If Human Failure Is So Common, Why Don't We Ever Seem to Learn Anything From It?

I've spent this past week re-reading the nearly 2000 blogs I have posted over the past 6 years on Frankenstein Government. I was overwhelmed at times, primarily because I hadn't really realized just how much of myself and my personal life I had exposed to the world. I did that I think in a bid to be honest and to try and convey a sense that I am a fallible human being. Very often when we get things right- people expect that. However, when we get things wrong we sometimes pay too high a price, and the lesson stays with us. The judgers always heap a little extra shame and guilt on us. That additional sting seems to help cement our memories of a failure and sometimes we bury it as deep as we can.

You'd think that something as common as human failure would have taught our culture a great deal by now. However, as I examined everything that I read- including some of the material I had written-it became abundantly clear to me that we either don't understand human failure, deny it's existence, or claim failure's birthplace lies in the deeds of others.

For many years I used  a famous Isabel Paterson's quote from the "God of the Machine" as my subtitle. I used it because I believe that the vast majority of what is wrong in the world was captured within that quote.

“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.”

Just a few years ago, I set about the duty of applying that quote to everything that I believed was wrong in the world. Only on rare occasions could I find exceptions to that. Deliberate and un-remorseful criminal conduct certainly comes to mind. There are other exceptions for sure, but even Hitler as mentally ill as he most certainly was, thought he was doing mankind a favor by trying to "purify" races. In some sick and perverse way, Hitler's story is the story I want to tell. It is the story of human failure. It is a lesson we must all learn.

People fail. Time and time again, they fail to meet our expectations. That's what they do.

Our parents fail, our children fail, our friends fail, our spouses fail, our managers fail, our government and leadership fails, and yet somehow all of this failure still seems to disturb and disappoint us. It disappoints us because each of us carries these undisclosed expectations that we think others should possess and adhere to. That type of thinking in itself, is a wonderful example of failure.

Sometimes failure is unavoidable. Once in awhile, an entire stream of failures comes our way and there is simply nothing we can do about it, try as we might.

A few years ago, I used to work out at a small gym near my home. The gym was located in a strip mall which was "under engineered" meaning that the parking lot was too narrow and too long. Diagonal parking spots on both sides of the narrow lot often meant narrowly missing other cars as you backed out of your parking space. Shortly after buying my new car in the fall of 2012, I parked right in front of the gym's main doors. Before leaving one evening, I noted that there were two large, 3/4 ton trucks parked on both sides of my Elantra. As I tried to back out, I was doing so with my vision and view completely obstructed on both sides. I was struck by another motorist who was driving on the left or wrong side of the lot- directly behind the parked cars. Had he been driving on the opposing side- like everyone else does- we would never have swapped paint.

Now bear in mind that I have investigated thousands of accidents in my life- at least half of which were on private property. There are no state laws governing the flow of traffic in a parking lots yet people backing out of parking spaces are almost universally at fault in the eyes of insurance adjusters.This I know to be true and in fact- I actually placed my own wife at fault in a nearly identical accident 20 years earlier and I ate the 500 dollar deductible. With a 1000 dollar deductible looming- I thought it best to call the police this time around.

It took a Boise police officer over 20 minutes to arrive. By that time, both of the "obstructed view" truck owners had departed. I had sufficiently pissed off everyone, including the gym employees and others, who were trying to navigate through the lot because I wouldn't allow the vehicles to be moved. When the cop arrived, he refused to do anything and told me that the Boise Police do not investigate private property accidents. (Or anything else short of an occasional robbery or murder it seems) He didn't even bother snapping a photo. I did. When the adjusters got the accident- they immediately determined that I was at fault. Try as hard as I might by explaining that I do not possess x-ray vision nor do I expect people to be driving down the wrong side of the parking lot- I couldn't win. In fact, the only satisfaction that I ever received in my multiple calls with these guys was when I asked them once on a conference call whether or not all accidents without exception- involving a backing motorist-were always the fault of the backing motorist. Had they ever found an exception, I queried. There was a brief lull or silence as they mulled over the possibility that maybe there were exceptions however, their decision had already been made and thus they switched subjects and dug in.The net effect of all of this clamoring on deaf ears was that I paid for the 800 dollars worth of damage to my own car out of my own pocket- and since that time I have been surcharged about 180 bucks a year on my insurance premiums. So far my losses are nearing 1400 bucks.

So what went wrong? The lot had been poorly engineered and was too small to begin with. The other driver was on the wrong side of the lot driving directly behind parked cars and never mentioned why he hadn't seen my car backing up. I should not have parked where I did because I knew better. The Boise Police did nothing to document what happened because they are so woefully busy. (Up until I retired as Chief in my little corner of the world, I had made it mandatory that officers investigate all accidents- public or private) The insurance adjusters had made up their mind before I ever spoke to them. So a lot of people and various failures had to occur- before I could be held accountable in what amounts to really- a fairly petty event with a high price tag.

It took me nearly a year to get ok with this. Every time I drove by that little gym (it is now closed) I would be reminded of that evening. To be perfectly honest- I am still a little pissed about the way every one involved handled their roles and responsibilities. Had this been properly investigated, I am confident that I could take this to a small clams court and most likely win. It would have been nice to see a rational, non involved judge, take a look at this.

Throughout my life, I was never really prepared for failure. Who gives failure any thought? For so many years, failure was something that happened and I never really gave it any more thought than I didn't like it, or I was frustrated or angry about it. I don't think anybody in our culture is explaining this concept or teaching our children that people fail and that you are going to feel somewhat hostile when people fail to meet your needs or expectations. I often think that understanding human failure, had it been delivered effectively to me in my formative years, might have saved me a lot of useless anger and energy. Indeed as I ready myself to pay a 500 dollar penalty for not buying a health insurance policy that I cannot afford- I know that the penalty will be used to pay for someone else's insurance- just not mine. There is an insane amount of irony there- but I have already learned to accept it. I didn't create the world, I don't run the world, and I certainly don't pick the winners and losers.

The lesson here is that life and all of it's failures are going to visit you. If you can prepare and accept that simple concept- the concept that sometimes the best we can do as a society- is not very good at all then your expectations can be realistically and beneficially lowered. If you can grasp the idea that none of this is personal- that our culture is doing the best that it can and that it was not designed to victimize you one day in a skinny parking lot somewhere- then you may find yourself emotionally and spiritually light years ahead of your peers.

However, if you continue to criticize every mistake our culture makes then the opposite will be true. You will find yourself angry, resentful, and frustrated as the world consistently fails to meet your expectations, real or imagined.

Currently we have an entire society focused on being victims and building resentments. We can't even play a game where a coach's decision is not some hotly debated issue where people clamor to attach guilt or shame or punishment to a decision that doesn't turn out well. Everyone it seems- is more than willing to point out every one else's failures while declaring their own failures justified or keeping them under wraps.

Think about this. How many times have you read a blog, a thread, or comment wherein the writer declares how stupid everyone else is and in so doing by omission or default- then claims the intellectual high ground for themselves? That's the "everyone else is the problem, present company excluded" boilerplate.

Accepting failure as a consequence of being human seems trite. Yet virtually everywhere I go people are whining about the consequences of our multiple failures as a society- failures which are going to continue to mount and which will probably pick up in speed and intensity. That's one of the reasons I wanted to switch gears on this blog. There is no value or solution in pointing out the obvious or by trying to out yell opponents locked in some ridiculous debate over who is responsible for our current failures- the same type of failures pointed out by Isabelle Paterson in 1943. (Remember the plight of Japanese Americans the year before?)

By accepting the premise that most people are trying to do the right thing but will ultimately fail- we give ourselves an opportunity to practice acceptance and tolerance without throwing ropes over limbs, building a mountain of angry resentments, or chugging a six pack of beer every night. People fail. They've been doing it since the Garden of Eden. It's probably high time we started passing this lesson along, perhaps building a little tolerance and forgiveness along the way rather than adding to the non stop bitching that seems to be so prevalent everywhere.










   

With the Blurred Speed of an Oncoming Glacier

I've been working on this blog. Transitioning it into something original. Well, that's the goal anyway. As I examine the synonyms- the word "segue" comes to mind. So let me rant just a bit about stupid words and stupid contraptions before I get to the heart of the matter.

Several years ago, the word "segue" came into vogue. I vaguely remember someone on television using it once and overnight it seems- I began to hear people in my personal life using it all the time. It became a fad. Then someone started making some personal platform called a "Segway" where fat cops no longer needed to walk. Like we just couldn't live with out this device- http://www.amazon.com/Generic-i2-Personal-Transporter/dp/B0012Y5AVC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1423513948&sr=8-4&keywords=segway+transporter

People actually buy this thing. I still use my legs instead.

The Mayor used the word "segue" every time I heard her speak. People started using it because she used it. It was contagious. People are like that. If they hear some new word that they like such as "tarmac" they begin using it like they had known the word forever- rather than just admitting they had just seen it on the nightly news for the first time. For everything we know I suppose, there was a time when we didn't know it.

Ok, I feel a little better.

A few weeks ago, the great Seahawk receiver Steve Largent, was the guest speaker at our annual business meeting. Largent was very gracious and a class act. I didn't know that he had done a couple of terms in Congress for Oklahoma- but I had the idea that he might have run for office because he believes in public service. He faced an absolute onslaught of questions.

During the Q and A, I asked Steve Largent what was the greatest day of his life. He might have mentioned college, draft day, the NFL, or giant contracts, his best game, maybe the Hall of Fame. Instead, Steve Largent said the very best day of his life was January 4th, 1975. The day he married his wife.

I suppose if there was one bright spot in 25 years of law enforcement- the job taught me to listen to people, comprehend what they were saying, and then write with a high degree of accuracy- what they had to say in the form of a report. On the flight home from Seattle- I contrasted last year's speaker, Adam Carolla, with Steve Largent and I compared the message both of them had delivered. The difference was striking.

Striking not because one was better than the other- but because emotionally these two men are in completely different time zones. We are all taking a journey here and we have things to learn and overcome. Some folks get it, some folks will get it, and some folks will never get it. That is the really remarkable thing.

Had my life been cut short at 47- I would have landed in the "didn't get it" camp.

I managed people. I had hundreds, perhaps thousands of hours of management training. I took great pride on my knowledge of all facets of human resource law. I detested oppressive, controlling management. Yet in some bizarre twist of fate, I think I became what I detested most. Life has a way of finding people who need to be chewed up and tossed out and I was one of them. I had out stayed my welcome and as I look back on that life- I feel fortunate that I got as much time as I did. I probably deserved far less.

I have to tell you this. I work with people now who think the very same way that I once did. They believe they are vastly superior and intelligent and I enjoy just listening to them. I find it to be very entertaining actually and in some karmic sort of way- I am forced to watch it. They remind me of me!

Great adversity can be the Miracle-Gro of emotional evolution. It certainly was for me. As I look back- it was the very best thing that ever happened to me. The very best day of my life came on Oct. 9, 2007.

I think the great lesson I learned- the one I want to talk about here- is that for everything you know- there was a time when you didn't know it. That's it. That is all there ever was. It's an ongoing process.

For 6 years, I've been here writing about what is wrong with the world. I have a list of 75 blogs I read almost daily. Every author, without exception, talks about what is wrong with the world and mostly they are correct. They are trying to inform others. There is nothing wrong with that. I just don't want to do that anymore. I think the blogging world has it covered.

I'm looking for a little sanity. That's what I want this blog to become. A place of refuge where you might read something funny, useful, or insightful. Honest stuff. The things we get right. I don't know exactly what this will look like just yet- but I'm pretty sure what it's not going to look like. So please stay tuned- I've got a couple of crazy ideas and I am just nutty enough to try a couple of them.

"Bring Back the Mob"- And Other Fresh Ideas From Las Vegas

I am working out a couple of new blog ideas. Just trying to decide if I want to stay with Blogger or go to Wordpress. I thought I'd fill you in on the big Vegas trip this past week.

The trip from Boise to Las Vegas is 610 miles. It can be accomplished in 9 hours thanks to a new 80 MPH Idaho speed limit and a forgiving Nevada Highway Patrol- which will let you do 9 over the speed limit before personally greeting you. I passed 5 or 6 cops while doing 79 in a 70- and I hardly rated a glance. That's pretty decent.

I travel to Vegas 3 or 4 times a year. I lived there once for a little over a year. Nothing will get you over your addictions like living in Las Vegas. People are still smoking in casinos, the strip clubs rarely change and are as busy as ever, the hookers still work the bars, and the bell desk at any hotel can tell you where to get your smoke. People were walking around Fremont Street drinking giant drinks out of ridiculously sized glasses, a few of them very drunk. Fremont Street has become the place to hustle. There were probably ten costumed men or women, most of them nearly naked, hustling people for photos and tips. I watched as a pair of men, dressed as a cowboy and an Indian Chief with their chests and butt cheeks fully exposed, hustled women for photos. It's so gaudy and decadent that you can't help but feel a little sick as you watch all of it. It's a sad commentary. Bourbon Street in New Orleans, except for Fat Tuesday, looks absolutely civilized compared to Fremont Street in Vegas.

My brother and I played golf in Boulder City (for 21 bucks with a cart!) and we did some bowling. The weather was mid 60's but it rained a lot.

On Tuesday night, I had a hooker hit me up (looking for a date, sweetheart?) at the Horseshoe as I walked past the bar. Nice clothes always screams "tourist with money" and the hookers zoom in on that look. They generally work in pairs although this particular configuration was comprised of 3 black women in their early 30's. I cannot tell you how many thefts and robberies are related to hookers. In New Orleans, I once had a friend who was picked up by two women and taken to a hotel where their boyfriends robbed him. He had not reported it to the police of course- not because he was married but because of his occupation. There is nobody more vulnerable than a married man or a man with lots to lose- and hookers can be an unmerciful class of people. They know which "clients" or marks will never report the crime.

I spent most of my time lounging around the sports and race book where I like to bet on horse racing. I get to know people where ever I go. I like to chat people up. At the Fremont, I met a gal about the same age as me who has been writing sports and racing tickets for 32 years. I am always in awe of people who can land a job and tolerate it for 30 or 40 years. So...I just had to interrogate this gal a little bit.

I was complaining to her about a breakfast I had paid 16 bucks for at the Horseshoe which wasn't even fit for human consumption. A couple of very skinny and burnt pieces of bacon, burnt hash browns, and a couple of scrambled eggs with some toast on a plastic plate. This was 8.95. Coffee and tax was another 3.50 or so and after a 3 dollar tip- I was out the door for 16 bucks. In the old days, gamblers never paid for meals because they were always given away complimentary (comped) by the casino which looked at meals and hotel rooms as a form of overhead in exchange for a gamblers money. They weren't horrible, chintzy meals with subpar ingredients either.

I told her that I hated the "new" Las Vegas. I hate corporate Vegas. I hate tracking cards. I hate having to pay top dollar for a dog shit breakfast and getting gouged 125 bucks for a crappy hotel room at the Fremont just because it's Friday on Super Bowl weekend. In the old days, they took care of us. The rooms were free, the meals were free, and the bosses knew exactly how long we spent playing and how much money we spent. They didn't need tracking cards to do their jobs. I hate "corporate" Las Vegas and I blame Steve Wynn and the rest of these elite corporate bastards and bean counters who have stolen every last penny that they can get their greedy little hands on.

At this point in the conversation, she let out a giant laugh. She says, "Give me the mob any day over this bunch." The mob took care of people and employees. We had it good back then. The mob was skimming but so what? These fuckers have robbed more people and far worse- than the mob ever did. "Bring back the mob" she said.

That's when it hit me. She was right. I grew up in a mob run Las Vegas. They were gentlemen compared to this bunch. It was so much better back before the corporatist Steve Wynn and his giant ideas turned Vegas into some family playground which was nothing but bullshit; bullshit designed to get into the pockets of parents while introducing their children to a new, future playground. We had good hotel rooms that were free, good meals that were free, and we didn't have a street full of naked hustlers. Metro cops would have taken care of that. No self respecting, decent family anywhere, should ever bring their kids to Las Vegas unless it's to show them what not to do with their lives.

On Friday night I watched three comedians and the headliner, Joe Rogan. Rogan thinks like I do. I say that because I've been on this rock longer than Rogan- in essence- I was here first. Just before the show started, a couple in front of me heard me mention that I was from Boise. They said they had come down specifically for this show because they loved Rogan. Me too. I asked them if they had driven or if they had flown in. They had flown. Doing the quick 600 buck airline math in my head- I said I had driven there for about 30 bucks worth of gas. That leaves 570 bucks spread over 12 hours- the time it takes me to drive there and back rather than wasting my time submitting to searches and hoping flights aren't delayed or cancelled. It's an easy trade for me. I pay myself something on the order of 46 bucks an hour to listen to the guitar god, Eric Clapton on full blast. I actually blew a speaker this trip.

Rogan was good. I think I liked the first comedian better but I'll be damned if I can remember his name. The trip home yesterday was uneventful- 9 MPH over the limit and I passed 5 bored cops, two on traffic stops.

Maybe I will just change the name of this blog rather than go through all of that other BS of setting a new one up... I'll keep you posted.





    

It Was a Good Run- The Sunday Collage

It's time. Learning when to say when is a process. I am getting better at it.



A little over 6 years ago, I started this blog after repairing my life in New Orleans. I left New Orleans and I landed in the little community of Santa Ynez just NW of Santa Barbara in the golden state. It was the fall of '08. I owe a few debts- none bigger than the one I owe this gal.

'08, Ft. Worth, Cowgirl Hall of Fame

I began to write. Cultivating an audience is hard work. I promoted my little blog where I could. Some places like "naked capitalism" are shamelessly arrogant and protective. (just read their commenting rules) Anything they do is justifiable one way or the other- even taking advertising money from the enemy. (bankers) Other blogs, like ZeroHedge, encourage commenters and links. In short, they promote free speech. They were very helpful. Many of you came from ZH. Some blogs are just nasty, narrow minded echo chambers wherein the readers simply ridicule others. I wrote a hastily constructed piece once on the "Daily Paul" about being a cop and after receiving over 100 hateful comments- I simply had to delete it. You cannot make a habit of surrounding yourself with hateful, ridiculing people. They will bring out the worst in you.

Jim at Asylum Watch has been a loyal supporter. I thank you for that. I feel as though Jim and I both became libertarians together- on line. There are others, none finer than Mark W., or Peter, Greg, or Irish. Mom. Or Troy.

There's a little piece in all of us that thinks, "It's alright to have an opinion and express it." We are like fisherman. In the ocean that is the internet, we bloggers cast our lines. We never know what we'll find on the end of that line. Most of my experiences have been good. In 6 years, I've deleted less than 10 comments.

Thar Can Only be One! Troy is very photogenic.

Frankly, I think I have just run out of gas. I am tired of talking about a crooked government which caters exclusively to the aristocracy. Or listening to partisan hacks talk about parties like there is a solution in that. I am tired of watching conspiracy theory turn into conspiracy fact. Tired of debating with people who stubbornly refuse to accept obvious truths. It's like debating with atheists. No amount of evidence, short of an appearance from God, will change their closed minds. Eventually, everyone gets trenched in with their beliefs. You either trade facts, insults, or pleasantries but mostly you hope that at the very least- you plant seeds. Maybe they take hold, maybe they do not.

I am evolving away from this. I think that's the way it should be.

One of my favs

I will probably blog somewhere else. I have an idea that I am going to go with uplifting, comical, happy, and hopeful themes that inspire people. If I have learned one thing from reading 100 pieces a day- it's that there is no shortage of cynical, disheartened writers out here. I don't want to be like that. The internet is completely out of balance. Read 20 blogs and you most likely will read 20 critical pieces. It's as though anything good is ignored or doesn't exist. I'd like to bring a little balance back. There is no way I can do that writing here under this title. I am part of that problem and quite honestly, I am tired of writing about government and I feel fairly certain that people are tired of reading about it. My numbers have fallen- from 1500 hits a day down below 500. If I read or write one more article about Obamacare- I think I'm going to be ill.

Every once in awhile in my old policeman days, under just the right circumstances, I'd tell some smart ass that I arrested that it didn't take any special effort to be an asshole. The world has an over supply. Being a decent human being takes effort. It takes discipline, restraint, and commitment. It takes passionate parenting. Saying nasty things? Anybody can do that. That's not special. It's no different here.

Portlandia, '12

Uplifting, creative writing has to be cultivated. It is difficult to find just the right subject matter and then write about it in a way that keeps people reading and entertained. I know there is a market for it, a vast space- and I know that I'll have to improve my writing to make the best of it. So I am committed to that vision and although I have an idea of what I want to do- I haven't created a new blog yet. I am going to mull it over for awhile and eventually come up with a new idea.

I will post a forwarding link here at FG in the coming weeks once I get situated. I am gonna take a week off and play golf in Vegas with my brother in the near term. Jan 25-31. We are looking for players.

So this is where I say "thanks." Thanks for all of your support, your passion, your beliefs. Thanks for stopping by and taking time out of your day. I am humbled and encouraged by folks like you. You've made the whole effort worthwhile and I wish every one of you the very best.

It was a good run!

Brian

The Greatest Story Never Told- The Sunday Collage

In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.
Alexis de Tocqueville

Critical thinking is the study of clear, reasoned thinking. All things are considered.

We no longer employ critical thinking nor do most folks understand what that is. They simply react favorably to a situation that benefits them or unfavorably- if they find themselves on the losing team. That is as deep as most folks get. I believe this is because critical thinking takes effort and investigation. It takes research, reading, comprehension skills, and time. It takes reasoning and good judgment. All speech is purposeful and critical thinkers understand that concept.

In a fat, lazy, country- people don't want to exert any additional physical energy. They want a pill to make them skinny. It's no different with their intellectual energy. Rather than do any independent thinking- intellectually lazy people- want someone who they perceive as credible to do their thinking for them. People then pick out those arguments that they think make sense- and they offer that up to bolster their ego and belief systems. That way they are free from all of the intellectual work and time that critical thinking demands. That's why millions of people drink like fish and watch television. That's America. Our government loves fat, lazy people who pay taxes, pull levers, and don't ask questions. Government must love our culture.

If that sounds arrogant- I'm sorry. There is simply no other way of describing a fat, lazy nation that looks for instantaneous and miracle cures for everything- without having to put forth any effort whatsoever.

What I'd like to do today, among a few other things, is to contrast the Affordable Care Act v compulsory auto liability insurance.  People often cite government's intrusion into the auto liability arena as precedent and justification for the ACA. I am so sick of hearing that lame ass argument- that I thought I would give you some cannon fodder the next time you hear some statist offer up that faulty piece of non thinking. More on that in a minute.

A few days ago, a friend of mine posted an anti-ACA type of post on Facebook. I commented that I have grown weary of people who use compulsory auto liability laws as precedent and justification while defending Obamacare. Here then is a reply to my post. Critical thinking cannot occur until you seek to understand all sides of an issue. When you don't, this is the kind of thinking that we see. I believe, more or less, that this is the thinking of millions of people receiving subsidized ACA insurance. This is the shallow end of the pool.

The quote from the FB thread: (I have added numbers to the sentences)

(1)You can choose to have health insurance, just like you can choose to not carry car insurance. (2)They are the same, but there are consequences now to not having either one. (3)With car insurance you can go to jail, or pay a fine, or have your driver's license revoked. (4)With this health insurance, it's as simple as an added fee to taxes. (5) In truth, there always was a penalty to not having health insurance, it's just that the uninsured themselves haven't had to pay it. (6)With everybody always bellyaching about "having to pay for other people" it baffles me that now we still have so many people bellyaching over paying for themselves. (7) There's never going to be a situation that makes everybody happy. (8) That much is clear. (9) I understood all the protesting when this first came out, because it was something new and people don't like change....but now, more than a year later, the shock should have worn off and folks should realize it's no different than any other rise in expenses. (10) When something happens and free healthcare is not available, you're gonna be glad you've got that health insurance just like you are when you have a mishap with your full coverage car insurance, regardless of how many months you had to pay for it "without using it".

Let's go through her comment, line by line, and try to paraphrase and determine what she is trying to say.

(1) Even though it's the law- you don't actually have to comply with it. (Not the best advice)
(2) Car insurance and health insurance are the same and you will suffer the consequences if you don't buy in. (Those two items and their objectives are entirely different)
(3) These are the penalties for non compliance. (Under the ACA, the penalty is better than the product)
(4) An added fee to taxes? (Good gawd, we are now calling taxes, "fees"- it was actually neither)
(5) The uninsured haven't had to pay a penalty. (Bet me- we call it bankruptcy)
(6) My absolute favorite line. It baffles me that people don't want to pay for other folks' insurance- or pay 200% increases for themselves. I am laughing as I write this, really.
(7) Therefore, this is the best of all of the bad solutions. (No actually, there were far better solutions)
(8) Any fool knows this. (I am so smart I shouldn't have to point out the obvious)
(9) People were upset because this was something new- that's really the only issue- now get over it!
(10) You're going to be happy because when something bad happens- you'll be covered. (Never mind that the service is so over priced that you are paying ten times what it should actually cost)

The insurance lobby was very effective when lobbying state legislatures many years ago- and lawmakers dutifully set about the task of writing laws mandating compulsory auto liability insurance. Obviously those laws, with mandatory coverage minimums, were done by the states. While there were other solutions available- it was certainly in the best interests of the insurance industry to cast the widest net. Like it or not, liability insurance is here to stay. Personally, I don't think government has any right to force us to buy products in the marketplace, but that argument is not where I want to go today. Liability insurance primarily protects property. It is avoidable- meaning that you can find other forms of transportation and avoid the costs associated with compulsory insurance.

There are still millions of uninsured motorists running around- which proves the world did not invert when people didn't comply with the law. Instead, most of us carry insurance that protects our property and we carry uninsured and under insured motorist coverage which protects us against giant medical bills.
The objectives of compulsory liability insurance are entirely different than the objectives of health insurance- the most important of which was that health insurance companies were on the verge of total collapse in 2009 and desperately needed a bail out of their own.

In late 2008 all the way through 2009, the American economy lost 10 million jobs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_losses_caused_by_the_Great_Recession

The greatest story never told- is the one where 10 million people lost their jobs and insurance and they didn't come back for insurance. Millions of people, healthy people, simply opted out of purchasing health insurance. Unhealthy people had to stay in. This created one of the biggest balance sheet distortions ever experienced by health insurance companies. Like banks, they needed a bailout. There was simply no way that the American people would stomach another taxpayer bailout- thus politicians devised the sneakiest bailout of all time and they called it the "Affordable Care Act." The affordable care act was always a lie. It was conceived to force back in- all of those healthy people and place them onto the asset side of the ledger again.  Government always uses clever names when seizing our assets. In doling out fines- the government calls that something cutesy and palatable like "shared responsibility." Obamacare was the greatest stealth bailout ever conceived and the democrats even managed to look like champions of the poor and pick up a few million votes in the process.

Of course it was nothing more than a con job- but the government knows that they can blow smoke up the public's ass because the public lacks critical thinking skills. In fact, most folks buy into the "shared responsibility" meme offered up by the democrats. Not only that- but the government has been quite successful in hijacking the narrative and pitting the subsidized side (D) against the unsubsidized (R) side. It is nothing more than a distraction from the truth. Government climbed into bed with bankers and insurers long ago- they win- and we the people lose. The best part is that most people have bought into their bullshit. They don't care what argument you fall for just so long as you keep turning your money over to them.

People buy into those ridiculous narratives they've been selling and that's why we have threads like the one I posted above. I am sure every one of you has seen something similar.

I am in awe that of all of the fantastic writing about the illegal activities of bankers by people like Matt Taibbi and Yves over at "naked capitalism" that the one story that has never been investigated or reported on is the one where the health insurance lobby came crawling on their knees and received the ACA as a bailout complete with a government backstop in the event they suffered mounting losses once the plan was implemented.

Why do you think nobody in Congress read the bill? Because they knew what it really was- a stealth bailout. It didn't concern them nor were they going to be subjected to it. They didn't care.

Let's just hope the life insurers don't come calling for a bailout and lobby Congress for a law making us purchase life insurance and naming the IRS as the beneficiaries.

Here's a great piece from 2009 in the L.A. Times before the final ACA draft. Nobody calls the ACA what it really was- but even back in 2009 everyone knew where the money trail led. backhttp://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-healthcare-insurers24-2009aug24-story.html

I have never lost sight of who the real villains are. I don't blame people who need healthcare and can't get it. I understand survival. I understand people who are desperately trying to remove pain while improving and extending their lives. They don't particularly care where the money comes from just so long as they have access to healthcare. I get all of that.

I'm not falling for the part where one political side wants to use me to play kickball with the other side. We all want reasonable access to affordable healthcare and unfortunately- we all can't get it because a co-opted Congress works for the people who write them checks instead of consumers. They don't represent "We the people" anymore. They haven't represented us for years- even though they lie and say they do. They probably believe their own bullshit.

One day, if critical thinking ever returns to this culture, we might have a conversation about making health insurance illegal. Perhaps we could even return to a system where an actual buyer and a seller agree on a pre determined price. A market place where bloated middlemen are severed from the process. A competitive and fair marketplace. All of that is fantasy of course- until honesty and leadership make a giant come back in our political process. Honesty and leadership can't make a comeback until people realize why they were important in the first place. Until then- the leaderless group exercise continues.

We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.
-Ayn Rand

Blow Off Tops and Washed Out Bottoms, Is the Gold Rally Finally Here?

Sometimes you don't need a road map to see where things are going. I snipped this paragraph from a CNN piece on the Swiss National Bank's decision to let it's currency trade freely after imposing a peg on it some 3 years ago.

The snip:

However, in an effort to ensure investors don't get too excited about swapping euros or dollars for francs, the central bank also slashed interest rates to -0.75%, down from -0.25%.
"It's like a tax on people holding money in Swiss francs," said Simon Smith, the chief economist at FxPro in London.

Instant haircut for swiss savers.

You want real currency price discovery? There it is. The shit is so worthless, we are going to charge you three quarters of a point just to hold it. Think about how outrageous that is. Swiss currency is trash. They want people to remove money from the bank.

Two months ago, I noted that silver traded down to 14.12. I bought nearly 100 ounces which averaged my overall holdings price down to about 21.00. That bottom was so low that silver immediately rallied nearly 25% and it is holding around 17. Gold rallied off the 1150 lows and it is up nearly 100 bucks.

The gold bull is back, Bill F says so. http://investingchannel.com/article/331384/Bill-Fleckenstein-The-Bull-Market-In-Gold-Has-Resumed#.VLnrVNxGmdM

Wait until the European Central Bank announces their QE program in less than 10 days.

The DJIA's blow off top occurred just over the 18,000 level. Without QE, the market simply cannot rally further. They have squeezed every last ounce of credibility out of the "buy the dip" theme. Commodities are all down- even cattle futures are starting to deteriorate. Dr. Copper is toast. Housing starts are down as well. Without a consumer feeling confident in "make believe equity" and buying worthless shit with Helocs- I don't know where any potential rally can come from. Last but not least, the oil bust is wiping out capital expenditures, market caps, equity, and jobs. The first oil patch bankruptcy was announced earlier this week.

I am liking this year a lot thus far.

You can't put money in the bank, you can't buy bonds paying less than 2%, you can't buy equities that have topped out after a 6 year, QE induced rally. You can't go long commodities or even currencies since we all know where they are headed.

What does that leave? Gold and silver.

I read a report earlier this week that said that all of the known gold in the world will have been mined in 20 years. Gold is a finite resource. We are well beyond "peak gold and silver" as all of the major miners are desperately mining and looking for new assets.

The bottoms are in for now and I see nothing to impede their rise. Gold 1300 this month. Silver 18.00 this month. I feel confident buying at these levels. I might even buy a little platinum while I sit back and watch the currency wars fireworks take place. Hopefully, the 3 and 1/2 year bear market is finally over in the precious metals markets now that the central banks have loaded up on gold.

Not coincidentally these past two weeks- the dollar fell against the yen and the Swiss franc. However, we have the European Central Bank announcing their own QE program later this month- so we'll see if that announcement has already been priced in.

I think it has.

Learning Shit the Hard Way- The Sunday Collage

Today I am going to beat myself up a little bit. If you are uncomfortable with grown men telling on themselves- then you will probably not want to read on. Having gotten that piece of business out of the way, let's start here...

Growing up in Montana meant spending my entire life surrounded by guns and hunting. I think I can safely say that as a young man, I was obsessed with hunting and shooting. In my spare time, that's all I did. I can't even begin to estimate how many rounds I've put down range. So I've spent a lot of time around guns.

In my early 20's, I simply gave up on hunting. Honestly, I was tired of dealing with posted land, hordes of hunters, and cleaning things I never ate. When I entered law enforcement school in the early 80's, shooting handguns became a regularly scheduled event. Police officers shoot a lot. 

I think as I look back, the worst year of my life was probably 1987. Everything went wrong that year. A friend of mine said my moon was in retrograde Mercury that year or some other nonsense. To be quite honest, sometimes I think I was just unprepared for adulthood. Or maybe I'm just a knucklehead, a little A.D.D., and sometimes a little careless. So whatever blend of cosmic soup I am- came calling one afternoon on the firing range in 1987. I was 26 years old that year and I was at peak cockiness.

It was the first day of a three day training exercise where we would each shoot a 1000 rounds or so. We had been shooting all day on various courses with an FBI swat team leader. There were about 30-40 police officers in attendance. We were shooting Beretta 92's in 9mm which was a relatively new handgun in the 80's. We had shot our way through some targets and combat courses and I could feel my action and slide sticking on my Beretta during the early afternoon exercise. I hadn't experienced any jams or stovepipes yet and I didn't have time to clean the gun. So instead of just field stripping the gun and cleaning it- I sprayed a bunch of lubricant on the gun, Break Free, and inserted a full magazine. I racked a round into the chamber which cocks the hammer on a 92. That's when it happened. Instead of simply using the de-cocking lever to let the hammer down- I tried to hold on to it with my thumb while pulling the trigger- a very bad habit I had learned while shooting .45 caliber Colt 1911's. The hammer slipped because of the Break Free I had sprayed everywhere and the gun went off. I had the barrel pointed at the ground and downrange thankfully, and the round struck a couple of feet in front of me. I had a few fellow cops standing around me-who all seemed to vanish in an instant. About 40 heads turned my way.

There is nothing more embarrassing than an accidental discharge unless of course it is an accidental discharge in front of 40 of your peers and the FBI swat team. I have never felt so lonely as I did in the moments right after that happened.   

To say that I was teased unmercifully for the next two days is an understatement. The FBI swat leader called me "Quick Draw." He said anytime he was on a mission he wanted me along because he knew I would get the first shot off. During camouflaged operations they handed me a white sheet. I can take some teasing. By the third day though, I had had enough. There is a line somewhere between funny and malicious and I'm not sure when and where it gets crossed. I blew off the final afternoon's exercise. I was starting to get a little pissed.

In those days, I was very competitive. I hated to lose, or do stupid things, and I had a big ego. I was one of those kinds of guys that when I screwed up- it made everyone else a little happy- if you know what I mean. Let's just say nobody shed a tear for me. I took a healthy dose of shame and ridicule, a shit sandwich if you will, and I ate it back then. I have tried very hard not to order that menu item again.

Last week at work, I had a dual cargo shipment that had to leave at night. Both shipments had 10 boxes on them. One shipment was going to Oregon by ground, the other shipment was going to Arizona by air. I mixed them up and sent each shipment through the wrong carrier. It was a careless mistake. I wished I had a decent excuse but I don't. I was in a hurry to go home and I just didn't pay attention. The mistake cost my employer 1200 bucks and it has caused me some embarrassment. Right after it happened- my boss said that from now on shipments will be returned to our dock and labelled before shipping. This is a tremendous waste of time and a pain in the ass for the other drivers. Punishing co-workers because I am an idiot did not sit too well with me. I told the boss it would never happen again. The change in policy was not needed because making serious mistakes is how people learn. It is most certainly- how I learn.

Do you think there's one chance in hell this will ever happen again? Of course not. I could be on my death bed comparing dimensions and weights with bills of lading or talking to the shipper before I go through this embarrassment again. That's not to say I am incapable of making other mistakes, in fact I know myself well enough to say that I will in fact, make other mistakes. It's a pattern that's been evolving now for 54 years and I am beginning to think that it is something beyond coincidence or bad luck.

For all of my faults, and they are plenty, failing to learn from my mistakes is not one of them. So whether it's getting embarrassed in front of 40 of your peers- or getting embarrassed at work in front of your co-workers (not to mention the shipper who I owe an apology to) I learn rather quickly. I no longer possess an ego that can't take responsibility for the fact that I screw up from time to time.

The point of telling you all of this- is simply that people screw up and make mistakes. Feeling shame and embarrassment cures about 95% of the problem immediately.  It isn't the screw up that really matters- unless you injure or hurt someone else- but rather how management reacts to those incidents. That's the real point of all of this self disclosure today.

I'm talking about innocent, well intentioned mistakes- not careless, deliberate, or malicious acts which indeed call for more serious discipline.

For all of the injuries and deaths that occur on shooting ranges each year- law enforcement- will never say..."Ya know these guns are dangerous. Let's quit carrying them and stop using them. Let's get rid of them so that we may never suffer a potential injury on the range."

Making a knee jerk management decision based on the actions of one knucklehead is almost always wrong. Evaluating policy, training, and management's role when a mistake happens allows managers to focus on the appropriate issues once they are satisfied that they are not to blame. Determining what type of mistake was made and then determining the appropriate response- well that is simply the hallmark of experienced, sound, and wise management- and getting harder to find. These days- management never takes responsibility for their role when mistakes are made- which quite often, is the result of inadequate training. In Idaho, we have kind of a sociopathic management style brought about by our right to work status. Here the employee is always wrong and easily fired with no repercussions because of our "at will" status. A lot of good people have gotten screwed over by sociopathic managers in Idaho.

People make mistakes, that's what we do. Back in the day, I used to tell the press that as a Chief I made mistakes everyday. I could have always been a little kinder, a little gentler, a little more empathetic. Every situation was an opportunity for improvement and I like to think that I was a work in progress and getting better. Today I have to be careful when admitting mistakes-it almost looks like I am celebrating them or at worst- kind of glib or flippant when they happen. I've reached a level of acceptance and responsibility that I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with.

I wish I had known all of this when I was a young guy and then I think, "No, I think it's better this way. What's the point of life if we don't learn anything from it?"

I think everybody has to learn shit the hard way. I am still waiting to meet the person who doesn't- ya know that guy that enjoys being told what to do and then does it. If you meet him please tell me about him-I have a lot of questions to ask.