The Vigilantes Are Coming For Congress
The Vigilantes Are Coming For Congress
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 30, 2026
Eight years ago in the summer of 2018, an automated monitoring system at the US government’s Social Security Agency flagged a questionable transaction and immediately forwarded it to a human worker at the agency to investigate.
It took more than a year for a Social Security employee to look into it. And it was painfully obvious— Social Security was paying too much ‘supplemental security income’ to the recipient.
Canada's Plan To Balance The Budget: Change The Definition Of ‘Spending’
Canada's Plan To Balance The Budget: Change The Definition Of ‘Spending’
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) October 2, 2026
It was a big week for creative problem-solving. Britain fixed a failed government energy company by starting a second, Canada is balancing its budget by renaming the spending, and Boston paid $335,000 to call itself racist and failed. Here are a few of the most absurd stories in case you missed them.
The UN’s Bankruptcy Can’t Happen Fast Enough
The UN’s Bankruptcy Can’t Happen Fast Enough
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 28, 2026
Every September, world leaders take turns at the podium of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and give pointless speeches. If they really cared about CO2 emissions, they’d skip the event entirely, because the only thing coming out of their mouths is lies and hot air. But a few days ago when it was Argentina's turn, President Javier Milei spoke honestly and boldly.
Xi Xinping Said America Is Finished. Congress, Take The Hint!
Xi Xinping Said America Is Finished. Congress, Take The Hint!
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 25, 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping landed at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday for a three-day state visit, and Donald Trump was waiting for him at the foot of the red carpet. That’s highly unusual. US presidents typically receive foreign leaders at the White House.
In fact, with the exception of popes, no president had met a foreign leader on the tarmac since 1962, when JFK went out to greet British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
China Needs a Time Machine. America Just Needs a Pen
China Needs a Time Machine. America Just Needs a Pen
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 22, 2026
Song Jian was very good at math. He was one of China's top missile scientists, and his specialty was the equations that steer a rocket to its target.
In 1978 Song traveled to Helsinki for an engineering conference, where he came across researchers applying the same kind of math to human beings. Their idea was that a country's population could be steered toward a target number, just like a missile.
America Keeps Threatening the Lenders It Can't Afford to Lose
America Keeps Threatening the Lenders It Can't Afford to Lose
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 24, 2026
Late last week, Congress and the White House established a new law authorizing the President to impose tariffs of up to 100% on any country that ranks among the five biggest buyers of Russian oil or gas.
This law had broad, bi-partisan support and passed by a whopping 86-11 margin in the otherwise deadlocked Senate, and 262-159 in the House of Representatives.
"Chuck The Debt In The Fire" Is Officially A Real Solution
"Chuck The Debt In The Fire" Is Officially A Real Solution
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 9, 2026
It's so simple, how could no one have thought of this before? The man currently polling in second place to become the next President of France has put forward an ingenious solution to tackling France's national debt, currently standing at around 117% of the country's GDP.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon says, "All we have to do is take the 18% held by the Bank of France and chuck it in the fire."
Sometimes This Time Really Is Different
Sometimes This Time Really Is Different
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 21, 2026
Some time in the middle of the second century AD, on the shores of the extremely picturesque Lake Iznik in modern-day Turkey at the site of the ancient city of Nicaea, a boy named Cassius Dio was born into a locally prominent family. His father was a Roman politician, his mother was Greek, and young Cassius Dio grew up in a bilingual household speaking Greek and Latin at a time when the Roman Empire was at its absolute peak.
Doing The Math: Interest Expense Is Going To $2 Trillion Annually
Doing The Math: Interest Expense Is Going To $2 Trillion Annually
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 17, 2026
It was January 2000. AOL had just announced it was buying Time Warner in what was then the biggest merger in history. Fourteen dot-com companies had bought Super Bowl ads, one of them starring a sock puppet that sold dog food. The US economy was growing at one of its fastest paces ever; GDP was up nearly 5% the year before— and that’s real growth, before adding inflation, which itself was just 1.4%.
They Called Refining a Dying Business. Diesel Just Hit $6.
They Called Refining a Dying Business. Diesel Just Hit $6.
Notes From the Field By James Hickman 9Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 16, 2026
On Sunday afternoon, the power went out at ExxonMobil's refinery in Channahon, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago. Oil refineries run at tremendous heat and pressure, so whenever the power goes out, all that heat and pressure has to go somewhere. It’s basic physics. Hence why the plant burned it off through the flare stacks, with black smoke visible for miles.
"Grow Our Way Out of Debt” Is Code for Inflation
"Grow Our Way Out of Debt” Is Code for Inflation
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) September 14, 2026
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat down for a fireside chat at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and told the room what the plan is for the national debt.
"We don't have a revenue problem," he said. "We have a spending problem." Contain the spending, add 3% growth, and America can "grow our way out of this."