• “WILL COMMON SENSE PREVAIL, OR IS IT TOO LATE?… In multiple venues of public policy today, common sense has been supplanted by doctrine & dogmaNowhere is this more apparent than in the administration’s bizarre insistence that the border is fluid, transitory, and apparently altogether optional… Wall construction halted; Remain in Mexico while seeking asylum policy abandoned; Busloads of illegals being shipped across the country, many infected with Covid-19; $4 billion going to central American kleptocracies ‘hoping’ for less corruption which allows conditions to improve & end violence, so their forlorn populations would give up their determined trek to our border. In what universe? …An Open border represents a fundamental threat to the social contract between the governed and the government to protect citizens’ rights… If elected leaders can dilute the vote of citizens by engineering a new electorate whenever convenient to do so – either through amnesty or weakening election rules so that anyone can vote – then consent of the governed is no more than a cheap parlor trick.”  [RED STATE – 3/15/21]
  • “NORMALCY MAY ALSO BE GONE FOR GOOD ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE, “especially in the context of American global policy which has consistently (when convenient) affirmed that the U.S. is a force for good in the world and, as such, is irreplaceable, indispensable & essential…thus needing to maintain a worldwide constellation of bases to defend various allies, to annually export billions of dollars worth of weaponry, engage in endless wars, and spend a $trillion-plus annually to pursue what is usually described as National Security… But this is a falsehood which, in recent decades, has wreaked untold havoc while distracting policymakers from concerns far more urgent… including (1) That the people once assumed to be ‘in charge’ no longer really are – instead competing with footballers, TV celebrities & rap artists who communicate more directly & effectively with the public; (2) That individual duties performed in exchange for collective benefits no longer applies – instead an emergence of anti-establishment populism which has shortchanged the many while benefitting the few (particularly mega-wealthy Americans who, during the pandemic, have so far raked in an estimated extra $1.3 trillion); (3) That political frontiers of Left & Right are gone – now instead emphasizing Identity and Grievance, with citizens lending support to causes centered on emotions, group identity, or aspirations, while rendering once-accepted notions of class & party all but irrelevant, with Passions governing unprecedented levels of volatility… Throughout the ranks of the Establishment, the reassuringly familiar narratives ot the 20th century retain their allure, but obviate the need to think.”  [TOM DISPATCH – 3/11/21]
  • AN ALTERNATIVE TO ‘CONVERTIBLE NOTES’ FOR SEED FUNDING OF START-UP COMPANIES are ‘SAFE Notes’ – a mechanism which, upon completion of the Business Plan, Valuation and Capital Raise, offer early risk-takers to similarly Convert into equity at very substantial discounts. SAFE Notes are simpler, without interest or maturity date and much less costly to execute, but are not official debt instruments; so, if the start-up is unable to raise stipulated amounts of capital, repayment is not required. The risk to entrepreneurs is excessive dilution but, in addition to early funding, they also obtain guidance & credibility from Tech Accelerator companies who, in return get the Right to receive shares (typically Preferred) if and when a priced equity raise or IPO is successful.
  •  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

         “A ‘decision’ is the action an exec or supervisor must take when he/she has information so incomplete that the answer does not suggest itself…  It takes more effort to find out what’s right than what’s wrong…  The best and quickest way to appreciate other people is to try and do their job.”

         As Rome Burns… Democratic leaders of Congress knelt in the halls of Congress for about 9 minutes, and their Speaker Pelosi presented George Floyd’s family with a folded American flag flown over the Capitol in his honor – a guy who was arrested 9 times, imprisoned 8 years three different times, drug dealer including a deal the day he died, and held a gun to the stomach of a pregnant lady while five buddies robbed her home.  Beyond riots/ looting/ arson/ mayhem & wall murals across the country celebrating his ‘sacrifice’ and allowed in his ‘honor,’ Floyd family have collected over $14M in donations and last week $27M from the city of Minneapolis since a policeman didn’t act properly to save him from fentanyl self-injection.