Inflation Fear vs. Real Economics: Edge of the Cliff Dead Ahead
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   November 8, 2022

Here at the Montecito Journal, we have long believed in offering a variety of views, letting each side have its space to speak. In light of the upcoming election, two of our longtime contributors have written in on what they think you should consider when heading to the ballot box this November 8. With Rinaldo […]

Positive Power Progress: The Middle East Fuel Commodity of the Future
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   August 16, 2022

The last two columns in this space revealed the ridiculousness of burning more natural gas as a way to combat climate change just because it is half the carbon of coal.  In case everyone isn’t already aware, the time for half measures is way gone! Greece, France, and other major areas of Europe are on […]

 

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Wow! Fareed Got it Wrong Again. Read the Science
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   August 2, 2022

Fareed Zakaria is a man deserving of considerable respect. He is not only a great columnist, television host, interviewer, and pundit, but he is also an opinion maker. The general public listens to him. So do kings, potentates, politicians, and major corporate executives all over the globe. Hence there’s no joy when we are compelled […]

Fareed Zakaria got it wrong! A dishonorable peace
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   July 26, 2022

No doubt many of you know of Fareed Zakaria, the very intelligent columnist for the Washington Post and popular host of Fareed Zakaria GPS (where GPS stands for “Global Public Square”). Fareed is more than a popular pundit; he is a significant opinion maker himself. For years his prestigious interviews of global elites in government […]

The 2nd Amendment Bad Law is Always Trashed
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   July 19, 2022

Let’s get something straight: just because the Supreme Court comes up with a clearly wrong opinion doesn’t mean it is correct, or that it won’t be eventually thrown out as bad jurisprudence.  Here’s a notorious example: The Supreme Court led by Justice Roger B. Taney (who, until John Roberts, was viewed as the worst Chief […]

We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident A Call to “Duty”
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   July 12, 2022

With the 4th of July Holiday just past, it is more important than ever to reflect on the Nation’s founding “energy,” what the Germans would call our Zeitgeist. Famously observed, America is not a nation that arose due to geographic isolation of a singular genealogical population, as the British Isles or Japan. Nor did it […]

Past As Prologue “Our Fortunes, Our Lives, Our Sacred Honor”
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   July 5, 2022

Whether we like it or not, we are all witnessing something particularly horrific, an incredible tragedy, being televised for all the world to see as the January 6th Committee Hearings. The world’s democracies are getting scared — as should all of us be. In Germany this week, President Biden was confronted by our closest allies […]

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  • Going Way Beyond 1973 Washington Warned Us
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   June 28, 2022

    1972 was a very bad year for everyone in the USA. Richard Nixon defeated the unshakably honest son of a preacher, Senator George McGovern. McGovern ran, and lost, on a platform of peace, determined to end the Vietnam War. Nixon promised to stay the course. Upon winning, Nixon nevertheless signed the Paris Peace Accords just […]

    Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) “Mother” Hazel Henderson 
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 24, 2022

    Elon Musk is the world’s richest person and one of the most brilliant individuals in business. He is the P.T. Barnum of our age — only more effective by far. And yet no one has ever accused him of: 1) having an ego that is under control; 2) a desire to benefit his fellow citizens; […]

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    Abortion is Not the Issue: The Way to St. Helena
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 17, 2022

    Hard to believe though it is, the leaked draft opinion of Justice Samuel Alito is one of the most radical decisions in Supreme Court history. The proposed majority opinion striking down Roe v. Wade is not going to be remembered for its doctrinaire, misogynistic, didactic, and insensitive tone, nor for its incredulous conclusions. No, it […]

    Guns and Butter Stagflation or Taxes
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 10, 2022

    A macroeconomic argument circulating during World War II stated that the nation couldn’t afford both “guns and butter,” pitting the costs of waging war against luxuries like silk stockings and abundant food choices like creamy milkfat. In fact, this saying originated decades earlier, with the passage of the National Defense Act of 1916 as the […]

    Freedom Fuel in the USA and Abroad Severing the Umbilical Cord
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 3, 2022

    On April 14, this column introduced the concept of “Freedom Fuel.” It outlined the potential unlocked by shifting from a planetary fuel system based on fossil fuels to a system based on the wide availability of hydrogen created by electrolyzing water with renewable energy (so called “Green Hydrogen”) at prices below fossil fuel. As that […]

    Inflation, the Economy, and More! A Leviathan Lurking 
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   April 26, 2022

    Most folks are feeling significant pain at the gas pump and the grocery store these days. Remarkably, the cause for that “pain” is the same for both – inflation. The question is, should we all be worried about that issue in isolation, or should we focus on the economic fundamentals that underlie this spurt of […]

    Freedom Fuel No “Planet B”
    By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   April 19, 2022

    1,000,000,000 = 1 billion Euros ($110 billion in U.S. dollars) per day. That’s what Europe sends to Russia in cash every single day. At that rate Russia can finance a war for a very long time. At that rate, Russia can commit unlimited atrocities. And, even though some are afraid to call what Russia is […]

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