Status Anxiety

[This article originally appeared in Liberty Watch magazine.]

Las Vegas is all about status. The average tourists come here to “get drunk and be somebody,” the country song explains. Those who move here quickly learn that success is often determined by who you know, or who you know who can put in a good word for you. And the rich and famous who come here to see and be seen wake up every day worrying about whether their adoring fans still think them worthy.

Water Is Gold

[This article originally appeared in Liberty Watch magazine.]

Not many people know anything about Boswell Land and Farming. The Boswell family likes it that way. The reclusive family is the world’s largest cotton and tomato grower, according to Yahoo Finance, growing and milling cotton on 150,000 acres in California and 50,000 acres in New South Wales, Australia.

Avoid the Crowd

[This article originally appeared in Liberty Watch magazine.]

While those who watch and follow the advice of CNBC’s Jim Cramer or the conventional Wall Street wisdom are being treated to agonizing stock market volatility, constant readers of Bill Bonner are sleeping soundly while the price of gold hovers near new highs.

A Bull in China

Imagine the irony. While my girl was attempting to become Shanghai Tang’s customer of the month, I noticed a Newslink bookstore in the SkyMart portion of the Hong Kong International Airport. The SkyMart could pass for any high-end mall in the U.S. — Cartier, Channel, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Prada — you name it. Not the dreary trinket shops provided in U.S. airports. The first book I spotted had a picture of the adventure capitalist himself, Jim Rogers, on the cover of A Bull In China: Investing Profitably In The World’s Greatest Market.

An Anarchist at the Caucus

Saturday was caucus day in Nevada for the first time ever, and despite not choosing to participate in this foolish sport, this anarchist couldn’t resist a front row seat to watch democracy in action. Republicans were to report to a government high school by 9am sharp, and as it turned out, be off the premises by 10:30 to allow Democrats their turn.