Dear reader,

Thank you so much for subscribing and checking out this very first New Arcadian newsletter (formerly the Basic Liberty Letter). If you find value, please share with friends and family.

Best,

Nick Foley

The Energy of Crisis

You’ve heard it said that we are on the brink of an “energy crisis,” but nobody talks about the “energy of crisis.”

Wordnik describes the term “energy crisis” as “An economic problem caused by a dwindling supply of energy, at an increasing price.”

You may be wondering – what causes the dwindling supply and increasing price? Is it the greedy energy companies, as we’re told? Bernie Sanders recently tweeted:

“Gas prices are $1 a gallon higher than they should be because of Big Oil’s greed. We need a windfall profits tax.”

From what I understand, energy companies play just one part in energy supply and prices. Another major role here is taken by governments. Regulations on where oil can found, how it can be extracted, how it must be stored, transported, sold, and not mention – taxed. And then there’s the influence that the US military has to strong-arm oil-rich regions in the world into increasing or decreasing production.

We still don’t know who blew up the Nordstream Pipeline. I’ve heard every theory even down to it being operatives with our own US government. in early February, president Biden promised to bring Nord Stream ‘to an end’ should Russian troops and tanks enter Ukraine. Though sending a remote submarine to detonate explosives at the bottom of the ocean right next to the pipeline was probably not what he meant…right?

But I did want to mention the energy OF crisis. By this I mean negative “energy” of the consequences that government-run energy sector produces.

“Energy” means “the exertion of vigor or power,” which is exactly what happens when governments play politics with the energy sector. Crisis itself creates an energy that creates panic and feeds government with even more excuse to expand their power and influence. It’s a downward spiral of misaligned incentives that, in my opinion, will just get worse.

Canada is Freezing – and I’m not talking about the weather

Canada is “freezing” their gun rights, with implementation of a recently-passed law that freezes all handgun transfers in Canada.

From the Canadian Prime Minister website:

“The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today announced the national freeze on the sale, purchase, and transfer of handguns comes into effect. From now on, people cannot buy, sell, or transfer handguns within Canada, and they cannot bring newly acquired handguns into the country.”

Don’t open a history book right now, or you’ll be terrified to see the stage of authoritarianism that happen after a population is disarmed.

Let’s Get Personal

In “Let’s Get Personal,” I’ll talk about my personal interests, hobbies, and life.

I have been learning to hunt so that I can teach my kids when they are old enough, and am pretty terrible at it. Up until recently, I’ve gotten nothing but squirrels (which are tastier than you think).

This fall, though, I got my first turkey. It was my 3rd year of trying to hunt a turkey, and I lucked out this fall less than 2 hours into the season with a 17 pound, adult male, which we’ve already cooked and then made into soup.

I’ve paid a little over $150 for a hunting license for these 3 years of unsuccessfully trying to get a turkey, so I can safely say that this was the most expensive turkey we’ve ever eaten.

The process of getting an animal from the wild, and cleaning it, is exhilarating, and, if you’re not used to it, takes you out of your comfort zone, and puts you in the shoes of what an average person in the American west would be dealing with on a regular basis only just 150 years ago.

Outta the Box

Outta the Box contains alternative ideas and conspiracy theories which do not necessarily represent my views or beliefs, and are presented only as fun food for thought.

I recently visited the Plimoth Patuxet Museum in Plymouth, MA, which was focused on information and artifacts from the early settlers who landed on Plymouth Rock in the early 1600s. We also saw Plymouth Rock itself – quite a boring rock, if I may be so blunt.

On display in the museum was an old map of the American northeast – a map that I had seen recently and piqued my interest, because on that map was a city which, though depicted on this and several early maps of the American northeast, doesn’t exist today. It’s called – Norumbega.