Daily Archives: September 26, 2019

If theres one issue that almost everyone agrees on whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative its that cronyism is a significant problem in our political system, which is corrupted by special interest politics and rigged in favor of the well-connected and powerful.

But how well do we truly understand the nature and causes of cronyism, or how to solve the problem?

A thorough exploration of this question, and Ayn Rands distinctive perspective on it, can be found in the book Foundations of a Free Society: Reflections on Ayn Rands Political Philosophy, edited by Gregory Salmieri and Robert Mayhew. Cronyism is the focus of one essay in the collection, The Aristocracy of Pull: An Objectivist Analysis of Cronyism, by Steve Simpson, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation and former director of Legal Studies at the Ayn Rand Institute.

Simpsons essay explains the origins of the corruption in our political system and points us toward the antidote.

As Simpson explains:

Ayn Rand viewed this issue radically differently from other thinkers and thus approached it in a fundamentally different way. She did not use the term cronyism and likely would not have used it, as it implies that the cause of problems such as pressure group warfare, influence peddling, and the unjust laws that result is individual favoritism. Instead, Rand looked for the cause of these problems in mistaken philosophical premises about the nature, purpose, and proper functions of government. In Rands view, the fundamental cause of these problems is not corrupt individuals but, rather, a flaw in the ends that government is held to serve. Increasingly, our laws and policies are based on and justified by altruism and collectivism, Rand argued. These premises lead to a political system that is designed to compel individuals to sacrifice their incomes, their labor, and ultimately their lives for the good of society. Rand saw any political system based on altruism and collectivism as a form of institutionalized thuggery a system in which some people possess the legal authority to impose their will by force on others. In any society, this will lead to a form of gang warfare, as different factions fight to control the government and thus the legal authority to sacrifice others.

Unlike the typical perspectives on cronyism we encounter today, Rands view is that the problem is deeply philosophical. Simpsons essay brings clarity to the issue, explains the origins of the corruption in our political system, and points us toward the antidote.

The Aristocracy of Pull is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the root of and the solution to the deeply ingrained problem of cronyism. To learn more, buy your copy of Foundations of a Free Society today.

The author would like to acknowledge the useful editorial feedback of Keith Lockitch in improving this article.

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What Is the Root of Cronyism? - New Ideal

Yaron Brook, the chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute, is Tom Needham's exclusive guest this Thursday at 6 pm on WUSB's THE SOUNDS OF FILM. Dr. Brook is co-author, with Don Watkins, of In Pursuit of Wealth, Equal Is Unfair and of the national best-seller Free Market Revolution. He is also the host of The Yaron Brook Show on BlogTalk Radio. He is in New York City this week in order to attend the Ayn Rand Institute's 2019 Gala.

The ARI's Gala is at Apella on Wednesday, September 25, 2019. The event is going to feature a special discussion with John Allison, Yaron Brook and Dave Rubin addressing the question, "Why do businessmen support those institutions that seek to destroy them?"

Mr. Allison is an Executive in Residence at the Wake Forest University School of Business. He is the retired president and CEO of the Cato Institute and was chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation. During Allison's tenure as CEO from 1989 to 2008, BB&T grew from $4.5 billion to $152 billion in assets.

Dave Rubin is a talk show host, comedian, and TV personality. He is the host of The Rubin Report, a talk show about big ideas and free speech. Dave has been heralded for his politically incorrect and honest approach to discussing complex issues and current events focusing on politics, religion, and the media.

The evening will include live and silent auctions with proceeds benefiting ARI's educational programs.It should be an inspiring, thought-provoking evening celebrating the ideas of Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

THE SOUNDS OF FILM is the nation's longest running film and music themed radio show. For the past 30 years, the program has delivered a popular mix of interviews and music to listeners all over Long Island, parts of Connecticut and streaming worldwide live on the internet. Past people interviewed for the show include writer Chris Hedges, Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple, Chuck D, Peter Fonda, RBG's Julie Cohen, director Matt Tyrnauer, Ricki Lake, Dr. Jordan Peterson, William H. Macy, author Robert Greene, and composer Rolfe Kent.

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Ayn Rand's Influence On Culture, Business & Politics is Explored On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM - Broadway World

THE FIRST FRIDAY BOOK GROUP will meet at 10 a.m. Oct. 4 in room 129 of the Jackson County Senior Center. The book to be discussed is The Traveling Cat by Hiro Arikawa. The November selection is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. For more information, call 586-4940.

Cullowhee Valley School is having its annual yard sale from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Oct. 12. The yard sale helps middle school students earn money to go towards their annual trips to Camp Greenville and Charleston, South Carolina. Community members can reserve a table for $30 by visiting the front office staff by Wednesday, Oct 2.

The CommUnity Square Dance is 7-9 p.m. Saturday at Reid Gym at Western Carolina University. The caller will teach and call all dances to live old-time music. No experience or partner is necessary. For more information contact Pammanottus@gmail.com.

Harris Regional Hospital will host a reception and dedication ceremony for anyone affected by breast cancer. The event will take place at noon Thursday, Oct. 3 at Harris Medical Park, 98 Doctors Drive, Sylva. Attendees will be allowed a time to place a card on the tree of hope in celebration and/or memory of a breast cancer patient. Refreshments will be served.

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Noteworthy: Notes from our business community and everywhere else - The Sylva Herald

The Westcott Cultural Fair

The Westcott Cultural Fair celebrates its 28th year in 2019. Artists from across Syracuse and Central New York will perform, including: Kambuyu Marimba at 12:30 p.m. on the NY State of Health Dell Street Stage, the Nottingham High School Jazz Band at 5:10 p.m. on The Belly Dance Stage, and the nationally touring funk-jam group Sophistafunk at 5:30 p.m. on the WAER Center Stage.

Where: The Westcott Cultural Fair, 826 Euclid Ave., Syracuse

When: Performances start at noon on Sunday, Sept. 22

How much: This is a free event. Details here.

Innovative, funky, and masters of improv, Flux Capacitor hits all the right notes as a jam band. Flux Capacitor formed in West Reading, Pa., in 2007 between brothers Peter, Michael, and Jason Specht. Flux Capacitor is influenced by a wide spectrum of genres and sounds ranging from Bob Marley to Pink Floyd. Since their debut release, They Know We Know in 2009, the band has toured internationally, sharing the stage with acts such as Rusted Root, Lukas Nelson and Railroad Earth. Must be 18 or older to attend.

Where: Funk n Waffles, 307-313 Clinton St., Syracuse

When: 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22

How much: Tickets are $10. Details here.

Seth Haley, as known as Com Truise, produces a slow-moving electronic sound coined as slow-motion funk. He creates a warped, almost sluggish sound that is laden with synthesizer hooks. Born in Oneida, NY, Haley is now based out of Los Angeles. Com Truise released his latest album, Persuasion System, in 2019.

Where: The Westcott Theater, 524 Westcott St., Syracuse

When: 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24

How much: Tickets start at $20. Details here.

English horror punk outfit Creeper comes to the stage with an energy and ferocity of a horror film come to life. Creeper incorporates elements of glam rock and goth into their sound, drawing on influences from artists such as David Bowie and Alkaline Trio. In 2015, Creeper toured with the punk group the Misfits across the U.K. Opening for Creeper will be bands Dracula Jones and Hurtin Units. Must be 18 or older to attend.

Where: The Lost Horizon, 5863 Thompson Road, Syracuse

When: 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28

How much: Tickets start at $15. Details here.

Collective Soul is a post-grunge rock band that rose to fame during the 1990s. The bands name, Collective Soul, comes from a line in the Ayn Rand novel, The Fountainhead. Collective Souls sound has evolved over the years, incorporating elements of pop, hard rock, and alternative rock into its grunge roots. The band celebrated 25 years together in 2019 and also released its newest album, Blood.

Where: Mulroy Civic Center Theaters, 421 Montgomery St., Syracuse

When: 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28

How much: Tickets start at $32.50. Details here.

A funktastic fusion of R&B, rock, jazz and Latin American styles, War became a popular outfit in the 1970s. Their music, which at times was politically motivated, was regarded for its eclectic, sunny, laid-back style. War emphasized a group focus, where all band members were emphasized, and it lent itself well to their long jam recordings. War has gone through considerable lineup changes in the decades since its inception, but continues to remain true to the bands toe-tapping groove roots.

Where: Turning Stone Resort Casino, 5218 Patrick Road, Verona

When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28

How much: Tickets start at $59.50. Details here.

Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhhamad came together in 2013 to create the musical project The Midnight Hour. However, plans shifted as both artists were called upon to write the score for the Netflix series, Luke Cage. In 2018, The Midnight Hour dropped their debut eponymous album. The collaboration, which creates an ear-catching mix of soul, R&B, rap, and jazz, features a full orchestra and rhythm section.

Where: The Haunt, 702 Willow Ave., Ithaca

When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28

How much: Tickets start at $25. Details here.

Check out our calendar of nearly 500 shows at venues from Buffalo to Albany in our Upstate NY Concert Calendar.

Shows we added this week: The Midnight Hour, The Marvel Years, Defunk, Marco Benevento, Luna, Of Montreal, The Fleshtones, The Districts, Palehound, Lawrence, Sammus, Irreversible Entanglements, ZZ Top, Cycles, The Greyhounds, Church of Cash, My So Called Band, Sick of it All, Moon Boots, Bear Grillz, Clairo, Fruit Bats, The Devil Wears Prada, Loud Luxury, Lotus, Dark Hollow, Cashmere Cat, Kung Fu, Lily Kershaw, Ani DiFranco, Martin Sexton, Capitol Steps, Collapsing Scenery, Falling in Reverse, Crown the Empire, Tom MacDonald, Little River Band, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, Get the Led Out, Here Come the Mummies, Room Full of Blues, Foghat, The The Band Band, Reverend Horton Heat, Jim Breuer, Patty Griffin, Hot Tuna, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Lil Baby, Saweetie, Da Baby, STS9, Trampled by Turtles, Insane Clown Posse, Sonata Arctica, Cody Johnson, Shoreline Mafia, Falling in Reverse, Michael Ray, Jimmie Allen, Jimmy Herring, Justin Hayward, Boz Scaggs, Sam Bush, John Pizzarelli Trio, Bob Dylan, Vampire Weekend, Chelsea Grin, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, Maddy ONeal, Helicopter Showdown, Champagne Drip, Freddy Todd, Ire Clad, Dredneks, Frank White, Radkey, Cordovas, Too Many Zoos, Biocratic, Sloan, Carl Palmers ELP Legacy, Strictly Hip, The Jayhawks, Brad Ray, Vinnie DeRosa, Matisyahu, Graham Nash, Lee Brice, Jocelyn and Chris Band, Trey Anastasio, Big Something, Lullwater, Vanessa Williams, The Grass Roots, The Allman Betts Band, Lil Tjay, Gaelic Storm, Aztec Two Step, 420 Funk Mob, That 1 Guy, Dustbowl Revival, Thurston Moore, The Felice Brothers, Lindsey Stirling, Consider the Source, Colt Ford, Epic, Minnesota, Belphegor, Necromicon and Suffocation.

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Flux Capacitor, Collective Soul, and War: 7 shows to see (Sept. 22 to 28) - syracuse.com

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Up next, were celebrating another group of talented ladies.

Tonight, the 71st annual Emmy Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. During the ceremony, Michelle Williams walked away with the statuette for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for playing Gwen VerdoninFosse/Verdon.

She was up against Amy Adams for Sharp Objects, Aunjanue Ellis for When They See Us, Joey King for The ActandNiecy Nash for When They See Us.

The Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category originally made its debut in 1955. Previous winners include Regina King for Seven Seconds, Nicole Kidman for Big Little Lies, Sarah Paulson for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Frances McDormand for Olive Kitteridge, Jessica Lange for American Horror Story: Coven and Laura Linney for The Big C: Hereafter.

Helen Mirren currently holds the record for most wins in this category, with four statuettes for Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness, The Passion of Ayn Rand, Elizabeth I and Prime Suspect: The Final Act.

Attagirl,Williams!

RELATED: Game of Thrones Dominates 2019 Emmy Award NominationsSee the Complete List of Nominees

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Michelle Williams Scores the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie - PureWow

To dislike a person because of the color of his skin is racism. To scorn someone because of her same-sex preference is homophobia. To disdain for reasons of gender is sexism. To frown upon people because of their foreign origins is xenophobia. Such manifestations of bigotry, to a person of peace, tolerance, and logic, are shameful and indefensible.

Why?

Color, sex, sexual orientation, and national origin have nothing to do with the content of ones character. Thats one reason.

Another is that humans are not a blob; each human is a unique individual. If one is to be judged, he should be judged by his choices and behaviorthat is, by his own sins and virtues and not by the sins and virtues of others who simply share some accidental resemblance to him.

A third reason is that finger-pointing takes the spotlight off self-improvement. Scapegoating is not a pathway to achievement for either persons or nations. Its what losers do.

But suppose you despise and seek to punish an entire class of people because theyre rich or successful. Is that bigotry, or is that the foundation of a political campaign? Sadly, its both. Frequently.

Second only to Donald Trumpa specific individual whose sins and virtues we can largely identify and hold him responsible forthe number one punching bag every political season is the rich. They are monotonously demonized by candidates who vie for your vote and affection and count on your ignorance and myopia.

It would be both unpopular and stupid to express a dislike for the poor as an income group. We all know that among the poor there are both good and bad people. Some are poor through little fault of their own and possess strong personal character. Others are poor because of bad choices and lousy behavior rooted in rotten character. We surely want to determine the difference and render our judgments and reactions accordingly.

Helmut Schoeck noted that to claim humanitarian motives when the motive is envy and its supposed appeasement, is a favorite rhetorical device of politicians.

Listen to presidential debates carefully, and youll easily see a very different perspective with regard to the rich. Income bigotry is on full and proud display. Candidates dont define the rich precisely, but they do hope that youll think youre not among them. Youre supposed to be the victim of the rich so the politician can be your savior. The demagogue doesnt say he wants to sift the good rich from the bad rich and treat them accordingly. He wants to go after them all, just for their richness.

You can be rich because you stole something or used your political connections to get special favors, or you could be rich like most of the rich, that is, because you created and built something; worked long, hard, and smart for what you have; added enormous value to society; invested resources wisely; or just entertained 50,000 happy, paying customers many times at concerts. Doesnt matter which.

When New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declares with fire in his eyes that he will tax the hell out of the rich, he means all of them. His competitors, as well as large swaths of their audiences, cheer because of the perverse satisfaction they derive from just thinking about the punishment. Suggest that taxing the hell out of anybody might be counter-productive to philanthropy, job creation, or economic growth, and youll quickly be the skunk at the garden party because its the punishment that matters, not outcomes.

Welcome to the ugly world of envy, defined by philosopher Immanuel Kant as

a propensity to view the well-being of others with distress, even though it does not detract from ones own. [It is] a reluctance to see our own well-being overshadowed by anothers because the standard we use to see how well off we are is not the intrinsic worth of our own well-being but how it compares with that of others. [It] aims, at least in terms of ones wishes, at destroying others good fortune.

Envy is almost as old as the world itself. It was Cains motive for killing Abel. Professor Paul Fairfield of Queens University in Ontario describes it as an animosity that eats away at you from the inside out and that hides itself behind a dubious morality. It comes in several shades.

The less harmful version, for example, is when you count the other guys blessings instead of your own but try to attain them for yourself peacefullyby trade or by emulating the decisions of the successful. A more malicious type takes this form: You despise someone for who he is or what he has and take personal delight in punishing him for it in the hope that youll benefit in one way or another. Maybe youll get some of his stuff or attain power by vilifying him.

I know of no moment in history in which the encouragement or practice of widespread envy produced anything but a bad outcome.

The worst kind of envy shows up when you take action to make sure no one can ever possess what the successful person has because you believe equality in misery is more virtuous than inequality, period.

Perhaps the 20th centurys best book on the subject was the Austrian-German sociologist Helmut Schoecks Envy: A Theory of Social Behavior, which appeared in the late 60s. Schoeck noted that to claim humanitarian motives when the motive is envy and its supposed appeasement, is a favorite rhetorical device of politicians.

Its a tactic that politicians have been using for agesprofoundly evidenced at least as far back as the sad, final decades of the old Roman Republic. I know of no moment in history in which the encouragement or practice of widespread envy produced anything but a bad outcome.

For good reasons, its counted as one of the seven deadly sins. It builds nothing up but concentrated state power; it tears everything down from the object of the envy (e.g., the rich) to the very souls of the envious themselves.

You dont have to take my word for it. Several thousand years ago, the tenth of the Ten Commandments warned of envys close relative, coveting. Many Biblical passages from both Old and New Testaments caution against it, including Proverbs 14:30 (A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones) and Ecclesiastes30:24 (Envy and wrath shorten the life).

What follows is a representative sampling of historical wisdom on the matter from across the centuries since.

The pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Democritus noted that a free and peaceful society would actively seek to discourage envy.

The laws would not prevent each man from living according to his inclination, unless individuals harmed each other; for envy creates the beginning of strife.

Seneca the Younger was a prominent Roman Stoic thinker and statesman of the 1st century AD. He was well aware that envy played a key role in the demise of the Republic in the previous century:

It is the practice of the multitude to bark at eminent men, as little dogs do at strangers.

Envy generates an internal struggle in three stages, according to the 13th centurys St. Thomas Aquinas. In the first stage, the envious person attempts to defame anothers reputation; in the second stage, the envious person receives either joy at anothers misfortune (if his defamation succeeds) or grief at anothers prosperity (if it fails); the final stage sees envy turned into hatred because sorrow causes hatred.

Italian poet and author of The Divine Comedy Dante Alighierisaw envy as a desire to deprive other men of theirs. In his Purgatory, the envious are punished by having their eyes sewn shut with wire because they gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.

Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential Renaissance Man, wrote:

Envy wounds with false accusations, that is with detraction, a thing which scares virtue.

In the 17th century, the English essayist Francis Bacon condemned envy as an enervating attitude that leads directly to deplorable actions:

A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others. For mens minds, will either feed upon their own good, or upon others evil; and who wanteth the one, will prey upon the other; and whoso is out of hope, to attain to anothers virtue, will seek to come at even hand, by depressing anothers fortune.

A hundred years later, the English theologian Robert South echoed Bacon.

Of covetousness, we may truly say that it makes both the Alpha and Omega in the devils alphabet, and that it is the first vice in corrupt nature which moves, and the last which dies.

At about the same time, the famous playwright Joseph Addison observed that envious people are usually unhappy people.

The condition of the envious man is the most emphatically miserable; he is not only incapable of rejoicing in another's merit or success, but lives in a world wherein all mankind are in a plot against [him].

When the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville toured America in the early 1830s, he found that one of the countrys strengths was that we were focused on building things and people up instead of tearing either down. Prophetically, he predicted that if envy took root, the result would be suicide.

I have a passionate love for liberty, law, and respect for rights. Liberty is my foremost passion. But one also finds in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to want to bring the strong down to their level, and which reduces men to preferring equality in servitude to inequality in freedom.

Equality is a slogan based on envy. It signifies in the heart of every republican: Nobody is going to occupy a place higher than I.

Theodore Roosevelt regarded himself as a progressive of his day (late 19th and early 20th century), but he understood then what most progressives today do not: namely, that envy is the root of much evil.

Probably the greatest harm done by vast wealth is the harm that we of moderate means do ourselves when we let the vices of envy and hatred enter deep into our own natures.

Philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand was an avowed atheist who would never argue that envy is evil because God says so. But she certainly regarded envy as evil and destructive. She equated it with hatred of the good, by which she meant hatred of a person for possessing a value or virtue one regards as desirable.

If a child wants to get good grades in school, but is unable or unwilling to achieve them and begins to hate the children who do, that is hatred of the good. If a man regards intelligence as a value, but is troubled by self-doubt and begins to hate the men he judges to be intelligent, that is hatred of the good.

Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and founder of the popular Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire. In his view:

Envy is a capital sin. It refers to the sadness at the sight of anothers goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. When it wishes grave harm to a neighbor it is a mortal sin: St. Augustine saw envy as diabolical sin. [In Augustines words,] From envy are born hatred, detraction, calumny, joy caused by the misfortune of a neighbor, and displeasure caused by his prosperity.

It would be easy to supply the reader with a thousand more quotes on the subject of envy. The difficult thing would be to find one that defends it. The irony is this: Universally condemned, envy is nonetheless widely practiced. Ayn Rand christened our times as an Age of Envy.

Search your conscience. If you find envy within it, expunge it before it does its awful work.

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Envy Is the Root of Many Modern Evils | Lawrence W. Reed - Foundation for Economic Education

Police were a lifeline for me

Take Back the Night

This is in regard to the Take Back the Night March being cancelled. As someone who survived both domestic and sexual assault, I find this troubling. The police officers who helped me through the worst of days were compassionate and nothing short of amazing. Yet, I can't march to show my support for all victims because a select few have a problem with the officers who protect us. I was of the belief we are an inclusive society. Not allowing police officers is counter-intuitive to the very heart of our message.

Stacey Sullivan, Hamilton

Red Hill and Linc not comparable

Red Hill safety

I have a concern on how Red Hill Valley Parkway accident statistics are reported. The facts may inadvertently be misunderstood. I am not suggesting that is 'careless' or intentional.

The Red Hill is seven-plus kilometres of significantly sloped winding road with a higher concentration of interchanges. Many interchanges are located at or near curves resulting in poor sight lines and more needing expertise in manoeuvring. For example, entering the parkway from the Greenhill exchange travelling north, the operator has to make a long curve to the right to follow the road but must do a shoulder check to signal moving to the left or risk of driving into the Main Street lane. Trying to do this at night with poor or no overhead lighting, in the dark and oncoming traffic at speed because of steep grade is not an easy nor a typical training scenario in driver education programs.

The Linc is completely flat, has greater distances between interchanges and no impaired sight lines from any direction.

These comments are not to imply that having an appropriate grade of asphalt is not an important factor.

Edwin R. DeBruyn, Hamilton

Ayn Rand had it right on the economy

Outdated economic thinking doesn't help (Sept. 12)

This letter writer says: "no government intervention in the economy, is considered outdated." Considered outdated by whom? Marx, Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao? You are in terrible company. In the immortal words of Ayn Rand: A free mind and a free market are corollaries.

Dan Riga, Burlington

Education system failing students

Student welfare

This year marks my niece's second year at university and first year as residence don. As part of her training, she completed a course on being able to recognize the signs of a potential suicide.

In what kind of world do we live, where the primary cause of death among our teens is suicide, followed closely by opioid overdose?

Now that pharmaceutical companies are being held responsible for contributing to this epidemic, will schools finally be held responsible for their part?

And what of the role of the government? Not only have the schools replaced an individualized approach to education, designed to meet the needs of as many students as possible, with an institutional approach, which in effect serves only to increase the levels of stress and anxiety of most students, but the government has now removed the funding for the in-school organizations that until now were in place to assist the students in coping.

How many teens must take their own lives before we admit our education system requires repair? When will we return to a time when we reach out to our children, in order to help them feel important as individuals, rather than to toughen them up in order to force them to face the harshness of reality?

Michael Feldman, Hamilton

Will Conservatives raise pension age?

Government benefits

If the Conservatives win a majority in the election, is it possible they will raise the Old Age Security pension to 67, or even higher?

Dieter Pekrul, Burlington

Justice system is broken

Two years for sexual assaults on girls (Sept. 20)

Thousands of child pornography images and two sexual assaults. He gets two years? What is wrong with our justice system? He should have been sentenced to life, like his victims were.

Kathy Lockley, Stoney Creek

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Opinion | Sept. 25: Careful comparing Linc with Red Hill, all Trudeau defenders are hypocrites and other letters to the editor - TheSpec.com

We cover every investment sector. We start off with geopolitics and drill down to every investment sector. We cover economic trends and everything that affects every major investment sector. Jim Blanchard started the conference in 1974 as a gold event We are known as the preeminent event for metals and mining stocks especially in a bull market atmosphere like we have going on right now. States Brien Lundin, CEO of Jefferson Financial, Inc. and Host and Producer of the New Orleans Investment Conference, in an interview with InvestorIntels Tracy Weslosky.

Brien went on to say that the gold sector is in a bull market which is confirmed by the movement in the gold prices, big mining stocks and also in the silver sector. He added that as the bull market progresses junior mining stocks will witness positive movement as well including the uranium sector and other strategic metals like rare earths. Brien said, If this is anything like the early 2000s and I think it shows all the signs of being just that, then we will have another five to seven years of a tremendously positive upturn is gold and silver but also lots of other opportunities emerging.

Brien also provided an update on theNew Orleans Investment Conference. He said that the conferencehas a long history of attracting insightful people on the geopolitical and economic stages. Legendary figures like Margaret Thatcher,Alan Greenspan,Ayn Rand and many more have spoken at the event in the past. This year the conference has a list of speakers that includesStephen Moore, a renowned economist who was recently nominated for the Feds,controversial political commentator Kevin D. Williamson,Doug Casey,Peter Boockvar,Dennis Gartman,Peter Schiff and many experts in metal and mining. Brien further added that these experts save their best recommendations to unveil them at the conference which is the best place to find opportunities.

To access the complete interview, click here

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Editor: Raj Shah

Raj Shah has professional experience working for over a half a dozen years at financial firms such as Merrill Lynch and First Allied Securities Inc., ...

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Brien Lundin talks about the bull market atmosphere for gold (and uranium) in New Orleans this year - InvestorIntel