Cowards. - Cowards. Part 26
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Cowards. Part 26

The "event horizon" of a black hole is the boundary where gravity becomes so strong that you've reached "the point of no return." No rocket in the world would ever be powerful enough to blast you out of the black hole past that point. The Singularity is kind of like that: intelligence explosion is a kind of event horizon because from that moment forward, everything changes and we can't go back. Once the machines are stronger than us, what they want is what happens. So we'd better be careful about precisely specifying (in their code) what they want, before they improve themselves beyond our ability to control them.

But before we get to the kind of life-altering progress that would come after the Singularity, we will first have to deal with a lot of smaller changes, many of which will throw entire industries and ways of life into turmoil. Take the music business, for example. It was not long ago that stores like Tower Records and Sam Goody were doing billions of dollars a year in compact disc sales; now people buy music from home via the Internet. Publishing is currently facing a similar upheaval. Newspapers and magazines have struggled to keep subscribers, booksellers like Borders have been forced into bankruptcy, and customers are forcing publishers to switch to ebooks faster than the publishers might like.

All of this is to say that some people are already witnessing the early stages of upheaval firsthand. But for everyone else, there is still a feeling that something is different this time; that all of those years of education and experience might be turned upside down in an instant. They might not be able to identify it exactly but they realize that the world they've known for forty, fifty, or sixty years is no longer the same.

There's a good reason for that. We feel it and sense it because it's true. It's happening. There's absolutely no question that the world in 2030 will be a very different place than the one we live in today. But there is a question, a large one, about whether that place will be better or worse.

It's human nature to resist change. We worry about our families, our careers, and our bank accounts. The executives in industries that are already experiencing cataclysmic shifts would much prefer to go back to the way things were ten years ago, when people still bought music, magazines, and books in stores. The future was predictable. Humans like that; it's part of our nature.

But predictability is no longer an option. The intelligence explosion, when it comes in earnest, is going to change everything-we can either be prepared for it and take advantage of it, or we can resist it and get run over.

Unfortunately, there are a good number of people who are going to resist it. Not only those in affected industries, but those who hold power at all levels. They see how technology is cutting out the middlemen, how people are becoming empowered, how bloggers can break national news and YouTube videos can create superstars.

And they don't like it.

Reality Check

President Obama was recently asked about unemployment in America and he responded by explaining that automation was impacting the hiring of new workers. "There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don't go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you're using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate."

Here's the problem: That's not a "structural issue," that's reality. (In fact, economists have a name for this strange phenomenon that creates jobs and helps the economy grow: "productivity.") You either adapt or you die. ATMs and self-service kiosks aren't the problem-who wouldn't rather go to an ATM than stand in line for a teller? The problem is that our economy is not yet flexible enough to adapt to these changes. If that is the structural issue that Obama was talking about then he's exactly right-and if we don't fix it soon, we'll be begging for the days of 9 percent unemployment.

A BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE.

Power bases in business and politics that have been forged over decades, if not centuries, are being threatened with extinction, and they know it. So the owners of that power are trying to hold on. They think they can do that by dragging us backward. They think that, by growing the public's dependency on government, by taking away the entrepreneurial spirit and rewards and by limiting personal freedoms, they can slow down progress.

But they're wrong. The intelligence explosion is coming so long as science itself continues. Trying to put the genie back in the bottle by dragging us toward serfdom won't stop it and will, in fact, only leave the world with an economy and society that are completely unprepared for the amazing things that it could bring.

Robin Hanson, author of "The Economics of the Singularity" and an associate professor of economics at George Mason University, wrote that after the Singularity, "The world economy, which now doubles in 15 years or so, would soon double in somewhere from a week to a month."

The Progress of Progress

One of the keys to the Singularity (and to most technological progress in general) is that everything will happen in due time. We can embrace and influence progress, but we can't mandate it. Take solar energy, for example. The idea of the sun being a clean energy source for the world is amazing-no one disputes that. But so is the idea of flying cars. In neither case has the technology caught up to the reality. Yet, in the case of solar energy, the government has decided that it cannot wait any longer. So, it's provided investments and subsidies and mandates-none of which do much of anything to help the technology itself get better faster.

Looking at the rate of growth, Kurzweil believes that solar power will be ready for mass use in about sixteen years. He writes, "Solar panels are coming down dramatically in cost per watt. And as a result of that, the total amount of solar energy is growing, not linearly, but exponentially. It's doubling every 2 years and has been for 20 years. And again, it's a very smooth curve. There's all these arguments, subsidies and political battles and companies going bankrupt, they're raising billions of dollars, but behind all that chaos is this very smooth progression."

The lesson? Interference by governments in technological progress may be good for winning elections (and certainly, in some cases, the right kind of funding can help speed up innovation), but it does nothing to change the underlying growth curve.

That is unfathomable. But even if the rate were much slower, say a doubling of the world economy in two years, the shock-waves from that kind of growth would still change everything we've come to know and rely on. A machine could offer the ideal farming methods to double or triple crop production, but it can't force a farmer or an industry to implement them. A machine could find the cure for cancer, but it would be meaningless if the pharmaceutical industry or Food and Drug Administration refused to allow it. The machines won't be the problem; humans will be.

And that's why I wanted to write about this topic. We are at the forefront of something great, something that will make the Industrial Revolution look in comparison like a child discovering his hands. But we have to be prepared. We must be open to the changes that will come, because they will come. Only when we accept that will we be in a position to thrive. We can't allow politicians to blame progress for our problems. We can't allow entrenched bureaucrats and power-hungry executives to influence a future that they may have no place in.

Many people are afraid of these changes-of course they are: it's part of being human to fear the unknown-but we can't be so entrenched in the way the world works now that we are unable to handle change out of fear for what those changes might bring.

Change is going to be as much a part of our future as it has been of our past. Yes, it will happen faster and the changes themselves will be far more dramatic, but if we prepare for it, the change will mostly be positive. But that preparation is the key: we need to become more well-rounded as individuals so that we're able to constantly adapt to new ways of doing things. In the future, the way you do your job may change four to five or fifty times over the course of your life. Those who cannot, or will not, adapt will be left behind.

At the same time, the Singularity will give many more people the opportunity to be successful. Because things will change so rapidly there is a much greater likelihood that people will find something they excel at. But it could also mean that people's successes are much shorter-lived. The days of someone becoming a legend in any one business (think Clive Davis in music, Steven Spielberg in movies, or the Hearst family in publishing) are likely over. But those who embrace and adapt to the coming changes, and surround themselves with others who have done the same, will flourish.

When major companies, set in their ways, try to convince us that change is bad and that we must stick to the status quo, no matter how much human inquisitiveness and ingenuity try to propel us forward, we must look past them. We must know in our hearts that these changes will come, and that if we welcome them into our world, we'll become more successful, more free, and more full of light than we could have ever possibly imagined.

Ray Kurzweil once wrote, "The Singularity is near." The only question will be whether we are ready for it.

Chapter 1.

STEP RIGHT UP!.

The Progressive Shell Game PAGE 2: "'the differences between ourselves and our opponents'" Newsmax, The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan (West Palm Beach, FL: Newsmax.com, 2002), 41.

PAGE 3: "member of the Senate for multiple years" "How Liberal is John Kerry?" factcheck.org, October 19, 2004, http://www.factcheck.org/how_liberal_is_john_kerry.html.

PAGE 4: "'era at the beginning of the 20th century'" "Part I: CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential Debate Transcript," cnn.com, July 23, 2007, http://articles.cnn.com/2007-07-23/politics/debate.transcript_1_new-ideas-issues-don-t-matter-child-care-legislation.

PAGE 6: "'gaining represents benefit to the community'" Ronald J. Pestritto and William J. Atto, eds., American Progressivism: A Reader (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), 217. * "in governmental control is now necessary" Ronald J. Pestritto and William J. Atto, eds., American Progressivism: A Reader (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), 6. * "'hero is a guy named Teddy Roosevelt'" "The Second Presidential Debate," New York Times, October 7, 2008, http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/second-presidential-debate.html. * "'lean in the regulatory leaning is okay.'" Glenn Beck, "Glenn's revealing interview with Newt Gingrich Story and Video," GlennBeck.com video, 9:27, December 6, 2011, http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/12/06/glenns-revealing-interview-with-newt-gingrich-story-and-video. * "'fellow progressives of 1791 and '92'" John Milton Cooper Jr., Pivotal Decades: The United States, 19001920 (New York: Norton, 1990), 170; Edmund Morris, Colonel Roosevelt (New York: Random House, 2010), 632. * "Progressive who hated Japanese immigrants" Greg Robinson, By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001), 18, 2223, 117. * "in his state into internment camps" G. Edward White, Earl Warren: A Public Life (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), 6778.

PAGE 7: "anti-Semitic congressman John Rankin" William E. Leuchtenburg, The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995), 183. * "'than most any other foreign nation.'" Robert David Johnson, The Peace Progressives and American Foreign Relations (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995), 276. * "Republican George Norris from the rafters" Joseph C. Goulden, ed., Mencken's Last Campaign: H. L. Mencken and the 1948 Election (Washington: New Republic Book, 1976), 73. * "delivering a speech in Philadelphia that year" Mark Sullivan, Our Times, vol. 4 (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1939), 47274. * "from the Socialist Party of America" Mel Van Elteren, Labor and the American Left: An Analytical History (Jefferson, NC: McFarland., 2011), 67. * "'on the ruins of public liberty'" "Washington's Farewell Address 1796," avalon.law.yale.edu, Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, accessed April 18, 2012, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.

PAGE 8: "'feebleminded and criminal children of weaklings'" Madison Grant, The Passing of the Great Race (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1916), 45. * "'The book is my Bible'" Jonathan Peter Spiro, Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant (Lebanon, NH: University of Vermont Press, 2009), 357.

PAGE 9: "'of use to the community or race.'" Madison Grant, The Passing of the Great Race (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1916), 49.

PAGE 10: "'should be grateful to you for writing it'" Atlantic Monthly, February 1917, 144; Scribner's Magazine, July 1917, 32d. * "Roosevelt's Progressive Party ticket" Eugene Lyons, Herbert Hoover: A Biography (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964), 139. * "to elect a Democratic Congress" New York Times, April 2, 1920, 17. * "angled to be his running mate" David Pietrusza, 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2007), 118, 13739. * "'unsolicited advice-all of it bad'" William E. Leuchtenburg, Herbert Hoover (New York: Times Books, 2009), 64. * "'in peacetime in all of history'" Bill Flax, The Courage to Do Nothing: A Moral Defense of Markets and Freedom (Mustang, OK: Tate, 2010), 152. * "'regimentation without stint or limit.'" David T. Beito, Taxpayers in Revolt: Tax Resistance During the Great Depression (Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009), 163. * "'country down the path of socialism.'" William C. Spragens, Popular Images of American Presidents (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1988), 350.

PAGE 11: "'at its highest level in five years'" Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression (New York: Harper Perennial, 2008), 94. * "'for leadership in such times.'" Arthur A. Ekirch Jr., Ideologies and Utopias: The Impact of the New Deal on American Thought (Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1971); Paul Johnson, A History of the American People (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), 741. * "'sure the economy doesn't collapse.'" AFP News Agency, "Bush Says Sacrificed Free-Market Principles to Save Economy," AFP, December 16, 2008 http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jyyKrPjYt7VhpS8G8DrRkr18B0hA. * "less conservative than they already were" Irving Stone, They Also Ran (Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1966), 365. * "elements into a single party in 1948" David M. Jordan, FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011), 25860. * "'on health care, and on housing.'" Richard Nixon, interviewed by Frank Gannon, "The Nixon/Gannon Interviews," February 9, 1983, Day 1, Tape 6, transcript, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection, University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries, http://www.libs.uga.edu/media/collections/nixon/nixonday1.html.

PAGE 12: "'dime store New Deal.'" Robert Dallek, Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 19611973 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 131.

PAGE 13: "'our district to the Republican Party.'" John P. Avlon, Independent Nation: How Centrism Is Changing the Face of American Politics (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004), 166. * "even LBJ did it in 196869" Thomas Alan Schwartz, Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003), 205. * "to tens of millions of Americans" "General Article: Domestic Politics: American Experience: Nixon," PBS.org, accessed April 18, 2012, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/nixon-domestic. * "spending skyrocketing 120 percent" Robert E. Kelly, The National Debt of the United States 1941 to 2008 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008). * "gold standard and devalued the dollar" Jerry W. Markham A Financial History of the United States, vol. 3 (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2002), 38. * "instituted wage-and-price-controls" Donald H. Rumsfeld speaking at Tribute to Milton Friedman, May 9, 2002, http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=216. * "'we [the liberals] get the action.'" John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America (New York: Penguin Press, 2004), 70. * "'reconciliation with the Communists abroad.'" James Reston, "Back to Cuba and the Cold War," New York Times, September 27, 1970, E15.

PAGE 14: "in his own private office" Margaret MacMillan, Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World (New York: Random House, 2008), 910. * "economic policy he instituted in 1922" Jerry W. Markham A Financial History of the United States, vol. 3 (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2002), 38. * "'Read my lips, no new taxes,'" Alfred Regnery, Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism (New York: Threshold Editions, 2008), 345. * "an 89 percent approval rating" Roper Center at the University of Connecticut, "Job Performance Ratings for President Bush (G.H.W.)," Roper Center, University of Connecticut, ropercenter.uconn.edu, accessed April 18, 2012, http://bit.ly/IweelD.

PAGE 15: "37.5 percent in the 1992 election" Alfred Regnery, Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism (New York: Threshold Editions, 2008), 345. * "spent more on education than on Iraq" "Little-known Fact: Obama's Failed Stimulus Program Cost More Than the Iraq War," Beltway Confidential blog at washingtonexaminer.com, August 23, 2010, http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/little-known-fact-obama039s-failed-stimulus-program-cost-more-iraq-war. * "issued just twelve vetoes" "Vetoes by President George W. Bush," senate.gov, http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Vetoes/BushGW.htm, accessed April 29, 2012. * "$5.768 trillion to $10.626 trillion" Mark Knoller, "National Debt Has Increased $4 Trillion Under Obama," Political Hotsheet, cbsnews.com, August 22, 2011, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20095704-503544.html. * "number of programs had grown to 1,816" Veronique de Rugy, "Spending Under President George W. Bush" (working paper, Mercatus Center, George Washington University, March 2009), http://bit.ly/IwaIYv.

PAGE 17: "drafting a Constitution in the year 2012" Ariane de Vogue, "Ginsburg Likes S. Africa as Model for Egypt," Politics: Legal blog at abcnews.com, Feb 3, 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/ginsburg-likes-s-africa-as-model-for-egypt. * "he wasn't alone: the vote was 963" Steve Benen, "It's Amazing Ginsburg is even on the Bench," Political Animal blog at washingtonmonthly.com, August 30, 2011, http://bit.ly/IwaUa4.

Chapter 2.

THE LIBERTARIAN OPTION.

Ending the Progressive Scam PAGE 22: "'that honors the traditions of our country'" Nancy Pelosi, "Rep. Pelosi's Floor Speech Before the House Health Care Vote," aolnews.com, March 21, 2010, http://www.aolnews.com/2010/03/21/rep-pelosis-house-floor-speech-before-health-care-vote. * "the Founding Fathers had envisioned" Mark Hemingway, "Harry Reid: The Founding Fathers Would Support Telling Boeing Where They Can Build Factories," The Blog blog at weeklystandard.com, May 11, 2011, http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/harry-reid-founding-fathers-would-support-telling-boeing-where-they-can-build-factories_560885.html. * "'not give them up for expedience's sake'" Barack Obama, "Barack Obama's Inaugural Address," transcript, nytimes.com, January 20, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text-obama.html.

PAGE 23: "Heritage Foundation Freedom Index" The Heritage Foundation, "2012 Index of Economic Freedom," heritage.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.heritage.org/index/default. * "'economic freedom over the last 10 years.'" James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall, "2011 Economic Freedom Dataset," Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report Executive Summary (Vancouver, BC: Fraser Institute, 2011), http://www.cato.org/pubs/efw/efw2011/EFW-2011-executivesummary.pdf. * "'Which comes closer to your own view?'" Nate Silver, "Poll Finds a Shift Toward More Libertarian Views," Five Thirty Eight blog at nytimes.com, June 20, 2011, http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/poll-finds-a-shift-toward-more-libertarian-views.

PAGE 24: "want the government to cut taxes" "To Help Economy, Voters Want Government To Do More Cutting," rasmussenreports.com, December 26, 2011, http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/december_2011/to_help_economy_voters_want_government_to_do_more_cutting. * "government being the arbiters of morality" Nate Silver, "Poll Finds a Shift Toward More Libertarian Views," Five Thirty Eight blog at nytimes.com, June 20, 2011, http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/poll-finds-a-shift-toward-more-libertarian-views. * "John McCain in the general election" Matt Welch, "Ron Paul's McCain-Like Path to the Nomination," reason.com, December 30, 2011, http://reason.com/archives/2011/12/30/ron-pauls-mccain-like-path-to-the-nomina. * "pretty good place to find libertarians" "CBS Poll: Independents Prefer Ron Paul Vs Obama," forbes.com, January 9, 2012, http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/01/09/cbs-poll-independents-prefer-ron-paul-vs-obama.

PAGE 25: "independents has increased in 18 states" Richard Wolf, "Voters Leaving Republican, Democratic Parties in Droves," USA Today, December 22, 2011, http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2011-12-22/voters-political-parties/52171688/1.

PAGE 27: "and against gun rights" Chris Field, "Let's Closely Examine McCain's Record," humanevents.com, February 1, 2008, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24785.

PAGE 28: "Heritage Foundation's Index of Government Dependence" William W. Beach and Patrick D. Tyrrell, "The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government," Heritage Center for Data Analysis, Heritage Foundation, February 8, 2012, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/02/2012-index-of-dependence-on-government. * "if a foreign country had invaded them" "Just Days After 9/11, Ron Paul Blames America," rightscoop.com December 26, 2011, http://www.therightscoop.com/just-days-after-911-ron-paul-blames-america.

PAGE 29: "'they attack us because we're over there'" "Ron Paul in 2007 Republican Primary Debate in Columbia SC," sponsored by Fox News, May 15, 2007, http://www.issues2000.org/Archive/2007_GOP_primary_SC_Ron_Paul.htm. * "241 American soldiers were murdered" "Beirut Barracks Attack Remembered," cbsnews.com, February 11, 2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-202_162-579638.html. * "'building walls around our own country'" Newt Gingrich, interview by Wolf Blitzer, The Situation Room, CNN online, transcript, December 31, 2011, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1112/31/sitroom.01.html.

PAGE 30: "'measure the cause of all mankind'" Thomas Paine, Common Sense (Bartleby.com, 1999), http://www.bartleby.com/133.

PAGE 31: "over 650 at last count" "Ron Paul says U.S. has Military Personnel in 130 Nations and 900 Overseas Bases," politifact.com, September 12, 2011, http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/14/ron-paul/ron-paul-says-us-has-military-personnel-130-nation. * "extreme fiscal and social conservatives" Emily Ekins, "Is Half the Tea Party Libertarian?" reason.com, September 26, 2011, http://reason.com/poll/2011/09/26/is-half-the-tea-part-libertart.

PAGE 32: "published his results on Politico.com" David Kirby and Emily Ekins, "Tea Party's Other Half," politico.com, October 28, 2010, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44243.html. * "'Liberty and responsibility are inseparable'" Friedrich A. Hayek, "The Creative Powers of a Free Civilization," chap. 2 in The Constitution of Liberty (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960). * "'general description also of what libertarianism is'" Manuel Klausner, "Inside Ronald Reagan: A Reason Interview," Reason, July 1975, http://reason.com/archives/1975/07/01/inside-ronald-reagan/singlepage. * "referred to himself a 'libertarian journalist'" William F. Buckley, Happy Days Were Here Again: Reflections of a Libertarian Journalist (New York: Random House Inc., 1993).

PAGE 33: "'soul of conservatism is libertarianism.'" Manuel Klausner, "Inside Ronald Reagan: A Reason Interview," Reason, July 1975, http://reason.com/archives/1975/07/01/inside-ronald-reagan/singlepage.

PAGE 34: "Senator Lee, for example, said:" Mike Lee, "Patriot Act and the Fourth Amendment-Floor Speech," transcript, May 31, 2011, http://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/blog?ID=9d699112-5663-4707-a5e7-41f6aafbcadb. * "We can find a balance there" Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, and Jim Epstein, "Sen. Jim DeMint: Why Republicans Must Become More Libertarian," reason.com, February 7, 2012, http://reason.com/blog/2012/02/07/sen-jim-demint-why-republicans-must-beco.

PAGE 36: "federal income tax is a libertarian nightmare" "Congressman Scott Garrett Claims Half of All Americans Don't Pay Federal Income Taxes," politifact.com NJ, The Star Ledger, February 15, 2012, http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/feb/29/scott-garrett/congressman-scott-garrett-claims-half-all-american. * "the people with piercings. . ." Benny Johnson, "Van Jones Unloads on Libertarians," TheBlaze.com, April 2, 2012, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/van-jones-unloads-on-libertarians-they-hate-the-brown-folk-the-gays-the-lesbians-theyre-anti-immigrant-bigots.

PAGE 37: "'a freedom indistinguishable from selfishness'" Michael Gerson, "Ayn Rand's Adult-Onset Adolescence," Post Opinions blog at washingtonpost.com, April 21, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ayn-rands-adult-onset-adolescence/2011/04/21/AFv2JyKE_story.html. * "'all are to take a back seat'" Jeffrey Sachs, "Libertarian Illusions," Huff Post Politics, huffingtonpost.com, January 15, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/libertarian-illusions_b_1207878.html. * "you have to read about how perfect he is" Earth Institute at Columbia University, "Full Bio: Jeffrey D. Sachs," earth.columbia.edu, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/1770, accessed April 13, 2012 * "'determine how likely one is to give'" Arthur C. Brooks, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism (New York: Basic Books, 2006), 110.

Chapter 3.

GEORGE SOROS.

The Puppet Master Pulls All the Strings PAGE 42: "'I am beginning to be able to. . .'" George Soros, Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995), 238.

PAGE 44: "'[Q]uite anti-Semitic, and ashamed of being Jewish'" George Soros, interview by Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes, CBS, December 20, 1998. * "a future-tense Esperanto verb meaning 'will soar.'" "The Mind of George Soros; Meet the Esperanto Enthusiast Who Wants to Save the World from President Bush," The Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2004. * "Soros's father purchased forged papers" Michael T. Kaufman, Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire (New York: Knopf, 2002), 27. * "identifying the family as Christians and bribed" George Soros, interview by Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes, CBS, December 20, 1998. * "Baumbach took the young Soros. . . to take the possessions of a Jewish family" Michael T. Kaufman, Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire (New York: Knopf, 2002), 37. * "asked by Steve Kroft about that experience" George Soros, interview by Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes, CBS, December 20, 1998.

PAGE 45: "'not only to save ourselves but also to save others'" George Soros, foreword to Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-Occupied Hungary, by Trivadar Soros (New York: Arcade Publishing, 2001), x. * "'It's a very happy-making, exhilarating experience'" George Soros, interview by Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes, CBS, December 20, 1998.

PAGE 46: "philosopher Professor Karl Popper as his 'tutor'" George Soros, Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995), 33. * "'Yet, this is what is happening, both internally and externally'" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006) 73. * "'what the Constitution ought to be'" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006), 69. * "'bubble of American supremacy' as the greatest threat to world peace" George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy: The Costs of Bush's War in Iraq (New York: PublicAffairs, 2004). * "to save $500,000 and then return to Europe" Michael T. Kaufman, Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire (New York: Knopf, 2002), 83. * "It was worth more than $1 billion" "Soros Fund Management Llc-Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Soros Fund Management Llc," referenceforbusiness.com, accessed April 11, 2012, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/85/Soros-Fund-Management-Llc.html. Peter Schweizer, Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (New York, Doubleday, 2005), 157.

PAGE 47: "'on a global scale.'" George Soros, "America's Global Role: Why the Fight for a Worldwide Open Society Begins at Home," soros.org, May 27, 2003, http://www.soros.org/resources/articles_publications/articles/americanprospect_20030527.

PAGE 48: "'I hope you are wrong'" George Soros, Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995), 15. * "by his own account, was not constrained by scruples" George Soros, The Crisis of Global Capitalism (New York: Public Affairs, 1998), 75. * "he pocketed a billion dollars off the trade" Michael T. Kaufman, Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire (New York: Knopf, 2002). * "'chances of being successful would have been reduced'" Michael T. Kaufman, Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire (New York: Knopf, 2002). * "convicted him of insider trading" "Soros Loses Case Against French Insider-Trading Conviction," Bloomberg Business Week, October 6, 2011, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-06/soros-loses-case-against-french-insider-trading-conviction.html.

PAGE 49: "'at a private townhouse in Manhattan'" Karl West, "Man Who Broke the Bank of England, George Soros, 'at Centre of Hedge Funds Plot to Cash in on Fall of the Euro,'" Daily Mail, February 27, 2010, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1253791/Is-man-broke-Bank-England-George-Soros-centre-hedge-funds-betting-crisis-hit-euro.html. * "his 'Open Society Foundations' in Hungary" Open Society Foundation, "About the Open Society Foundation," soros.org, accessed April 12, 2012, http://www.soros.org/about. * "throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia" Open Society Foundation, "About: Timeline," soros.org, accessed April 12, 2012, http://www.soros.org/about/timeline. * "In 1993, Soros established the flagship of his network" Open Society Foundation, "About: Timeline," soros.org, http://www.soros.org/about/timeline, accessed April 12, 2012. * "'whose governments are accountable to its citizens'" Open Society Foundations, "About the Open Society Foundation," soros.org, http://www.soros.org/about, accessed April 12, 2012. "United States and Israel the chief targets of its 'human rights' protests" Adrian Karatnycky and Arch Puddington, "The Human-Rights Lobby Meets Terrorism," NGO Monitor, March, 2002, http://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/The_Human_Rights_Lobby_Meets_Terrorism_2003.pdf. * "more than 70 countries" Open Societies Foundation "About the Open Society Foundation," soros.org, accessed April 12, 2012, http://www.soros.org/about. * "Open Society Institute is a $1.9 billion operation" Open Society Institute, tax return, signed by Greg Collier, http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org//990pf_pdf_archive/137/137029285/137029285_200812_990PF.pdf.

PAGE 50: "more than 400 American cities to pledge noncompliance with the Patriot Act;" Bill of Rights Defense Committee "Resolutions Passed and Efforts Underway, By State," bordc.com, accessed April12, 2012, http://www.bordc.org/list.php. * "supporters of communist causes" Matthew Vadum, "A Constitutional Right to Public Funds," American Spectator, November 13, 2009, http://spectator.org/archives/2009/11/13/a-constitutional-right-to-publ/1. * "four longtime supporters of communist causes" Center for Constitutional Rights, "Illegal Detentions and Guantanamo," ccrjustice.org, accessed April 12, 2012, http://ccrjustice.org/illegal-detentions-and-guantanamo. * "'so-called war on terror'" Center for Constitutional Rights, "Illegal Detentions and Guantanamo," ccrjustice.org, accessed April 12, 2012, http://ccrjustice.org/illegal-detentions-and-guantanamo. * "such as the American Immigration Council" Immigration Policy Center, "Papers Please: Eliminating Birthright Citizenship Would Affect Everyone,"immigrationpolicy.org, January 4, 2011, http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/papers-please-eliminating-birthright-citizenship-would-affect-everyone. * "Immigrant Legal Resource Center" William Hawkins and Erin Anderson, The Open Borders Lobby and the Nation's Security After 9/11 (Los Angeles: Center for the Study of Popular Culture, 2004), 54, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/guides/Open%20Borders%20Lobby.pdf. * "the Sentencing Project, which attacks the American prison system as racist" Sentencing Project, "Racial Disparity," sentencingproject.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122. * "the Gamaliel foundation" Gamaliel, "About Gamaliel," gamaliel.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.gamaliel.org/AboutUs/Mission.aspx. * "Midwest Academy. . .'racial justice'" Midwest Academy "About Us," midwestacademy.com, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.midwestacademy.com/about-us. * "'actions speak louder than words'" Ruckus Society, "What We Do," ruckus.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.ruckus.org/section.php?id=71. * "self-declared (former, if you listen to him) communist" Eliza Strickland, "The New Face of Environmentalism," East Bay Express, November 2, 2005, http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/the-new-face-ofenvironmentalism/Content?oid=1079539. * "Washington Post, the Columbia Journalism Review, and ProPublica" Dan Gainor, "Soros Spends Over $48 Million Funding Media Organizations," mrc.org, May 18, 2011, http://www.mrc.org/commentary/soros-spends-over-48-million-funding-media-organizations. * "National Public Radio, the socialist American Prospect, Inc." Dan Gainor, "Soros Spends Over $48 Million Funding Media Organizations," mrc.org, May 18, 2011, http://www.mrc.org/commentary/soros-spends-over-48-million-funding-media-organizations.

PAGE 51: "Independent Media Institute, and Media Matters For America" Dan Gainor, "Soros-Funded Lefty Media Reach More Than 300 Million Every Month," mrc.org, May 25, 2011, http://www.mrc.org/commentary/soros-funded-lefty-media-reach-more-300-million-every-month. * "Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good" Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, "Mission and Vision, FAQ," catholicsinalliance.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.catholicsinalliance.org/aboutus.html. * "'safe and legal abortion services'" Catholics for Choice, "Abortion," catholicsforchoice.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/abortion/default.asp. * "encouraging American troops to desert" Robert Patterson, War Crimes: The Left's Campaign to Destroy Our Military and Lose the War on Terror (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007), 181. * "Global Exchange would be sending aid" Scott Swett and Roger Canfield, "Aid and Comfort How Leading Democrats Enabled the Iraqi Insurgency in Fallujah," americanthinker.com, March 27, 2012, http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/10/aid_and_comfort_how_leading_de.html. * "given more than $400 million to 'progressive nonprofit organizations'" Tides, "History," tides.org, accessed April 13, 2012, http://web.archive.org/web/20080626103456/http://www.tides.org/about-tides/history/index.html. * "'the Daddy Warbucks of drug legalization'" Joseph A. Califano Jr., "Devious Efforts To Legalize Drugs," The Washington Post, December 4, 1996. * "'transform the culture and experience of dying and bereavement'" Neil Harab, "George Soros' Social Agenda for America," Capital Research Center Foundation Watch, April, 2003, https://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/x3770435801.pdf. * "Open Society Institute gave $45 million to PDA" Open Society Institute, "Project on Death in America Report of Activities: January 2001-December 2003" (report, Project on Death in America, New York, 2004), http://www.soros.org/resources/articles_publications/publications/report_20041122/a_complete.pdf. * "such as the United Nations Foundation" United Nations Foundation, "UN Foundation and UNA-USA Announce Alliance to Strengthen Support for the UN," press release, November 18, 2010, http://www.unfoundation.org/news-and-media/press-releases/2010/un-foundation-and-una-usa-announce-alliance.html. * "American criminal-justice to an international prosecutor" Neil A. Lewis, "U.S. Rejects All Support for New Court on Atrocities," New York Times, May 7, 2002, http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/07/world/us-rejects-all-support-for-new-court-on-atrocities.html. * "'The sovereignty of states must be subordinated to international law and international institutions'" George Soros, The Crisis of Global Capitalism (New York: PublicAffairs, 1998), xxix.

PAGE 52: "'and I take great pride in having contributed to it'" David Holley, "Soros Invests in His Democratic Passion," Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2004, http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/05/world/fg-soros5. * "'setting up a state within a state. . .'" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006), 233. * "trying it in the other country" "'Puppet Master' Soros has 'Fun' Subversively & Adversely Affecting Societies; Lays Out His Plan for America," theblaze.com, November 9, 2010, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/puppet-master-soros-has-fun-subversively-lays-out-his-plan-for-america.

PAGE 53: "'We actually work together as a team'" George Soros, interview by Charlie Rose, Charlie Rose Show, PBS, November 30, 1995. * "serve as a key advisor on the project" Connie Bruck, "The World According to Soros," New Yorker, January 23, 1995. * "previously funded through one of his foundations" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006) 93-94. * "'Soviet Empire is now called the Soros Empire'" Kyle-Anne Shiver, "George Soros and the Alchemy of 'Regime Change'" americanthinker.com, February 27, 2008, http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/george_soros_and_the_alchemy_o.html. * "the diversion of $100 billion out of the country" Kyle-Anne Shiver, "George Soros and the Alchemy of 'Regime Change,'" americanthinker.com, February 27, 2008, http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/george_soros_and_the_alchemy_o.html. * "resign as director of the Harvard Institute in May 1999" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006) 93-94. * "deal to acquire a large portion of Sidanko Oil" Kyle-Anne Shiver, "George Soros and the Alchemy of 'Regime Change,'" americanthinker.com, February 27, 2008, http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/george_soros_and_the_alchemy_o.html. * "'was part of the crony stuff that was going on'" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006), 96. * "'one of the greatest social robberies in human history'" Richard Poe, "Remembering Russiagate: Never Have So Few Stolen So Much from So Many," richardpoe.com, May 11, 2005, http://www.richardpoe.com/2005/05/11/remembering-russiagate.

PAGE 54: "recruiting other philanthropies, like the Pew Charitable Trust" Ryan Sager, "Buying 'Reform': Media Missed Millionaires' Scam," New York Post, March 17, 2005. * "paid off in 2002 with the passage of McCain-Feingold Act" Ed Morrissey, "Inside McCain's Reform Institute," captainsquartersblog.com, March 9, 2005. * "'both within countries and among countries'" George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy: The Costs of Bush's War in Iraq (New York: PublicAffairs, 2004). * "'requires affirmative action on a global scale'" George Soros, "America's Global Role: Why the Fight for a Worldwide Open Society Begins at Home," soros.org, May 27, 2003, http://www.soros.org/resources/articles_publications/articles/americanprospect_20030527.

PAGE 55: "'willing to put my money where my mouth is'" Laura Blumenfeld, "Billionaire Soros Takes on Bush," Washington Post, November 11, 2003. * "than would have been possible prior to September 11" George Soros, Soros on Globalization (New York: Public Affairs, 2002). * "along with billionaires like Progressive Insurance mogul Peter B. Lewis" David Horowitz and Richard Lawrence Poe, "The Shadow Party: A Three Part Investigative Report," October 6-11, 2005, http://www.richardpoe.com/2005/10/06/part-1-the-shadow-party. * "group created by West Coast billionaire Wes Boyd" David Horowitz and Richard Poe, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Nashville: Nelson Current, 2006), 93-94. * "contributed $23,700,000 of his personal funds" Open Secrets, "Top Individual Contributors to Federally Focused 527 Organizations, 2004 Election Cycle," opensecrets.org, March 12, 2012, http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527indivs.php?cycle=2004.

PAGE 56: "most exclusive of all the Shadow Party institutions" Democracy Alliance, "Membership," democracyalliance.org, accessed April 16, 2012, http://www.democracyalliance.org/membership. * "donate at least $200,000 annually" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, "The Democracy Alliance Does America: The Soros-Founded Plutocrats' Club Forms State Chapters," Capital Research Center Foundation Watch, December, 2008, https://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1228145204.pdf. * "'the netroots and progressive organizations'" Working for Us, "About Us," workingforuspac.org, accessed April 16, 2012, http://web.archive.org/web/20071023221553/http://www.workingforuspac.org/pages/about.

PAGE 57: "names of what it called the 'top offenders'" Working for Us, "Frequently Asked Questions," workingforuspac.org, accessed April 16, 2012, http://web.archive.org/web/20081122061556/http://www.workingforuspac.org/pages/faq. * "Mark Ritchie, an activist supported by ACORN" Matthew Vadum, "SOS in Minnesota," The American Spectator, November 7, 2008, http://spectator.org/archives/2008/11/07/sos-in-minnesota. * "at least 393 convicted felons voted illegally" John Fund, "Felons for Franken: Illegal Felon Voters May have Handed Democrats 60-Vote Majority," Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704518904575365063352229680.html. * "'tallies were updated or corrected, Franken benefited'" Matthew Vadum, "Fighting Frankenstein," The American Spectator, April 14, 2009, http://spectator.org/archives/2009/04/14/fighting-frankenstein. * "announced that he would support Obama" Maria Bartiromo, "George Soros: Chairman Soros Fund," Business Week, October 22, 2007, www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_43/b4055047.htm.

PAGE 58: "Self-defined revolutionary 'communist' Van Jones" Eliza Strickland, "The New Face of Environmentalism," East Bay Express, November 2, 2005, http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/the-new-face-ofenvironmentalism/Content?oid=1079539. * "at the Soros-funded Center for American Progress" Juliet Eilperin, "Former White House Adviser Van Jones Lands New D.C. Gig at Liberal Think Tank," Washington Post, February 24, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022304889.html.

PAGE 59: "and the League of Conservation Voters" "Carol M. Browner," topics.nytimes.com, January 24, 2011, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/carol_m_browner/index.html. * "appointed to the Obama Economic Recovery Advisory Board" Chris Cillizza, "Anna Burger to Leave SEIU, Change to Win," The Fix blog at washingtonpost.com, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/democratic-party/anna-burger-to-leave-seiu-chan.html. * "named 'safe school czar'" Maxim Lott, "Critics Assail Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar, Say He's Wrong Man for the Job," foxnews.com, September 23, 2009, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/23/critics-assail-obamas-safe-schools-czar-say-hes-wrong-man-job. * "among the most frequent visitors to the White House" Susan Davis, "SEIU's Stern Tops White House Visitor List," Washington Wire blog at wsj.com, October 30, 2009, http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/10/30/seius-stern-tops-white-house-visitor-list. * "'need to provide hundreds of billions of dollars'" Kerry Picket, "New Book Shows How Soros Set Up and Financially Benefited from '09 Stimulus," Water Cooler blog at washingtontimes.com, November 14, 2011, http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/nov/14/picket-new-book-shows-how-soros-set-and-financiall. * "from several hundred to several thousand more dollars each year" Dangelo Gore, "Cap-and-Trade Cost Inflation," factcheck.org, May 28, 2009, http://www.factcheck.org/2009/05/cap-and-trade-cost-inflation. * "admitting that it 'will be painful'" Robert Mackey and Tom Zeller, Jr. "George Soros on the Clean-Energy Economy," Green blog at nytimes.com, October 14, 2008, http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/george-soros-on-the-green-energy-economy. * "he replied simply, 'Yes'" Robert Mackey and Tom Zeller, Jr. "George Soros on the Clean-Energy Economy," Green blog at nytimes.com, October 14, 2008, http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/george-soros-on-the-green-energy-economy. * "'they would have to retrofit their operations'" Kerry Picket, "EPA Imposes Obama's Cap and Trade Regs Energy Prices 'Skyrocket'" Water Cooler blog at washingtontimes.com, August 20, 2011, http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/aug/20/picket-obama-08-energy-prices-will-skyrocket-under. * "a favorite of Obama's 'regulatory czar'" Jonathan Weisman and Jess Bravin, "Obama's Regulatory Czar Likely to Set a New Tone," Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123138051682263203.html. * "proponent of 'distributive justice'" Eric A. Posner and Cass R. Sunstein, "Climate Change Justice" (working paper, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL, August 2007).