Episode discussion topics Today we nerd out and share the latest information we've been following in the growing world of blockchains and the so-called web 3.0 built upon them. We review what makes up Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Essentially imagine all of the forms of finance that consumers and businesses use on a regular basis today, only with higher returns and no regulation... yet. Literally a digital wild west gold rush that's only available online. What it could mean that centralized finance (NYSE in this case) is offering crypto futures starting with Bitcoin. We can imagine Ethereum (MVP promises to pronounce this correctly in the future) will be next in somewhat short order. Perhaps a more solid price floor could be established based on traditional exchange investor dollars. However, that would require some kind of faith because what we know of crypto prices is volatility. What on Earth is the metaverse? Massive multiplayer online universes - think World of Warcraft, Destiny, SecondLife - with decentralized ownership and governance and possibly a lot more. Pretty much the opposite of anything that may come from the likes of Meta, a company formerly known as Facebook. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are verifiably unique, one-of-a-kind, addresses on a blockchain. These addresses cannot be duplicated within a blockchain. The address can contain a key for many things, like digital art, contracts like property deeds, music, and other file types including programs. The blockchain can be setup to handle all the transactions for change in ownership of these unique addresses and the collection and dissemination of royalties to the creators on every re-sale. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are an embodiment of the beloved decentralized nature of this new blockchain internet of things. These organizations are typically made up of a group of members that is determined based on ownership of crypto coins or tokens. DAOs can be formed for many reasons, some yet to be known, but so far they are mostly responsible for governing change to blockchains over time including financing and implementing upgrades. This includes voting as a community on enhancements, changes to protocols or rules, adding new features, etc. Here's a CoinBase article about legislation passed in Wyoming, effective July 2021, that recognizes and provides for registering a DAO as an LLC. Calls to Action: The best way for many of us to learn is by doing the thing. So if you're thinking about playing with crypto, only spend money you do not need when scratching this itch. Treat it like an unregulated casino. As such, your somewhat least risky move may be to investigate reputable exchanges that service customers in your country. As such, your somewhat least risky move may be to investigate reputable exchanges that service customers in your country. Most exchanges has a specific service for the United States due to increased regulatory requirements. Popular platforms include Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.us, Gemini, others. However, you won't necessarily control your blockchain keys when going through an exchange. If you want to buy and hold and keep it secure, check out other hot and cold wallets for storing your own crypto keys. Here's a short article from Blockchains101.com. Do your research. Some cryptos are born as scams and some become scams over time. Only you can prevent losing your money, so keep your research and your positions fresh. Time will tell, but there is a real possibility that some of these cryptocurrencies will prove to be good hedges against inflation, wars, and other geopolitical happenings that impact national currencies. Web 3.0 may prove to be massively more valuable than our current version too. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info We have transcripts located at the end of each podcast episode's  page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI and not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or like us on Facebook. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this podcast are for listener consideration and are not necessarily those of the show or its sponsors. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics Coming off the heals of two republics we want to paint the picture of what an egalitarian future may look like. How does self-rule translate into the economy? How do we leave behind the concrete plantation that was built by the owners of the system? Competition is good and centralization is problematic without proper checks and balances in place. We use adversarial (one side versus another) setups to do things like finding the truth through a court case or like supply and demand in economics or the checks and balances among our co-equal branches of government. Automation is coming for all repeatable tasks and will eliminate related jobs. This includes many roles from middle management to delivery drivers. The ability to be free is granted to all through the ability to participate in the economy in the way that they choose. Imagine if healthcare and schooling were rights, not expenses or debt, since a healthy republic needs citizens who understand how to work it. Imagine having the right to equal pay for equal work for egalitarian sake. Imagine the astounding possibilities if all our brains were free to create at will rather than only a selected few. Calls to Action: Arm yourself against the fear that is driven by false notions of socialism or communism or any ism because those are just ideas, not systems that we can implement. China and Russia are more capitalist or even fascist in their current implementations of governance and economy. The one Marxist thing they retain is central planning committees that are deeply seated in politics. The U.S. uses a set of distributed economic planning committees consisting of public and private institutions, the Federal Government, and the boards of companies across industries. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info We tend to take for granted the fact that we have weekends, a "fourty-hour" work week, and abolished child labor so they can attend schools instead. These are a set of conditions that have been hard fought for and won by historical labor and progressive movements in the United States. We have transcripts located at the end of each podcast episode's  page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI and not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or like us on Facebook. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this podcast are for listener consideration and are not necessarily those of the show or its sponsors. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics A tale of two republics that are fused together under law as a means of containing a ceaseless war of cultures. One republic was built upon the ideals of aristocracy and one was built on the ideals of equality. What they had in common was a common enemy in that neither of the republics wanted to bear the cost of living back under the rule of a king. The new south has boundaries drawn by cultural lines and is not reliably in specific states but rather among all of the states. This has actually been true throughout most of United States history as racism and misogyny never fit inside of map lines. The lines were simply easier to draw back when laws told the story, specifically where slavery was legal. Follow the ideas where old rules reign today and there you will find the confederacy echoing from yesterday. A potent combination of white supremacy and misogyny that is justified in many cases through religion.  Modern science has proven all humans are the same species. History has proven that race was invented and gender was used for sowing division and creating classes where none truly existed in reality. This provided huge amounts of free labor to feed the aristocratic economies of the south and maintain their order through oppression. One more chapter in the age of civilizations: The long history of the haves balancing their power, riches, and glory on the backs of the have-nots. Why reconstruction was left unfinished is something we touch on in this episode, but if you are looking for something with more information, please check out Reconstruction: America After the Civil War by PBS. Calls to Action: Realize that every human is their own entity with inalienable rights according to our founding documents - no race or gender is inherently superior nor should wield power over another - this is egalitarianism, this is the freedom promised under the laws of our republic. Maps are being redrawn and representation matters. It is up to all of us to make sure our voice is heard. "Unity maps" shall show the way to more equal representation across more competitive districts! These maps have been proposed as highlighted in this San Jose Spotlight OpeEd piece; a map inspired by The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and are providing an example to model. After all, we love that old motto, "no taxation without representation!" Review CPP Episode 6 The Politics of Party when we discussed the dangers of conducting politics via parties and how parties are one of the things the U.S. founders feared most; something bad for the health of any republic. Voting is being restricted in new ways, find out how to get out the vote in your community. Check with your local county elections officer, sometimes part of the clerk or recorder offices. Get interested in new tactics to combat inequality in voter access and campaign funding. Your community needs solutions and democracy vouchers may be a new way to begin leveling the playing field if we cannot get HR1 - For the People Act to pass the U.S. Senate. Seattle has made some progress on this front recently by implementing democracy vouchers to manage campaign finance and allow more citizens to run for office. Here's a related opinion piece from CommonDreams.org for more information. Get involved and use your agency to help make noise and march on the ideas that are important to our personal health, the climate within which we live, and our collective health as a species. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info If you want to understand more about the various cultures that colonized and propagated the United States, then check out the book American Nations by Colin Woodard (2011). The link is Wikipedia, but the book is available for purchase via the usual methods if you want to read it. We have transcripts located at the end of each podcast episode's  page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI. It's not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or like us on Facebook. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this podcast are for listener consideration and are not necessarily those of the show or its sponsors. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics Kudos to businesses who were on the front lines supporting a move to remote work to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. Now we have to deal with what the future will look like. Now is the time to re-examine our outmoded relationship with the company office. Many studies are showing nothing but win-win benefits from moving to a four-day workweek with gains in both productivity and personal satisfaction. 4-Day Workweeks Can Boost Happiness and Productivity - The Atlantic This huge new social experiment could finally make the 4-day-workweek a reality - inverse.com Hybrid remote and purposeful on-site face time is also another way companies can remain flexible with their workforce and maximize any benefits of having people in an office space setting. There should be a clear set of goals in mind for bringing the team together and everyone should be open to changing it up for the sake of improvement. We need to be cautious of the pitfalls of continuing an overemphasis on in-person interactions that are motivated for selfish reasons. There should be clear benefits available to all who participate in the office, a level playing field so-to-speak. Otherwise, we'll only be doubling back down on methods that helped inequality blossom. Workers that remain exclusively in any category, remote or in-office, still risk exclusion through limitations or overexposure from the perspective of visibility or availability to leadership. This can have the effect of further isolating employees that are otherwise the best candidates for a coveted position because they haven't gotten enough face time with the bosses. And/or unduly influencing bosses to over-index on a highly available person that may not be the best candidate overall. Or more subtly, someone's bonus may more likely be affected by having a lack of in-person contact with key people in the office. Calls to Action: Question any demands to return to the old normal and seek more information to understand the motivations and perspectives behind the decision-making. Make it part of your one-on-ones, salary negotiations, and employee surveys to talk about intentions behind time in the office and share your respectful, informed, and candid feedback on the matter. Aim to improve the policies or how they are implemented by framing propositions thoughtfully and in a way where the benefits are clear. Make yourself more aware of the history of labor and our hard-fought gains like the weekend, which is how we make gains, through hard fights that require patience, endurance, and a clear goal in mind: A 4-day work week anyone? Employees are expected to act in the interest of the business that employs them and, by extension, in accordance with its policies when they do not conflict with the law. Yes, the laws of our republic always take precedence. Approach topics from as strong (watertight) and well-grounded (can withstand forces) position as possible. Be prepared to listen, receive, and measure the response to your delivery. Avoid reacting at the moment. Practice with a friend or coach if you're nervous. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info Remember: Acting on behalf of the business within its policy is an excellent place to have in mind when asking questions. Ask questions about how policies benefit the business and its stakeholders or what other outcomes of value are expected. Does the case make sense? If not, then ask more valuable questions. For instance, how will the results be measured to know if things are working as planned or if adjustments are needed? We have transcripts now! Located at the end of each podcast episode's page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI. It's not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or like us on Facebook. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this podcast are for entertainment purposes and are not necessarily those of the show or its sponsors. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics We put the spotlight back onto the media and the niche-filled mess that has proliferated among the feeds of our internet of things. As citizens in a freedom-loving republic, we need to be vigilant of our information diet. Bias and creating an angle on any given piece of information in order to formulate a TV-ready story-bite is big business now. It always has been really, but now we also have to contend with a massive democratization of sources available to us through all the various platforms on our computers and phones. Not all sources are created equal although you may want to believe it, that does not make it right or true. What is corruption in media? Planting and growing bias with the aim of creating profitable niches at the cost of truly relevant and valuable content. Also, media companies tend to be in the business of aiding and abetting political figures for the purposes of securing future gains or consideration. As old a practice as the art of propaganda. Be on guard.  Only you can have a balanced diet of information and understanding how to assess bias or angles like we need to understand food labels. Honestly, finding bias might even be more intuitive than reading nutrition labels. You need to treat your media like a 7-layer nacho dip, a little perspective from each of all the layers to triangulate on the truth where the facts lay. Don't only have one source of information. Detect and know the bias or angle of the sources you use and select multiple sources in order to compare, somewhere between the lines is the relative truth of the matter. Every story has two sides or more! Remember: All news is best served with a side of fact and facts are a dish best served cold. Stone cold truths are the most truthful of truths. Calls to Action: All of life is a soup. Keep your shields up, sample a lot with your sensors, and trust but verify anything you think is information. MVP loves his friends, even more, when they check his neuron misfirings. No one is right all of the time. We have to remain open to new information and to changes in understanding or perspective. Freedom of the press is a constitutional right and high-quality journalism is important, facts matter, and so does verifiable reality. Diversify your media intake and look for independent journalism to support. DIVERSITY CHALLENGE: Do not only consume sources that confirm your existing beliefs! You need to have a balanced information diet, so add in views from another side or perspective for every source you agree with. Check your sources and find specific information using commands that are specific to your search engine. We have provided some helpful links below for resources on multiple engines: Google Support Article, "Refine web searches" Comparison of Advanced Search Operators for Yahoo, Bing and Google from "The Association of Internet Research Specialists," name sounds spooky. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info We have transcripts now! Located at the end of each podcast episode's page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI. It's not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or like us on Facebook. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics We put the spotlight on a recent 5-4 decision on an emergency stay request from the Supreme Court, coming down on the side of allowing a new anti-abortion law in Texas to take effect, at the will of the state, and completely deferred getting involved until such time as an actual case is presented to the court, of which there are several already on route. Adding insult to injury, this was merely a procedural decision, and as such, it is equal parts callous and irreverent of all the U.S. citizens in Texas who were about to lose their civil rights. Hopefully, the Department of Justice will do what it can to protect those who choose to continue to exercise their right to an abortion, as it is a protected right of all U.S. citizens under federal law. Strange as it is, states rights is the method of experimenting with 50 flavors of the republic, making inroads on civil liberties in the face of mask mandates and legalization of recreational drugs and also the resurgence of patriarchy, the last gasp of a by-gone-era. Roe v. Wade  (1973) grew it's roots in Texas, so there is no irony that they are the state to usher in a new cutting-edge aimed at the severance of women's rights from the law. This episode is probably more of an explainer on a soapbox than our typical episode, with little in the wake of solutions other than wait and see how to act. It feels like we're suspended in time watching to understand how bad the car crash is going to get in live-action slow motion. Gutt-wrenching seems an appropriate description. Calls to Action: If you have off-cycle elections coming, pay attention, and make sure you vote. In many states, you can be purged from the voter roll for missing only one election. Don't get rolled, keep voting to stay registered! Contact your congressional representatives and voice your support for the following critical legislation to all citizens of the United States. If you want your vote to count and our tax dollars going to the things that matter, then you want to support this legislation: For The People Act John Lewis Voting Rights Act Equality Act Peacefully protesting is the release valve for citizens to band together in a show of force and solidarity around a common cause. Seek out local marches and rallies to show support for women's civil rights as full citizens. If you are in Texas, perhaps make plans to seek assistance outside of state lines. If you have family living in Texas who is seeking the freedoms offered by women in your state of residence, then you have a duty to help if you can. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info Interesting article on how the most supreme court in the land has reversed its own decisions over the years. More specifically, the Supreme Court has overturned more than 200 of its own decisions. Here's what it could mean for Roe v. Wade, an article by AJ Willingham at CNN. MVP got lazy allowing this analysis through. It's not wrong, just maybe a little light and airy. We have transcripts now! Located at the end of each podcast episode's page on our site. Check it out, but know this: It's all AI. It's not us. So thank you in advance for forgiving any and all errors. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or on Facebook. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics We put the spotlight on what it means to be a patriot in our republic and call attention to a thought experiment. What does patriotism look like in lieu of armed conflict and insurrection? How should a patriot respond to an attempted coup or illegal seizure of power from a government? Storming the capital is not a legitimate answer. If the election was executed freely and fairly by the book, then we follow the votes, period. No violence should be justified. Anyone who refuses to abide by the winner according to the most votes is then, by definition, attempting a coup against the duly elected government. Evidence that substantiates claims of wrongdoing in establishing the vote count shall need to be dealt with and we have long-standing mechanisms in place to identify and remedy issues in voting procedures or personnel. To date, there has been negligible evidence of actual vote tampering or other anomalies and none that were so widespread as to impact the outcome of an election. Yet we remain vigilant, county by county. We should double down on the rules and keep trying at making a more perfect union, each election cycle at a time with that end goal in mind: more perfect. Peacefully protesting is the release valve for citizens to band together in a show of force and solidarity around a common cause. If, and now we can say when, an administration cracks down on peaceful protests, then the lawsuits will rise through the courts to protect the civil liberties guaranteed to citizens under the law. The executive branch can be rebuked through the courts, one would hope. Political revolution instead of armed revolution by force is the only way forward if you side with our republic and not against it. Footnote aside: Unless said civil liberty has to do with someone carrying a uterus. Our current Supreme Court is fully open to hearing arguments against abortion rights and willing to watch the resulting repercussions of enacting such laws as if one's mind was so small as to not already know the outcome without needing to collect data in order to inform your decision. It's all quite billy-boy-bonkers really. MVP mentioned something ambiguous about the Warren court, in reference to the U.S. Supreme Court responsible for overturning Jim Crow (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896) with the 1954 decision that ruled racial segregation in schools, and by association all segregation, was unconstitutional (Brown v. Board of Education). Momentous things can happen at the whim of our courts within the span of 60 years. To and frow the pendulum meanders, oscillating around an inevitable arch bending toward justice. An indelible image gifted to us by the dear late Reverand Martin Lutther King Jr. Calls to Action: If you have off-cycle elections coming, pay attention, and make sure you vote. In many states, you can be purged from the voter roll for missing only one election. Don't get rolled, keep voting to stay registered! Contact your congressional representatives and voice your support for the following critical legislation to all citizens of the United States. If you want your vote to count and our tax dollars going to the things that matter, then you want to support this legislation: For The People Act John Lewis Voting Rights Act Equality Act Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info MVP wanted to rant on a soapbox about the CA Recall Process being punitive on the voters forcing a snap election with candidates rather than providing a simple yes or no, and letting the dominoes fall into place. We already elected a second in command in case the governorship is vacated prior to the end of their term and this case should be no different. On another note, strategically the lieutenant governor should have been an option for us on the back of the ballot. Next time... and there will be a next time if history is any lesson. The recall device began in the United States in a municipality—Los Angeles—in 1903. Michigan and Oregon, in 1908, were the first states to adopt recall procedures for state officials. Minnesota (1996) and New Jersey (1993) were the most recent. Since 1913, there have been 179 recall attempts of state elected officials in California. Eleven recall efforts collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot and of those, the elected official was recalled in six instances. We'll see what happens with Newsom in CA on Sep. 15. 2021 or within only days later. We have transcripts now! Come to the episode page on our site to check it out. It's all AI from Zoom, not us, so forgive us for any mistakes. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or on Facebook. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics We put the spotlight on what it means to be a patriot in our republic. What patriotism looks like in our republic juxtaposition to insurrection. Don't get them confused! The ongoing sliding scale of democratic self-rule and why we allow it to oscillate between freedom and authority. Self-rule is a messy business and when times are tough, we tend to sacrifice our civil liberties and create autocracies among the states. That is a fear response that we must resist. A recent ruling from one of the initial cases coming to bear against the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. In Judge Amy Berman Jackson's words while sentencing an insurrectionist, "Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a head of state. That is the tyranny we rejected on July 4." Read in: King of England be damned, this is the United States! The dangers of political parties are showing their colors. Please check out S1 S6 | The Politics of Party. Elections, like court cases, are best designed to bring any contest to a conclusion. It is not always fair, but it should be essentially by the book. When loyalty to a party or one person or the idea of one person is an affront to operating our system of representative government. The founders were leery of kings and irrational laws and sycophants alike. Following the rules is very patriotic and if we do not like the rules, it is in our power to change them. It is in fact our responsibility as citizens to sponsor a system that calls foul balls and enforces the strike-outs. This is the same spirit in which we play sports and expect one another to not be a poor loser.  This is how we should view and respect our system of laws. Calls to Action: Let us know your definition of "Patriot" in reference to this episode. How do you feel about ours? Before you run off and start defending our system as a patriot, first read your state's constitution! If that's too much to start, go re-read the Constitution of the United States. You should know what you are trying to defend without taking anyone else's word for it. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info MVP wanted to put the message out there that the best way forward for all of us to live freely as Americans is to treat everyone equally under the law and each other with dignity and respect. We must accept the fact that all who are not native are descendants of immigrants and/or slaves. Anthropology teaches us that gene flow comes and gene flow goes, so too does immigration. We need to be steadfast in our principles, as a nation of immigrants, to maintain the United States as a shining light upon a hill with a beacon of promise like no other land on Earth. Sharing is caring and caring brings happiness. Off the soapbox... We have transcripts now! Come to the episode page on our site to check it out. It's all AI from Zoom, not us, so forgive us for any mistakes. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or on Facebook. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics We're on the hunt for solutions and having access to the solutions of our choice. The natural world is full of problems and more importantly, solutions to these problems. Natural remedies have been time-tested through the processes of evolution and natural selection and deserve our attention. In this part 2, we explore the current state of Genetically Modified Organisms (like wheat and cows, etc.) and the difference between natural and unnatural methods of selecting desirable crops. We briefly discuss the connective nature of the mushroom, a.k.a. the mycelial network, among the roots of great forest organisms and among the neurons of one's mind. This National Forest Foundation article helps shed light upon what we are learning about these amazing and vast symbiotic organisms, "Underground Networking: The Amazing Connections Beneath Your Feet." Regarding the brain, this scholarly article finished its summary with a powerful finding: "... These results strongly imply that the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs are caused by decreased activity and connectivity in the brain's key connector hubs, enabling a state of unconstrained cognition." Areas of the brain are talking to each other without their usual, well-worn pathways! The effect is literally freeing the mind. Calls to Action: During your day-to-day, seek to add in new connections in your community around food. Pierce the veil of marketing and plastic wrap in your life and meet your butcher to know your meats. Choose all-natural or organic over factory farm-raised products. You may need to ask questions to understand the difference based on what's available in your area. Cost-saving tip: We know it may be more expensive per pound to invest in healthful foods, but consider reducing the amount of meat you buy. The more nutrient-dense a food is, the more healthful it is, and as such you need less of it to be healthy. Use ripe fruit to finish any meal if you're still hungry. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info Learning more about the U.S. Farm Bill so that when it comes up for reauthorization, you are familiar with how your tax dollars are allocated. We need to reprioritize small farms and healthful production over the mass industrialization of our agriculture. Let us put our tax dollars to good use and move us towards sustainability and resilience in farm practices for a more healthful nation and a more perfect union. D.C. Think Tank, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, produced a handy video and infographics: What is the Farm Bill? Wikipedia a perennial source of information has a U.S. Farm Bill informational page. Another recent scholarly article on "How psychedelic drug psilocybin works on the brain." Notably it mentions that using fMRI technology has revealed that areas of the brain thought to deal with the ego and sense of self are less active, which also coincides with the other study that found similar connector/traffic cop regions are less active. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or on Facebook. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc. 

Episode discussion topics We're on the hunt for solutions and having access to the solutions of our choice. The natural world is full of problems and more importantly, solutions to these problems. Natural remedies have been time-tested through the processes of evolution and natural selection and deserve our attention. Go for a swim! "Regular swimming has been shown to improve memory, cognitive function, immune response, and mood. Swimming may also help repair damage from stress and forge new neural connections in the brain." Psilocybin is a champ when it comes to relieving the symptoms of both depression and anxiety. In fact, things are starting to move fast in the world of studies on the drug. Researchers' appetites were made wet back in 2016 when a ground-breaking study at the time showed that a single dose administered under the care of psychiatric medical doctors provided relief from depression in cancer patients for years. As recently as November 2020, John Hopkins University School of Medicine produced a study that shows even more remarkable promise for this brain wonder drug, quoted below: “The magnitude of the effect we saw was about four times larger than what clinical trials have shown for traditional antidepressants on the market,” says  Alan Davis, Ph.D.,  adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Because most other depression treatments take weeks or months to work and may have undesirable effects, this could be a game changer if these findings hold up in future ‘gold-standard’ placebo-controlled clinical trials.” Psychedelic Treatment with Psilocybin Relieves Major Depression, Study Shows. More than that even... This article from Nature mentions treatments for PTSD in addition to the others we already covered. What's also notable in this article is a nifty little table that shows the number of studies being undertaken in recent years on this subject. 2020 was a boom year with 17 studies including 13 focused on Psilocybin, 3 featuring MDMA (a.k.a Molly or Extasy), and 1 on good old LSD. Now those last two we're not so sure how natural they are, for the record. The chart goes back to 2010, so check it out if you like infographics. One timely piece on this subject comes to us from the New York Times and provides some of the business going on behind the scenes,  "Psilocybin and MDMA are poised to be the hottest new therapeutics since Prozac. Universities want in, and so does Wall Street. Some worry a push to loosen access could bring unintended consequences." Just as the subheading suggests, it will be interesting to see what comes in the wake of all these newly destabilizing forces that might upend the mental health industry and have far-reaching implications for ending prohibition by the U.S. Federal Government. Here's a quote that shows how quickly things are moving now... "More than a dozen start-ups have jumped into the fray, and the handful of companies that have gone public are collectively valued at more than $2 billion... Compass Pathways, a Nasdaq-listed health care company that has raised $240 million, is conducting 22 clinical trials across 10 countries of psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression." Addiction is an issue all on its own, complex and varried. No specific type of consumption is more or less addictive to people who have "non-addictive" personalities. Those people should be free to have choices. Yes, relatively among the things that people get addicted to, some are more addictive than others and it is also true that "old habits die hard." However we must also consider that when people can be addicted to food, alcohol, narcotics, opioids, sex, etc. what is most addictive, is the escapism that these experiences offer in place of a truly fulfilling life. A truly fulfilling life is one when you go to bed and fall asleep fast because you're excited to wake up in the morning. Not because it's Christmas, but because you're alive and you have something left to do to which you're looking forward to finishing. Call to Action: At Citizen Do Good, we believe that increasing access to choices helps to fuel our freedom of choice!  Let us not only trust in the very young, very astute scientific method but also the age-old wisdom that comes from generations of exploring nature for ourselves - experientially.  After all, we knew as a matter of fact, before science, that mother's milk is way more nourishing than any substitute we can concoct. Make an informed opinion by learning more now. Use some of the resources we've shared and consider exploring how you might gain more awareness experientially if such an opportunity arises. One of the most critical components of all these studies is that people feel comfortable relying on doctors, it feels safer and that's a key. You should ensure you have a trusted, safe, and secure environment any time you explore new things - unless you're climbing Everest. Even then, you'd be relieved a bit by having a guide, solid equipment, and some training or practice ahead of time. Hopefully, this analogy makes sense. What about the law? Similar to how marijuana is being made legal state by state in American fashion, an end to the prohibition on other schedule 1 substances will likely be won state by state at the ballot box or through legislatures. That's what we do in our Republic absent of major pressure in D.C. by unseen forces. Someone at Bloomberg agrees with this assessment. In contrast, a somewhat more hopeful tone is coming from Rolling Stone who attempts to answer the question of whether the current Democratic majority will pick up the mantle. Case in point, as of July 2021, California's legislature is working up a bill to do just that: California advances decriminalizing psychedelic substances. So at least the states are getting on the move and like Marijuana back in the 1990s, it looks like the west coast is on the cutting edge. Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr. More info The war on drugs ended up being a war on Americans. It was good for business and white supremacy. NPR has a timely series named, "The War On Drugs: 50 Years Later," dedicated to providing more perspective in this space. What about Marijuana? We haven't highlighted it because now 37 states have some form of legalized access to this gateway drug. Gateway to legalization and decriminalization for all the inmates on the Federal Schedule 1 drug row.  As far as medicine, it definitely can help overcome a lack of appetite and help insomniacs get some sleep. I don't think we need to consult medical advice to know that's true. Prohibition (the alcoholic one) - we will need to do an episode on just this and the IRS. Coming soon. Gene Editing - also another episode we promise to bring you in the future. In short, it seems like CRISPR-CAS9 isn't the only game in town. More to come. Please feel free to share your thoughts through our Contact Us page or on Facebook. Learn more and reach out Head to Citizens Prerogative for additional information and log in or sign up to leave a comment. Don't forget to join our free newsletter and get 10% off at our shop! Go the extra mile by supporting us through Patreon. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Special thanks Our ongoing supporters, thank you! Our sponsor CitizenDoGood.com. Graphic design by SergeShop.com. Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org. Other music provided royalty-free through Fesliyan Studios Inc.