crash course
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
One of the reasons I moved to Japan a few years ago was my dismay at what humans have made of North America. I'd been doing a fair bit of disturbing reading, and came to the conclusion that North America's rampant consumption and fractally bizarre choices (driving 150 kilometres to work; living in vast suburban paved panoramas; remaining stubbornly unable to save money; exporting all productive industry) were going to impoverish and imprison everybody.
It turned out that Japan was possible, so here I am.
About a month ago, a friend of mine who went through something of a midlife political awakening passed on a link to a series of videos that neatly summed up a few of the books and other sources I'd been reading and added to it a much better understanding of how the US monetary system "works". I finally got around to reading it, and find it irrefutable (if gut-wrenching). It's called, simply, "Crash Course" and is available from its creator, Chris Martenson.
Viewer beware!