The Humble Libertarian original

A glowing article about Bitcoin from Big Think Sunday: Crypto could be closer to the mainstream than we think Right now, it might feel like we’re a long way off from a world where crypto is mainstream. However, the industry has come a long way within the past two years alone. With more and more companies working on solutions to solve some of crypto’s biggest problems and making it more practical for real-world application, it could be closer than we’ve been led to believe. There have even been rumors that big companies like Amazon are planning on jumping onto the crypto bandwagon. The retail giant has released no official statements on the topic, but its recent purchases of domain names including AmazonEthereum.com, AmazonCryptocurrency.com, and AmazonCryptocurrencies.com, suggest that it could be gearing up to become more involved in this growing industry. Amazon is also pushing its ‘Blockchain on AWS’ platform that provides users with the resources they need to experiment ...

Peter Thiel who co-founded PayPal and invested early in Facebook says Bitcoin is like gold :

(Difficulty level: Extreme. Potential reward: God tier.) So your phone's smart. And it is. And it is amazing. And it has changed our lives. But it can be better. It can be a strong phone. A strong phone isn't just smart. It's strong. Lol But seriously, my idea is a phone that has a transparent shell with hard switches that you can visibly see open and close physical circuits that connect the power source to the camera, mic, gps, etc. that way you know they cannot be remotely activated. That would be pretty strong. Include a free bitcoin wallet. Something strong ;) Now as for a decentralized cellular network. I would need someone above my pay grade on engineering to conceive what that would mean and how it would be implemented. But you would change the entire world and remake it in your own image.

I learned just about everything I know about business from selling millions of dollars worth of cars, trucks, and SUVs at a high volume regional automotive dealership in just under three years. And that’s saying a lot because my college degree is a Bachelor of Business and I majored in Entrepreneurship. I learned a lot during those four years, but not even close to as much as I did selling cars during those other three years. It’s a tough business to make it in because people are spending a lot of money when they buy a vehicle, they’ve never met you before, and you will probably never see each other again. And the car business created its own bad image and sowed the seeds of consumer distrust for decades before most dealerships cleaned up their act in the era of the informed customer. So I learned very quickly how to build relationships and trust in a very short amount of time. Sometimes in as little as three hours from the time I met a potential customer to the time they ...

If you're wondering why there aren't more women in positions of power in big corporations today, you're asking the wrong question. The right question is: Why are there any men at all that want those positions of power? Video: Psychology Professor Dr. Jordan B. Peterson (University of Toronto) talks about women in high pressure jobs and the balance between career and having a family life. Jordan B. Peterson interviews James Damore August 8th, 2017: Interestingly enough, this noted psychology and philosophy lecturer (who is also a practicing clinical psychiatrist) had his popular YouTube channel (with over 350,000 subscribers) shut down earlier this month for unnamed TOS violations, and then reactivated after an outcry went up. I'm scared I don't have a big enough audience for anyone at Google to care if the Blogger account that I host this blog on is deactivated because I posted these videos to share this very reasonable viewpoint. And that's t...

Today my very creative libertarian Muslim friend, Davi Barker , wrote on his Facebook: "Anyone feel like spotting me $900 bucks so I can start issuing custom full color plastic agorist identification cards? A commenter responded: "that's very statist of you" Davi's answer: "How do you figure? There are plenty of legitimate reasons to verify your identity. I don't see why the State should have a monopoly." Commenter's response: "touche.." Davi's followup: I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the whole point of Shiny Badges is to provide market alternatives of Statist insignia. Lapel pins. Badges. Declarations. Soon flags, maybe ID cards. That's the joke... or is it the strategy. Maybe it's a strategy disguised as a joke. Another commenter wrote: I'm saddened that you didn't check https://www.bitcoinstore.com/badgy-bdg101fru-card-printer.html first! You can save over $165 and pay with Bitcoi...

Two Freedom Feens talk radio hosts argue that " Ron Paul's Pay Wall Makes Him A Dinosaur Thrashing In The Tar Pits ." An excerpt: "He's trying to make it look like Fox News... And it's like-- it doesn't really work... What I think would be better is just him in his office, in his cozy home. I don't want Ron Paul trying to look like a talking head. I want Ron Paul being Ron Paul." "Although there is something to be said like Ben Swann said when we interviewed him, that there are visual cues; there are these subconscious things that make people think, 'Oh, this is news,' but I don't really know if Ron Paul's audience in general falls for that, and if the idea is not to preach to the choir, the people that already love him who are going to be the ones paying ten dollars a month to see this, but it's to spread the message, then why are you having people pay ten dollars to see this, right? If the idea is to spread the word...

"Imagine living in a home that costs you nothing to heat or cool. Imagine building this home yourself. Imagine growing your own vegetables year-round in this home. Imagine no utility bills. Imagine easily available, limitless natural [and salvaged] resources to build this home..." Expect to start hearing more survivalists ( like this one ) talk about earthships. These are just way too cool. I want one:

Over the weekend, we learned that Ron Paul's next big project is a full K-12 Ron Paul homeschool curriculum that will be offered to parents for free from grades K-5. Website: RonPaulCurriculum.com "You're trying to decrease my future tax obligations and improve my education?" *mmmwwwaaahhhh* The curriculum is being co-authored with libertarian economist Gary North and libertarian historian Tom Woods . On his own blog, Woods lists the benefits of the new Ron Paul homeschool curriculum as follows: (1) Grades K-5 will be available for free. You have six years to try out the program without having to spend a dime. (2) Students will learn the origins and travails of liberty in the Western world and in the United States in particular. (3) Students will learn the economics of the Austrian School. (4) Students can learn at their own pace. If they’re advanced and move more quickly, they can quiz out of the first two years of college and enter college as juni...

Late last night, in the uninhibited and ecstatic throes of inebriation, a vision came to me that was so compelling I had to write it down in dry erase marker on my bathroom mirror so I wouldn't forget it by morning. That is what you see pictured above: a written reminder that I had a brain child last night-- Afghanuggies, an afghan with sleeves like a Snuggie. I'd buy that. I'd buy one for myself and I'd buy one for my dad. I also bet hipsters would love it. I don't know why, but I just feel like they would. This morning my roommate suggested a follow-up product after the success of Afghanuggies: Quiltuggies, a patchwork quilt like something grandma would make-- except it has sleeves. After Afghanuggies go mainstream, the hipsters will need another product that hasn't caught on yet, something new to like before it becomes fashionable. Quiltuggies could be that product. Why am I sharing this? Because I believe that every single one of you reading this right n...

Mitt Romney led all presidential rivals in contributions from financial services industry firms and workers in 2011, followed by President Obama, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Cool graphic, huh? I've been hitting this theme really hard for a couple weeks now because I think it is one of the biggest and yet most under-reported aspects of this Republican primary. Finally we're getting at least a little attention from the mainstream media. Read the entire article, entitled Wall Street bets big on Romney at CNNMoney . PS: I love how the MSM has to take all the best alternative, libertarian commentary and hide it away in CNN Money and Fox Business . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Reuters reports : Co-founders of online U.S. payment service PayPal, now owned by eBay Inc, donated to the Super PAC funding group supporting Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, the group Endorse Liberty disclosed on Tuesday. PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Luke Nosek and Scott Banister, an early adviser and board member, put their support behind the Endorse Liberty Super PAC, alongside Internet advertising veteran Stephen Oskoui and entrepreneur Jeffrey Harmon, who founded Endorse Liberty in November. Texas congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian, has been an unconventional candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, advocating an isolationist brand of foreign policy [ Seriously, Reuters? It's going to be like that? -WEM ] and a $1 trillion cut in the U.S. government's budget. "Too often in this country we learn things the hard way ... With its unsustainable deficits, government spending is heading down the same path. Men and women who want ...

InfoWars reports : Wouldn’t it be great if a Republican presidential candidate could just buy the support of just about every major conservative talk show host in America? Well, it may not be as far-fetched as you may think. Clear Channel owns more radio stations (850) than anyone else in the United States.  They also own Premiere Radio Networks, the company that syndicates the radio shows of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, among others.  Needless to say, Clear Channel basically owns conservative talk radio in the United States.  So who owns Clear Channel?  Well, it turns out that Bain Capital  is one of the primary owners of Clear Channel .  Yes, you read that correctly.  The company that Mitt Romney ran for so long is one of the “big bosses” over virtually all conservative talk radio in America.  Of course Mitt Romney is not running Bain Capital anymore.  He is a “retired partner”, but he still has a huge financi...

By Grant Davies About a month ago I was fortunate enough to attend a book signing luncheon   in downtown Chicago, sponsored by the Heartland Institute, where I had the opportunity to hear Tom Palmer make a presentation on the topic of a new book that he edited, titled The Morality of Capitalism . A small book full of big ideas, it's very readable and I recommend it highly. During that speech*, Palmer (who, because I was a few moments late, was lucky enough to be seated next to me for lunch) referred to a term that I immediately knew would, at some point, be used when I got around to writing about what I consider to be a huge, but often ignored, problem. Even though I'm a know-it-all, somehow I always learn something fun and useful at these luncheons. The term was "undertaker" and the etymology was explained as; "an old English phrase meaning; one who undertakes some activity or task", or as it might be expanded, a risk or a business. The more mode...

Local McDonald’s restaurant locations in Northern California will be kicking off 2012 with a kind gesture for California residents struggling in uncertain economic times. For a full two weeks, beginning on Monday, January 2, McDonald’s restaurants throughout Northern California will be giving a “free small Premium Roast Coffee made with 100 percent fire-roasted Arabaca Beans to all customers during business hours with no purchase necessary.” Read my full coverage at IVN.us . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

This Christmas season, to much fanfare, Walmart brought back their layaway program. For those Internet intellectuals among us too rich and separate from the ails of the working man to understand the incentives behind layaway plans, let me explain the concept. By purchasing an item on layaway, you select your item, put down a deposit and make regular payments until the item is fully paid off - without interest. Only then are you allowed to take the item home. ...wait, what? Yes, that's how layaway plans work. There is no "getting the item" early advantage as with a credit system. So, we are left with only 2 possible benefits for those participating. 1) Fear of the item running out of stock. Putting the item on layaway guarantees you securing the item once you are able to fully pay for it. However, unless the item in question is a hot Christmas toy, Walmart largely sells commodities. In the majority of scenarios, there is no real fear of the item going out of sto...

As someone who holds a business degree with a major in entrepreneurship, I absolutely loved this piece at Mises.org and I count myself incredibly lucky that my entrepreneurship professors, especially the chair of the department (who writes an excellent blog ), never filled our heads with the post-modern, relativistic, politically correct, absolutely and obviously false nonsense that all you have to do is try in order to succeed. In fact, stacks and stacks of financial projections we labored over for our various business ideas showed us just how easy it is to fail and just how important it is to fail on paper so you don't fail in real life. Success is about deliberate action that creates the necessary results to achieve a clear goal. Just trying isn't enough. Reality doesn't know or respect your best intentions or most fervent wishes. You've got to think, and then you've got to sweat. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

CNN reports : Bank of America is dropping its planned $5 debit card usage fee after widespread customer complaints. "In response to customer concerns and the changing competitive marketplace, Bank of America no longer intends to implement a debit usage fee," the company said in a statement. "We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” said David Darnell, co-chief operating officer. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so." Excellent. Just don't install any annoying new chat bars on the right hand side of your banks, and things should go pretty smoothly from here on out. I swear, these giant companies should pay me to consult for them before they do anything. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page