A great story has emerged here in Detroit that helps to confirm my hypothesis that an environment of anarcho-entrepreneurship is surging due to the existence of a powerless, ineffective government (the best kind of government).

In the midst of all the great anarcho-happenings here, one blight on the landscape has been looking out of my office window every day at the Wayne County jail that is currently under construction on a prime piece of downtown property. They actually call this a criminal justice complex. The jail is a pet project of the Wayne County Executive’s office, the Wayne County Sheriff’s office, and the union workforce that was employed to construct it. Detroit has a disgraceful history of using prime pieces of downtown and riverfront land for building pet political projects and pass-thru freeways, which has left some of this city’s prime downtown areas almost unwalkable. On that note, I’ll quote Tom Lewand, president of the Detroit Lions.

“It’s always been the part of the central business district that’s stood out like a sore thumb,” Lewand said. “You’ve got this criminal justice center in its various shapes and forms that stands in between one great entertainment district in the Greektown area and another great entertainment destination in the stadium district. … I don’t think you could have found anybody who would have said the highest and best use of that gateway parcel of Gratiot would have been a new jail in terms of welcoming people to the central business district.”

Welcome to government central planning, Tom. Word is that at least $100 million has been spent on this fiasco thus far.

Crain’s Detroit is reporting that talks are underway to abandon the prison project because the project is already way over budget and way behind on a completion date. Additionally, there is a cheap, alternative location for the government’s prison camp. The interesting part is that the bungling politicians have turned to Detroit’s Renaissance Man, Dan Gilbert, to explore having his company purchase the site and repurpose it with his entrepreneurial vision. Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans, has been a magical force here in Detroit, as his Rock Ventures LLC is reforming downtown Detroit one piece of property at a time.

Government apparatchiks, with the fire burning ‘neath their buns, turning to private businessmen and investors to bail them out is a concession of failure on the part of government and a victory for the free market and private industry. Here’s to hoping that this latest botch on the part of the corrupt Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano will finally find him ejected from office, or better yet, make him a resident in his own prison, wherever that ends up being located.

He’s given up on government, and he’s slowly coming over to our side. Well, maybe.

The ignorance of the hysterical gun-haters just keeps getting better. So now, the way a deaf boy signs his name is creating a frenzy in a Nebraska school district because the sign “looks like a gun.”

While Detroit’s “finest” are unable to maintain order in the city’s neighborhood’s, this city’s regeneration is being helped along by volunteer watchmen who patrol their own neighborhoods while the DPD (Detroit Police Department) makes excuse after excuse about manpower shortages and equipment issues. Yesterday, Bloomberg ran this story about the men and women who choose to make a stand against the criminals as opposed to whining and waiting for inept government to tend to their personal safety matters.

My old neighborhood, East English Village, has been very successful at soliciting volunteer patrol people as well as monetary contributions to help fund their community efforts.

Besides East English Village, neighborhoods with vigorous crime prevention efforts include: the Grandmont-Rosedale Park area that straddles the Southfield Freeway on Detroit’s far west side; Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, the University District and Green Acres on the north side, and the West Vernor and Springwells Business Improvement District, a commercial area in southwest Detroit bounded by West Vernor, Clark, Springwells and I-75.

In the business district, merchants each started paying up to $2,000 a year for added security a few years ago, said Matthew Bihun, program manager of the Southwest Detroit Business Association, which oversees the district.

Thanks to Jed Martin for the story link.

Detroit’s entrepreneurial surge is all the rage, these days, with media attention from all corners of the globe. CNN has published an article, “Reviving Detroit from the Ground Up.” As one would expect from the mainstream media, scant attention is paid to the motivation and success of entrepreneurs in spite of government intervention, taxation, business mutilation, and specifically in Detroit, the downward spiral from insolvency to a potential bankruptcy.

The article’s author gives a nod to the upcoming book from Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley, The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Broken Economy.

“The cavalry is not coming,” said Katz, who describes local innovations from across the country in a new book, “The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy.”

Cities cannot wait for old programs to return, Katz says. They are not coming back.

Instead, cities should build from whatever assets they have at hand and make a new kind of business case for investment, from within and without.

A Brookings press release for the book release reads:

Across the nation cities and metropolitan areas, and the networks of pragmatic leaders who govern them, are taking on the big issues that Washington won’t, or can’t, solve.  They are reshaping our economy and fixing our broken political system.

In reality, government “leaders” in Detroit are not responsible for any of the business boom we are witnessing here in the more dense areas of the city. Instead, the laughable and incompetent bozos on the Detroit city council, as well as the blundering boobs in the mayor’s office, have managed to stick their wrenches into the spokes of many excellent efforts on the part of local business barons to reform this city’s decades of decay and neglect. Still, our city’s finest entrepreneurs have managed to overcome the attempts at political coercion with brilliant strategies for dodging the bureaucracy and accomplishing free-market endeavors. In fact, Whole Foods is getting set to open its new Detroit store.

I’ve long made the argument that it is the lack of a powerful government that has blessed Detroit with an environment where a quasi-anarchy that has spawned multiple grass roots movements consisting of voluntary forces doing good things for the community, as well as allowing for a profusion of these notable entrepreneurial efforts. The battle is not between Big Government (the Feds) and local government; it is between the state (all governments) and the efforts of private entrepreneurs and spontaneous orders within the communities.

See my “Detroit: From Rust to Riches” blog for more on these topics.

With the recent death of a family member on the 26th of the month, I was reminded of a special provision for social security that gives the government a free pass for a last moment of theft, and that’s after a lifetime of theft under the guise of overseeing one’s “security.” The provision essentially states that in the month of death, a person shall not receive any benefits for that month for the days that person was alive. Here is the provision (bold is mine):

Social Security benefits are not pro-rated. To be entitled to a Social Security benefit check for a given month, the person must be alive the entire month. No benefit is payable for the month of death.

This provision has been in the law since 1939 and can be changed only by an amendment to the Social Security Act. The legislative history of this provision does not show why benefits are not payable for the month of death.

In other words, the government, unlike private interests, doesn’t have to pro-rate a last check to this individual’s family or estate, even though that individual earned the 26 days of benefits that were stolen over his or her lifetime, and even though there is still 26 days of rent and other bills that have to be paid on the part of the deceased person. It may be small dollars to some, but in total, if this amount was quantified on an annual basis for all deceased slaves whose monies were kept by the state, you can bet the amount of booty is substantial.

Meanwhile, a call to the private pension administrator reveals the expected proration of pension benefits, including the date of death. Only the state is licensed to steal all across the board, and in a stealthy manner so that the population of slaves will never notice, let alone dispute.

Just like the digital camera age made everyone a “photographer,” the Internet age has, apparently, turned many talentless folks into “writers.” Nowadays, any assemblage of words is construed as writing, and therefore those who “write” are “writers.” People who never get paid to write one word, let alone whole articles or blogs, are suddenly “freelance writers” or “award-winning journalists.”

I’ve been plagiarized multiple times before, but it has usually been cases where one or two topics are heavily “borrowed” by someone who then does a poor rehash of my ideas and words. What is plagiarism? Here are some general guidelines. I link to this particular page because I like the reference to “information illiteracy.”

Plagiarism represents information illiteracy. What does that mean? It means if you have to plagiarise, clearly, you are incapable of researching and assimilating your own thoughts and ideas. You are effectively illiterate when it comes to handling information.

Just this week, someone sent me this May 27, 2013 article written by a Robert Taylor on Examiner.com, a website that often attracts folks who otherwise can’t gain a market or audience for their writing because it’s a platform open to any contributor. Though Examiner.com is a great anarcho-platform concept, like anything else on the web that has no oversight for content, there have been notable accuracy and attribution problems. Unfortunately, many readers are unable to separate good writing from poor or copycat writing.

I refer to serial plagiarism here because Mr. Taylor has stolen topic after topic after topic from me, and he compiled it into one article, complete with a not-so-crafty rehash of words. The writing and organization of this article is poor because it reads like a rundown of someone ele’s work – which it is. The topic he chose to rehash is market anarchy in Detroit, a topic that I have covered on KarenDeCoster.com and LewRockwell.com for years, and especially in the last year or two. In fact, I even started a new blog as a place to collect all these posts on anarcho-Detroit: Detroit: From Rust to Riches. For some time, I have taken to titling these posts “Anarcho-Detroit [fill in blank]“ as my way of describing the near anarchy and voluntary spontaneous order that is becoming a common occurrence in my city. A short description of my blog is on the front page:

This blog will be about the uniqueness of the Detroit resurgence due to an inept and powerless local bureaucracy (government) that cannot possibly keep up with regulating the renaissance of entrepreneurial and community ventures.

Mr. Taylor’s article does not give proper credit to me, my Detroit blog, my personal website, or especially, LewRockwell.com, where these posts have gained the widest audience. In fact, the copyist alternates between (a) linking to some of the same sources I linked to and (b) finding new sources to link to so that there appears to be an air of originality. Here’s a sampling:

(1) Taylor writes this about Detroit Bus Company:

Founded by 25-year-old Andy Didorosi, the company avoids the traditionally stuffy, cagey government buses and uses beautiful vehicles with graffiti-laden exterior designs that match the heart of the Motor City. There are no standard bus routes; a live-tracking app, a call or a text is all you need to get picked up in one of their buses run on soy-based biofuel. All the buses feature wi-fi, music, and you can even drink your own alcohol on board!

 I wrote this in my 2012 blog post, “Detroit’s Heroic Anarcho-Bus Company”:

The owner and founder, 25-year-old Andy Didorosi, was a guest on Mitch Albom’s show today, where he stated that his company is “trying to change what people think about buses.” In other words, his company does not tool around the city in monstrous, shabby, dirty, disgusting cages on wheels that are driven by 400-pound, sedentary maniacs who have nothing to lose, especially their union-protected, government job. The company’s buses are visually stunning while sporting graffiti-laden exterior designs that match the rustic-artistic city where the buses operate.

The buses also have wi-fi, live tracking apps, and you can call or text to have a bus come pick you up. And, there are no standard routes as with the government’s bus systems. They also play great music on the buses.

…The buses run on soy-based biofuel that is produced and harvested locally.  … Oh, and government prohibition is unmistakably absent, as you can also drink your own alcohol on all of the company’s buses.

(2) Taylor writes this about the “bus stop” anarchy, another topic of mine.

Charles Molnar and a couple of other students from the Detroit Enterprise Academy wanted to help make benches for the city’s bus stops, where long-waits are the norm, equipped with bookshelves to hold reading material.

Detroit Department of Transportation officials quickly said the bench was “unapproved” and had it taken down. Silly citizens, don’t you know only governments can provide these services?

I write this earlier this month, in my post, “More Anarcho-Detroit: Bus Stop Benches?” And this is just a small snippet from my blog.

Some people from the Detroit Enterprise Academy think that bus patrons – especially older folks – shouldn’t have to stand and wait at the city’s bus stops, so they put together a voluntary force to do something about it. They build benches from reclaimed wood, fancy them up a bit, and place them at bus stops where resting spots are much needed. The benches built by the crew seat six people, and they also have bookcases in the bottom, filled with books, so those waiting on transportation can have something to read, if desired.

DDOT (Detroit Department of Transportation) officials have said the placement of benches has not followed protocol, and therefore the benches are not approved and must be removed.

(3) Then Taylor, in a very obvious case of information illiteracy, streams together multiple odd topics about Detroit, without any interesting details, support, or other content that is usually a product of good writing. He writes:

The TMC and the DBC are just two of the larger, more visible examples of the market and voluntary human cooperation reigning in Detroit. “Food rebels,” running local community gardens, are an alternative to Big Agriculture and government-subsidized factory farms. Private parking garages are popping up. Detroit residents are using Lockean homesteading principles to repurpose land amongst the rubble of the Fed-induced housing bubble. Community events like Biergartens and large, civic dining gatherings (with no permits or licenses!) are being organized privately. Even Detroit’s artists are beginning to reflect this anarchic, peaceful movement in their artwork.

(a) As most all readers know, I have written multiple times on Detroit’s urban agriculture landscape, as well as the Industrial Food Machine (too many links to put them all here). Though here is my “Anarcho-Farming in Detroit” post that uses the term “food rebels” and showcases the PBS program that he also links to.

(b) The “private parking garage” he mentions is covered extensively by me in this post, “Detroit’s Anarcho-Parking Garage?” Also, let me add that there is nothing unique about a “private” parking garage – what is so compelling is the entrepreneur I referred to, and the amazing concept and vision he has for the garage. Mr. Taylor was apparently running out of ways to lift my work.

(c) The “repurposing of land” he refers to is from this post of mine from 2012, “Anarcho-Land Ownership.” I link to Rothbard writing on Lockean homesteading principles and I write, “Residents are taking over nature left unattended and bureaucratically bungled by city government, while they mix their labor with the unused land to cultivate and repurpose land resources.” He plagiarizes this by using “repurpose” and “Lockean homesteading principles.” I’d bet a million that he’s never read Locke.

(d) He also gives a passing mention (again, with no detail) to Detroit’s Biergarten, and this comes from my “Anarcho-Biergarten” post.

(e) His mention of “civic dining gathering with no permits or licenses” comes from my 2012 “Anarcho-Dining” post. In my post I write, “There are only the necessary anarcho-rules to maintain appearance and order (attire and clean-up), with no permission and no permits.” So he plagiarizes me directly here.

(f) He also sweeps in the mention of “anarchy and artwork,” and again, I have been there, done that on this topic, as represented in my September 2012 “Anarcho-Art in Detroit” post. In this post I use the terms “Lockean homesteading” and “voluntaryism,” two terms he uses freely in his article.

This whole scenario is more funny than anything. With all of Mr Taylor’s copyisms, not once did he give credit to me, my blogs, or the influence my writing had on his apparent excitement about Detroit and its free-flowing market anarchy. Mr. Taylor is from San Francisco nonetheless. I write about Detroit’s hidden economy and resurgence because I live here and I participate in it everyday.

The reason I chose to post this is that this type of thing happens a lot more than people know, and without each instance being pointed out. I suspect that most readers don’t know that this is quite common, and even more important, I think a lot of folks on the ‘Net don’t recognize the difference between writing and information illiteracy. I do believe that the unfettered market is a great vehicle for driving out and ruining the reputation of copycats and fakes. At least I am optimistic that is the case.

Producing interesting, idea-driven opinion or fact pieces takes a lot of work, and usually, intelligent people know subpar work when they see it. At first glance, I thought it was immediately apparent that Mr. Taylor’s article is shoddy, shallow, uninformed, and mostly .. boring. Yawn. Here’s to hoping he learns something from this.

In reference to Lew Rockwell’s post on hating the desk phone, I despise this ancient device, as do many of my colleagues. Since I am very often not at my desk during my workday – in meetings or running around to other offices on our campus – I hate coming back to that silly red light on my desk phone. I figure that I have my hands full with a portable electronic device and email, and that’s enough to deal with, so I have left a message on my voice mail that states: “Since I am mostly away from my desk, please do not leave me voice mails, as there may be a delay in response due to using this medium. Email or instant messenger will be your quickest route to communication with me, so feel free to contact me via either medium.”

Mostly, people do respond accordingly, and they follow up via email. Still, the old-fashioned crowd leaves me old-fashioned voice mails, and there they sit, sometimes for days or weeks. I made my point, so it’s up to them to either adhere to my wishes or take their chances with waiting for me to find the time to sift through multiple, blabbing voice mails.

No way, says holistic MD Dr. Brownstein. The salt nazis (like the Center for Science in the Public Interest) and the conventional medical establishment have been wrong all along about salt. Even the Institute for Medicine says salt has its merits. In fact, salt is necessary for life. I use the Celtic fine ground sea salt and the Himalayan fine pink salt.

As Dr. Brownstein (a Detroit area holistic MD) notes in his latest blog post, the Michigan Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics held its annual conference in April, and the sponsors were those wonderful promoters of all things health: McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, and one of the state’s largest GMO factions, the Michigan soybean industry. Appropriately enough, the conference exhibitors included political lobbies and pharmaceutical companies, along with the Henry Ford Health System Transplant Institute…