[ED. this post is by Chris Horlacher, TDV Correspondent]

History repeats itself, so the scholars say.  But according to Mark Twain it just rhymes.  Literary quips and hair-splitting aside, I’ve found that one of the most valuable things anyone can do to advance their knowledge and understanding of the world is the study of history.  Now I’m not talking about the kind of history you get in grade school and university, where all you’re told to do is rote-memorization of people, dates and events.  To get any value whatsoever out of studying history, you have to be able to discern cause and effect.  What causes civilizations to grow to greatness, and what causes them to collapse?

Government is good at one thing: It knows how to break your legs, hand you a crutch, and say, "See, if it weren't for the government, you wouldn't be able to walk." - Harry Browne

Two months before I was born, on September 30, 1970, Harry Browne appeared on "Firing Line" with CIA operative, William F. Buckley Jr.  For those unaware, Harry Browne was an American free-market libertarian writer and publisher of "Harry Browne's Special Report", a financial newsletter he published from 1974-1997.

 The Fascist conception of the State is all embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism, is totalitarian, and the Fascist State - a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values - interprets, develops, and potentates the whole life of a people. - Benito Mussolini, 1932

I never watch the State of the Union in the US. I just can't stand someone looking into my eyes and lying to me for an hour. But I sometimes like to skim the transcripts after, mostly for entertainment, to see how they spin everything.

Terrorism 101: Governments are the Terrorists

[Ed. Note: The Following article is by TDV Correspondent, Gary Kinghorn]