One Event Like This One Can Transform Society

“We must all hang together or we shall surely hang separately.” — Benjamin Franklin (1776)

SPECIAL ALERT: Glenn Beck has invited me to be on his radio show tomorrow morning, Friday, June 6 — D-Day! — at 11:34 a.m. ET, to discuss my new book, “THE GREATEST AMERICAN.” His show is found on 400 radio stations and has 10 million listeners. Glenn Beck | Live Radio.

I’ll also be on Steve Moore’s popular radio show “Moore on Money” on WABC at 1:30 p.m. ET this Saturday: Moore Money with Steve Moore | 77 WABC.

Next week is my favorite week of the year, when more than a thousand like-minded individuals come together for four days to learn, network, socialize and celebrate liberty. It’s like no other festival. As Steve Forbes says, “FreedomFest is so good I changed my schedule to attend all four days. It’s where the best ideas and strategies are created.”

Reporters often ask, how did you come up with FreedomFest, “the world’s largest gathering of free minds?”

I was inspired by three individuals:

#1 Influencer: Leonard E. Read

Leonard E. Read, the founder of the Foundation of Economic Education (FEE) in 1946, taught me that conferences present an opportunity for speakers as well as attendees to learn new ideas, and that a wise presenter doesn’t just give a speech and then leave. They stick around and get involved.

This is why we don’t have a green room at FreedomFest. You may find yourself sitting next to Steve Forbes at a breakout session. True!

Leonard Read was also famous for lighting a candle in a dark room full of people. The message was clear: YOU can make a difference by being a light to the world. As the Bible says, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works.”

Every year at FreedomFest we give out the Leonard E. “Read This Book” Award. This year the award will go to Art Laffer, the father of supply-side economics and the famous Laffer curve, for his book “Taxes Have Consequences.” He’ll be there next week to talk about his book, and do an autograph session.

#2 Influencer: Doug Casey

Doug Casey is a long-time friend and financial maverick who organized an annual conference in Aspen, Colorado, in the 1980s and 1990s called “The Eris Society,” named after the Greek goddess of discord whose golden apple marked “to the fairest” led to the Trojan War.

Eris was a three-day Renaissance gathering where a hundred or so individualists discussed and debated a wide variety of topics. We learned the basics of running a fabulous conference from Doug’s outstanding example.

Before Doug retired, he spoke every year at FreedomFest, and always had something controversial to say.

#3 Influencer: Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is a worldly philosopher extraordinaire, as my latest book demonstrates. With his zest for knowledge in science, business, geo-politics and the arts, Franklin would be a regular at FreedomFest if he were alive today. He once said, “I find I love company, a chat, a laugh, a glass and even a song, and relish the grave observations and wise sentences of old men’s conversations.”

This is my favorite photograph from a recent FreedomFest. I can imagine Franklin right in the middle of this photo with me and Kennedy (Fox News) and attendees holding a silver dollar, our symbol of liberty and sound money. The silver dollar also has Franklin’s favorite symbol on the front of the legal tender coin. No, it’s not lady liberty, but the rising sun!

For the story of the man in the wheelchair, see One Event Like This One Can Transform Society | Stock Investor

Franklin also loved a good debate, and we have plenty at every conference. Franklin observed, “By the collision of different sentiments, sparks of truth strike out, and political light is obtained.”

It’s not too late to join us next week in Palm Springs. Go to www.freedomfest.com, or call Hayley at 1-855-850-3733, ext. 202. You’ll be glad you did. It is “the greatest libertarian show on earth.”

This Just In: C-SPAN will be covering several sessions at FreedomFest next week, including the Global Economic Summit debate on the Trump trade war. Stay tuned!

How Well Do You Know Dr. Franklin? Take this Quiz

Historians have called Ben Franklin THE GREATEST AMERICAN. He had at least 22 careers in his lifetime.

In my new book, I ask a series of questions about this founding father. Let’s see how you do, and where to find the answers:

1. What was Franklin’s favorite symbol of America found on the American eagle silver dollar? (Chapter 44)

1.  Lady Liberty
2.  The eagle
3.  The turkey
4.  The rising sun
5.  The rattlesnake

2. Which of the following founding fathers became a bitter enemy of Ben Franklin? (Chapter 57)

1.  John Adams
2.  George Washington
3.  Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5.  Alexander Hamilton

3. Did Franklin abandon his wife when he moved to London in 1757? (Chapter 80)

4. How many illegitimate children did Ben Franklin sire? (Chapter 79)

5. What was his favorite scripture in the Bible? (Chapter 9)

6. What caused Franklin to change his mind about religion and belief in a personal God? (Chapter 67)

7. Which of the following did Ben Franklin actually say or write? (Circle all correct answers.) (Chapter 66)

1.  “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
2.  “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
3.  “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
4.  “Nothing is certain in this life but death and taxes.”
5.  “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

8. What single change did Franklin make in the Declaration of Independence? (Chapter 49)

9. What was Franklin’s favorite game? (Chapter 63)

10. What invention did Franklin obtain a patent on? (Chapter 25)

1.  Franklin stove
2.  Lightning rod
3.  Bifocals
4.  Glass armonica
5.  None–he never applied for any patents.

11. How did Franklin convince Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith to take an unpopular position supporting American independence in his famous book The Wealth of Nations? (Chapter 29)

12. Which of the following commissioners to France was successful in raising money for the American cause during the War of Independence? (Chapter 57)

1.  Ben Franklin
2.  John Adams
3.  Arthur Lee
4.  Ralph Izard
5.  John Jay

13. Most people seldom change their mind about anything. But Franklin was an exception. Identify how he changed his views in the following areas:

1.  From religious heretic to an active theist who believes that “God governs in the affairs of men” (Chapter 67)
2.  From slave owner to abolitionist (Chapter 41)
3.  From a philanderer to a devote family man (Chapter 79)
4.  From a doting father to disinheriting his son William (Chapter 56)
5.  From critic to diplomat (Chapter 64)
6. From defender of the British empire to American rebel (Chapter 45)
7.  From workaholic to man of leisure (Chapter 12)

New Franklin Book Is the Perfect Gift for Father’s Day!

“THE GREATEST AMERICAN” is 380 pages and published by Republic Books and distributed by Simon & Schuster.

It is NOT a traditional biography of Franklin; dozens of books have been written detailing his life. Rather, mine is unique — 80 chapters on what we can learn from this unique founder, with Franklin’s very modern views on the trade war and globalization, diplomacy and dealing with enemies, taxes and inflation, deficits and the national debt, science and technology, healthy living and living long, racism and discrimination, education and the American dream, inequality and financial independence, wars and conflicts, investing and the economy, sex and family life.

Here’s my press release: Mark Skousen, America’s Economist, Revives Ben Franklin’s Wisdom for Today’s President — World News Report — EIN Presswire.

#1 On Amazon’s New Release List!

The hardback is now available at your favorite bookstore, or online at The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, History’s Most Versatile Genius by Mark Skousen on Amazon. Feel free to write a review on Amazon.

Amazon just ranked my book #1 on this “new release” category (out of 94 new titles): Amazon.com New Releases: The best-selling new & future releases in U.S. Revolution & Founding History.

Many subscribers are buying multiple copies as gifts to friends, relatives and clients. You pay only $24 for the first copy, $19 for all additional copies at Skousen Books at Discount. All copies are autographed and mailed at no extra charge inside the 50 states.

I’ve had many investors buy two, four, 10, 15 and even 24 copies at a time.

If you order this week, I’ll mail it out in time for Father’s Day.

Alex Green (Oxford Club) states, “If anyone embodies the Renaissance man, it’s Ben Franklin — printer, scientist, musician, inventor, author, activist, statesman and diplomat. Mark Skousen delves into every facet of his remarkable life, including Franklin’s surprisingly active love life into his eighties, in this lively and entertaining book. Highly recommended.”

Update: An audible version of the book is almost complete. Stay tuned.

See you next week in Palm Springs! Fly there, drive there, bike there, be there!

Good investing, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen

You Nailed it!

How to Make a 200% Return on a Stock in One Month — Call Options Up 1,100%!

By Mark Skousen

“It’s not a stock market, it’s a market of stocks.” — Maxims of Wall Street, p. 158.

Wall Street has been volatile this year in the on and off policies of President Donald Trump.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t make huge profits in individual stocks. Recently, technological companies, especially ones that specialize in Artificial Intelligence (AI), have been all the rage.

My son, Tim, and I edit a short-term trading service called the TNT Trader, which looks for explosive gains in technology stocks.

Tim has a real eye for tech companies that are about to explode upward.

Over the past two months, he has recommended eight tech stocks, seven of which are up dramatically… including gains of 42%, 21%, 64%, 36% and one that has jumped over 200% in one month. The call options have done even better… we just took profits on this one with a gain of 1,100%, which is extremely rare in this business.

Tim thinks there’s still a lot of profits to be made in this sector. He has agreed to speak at next week’s Global Financial Summit at FreedomFest, so if you would like to pick his brain, I urge you to join us at www.freedomfest.com.

If you would like to know more about the TNT Trader, go www.markskousen.com, or call Grant Linhares at 800-211-7661.