As the main growing season winds down and fall gardens are being planted across much of the country, you might think it would be time for me to post on fall gardening. Fall gardens are well-worth doing, but instead of jumping on that train I’m going to focus on what you can do right now that will make your spring gardens better than they’ve ever been. Gardeners, like most people, tend to think of their gardening in terms of one season. When you step back, however, and see how building up your plots and planning ahead will benefit your gardening … Continue reading →

Life hacks are a big thing these days. Maybe it’s because we’re all looking to make our complicated lives just a little bit easier, or maybe it’s because we are fascinated by simple bits of creativity that can have a practical impact on everyday life. To me, life hacks can happen in the physical world with useful tidbits like the ones below, or even in the mental/spiritual world by learning more about how to navigate ourselves. Sure, you don’t have to call them life hacks on the mental/spiritual side, as they are simply new ways of thinking about things, but in some sense, they are accomplishing … Continue reading →

Well, that didn’t take long! After just three days of market turmoil the monetary politburo swung into action. This time they sent out B-Dud to promise still another monetary sweetener. Said the head of the New York Fed, “From my perspective, at this moment, the decision to begin the normalization process at the September FOMC meeting seems less compelling to me than it was a few weeks ago.”. Needless to say, “B-Dud” is a moniker implying extreme disrespect, and  Bill Dudley deserves every bit of it. He is a crony capitalist fool and one of the Fed ring-leaders prosecuting a relentless, savage war on … Continue reading →

A former Arizona police officer, who killed six people during his 12-year career before it ended after the latest shooting, is now selling firearm training simulators that jolt people who hesitate to shoot. James Peters, former police officer with the Scottsdale PD, applied for “accidental disability retirement” in 2012 after he shot a 50-year-old man in the head with a rifle. The deceased, John Loxas, who was holding his baby grandson in his arms at that moment, had a record of threatening neighbors with firearms. Peters reported seeing a black object in Loxas’ trouser pocket, believing it to be a handgun. … Continue reading →

There’s little question that the collapse of the financial universe in 2008 dealt a dramatic blow to retail’s confidence in US capital markets. Taxpayers were forced to foot the bill for a Wall Street bailout just as 45% of their 401ks was being vaporized and to make matters immeasurably worse, CNBC ensured that mom and pop could watch their retirements disappear in real time on the same channel that had, for the better part of a year, been telling them that everything was fine. To the extent that the Fed-driven, six-year rally restored some semblance of trust between retail investors … Continue reading →

Swords into Plowshares – Ron Paul Concealed Carry Lifestyle – Ray H Duncan Worshipping the Myths of World War II: Reflections on America’s Dedication to War – Edward W Wood Against the State: An Anarcho-Capitalist Manifesto – Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963 – Michael Swanson The Pith of Life: Aphorisms in Honor of Liberty – Jakub Bozydar Wisniewski A Century of War – John V. Denson Battlefield America: The War on the American People – John W. Whitehead Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, America’s Invisible Government, and the Hidden History of the … Continue reading →

My father, a New York financier, used to call dubious stocks or bonds,  “Chinese paper.”   Last week, we saw a blizzard of  Chinese paper, both in China and around the world. As manager of a sizeable investment portfolio (an unwelcome second job from my main work, journalism),  I watched last week’s near death experience on world markets with a mixture of cynicism and alarm. First of all, remember when Americans – and particularly Republicans – demonized Mao’s China and endlessly warned about the perils of Communism?  Well, the Chinese seemed to have listened.  China ditched Communism and embraced runaway capitalism … Continue reading →