could be killed in a cafe in San Francisco or in a restaurant in Houston or at their home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is an abomination.” 

- Senator Rand Paul during his 13-hour talking filibuster yesterday

One of the biggest disappointments for me during 2012 was Ron Paul’s failure to run as a third party candidate for President.  Last January, I wrote a very popular post titled Why I Support Ron Paul in which I predicted that the Republican establishment would sabotage his attempted run and that he needed to break ranks and run on his own.  The reason I was so adamant on this point was not because I thought he would necessarily win (although I think he would’ve done much better than most people think), but because his being up there next to Romney and Obama would have exposed both political parties for the frauds that they are.  It would have exposed the fact that on the most important issues like the Federal Reserve, TBTF Wall Street criminal banks, aggressive and short-sighted foreign policy and civil liberties they are completely on the same page.  It would have brought certain issues to the fore that the establishment parties don’t want debated in public.  They’d much rather divide and conquer the nebbish with issues like abortion, gay marriage and gun rights.  Issues that while very important to many, are easily used to split people along geographic and cultural lines and do not represent existential issues core to the survival of the spirit of the nation itself. To paraphrase, I agree with the statement “to know who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”  Ron Paul would have criticized those people and institutions in a very public forum in a third party run and elevated the debate for all of us.  It didn’t happen and the public debate went back into the gutter.

Then Rand Paul stood up and talked for 13 hours.

Personally, I would have preferred the issue that united libertarian and progressive activists to have been the Federal Reserve, since it is the core cancer of this country and indeed the world. Without Federal Reserve funding, none of the awful things our government and multi-national corporations do at home and abroad would be possible, but you don’t always get what you want.  If civil liberties is the issue that does it, so be it.

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Mission Statement for 2013: Solutions

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Ever since I launched this blog in April of last year, I have focused on exposing the rampant corruption and moral decay of our society while identifying the core cancer that is Wall Street, Washington D.C. and all the poisonous practices in between. What I have finally realized is that while there are many people shouting from the rooftops about how bad things are, that will only take us so far.  There are two things I think are necessary in order for us all to move to a better place.

First, a change of consciousness.  Part of that change comes from understanding the true nature of the world around us and how it operates.  For me, it was this realization that essentially forced me to reevaluate everything in my life and make profound changes to live in a manner and around people that are more in line with my new understanding.  I know for a fact that hundreds of thousands of people in this country have come to similar realizations, along with millions globally.  While the awakening will continue and bring more into the fold, I think it’s time for all of us to connect with one another and focus on and highlight the positive changes happening around us where they are happening.  To focus on the victories, no matter how small they may seem at this point, rather than wallowing in the defeats.

Second, I strongly believe we must move toward a much greater decentralization in our daily lives as human beings on this planet.  We need stronger and more vibrant communities banding together, thriving together and creating together.  The internet allows decentralization to function like never before.  It allows us to still be in constant communication with one another and aware of our neighbors’ plights all the way across the planet.  That way we can implement solutions from our own volition and imagination rather than being forced into decisions from the barrel of a gun held by a paid off politician or lobbyist.  The problems that we face globally are far too important to leave to a small group of bureaucrats and oligarchs who we all know by now are interested solely in money and power.

Change must come from within first and then must be manifested in the real world within communities that are willing to be bold. To experiment, to fail and then to succeed.  We may not know exactly what works, and indeed there is no one solution for everyone.  That is the beauty of the diversity on this planet.  If one town wants to be a socialist commune so be it.  If another wants total free market capitalism so be it.  We can still be connected to one another and caring without forcing one person’s viewpoint on the other.  The good news is that we do know what doesn’t work; and that is the status quo.  We need to dare to think big, be brave and actively support those that are working on a better path for humanity.

Changes so profound will take time and many of the forces of greed will line up against any such changes, but that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t be done.  I know it can and I know it will.  While I will continue to focus on highlighting corruption and bad practices, I will increasingly try to do my part to highlight and support those that are taking action and trying to move us beyond the sad state we are in.  I am going to need all of your help in finding these stories and organizations that are doing the hard work now.  Even if many of the ideas and projects never actually happen, the point is that we are thinking beyond our current circumstances and are trying to do something about it.

Looking forward toward solutions.

In Liberty,
Mike

The Stock Market: Food Stamps for the 1%

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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
- Henry David Thoreau

Society is like a stew. If you don’t stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top.
- Edward Abbey

When the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die.
- Jean-Paul Sartre

The Stock Market:  Food Stamps for the 1%
For most of the past four or five years, I have spent the majority of my time studying the dominant forces that fuel the power structure that exists in these United States today, and indeed throughout the world.  My education began quite suddenly and unexpectedly in the middle of the last decade when I started understanding fiat money, Central Banking and the global monetary system.  Since then, I have expanded my understanding to mainstream media brainwashing, the military-industrial complex, the role of the political oligarchs in Washington D.C., the corruption of the food industry under the complicity of the FDA itself and much more.  The more I peered under the curtain, no matter what the industry, the clearer it became that the system had no chance of survival under its current form.  What’s worse, it became obvious that the very small 0.01% of the population that I call oligarchs (financial and political), who are actively gaming the system for their own pleasure, are well aware of the system’s terminal nature.  That’s why they are rapidly putting in place the police state grid.

That said, this article is not about the implementation of the surveillance state.  I cover that pretty much daily these days.  This post is more of a philosophical stream of consciousness; a guilty pleasure that I have not engaged in as of late.

I have mentioned many times in the past that food stamps are just a payoff to the poor.  While I think a permanent and expanding welfare state is completely and utterly destructive to an economy and culture, I do not demonize these folks.  The vast majority of them would like to work and be productive.  They are victims and this is being done to them quite intentionally.  It creates dependency.  It keeps them off the streets.  It’s an unspoken bribe plain and simple.  The oligarchs do not want angry, roving, hungry masses on the streets while they strip mine what’s left of the economy.  Food stamps, disability and all sorts of other freebies take care of this segment of the population as the oligarchs continue on with their crimes and prepare for the day of reckoning (hence the surveillance grid).

However, the oligarchs have another problem to deal with.  This problem is the huge group of people that resides in between them and the poor.  Ideally, they would like to shove all of them into the poverty category and keep them barely alive and on dole of the government.  That way, the politically connected large corporations that do not pay taxes and receive bailouts can continue to pay them peasant wages while the government takes care of the rest.  It’s a win-win.  The situation I just described is exactly what is happening as we speak and has been occurring at an ever frequent pace since the coup of 2008.  This is exactly why people are buying guns, gold and are extremely negative on the economy and the future of the United States.  I recently discussed this in my post Gallup Poll: Americans Most Negative on the Nation and Economy in 30 Years.  If you read the Gallup data in detail you will see that this level of negative readings only occur during very bad economic times.  The average person can feel themselves getting poorer despite the nonsense spewed by the mainstream media.  Their standards of living don’t lie and no amount of false statistics can change that.  As John Adams famously said:  Facts are stubborn things.

Stubborn indeed; and this is where the stock market comes into play.  Banana Ben Bernanke has not made it a secret that he is directly targeting a higher stock market with his purchasing power destroying money printing.  He has made that clear from pretty much the beginning.  The idea is that a higher market will improve the balance sheets of pensions, individual retirement accounts and also create a psychological impact that will make people feel confident and thus boost the economy.  It is the last point that is of course most important. If the latter does not happen then the boost in stock prices is merely an unsustainable bubble that will burst and all the “good” that was done to balance sheets will be undone with a vengeance at some point in the future.  The latter did not happen.

As much as people like to talk about the 1% versus the 99%, the real winners since 2008 have been the oligarchs.  The 0.01% have benefited much more than any other class in terms of both money and power.  It’s the 0.01% versus everyone else and the quicker we recognize that, stop fighting amongst ourselves, and push them aside the better it will be for our species.

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