Welcome to mjventertainment.blogspot.com: The Facade of America By Nick Hodge Debt, Freedom and Facebook On my drive in to the office the other day, I heard a commercial that unwittingly encapsulated some of what's wrong with America's current mentality. The commercial was for a new Nokia phone that boasted an incredible camera. The gist was that instead of paying for a front-row seat to the summer's hottest concert, you could buy the cheap seats and take zoomed-in pictures. Why would you want to pay the bare minimum for concert tickets, but still take amazing pictures? To fool your Facebook friends, of course. And the commercial made that crystal clear. It didn't matter if you were able to afford and enjoy the concert from close proximity... as long as your friends think you did. I've been talking about the Facebook facade for years now. But why does it exist? Why do we need to create an online aura of ourselves that's only marginally based in reality? Is it because the majority of us simply can't afford tickets in a closer row than M? Or is it because Americans are so accustomed to living beyond their means, that they'll strive to keep up the ruse of keeping up at all costs? Has the American middle class entirely morphed into what John Steinbeck called "temporarily embarrassed millionaires"? The Nokia Lumina 1020 retails for $759. Advertisement Gold Investment Turns Every $1 into $34 There's a radical way to play gold that 99% of mainstream investors have never heard about before. And here's the thing: You don't have to touch any hyped-up gold mining stocks... ETFs... options... or even gold coins or bars to do it. It's a unique gold strategy that's been proven to safely generate huge gains off gold... and for some savvy people has even built large multimillion-dollar fortunes. Click here for full details. Debt Facade The same day I heard the phone commercial, I stepped onto an elevator that contained two men talking. "I just don't know how they afford it," I heard one of them say. I assumed it was business talk, but then he continued, "All my neighbors have all this stuff. Cars, toys, vacations. How do they pay for it?" The other one shook his head. "Well, that's a nice area, Bob," he said. We reached the lobby and the doors opened. I turned to them both and simply said, "Debt," before continuing to my destination. "You got that right," I heard one of them say behind me. The same debt one of my sister's friends uses to pay for all her shoes, handbags, and an annual trip to somewhere with a palm tree. Privately she's bankrupt, and about to declare it, but you should see the pictures of that stuff on Facebook. Or take my fiancé's newly married friends who "own" a $300,000 home and five cars, one of which approaches six figures... There are plenty of pictures of the cars on Facebook (no word on if they're taken with a Nokia Lumina), but there are no photos of their back tax statements from the IRS. Freedom Facade Maybe our penchant for fakeness stems from our government, which has been feeding us all fraud for years. The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Yet somehow New York is stopping and frisking — without warrant or cause — thousands of people per year. Is that not violating? The Second Amendment goes like this: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Multiple states have passed or are pursuing laws that limit the types of weapons citizens can own. Is that not infringing? The IRS has been caught targeting people and groups for their political beliefs. The NSA has been caught intimidating journalists. The government, from the very mouth of its elected leaders, is still claiming it doesn't spy on citizens — when one of the very men they paid to do the spying has provided data to the contrary. You live in a facade of freedom.The White House has a Facebook page. Advertisement Three 15,000%+ stock runs in a row When one trailblazing investment collective secured three five-digit stock runs in a row, early investors reaped giant gains of 19,950%, 49,893%, and 67,350%. Now this group has its hands on yet another game-changing technology, meaning it's once again poised to unleash a torrent of "retire now" stock market gains. You can learn all about this trade — and set yourself up for the next five-digit winner — for free. Democracy Facade What does all this mean for retail investors like me and you? I should probably also mention, while I'm on this soapbox, that we have a democracy facade as well... Every two or four years, we're allowed to pull the lever, usually for the same man or woman, but occasionally for someone new who will simply carry the torch of the status quo. The guy in there now was supposed to bring change, right? He continued the appointment of Bernanke and Gates. He continued the drone policy. He continued the domestic drug policy. Guantanamo is still open, Habeas Corpus still suspended. The wars are still going and are even deadlier than before he took office. Banks still aren't being prosecuted. Numerous former banking executives and lobbyists have been appointed to administration and diplomatic positions. I could go on... but the fact of the matter — and my point — is that seemingly, the entirety of America has turned into a hollowed shell of its former self. Some of us have snapped out of it. Others are slowly adjusting to the light. Let's call them the 128 million Americans who spend an average of 32 minutes per day consuming nothing but the facades of Facebook. Ready to break the facade? You're in good company. Call it like you see it, Nick Hodge Publisher, Outsider Club