Something really odd happened at work yesterday. It borders on insane
and I'll tell you this- it makes no sense to me. The company that I
work for, deep in the heart of America's first right to work state, gave
us a 20% raise. From 10 dollars an hour to 12.
They did not have to do this.
I
am still in a state of shock. I didn't have to beg anyone, get some
glowing review or show up daily and kiss anyone's ass. This is a company
that will work you 14, 16, 19 hours a day without paying overtime and
does so frequently.
Perhaps they have acquired some
level of corporate shame. I'm not sure. I didn't give our team a 5%
chance against the corporate oligarchy.
One of the
reasons government "work" has become so popular is that it shelters you
from the reality of life in private, corporate America. In Idaho, the
corporate oligarchy is at it's strongest. Not only are we in a right to
work state, but employers in Idaho can fire you without cause,
explanations, or due process. There is no recourse either. Your former
employer will fight tooth and nail at the unemployment hearing also.
Oh
how I miss government "work." I can't go back because the great Satan,
the public retirement system here, will stop your checks. PERSI has a
strangle hold on guys like me. You have to leave the state to find
government "work" elsewhere. That option, for family reasons, just isn't
open to me right now.
(I put government "work" in
quotation marks for my father who still maintains that government and work are mutually exclusive terms)
And the good jobs
in Boise, those are the ones that pay 20 bucks an hr. and up, those jobs
are reserved for the insiders. I don't care how well your
qualifications stack up, or that your resume' was written by Tony
Robbins, or that your cover letter was crafted by Ernest Hemingway.
Everyone has some friend or shoestring relative that needs a leg up and
if you know the right people here- that's how you get hired. Ohhh...
they advertise the job and pretend that the hiring process is
competitive- but it isn't. Posting a well paying job in Boise is simply a
legal formality. The hiring or the completion of the short list- that
has already been done well in advance of the job posting.
That's
how the new plantation operates. It is always "who you know" that gets
you hired for the good jobs. On the lower rungs or the jobs that nobody
really wants, you become a part of the employer grist mill. Work your
ass off for chump change and no benefits, allow management to violate
half of the employee manual without ever complaining, and keep your
mouth shut or suffer the consequences. It's like a sheep factory here.
Now
I guarantee you that some smug person out there will think they are
immune to this or "There's no way this could happen to me, I am too
(insert smug adjective here: smart, valuable, ambitious) to have that
happen to me."
Until reality gives you a swift kick in
the ass. If you haven't received this whopping dose of reality yet-
chances are very good that you are simply lucky or too young. Both of those things will change.
Now
I don't need to work and that is something I am truly grateful for.
That is freedom. That's what 25 years worth of government work gets you-
at least for now. Don't think for a second that I am unaware of the
millions of taxpayers who are pissed off at the government sector. When I
signed on back in 1982- it wasn't that way. In fact, I worked most of
my first year for free. Did you?
So walking away from
some nine or ten dollar an hr. job is an option for me and I like to
keep my options open. I am in awe of what I have encountered since I
"retired." We have a corporate mentality in Idaho where the employer is
always right, due process is some ridiculous concept, and management
will can you on a whim.
What corporation would not want
to come here and operate under those conditions? Even if you have an
escalating pay structure to lure employees, you can simply wait until
they all reach the top rung and replace them with cheaper workers. What
robber baron could not exploit that situation? Idaho is a dream come
true for the corporate oligarchy. I am surprised Boise is not the size
of Seattle yet.
I had planned on quitting my job in
the next month or so. Pushing 500 pound gun safes up narrow stairways
for 10 bucks an hr. isn't exactly a dream come true nor is it a job that
50ish type people should probably be doing. Ibuprofen and I have formed
a strong partnership. People aren't exactly beating down the door
trying to get hired here.
But I'll tell you something.
That two bucks an hr. raise just might have bought some goodwill and
loyalty from me- if for no other reason- because they didn't have to do
it. That's the kind of goodwill that makes me think- maybe I should
explore other options with this outfit. Maybe they have developed a
conscience, maybe some corporate shame. On the new plantation, things
like that don't happen every day.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
How One Great Lie Spawned a National Debate
The other day, I was engaged in the usual back and forth banter with a friend of mine who thinks Obama is a great President and of course the default position is- "well even if he's not- it's George Bush's fault."
This is the liberal argument. We've all heard it. So this is nothing new.
Yesterday, Rick Santelli (on live television) pulled the trigger on the greatest lie ever told to the US public. That the economy is doing fine. This is the biggest crock of shit ever proffered forth as fact but why can't America see it? Why do they insist on telling us that everything is fine?
Why do we all argue ad nauseum about this?
Because the people in power, the rich and elite, corporate America, Congress and the President are all personally invested in the great lie. Every card carrying and faithful liberal in America is invested in the great lie.
Here is the great lie. If you conjure up 2 trillion dollars in stimulus, add 4 trillion dollars in QE programs, continue to offer zero interest rates to banks while delivering all of this excess cash to Wall St., corporate America, and the rich and elite- where is it going to go?
It's going to flow into the only investment in America with any kind of return. Equity markets. Equity markets are on the verge of tripling. The DJIA triples at 18, 900 from the March '09 low of 6300.
Do any of you honestly believe this is sustainable?
The make believe equity in the stock market is the same make believe equity every one had in their homes before that bubble burst.
If I was fully invested in this market right now- I'd sell every fucking thing I had in it and I'd run like I hit the lottery because I gotta tell ya- I never made 200% in 5 years on anything. That is a 40% annualized rate and the only way that can continue is if the FED conjures up another 6 trillion of so over the next 5 years. Then we might see DOW 33,000.
Remember when you make 40%- somebody has to lose 40%. It's the Frankenstein Government version of matter- matter cannot be created or destroyed. For you to win means someone else has to lose. I mean if you write covered calls on a stock, I buy them and call away your stock after I make 40%- that is how the economic matter principle works. So who are the counter parties- who is losing in this 6 trillion dollar experiment?
Perhaps the FED will conjure up another 6 trillion after another 6 trillion and then we can have DOW 49,000. The truth is, it's all an illusion and none of us knows when this stupidity will end. But it will end. It has to.
Until then, we will have the great national debate from their side which is fully invested in the great lie and points to it every time they need an example- and the rest of us who understand that just because you conjure up a visual aid to help you with your argument- doesn't mean it's true.
Yesterday, Santelli while doing battle with the leftist media and Wall St sycophants, used the same argument that I have been using for 5 years.
If this economy is so fucking great, why does the FED keep pumping billions and trillions into it? Let's stop zero interest rates and QE right now- and see just how great this economy is. At that precise moment- everyone will lose their money, their equity will be wiped away, the left will be forced to admit they and theirs didn't solve anything and that nothing has changed.
We all pray for that moment because I am so sick of arguing with the leftists and everyone else invested in the great lie.
I can almost hear the howling now.
This is the liberal argument. We've all heard it. So this is nothing new.
Yesterday, Rick Santelli (on live television) pulled the trigger on the greatest lie ever told to the US public. That the economy is doing fine. This is the biggest crock of shit ever proffered forth as fact but why can't America see it? Why do they insist on telling us that everything is fine?
Why do we all argue ad nauseum about this?
Because the people in power, the rich and elite, corporate America, Congress and the President are all personally invested in the great lie. Every card carrying and faithful liberal in America is invested in the great lie.
Here is the great lie. If you conjure up 2 trillion dollars in stimulus, add 4 trillion dollars in QE programs, continue to offer zero interest rates to banks while delivering all of this excess cash to Wall St., corporate America, and the rich and elite- where is it going to go?
It's going to flow into the only investment in America with any kind of return. Equity markets. Equity markets are on the verge of tripling. The DJIA triples at 18, 900 from the March '09 low of 6300.
Do any of you honestly believe this is sustainable?
The make believe equity in the stock market is the same make believe equity every one had in their homes before that bubble burst.
If I was fully invested in this market right now- I'd sell every fucking thing I had in it and I'd run like I hit the lottery because I gotta tell ya- I never made 200% in 5 years on anything. That is a 40% annualized rate and the only way that can continue is if the FED conjures up another 6 trillion of so over the next 5 years. Then we might see DOW 33,000.
Remember when you make 40%- somebody has to lose 40%. It's the Frankenstein Government version of matter- matter cannot be created or destroyed. For you to win means someone else has to lose. I mean if you write covered calls on a stock, I buy them and call away your stock after I make 40%- that is how the economic matter principle works. So who are the counter parties- who is losing in this 6 trillion dollar experiment?
Perhaps the FED will conjure up another 6 trillion after another 6 trillion and then we can have DOW 49,000. The truth is, it's all an illusion and none of us knows when this stupidity will end. But it will end. It has to.
Until then, we will have the great national debate from their side which is fully invested in the great lie and points to it every time they need an example- and the rest of us who understand that just because you conjure up a visual aid to help you with your argument- doesn't mean it's true.
Yesterday, Santelli while doing battle with the leftist media and Wall St sycophants, used the same argument that I have been using for 5 years.
If this economy is so fucking great, why does the FED keep pumping billions and trillions into it? Let's stop zero interest rates and QE right now- and see just how great this economy is. At that precise moment- everyone will lose their money, their equity will be wiped away, the left will be forced to admit they and theirs didn't solve anything and that nothing has changed.
We all pray for that moment because I am so sick of arguing with the leftists and everyone else invested in the great lie.
I can almost hear the howling now.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be- The Sunday Collage
I have always kind of known, deep down, that America is it's own greatest enemy. I don't worry about China, or Russia, or whatever Al Qaeda boogie man our government cooks up.There will be no invasions, no evil enemies to repel, no new Autie Murphys, no Medals of Valor or Purple Hearts handed out to warriors on our soil.
The future of America will come about as result of apathy, a complete lack of intelligence, and an American public so self absorbed with all of the wrong things- that we are going to end up losing the only thing that matters. Freedom.
The chains that bind are given clever names. Tax hikes, Obamacare, property appraisal and re-assessment, compounding interest, fees, corporate monopolies, inflation. Want to lie to the American public? Sure, it's easy. Just call the greatest tax hike in the history of the country, "The Affordable Care Act."
Or call a private bank owned by the world's elite, "The Federal Reserve Bank." That name implies that the bank is "Federal" that it has "reserves" and that it is our bank. Why then can't we audit our own bank?
Names designed to mislead you work well. They've been working for a long time.
Why can't we have a fair tax? Tax reform. Or term limits for Congress?
Because it's all one giant lie. The elite own this place and they bought and paid for the best tax system Congress can get them. Congress will never vote to limit their own power. It has become a body of self serving sociopaths and alcoholics. On any given day John Boehner looks completely hung over or drunk. I wanted to give Obama a drug test the night of his first debate with Romney.
This garbage is what passes for leadership in America. This is the status quo. To change it- means you will have to kill a few of them. You see people in power, don't give it up easily. They have the upper hand and they are more than willing to put a boot on your throat to keep the status quo intact. Year after year, all over the globe, this shit plays out until such point that the people in any given country get completely enraged and start shooting. That is the tree of liberty that Thomas Jefferson spoke so eloquently of. It must be refreshed with the blood of free men and tyrants from time to time.
An excellent piece on the failure of our Constitution. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-23/constitution-failed
Six years ago, the American people were plundered by their government, two Presidents and Congress, and the greedy shills of Wall St and the megabanks. We were set on a course so disastrous that there can be no recovery- except for a hyperinflation event which will wipe away the 200 trillion in debt that this country has accumulated.
Do you take issue with that number? You should. That's the real number. So real the CBO won't even publish it this year. Try searching the term "Inform Act" and Laurence Kotlikoff. Kotlikoff is a Boston University economist who believes along with over 1000 other economists, (who signed the Inform Act) that the true indebtedness of the US is 205 trillion. Maybe you think they are all right wing shills. Maybe you just don't care. But I guarantee you this- you will care one day. One day a hyperinflation event is going to wipe away everything you own.
Well unless you own gold and silver. Things people will desperately want. Things that have value like food, land, and shelter.
And from the past we get the future. How civilizations like ours start, grow, prosper, and decline.
Everything has a lifespan, nothing lasts forever. So too, the collapse of the dollar in a hyper-inflationary event. There is no other way out. We cannot grow our way out, we cannot counterfeit our way out,we cannot borrow our way out. At one time, I thought we could deflate our way out- until the FED made it quite apparent that they would be more than willing to destroy our wealth and way of life (QE1,2,3,4,5) rather than face the deflationary death spiral that they brought about and which culminated in 2006-07.
It is a given, an absolute certainty, that Americans will destroy America. So the million dollar question is, "When does the collapse occur?" Secondarily, "What will it look like and what can I do to protect myself?"
Practice acceptance. There is no stopping this. Millions upon millions of government largesse seekers are going to continue to vote for whatever candidate promises them the most food stamps, unemployment, free housing, medical care. There is nothing you can do to stop this. It must run it's course and you will have to keep paying for more and more of it because nobody has a vested interest in telling the ignorant asses who vote and get the free shit- that it has to stop sooner or later. Their numbers can only grow.
Fortunately we have an American public so completely apathetic, drugged, distracted, and ignorant, that it is actually prolonging the government and the dollar's lifespan. Americans are willing to work for less and less, pay more in taxes, continue to be duped by fraudulent numbers, accept irresponsible and sociopathic leadership- because they are too pussified to demand change and completely captured by a two party system that laughs every time the suckers pull a Diebold voting handle. It's like a frog in boiling water. The government and its masters will just incrementally and slowly keep turning up the heat until one day the frog can't escape the boiling water and becomes soup.
We are becoming one big soup kitchen.
Our military strength means we can intimidate other countries into buying our debt and using the petrodollar to buy oil. So that helps the hoi polloi and buys us some more time as we bully our way around the world.
Don't believe the "credentialed" people who try to time the collapse. They are all full of shit. I don't care if it's the people I like such as Eric Sprott or Peter Schiff. Only one man ever predicted the future accurately and he did not have any initials after his name nor did he go to Harvard where the other stooges go. I get so sick of listening to "experts" who don't know shit. Go ahead and listen to one day's worth of CNBC and you will have captured the essence of all dialogue on that channel for the past five years and the coming five years. Just insert a new date.
Early on, I fell for that shit after Schiff predicted the banking collapse back in 2006. Now Schiff along with people like Eric Sprott think they are prophets. Sprott is predicting 50 dollar silver this year and +2000 gold. I would bet my house- I guarantee it- that Sprott is full of shit. He's got ten months left on his prediction and all he has to do is beat the coordinated efforts of the world's greatest central banks as they collectively suppress the price of precious metals to keep people from buying them. Beat the world's bankers Sprott and you can have my house. All I ask in return is 100 oz. of gold. Do we have a bet?
So how will the collapse look?
It has already started. First we will accumulate debt levels which we cannot pay. Then we will not be able to finance them. The government will incrementally and slowly start reducing tax breaks and hiking taxes to the cheers of the hoi polloi who don't understand that even if you confiscate 100% of the elite's riches- it won't even dent the debt we have accumulated already.
The welfare rolls will continue to rise.
People will begin to default. They simply won't be able to pay their debts and their taxes. Interest rates will rise because unsecured debt is essentially worthless debt. Nobody will buy the debt of an essentially bankrupt and unsecured nation. Personal assets will get seized. Laws will be passed further reducing your money and wealth like the ACA. The government will begin to pass new laws reducing their exposure to the obligations they have incurred. Eventually, they are going to try and seize any asset they can get their hands on. That will include gold, silver, land. They may even try to nationalize commodities such as coal and oil and simply take them under some emergency act which they will tell people is only temporary.
The corporate oligarchy and megabanks will stay off shore. They will hide every last penny that they can.
And the people- people who have had it too good for too long will wonder wtf hit them. Just like that frog in the boiling water- they will realize they are soup just before they become soup.
I started this blog almost 6 years ago after our leadership stole trillions of dollars and delivered it to AIG, the megabanks and robber barons like Warren Buffet, and GM. I waited for prosecutions and reform. There was neither. Our leadership not only turned a blind eye to the greatest financial grand theft of all time- but it actually dialed up trillions of dollars in new debt, trillions of dollars in new taxes, and squeezed the ass of a corporate oligarchy that has off shored millions of jobs to the slave labor pools of the Pacific Rim and Mexico.
Geniuses, and certainly not you, understand that the way to cure a debt problem is by adding new debt.
You want to hear the best part? I have grown weary of reading naked capitalism and their high brow content, tired of reading the same old regurgitated crap at Zerohedge, tired of waiting for an event which will have no other merit for me other than some enabling moment with which I can say, "I told you so." Big deal. A collapse which in fact- may not even happen in my lifetime. What kind of a moron hopes for an event that will financially crush millions upon millions of innocent people just to say, "I told you so." A moron sick of watching his countrymen act like apathetic stooges. I get that.
It's always easy to be the enabling guy. The guy who spoils the grand kids and hands them back screaming, to their parents. That's why I've always known that the American people will not wake up, they will not demand the right thing nor will the leadership acquiesce. Nobody has a vested interest in doing the right thing because the right thing is hard. The hard, right things will cost elections, careers, and lives. Doing the right thing will cause hardship and strife that this country, spoiled that it is, has never known.
That's why- when you examine all of the pieces as they exist right now- the future looks pretty damned predictable. It doesn't look good but I'm not sure bad is gonna get here while I'm still around.
Predicting can be hard though, especially about the future.
The future of America will come about as result of apathy, a complete lack of intelligence, and an American public so self absorbed with all of the wrong things- that we are going to end up losing the only thing that matters. Freedom.
The chains that bind are given clever names. Tax hikes, Obamacare, property appraisal and re-assessment, compounding interest, fees, corporate monopolies, inflation. Want to lie to the American public? Sure, it's easy. Just call the greatest tax hike in the history of the country, "The Affordable Care Act."
Or call a private bank owned by the world's elite, "The Federal Reserve Bank." That name implies that the bank is "Federal" that it has "reserves" and that it is our bank. Why then can't we audit our own bank?
Names designed to mislead you work well. They've been working for a long time.
Why can't we have a fair tax? Tax reform. Or term limits for Congress?
Because it's all one giant lie. The elite own this place and they bought and paid for the best tax system Congress can get them. Congress will never vote to limit their own power. It has become a body of self serving sociopaths and alcoholics. On any given day John Boehner looks completely hung over or drunk. I wanted to give Obama a drug test the night of his first debate with Romney.
This garbage is what passes for leadership in America. This is the status quo. To change it- means you will have to kill a few of them. You see people in power, don't give it up easily. They have the upper hand and they are more than willing to put a boot on your throat to keep the status quo intact. Year after year, all over the globe, this shit plays out until such point that the people in any given country get completely enraged and start shooting. That is the tree of liberty that Thomas Jefferson spoke so eloquently of. It must be refreshed with the blood of free men and tyrants from time to time.
An excellent piece on the failure of our Constitution. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-23/constitution-failed
Six years ago, the American people were plundered by their government, two Presidents and Congress, and the greedy shills of Wall St and the megabanks. We were set on a course so disastrous that there can be no recovery- except for a hyperinflation event which will wipe away the 200 trillion in debt that this country has accumulated.
Do you take issue with that number? You should. That's the real number. So real the CBO won't even publish it this year. Try searching the term "Inform Act" and Laurence Kotlikoff. Kotlikoff is a Boston University economist who believes along with over 1000 other economists, (who signed the Inform Act) that the true indebtedness of the US is 205 trillion. Maybe you think they are all right wing shills. Maybe you just don't care. But I guarantee you this- you will care one day. One day a hyperinflation event is going to wipe away everything you own.
Well unless you own gold and silver. Things people will desperately want. Things that have value like food, land, and shelter.
And from the past we get the future. How civilizations like ours start, grow, prosper, and decline.
Everything has a lifespan, nothing lasts forever. So too, the collapse of the dollar in a hyper-inflationary event. There is no other way out. We cannot grow our way out, we cannot counterfeit our way out,we cannot borrow our way out. At one time, I thought we could deflate our way out- until the FED made it quite apparent that they would be more than willing to destroy our wealth and way of life (QE1,2,3,4,5) rather than face the deflationary death spiral that they brought about and which culminated in 2006-07.
It is a given, an absolute certainty, that Americans will destroy America. So the million dollar question is, "When does the collapse occur?" Secondarily, "What will it look like and what can I do to protect myself?"
Practice acceptance. There is no stopping this. Millions upon millions of government largesse seekers are going to continue to vote for whatever candidate promises them the most food stamps, unemployment, free housing, medical care. There is nothing you can do to stop this. It must run it's course and you will have to keep paying for more and more of it because nobody has a vested interest in telling the ignorant asses who vote and get the free shit- that it has to stop sooner or later. Their numbers can only grow.
Fortunately we have an American public so completely apathetic, drugged, distracted, and ignorant, that it is actually prolonging the government and the dollar's lifespan. Americans are willing to work for less and less, pay more in taxes, continue to be duped by fraudulent numbers, accept irresponsible and sociopathic leadership- because they are too pussified to demand change and completely captured by a two party system that laughs every time the suckers pull a Diebold voting handle. It's like a frog in boiling water. The government and its masters will just incrementally and slowly keep turning up the heat until one day the frog can't escape the boiling water and becomes soup.
We are becoming one big soup kitchen.
Our military strength means we can intimidate other countries into buying our debt and using the petrodollar to buy oil. So that helps the hoi polloi and buys us some more time as we bully our way around the world.
Don't believe the "credentialed" people who try to time the collapse. They are all full of shit. I don't care if it's the people I like such as Eric Sprott or Peter Schiff. Only one man ever predicted the future accurately and he did not have any initials after his name nor did he go to Harvard where the other stooges go. I get so sick of listening to "experts" who don't know shit. Go ahead and listen to one day's worth of CNBC and you will have captured the essence of all dialogue on that channel for the past five years and the coming five years. Just insert a new date.
Early on, I fell for that shit after Schiff predicted the banking collapse back in 2006. Now Schiff along with people like Eric Sprott think they are prophets. Sprott is predicting 50 dollar silver this year and +2000 gold. I would bet my house- I guarantee it- that Sprott is full of shit. He's got ten months left on his prediction and all he has to do is beat the coordinated efforts of the world's greatest central banks as they collectively suppress the price of precious metals to keep people from buying them. Beat the world's bankers Sprott and you can have my house. All I ask in return is 100 oz. of gold. Do we have a bet?
So how will the collapse look?
It has already started. First we will accumulate debt levels which we cannot pay. Then we will not be able to finance them. The government will incrementally and slowly start reducing tax breaks and hiking taxes to the cheers of the hoi polloi who don't understand that even if you confiscate 100% of the elite's riches- it won't even dent the debt we have accumulated already.
The welfare rolls will continue to rise.
People will begin to default. They simply won't be able to pay their debts and their taxes. Interest rates will rise because unsecured debt is essentially worthless debt. Nobody will buy the debt of an essentially bankrupt and unsecured nation. Personal assets will get seized. Laws will be passed further reducing your money and wealth like the ACA. The government will begin to pass new laws reducing their exposure to the obligations they have incurred. Eventually, they are going to try and seize any asset they can get their hands on. That will include gold, silver, land. They may even try to nationalize commodities such as coal and oil and simply take them under some emergency act which they will tell people is only temporary.
The corporate oligarchy and megabanks will stay off shore. They will hide every last penny that they can.
And the people- people who have had it too good for too long will wonder wtf hit them. Just like that frog in the boiling water- they will realize they are soup just before they become soup.
I started this blog almost 6 years ago after our leadership stole trillions of dollars and delivered it to AIG, the megabanks and robber barons like Warren Buffet, and GM. I waited for prosecutions and reform. There was neither. Our leadership not only turned a blind eye to the greatest financial grand theft of all time- but it actually dialed up trillions of dollars in new debt, trillions of dollars in new taxes, and squeezed the ass of a corporate oligarchy that has off shored millions of jobs to the slave labor pools of the Pacific Rim and Mexico.
Geniuses, and certainly not you, understand that the way to cure a debt problem is by adding new debt.
You want to hear the best part? I have grown weary of reading naked capitalism and their high brow content, tired of reading the same old regurgitated crap at Zerohedge, tired of waiting for an event which will have no other merit for me other than some enabling moment with which I can say, "I told you so." Big deal. A collapse which in fact- may not even happen in my lifetime. What kind of a moron hopes for an event that will financially crush millions upon millions of innocent people just to say, "I told you so." A moron sick of watching his countrymen act like apathetic stooges. I get that.
It's always easy to be the enabling guy. The guy who spoils the grand kids and hands them back screaming, to their parents. That's why I've always known that the American people will not wake up, they will not demand the right thing nor will the leadership acquiesce. Nobody has a vested interest in doing the right thing because the right thing is hard. The hard, right things will cost elections, careers, and lives. Doing the right thing will cause hardship and strife that this country, spoiled that it is, has never known.
That's why- when you examine all of the pieces as they exist right now- the future looks pretty damned predictable. It doesn't look good but I'm not sure bad is gonna get here while I'm still around.
Predicting can be hard though, especially about the future.
Friday, February 21, 2014
The California Drought With a Little Sam Kinison Advice for the Locals
For weeks I have been following the drought in California.
You see, California is the eighth largest economy in the world and the largest agricultural state in the United States. They grow everything from soup to nuts.
For years, California has spent billions of dollars litigating water issues and existing reservoirs, preventing new reservoirs, protecting delta smelt and snail darters while assuming that water would remain relatively plentiful. Their lack of water and a burgeoning population is a big, big deal. So this drought is a huge problem- not just for them but for the rest of us as well.
On a side note, while living in California on five acres near Santa Ynez a few years ago, the monthly water bill was just shy of 900 bucks a month. I am not making that up nor did we use that much water. I nearly had an aneurysm when I saw the first bill.
Cattle futures and prices are already peaking because California doesn't have the water to grow feed. Dairy herds are shrinking. The federal government has already stepped in and told California farmers that water shares are not available for the first time in 50 years. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-21/feds-withhold-water-california-farmers-first-time-54-years
For the rest of the nation's farmers and ranchers, this could be an excellent year. Taking the California supply offline is going to present a myriad of opportunities for everyone outside the desert southwest. It is also going to cause food prices to rise dramatically as farmers scramble to fill voids in the supply chain.
Fortunately our government doesn't price in food inflation. They pretend it doesn't exist when they calculate the CPI every month and present their "gerry-rigged" numbers to us low functioning sheep.
Could the California drought kick off a tremendous inflationary episode? Yes, I think it's possible- especially if the drought extends a few years or the drought area enlarges.
If that happens- Californians might do well to follow the advice of the late Sam Kinison on world hunger. Behold one of the funniest clips I have ever had the privilege of viewing:
You see, California is the eighth largest economy in the world and the largest agricultural state in the United States. They grow everything from soup to nuts.
For years, California has spent billions of dollars litigating water issues and existing reservoirs, preventing new reservoirs, protecting delta smelt and snail darters while assuming that water would remain relatively plentiful. Their lack of water and a burgeoning population is a big, big deal. So this drought is a huge problem- not just for them but for the rest of us as well.
On a side note, while living in California on five acres near Santa Ynez a few years ago, the monthly water bill was just shy of 900 bucks a month. I am not making that up nor did we use that much water. I nearly had an aneurysm when I saw the first bill.
Cattle futures and prices are already peaking because California doesn't have the water to grow feed. Dairy herds are shrinking. The federal government has already stepped in and told California farmers that water shares are not available for the first time in 50 years. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-21/feds-withhold-water-california-farmers-first-time-54-years
For the rest of the nation's farmers and ranchers, this could be an excellent year. Taking the California supply offline is going to present a myriad of opportunities for everyone outside the desert southwest. It is also going to cause food prices to rise dramatically as farmers scramble to fill voids in the supply chain.
Fortunately our government doesn't price in food inflation. They pretend it doesn't exist when they calculate the CPI every month and present their "gerry-rigged" numbers to us low functioning sheep.
Could the California drought kick off a tremendous inflationary episode? Yes, I think it's possible- especially if the drought extends a few years or the drought area enlarges.
If that happens- Californians might do well to follow the advice of the late Sam Kinison on world hunger. Behold one of the funniest clips I have ever had the privilege of viewing:
Saturday, February 15, 2014
With the Speed of An Advancing Glacier, I Learn- The Sunday Collage
Some people have all the luck.
It's been a wild couple of weeks for me. I haven't been writing much and so today's piece is personal and if that kind of stuff isn't up your alley- I understand. A quick deviation here, which I will sum up later like a good English 101 piece.
Last week, I reached out to an old friend who publicly blames everyone (usually her boyfriends) for her problems. Women, and men, generally don't want to hear solutions so much as they just want someone to listen to them. I get that. Most people, and I have to say that women are a tad worse, think they are irretrievably and terminally unique and therefore any prescription you offer them will have no effect because they are hopelessly special. More on this in a bit...
It's hard to write or blog with so much going on. I always keep current by reading at least an hour a day- I keep an eye on what our numbskull in the White House is up to and how much gold the Chinese are buying. I have some gold and mining interests that I monitor. I keep an eye on a wide array of current events.
But what really fascinates me is people. It has always been that way. I could spend my lifetime studying people and never get bored.
I have spent a lifetime talking to people, teasing people, bullshitting with people. I have a co-worker that calls me a "master bullshitter." He is correct. Talking with people, or as we in the west say, "bullshitting" is how we get to know people. If you like people like I do- you will want to talk to them. So there is that part of my life which has given me a great deal of insight into a lot of folks- particularly as I watched their reactions to the things I have said to them.
Another part of my life is focused on addiction. People from dysfunctional families do dysfunctional things. They become alcoholics, addicts, and do some of the most zany shit you will ever see- thinking in some present moment that the zany decision they are about to make- is the correct one.
Here's a little side piece on the drugging of America. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-15/drugging-america-summarized-19-mind-altering-facts#comment-4440283
Of course, they will reflect back (sometimes from their prison cell) and say, "maybe that decision wasn't really very good after all." The problem with that laser like 20-20 back-vision is that it will not remove you from your prison cell nor will it help you prevent more shitty decision making.
In my life, I have met one or two people that I think were emotionally squared away. Which is to say, they were consciously thinking and doing the right things. Making good decisions all of the time. They had a very accurate moral compass and they were selfless. Let me say one other thing. Most of the people who interacted with the squared away types- did not comprehend them. I did- only because I paid attention to every detail because people have always been my hobby. The other thousand or so people I have known well enough to make a rational judgement about... are mostly fucking nuts. Subconsciously, they know this and they try very hard to conceal it. But it leaks out. It leaks out in their actions, their emotions, their decisions. Often those things have consequences.
You cannot stop these people or intervene in their lives.. They are nuts. You cannot tell them they are nuts either. Sometimes they just have to go to prison. Or keep whining. Or sometimes, kill themselves.
That's the part you have to get ok with.
When I think of dysfunction, I try to use examples we can all relate to. In that vein let me offer up this one.
Barack Obama. This is a guy who's mother was a 17 year old atheist, his father was an alcoholic who died in a drunk driving accident, his stepfather was a Muslim Indonesian and subsequent to all of that fine child rearing, abandonment, and culture hopping- he was raised by grandparents and exposed to some of the most powerful and dysfunctional people our generation had to offer. People like Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright.
He concealed all of that dysfunction in a nice, well spoken, and educated package and sold it to an American public- every bit as dysfunctional as he is. There were clues- like his cocaine, pot smoking, and tobacco use (or completely hidden life) which are the drugs we turn to when we want to change how we feel or who we are. This is a guy who is so fearful of who he really is- that he has conned everyone into thinking that he is some sort of vastly intelligent, Mr. Wonderful. Many people believe it.
This is the river of our lives. We are all on some sort of crazed, dysfunctional journey and Barack Obama is no different. He's just gone to fantastic lengths to cover up his dysfunction. But in the end, he's just another bum on the dysfunction bus- forcing some people to buy insurance and dropping bombs on other people. Clearly dysfunctional behavior is not limited to fringe bloggers and bottom feeders.
I wish that I could tell you that I was always one of the squared away ones. But I am not. I am insanely grateful for that. I have all of these dysfunctional people in my life doing crazy things and even though I often know what the solution is, I can't give it to them. They don't want it. They would rather go to prison or feel the pain of a relationship that was dead a long time ago. These folks are on some sort of journey which is a complete mystery to me.
Mostly, you have to let these things run their course. You can't help people who still don't realize that the biggest problem in their lives is them.
The greatest thing that ever happened to me- was realizing that I was an idiot and that my best thinking left me angry, depressed, and unhappy. That the key to my present happiness is realizing that I was the problem and that I have always been the problem. This is how you empower yourself. It requires a great deal of humility and the willingness to completely abandon your ego. Once you understand the power of taking responsibility for every aspect of your life...which includes your poor decision making... then you can sort out the mess later.
Make no mistake about this. If you do not do this- you cannot recover. There is no generic substitute.
The gal I reached out to last week didn't get back to me. That was probably her polite way of trying to tell me to do something that is anatomically impossible. I have another friend going to prison which was completely preventable. I have another friend who is depressed and suicidal over a break up- which is also quite treatable. The problem with all of these people is the same. They just can't imagine the possibility that they are the problem nor do they see any curative power in that. They would rather eat jail food or bellyache about their bad luck.
So how did I get so lucky? What did I do differently?
I had reached a point in my life where I was emotionally distraught and spiritually sick. I was miserable, depressed, angry, guilt ridden, and God-less. I think, on the verge of self destruction, I was given an instruction which changed my life. Had my situation not been so desperate- I don't think I could have found the solution nor would I have been so willing to listen. I became teachable again. I removed every last bit of my old thinking and re-installed a new hard drive. That's not to say it is perfect- it's just a helluva lot better than the old one.
That's how I got lucky. The very same thing happened to Eckhardt Tolle on the verge of killing himself. He writes about the same experience in the "Power of Now." It was like hitting the emotional lottery.
Today I realize that what I have is a gift. A gift given to me at the lowest, most desperate point in my life. Perhaps others must sink that low to obtain it. Part of getting well is realizing that you aren't in charge of the planet and that these things just have to run their course with the people you love and care about.The river of life runs through jail cells, hospital rooms, and treatment centers and most always- there isn't anything you can do to alter the river's course.
It's been glacially slow but I'm getting it.
It's been a wild couple of weeks for me. I haven't been writing much and so today's piece is personal and if that kind of stuff isn't up your alley- I understand. A quick deviation here, which I will sum up later like a good English 101 piece.
Last week, I reached out to an old friend who publicly blames everyone (usually her boyfriends) for her problems. Women, and men, generally don't want to hear solutions so much as they just want someone to listen to them. I get that. Most people, and I have to say that women are a tad worse, think they are irretrievably and terminally unique and therefore any prescription you offer them will have no effect because they are hopelessly special. More on this in a bit...
It's hard to write or blog with so much going on. I always keep current by reading at least an hour a day- I keep an eye on what our numbskull in the White House is up to and how much gold the Chinese are buying. I have some gold and mining interests that I monitor. I keep an eye on a wide array of current events.
But what really fascinates me is people. It has always been that way. I could spend my lifetime studying people and never get bored.
I have spent a lifetime talking to people, teasing people, bullshitting with people. I have a co-worker that calls me a "master bullshitter." He is correct. Talking with people, or as we in the west say, "bullshitting" is how we get to know people. If you like people like I do- you will want to talk to them. So there is that part of my life which has given me a great deal of insight into a lot of folks- particularly as I watched their reactions to the things I have said to them.
Another part of my life is focused on addiction. People from dysfunctional families do dysfunctional things. They become alcoholics, addicts, and do some of the most zany shit you will ever see- thinking in some present moment that the zany decision they are about to make- is the correct one.
Here's a little side piece on the drugging of America. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-15/drugging-america-summarized-19-mind-altering-facts#comment-4440283
Of course, they will reflect back (sometimes from their prison cell) and say, "maybe that decision wasn't really very good after all." The problem with that laser like 20-20 back-vision is that it will not remove you from your prison cell nor will it help you prevent more shitty decision making.
In my life, I have met one or two people that I think were emotionally squared away. Which is to say, they were consciously thinking and doing the right things. Making good decisions all of the time. They had a very accurate moral compass and they were selfless. Let me say one other thing. Most of the people who interacted with the squared away types- did not comprehend them. I did- only because I paid attention to every detail because people have always been my hobby. The other thousand or so people I have known well enough to make a rational judgement about... are mostly fucking nuts. Subconsciously, they know this and they try very hard to conceal it. But it leaks out. It leaks out in their actions, their emotions, their decisions. Often those things have consequences.
You cannot stop these people or intervene in their lives.. They are nuts. You cannot tell them they are nuts either. Sometimes they just have to go to prison. Or keep whining. Or sometimes, kill themselves.
That's the part you have to get ok with.
When I think of dysfunction, I try to use examples we can all relate to. In that vein let me offer up this one.
Barack Obama. This is a guy who's mother was a 17 year old atheist, his father was an alcoholic who died in a drunk driving accident, his stepfather was a Muslim Indonesian and subsequent to all of that fine child rearing, abandonment, and culture hopping- he was raised by grandparents and exposed to some of the most powerful and dysfunctional people our generation had to offer. People like Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright.
He concealed all of that dysfunction in a nice, well spoken, and educated package and sold it to an American public- every bit as dysfunctional as he is. There were clues- like his cocaine, pot smoking, and tobacco use (or completely hidden life) which are the drugs we turn to when we want to change how we feel or who we are. This is a guy who is so fearful of who he really is- that he has conned everyone into thinking that he is some sort of vastly intelligent, Mr. Wonderful. Many people believe it.
This is the river of our lives. We are all on some sort of crazed, dysfunctional journey and Barack Obama is no different. He's just gone to fantastic lengths to cover up his dysfunction. But in the end, he's just another bum on the dysfunction bus- forcing some people to buy insurance and dropping bombs on other people. Clearly dysfunctional behavior is not limited to fringe bloggers and bottom feeders.
I wish that I could tell you that I was always one of the squared away ones. But I am not. I am insanely grateful for that. I have all of these dysfunctional people in my life doing crazy things and even though I often know what the solution is, I can't give it to them. They don't want it. They would rather go to prison or feel the pain of a relationship that was dead a long time ago. These folks are on some sort of journey which is a complete mystery to me.
Mostly, you have to let these things run their course. You can't help people who still don't realize that the biggest problem in their lives is them.
The greatest thing that ever happened to me- was realizing that I was an idiot and that my best thinking left me angry, depressed, and unhappy. That the key to my present happiness is realizing that I was the problem and that I have always been the problem. This is how you empower yourself. It requires a great deal of humility and the willingness to completely abandon your ego. Once you understand the power of taking responsibility for every aspect of your life...which includes your poor decision making... then you can sort out the mess later.
Make no mistake about this. If you do not do this- you cannot recover. There is no generic substitute.
The gal I reached out to last week didn't get back to me. That was probably her polite way of trying to tell me to do something that is anatomically impossible. I have another friend going to prison which was completely preventable. I have another friend who is depressed and suicidal over a break up- which is also quite treatable. The problem with all of these people is the same. They just can't imagine the possibility that they are the problem nor do they see any curative power in that. They would rather eat jail food or bellyache about their bad luck.
So how did I get so lucky? What did I do differently?
I had reached a point in my life where I was emotionally distraught and spiritually sick. I was miserable, depressed, angry, guilt ridden, and God-less. I think, on the verge of self destruction, I was given an instruction which changed my life. Had my situation not been so desperate- I don't think I could have found the solution nor would I have been so willing to listen. I became teachable again. I removed every last bit of my old thinking and re-installed a new hard drive. That's not to say it is perfect- it's just a helluva lot better than the old one.
That's how I got lucky. The very same thing happened to Eckhardt Tolle on the verge of killing himself. He writes about the same experience in the "Power of Now." It was like hitting the emotional lottery.
Today I realize that what I have is a gift. A gift given to me at the lowest, most desperate point in my life. Perhaps others must sink that low to obtain it. Part of getting well is realizing that you aren't in charge of the planet and that these things just have to run their course with the people you love and care about.The river of life runs through jail cells, hospital rooms, and treatment centers and most always- there isn't anything you can do to alter the river's course.
It's been glacially slow but I'm getting it.
Monday, February 3, 2014
A President, Completely Detached From Reality, Sells MyRa
This morning I was looking over financial markets to see just how bad things were eroding. As I was doing that, I stumbled onto an article talking about another Obama proposal. I realized I had skipped Obama's State of the Union speech and therefore I must have missed Obama unveiling a new retirement plan for Americans.
The new MyRa plan would allow Americans to buy government debt, bonds, directly from the government to secure some sort of return for "retirement." Buy the debt of a country already 17.5 trillion in the hole with no way of reducing the principal amount. The article I read was actually selling this as a good idea. I am in awe once again.
This government just can't keep it's hands off your money.
I cannot stop thinking about Japan. With a debt to GDP ratio north of 220%- Japanese citizens own most of the country's debt. This is precisely what President Five Iron wants you to do. Start buying American debt because nobody else in the world will. They have run out of customers and you are the customer of last resort.
Anybody, with half a brain, is not going to buy the debt of a country offering no collateral with a currency on the verge of default. But maybe the American sheeple will.
This is a government that simply refuses to quit spending- ever.
I fell into the government trap years ago. I started a secondary retirement plan because I could do so "tax free." What a line of shit that was. I was barely able to hang onto it through a divorce and then I caught the great depression. I was forced to cash out that retirement plan. The government took it's 10% penalty, another 20% off the top in taxes, and the state took their 6%.
So not only did I lose nearly half the value of my savings but I also received what remained- in newly minted, inflated QE dollars.
Don't ever, ever, forget what I am about to tell you. Don't ever trust this government. If it is offering you a "retirement plan" what that really means is that the government wants to steal your money, change the rules at will, and the money you save today will be paid back to you at some future date with a completely devalued currency that the government can print at will- backed by nothing. Zimbabwe dollars.That's the real key. The government will simply erode your savings completely away by printing money.
That's their solution. A hyperinflation event is the only means of eliminating the debt they have accumulated and I guarantee you it will happen.
If all of this weren't bad enough- we haven't even seen the effects of Obamacare yet not to mention the 8 new tax hikes going into effect after this year. I think President Five Iron is beginning to realize that Obamacare is DOA.
Compounding this even further, the entire working middle class is broke. They don't have money for retirement. There are 100 million of us out of the labor force. What the following chart doesn't capture is the 5% decline in disposable income from 2009 until now- double what this graph depicts.
To call Obama reckless is too simplistic. This is a guy completely detached from the reality of what is actually occurring in this country. The government is quickly running out of tricks. Don't fall for this one.
The new MyRa plan would allow Americans to buy government debt, bonds, directly from the government to secure some sort of return for "retirement." Buy the debt of a country already 17.5 trillion in the hole with no way of reducing the principal amount. The article I read was actually selling this as a good idea. I am in awe once again.
This government just can't keep it's hands off your money.
I cannot stop thinking about Japan. With a debt to GDP ratio north of 220%- Japanese citizens own most of the country's debt. This is precisely what President Five Iron wants you to do. Start buying American debt because nobody else in the world will. They have run out of customers and you are the customer of last resort.
Anybody, with half a brain, is not going to buy the debt of a country offering no collateral with a currency on the verge of default. But maybe the American sheeple will.
This is a government that simply refuses to quit spending- ever.
I fell into the government trap years ago. I started a secondary retirement plan because I could do so "tax free." What a line of shit that was. I was barely able to hang onto it through a divorce and then I caught the great depression. I was forced to cash out that retirement plan. The government took it's 10% penalty, another 20% off the top in taxes, and the state took their 6%.
So not only did I lose nearly half the value of my savings but I also received what remained- in newly minted, inflated QE dollars.
Don't ever, ever, forget what I am about to tell you. Don't ever trust this government. If it is offering you a "retirement plan" what that really means is that the government wants to steal your money, change the rules at will, and the money you save today will be paid back to you at some future date with a completely devalued currency that the government can print at will- backed by nothing. Zimbabwe dollars.That's the real key. The government will simply erode your savings completely away by printing money.
That's their solution. A hyperinflation event is the only means of eliminating the debt they have accumulated and I guarantee you it will happen.
If all of this weren't bad enough- we haven't even seen the effects of Obamacare yet not to mention the 8 new tax hikes going into effect after this year. I think President Five Iron is beginning to realize that Obamacare is DOA.
Compounding this even further, the entire working middle class is broke. They don't have money for retirement. There are 100 million of us out of the labor force. What the following chart doesn't capture is the 5% decline in disposable income from 2009 until now- double what this graph depicts.
To call Obama reckless is too simplistic. This is a guy completely detached from the reality of what is actually occurring in this country. The government is quickly running out of tricks. Don't fall for this one.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
When Boys Played Like Men (With Some Seahawk Hatred Thrown In)- The Sunday Collage
Superbowl Sunday in my past life was my biggest holiday. We got it on. Oh the parties. There was drunken debauchery, laughing, frottage, (spell check does not recognize that word) hella big drinking, and some other things that didn't amount to anything beyond simple misdemeanors. I vaguely remember someone passing out in a plate of food once, people taking off clothes, unfortunately they were always men. Kiss music blaring every year at the half.
The problem with all of that fun is that we were the police department. We kept it pretty quiet but the harsh reality was- I think people knew. Wives were forced into piloting us home. One of the last, great parties resulted in me getting my ass chewed all the way home. And I'll tell ya something else. I remember that.
I haven't really cared who won the Superbowl since Peyton Manning handed the Saints their first win- but this year is different. I've watched Seattle talk trash this entire season, especially Golden Tate. The Seahawk players are terrible. I'm not just talking Sherman after the San Francisco win either. This group of players are punks. They can't make a play without doing some sort of dance. Many of them run their mouths and it's no mystery to me why San Francisco hates these clowns. I never root for smart asses. So I'd like to see John Fox come back from heart surgery, Peyton Manning and Wes Welker get revenge, and watch as the greatest crew of receivers in the league hand the Seahawks their asses on Sunday. Justice would be served all the way around. Their fans can scream all they want- but it won't help them in New York. I have no mercy for this undisciplined bunch.
I think Denver can win after seeing them humiliate the best defense in the league twice this year. Kansas City had shut every team down until they ran into the Denver buzzsaw.
I grew up watching some very good players- but my all time favorite player was Ronnie Lott. Like Sherman, Lott played cornerback but unlike Sherman- Lott was simply the greatest corner to ever play. Lott came running at receivers like a missile and I remember actually cringing when he hit players. Ronnie could bring it. He even finished playing a game once after losing part of his finger. That's tough. And not once do I ever remember Ronnie Lott running his mouth or talking trash about his opponents. Every once in awhile I saw Ronnie linger over the crumpled body of an opposing player- I have always believed Ronnie was trying to determine whether or not to administer CPR.
One day my hero walked into the Woodside bakery (just east of Redwood City, Ca) and I gotta say- he just oozes class.
In fact, that whole San Francisco team back then had a lot of class. That's coaching and player leadership delivered by the likes of Bill Walsh and Joe Montana.
The '85 Bears were trash talkers too but they were just nutty and fun. They had a good time without harassing opponents or telling them they were mediocre. That had something to do with Ditka.
As I was writing this I began to wonder why some people seem to have class and others don't. I observed a lot of folks in action over the years and I think I can tell you what the difference is. In one word. Selflessness.
Selflessness is born out of parents who teach respect for all people and all walks of life. People with class treat others like they really care about them. In fact, genuine class will shock you when you see it. You might wonder- why is this person so nice to me? Do they treat everyone this way?
Pay attention to how people treat the waiter. That is how they treat others.
It's not about verbal restraint or discipline. Or tactics. Or keeping your mouth shut. Class is about modeling and the way you were raised. It's about having respect for people knowing that each one of them has a part to play in your life and that you are no better or worse than any of them. It's about the conscious knowledge that you are not the only human being on the planet who matters or wants a pat on the back. It's about respecting others because you care at the very least- about how others feel. You want to and therefore you strive- to lift people up. You are selfless.
If you have a manager trying to groom others to loftier heights than they themselves have achieved- you have found someone with class.
I wish that I could tell you that I was one of those people. I cannot. I had a few moments here and there but mostly I was self absorbed. Unfortunately, I spent most of my life living like an unconscious idiot- kind of like Sherman without the talent or that nappy hair. What moments of conscious class I did have- were usually brought about as the result of someone with class modeling that attribute for me and I in turn- practiced it like I had invented it.
People matter. When this culture of ours realizes that avarice- couple with self absorbed and apathetic behavior is destroying us- then we can finally begin to chart a healing course.
Until then we will have grandstanding, trash talking, dances, and gestures galore. Once in awhile- they may actually squeeze some football in. Let's hope so.
I miss the days when boys played like men.
The problem with all of that fun is that we were the police department. We kept it pretty quiet but the harsh reality was- I think people knew. Wives were forced into piloting us home. One of the last, great parties resulted in me getting my ass chewed all the way home. And I'll tell ya something else. I remember that.
I haven't really cared who won the Superbowl since Peyton Manning handed the Saints their first win- but this year is different. I've watched Seattle talk trash this entire season, especially Golden Tate. The Seahawk players are terrible. I'm not just talking Sherman after the San Francisco win either. This group of players are punks. They can't make a play without doing some sort of dance. Many of them run their mouths and it's no mystery to me why San Francisco hates these clowns. I never root for smart asses. So I'd like to see John Fox come back from heart surgery, Peyton Manning and Wes Welker get revenge, and watch as the greatest crew of receivers in the league hand the Seahawks their asses on Sunday. Justice would be served all the way around. Their fans can scream all they want- but it won't help them in New York. I have no mercy for this undisciplined bunch.
I think Denver can win after seeing them humiliate the best defense in the league twice this year. Kansas City had shut every team down until they ran into the Denver buzzsaw.
I grew up watching some very good players- but my all time favorite player was Ronnie Lott. Like Sherman, Lott played cornerback but unlike Sherman- Lott was simply the greatest corner to ever play. Lott came running at receivers like a missile and I remember actually cringing when he hit players. Ronnie could bring it. He even finished playing a game once after losing part of his finger. That's tough. And not once do I ever remember Ronnie Lott running his mouth or talking trash about his opponents. Every once in awhile I saw Ronnie linger over the crumpled body of an opposing player- I have always believed Ronnie was trying to determine whether or not to administer CPR.
One day my hero walked into the Woodside bakery (just east of Redwood City, Ca) and I gotta say- he just oozes class.
In fact, that whole San Francisco team back then had a lot of class. That's coaching and player leadership delivered by the likes of Bill Walsh and Joe Montana.
The '85 Bears were trash talkers too but they were just nutty and fun. They had a good time without harassing opponents or telling them they were mediocre. That had something to do with Ditka.
As I was writing this I began to wonder why some people seem to have class and others don't. I observed a lot of folks in action over the years and I think I can tell you what the difference is. In one word. Selflessness.
Selflessness is born out of parents who teach respect for all people and all walks of life. People with class treat others like they really care about them. In fact, genuine class will shock you when you see it. You might wonder- why is this person so nice to me? Do they treat everyone this way?
Pay attention to how people treat the waiter. That is how they treat others.
It's not about verbal restraint or discipline. Or tactics. Or keeping your mouth shut. Class is about modeling and the way you were raised. It's about having respect for people knowing that each one of them has a part to play in your life and that you are no better or worse than any of them. It's about the conscious knowledge that you are not the only human being on the planet who matters or wants a pat on the back. It's about respecting others because you care at the very least- about how others feel. You want to and therefore you strive- to lift people up. You are selfless.
If you have a manager trying to groom others to loftier heights than they themselves have achieved- you have found someone with class.
I wish that I could tell you that I was one of those people. I cannot. I had a few moments here and there but mostly I was self absorbed. Unfortunately, I spent most of my life living like an unconscious idiot- kind of like Sherman without the talent or that nappy hair. What moments of conscious class I did have- were usually brought about as the result of someone with class modeling that attribute for me and I in turn- practiced it like I had invented it.
People matter. When this culture of ours realizes that avarice- couple with self absorbed and apathetic behavior is destroying us- then we can finally begin to chart a healing course.
Until then we will have grandstanding, trash talking, dances, and gestures galore. Once in awhile- they may actually squeeze some football in. Let's hope so.
I miss the days when boys played like men.
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