It's kind of humbling to scroll through 6 years of archived blogs and to re-read some of the things you have written. Some projections/opinions of mine have been very wrong particularly any of those dealing with the stock market. There are other things- that clearly needed additional editing. My top two all time blogs consist of a piece I had written on the death of CNBC Mark Haines who I really liked- and the other was a piece I wrote called the "Ten Reasons to Hate Huffington Post." My very best blogs of 2014. They might not always represent my favorite writing- but people liked them. Here they are, month by month for 2014. On changing our corporate biz structure: January-  http://thecivillibertarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/dissolving-status-quo-corporate-america.html The President trying to convince us to buy government debt: February-  http://thecivillibertarian.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-president-completely-detached-from.html The advantages of being black or po...

Mutual aid agreements and officer involved shooting protocols came about largely in the public sector as a result of events or incidents which were larger than any given jurisdiction's ability to mount an effective response. In fact, I haven't even heard them mentioned anywhere which includes a few of the police sites that I visit. They are effective tools and might have stopped the Ferguson riots altogether. It begs the large question- what good is training if law enforcement doesn't use it? What good is a protocol that has been proven to work if law enforcement agencies don't deploy them? Today I'd like to talk a little bit about what went wrong in the Ferguson, Missouri officer involved shooting of Michael Brown, the subsequent riots, and the victim class. I'd also like to talk a little about disclosure and honesty from both sides. Could all of the rioting and subsequent fallout been preventable? Maybe. But first two caveats. I have read hundreds of artic...

I am feeling a little more blessed than usual today. Maybe it's just that time of year. I had only one wish back in 2007. If you want something bad enough, I think anything is possible. In 2007, I wanted the life I once had back. I wanted to live my life and enjoy it- just as I did as a child. This week will mark the end of one more year with my inner family intact. Through a series of miracles, my mother and father are still here. We have been blessed. Ya know, other bloggers and I write about all of the insanity in the world. I often wonder as I write, how do the other writers handle the world's insanity? Are they angry, bitter, outraged? I wish I knew more about them. I am in awe at how the world shapes us- we don't shape it. It hands us what it will and says, "What are you going to do about that?" Sometimes we become bitter and angry, sometimes clearly frustrated. Sometimes we are confused and sometimes we wonder, who is in charge of this nuthouse? Som...

Here's a piece about a public employee questioning publicly, why a white shooting victim doesn't get the same attention as black thug, Michael Brown. For exercising her First Amendment rights- she was fired. Not the America I was guaranteed. Definitely worth the read. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/21/charlote-public-employee-fired-over-ferguson-comments-sparks-first-amendment/?intcmp=latestnews

I wrote this on Saturday. As this year comes to a close, I note that a lot of very intelligent people once again, seem to have been very wrong about the economy. Billionaire Eric Sprott's call for December 2100.00 gold seems to be the most outrageously stupid call- but he can be forgiven since he owns silver and gold funds and he is hopelessly jaded by his own desires to get people invested in his funds. Perennial bears like Marc Faber and Peter Schiff were wrong again this year. Shorting any stock index in 2014 was a recipe for disaster. The "housing bubble" did not collapse. Nor has the stock or bond bubble. My favorite all time wrong call award this year- goes to Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens. Pickens on a CNBC interview a year or two ago was questioned about whether we would ever see a sub 2.00 gas price again. T. Boone Pickens said rather emphatically- that we never would. Even Meredith Baxter and her appearance on 60 Minutes- have been proven wrong....

Building on the broad success of Obamacare, Warren Buffett has convinced President Obama that instead of just force placing health insurance policies on everyone- the government should open a multi-line insurance company- and "sell" all lines of coverage. One of the issues President Obama has yet to address- is how are millions of broke and newly minted Americans- going to arrive at their American jobs? In Brownsville, Texas, Obama addressed a cheering audience telling them that he is sick of going to American cities and seeing Mexicans hunched over old, rear wheel drive beaters knowing full well that they are uninsured. "Just the other day, I saw a four tone Chevy dragging a muffler. We can't have this level of blight in America. This is not who we are." Obama went on to say that most of those beaters don't have insurance because it's simply too expensive. "It's just not fair that there are people who are priced out." Obama's pro...

It's not even close. Of course you know the answer- but you may not realize the scope of it. Earlier this week, I posted an article entitled "I Cop" on the libertarian website "The Daily Paul." My reason for doing this quite frankly, is that I am fed up with sites such as the DP who continually post every anti-cop piece of propaganda that they can get their hands on. It's like a hate filled vacuum where like minded souls congregate to find some common enemy. At the DP, it's cops. So yea, I've been a member of the DP for nearly 4 years. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have read well over 200 various hate cop rants and videos posted there. I have read thousands of anti-cop comments posted beneath those articles and videos. I haven't posted one thing in defense of cops, which as you all know, I spent 25 years of my life doing. I'd like to think I didn't waste those years. My patience, as I waited for some modicum of moderation at...

I stumbled onto this last night. Russia realizes that western bankers are manipulating and holding the price of gold artificially low- thus... Putin is using gold and gold manipulation to short circuit the dollar by buying as much gold as possible. Western bankers are trapped and there is no way out until gold supplies are exhausted. I read it twice. It makes you wonder if driving oil prices lower will slow Putin's gold buying down. Interesting. http://www.gold-eagle.com/article/grandmaster-putins-golden-trap

Sometime in the spring of 2008, I had one of several "aha" moments like the one I am about to describe. That moment would completely change the way I view the world, how I view others, and most importantly perhaps- how I view myself. I actually laugh a lot more because of the foolishness of it all. Eckhardt Tolle's masterpiece, "A New Earth" can be a tough read. It isn't particularly challenging or complex- but I think for many people it is hard to comprehend and digest. I did it in 20 page increments because it was simply too difficult for me to read larger chunks and then try to assimilate the information. I think there is a giant chasm or disconnect between people who say they've read something and people who actually comprehend what they've read. It is something I have noted in dramatic fashion over the course of my life. A New Earth did several things for me. It allowed me to identify my false sense of self and recognize that I had one. It...

Darren Wilson's turn came too early. Most of us get a little more time than he did. Years ago, our police department was the first in our area to equip our officers with Tasers. I took a lot of shit for that decision from other area police departments most of which- had no crime and were run by liberal statists with liberal councils and liberal Mayors. Liberals always think they are smarter than you. That is a universal theme that is almost always true. That's been my observation. At any rate, shortly after equipping and training the staff with Tasers (which includes getting shot with them) a couple of our officers responded to a disturbance call one night. Upon arriving, our 5'5, 115 pound, female police officer found herself on the sidewalk in front of the home. The lunatic suspect, a 6'1", 250 lb. wife beater and alcoholic I had known for many years, burst out the front door of his house while launching a profane assault and trying to intimidate our officer....

Last Sunday, one of the NFL pre-game shows did a feature on a man who decided to write and ask people, "What was your very best day and why?" I love the question and I have been mulling it over all week. My best day happened the day after my very worst day. It was Oct. 10, 2007. So I thought I'd share it- I have before. Midway through  2007, my life had become a mess. I had just put the ink on my divorce, submitted my resignation or "retired", and I was having serious medical issues. I was angry, confused, and drinking way too much. I was depressed. I had managed to piss off what few friends I had left. I had nobody. I had never felt loneliness like that. The following day was Oct. 10. I woke up with one of those headaches where you can feel your own pulse as it throbs in the back of your head. Pissed off and depressed is no way to live your life. I remember thinking that I had spent a lifetime solving everyone else's problems and I knew nobody was g...

Remember when Cosby played a gynecologist on the "Cosby Show?" Apparently he takes his roles seriously- including the dispensation of drugs. The list of victims now numbers 19. Here's a complete rundown of the dates, ages, names, and allegations of all 19. You'll note a familiar theme. https://tv.yahoo.com/news/19-bill-cosby-accusers-complete-breakdown-allegations-far-135600544.html?bcmt=comments-postbox

This is a FG exclusive. As most of you know, I follow the gold market. I have some interests and investments. Because of this,  I have noted something crazy in the gold markets which is worthy of passing on. Here's the quick summary. I'm not going to post links, because I would have to embed 10 or 12 so you are just going to have to take my word that what I say is generally accurate. In mid 2011, Venezuela demanded that 160 tons of gold be repatriated and it was. The corresponding gold price dropped from 1900 levels to 1500 dollar levels. In Oct. of 2012, Germany demanded that their gold be repatriated. Although they asked for 300 tons from the United States- we could not deliver. In fact, all Germany managed to get back was 5 tons and Germany said the gold it received was not the same gold that it had delivered decades ago. The corresponding price in gold dropped from 1500-1600 levels to 1200 dollar levels. I think Germany might have embarrassed the US. In Jan of 2...

In the law enforcement world, it is often said that rape is the most under reported serious crime. Oddly, rape also happens to be one of the most "over reported" false accusations. Sorting those two things out can cost you a career. I know that to be true. In a moment, I'm going to tell you a bizarre tale. Yesterday, I heard a couple lamenting about the woes of Bill Cosby while eating breakfast in the booth next to mine. They were talking about the 16 or so current rape allegations now leveled against Bill Cosby. Bill it seems, likes to dispense with the frivolities of monogamy, courtship, dating, and sexual consent- choosing instead to have sex with unconscious women. The man and woman eating next to me, a couple about my age, probably grew up as I did- thinking that Bill Cosby was the perfect American success story. A role model and a hero. In fact, I heard the gal in the booth say, "the whole thing just makes me sick to my stomach, I feel sorry for his wife....

An Italian doctor says: "In Italy, medicine is so advanced that when we cut off a man's testicles and transplant  them on another man, in only 6 weeks he is looking for work." The Dutch doctor says: "That's nothing. In Holland when we take part of a brain and put it in another man, he begins looking for work in as little as 4 weeks." The Canadian doctor says: "Gentlemen, we can take half a heart from a man, put it in another's chest, and in 2 weeks he is looking for work." The American doctor laughs: "You have nothing on us." "Five years ago, we took a man with no brains, no heart, and no balls and made him President. Now, the whole country is looking for work!"

Imma gonna plaster this together and hope it sticks. Six months ago, I did not know who "Banksy" was. I still don't. Neither do the millions who follow his art. My sister made me aware of what he did. Banksy is a shadowy graffiti artist who's work is so excellent- that people stop and stare at it anywhere they find it. Banksy will use any venue that strikes him. As I write this, I am watching "Banksy Does New York." Banksy's work is fantastic and it always makes a statement. Nobody says "fuck you" to established rules any better than Banksy does. You got to love a guy who disses on the "Freedom Tower" (built where the world trade center buildings were) and says it belongs in Canada. Most of Banksy's work gets painted over and destroyed. It is after all, against the law. So today, rather than read another hateful government rant, take a spin through Banksy's world. Here's a great place to start.  http://www.artoft...

...because I can't. Three years ago, with national debt levels rising, gold inexplicably went into free fall. Some three years later gold is still dragging the bottom of its range near 1200. It has been a three year bear market. With national debt levels at 17.9 trillion, I don't even think there's a little old lady in Kansas that believes we can pay this debt off. The only two ways this debt ever gets paid off? Default or a hyperinflationary event. For gapers only.

Oh, how I try. Week after week I think- I will write something nice and uplifting. And then along comes a guy like Jonathan Gruber. I've met a lot of people in my life. Motorists, crime victims, drug addicts and alcoholics. I've worked with hundreds of cops, school district employees, merchants, and various members of special interest groups. I've played in golf tournaments, poker tournaments, and softball tournaments. Hell, I've probably dated at least 50 women. I've known thousands of people. And in all of my 53 years, there are probably only two people who I would feel quite comfortable knowing and describing as assholes. So getting into the FG Hall of Fame is no easy task. Assholes, by my definition, have to possess the following qualities. They have to be completely self absorbed and self centered. When an issue arises, they will always do what is in their best interests- they are not concerned with anyone else's interests although they may preten...

(This was last week's piece. I didn't like it but I have posted it today in a Frankenstein Government two for one sale!) I've had a pretty interesting week which ended with last week's giant, Friday stock market rally brought on by Japan's announcement that they were going to further debase their currency and buy one half a trillion worth of American equities. More or less. So the bankers decided to front run those eventual purchases by the Japanese- by buying on Friday. The QE shit show that never ends. I read a snarky Forbes piece about what a great deal Obamacare is this morning. It sure is- as long as you are subsidized by taxpayers. Unsubsidized people like myself are faced with 8000 dollars worth of annual insurance costs which approximate my mortgage or about 17% of my after tax income. (500 x12 mo with a 2k deductible) On to the topic du jour. When I was a child and later a young man, there was a sense of optimism in our lives. I knew and my friends ...