Thankful - TLF113

This Thanksgiving holiday, I took time to reflect on what I'm most thankful for in this crazy year of mine, and there is a lot there to be thankful for. What's in the News with stories on military industrial complex financial news, military industrial complex murder news, military industrial complex border security news, more military industrial complex border news, Julian Assange, and finally, some peace news. Also, a Muh Roads segment on private firefighting is in the spotlight. This episode is brought to you by ZenCash, now known as Horizen, a cryptocurrency that infuses privacy, anonymity, and security, done right. Also, brought to you by SmartCash, an easy to use, fast, and secure cryptocurrency that supports everyday use for everyday transactions.     WHAT’S RUSTLING MY JIMMIES Last week was Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for me is generally a time of reflection, and this Thanksgiving was a reflection in spades, primarily because of the major changes my life has seen since June. If you were listening back then you heard of my crazy news that I lost my job of nearly three years, my high-paying Director of IT job that brought me to New Hampshire and allowed me to be a part of the Free State Project. I was laid off the week before PorcFest because the company was in major financial trouble, and I was a high-cost employee. It was a bit of a shock to the system. To say I was terrified was an understatement. How was I going to feed my family? How was I going to make the mortgage? How were we going to make it?   Well, five months after that event, I am here to report that we have survived! As a matter of a fact, I can say that we have thrived. So much so that right now I am thankful I was laid off. It was perhaps one of the best things to happen to me. Let me explain.     WHAT'S IN THE NEWS In military industrial complex financial news, the Pentagon has failed what is being called its first-ever comprehensive audit, a senior official said, finding U.S. Defense Department accounting discrepancies that could take years to resolve.   In military industrial complex murder news, the United States has waged a drone war in Yemen for 16 years, trying to suppress al-Qaida’s branch here. But the campaign has had a hidden cost: civilians cut down by the drones’ missiles.   In military industrial complex border security news, using thousands of military troops to help secure the Southwest border will cost an estimated $210 million under current plans, the Pentagon told Congress.   And, in more military industrial complex border news, President Donald Trump’s administration is considering giving U.S. troops on the border with Mexico the authority to carry out medical screening of migrants, U.S. officials told Reuters.   In Julian Assange news, Jack Posobiec, a former Naval intelligence officer, is reporting that Julian Assange will not be indicted over the publication of the hacked/stolen Democratic National Committee emails.   Also, Ecuador's government has refused Julian Assange's lawyers access to him this weekend (although the embassy is manned 24/7) to prepare for his US court hearing on Tuesday, reports Wikileaks.     In finally some peace news, since the 1953 armistice of the Korean War, all roads within the demilitarized zone have been severed. On Thursday, for the first time since then, a single road will be reconnected by the two Koreas.     MUH ROADS I haven't done this segment in a while but I have a perfect reason to do one today. Apparently, while California was burning to the ground, Kayne West and Kim Kardashian's home was saved by *gasp* private firefighters. God forbid!   The successful defense of the $60 million mansion is the most prominent example of a trend that’s begun to receive national attention: for-hire firefighters protecting homes, usually on the payroll of an insurance company with a lot at risk.     The insurance companies AIG and Chubb have publicly talked about their private wildfire teams. AIG has its own “Wildfire Protection Unit,” while Chubb—and up to a dozen other insurers—contract with Wildfire Defense Systems, a Montana company that claims to have made 550 “wildfire responses on behalf of insurers,” including 255 in just the past two years. Right now in California, the company has 53 engines working to protect close to 1,000 homes.   Liberals are all up in arms about this because, well, equality. Apparently, EVERYONE should have had their houses burned to the ground equally, and that would have made the liberals happy. Remember, boys and girls, equality is a race to the bottom.