Christmas has come a little early for lovers of liberty, thanks to five federal judges and a White House task force. *The National Security Agency's collection of "metadata" on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States appears to violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said Monday (12/16). "I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate' and ‘arbitrary invasion' than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval," Judge Leon said.  *During oral arguments in a different case last month, U.S. District Judge William Pauley also expressed skepticism about the legal basis for the NSA collection program. Three more judges gave us Christmas presents.

A friend of mine built a very successful company, sold it for a substantial amount, then took some time off to get his MBA at Harvard Business School. Ironically, for years after getting that degree, he wasn't able to make a penny in business. He had become too careful, too wary of failure. Who likes to fail? I don't. Failure can feel humiliating. But if we're not willing to risk failure, we won't be able to make the bold moves necessary to really succeed, either. Learning to deal well with failure is a skill. It's something that we can learn, practice, and master. Not that anyone wants to become a master at failure; we want to become masters at dealing with failure... and masters at learning from our failures. Our failures can be more effective teachers than our successes; and with understanding and practice, we can learn to make the most of them, even turning those failures into triumphs.

The portrayal of Santa Claus as an old white man makes her uncomfortable, wrote Aisha Harris in Slate Dec. 10.  Santa should be portrayed as a penguin instead, she said. It bothers me not at all that Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were black.  But if it did, would that justify me demanding you pretend they were white? "This is ridiculous. Yet another person claiming it's racist to have a white Santa," said Megyn Kelly (sadly, no relation) on her Fox News program.  "And by the way, for all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white." Liberals exploded with indignation.  To call Santa white is "racist," they said.  "Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn't mean it has to change," Ms. Kelly retorted.  "Jesus was a white man, too. He was a historical figure. That's a verifiable fact -- as is Santa." That incensed liberals more.  "Fox News' Megyn Kelly refuses to apologize after declaring that Jesus, Santa were white," said the New York Daily News. Next thing you know, that racist Jezebel will claim the sun rises in the east, water flows downhill, it gets dark when the sun goes down.

I was tempted to drop off the "-ets" but this is a family-friendly website.  Two friends of mine specialize in helping people do this, Joel Nagel, whose Caye Bank in Belize focuses on private offshore accounts, and Mike Cobb, whose ECI Development creates escape havens in Central America. Joel and Mike just told me they are holding a Seminar on Offshore Asset Protection Strategies in Gaithersburg, Maryland this Friday, December 20.  It's 12 Noon to 2.  It's only 20 bucks to attend. They'll be discussing the latest on FATCA Fascism, offshore banking, the key questions to ask regarding buying property overseas, their Top Ten asset protection strategies, and can answer whatever questions you may have. If you live anywhere near the DC area, I suggest you strongly consider being there.  To do so, give Valerie Espinoza a call at 786-738-6038 or 800-959-6422 - email her at [email protected].  Again, it's 20 bucks and that includes lunch. Gaithersburg, Maryland, this Friday the 20th.  Could be the most valuable lunch you've had in a very long time.