Brian's Column-Article
Organic Marketing, What Would Jesus Do?
Approach your market as a gardener grows a plant
by Brian Wright

As it happens, I’ve been associated as editor and publisher, even author, with some astounding books of nonfiction that advance crucial ideas or simply tell inspiring stories. [You may go to my Free Man Publishing site for a listing of these books and authors.] As inherently interesting, professionally composed, well-written, and utilitarian as many of these authors’ works are, the sad reality is none has broached anything like a mass-market appeal, much less a mini-mass-market appeal (say, sales in the low thousands). Why? This column wrestles with imaginative spreading of creative seeds of thought that more than a few people will find likable to the point of buying. [Full Column]

Movie Review
Silent Running (1972)
For its time a bold, clever cry for Nature __ 8/10
Reviewed by Brian Wright

But, hey, it’s fiction, and this is science fiction… a playground for some of the most brilliant human imaginations for centuries. One of the best features of the movie—which anticipates R2D2 in Star Wars—are the three miniature androids. They look like R2D2 or the trash compactor WALL-E, but instead of locomoting in a mechanical way, they waddle on two webbed feet. Extremely cute! They do not speak, but make noises that can be interpreted by Lowell. The other three have no respect for the droids, which seem to be fully sentient and sensitive. Instead the crew throws things at the droids, causes them to mess up, just typical crass lowlife-hillbilly behavior… the kind of behavior that makes you wish you were a droid, not a human. [Full Review]

Book Review
Carved in Granite (2008)
Stimulating collage of short stories and reminiscences by budding Free State writers…
by Several Authors

This is a book of short stories from mostly young, certainly aspiring, New Hampshire writers that I helped to market for a fellow Free Stater five years ago. I don’t believe many of the links remain valid, so good luck finding this particular little collection. You can try locating James Maynard perhaps via the Free State Project organization. [Full Review]

Guest Column
Money, Debt and the End of the Growth Imperative
by Thomas Greco

The present global monetary regime is a collusive arrangement between politics and high finance. By monetizing their budget deficits, this system enables national governments to spend far more than their income from taxes and other sources, while granting banks the privilege of creating money in the form of debt, and then charging interest for its use. The main reason for the centralized control of credit and money has nothing to do with helping the economy to operate more efficiently. The motive is political: centralization enables the undemocratic control of everything else. It thereby concentrates wealth and power in the hands of the few. Whoever controls the ‘wellspring’ controls the ‘river.’ The same is true with money. [Full Column]

Quote of the Week

"Political language is designed," as George Orwell warned, "to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."