Category: MK

I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.

– Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience 

Some people live their existence in a great state of dread, convinced a totalitarian, centralized world government of sorts is in our future. Not only do I not think this is going to happen, but I predict the exact opposite will occur. I believe the world has already hit “peak centralization” and decentralization will be the defining trend of human existence on this planet going forward.

Naturally, this is just one man’s opinion, but I strongly believe it and will make my case in this piece. When I look around and think about the major trends of our time, they all point in the direction of decentralization, something which invariably scares the living daylights out of authoritarians worldwide.

Irrespective of what you think of Donald Trump, the fact he was elected proves the power of decentralization in the modern communications and media realm. As was well documented throughout the campaign, the mainstream media came out in clownish and historically lopsided fashion in favor of his opponent Hillary Clinton. We all remember seeing headlines like the one below and then reading stuff like the following.

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2jOEdi9
via IFTTT

Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed to reason…There can be no right of speech where any man…[is] compelled to suppress his honest sentiments. Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”

– Frederick Douglass

A recent survey conducted by the Brookings Institution adds to my already festering concerns about American attitudes when it comes to our most precious civil liberty. Free speech.

Let’s start out by highlighting some of what we learned. First, via an opinion piece in The Washington Post:

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2wvKHs9
via IFTTT

When it comes to the U.S. economy, the “con” part offers the best description of the current relationship between business, government and the preyed upon consumer. The way things work in early 21st century America is large businesses bribe politicians in a variety of ways at both the local and federal level, and the end result is laws that are designed to increase corporate profits at the expense of the wellbeing and freedom of the American public. Politicians end up with financial war chests to run their next campaign, while bureaucrats see a lucrative opportunity to swing through the ever spinning revolving door should they play ball with lobbyists and their patrons. Yes, there’s always some degree of corruption within any society of humans, but there are peaks and valleys in such cycles. I’d argue we are somewhere in the peak corruption phase.

Today’s article focuses on one of the most highly regulated industries in the country, electric utilities. It’s one of the most boring businesses in America. I know this because it fell under the umbrella of my responsibilities during my last Wall Street job, and I could barely read a utilities research report without immediately falling asleep. Nevertheless, as you’ll see in today’s piece, the industry still finds a way to generate large profits while simultaneously harming the people its supposed to service.

When I think about solar panels, its not just the use of a renewable resource I find appealing, but also the potential to take energy generation into your own hands; something that can prove quite useful in a major global crisis, or even something more minor like Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida. The latter could’ve be a lifesaver for some Florida residents recently, but a local electric utility has done everything in its power to deny its customers such freedom.

Here’s some of what we learned about this situation from a fascinating article published by the Miami New Times, Why Didn’t FPL Do More to Prepare for Irma?

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2jDGAUU
via IFTTT

If you appreciate my work and want to contribute to independent media, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit our Support Page.

Top Links

The Power of Making Friends with Ideological Enemies (We could all learn a lot from Daryl Davis, FEE)

Israel Security Forces Are Training American Cops Despite History of Rights Abuses (What could go wrong, The Intercept)

FCA Rejects Call to Publish RBS Report in Full (This is unreal, Reuters)

Massive Weenie Resigns From Harvard Job Because He Can’t Stand Chelsea Manning (Splinter News)

Senate Intel Slips Sentence Into Bill That Could Lead to Spying on U.S. Citizens (McClatchy)

There’s Blood In The Water In Silicon Valley (BuzzFeed)

Martin Shkreli Says He’ll Still Make Money From Jail, Will Read Philosophy (Read if you need a good laugh, Gizmodo)

Never Forget: The US Government Has A Known History Of Using False Flags (Caitlin Johnstone, Medium)

U.S. Politics

See More Links »

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2x5edV1
via IFTTT

Let’s get caught up real quick. On Wednesday, Harvard University announced that Chelsea Manning — who leaked evidence of U.S. war crimes in Iraq to Wikileaks and was incarcerated for seven years before being pardoned by Barack Obama — had been named a visiting fellow. I disagree with almost everything Obama did as president, but his pardoning of Manning is something I applaud. Then the CIA complained.

The complaint was swift and two-pronged. First, former acting director of the CIA, Michael Morell, wrote a letter by which he resigned in protest. Then the current CIA director, Michael Pompeo wrote a note of his own, which included support for Morell. Morell’s letter is absolutely incredible if you know some of this guy’s history. I suggest reading the entire thing.

Towards the end of the letter, Morell has the nerve to write:

“I have an obligation to my conscience — and I believe to the country — to stand up against any efforts to justify leaks of sensitive national security information.”

Let’s now take a moment to review this man’s well documented conscience.

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2wv4h2G
via IFTTT

For as long as I’ve been writing on this website, I’ve argued that the U.S. economy has become little more than a gigantic rent-seeking swindle where much of the wealth being “created” isn’t being created at all. Rather, money is being shuffled around and extracted from the population at large via increasingly elaborate and preposterous schemes. Indeed, it appears much of the nation’s creative energy is being directed at discovering new corporate scams, versus the invention of new goods and services that benefit everyone.

For the latest scam we turn, unsurprisingly, to the pharmaceutical industry and Allergan in particular. This latest racket was revealed by The New York Times last week, and its pretty grotesque.

What follows are excerpts from the article, How to Protect a Drug Patent? Give it to a Native American Tribe:

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2f8iNe2
via IFTTT

I’m really grateful JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon decided to once again lash out in anger at Bitcoin, as it provides us with ample opportunity to highlight a practice very near and dear to how the bank operates. Fraud.

The way the news cycle works, any topic that isn’t already at the forefront of enough people’s minds will be largely ignored irrespective of its importance. The fact that Jamie Dimon ironically called Bitcoin a fraud, allows us to ask highlight some very important facts about the seemingly systemic fraud inherent in America’s largest bank, JP Morgan.

First, let’s take a quick look at some of what Mr. Dimon said. Courtesy of the financial plutocrat network, CNBC:

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2x1O4Wo
via IFTTT

Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential run was extremely disappointing. Rather than take it hard to the establishment, he seemed more interested in playing footsie with neocons and establishment Republicans. That strategy didn’t work and it never will work. Rand Paul is best when he’s acting like a statesman and not a politician, because that’s what people who like him, like about him. His campaign advisors were clearly incompetent, but at the end of the day the buck stops with him.

That being said, life is all about learning from your mistakes and Rand has truly started coming into his own in the age of Trump. With much of the party fractured and bickering, Paul seems to have found the space to push forward on key issues such as civil asset forfeiture, prison reform and endless war. He’s serving a very important function within a elitist and crony U.S. Congress and we should all take the time to thank him for his efforts.

His latest stand relates to the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which has been consistently abused for 16 years by multiple presidents in order to start endless military interventions against new enemies without forcing Congress to uphold its constitutional duty to wage war.

As Senator Paul explained in a recent Rare opinion piece:

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2wnooQv
via IFTTT

Unless we come to terms with 9/11 and the obvious fact that the official government story is a ridiculous fairytale, it’ll be hard for our nation to move forward in an intelligent, courageous and ethical manner. Many of the most destructive trends which have defined our post September 11, 2001 environment, such as a loss of civill liberties and endless barbaric wars of aggression abroad, have been directly related to our false understanding of that awful terrorist attack. As I’ve always maintained, I have no idea what really went down on that day, I just know that the U.S. government and its intelligence agencies are not being honest.

Although it’s been a long time coming, we’re finally uncovering some kernels of truth about the attack and the role Saudi Arabia played in carrying them out. Much of this progress has been driven by family members of those who died, some of whom are suing the Saudis for their role in that despicable slaughter of civilians.

I’ve written about these lawsuits on several occasions, but here’s an updated summary from Common Dreams, published two days ago:

continue reading

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2vQ9Zwp
via IFTTT

If you appreciate my work and want to contribute to independent media, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit our Support Page.

Top Links of the Week

Joe Rogan Experience #1006 – Jordan Peterson & Bret Weinstein (All three hours are outstanding, YouTube)

Equifax is Proving Why Forced Arbitration Clauses Ought to Be Banned, Just Like the CFPB Wants to Do (The Intercept)

Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack Revealed (Bloomberg)

Alleged Equifax Hackers Demand $2.6 Million Bitcoin Ransom — Or Else… (Mashable)

This Pro-Hillary Website Looks Like North Korean Agitprop (Politico)

European Junk Rally Pushes Yields Below U.S. Treasuries (This financial system is terminal, Bloomberg)

My Friends at Google: It Is Time to Return to Not Being Evil (More evidence Google is abusing it’s power, Vivaldi Technologies Blog)

Venezuela’s Maduro Says Will Shun U.S. Dollar in Favor of Yuan, Others (Reuters)

Nearly Half of Working-Age American Men Who Are Out of the Labor Force Are Using Painkillers Daily (Some interesting stats in here, Quartz)

Angry About the Election? (From November, extremely prescient, Psychology Today)

‘American Republic is Essentially Doomed’ (Barrett Brown interview, RT)

U.S. Politics

See More Links »

from Liberty Blitzkrieg http://ift.tt/2eNpHSj
via IFTTT