I think men were created with rights. Be they God given or by galactic mistake. We weren't put here to serve others unless of course, we choose to do so.
I guess that choosing part, who chooses, makes all the difference.
Thomas Jefferson, the great polymath, penned the phrase "all men are created equal." As he penned that phrase, Tom must have forgotten about those slaves he owned. I suppose being a polymath does not always include uncovering your own hypocritical tendencies.The great truth is, all men are not created equal. They never have been. In fact it's not even close and as it turns out- that is a large part of our current problem.
You see the big credentialed geniuses then and now- really aren't the geniuses we think they are. The truth does not become truth simply because some well respected man utters a phrase which we wished were true but in all reality- is completely false. Wishing something were true does not make it so.
This week on "American Thinker" I read a piece about how the government can now seize your passport for being a tax "scofflaw." The author, part of the brain washed herd of Americans, thinks that it is perfectly fine to seize one's passport for an arbitrary amount of uncollected taxes- now currently 50k and certainly to be revised downward in the coming years, Apparently this author believes it is the state that endows us with our freedom. That our freedom to travel is some privilege that can only be conferred upon us by our government masters and now taken away as they see fit.
This is why I detest government yet love my country- filled as it is with brainwashed sheep. This is in large part why I started this blog. I come from the brainwashed herd.
In America, we once fought a war with a King over 3% in taxes. Today we think of nothing of paying 40-50% in taxes or better- nearly all of us- except for those wealthy, elite corporate souls who have created a tax law which allows them to dodge what those of us in the middle class cannot.
Please think about this. Every time the government snatches some of your money- you have lost the freedom that comes with that money. It might have been a vacation, tuition, or elective surgery. Your freedom, your ability to succeed, hinges on what the government takes from you. We see this each time the government passes a new law- somebody somewhere is losing a freedom they used to possess.
Mostly we don't care as government sets about the task of identifying minorities- like lottery winners- and sucking up every last cent that they can get away with. Government couldn't accomplish such brazen acts of thievery without the aid of a hollowed out media that pretends to have some watchdog function- yet we all know that our media owners ride on horses carrying the government's brand.
We once had a media whereby authority was questioned. Where truth spoke to power and our Kings like Nixon- were banished in disgrace. Today we have a corporate media- completely captured and owned by elite tax dodgers. Afraid to call criminals like Hillary- a criminal. They sit idly by while these pieces of shit seek shameless power for themselves knowing they will benefit when they remind Hillary of the stories they quashed, of the checks they sent.
We once had leadership which refused to allow any central bank to skim off our wealth and inflate away the buying power of our work product by manipulating the quantity of our currency. Andrew Jackson where are you now?
We wouldn't dream of allowing tax money- money needed for running our government- to be siphoned off for loans to private banks, insurance companies, automakers, and anyone else promising votes or campaign contributions. We wouldn't have simply gotten rid of these government types that exercised control over our tax dollars- we would have had them prosecuted for malfeasance, fraud, or dereliction of fiduciary duty. Not only do they hijack our tax dollars, and create the very system that destroys us- but they have the shameless audacity to write books about themselves such as Paulson's On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System.
Our founders could not have conceived of a Supreme Court that rules nearly 100% of the time against "We the people" in favor of expanding government control over us and diminishing our freedoms every chance they get. A court that apparently has suspended the rule of law, turns a willful blind eye to 4th and 5th amendment protections against illegal seizures and due process- that allows government to do anything just so long as it can hop over the lowest bars of justification real or imagined. They do this because they owe. They owe their jobs to government and the party which selected them. You, they owe nothing to. You are simply some subservient herd animal, powerless to intervene or change the course of events. You exist as a conduit to be governed and fleeced. Any talk of freedom will be done with their permission.
That's how the system has evolved. Or devolved. The individual is powerless and he sure as hell is not equal.
I believed that Thomas Jefferson bullshit for 50 years. Until I realized it was bullshit, written by a slave owner, a member of the elite class of his day. No different then than the bullshit spewed by Trump to an angry America now. Trump is a man certainly created greater than equal, just like Mr Jefferson was. People are going to fall for Trump's bullshit just like Jefferson's. We desperately want what they say to be true. We believe it.
Unfortunately, it ain't true just because we want it to be true.
The reality is simple. We are not created equal. We are not free in as much as the great orators and geniuses of our time spout that bullshit. For me to believe that means I must disregard everything my lying eyes and ears tell me.
Government and freedom are not mutually exclusive concepts but they certainly are today. There is no stopping this. It will continue until such point that it can't continue- that will happen when virtually every American realizes they have been fucked and a collective anger the likes of which has not been seen in a long time sweeps across this land once again.
I shall end here today with the great inescapable truth about freedom which Isabel calls "harm"- as spoken by someone not a polymath and certainly not a member of the elite class.
“Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends.”
― Isabel Paterson, The God of the Machine
Born Isabel Mary Bowler in rural Manitoulin Island, Ontario, she moved with her family to the west when she was very young. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Alberta. Paterson's family was quite poor and she had eight siblings. A voracious reader who was largely self-educated, she had brief and informal public schooling during these years: about three years in a country school, from the ages of 11 to 14. In her late teen years, Bowler left the ranch for the city of Calgary, where she took a clerical job with the Canadian Pacific Railway. As a teenager, she worked as a waitress, stenographer, and bookkeeper, working at one point as an assistant to futureCanadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Now Is the Time To Make Health Insurance Illegal- The Sunday Collage
All
truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it
is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Have you ever looked at a problem and thought...."A complete moron could do a better job of managing this?" That's how I feel about healthcare in the United States. Getting rid of health insurers would be a huge leap in the right direction.
The idea is not mine. I culled it from the comments on a daily financial blog. The commenter failed to elaborate on the point yet I began to mull over the possibility that he was on to something. Let's call it a radical reform idea and preface it with a brief history of what happened within the entire health care arena prior to the controversial installation of the Affordable Care Act.Have you ever looked at a problem and thought...."A complete moron could do a better job of managing this?" That's how I feel about healthcare in the United States. Getting rid of health insurers would be a huge leap in the right direction.
For the purposes of this piece I am going to try and write this as politically non-partisan as possible because politics and who did what are little more than distractions to be studied in some future history class. Interesting, but no longer useful.
A good starting point for our healthcare dilemma begins with the installation of Medicare in 1966. It is important to start here for two reasons. This is the beach head, that moment when government edged itself into the arena and set the precedent. It is also important to note there was no trust fund or savings set up prior to the installation of Medicare- thus it started out in the hole from the very beginning. People were receiving benefits without even having paid anything into the system.
Throughout the remainder of the 60's, 70's, and 80's, health care in the United States was satisfactory and mostly affordable although the slow drip of rising costs had already begun. Costs in medicare were quickly over run. Parts C and D were added. The program expanded allowing new treatments and new providers. The medical device industry and big pharma were demanding and receiving 20 year patent protection which truly amounts to a license to steal. Lawyers refused to cap awards in litigation, malpractice suits were costly and rampant. Malpractice insurance was also outrageous, sometimes forcing doctors to fold up shop. Insurers were busy maintaining margins, paying stockholders, and making all sorts of demands upon insureds and providers seeking to contain costs rather than take care of their customers. Customers became some third party conduit- largely left out of cost containment. Rarely is the actual consumer a part of the cost containment process where insurance is involved. Insurance and risk management in turn forced extended and specialized education with it's associated rising costs and credentialing. Within the provider world, a full third of hospital expenses were administrative. Non tax paying hospitals or non profits- have built empires rather than pay taxes. The demographics are just as bad. It seems that everyone in the health care arena was positioning themselves to take full advantage of the aging and largest generation ever. By the early 90's, the meteoric rise of healthcare costs was just beginning and it would take the financial meltdown of 2008 to bring it to critical mass. It was and still is- the perfect storm. The ACA was hastily written by a desperate healthcare industry and bullied through Congress because millions upon millions of healthy, young workers had left the work force and they weren't coming back to pay premiums. This left an over supply of unhealthy plan participants sucking the assets out of healthcare insurers.
The Affordable Care Act was simply a health insurer bailout. That is all it ever was.
Max Baucus, the former Montana Senator likes to take credit for the two years he spent writing the ACA. The truth is, that's simplistic and inaccurate. The ACA was largely modeled after the Massachusetts health care system. The ACA bill was actually written by a number of people, some in the House and Senate, but others who were advisers to President Obama (like Ezekiel J. Emmanuel), and some who advised members of congress (like Elizabeth Fowler). Other influences included lobbyists from the health care industry; the former governor of Massachusetts (and Republican presidential candidate) Mitt Romney; MIT Economics professor Jonathan Gruber (a former aid to Mr. Romney and later an adviser to the Obama Administration); and Harvard Professor of Public Health John McDonough (also a former adviser to Mr. Romney, and later an adviser to several US senators).
Can you imagine passing any kind of legislation, let alone this behemoth, with zero advocacy from the people responsible for paying it? I can't even begin to imagine a process where the overwhelming majority were simply ignored. It actually smacks of collusion.rather than public service.
Remember the "taxation without representation" cry that rang out among colonists when a foreign King tried to tax us? Where are you now? What about that fourth amendment that allegedly protects me from unlawful search and seizure? Is the ACA not a seizure of my work product and therefore my property? Can the government simply seize, under color of law, anything it chooses and then hide behind the Commerce Clause? Maybe. I'm wondering who's going to stop them and when.
The Solution(s)
The mother of invention is necessity. We have arrived at that moment in time when we have to re-think everything we do in terms of health and health care. We will never be able to eliminate unforeseen events or congenital disease; however we can estimate numbers and curtail risk. This is not rocket science, actuaries and risk managers have been doing this for eons.
If I had an employee charged with reducing accidents, risk, and curtailing employee losses at my company and his solution every year for decades was to simply raise my costs, failing to provide any innovative solutions- at some point I would ask, "Why am I employing this guy?" I'd fire him. That is the situation with health insurance companies. They have become a parasitic one trick pony with only one solution. Raise rates. No price breaks for people who abstain from alcohol and drugs, no financial incentives for people who submit to regularly scheduled health check ups. No bonus for maintaining a physical fitness regimen. They simply don't care to reward people for reducing risk. Indeed, those healthy types swell their margins. They are busy sweeping every last crumb off the table.
Why is that? Insurers are focused on the short term. They have an entirely different focus. They want to make the most money right now- in this quarter. They don't care about individual lives, outcomes, or quality of life. They care about margins. Cutting their costs. Forcing you to see doctors that have agreed to their terms. They do not have a 20 year cultural plan or vision of a changing society in charge of their own health care needs. Indeed, they would see that as their enemy.
We need comprehensive reform at the cultural, grass roots level. We need education in our school system and we need to substantially incentivize people to eliminate risks and improve their health. I'm talking about rewarding people thousands of dollars in premium cuts for maintaining their health supported by annual exams and blood tests. Individuals, people, are not sheep to be fleeced in some corporate boardroom. We have never been a society that can't innovate or solve our own problems- unfortunately we have been led by the wrong people for far too long. We really do need to innovate and re-invent the wheel.
Originally, I listed about 25 reforms that need to happen- a list which doubled the size of this piece- but in the interests of brevity I have deleted them. Instead, I would like to leave you with an intermediate solution for those of us without insurance.
Last month, while searching for alternatives to 500 dollar a month Obamacare plans, I came across a Christian based health sharing innovation. It is Obamacare exempt- meaning that the uninsured will not have to pay fines for being uninsured. For 199 bucks a month, you can obtain a million dollars worth of coverage. There are some hoops to jump through- no tobacco or booze- and they may not cover pre-existing conditions. They have a completely different model- no stockholders and no ridiculous administrative costs. If you know of somebody that is uninsured, reasonably healthy, with an income stream that can support 200 bucks a month- this link might be worth sharing. http://www.libertyhealthshare.org/
Health insurance no longer does what it was intended to do. Rather than hedge against a catastrophic loss...it has become a catastrophic loss. The only answer health insurance companies have had- for the past 50 years- is to raise prices. They have essentially done nothing for their customers except take our checks and redistribute them.
Cutting out the insurance middleman would save billions. Consumers would no longer be forced to pay for marketing, advertising, stock holders, and all of the other expenses of insurance companies. We would save billions in administrative expenses, billions in government subsidies and backstops.
Health care providers would come face to face with their patients again. It would force providers to become competitive and it would also make for better outcomes.
Alternatives to insurers such as the liberty health share plan would be developed. In fact, I think so much money could be saved that plans could be developed according to income- where all but the terminally unemployable would participate and start putting a little skin in the game.
Making health insurance illegal is not as crazy as it sounds. It's time to find alternatives. A nation full of innovative people can surely do better than this.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Now the Government Wants Your Passport- The Sunday Collage
More "land of the free" blogging. This time it's the "Drive Act." The government is calling it a highway and infrastructure bill and it's free!!
I am going to just post this and edit it tonight- so forgive me if you find any glaring mistakes, I have lots to do today.
The "Drive Act" like the "Patriot Act" and the "Heart Act", is yet another mislabeled and deceptive piece of legislation designed to raise more taxes and steal money from already existing, dedicated funds. Contained within the Heart Act is a provision that allows the government to seize your passport- your paid for property- if they decide you owe them more than 50,000 in taxes.
Like freezing your banks accounts, the government does this without any sort of due process. Due process as you will recall- is part of that thing called the Bill of Rights.
In 2014, over 3400 Americans renounced their citizenship. That figure is set to double in 2015. The truth is, it's far worse than that. More people are fleeing the U.S. than at any other time in the last 50 years. From wiki:
There were 235 renunciants in 2008,[25] between 731 and 743 in 2009, and about 1485 in 2010;[26][27] In 2011, there were 1781 renunciants.[28] A total of 2,999 Americans renounced their citizenship in 2013;[29] in 2014, 3415 have renounced their USA citizenship or long term residency. [30] The State Department estimates 5986 renunciants and 559 relinquishers during FY2015. [31]
If you think those numbers are remarkable, consider this. The U.S. charges a renunciation assessment. In 2008, Congress enacted the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Act that imposes a penalty—an "exit tax" or expatriation tax—on certain people who give up their U.S. citizenship or long-term permanent residence.[47] Effective June 2008, U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship are subject under certain circumstances to an expatriation tax, which is meant to extract from the expatriate taxes that would have been paid had they remained a citizen: all property of a covered expatriate is deemed sold for its fair market value on the day before the expatriation date, which usually results in a capital gain, which is taxable income.
They named that bill the "Heart" Act" and passed it in 2008.
In addition to the renunciation tax, the government is also charging a 2350.00 fee per person to expatriate. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/08/28/u-s-hikes-fee-to-renounce-citizenship-by-422/
It would be a complete mass exodus except for Social Security, Medicare, and taxes on foreign earnings. People who have been forced into paying these income liquidating taxes for 40 years- expect something back. If you renounce your citizenship- the government doesn't issue a refund. If you simply move out of country- they will continue to tax your income streams even though you no longer live here which lays waste to the theory that you are actually receiving something in return for all of that money the government takes from you.
One of the great tricks of the government is that when they pass legislation like the "Heart Act" and the "Drive Act"- they target higher income individuals. The poor, middle class- the big voting bloc- will read the law and think- well it doesn't apply to me. They become apathetic. That's how Congress manages to keep passing garbage laws like this- by targeting small groups of individuals rather than everyone. Once our body politic manage to pass these laws without serious backlash, then they will simply amend the law later on and apply it to everyone else. Once you give them an inch- they will take a mile.
What about a hyper inflationary event where the currency spirals out of control? Wouldn't that subject everyone to the minimum provisions of the "Drive Act?" Of course it would, but government doesn't care nor do they consider things like that. It just gives them the additional means to strip you of your property and money.
I will link the actual government propaganda for this bill- note the passport omission. It is written and offered as propaganda. If you didn't know better- it actually sounds good. http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases-republican?ID=DFAF66C0-D453-42C3-AB84-A90BBD326E44
Make sure you read the last line of this website propaganda. It's all free!!! Woohoo!!!
So here's the latest on the "Drive Act." I think you'll like this. Another "land of the free" writer. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-20/congress-wants-seize-your-passport-unpaid-taxes
I am going to just post this and edit it tonight- so forgive me if you find any glaring mistakes, I have lots to do today.
The "Drive Act" like the "Patriot Act" and the "Heart Act", is yet another mislabeled and deceptive piece of legislation designed to raise more taxes and steal money from already existing, dedicated funds. Contained within the Heart Act is a provision that allows the government to seize your passport- your paid for property- if they decide you owe them more than 50,000 in taxes.
Like freezing your banks accounts, the government does this without any sort of due process. Due process as you will recall- is part of that thing called the Bill of Rights.
In 2014, over 3400 Americans renounced their citizenship. That figure is set to double in 2015. The truth is, it's far worse than that. More people are fleeing the U.S. than at any other time in the last 50 years. From wiki:
There were 235 renunciants in 2008,[25] between 731 and 743 in 2009, and about 1485 in 2010;[26][27] In 2011, there were 1781 renunciants.[28] A total of 2,999 Americans renounced their citizenship in 2013;[29] in 2014, 3415 have renounced their USA citizenship or long term residency. [30] The State Department estimates 5986 renunciants and 559 relinquishers during FY2015. [31]
If you think those numbers are remarkable, consider this. The U.S. charges a renunciation assessment. In 2008, Congress enacted the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Act that imposes a penalty—an "exit tax" or expatriation tax—on certain people who give up their U.S. citizenship or long-term permanent residence.[47] Effective June 2008, U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship are subject under certain circumstances to an expatriation tax, which is meant to extract from the expatriate taxes that would have been paid had they remained a citizen: all property of a covered expatriate is deemed sold for its fair market value on the day before the expatriation date, which usually results in a capital gain, which is taxable income.
They named that bill the "Heart" Act" and passed it in 2008.
In addition to the renunciation tax, the government is also charging a 2350.00 fee per person to expatriate. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/08/28/u-s-hikes-fee-to-renounce-citizenship-by-422/
It would be a complete mass exodus except for Social Security, Medicare, and taxes on foreign earnings. People who have been forced into paying these income liquidating taxes for 40 years- expect something back. If you renounce your citizenship- the government doesn't issue a refund. If you simply move out of country- they will continue to tax your income streams even though you no longer live here which lays waste to the theory that you are actually receiving something in return for all of that money the government takes from you.
One of the great tricks of the government is that when they pass legislation like the "Heart Act" and the "Drive Act"- they target higher income individuals. The poor, middle class- the big voting bloc- will read the law and think- well it doesn't apply to me. They become apathetic. That's how Congress manages to keep passing garbage laws like this- by targeting small groups of individuals rather than everyone. Once our body politic manage to pass these laws without serious backlash, then they will simply amend the law later on and apply it to everyone else. Once you give them an inch- they will take a mile.
What about a hyper inflationary event where the currency spirals out of control? Wouldn't that subject everyone to the minimum provisions of the "Drive Act?" Of course it would, but government doesn't care nor do they consider things like that. It just gives them the additional means to strip you of your property and money.
I will link the actual government propaganda for this bill- note the passport omission. It is written and offered as propaganda. If you didn't know better- it actually sounds good. http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases-republican?ID=DFAF66C0-D453-42C3-AB84-A90BBD326E44
Make sure you read the last line of this website propaganda. It's all free!!! Woohoo!!!
So here's the latest on the "Drive Act." I think you'll like this. Another "land of the free" writer. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-20/congress-wants-seize-your-passport-unpaid-taxes
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Life, or Sometimes Death, In Moderation- The Sunday Collage
Today I want to talk little bit about the rise of extremism and intolerance. The idea was brought to me courtesy of a statement by a political candidate who believes abortion under all circumstances- including rape or incest- should be illegal. (Carson) Very often this position is taken by religious zealots who believe that somehow instances of rape and incest are examples of "God's will" and that a subsequent birth despite the criminal circumstances that led to the conception- were somehow ordained by our creator.
Indeed, I have friends who read this blog and who agree with that position. I am ok with that and I'll explain why in a bit.
If I've learned one thing over the years, I think it would have to be that life should almost always be done in moderation. The needle should hang around the middle of the gauge. When an issue becomes extreme- the people promoting extreme views become unstable and downright dangerous. People adhering to extremes cannot accept the idea that moderation and tolerance for the views of others is the proper approach. Instead they think that they have been singularly pre-ordained and programmed by God himself with all of the correct answers. God in his infinite wisdom apparently forgot to tell the millions of people practicing abortion that it should be illegal. So today I thought I'd discuss a few issues where people tend to come off the rails with extremism. So let's take a random walk through a myriad of examples first of moderation and then extremism.
I have a friend who can smoke one cigarette in the morning and one cigarette at night. She has been doing this for 30 years. Smoking in moderation. I can't do it but she does.
People who can drink once in awhile, take it or leave it style, or perhaps a drink a day are said to be "moderate" drinkers- meaning I suppose, that their drinking does not cause the rest of us harm. In other words- it's not extreme.
There are folks who go to church once or twice a week. They practice their own beliefs in private and they do not use casual conversations to promote their beliefs or diminish the beliefs of others. In other words, they live their lives with respect for others.
My favorite group of people and you will meet damn few of them- are those that practice tolerance for others and engage in moderation at all times. Very often you will hear others refer to them as "nice people" because they do not offend anyone. Of the thousands of people I have known, I can honestly say I have only met two or three people like this. I had the very pleasant opportunity to work for one- unfortunately his working life and ultimate termination came about as a result of an extremist held completely hostage by ego.
We both worked for the same woman, a gal who once told me that she enjoyed "firing" people. Firing people is an example of extremism. You don't fire people because your ego enjoys it and therefore you must satiate that need- you fire people when you have exhausted all of your intermediate remedies- and thus terminating a person becomes your last recourse. So it was, this woman fired my boss who was effective while practicing life in moderation, primarily because he would not practice her brand of extremism.
We were once a very nurturing society, particularly in small towns and rural areas. In those settings people are forced to be courteous to each other because they interact very frequently. I understood this well. The ticket you write today might be to the mechanic or doctor you will need tomorrow. Often people in small towns attend the same churches and functions. People help each other in rural settings. I feel grateful for those who helped me.
The idea of a caring, nurturing, tolerant society is completely lost in the big city. I believe that. Occasionally there are random acts of kindness in the city but in small town America- helping others or taking time to help others simply because you care- happens every day.
This week in Paris, ISIS attacked and killed a hundred innocent people.
Islam is extremism. I want to believe that people should be free to worship and support the religion of their choice. The problem with Islam, Sharia law, and the Quran is that they support extremism and intolerance of others. That is why I have often thought that Islam is not a religion but rather a spiritually sick philosophy founded by a self declared prophet 600 years after the time of Christ. The other problem with Islam is that while I have studied it a bit and I have read the Quran- most non Muslims have not. If you want a hateful, exclusionary God- then Islam is the way to go.
I am about to introduce to you the concept of killing human beings in moderation.
Killing a person is probably the worst thing human beings do. Yet there are times when it becomes acceptable or at the very least, unavoidable. Killing people in the defense of your life or intervening when someone else is about to be killed are the only times when killing someone is acceptable. That was what I was taught and unless you've been trained specifically to kill someone or are in that business- I think most people generally don't think about it. It's just not something they need to think about but they should. The extremists are growing in number.
My brand of killing in moderation does not require state executions or dropping bombs on brown people.
Ben Carson does not adhere to the idea of abortion in moderation or in certain circumstances. He quite clearly is a Christian adherent to the idea that all births are "God's will" and that all potential babies should be born. I understand that and Carson may actually be practicing his brand of life in moderation. What's he going to do? Reverse the Supreme Court? Not likely. If that is Carson's brand of extremism, the one where the innocents get a chance, I can live with that too. Either way, I'm not too worried about his position.
I miss small town America and civics classes. I miss helping people and having them help me. Here in the big city, it's just another dog eat dog environment. I don't even know my neighbors. Practicing life in moderation has been hard for a guy like me. But I'm getting better.
Indeed, I have friends who read this blog and who agree with that position. I am ok with that and I'll explain why in a bit.
If I've learned one thing over the years, I think it would have to be that life should almost always be done in moderation. The needle should hang around the middle of the gauge. When an issue becomes extreme- the people promoting extreme views become unstable and downright dangerous. People adhering to extremes cannot accept the idea that moderation and tolerance for the views of others is the proper approach. Instead they think that they have been singularly pre-ordained and programmed by God himself with all of the correct answers. God in his infinite wisdom apparently forgot to tell the millions of people practicing abortion that it should be illegal. So today I thought I'd discuss a few issues where people tend to come off the rails with extremism. So let's take a random walk through a myriad of examples first of moderation and then extremism.
I have a friend who can smoke one cigarette in the morning and one cigarette at night. She has been doing this for 30 years. Smoking in moderation. I can't do it but she does.
People who can drink once in awhile, take it or leave it style, or perhaps a drink a day are said to be "moderate" drinkers- meaning I suppose, that their drinking does not cause the rest of us harm. In other words- it's not extreme.
There are folks who go to church once or twice a week. They practice their own beliefs in private and they do not use casual conversations to promote their beliefs or diminish the beliefs of others. In other words, they live their lives with respect for others.
My favorite group of people and you will meet damn few of them- are those that practice tolerance for others and engage in moderation at all times. Very often you will hear others refer to them as "nice people" because they do not offend anyone. Of the thousands of people I have known, I can honestly say I have only met two or three people like this. I had the very pleasant opportunity to work for one- unfortunately his working life and ultimate termination came about as a result of an extremist held completely hostage by ego.
We both worked for the same woman, a gal who once told me that she enjoyed "firing" people. Firing people is an example of extremism. You don't fire people because your ego enjoys it and therefore you must satiate that need- you fire people when you have exhausted all of your intermediate remedies- and thus terminating a person becomes your last recourse. So it was, this woman fired my boss who was effective while practicing life in moderation, primarily because he would not practice her brand of extremism.
We were once a very nurturing society, particularly in small towns and rural areas. In those settings people are forced to be courteous to each other because they interact very frequently. I understood this well. The ticket you write today might be to the mechanic or doctor you will need tomorrow. Often people in small towns attend the same churches and functions. People help each other in rural settings. I feel grateful for those who helped me.
The idea of a caring, nurturing, tolerant society is completely lost in the big city. I believe that. Occasionally there are random acts of kindness in the city but in small town America- helping others or taking time to help others simply because you care- happens every day.
This week in Paris, ISIS attacked and killed a hundred innocent people.
Islam is extremism. I want to believe that people should be free to worship and support the religion of their choice. The problem with Islam, Sharia law, and the Quran is that they support extremism and intolerance of others. That is why I have often thought that Islam is not a religion but rather a spiritually sick philosophy founded by a self declared prophet 600 years after the time of Christ. The other problem with Islam is that while I have studied it a bit and I have read the Quran- most non Muslims have not. If you want a hateful, exclusionary God- then Islam is the way to go.
I am about to introduce to you the concept of killing human beings in moderation.
Killing a person is probably the worst thing human beings do. Yet there are times when it becomes acceptable or at the very least, unavoidable. Killing people in the defense of your life or intervening when someone else is about to be killed are the only times when killing someone is acceptable. That was what I was taught and unless you've been trained specifically to kill someone or are in that business- I think most people generally don't think about it. It's just not something they need to think about but they should. The extremists are growing in number.
My brand of killing in moderation does not require state executions or dropping bombs on brown people.
Ben Carson does not adhere to the idea of abortion in moderation or in certain circumstances. He quite clearly is a Christian adherent to the idea that all births are "God's will" and that all potential babies should be born. I understand that and Carson may actually be practicing his brand of life in moderation. What's he going to do? Reverse the Supreme Court? Not likely. If that is Carson's brand of extremism, the one where the innocents get a chance, I can live with that too. Either way, I'm not too worried about his position.
I miss small town America and civics classes. I miss helping people and having them help me. Here in the big city, it's just another dog eat dog environment. I don't even know my neighbors. Practicing life in moderation has been hard for a guy like me. But I'm getting better.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Getting Ready For the "One Big Run"
The great hockey player Wayne Gretzsky was great not because he knew where the puck was- but because he knew where the puck was going to be.
In May of 2013, Ben Bernanke began his "we're going to raise rates" bullshit which is the last policy tool the Federal Reserve has left before introducing negative interest rates.
A few of us who understand our debt fueled fiat currency scheme- knew this was bullshit. In fact, I wagered one ounce of gold with some moron back in April that the Fed wouldn't raise rates- this after they said they were going to raise interest rates in May or September. I have not heard from the moron since then nor was I too concerned about losing my gold.
Now the latest rhetoric is Janet Yellen saying they may raise rates in December which is also bullshit. I will take all bets to the contrary.
For two and a half years I've been listening to this gibberish. At some point, you'd think the American people might wake up and figure this out but alas this country has a long history of being slow on the uptake. I on the other hand, have been keeping track.
In addition to the non stop rhetoric coming from the Fed, they have also been engaged in non stop manipulation of the precious metals markets. They do this to prevent a run into metals which in actuality- is a short on the dollar. If everyone suddenly realized that not only are we bankrupt but that our dollar is worthless- they might start trading dollars for something which is tangible and has value. So in addition to lying to us about nominal rate hikes which have never materialized- the Fed has no choice but to make precious metals look unattractive to investors- thus keeping demand for dollars intact. They do this through the bullion banks which are Fed shareholders. Pretty easy to figure out really- except that the Fed has always refused to disclose it's shareholders and internal operations. It operates above the law with essentially no oversight.
The problem the Fed has now is that they have been suppressing the paper price of precious metals for so long- that the rest of the world has been buying up actual metal inventories. The Chinese are avid gold buyers and at least one company, Zijin Mining, is busy buying a stake into lucrative miners all over the world. Russia and India have been gobbling up supply as well.
With the precious metal lynch mob that is the rest of the world closing in- I don't think the Fed nor the President's Working Group can hold off the demand storm that is coming. The longest precious metals bear markets have lasted 5 years. We are months away from the end of a 5 year bear market which began in 2011.
I have been waiting for the last washout which I think will occur by January when gold trades below 1050 and possibly into the 900s. It may get there much sooner. I think mining stocks will get trashed. At that point, I am going to start buying every lucrative miner I can get my hands on. I am also adding to my physical stores and buying calls. I have as much "powder" as I can muster, a complete list of lucrative miners including some takeover candidates and I have been watching fringe players like bitgold. I like the idea of bitgold especially because American banks are now preventing Americans from purchasing Canadian pharmaceuticals using Visa and Mastercard. With a prepaid bitgold card- we may be able to circumvent the grasp of American bankers who have absolutely no problem interfering with our ability to spend our own money. Here is a good link about bitgold and some of the dangers. https://www.weusecoins.com/bitgold/
In a number of deals- I have noted that even the miners are buying up the best assets. Here's a link which gives you an idea of what is going on. http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/16815?
I honestly believe this is an investment opportunity of a lifetime. We have a bankrupt world that can do nothing other than try to print itself out of the tremendous hole it has dug itself into. As people scramble to protect wealth- out of paper instruments and into tangible assets- wouldn't it be nice to be there first like Wayne Gretzky?
In May of 2013, Ben Bernanke began his "we're going to raise rates" bullshit which is the last policy tool the Federal Reserve has left before introducing negative interest rates.
A few of us who understand our debt fueled fiat currency scheme- knew this was bullshit. In fact, I wagered one ounce of gold with some moron back in April that the Fed wouldn't raise rates- this after they said they were going to raise interest rates in May or September. I have not heard from the moron since then nor was I too concerned about losing my gold.
Now the latest rhetoric is Janet Yellen saying they may raise rates in December which is also bullshit. I will take all bets to the contrary.
For two and a half years I've been listening to this gibberish. At some point, you'd think the American people might wake up and figure this out but alas this country has a long history of being slow on the uptake. I on the other hand, have been keeping track.
In addition to the non stop rhetoric coming from the Fed, they have also been engaged in non stop manipulation of the precious metals markets. They do this to prevent a run into metals which in actuality- is a short on the dollar. If everyone suddenly realized that not only are we bankrupt but that our dollar is worthless- they might start trading dollars for something which is tangible and has value. So in addition to lying to us about nominal rate hikes which have never materialized- the Fed has no choice but to make precious metals look unattractive to investors- thus keeping demand for dollars intact. They do this through the bullion banks which are Fed shareholders. Pretty easy to figure out really- except that the Fed has always refused to disclose it's shareholders and internal operations. It operates above the law with essentially no oversight.
The problem the Fed has now is that they have been suppressing the paper price of precious metals for so long- that the rest of the world has been buying up actual metal inventories. The Chinese are avid gold buyers and at least one company, Zijin Mining, is busy buying a stake into lucrative miners all over the world. Russia and India have been gobbling up supply as well.
With the precious metal lynch mob that is the rest of the world closing in- I don't think the Fed nor the President's Working Group can hold off the demand storm that is coming. The longest precious metals bear markets have lasted 5 years. We are months away from the end of a 5 year bear market which began in 2011.
I have been waiting for the last washout which I think will occur by January when gold trades below 1050 and possibly into the 900s. It may get there much sooner. I think mining stocks will get trashed. At that point, I am going to start buying every lucrative miner I can get my hands on. I am also adding to my physical stores and buying calls. I have as much "powder" as I can muster, a complete list of lucrative miners including some takeover candidates and I have been watching fringe players like bitgold. I like the idea of bitgold especially because American banks are now preventing Americans from purchasing Canadian pharmaceuticals using Visa and Mastercard. With a prepaid bitgold card- we may be able to circumvent the grasp of American bankers who have absolutely no problem interfering with our ability to spend our own money. Here is a good link about bitgold and some of the dangers. https://www.weusecoins.com/bitgold/
In a number of deals- I have noted that even the miners are buying up the best assets. Here's a link which gives you an idea of what is going on. http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/16815?
I honestly believe this is an investment opportunity of a lifetime. We have a bankrupt world that can do nothing other than try to print itself out of the tremendous hole it has dug itself into. As people scramble to protect wealth- out of paper instruments and into tangible assets- wouldn't it be nice to be there first like Wayne Gretzky?
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder- The Sunday Collage
There is nothing that will make my blood boil faster than a rude driver. I think you'll like this story. It's about an old retired cop trying to come to terms with the realization that I can no longer intervene in the traffic dysfunction that is now part of my life nor can I acquire instant gratification through the use of a citation or a pair of handcuffs.
The chief problem I am desperately trying to overcome has to do with pushing a patrol car around for 25 years and becoming accustomed to people driving responsibly. I am used to motorists using their turn signals, yielding, putting away phones, and actually behaving when a patrol car is visible. This is the world I inhabited for 25 years. It seems like some sort of illusion or dream now- that world of courteous drivers. I can only describe what has happened to me since then as "Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder."
This was the brave new world I discovered in 2007. The world the rest of you drive in. I am still trying to come to terms with it.
Now I have to tell you a little something else about me. I am nearly 55 years old. At 6'4" and 260 or so, I still think I'm the toughest guy on the block. It doesn't matter whether I am or not (I most certainly am not) but that doesn't slow me down when I run into one of life's bona fide assholes.
These are the types of self centered people who don't care about anyone else and rather than have the good sense to just hide that sociopathic piece of their psychological make-up, they actually revel in it. They are proud of it. When you meet these people, you remember them.
When I meet them, they remember me.
I'm not talking your run of the mill driver who simply cuts you off or tailgates you for a few miles- often that is just careless driving. I am talking about a special kind of asshole. The kind of person that is deliberate and malicious. When I was a kid in Butte, people like that got their asses kicked on the spot. They didn't call the cops because the cops just shrugged and said they had it coming. Same with their parents. Good parents were merciless and kept these types in check. Forty years has come and gone and now these assholes have swelled in number. There are no consequences anymore- the sociopaths do what they do and when confronted- they run away, call the police, lie about being innocent victims, or get lawyers. That is the sad truth within our culture. There are no instant consequences...well most of the time. Until you run into a 54 year old guy who is not having a Pulitzer prize winning day and running out of time. This happened a few weeks ago.
It was about 430 PM when I arrived at a manufacturer to pick up some big pieces of equipment for shipment. The shipping and receiving area at this shipper is very confined. On this day, the property owners had dumped asphalt onto two of the exit points which only left one entry and exit area on the property. I pulled into the property, oddly, so that I would not obstruct any other trucks as they attempted to enter through the remaining, narrow, entrance. That's when it happened. A guy in a DHL box truck entered the property and parked his truck right in the middle of the only exit. There was plenty of room for him to park on one side or the other- but being the lazy, thoughtless bastard that he was- he simply parked in the middle of the driveway and obstructed the entire exit. It is possible, and he may not have known, that the other exits were blocked. At any rate, I was blocked in and others were blocked out. I only had about 15 minutes to get out of there and pick up another shipment across town before 5 PM. Such is the nature of "just in time" shipping. I hemmed and hawed for a minute and then I entered the shipping area and very nicely (really) I asked the DHL driver if he could move his truck to one side so that I could exit.
He looked at me and said, "No, you can wait until I'm done." I said, "you are blocking the exit." He then said, "I get blocked in all of the time." Then I said, "So does that give you some sort of license to be an asshole?" In awe, I walked out to my truck and watched this guy run in and out of the building until he was done. I briefly considered helping him but decided against it. After 5 minutes or so as he was locking the back of his truck, I asked him why he couldn't take 30 seconds to move his truck. He just stared at me, weighing out his next move. That's when I said, "Ya know, you are a special kind of asshole." He just stared at me, turned, and jumped into his truck.
If you hear those words come out of my mouth, the translation is this. I am prepared to kick your ass right now and teach you the manners that you are so woefully lacking. I will even give you the first swing.
When I was a young man, my parents instilled a sense of responsibility and shame. What this means is that when you screw up and block somebody in- you immediately recognize, apologize, and take care of the problem that YOU created. What you don't do is compound that mistake by being an asshole. The first transgression is forgivable- the second transgression is not.
I see that same self centered attitude everywhere. People just don't care. They don't care because they see no reason, no benefit in caring about others. It's not getting better either- it's getting worse as the government, inflation, taxes, runaway health and education costs keep squeezing more work hours and more money out of us. People are tapped out in America. They lack any kind of empathy for others and they lack the spiritual benefits of taking responsibility for their behavior. Can you imagine how bad this is going to get when that fake money stock market implodes and wipes out every one of their retirement accounts?? The apathetic world has no idea that the legislation is already in place which will allow bankers to short and ultimately seize all of their savings.
If you think things are bad now- just wait for that shit.
Years ago when I got my passport, I will never forget the postal clerk asking me where I was traveling to. I thought about it for a second, looked at her and said "I'm not going anywhere, yet. I didn't get this thing to travel- I am getting this thing to evacuate."
That's my plan B. I'm gonna find someplace where I don't have to drive, a place a little less cutthroat with a beach. Maybe get a bicycle with a basket on it. I really don't think it's gonna take too long.
The chief problem I am desperately trying to overcome has to do with pushing a patrol car around for 25 years and becoming accustomed to people driving responsibly. I am used to motorists using their turn signals, yielding, putting away phones, and actually behaving when a patrol car is visible. This is the world I inhabited for 25 years. It seems like some sort of illusion or dream now- that world of courteous drivers. I can only describe what has happened to me since then as "Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder."
This was the brave new world I discovered in 2007. The world the rest of you drive in. I am still trying to come to terms with it.
Now I have to tell you a little something else about me. I am nearly 55 years old. At 6'4" and 260 or so, I still think I'm the toughest guy on the block. It doesn't matter whether I am or not (I most certainly am not) but that doesn't slow me down when I run into one of life's bona fide assholes.
These are the types of self centered people who don't care about anyone else and rather than have the good sense to just hide that sociopathic piece of their psychological make-up, they actually revel in it. They are proud of it. When you meet these people, you remember them.
When I meet them, they remember me.
I'm not talking your run of the mill driver who simply cuts you off or tailgates you for a few miles- often that is just careless driving. I am talking about a special kind of asshole. The kind of person that is deliberate and malicious. When I was a kid in Butte, people like that got their asses kicked on the spot. They didn't call the cops because the cops just shrugged and said they had it coming. Same with their parents. Good parents were merciless and kept these types in check. Forty years has come and gone and now these assholes have swelled in number. There are no consequences anymore- the sociopaths do what they do and when confronted- they run away, call the police, lie about being innocent victims, or get lawyers. That is the sad truth within our culture. There are no instant consequences...well most of the time. Until you run into a 54 year old guy who is not having a Pulitzer prize winning day and running out of time. This happened a few weeks ago.
It was about 430 PM when I arrived at a manufacturer to pick up some big pieces of equipment for shipment. The shipping and receiving area at this shipper is very confined. On this day, the property owners had dumped asphalt onto two of the exit points which only left one entry and exit area on the property. I pulled into the property, oddly, so that I would not obstruct any other trucks as they attempted to enter through the remaining, narrow, entrance. That's when it happened. A guy in a DHL box truck entered the property and parked his truck right in the middle of the only exit. There was plenty of room for him to park on one side or the other- but being the lazy, thoughtless bastard that he was- he simply parked in the middle of the driveway and obstructed the entire exit. It is possible, and he may not have known, that the other exits were blocked. At any rate, I was blocked in and others were blocked out. I only had about 15 minutes to get out of there and pick up another shipment across town before 5 PM. Such is the nature of "just in time" shipping. I hemmed and hawed for a minute and then I entered the shipping area and very nicely (really) I asked the DHL driver if he could move his truck to one side so that I could exit.
He looked at me and said, "No, you can wait until I'm done." I said, "you are blocking the exit." He then said, "I get blocked in all of the time." Then I said, "So does that give you some sort of license to be an asshole?" In awe, I walked out to my truck and watched this guy run in and out of the building until he was done. I briefly considered helping him but decided against it. After 5 minutes or so as he was locking the back of his truck, I asked him why he couldn't take 30 seconds to move his truck. He just stared at me, weighing out his next move. That's when I said, "Ya know, you are a special kind of asshole." He just stared at me, turned, and jumped into his truck.
If you hear those words come out of my mouth, the translation is this. I am prepared to kick your ass right now and teach you the manners that you are so woefully lacking. I will even give you the first swing.
When I was a young man, my parents instilled a sense of responsibility and shame. What this means is that when you screw up and block somebody in- you immediately recognize, apologize, and take care of the problem that YOU created. What you don't do is compound that mistake by being an asshole. The first transgression is forgivable- the second transgression is not.
I see that same self centered attitude everywhere. People just don't care. They don't care because they see no reason, no benefit in caring about others. It's not getting better either- it's getting worse as the government, inflation, taxes, runaway health and education costs keep squeezing more work hours and more money out of us. People are tapped out in America. They lack any kind of empathy for others and they lack the spiritual benefits of taking responsibility for their behavior. Can you imagine how bad this is going to get when that fake money stock market implodes and wipes out every one of their retirement accounts?? The apathetic world has no idea that the legislation is already in place which will allow bankers to short and ultimately seize all of their savings.
If you think things are bad now- just wait for that shit.
Years ago when I got my passport, I will never forget the postal clerk asking me where I was traveling to. I thought about it for a second, looked at her and said "I'm not going anywhere, yet. I didn't get this thing to travel- I am getting this thing to evacuate."
That's my plan B. I'm gonna find someplace where I don't have to drive, a place a little less cutthroat with a beach. Maybe get a bicycle with a basket on it. I really don't think it's gonna take too long.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Why I Decided To Quit Reading Media Shit- The Sunday Collage
I spend 20-30 hours on line each week, reading and writing. There are so many good thinkers and good writers out here and I try to find them. I don't like wasting time reading garbage churned out by 25 year old writers who really don't have a clue about what the rest of us may know.
I just can't read cheesy, generic writing from people who cannot think on their own. That includes any headline with some inflammatory twist or anything that smells like propaganda. Propaganda can be anything (an opinion) designed to make you think one way. Propaganda is a tool that our media owners use to divide us. Propaganda is never objective. Much of it is written by obedient employees. It is then filtered by a media editor who accepts or rejects it based on what his supervisors want. His supervisors want advertising dollars and they do not want controversial topics or truths. Big media is not interested in objective reporting nor do any of those ass wipes perform any "watchdog" function. That was quite obvious to me when President From Nowhere entered the race in 2007. The kind of investigative reporting- the kind that sought out the truth no matter where it led- clearly died with Nixon in the 70's.
If you want objective reporting and writing- you are going to have to find it on your own.
About a year ago, I was going through my media and blog feeds. Some of the feeds that I was receiving were absolute trash. I have a limited amount of time to read. There are two things I look for. Objectivity is the main thing. Propaganda by it's very definition is never objective. Propaganda tries to get you to "buy in." The other sorting out approach I use involves advertising. I quit reading a couple of blogs because they accept money from the enemy. I don't care what your rationale may be. If you are trying to be objective and write about the absolute death grip Wall Street bankers have on Congress let's say- and you subsequently accept advertising dollars from banks- I will not read your schtick. I don't care how well you write or how intelligent you think you are. I will offer two excellent examples.
CNN is a huge media conglomerate and probably my least favorite "news" outlet. They produce more propaganda which they cleverly disguise as "business" news than any other news outlet. I absolutely detest CNN business news stories. They are never objective- they are always pro Wall St. and the Fed (our national money supply manipulators) and you will never ever see anything remotely defined as investigative reporting because they simply don't engage in it. Their writers and editors are obedient workers. Their owners sit on Wall St boards.
I don't watch Fox for the same reason. It's just an anger generator. A different kind of propaganda with a different agenda. They have found their own unique niche. My father watches a daily diet of that garbage and I see what it does to him.
An example of a blog I quit reading is "naked capitalism." I actually quit reading it for three reasons. Chief among those reasons is that naked capitalism accepts advertising money from banks. This is a site that spends 90% of it's time writing about the evils of banks and Wall St. If I am fully aware of the fraud and evil that big banks and Wall St. have engaged in- and I pretend to be something not of that sort- then how do I justify taking their money? When I see that level of hypocrisy I question whether you write simply at the behest of ego. It certainly damages your credibility. One night I made the mistake of reading naked capitalism's rules for usage on the site. I have never read anything more arrogant, pompous, or superior than that. I have not returned to the site. Tonight I checked up on them and sure enough- they still have a Capital One advertising banner on the blog.
All week this week, on the computer and on television, I was bombarded with blurbs about Lamar Odom and his drug overdose in a whore house in Pahrump, Nv. I do not care about Lamar Odom and his drug use in a whorehouse. That goes on every day in every little nasty whorehouse in Nevada. My former in laws live in that crappy little town and I used to spend a week every year in Pahrump.
Lamar Odom's story is nothing but clickbait. That's the shit the media is counting on you to read. It's a different kind of propaganda.They know people read it because they count clicks and their masters make money. But every time somebody clicks on that crap- you perpetuate that same kind of garbage cycle and ensure that they will feed us some more. It's a sad commentary that people just love to read bad news about someone else. Or about idiots like the Kardashians.
So I've gotten kind of picky about how I spend my time on line each week. I might search Matt Taibbi's name if I want to know the latest banker games. I might go to Doug Ross's site and sort out which headlines interest me. I read some trading sites and gather investing ideas. But what I have decidedly quit doing is supporting propaganda generating sites and pretentious sites that engage in hypocrisy. I don't find them interesting or useful.
I am glad Lamar Odom survived this week. We can all breath a sigh of relief. It's over.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
If Obeying the Law Places You in Peril, You Must Break the Law- The Sunday Collage
For those of you who might have wandered in here and think you have stumbled upon the rantings of a man- one dosage short of properly medicated- know this. I am sober, free of psychotropic medications, I have no rap sheet and I believe in law. Good law. Not the shit this country currently debates.
I am going to switch gears rapidly in this piece so try to keep up Troy.
One of the problems of living in a government loving, statist, paradise is that the government worshippers never give it a rest. Statists, people who love government, do so because they want to force their brand of control and compliance upon everyone else. So they saddle up with government. Right now in America, the government worshippers are in control.
Thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan stated "government isn't the solution- government is the problem."
Indeed. That was before the whiners and the free shit army over ran the rest of us.
The "life isn't fair" crowd are now firmly in control. They want free abortions, free health care, free money, free food and they want laws to make someone else pay for that. They are whiners. They pass helmet laws, flotation device laws, use stickers, trail fees, and they desperately want to take our guns away. They are so adamant about gun control that they would burn the Bill of Rights if they could. They must hate the fact that although they find themselves the majority-they still can't get our guns. All those God given rights, all that ridiculous legal precedent blocking them from imposing more laws on the rest of us. It must drive them bat shit crazy. Good.
Can you imagine Christopher Columbus landing in America, finding the Indians, and demanding free food and free health care? How about Davy Crockett dialing 911 at the Alamo and saying, 'Can you guys step on it, we've got a bunch of angry Mexicans bearing down on us and they may try to do us harm."
We were never great because we were dependent. We became great because we weren't.
Ok, ok, let me get back on point.
A few years ago, I was on my motorcycle in my hometown and stopped at a red light. I glanced into my rear view mirror and I saw a landscaping rig bearing down on me with no chance of stopping in time. I ran through that red light and found an opening. The idiot in the landscaping truck put a nice set of skidmarks right through the crosswalk and into the intersection. I didn't think twice about who was at fault. In fact, I was the Chief of Police in that town and I didn't even bother going back to hassle the driver.
I want to tell you this. Tonight, if someone breaks into my home, chances are good they will be shot and killed. Maybe they will come to their senses and survive. Then I will call the police.
By the way, that's exactly what I would have done in Roseburg, Oregon. I would have pulled my gun and hunted that guy down or at the very least kept him from killing me. I wouldn't have cared two shits about gun registration laws, gun free zone signs, or any other statist law which conflicts with common sense and my second amendment right which "shall not be infringed" according to the supreme law of this land. Where I go, guns can be found.
Ok, here's the big wrap.
We were once a great country because we embraced independence. We fought our own wars and we spilled our own blood. We didn't go looking for fights beyond our borders. We realized that if we wanted to live and thrive- that was our responsibility. We didn't blame others for our poor decisions.
We never expected anyone to provide us with happiness. We knew that came from within ourselves, not outside ourselves. We believe in a Creator, because believe it or not, that's where our courage comes from. We don't fear the loss of this life because we believe there is a better life waiting for us. And all bullshit aside- that's a hell of a lot better deal emotionally than some atheist who thinks this is all there is and when confronted by some maniac at Umpqua CC finds himself unprepared and begging for his life.
Maybe that's how some people want to live, but that's not the way I want to live. And I'll be damned if some loser is gonna stare me down, ask what religion I am, and shoot me.
I've tried to live my life according to the law and I have encouraged others to live that way. But the way things are going, I don't see this getting any better. It's going to get worse, much worse. I hope the people that survive to create a new United States when that day comes will remember what this country did right- and where it went wrong. In the meantime just accept that if you are anything like me, you are now in the minority. This does not make you wrong it just means that the free shit army has wrestled majority control of the U.S.-which in the history of the world- is always the beginning of the end. Take care of your responsibilities, try to obey the laws that you can until such point that compliance becomes impossible. They'll try to strip you of more of your rights and more of your money and it's coming fast. You'll know when that day arrives because free men, civil rights, and common sense are not required to part company- no matter how many bad laws they pass.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
My H.I.P.P.A. Approved FG Update
The last few months have not been my best.
In late July I managed to get a blood clot in my left leg which left me out of commission and flat on my back through most of August. The blood clot also exacerbated a problem in my left knee which got worse.
When I returned back to work in mid- August, I left work one day and noticed these floating black objects in my right eye. I ignored these "floaters" thinking they would go away. At the end of August I moved into my old house. I was pulling weeds in the alley on Sept 2nd when one of the dead weeds I pulled up scratched my right cornea leaving me blind in that eye. I hoped that my eye would repair itself- instead it got worse.
I also tripped over my computer cord and killed my computer around the 2nd. (I didn't see it with my eye out of commission.)
On Sept 23, I went in to see an eye surgeon. He said that my eye was swollen, torn in three spots, and that my retina was on the verge of detaching. They had to perform surgery that day to save my eye.
They repaired all three tears and put a buckle in. The surgery lasted 3 hours and I came out at 730 PM..
Because of the location of the trauma to my eye, I was forced to sleep in a chair all week while the gas in my eye helped it heal. I couldn't lay down. The pain was so intense, like a throbbing migraine, that I easily went through 4-6 Vicodin a day and often-that still wasn't enough. Vicodin makes me drowsy so all I've done this week was basically sleep in a chair and try to manage my pain.
Yesterday I ventured out to the grocery store. I really had no business driving. I went straight home. This morning I saw my doctor who said my eye looked great. Today (10/2) he informed me that it would be at least 4 weeks before my eye was functioning somewhat normally again. My pain has lessened to about 1/2 what it had been.
I cannot tell you how grateful I am that the nurses and doctors took me in and saved my eye. I am a cash paying patient and this should leave me pretty much broke all year long. In many places, I don't know that they would have taken my case and thankfully- I live in an area with a little compassion. My boss has been pretty good too, but I'm not sure how long it will remain that way. He has a business to run.
I've been reading all day while I recover but the pain has been pretty steady and it's really hard for me to focus and see. This is the best I've felt in the last couple weeks so I just want you to know that the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I've been trying to keep up my football blog and I've been doing all right with that.
In the Valley of the Blind, the one eyed man is King.
I am going to try and get something new up by the end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.
In late July I managed to get a blood clot in my left leg which left me out of commission and flat on my back through most of August. The blood clot also exacerbated a problem in my left knee which got worse.
When I returned back to work in mid- August, I left work one day and noticed these floating black objects in my right eye. I ignored these "floaters" thinking they would go away. At the end of August I moved into my old house. I was pulling weeds in the alley on Sept 2nd when one of the dead weeds I pulled up scratched my right cornea leaving me blind in that eye. I hoped that my eye would repair itself- instead it got worse.
I also tripped over my computer cord and killed my computer around the 2nd. (I didn't see it with my eye out of commission.)
On Sept 23, I went in to see an eye surgeon. He said that my eye was swollen, torn in three spots, and that my retina was on the verge of detaching. They had to perform surgery that day to save my eye.
They repaired all three tears and put a buckle in. The surgery lasted 3 hours and I came out at 730 PM..
Because of the location of the trauma to my eye, I was forced to sleep in a chair all week while the gas in my eye helped it heal. I couldn't lay down. The pain was so intense, like a throbbing migraine, that I easily went through 4-6 Vicodin a day and often-that still wasn't enough. Vicodin makes me drowsy so all I've done this week was basically sleep in a chair and try to manage my pain.
Yesterday I ventured out to the grocery store. I really had no business driving. I went straight home. This morning I saw my doctor who said my eye looked great. Today (10/2) he informed me that it would be at least 4 weeks before my eye was functioning somewhat normally again. My pain has lessened to about 1/2 what it had been.
I cannot tell you how grateful I am that the nurses and doctors took me in and saved my eye. I am a cash paying patient and this should leave me pretty much broke all year long. In many places, I don't know that they would have taken my case and thankfully- I live in an area with a little compassion. My boss has been pretty good too, but I'm not sure how long it will remain that way. He has a business to run.
I've been reading all day while I recover but the pain has been pretty steady and it's really hard for me to focus and see. This is the best I've felt in the last couple weeks so I just want you to know that the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I've been trying to keep up my football blog and I've been doing all right with that.
In the Valley of the Blind, the one eyed man is King.
I am going to try and get something new up by the end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Fantasy Football League and the Weekly Schtick- The Sunday Collage
A guy could get whiplash following our equity markets. The worst part is that our markets are completely directionless, manipulated, and although I think the trend is down- I can't short it here. I made some quick money and got out. These markets are so neurotic that you are forced to day trade- you don't dare leave open positions. Maybe some options would work best here.
I am in awe that the FBI is actually investigating Hillary. Hillary's team said it was not a criminal probe- apparently that little known arm of the FBI aka the non-criminal cops- are busy trying to clear her name for any potential civil suits.
Don't be surprised if the FBI actually comes back and says, "Ya know we did our very best but we could not find any evidence of wrong doing." At that point we will know with absolute certainty that our entire system is corrupt from top to bottom. However, the Obama administration, the one that has turned a blind eye on just about every high level and corrupt act has now suddenly decided to investigate Hilary's wrong doings- about the time Joe Biden feels like maybe he should run for President.
You cannot make this shit up. Call it a coincidence.
I'm moving. I hate moving. There are boxes everywhere. We are engaged in a four family musical house type of move where we are all friends, for now. We shall see if we remain that way. The next three days are going to suck. We have more furniture than room.
You know what people should do? We should leave all of our shit behind in every house. I used to do that. I did that in Vegas once, left the beds, couches, tables, all that shit behind. Did that in New Orleans too. Threw my clothes and a few guns in the urban assault vehicle and said adios.
Last but not least.
Football season. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on as I prepare for college and pro football. Loved Montana plus 15 last night against ND State. Montana won out right as the huge dog.
If there are 6-10 of you left who enjoy football and want to play in a fantasy football league, I can set one up for us. We can schedule a live draft, you can always autodraft, and fill a league spot of our own. I'd need 6-10 interested folks to leave something in the comments and then I'll put together a league and leave the entry codes in the comments or on the blog- with the scheduled draft time probably around 8 PM next Sunday night. (Sept. 6) if you have always wanted to try fantasy football but been afraid to do so, this is your chance. It's a lot of fun.
I'm also starting a blog with free football picks. Every week I am going to research a number of venues like I always have and publish my plays for the week. I love to bet right out of the gate before linesmakers draw better lines like the blown one yesterday in the Montana game.
If you want the link for that blog it is here. http://bustyoursportsbook.blogspot.com/
I am in awe that the FBI is actually investigating Hillary. Hillary's team said it was not a criminal probe- apparently that little known arm of the FBI aka the non-criminal cops- are busy trying to clear her name for any potential civil suits.
Don't be surprised if the FBI actually comes back and says, "Ya know we did our very best but we could not find any evidence of wrong doing." At that point we will know with absolute certainty that our entire system is corrupt from top to bottom. However, the Obama administration, the one that has turned a blind eye on just about every high level and corrupt act has now suddenly decided to investigate Hilary's wrong doings- about the time Joe Biden feels like maybe he should run for President.
You cannot make this shit up. Call it a coincidence.
I'm moving. I hate moving. There are boxes everywhere. We are engaged in a four family musical house type of move where we are all friends, for now. We shall see if we remain that way. The next three days are going to suck. We have more furniture than room.
You know what people should do? We should leave all of our shit behind in every house. I used to do that. I did that in Vegas once, left the beds, couches, tables, all that shit behind. Did that in New Orleans too. Threw my clothes and a few guns in the urban assault vehicle and said adios.
Last but not least.
Football season. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on as I prepare for college and pro football. Loved Montana plus 15 last night against ND State. Montana won out right as the huge dog.
If there are 6-10 of you left who enjoy football and want to play in a fantasy football league, I can set one up for us. We can schedule a live draft, you can always autodraft, and fill a league spot of our own. I'd need 6-10 interested folks to leave something in the comments and then I'll put together a league and leave the entry codes in the comments or on the blog- with the scheduled draft time probably around 8 PM next Sunday night. (Sept. 6) if you have always wanted to try fantasy football but been afraid to do so, this is your chance. It's a lot of fun.
I'm also starting a blog with free football picks. Every week I am going to research a number of venues like I always have and publish my plays for the week. I love to bet right out of the gate before linesmakers draw better lines like the blown one yesterday in the Montana game.
If you want the link for that blog it is here. http://bustyoursportsbook.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 23, 2015
The Reckoning Has Arrived- The Sunday Collage
Like many of you, I have been waiting for this time. The time when accounts finally get settled. I cannot believe it has taken this long.
Late last week, the DJIA tanked over 800 points. An even bigger scale loss (%) occurred on the Nasdaq. You know it's serious when CNN headlines tout a "correction." They use the term "correction" to hedge their bets and to do their part in keeping the millions of lemmings locked long into the equity markets. I heard another calm, soothing voice on the radio say the "correction" would be healthy for the resumption of the"bull" market. Where do they find these people?
These are the kinds of statements that occur when people get really nervous. They don't want you to panic because they know if you beat them out the door, they will be left holding it. He who panics first- panics best.
I'm not sure that people understand that the world, with all of it's various markets and currencies, is a giant economy unto itself. People are able to trade internationally and when one or two giant economies sneeze, the other people in the room are about to catch the same cold. We are all connected. Here's a list of countries where markets are collapsing. http://etfdailynews.com/2015/08/18/23-nations-around-the-world-where-stock-market-crashes-are-already-happeni
I've been waiting for this for 6.5 years. The most fraudulent recovery ever- complete with counterfeiting, false numbers, and the suspension of generally accepted accounting principles- is about to be exposed. The great lie, the only thing Obama can lay claim to, is the ridiculous notion that this last 6.5 years has actually been some sort of a normal, healthy, economic recovery.
All that remains to be seen is what extraordinary things our government and the FED will do to try and stem the bleeding. Trust me, what ever insignificant rate hike the FED may or may not have planned for September- is off the table. The substance matters not- the perception of raising rates right now- would completely destroy any last traces of credibility that this administration has left.
I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this week. I can almost hear the whine now.
Late last week, the DJIA tanked over 800 points. An even bigger scale loss (%) occurred on the Nasdaq. You know it's serious when CNN headlines tout a "correction." They use the term "correction" to hedge their bets and to do their part in keeping the millions of lemmings locked long into the equity markets. I heard another calm, soothing voice on the radio say the "correction" would be healthy for the resumption of the"bull" market. Where do they find these people?
These are the kinds of statements that occur when people get really nervous. They don't want you to panic because they know if you beat them out the door, they will be left holding it. He who panics first- panics best.
I'm not sure that people understand that the world, with all of it's various markets and currencies, is a giant economy unto itself. People are able to trade internationally and when one or two giant economies sneeze, the other people in the room are about to catch the same cold. We are all connected. Here's a list of countries where markets are collapsing. http://etfdailynews.com/2015/08/18/23-nations-around-the-world-where-stock-market-crashes-are-already-happeni
I've been waiting for this for 6.5 years. The most fraudulent recovery ever- complete with counterfeiting, false numbers, and the suspension of generally accepted accounting principles- is about to be exposed. The great lie, the only thing Obama can lay claim to, is the ridiculous notion that this last 6.5 years has actually been some sort of a normal, healthy, economic recovery.
All that remains to be seen is what extraordinary things our government and the FED will do to try and stem the bleeding. Trust me, what ever insignificant rate hike the FED may or may not have planned for September- is off the table. The substance matters not- the perception of raising rates right now- would completely destroy any last traces of credibility that this administration has left.
I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this week. I can almost hear the whine now.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Last Hundred Miles- The Monday Collage
I had an epiphany yesterday.
I was traveling home, late in the afternoon, westbound on the interstate. In Idaho, they have raised the speed limit to 80 so I travel right at 84 MPH. I have passed a number of state troopers doing this speed and in fact yesterday, I passed a trooper and a deputy- both stationary and running radar. So basically, 4 MPH over the speed limit does not generate any interest.
However, in that 100 mile stretch home, I had five drivers cut me off. It was the craziest, most un-necessary and dangerous driving that I have seen in a long time. It was as though with nothing else to entertain them, drivers thought it might be fun to cut off other drivers. People were in the fast lane, on cell phones and eating hamburgers, refusing to yield. In one instance, I had a husky gal in a U-Haul not only cut me off after misjudging the speed of a merging tractor trailer rig- but she shamelessly flipped me off as she returned to the slow lane. Her inability to judge speed and distance I suppose, was my fault. A few miles later, a tractor trailer rig nearly took the front of my car off as he swerved in front of me because there was an abandoned vehicle on the shoulder and he was pretending to be some sort of safe driver. Avoiding abandoned vehicles on the shoulder is apparently worthy of cutting off occupied and moving vehicles.
People cannot be this stupid. I was in awe yesterday. My first thought was that everyone with an IQ around 90 decided to get on the interstate at the same time. Then I thought maybe it's me, maybe all of these people are entitled to drive like shit and I am simply un-accepting of that. Maybe I am the problem.
Maybe all of those years in a marked police car caused people to drive respectfully and altered my expectations and view of the driving world. Maybe being tossed into the civilian world of bad drivers is something I still haven't become accustomed to.
Then I remembered something my father used to always say. People and their driving habits are an extension of their attitude toward life in general. I was able to verify that premise via 25 years of policing. It was and still is- inescapably true.
The ultimate standard is this. Would any of these drivers have pulled their shitty driving in front of a marked patrol car? No, of course not. There are immediate and painful financial consequences for poor conduct which I think- is really the root of the problem.
So maybe people aren't stupid- maybe it's something else.
I drive a large, 13 ton, box truck a few times a week. It is slow. Not once have I ever cut another driver off. People in autos are continually passing on the left and right, doing anything to get away from that truck. Often, they will pull out quickly instead of yielding. I understand all of that. That truck is very slow and it is simply a giant, moving obstruction that unnecessarily slows people down.
Generally speaking on any random, given day, I don't think people are stupid. The drivers I work with are pretty intelligent folks. So what is it- what is causing this angry, entitled, and discourteous driving behavior? I think it's actually pretty simple. This insane behavior is the result of self absorbed, unconscious folks with a sociopathic lean toward others. Please allow me to explain.
When I was a child growing up, I had two parents and a whole block full of friends. People were involved in my life almost all of the time. Coaches, piano teachers, adults in an open gym. I was constantly interacting with others, making lots of mistakes- pissing people off- and once in awhile I'd do good things and make people happy. This giant trial and error period of growing up was almost entirely dependent on the observed reactions of all of the people who interacted with me. I was developing social skills. Figuring out what was acceptable and not acceptable behavior. In fact, team sports is where many of us developed our work habits and our attitudes toward others. When I struck out in the bottom of the ninth inning, right or wrong, I felt like I had lost the game for my team. So I had this heightened sense of social responsibility which caused me to treat other people decently or suffer the consequences. We felt shame when we failed. Life was not permissive of self absorbed behavior. You treated other people right or you suffered a tongue lashing or in some cases, an ass kicking. That was the ordered, social structure of my childhood in the 60's and 70's. It taught me to think about and consider the welfare of other people.
Remember Welcome Wagon? Neighbors who introduced themselves when you moved into the neighborhood? Neighbors who knew your phone number?
Generally speaking, the kids we churned out in the 80's and 90's are different. Often they were raised by only one adult. Children were left to entertain themselves. They were not forced to interact with the neighbor kids nor were adults always present in their lives. They had television with 600 channels, video games, computers, phones, too many prescriptions, and often enough- an exhausted parent who came home and checked out almost immediately. There are plenty of exceptions to this, not the least of which were the two parent households that made it through the development of their children and/or a number of people who received their socialization skills in the military or college.
So armed to the hilt with all types of distractions and gadgetry, children became self absorbed and isolated. They were not forced to interact with other people. They did not receive the input that making mistakes teaches us. They did not receive the advantages of immediately delivered consequences when they treated other people disrespectfully. They relied far less on the interaction of others. They grew up in an electronic world with a very limited number of like minded kids.
In other words, today's adults, folks in the 20-40 range- are the least socially skilled group of people that our culture may have ever produced. They were self reliant and isolated. In that petri dish- self absorbed behavior becomes acceptable behavior. They might sense that they are different somehow- but it's doubtful that they could pinpoint the cause. When you think about this- the extreme polarization of people in this country suddenly makes sense. The vitriolic and anonymous comment sections of articles and blogs suddenly makes sense. The rise of apathy, anger, and ultimately hatred- all begin to make sense. Narcissism and selfies make sense. If people are made to feel isolated- they will act differently. They have not developed social skills or coping skills. They take everything personally because they have not developed the social skills required for acceptance.
This is what I know for sure. If you insulate or isolate people from each other when they are young- you are going to have a lot of messed up and angry adults running around. The proof is in the house next door, the people at work, the rampant drug and alcohol abuse in this country as people try to cope with each other with their diminishing social skill sets.
In a "butterfly's wings" sort of way- the ripple effect of this lack of social imprinting probably isn't their fault but the effects are undeniable. They effect us all.
We don't know- what we don't know. Perhaps even more strange and unlikely, is the hope that people who don't know really know how to treat other people decently- will somehow and suddenly realize that they have been missing this piece and realize it is important. Call it spontaneous consciousness. It's not likely to happen and if it does- it will only be one individual at a time. In the meantime, there will be days like yesterday and they will grow in number. Be prepared.
I was traveling home, late in the afternoon, westbound on the interstate. In Idaho, they have raised the speed limit to 80 so I travel right at 84 MPH. I have passed a number of state troopers doing this speed and in fact yesterday, I passed a trooper and a deputy- both stationary and running radar. So basically, 4 MPH over the speed limit does not generate any interest.
However, in that 100 mile stretch home, I had five drivers cut me off. It was the craziest, most un-necessary and dangerous driving that I have seen in a long time. It was as though with nothing else to entertain them, drivers thought it might be fun to cut off other drivers. People were in the fast lane, on cell phones and eating hamburgers, refusing to yield. In one instance, I had a husky gal in a U-Haul not only cut me off after misjudging the speed of a merging tractor trailer rig- but she shamelessly flipped me off as she returned to the slow lane. Her inability to judge speed and distance I suppose, was my fault. A few miles later, a tractor trailer rig nearly took the front of my car off as he swerved in front of me because there was an abandoned vehicle on the shoulder and he was pretending to be some sort of safe driver. Avoiding abandoned vehicles on the shoulder is apparently worthy of cutting off occupied and moving vehicles.
People cannot be this stupid. I was in awe yesterday. My first thought was that everyone with an IQ around 90 decided to get on the interstate at the same time. Then I thought maybe it's me, maybe all of these people are entitled to drive like shit and I am simply un-accepting of that. Maybe I am the problem.
Maybe all of those years in a marked police car caused people to drive respectfully and altered my expectations and view of the driving world. Maybe being tossed into the civilian world of bad drivers is something I still haven't become accustomed to.
Then I remembered something my father used to always say. People and their driving habits are an extension of their attitude toward life in general. I was able to verify that premise via 25 years of policing. It was and still is- inescapably true.
The ultimate standard is this. Would any of these drivers have pulled their shitty driving in front of a marked patrol car? No, of course not. There are immediate and painful financial consequences for poor conduct which I think- is really the root of the problem.
So maybe people aren't stupid- maybe it's something else.
I drive a large, 13 ton, box truck a few times a week. It is slow. Not once have I ever cut another driver off. People in autos are continually passing on the left and right, doing anything to get away from that truck. Often, they will pull out quickly instead of yielding. I understand all of that. That truck is very slow and it is simply a giant, moving obstruction that unnecessarily slows people down.
Generally speaking on any random, given day, I don't think people are stupid. The drivers I work with are pretty intelligent folks. So what is it- what is causing this angry, entitled, and discourteous driving behavior? I think it's actually pretty simple. This insane behavior is the result of self absorbed, unconscious folks with a sociopathic lean toward others. Please allow me to explain.
When I was a child growing up, I had two parents and a whole block full of friends. People were involved in my life almost all of the time. Coaches, piano teachers, adults in an open gym. I was constantly interacting with others, making lots of mistakes- pissing people off- and once in awhile I'd do good things and make people happy. This giant trial and error period of growing up was almost entirely dependent on the observed reactions of all of the people who interacted with me. I was developing social skills. Figuring out what was acceptable and not acceptable behavior. In fact, team sports is where many of us developed our work habits and our attitudes toward others. When I struck out in the bottom of the ninth inning, right or wrong, I felt like I had lost the game for my team. So I had this heightened sense of social responsibility which caused me to treat other people decently or suffer the consequences. We felt shame when we failed. Life was not permissive of self absorbed behavior. You treated other people right or you suffered a tongue lashing or in some cases, an ass kicking. That was the ordered, social structure of my childhood in the 60's and 70's. It taught me to think about and consider the welfare of other people.
Remember Welcome Wagon? Neighbors who introduced themselves when you moved into the neighborhood? Neighbors who knew your phone number?
Generally speaking, the kids we churned out in the 80's and 90's are different. Often they were raised by only one adult. Children were left to entertain themselves. They were not forced to interact with the neighbor kids nor were adults always present in their lives. They had television with 600 channels, video games, computers, phones, too many prescriptions, and often enough- an exhausted parent who came home and checked out almost immediately. There are plenty of exceptions to this, not the least of which were the two parent households that made it through the development of their children and/or a number of people who received their socialization skills in the military or college.
So armed to the hilt with all types of distractions and gadgetry, children became self absorbed and isolated. They were not forced to interact with other people. They did not receive the input that making mistakes teaches us. They did not receive the advantages of immediately delivered consequences when they treated other people disrespectfully. They relied far less on the interaction of others. They grew up in an electronic world with a very limited number of like minded kids.
In other words, today's adults, folks in the 20-40 range- are the least socially skilled group of people that our culture may have ever produced. They were self reliant and isolated. In that petri dish- self absorbed behavior becomes acceptable behavior. They might sense that they are different somehow- but it's doubtful that they could pinpoint the cause. When you think about this- the extreme polarization of people in this country suddenly makes sense. The vitriolic and anonymous comment sections of articles and blogs suddenly makes sense. The rise of apathy, anger, and ultimately hatred- all begin to make sense. Narcissism and selfies make sense. If people are made to feel isolated- they will act differently. They have not developed social skills or coping skills. They take everything personally because they have not developed the social skills required for acceptance.
This is what I know for sure. If you insulate or isolate people from each other when they are young- you are going to have a lot of messed up and angry adults running around. The proof is in the house next door, the people at work, the rampant drug and alcohol abuse in this country as people try to cope with each other with their diminishing social skill sets.
In a "butterfly's wings" sort of way- the ripple effect of this lack of social imprinting probably isn't their fault but the effects are undeniable. They effect us all.
We don't know- what we don't know. Perhaps even more strange and unlikely, is the hope that people who don't know really know how to treat other people decently- will somehow and suddenly realize that they have been missing this piece and realize it is important. Call it spontaneous consciousness. It's not likely to happen and if it does- it will only be one individual at a time. In the meantime, there will be days like yesterday and they will grow in number. Be prepared.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
The Very Best of This Week- The Sunday Collage
Each week, I read about 300 articles and blogs on the web. I bookmark or set aside the ten or fifteen that I like best.
Sometimes those blogs cause me to reflect and expand an idea or sometimes- I just like the premise or idea.
Rarely, do I stumble onto something so accurate or prescient that I think it can't be improved on. Something so true and well written that it stands on it's very own.
I found one of those blogs this week.
This article captures the absolute truth about our culture and how the powers that be are destroying it right in front of our very eyes- and there is not a damn thing you can do to stop it.
I'm going to shut up right here. Here then is the best read of the week.
http://www.freemansperspective.com/wont-be-fixed/
Sometimes those blogs cause me to reflect and expand an idea or sometimes- I just like the premise or idea.
Rarely, do I stumble onto something so accurate or prescient that I think it can't be improved on. Something so true and well written that it stands on it's very own.
I found one of those blogs this week.
This article captures the absolute truth about our culture and how the powers that be are destroying it right in front of our very eyes- and there is not a damn thing you can do to stop it.
I'm going to shut up right here. Here then is the best read of the week.
http://www.freemansperspective.com/wont-be-fixed/
Sunday, August 9, 2015
A Nation Full of Suckers- The Sunday Collage
Somewhere... P.T. Barnum and and the monkey boy are smiling.
Do I want people to believe everything I write? Absolutely not. Perform your own due diligence.
Each week as I surf the internet, I look for stories of interest. For years and most certainly since 2008, fringe bloggers like myself have known that just about every number put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or B.L.S.- is complete and utter bullshit. The government has rigged the data input to such an extent- that they can put out any number that they want.
Why do they do this?
The beautiful part about blogging about all of these lies and manipulations for years is that eventually and now evidently, all of those lies are beginning to be accepted as truth by more acceptable and credible sources than some old retired guy in Boise, Idaho.
A favorite quote- I know of no greater truth than this because I have experienced it.
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
-Arthur Schopenhauer
You'll like this link. It's a must read in terms of other writers who can no longer tolerate our government's lies. This author knows bullshit when he sees it. http://nypost.com/2015/08/03/the-gdps-hilarious-false-numbers/
Everywhere I travel in Boise- I can find broken down and vacant commercial property. It's everywhere.
Some of it is being transformed into vape shops and tattoo parlors. But mostly, it is all still here- with owners still asking ridiculous prices and paying the taxes on it.
You see the government wants me to ignore my lying eyes and my dwindling bank account that makes zero interest. Some people have moved beyond acceptance of government bullshit and are now finding solutions to the published and corrupt data of the B.L.S.
Now I would like to introduce you to the Chapwood Index. The Chapwood Index is a basket of 500 real world items that include taxes, groceries, fuel, and health care costs in just about all major cities. Instead of the bullshit sub 2% inflation figures produced by the BLS- we have an actual, real world non adjusted inflation source with credible, non manipulated input. This is the link directly into the Chapwood Index and it's explanation about why the government distorts and lies about CPI.
http://www.chapwoodindex.com/problem/
What's my angle? I have no ads, no tip jars, no books to sell. I'm not selling gloom and doom or silver and gold although I do in fact- own some. I am simply raising awareness.
I've always known that good writers, read. We learn to write because we love to read. We perform due diligence and once we are armed with facts- we present them. As long as the majority of this country remains suckers- the longer this charade continues. Apathy has always been the route of cowards.
You know I really wish that P.T. Barnum had never uttered his sarcastic claim that a sucker is born every minute. Guys like Barnum laugh at the stupidity of people while fleecing them at the monkey boy's tent. Your government has learned well. They've crowded Barnum out.
I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.
H. L. Mencken
Do I want people to believe everything I write? Absolutely not. Perform your own due diligence.
Each week as I surf the internet, I look for stories of interest. For years and most certainly since 2008, fringe bloggers like myself have known that just about every number put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or B.L.S.- is complete and utter bullshit. The government has rigged the data input to such an extent- that they can put out any number that they want.
Why do they do this?
The beautiful part about blogging about all of these lies and manipulations for years is that eventually and now evidently, all of those lies are beginning to be accepted as truth by more acceptable and credible sources than some old retired guy in Boise, Idaho.
A favorite quote- I know of no greater truth than this because I have experienced it.
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
-Arthur Schopenhauer
You'll like this link. It's a must read in terms of other writers who can no longer tolerate our government's lies. This author knows bullshit when he sees it. http://nypost.com/2015/08/03/the-gdps-hilarious-false-numbers/
Everywhere I travel in Boise- I can find broken down and vacant commercial property. It's everywhere.
Some of it is being transformed into vape shops and tattoo parlors. But mostly, it is all still here- with owners still asking ridiculous prices and paying the taxes on it.
You see the government wants me to ignore my lying eyes and my dwindling bank account that makes zero interest. Some people have moved beyond acceptance of government bullshit and are now finding solutions to the published and corrupt data of the B.L.S.
Now I would like to introduce you to the Chapwood Index. The Chapwood Index is a basket of 500 real world items that include taxes, groceries, fuel, and health care costs in just about all major cities. Instead of the bullshit sub 2% inflation figures produced by the BLS- we have an actual, real world non adjusted inflation source with credible, non manipulated input. This is the link directly into the Chapwood Index and it's explanation about why the government distorts and lies about CPI.
http://www.chapwoodindex.com/problem/
What's my angle? I have no ads, no tip jars, no books to sell. I'm not selling gloom and doom or silver and gold although I do in fact- own some. I am simply raising awareness.
I've always known that good writers, read. We learn to write because we love to read. We perform due diligence and once we are armed with facts- we present them. As long as the majority of this country remains suckers- the longer this charade continues. Apathy has always been the route of cowards.
You know I really wish that P.T. Barnum had never uttered his sarcastic claim that a sucker is born every minute. Guys like Barnum laugh at the stupidity of people while fleecing them at the monkey boy's tent. Your government has learned well. They've crowded Barnum out.
I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.
H. L. Mencken
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Extreme Taxation With No Representation, The NEW U.S.A.- The Sunday Collage
The political stupidity has already started-so I'm changing back to the original name of this blog. That and the truth is- Frankenstein Government is exactly what we have. I nailed it the first time.
I am going to do one thing differently. The posts are going to be succinct. No rambling diatribes. I am going to write like I speak- direct and to the point. Today's post is a little lengthy- so please excuse me just for today.
About a year ago, I reconnected with a childhood friend of mine who retired as the athletic director of my high school. He was a good guy, good golfer, and that's how I remember him. The part that I didn't remember- was the part where he had become a flaming liberal. So day after day, I would read his commentary on Facebook about Bernie Sanders- our eastern communist. It was really starting to anger me. It's not just the part where you support some political moron- it's that his support tended to bash some really productive members of the GOP. These are people like Scott Walker and Ted Cruz who have actually achieved some measured success in their lives- within the confines of the law and Constitution.
Eventually, (I could see it coming) I became embroiled in an online argument with my old friend and ultimately I de-friended him or whatever that silliness is called. I am now free of idiots on my Facebook page who believe in nominating criminals like Hillary Clinton or communist sympathizers like Bernie Sanders to lead our "free" country. That's the best the Democratic Party can do. People with no record of success. People like Barack Obama.
Back in 2007 when I was rearranging my life, I realized that my old political belief system was also in need of an overhaul. Bush was quite clearly an elitist. An Ivy league rich kid that had family, influence, and money which shepherded him through Yale. Let me say this about Bush. He didn't represent anything other than the "owners" of this country and their corporate interests. He opened the door and flooded this country with illegal aliens so that the owners of this country (and his Texas friends) could import some slave labor. When I think of all the damage that guy did- including wars and banker bailouts- I ask, "Who benefited?"
The corporate oligarchy benefited and the middle class and the working poor got screwed. As always.
When Obama was elected President, who benefited? Thousands of fraudulent bankers and an entire housing and banking sector to include appraisers and bond rating agencies-that's who. Those were the immediate beneficiaries. After suspending the rule of law and giving them all get out of jail free cards in exchange for their campaign contributions, Obama then set his sights on bailing out the health insurers at our expense. Obama knows who butters his bread. And it's not you.
As always, the beneficiaries or people with actual political representation, are the corporate elite.
Since Obama, my taxes have gone up nearly two thousand dollars per year and that doesn't include my annual 700 dollar "shared responsibility" fine. My property tax has gone up 400 a year, gas taxes (total tax on a gallon of gas in Idaho is 50 cents per gallon) and higher registration costs have added another 200 bucks a year, my state and federal taxes have gone up 1300 bucks. I can't even begin to enumerate all of the little taxes like sin taxes (booze, tobacco), TSA taxes, entry fees for federal and state parks, (lands which I allegedly own as a taxpayer) taxes on rental cars and hotel rooms. You can be sure none of these have gone down.
If you are tired of being sodomized by the elite corporate assholes and their political henchmen- just why in the fuck do you insist on voting for them? They don't represent "We the people." They don't represent you. What we have currently- is taxation with no representation. Period. The only people being represented in the United States are the rich and the elite. Guys like Buffet and Mr. Microsoft. They have all the money, all of the nice real estate, all of the Supreme Court precedent, and a nice tax code that allows them to stick it to millions of working class Americans. They have representation. The best money can buy.
We don't have squat with squat on the horizon.
So if you are like my old friend, trumpeting the virtues of a some elite communist over that of a well protected and elite criminal, maybe it's time you re-assess just what it is that you believe in. And if those choices weren't bad enough- it gets worse.
Donald Trump? Really? Pay attention to what he has actually done with his life and eliminate virtually everything that comes out of his mouth. He was born into wealth, sent to good schools, prep school, Fordham, Wharton, and the University of Pennsylvania- managed to dodge Vietnam in the process, and then he expanded the empire his father had given him through urban development at the expense of the middle class. By every measure- Trump is one of the elite owners of this country who buy themselves representation at the expense of the rest of us. There is not one chance in hell that I will ever vote for him.
Millions upon millions of people get duped every election cycle because they cling to some ridiculous party tenet- perhaps environmentalism or anti abortion beliefs- issues that were decided long ago by the elite and solidified by the Supreme Court. To this day, some 40 years later, I still hear people whining about Roe v Wade. It's a dead issue. Just like Obamacare. It is over people. The Supreme Court says so.
Instead of whining about all of that spilled milk, I woke up.
The first step is to assassinate any preconceived notions that you have about Republicans v Democrats. The two party system is a distraction- the illusion of choice- while the REAL owners of this country enrich themselves. They owners don't care about abortion, or wars, or any of that nonsense. That's just theater for the plebes. What they really care about is how much wealth they can amass and if they have to buy political influence- that's what they do. They have the best tax code money will buy. They have lobbyists and corporate monopolies who price fix everything from the cost of health care, to auto insurance, to the price of a gallon of gas. The battle isn't between two political philosophies which your corporate masters want you to believe that it is- the real battle is how they can extract the maximum amount of wealth from you- the suckers- without tipping you off. That's what all of this is really about. That's all it has ever been about. Money.
In 2007, I made it my goal in life to quit voting for these assholes. I refuse to listen to the drivel that comes out of their mouths. Instead, pay attention to what they have actually done with their lives. With some folks like Obama, they go to extreme lengths to hide their lives. Other folks like Trump, try to hide the fact that he is basically a greedy, trust funder who inherited a vast amount of wealth and expanded it. He also managed to avoid Vietnam by staying in school and now claims he had a high draft number. Bullshit. Hillary Clinton is another silver spooned elitist. None of these people represent the working class. They've never been in the working class. What I want- is someone who represents me. The working, middle class. As it stands we have ZERO influence. Zip. None.
Extreme taxation with no representation.
If I could find a decent working stiff candidate anywhere- perhaps from the outer space party- that would promise to represent the middle class of this country instead of these rich and elite bastards with their lawyers and lobbyists- I'd work full time for free.
To think we fought a war with England over a 3% tax. No taxation without representation they used to say. Hey Adams and Jefferson- you should see us now.
You know it's bad when former President Carter calls it an oligarchy with unlimited bribery. Fascinating link. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42536.htm
I am going to do one thing differently. The posts are going to be succinct. No rambling diatribes. I am going to write like I speak- direct and to the point. Today's post is a little lengthy- so please excuse me just for today.
About a year ago, I reconnected with a childhood friend of mine who retired as the athletic director of my high school. He was a good guy, good golfer, and that's how I remember him. The part that I didn't remember- was the part where he had become a flaming liberal. So day after day, I would read his commentary on Facebook about Bernie Sanders- our eastern communist. It was really starting to anger me. It's not just the part where you support some political moron- it's that his support tended to bash some really productive members of the GOP. These are people like Scott Walker and Ted Cruz who have actually achieved some measured success in their lives- within the confines of the law and Constitution.
Eventually, (I could see it coming) I became embroiled in an online argument with my old friend and ultimately I de-friended him or whatever that silliness is called. I am now free of idiots on my Facebook page who believe in nominating criminals like Hillary Clinton or communist sympathizers like Bernie Sanders to lead our "free" country. That's the best the Democratic Party can do. People with no record of success. People like Barack Obama.
Back in 2007 when I was rearranging my life, I realized that my old political belief system was also in need of an overhaul. Bush was quite clearly an elitist. An Ivy league rich kid that had family, influence, and money which shepherded him through Yale. Let me say this about Bush. He didn't represent anything other than the "owners" of this country and their corporate interests. He opened the door and flooded this country with illegal aliens so that the owners of this country (and his Texas friends) could import some slave labor. When I think of all the damage that guy did- including wars and banker bailouts- I ask, "Who benefited?"
The corporate oligarchy benefited and the middle class and the working poor got screwed. As always.
When Obama was elected President, who benefited? Thousands of fraudulent bankers and an entire housing and banking sector to include appraisers and bond rating agencies-that's who. Those were the immediate beneficiaries. After suspending the rule of law and giving them all get out of jail free cards in exchange for their campaign contributions, Obama then set his sights on bailing out the health insurers at our expense. Obama knows who butters his bread. And it's not you.
As always, the beneficiaries or people with actual political representation, are the corporate elite.
Since Obama, my taxes have gone up nearly two thousand dollars per year and that doesn't include my annual 700 dollar "shared responsibility" fine. My property tax has gone up 400 a year, gas taxes (total tax on a gallon of gas in Idaho is 50 cents per gallon) and higher registration costs have added another 200 bucks a year, my state and federal taxes have gone up 1300 bucks. I can't even begin to enumerate all of the little taxes like sin taxes (booze, tobacco), TSA taxes, entry fees for federal and state parks, (lands which I allegedly own as a taxpayer) taxes on rental cars and hotel rooms. You can be sure none of these have gone down.
If you are tired of being sodomized by the elite corporate assholes and their political henchmen- just why in the fuck do you insist on voting for them? They don't represent "We the people." They don't represent you. What we have currently- is taxation with no representation. Period. The only people being represented in the United States are the rich and the elite. Guys like Buffet and Mr. Microsoft. They have all the money, all of the nice real estate, all of the Supreme Court precedent, and a nice tax code that allows them to stick it to millions of working class Americans. They have representation. The best money can buy.
We don't have squat with squat on the horizon.
So if you are like my old friend, trumpeting the virtues of a some elite communist over that of a well protected and elite criminal, maybe it's time you re-assess just what it is that you believe in. And if those choices weren't bad enough- it gets worse.
Donald Trump? Really? Pay attention to what he has actually done with his life and eliminate virtually everything that comes out of his mouth. He was born into wealth, sent to good schools, prep school, Fordham, Wharton, and the University of Pennsylvania- managed to dodge Vietnam in the process, and then he expanded the empire his father had given him through urban development at the expense of the middle class. By every measure- Trump is one of the elite owners of this country who buy themselves representation at the expense of the rest of us. There is not one chance in hell that I will ever vote for him.
Millions upon millions of people get duped every election cycle because they cling to some ridiculous party tenet- perhaps environmentalism or anti abortion beliefs- issues that were decided long ago by the elite and solidified by the Supreme Court. To this day, some 40 years later, I still hear people whining about Roe v Wade. It's a dead issue. Just like Obamacare. It is over people. The Supreme Court says so.
Instead of whining about all of that spilled milk, I woke up.
The first step is to assassinate any preconceived notions that you have about Republicans v Democrats. The two party system is a distraction- the illusion of choice- while the REAL owners of this country enrich themselves. They owners don't care about abortion, or wars, or any of that nonsense. That's just theater for the plebes. What they really care about is how much wealth they can amass and if they have to buy political influence- that's what they do. They have the best tax code money will buy. They have lobbyists and corporate monopolies who price fix everything from the cost of health care, to auto insurance, to the price of a gallon of gas. The battle isn't between two political philosophies which your corporate masters want you to believe that it is- the real battle is how they can extract the maximum amount of wealth from you- the suckers- without tipping you off. That's what all of this is really about. That's all it has ever been about. Money.
In 2007, I made it my goal in life to quit voting for these assholes. I refuse to listen to the drivel that comes out of their mouths. Instead, pay attention to what they have actually done with their lives. With some folks like Obama, they go to extreme lengths to hide their lives. Other folks like Trump, try to hide the fact that he is basically a greedy, trust funder who inherited a vast amount of wealth and expanded it. He also managed to avoid Vietnam by staying in school and now claims he had a high draft number. Bullshit. Hillary Clinton is another silver spooned elitist. None of these people represent the working class. They've never been in the working class. What I want- is someone who represents me. The working, middle class. As it stands we have ZERO influence. Zip. None.
Extreme taxation with no representation.
If I could find a decent working stiff candidate anywhere- perhaps from the outer space party- that would promise to represent the middle class of this country instead of these rich and elite bastards with their lawyers and lobbyists- I'd work full time for free.
To think we fought a war with England over a 3% tax. No taxation without representation they used to say. Hey Adams and Jefferson- you should see us now.
You know it's bad when former President Carter calls it an oligarchy with unlimited bribery. Fascinating link. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42536.htm
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saved By Grace- The Sunday Collage
Saved by grace. I took this post down once, I thought it was eligible for a re-do.
At the turn of the 20th century, approximately 70% of the United States' citizens claimed some form of Christianity. In 2012, over 80% of Americans claimed to be Christian. Do you believe that?http://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/Poll-Nearly-80-percent-of-Americans-say-they-are-2444092.php Granted the poll is old (2012) and forgive me. I just stumbled onto it this week.
At the turn of the 20th century, approximately 70% of the United States' citizens claimed some form of Christianity. In 2012, over 80% of Americans claimed to be Christian. Do you believe that?http://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/Poll-Nearly-80-percent-of-Americans-say-they-are-2444092.php Granted the poll is old (2012) and forgive me. I just stumbled onto it this week.
So if we are this heap big, Christian nation- how come we don't act like it? Where is this Christian super majority? Perhaps I am insulated from all these folks. Maybe it's the company I keep. Often I think, perhaps my 25 years in Moonbat Valley with the liberals took their anti-Christian toll on me. They were my professors. They were the lawyers, the Wall St brokers and bankers, the real estate developers, therapists and doctors. They were the trust funders, the entrepreneurs, the carpenters, the small town politicians, and a couple of dyed in the wool atheists who assured me the Bible was fiction and Jesus was simply an enlightened man like Ghandi.
All of those intelligent, successful people. Yet, I have never seen them in church and certainly not 80% of them. I've never heard them utter a word about Christ- but apparently 80% of them are Christians. That's what this poll would have me believe.
I had a friend once that described agnostics as chicken shit atheists. They don't really go to church because church is boring and time consuming. They don't believe in God, any God, because God represents accountability and oversight. They don't want to be held accountable. They don't want to live a Christian life because it is inconvenient to their individual wants and desires- none of which tend to be very Christian like. So when asked publicly, often they claim to be Christian because that answer is convenient.
People don't want to be held responsible for their actions. They want what they want. The Supreme Court set aside their own 80% super majority Christian lean and decided one of those issues in Roe v Wade.
It's not just the 53.5 million abortions that women have been chalking up since the early 70's- it's the 53.5 million fathers who went along with that plan and should have had at least some say in the outcome. Sure there are a few frequent flyers or people that have had more than one abortion- but 80 million Christians landed on abortion as their method of birth control?
Recently the pro choice "Planned Parenthood" or "Non-Planned Parenthood" depending on the amount of responsibility you attach to unprotected sex- has been caught bartering and selling parts of fetuses.
Another proud moment for the left and those 8 of 10 Christians who dwell in the liberal life.
Have you ever noticed any articles ever- that are pro christian in any left leaning publications? I never do. It seems a little odd to me given that 80% of folks claim some form of Christianity. You'd think that the owners of such publications might read the same polls that I do and try to cater to their potential audience. Barack Obama claims to be a Christian. He went to church before he was elected President. Since that time, I think church has become inconvenient for him. I am willing to bet anyone, anywhere- any amount, my house even- that Barack Obama has played golf more times than he has attended church since becoming President.
I think you get my point. Our culture claims to be Christian yet I don't think most folks actually are and certainly not anywhere near 80%. I think any number of Christian scholars would agree with me.
The idea of God is inconvenient to most people. They see no utility in it. There is no chain of evidence other than the Bible, no historical marker denoting the Garden of Eden, no Arc of the Covenant sitting at the Smithsonian for them to gape at. So God becomes impossible to believe in for those educated types who are always demanding proof. They are busy anyway- being smart and acquiring things. They see no payoff- no immediate gratification in Christianity.
I was that way once. Completely self absorbed. I didn't understand the concept of unconditional love or the complete and utter fairness contained in the saved by grace concept. I didn't understand anything other than the "what's in this for me" angle because like most Americans- that's all I ever really thought about. Me. What's in it for me.
So that's who we really are. People too busy with their lives, too busy accumulating things, too busy to be bothered with some "fairy tale" written by men in desperate need of hope. They are too intelligent to believe in divine intervention with its lack of proof. They see no utility in faith, no usefulness in the great courage true believers possess. Please forgive me if I don't buy into this cultural delusion where 80% of people claim to be Christians.
The truth is- the Christians that I know act like Christians. They are not ashamed of who they are. They go to church, they help others, they try desperately to do the right things. And they are a super minority. In fact, had that poll claimed that 20% of Americans saw themselves as Christian- I might have believed that figure instead and I think that is far closer to the real truth anyway.
Real Christians understand that we are saved by grace. By unconditional love, love that is available to all men, even the Hitlers and the Ted Bundys of the world despite our overwhelming urge for justice, condemnation, and punishment. Were we saved by deeds alone, including lying about being Christians, it is doubtful that any of us would walk through the pearly gates.
Last Saturday, I wrote this piece. It was up for a bit and then I took it down. I wrote this because I was angry at all of these alleged "Christians", these people who claim to be Christian but do nothing Christian like. Many are self centered, money worshipping leftists- people who claim to be charitable so long as that charity comes at someone else's expense. These are people who do good deeds so long as they derive some self serving benefit like a resume' boost or personal accolade. People should do all of those charitable things, those good deeds, not because it serves their egos but because it's the right thing to do. So I took the blog down because I was angry and that angry tone leaked through. And I thought, how could I make my point and support the position? And then it hit me tonight.
I spent 25 years in the Wood River Valley. Without a doubt, the Ketchum- Sun Valley area is where the leftists live. It is where the biggest millionaires and billionaires fly in with their jets to spend a few weeks in their castles. It is where George Allen, Warren Buffet, and all of the money Gods meet to socialize and discuss ways of making even more money. There are literally thousands of trust funders in the Wood River Valley, old money, kids living on vast sums of inherited money. They inhabit every walk of life. Many of them get involved in local politics. Many are entitled and rude acting, sometimes I think they forget who earned the money in the first place. But there was one common denominator that had gone missing all of those years. I never, ever, saw them go to church or behave in a fashion that would lead you to believe that they were Christians. They will not talk about Christ. The topic is taboo. They simply didn't do that. Ever.
Now I have to be honest and tell you that I have been a sorry excuse for a Christian myself. I attended church rarely, usually only on Easter or Christmas. I attended at other times but it was infrequent at best. But I knew the people with money in that valley- people tend to talk about things like that- and if I knew a thousand millionaires and trust funders- I did not know 50 of them who attended church regularly. Which leads me back to the finish line and my aha moment. Of the hundreds, if not thousands of rich people that I knew- how come I never saw them in church nor did I ever hear them publicly support Christian endeavors? Were they hiding in the closet? Ashamed to be Christian?
The entitled rich were very often- completely self absorbed. Oh they flit about and do good deeds but not for the reasons that a Christian might. They'd throw money at charitable causes because that was easy and it made them feel good about themselves. But you never ever saw them roll up their own sleeves and serve dinner to the homeless. They'd buy the town fireworks so that their children would have those 4th of July memories- just so long as people knew who paid- and maybe that would help fast track the government permitting process with whatever projects they had in the pipeline. That's how wealthy folks think. They will give to charity but never selflessly- like a Christian person might. They are too busy and too distracted for church. They see no useful purpose- they see wasted time instead. They are too busy with all of their money, their possessions, and their entertainment needs to waste time in church. So they don't go. It's just not important to them- there is always something more important than practicing Christianity. I wondered if the rich, leftists in Sun Valley would claim 80% on that Christian poll. Probably. Here's the good news. They too, are saved by grace just like Hitler or Bundy.
Item last. While scanning the obituaries last night in the local paper, it suddenly struck me that virtually nobody in that valley has a Christian type church service. While that may not be certain proof- it tends to support my view that most of the people I know are dying in the absence of a community church. I knew about half of them personally, a couple of them very well. I found it interesting that the overwhelming majority of deceased persons and their families, perhaps 18 of 20, were either having a non-religious memorial (no church) service or no funeral service at all.
Things have certainly changed in my lifetime.
People don't want to be held responsible for their actions. They want what they want. The Supreme Court set aside their own 80% super majority Christian lean and decided one of those issues in Roe v Wade.
It's not just the 53.5 million abortions that women have been chalking up since the early 70's- it's the 53.5 million fathers who went along with that plan and should have had at least some say in the outcome. Sure there are a few frequent flyers or people that have had more than one abortion- but 80 million Christians landed on abortion as their method of birth control?
Recently the pro choice "Planned Parenthood" or "Non-Planned Parenthood" depending on the amount of responsibility you attach to unprotected sex- has been caught bartering and selling parts of fetuses.
Another proud moment for the left and those 8 of 10 Christians who dwell in the liberal life.
Have you ever noticed any articles ever- that are pro christian in any left leaning publications? I never do. It seems a little odd to me given that 80% of folks claim some form of Christianity. You'd think that the owners of such publications might read the same polls that I do and try to cater to their potential audience. Barack Obama claims to be a Christian. He went to church before he was elected President. Since that time, I think church has become inconvenient for him. I am willing to bet anyone, anywhere- any amount, my house even- that Barack Obama has played golf more times than he has attended church since becoming President.
I think you get my point. Our culture claims to be Christian yet I don't think most folks actually are and certainly not anywhere near 80%. I think any number of Christian scholars would agree with me.
The idea of God is inconvenient to most people. They see no utility in it. There is no chain of evidence other than the Bible, no historical marker denoting the Garden of Eden, no Arc of the Covenant sitting at the Smithsonian for them to gape at. So God becomes impossible to believe in for those educated types who are always demanding proof. They are busy anyway- being smart and acquiring things. They see no payoff- no immediate gratification in Christianity.
I was that way once. Completely self absorbed. I didn't understand the concept of unconditional love or the complete and utter fairness contained in the saved by grace concept. I didn't understand anything other than the "what's in this for me" angle because like most Americans- that's all I ever really thought about. Me. What's in it for me.
So that's who we really are. People too busy with their lives, too busy accumulating things, too busy to be bothered with some "fairy tale" written by men in desperate need of hope. They are too intelligent to believe in divine intervention with its lack of proof. They see no utility in faith, no usefulness in the great courage true believers possess. Please forgive me if I don't buy into this cultural delusion where 80% of people claim to be Christians.
The truth is- the Christians that I know act like Christians. They are not ashamed of who they are. They go to church, they help others, they try desperately to do the right things. And they are a super minority. In fact, had that poll claimed that 20% of Americans saw themselves as Christian- I might have believed that figure instead and I think that is far closer to the real truth anyway.
Real Christians understand that we are saved by grace. By unconditional love, love that is available to all men, even the Hitlers and the Ted Bundys of the world despite our overwhelming urge for justice, condemnation, and punishment. Were we saved by deeds alone, including lying about being Christians, it is doubtful that any of us would walk through the pearly gates.
Last Saturday, I wrote this piece. It was up for a bit and then I took it down. I wrote this because I was angry at all of these alleged "Christians", these people who claim to be Christian but do nothing Christian like. Many are self centered, money worshipping leftists- people who claim to be charitable so long as that charity comes at someone else's expense. These are people who do good deeds so long as they derive some self serving benefit like a resume' boost or personal accolade. People should do all of those charitable things, those good deeds, not because it serves their egos but because it's the right thing to do. So I took the blog down because I was angry and that angry tone leaked through. And I thought, how could I make my point and support the position? And then it hit me tonight.
I spent 25 years in the Wood River Valley. Without a doubt, the Ketchum- Sun Valley area is where the leftists live. It is where the biggest millionaires and billionaires fly in with their jets to spend a few weeks in their castles. It is where George Allen, Warren Buffet, and all of the money Gods meet to socialize and discuss ways of making even more money. There are literally thousands of trust funders in the Wood River Valley, old money, kids living on vast sums of inherited money. They inhabit every walk of life. Many of them get involved in local politics. Many are entitled and rude acting, sometimes I think they forget who earned the money in the first place. But there was one common denominator that had gone missing all of those years. I never, ever, saw them go to church or behave in a fashion that would lead you to believe that they were Christians. They will not talk about Christ. The topic is taboo. They simply didn't do that. Ever.
Now I have to be honest and tell you that I have been a sorry excuse for a Christian myself. I attended church rarely, usually only on Easter or Christmas. I attended at other times but it was infrequent at best. But I knew the people with money in that valley- people tend to talk about things like that- and if I knew a thousand millionaires and trust funders- I did not know 50 of them who attended church regularly. Which leads me back to the finish line and my aha moment. Of the hundreds, if not thousands of rich people that I knew- how come I never saw them in church nor did I ever hear them publicly support Christian endeavors? Were they hiding in the closet? Ashamed to be Christian?
The entitled rich were very often- completely self absorbed. Oh they flit about and do good deeds but not for the reasons that a Christian might. They'd throw money at charitable causes because that was easy and it made them feel good about themselves. But you never ever saw them roll up their own sleeves and serve dinner to the homeless. They'd buy the town fireworks so that their children would have those 4th of July memories- just so long as people knew who paid- and maybe that would help fast track the government permitting process with whatever projects they had in the pipeline. That's how wealthy folks think. They will give to charity but never selflessly- like a Christian person might. They are too busy and too distracted for church. They see no useful purpose- they see wasted time instead. They are too busy with all of their money, their possessions, and their entertainment needs to waste time in church. So they don't go. It's just not important to them- there is always something more important than practicing Christianity. I wondered if the rich, leftists in Sun Valley would claim 80% on that Christian poll. Probably. Here's the good news. They too, are saved by grace just like Hitler or Bundy.
Item last. While scanning the obituaries last night in the local paper, it suddenly struck me that virtually nobody in that valley has a Christian type church service. While that may not be certain proof- it tends to support my view that most of the people I know are dying in the absence of a community church. I knew about half of them personally, a couple of them very well. I found it interesting that the overwhelming majority of deceased persons and their families, perhaps 18 of 20, were either having a non-religious memorial (no church) service or no funeral service at all.
Things have certainly changed in my lifetime.
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