Recently I came across a friend who was espousing that Americans were not truly free. How can anyone who is supposedly free be required to pay taxes, they asked? Freedom is absolute, they proclaimed; you are either free or you are not. But freedom is not absolute. It is a relative and subjective concept. Freedom…
1. Digital Storage In the next decade we will see personal storage devices for digital media abandoned for cloud storage, as large capacity cloud storage will liberate people from the need of having external hard drives. However, it will be short lived, as by the time people switch to clouds technological advancement will give us…
My life was roller coaster of emotions and stressful thoughts until I learned how to own my happiness. Here are 10 tips I wish I had figured out sooner that allowed me to do so. 1. Goals It’s important to have things to strive for, both big and small. It keeps you motivated on hard…
The root of authoritarianism is collectivism; the negation of individual rights for the supposed better of the collective. Tyrants do not ascend to power by promising despotism, oppression, and corruption. They come to power promising to make things better for the majority, usually calling for a racial, religious, or economic minority to be eliminated. The…
It isn’t hard to notice an increased sense of entitlement in younger generations today, mine included. It is partly due to a culture of entitlement which pervades American society and demands comfortable, high quality lifestyles without understanding that one should work for what one wants. Ask a teenager what makes a country or a government…
One of the biggest stories this year has been the release of nude photos of celebrities that were stolen from Apple’s iCloud. The theft and release of such photos is clearly a violation of privacy and an act of voyeurism. I must admit, however, that like many Americans, I did not feel much pity for…
Auto repair can be costly. In times like these, where many Americans are feeling the pinch of the economy, having something break on your car can be devastating. Garages charge nearly $100 an hour in labor in addition to the markup on parts. Even a simple job can leave an unwanted dent in your already…
I was amidst pouring the sum of my knowledge on government taxation and the effect that it has on income disparity into an online argument when I realized it was pointless. In this instance, the other person I was debating with didn’t even have the necessary foreknowledge required for either of us to have meaningful…
Last year I graduated from the University of Connecticut with honors, two majors, and list of accolades. I performed well in college and I believe a significant reason was that I did not enroll until I was 24 years old. While everyone is an individual, waiting to go to college is for many young people…
It doesn’t look like much: a few knobs on top of a crudely made wooden box. But what’s inside is holds a gateway to another world. It’s a black market Korean radio, capable of receiving forbidden transmissions from the outside world. Their use is becoming more and more prevalent inside North Korea, where the public’s…
1. Apple In 1976 Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne started Apple in a garage in Cupertino, CA. They had 50 orders for Wozniak’s Apple I, which they had sold to a local retailer for $500 apiece. They’re initial investment was $1,500 from the sales of Jobs’ VW Bus and $250 from the sale…
1. The Debt While the national debt continues to climb, it is currently around $16 trillion. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg, however. If you were to account for all the unfunded financial obligations the federal government has, including future Social Security and Medicare payments, you would be looking at a real debt…