Carl Sagan was spot on about the decline of America

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...  

The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”  

― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

5 tips to help protect you from NSA surveillance

Ever since Edward Snowden exposed the true depth of the NSA’s surveillance programs – there have been numerous movements to counter these threats to privacy. Signing petitions, emailing your local representative, and voicing your outrage on twitter are all great outlets – but I have a few tips that are 100% guaranteed to protect your online privacy.

1) Instead of emailing, calling, or texting someone who lives in your city – why not meet them in person and have a face to face conversation?

2) If you can’t meet someone in person – email, call, or text them. You probably have nothing interesting enough to say that would warrant the NSA’s suspicion anyways.

3) Continue to use social media as you would normally. Eventually, the NSA’s massive data center in Utah will become so inundated with selfies, pictures of your children, and your dinner that its servers will reach capacity and cease to function. Problem solved.

4) Communicate purely in emoji and LINE stickers. It’s not as if you had anything that requires the use of words and compound sentences to communicate anyways.

5) Write on a piece of paper and mail it. Perhaps the most controversial of all my suggestions – writing a letter is a fool proof way to throw off the NSA data scientists that are hot on your trail.

Of course, I could also include the use of carrier pigeons and smoke signals – but as mentioned – you’re probably not saying anything interesting enough to pique the interest of the NSA anyways – so no need to resort to such drastic measures. Plus, all the content you’ve willingly given to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google will end up in the hands of those corporate mega conglomerates regardless of your privacy settings – so take solace in knowing that your communications are trivial to pretty much anyone not trying to sell you that new scent of underarm deodorant.

William J. Casey, by all accounts, was a bad ass motherfucker

William J. Casey, for better or worse, was a bad ass motherfucker. He swindled Reagan into office, scored the position of DCI, and co-founded the International Center for Economic Policy Studies - a lovable conservative think tank with ties to Bill Kristol (PNAC co-founder).

He was also an OG is the OSS and probably tortured/made friends with numerous war criminals. 

Most importantly though, Mr. Casey helped funnel over $1 billion in covert assistance to the mujahadeen in Afghanistan. You know, those guys who were eventually blamed for knocking down a few of our buildings. 

In any case, Mr. Casey, despite his penchant for assassinations, coups, and unregulated black Ops, was a bad ass motherfucker who's fingerprints can still be found upon America's current foreign and domestic policies.