Best Joke of the Week

An Italian doctor says: "In Italy, medicine is so advanced that when we cut off a man's testicles and transplant  them on another man, in only 6 weeks he is looking for work."

The Dutch doctor says: "That's nothing. In Holland when we take part of a brain and put it in another man, he begins looking for work in as little as 4 weeks."

The Canadian doctor says: "Gentlemen, we can take half a heart from a man, put it in another's chest, and in 2 weeks he is looking for work."

The American doctor laughs: "You have nothing on us."

"Five years ago, we took a man with no brains, no heart, and no balls and made him President. Now, the whole country is looking for work!"

Banksy Was Here

Imma gonna plaster this together and hope it sticks.

Six months ago, I did not know who "Banksy" was. I still don't. Neither do the millions who follow his art. My sister made me aware of what he did.

Banksy is a shadowy graffiti artist who's work is so excellent- that people stop and stare at it anywhere they find it. Banksy will use any venue that strikes him. As I write this, I am watching "Banksy Does New York."

Banksy's work is fantastic and it always makes a statement. Nobody says "fuck you" to established rules any better than Banksy does. You got to love a guy who disses on the "Freedom Tower" (built where the world trade center buildings were) and says it belongs in Canada.

Most of Banksy's work gets painted over and destroyed. It is after all, against the law.

So today, rather than read another hateful government rant, take a spin through Banksy's world. Here's a great place to start. http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/Banksy/banksy.htm


One Of The More Memorable Quotes By Banksy

“People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you. You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

F*ck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.”

Banksy took one of those vastly over produced paintings we see everywhere, stuck a nazi in it, and donated it during his trip to New York. It was sold at auction for over 600k- the proceeds went to a homeless shelter. He called it the "Banality of the Banality of Evil." He signed the piece right above the original artist.


 

Good stuff. I only wish I could write half as effectively as Banksy draws. I have always liked the idea of working for free and making peoples' lives a little easier.

Gold: Try To Explain This Chart....

...because I can't.

Three years ago, with national debt levels rising, gold inexplicably went into free fall. Some three years later gold is still dragging the bottom of its range near 1200. It has been a three year bear market. With national debt levels at 17.9 trillion, I don't even think there's a little old lady in Kansas that believes we can pay this debt off.

The only two ways this debt ever gets paid off? Default or a hyperinflationary event.

For gapers only.

Jonathan Gruber, Nominee for the Asshole Hall of Fame*Updated- The Sunday Collage

Oh, how I try. Week after week I think- I will write something nice and uplifting. And then along comes a guy like Jonathan Gruber.

I've met a lot of people in my life. Motorists, crime victims, drug addicts and alcoholics. I've worked with hundreds of cops, school district employees, merchants, and various members of special interest groups. I've played in golf tournaments, poker tournaments, and softball tournaments. Hell, I've probably dated at least 50 women. I've known thousands of people.

And in all of my 53 years, there are probably only two people who I would feel quite comfortable knowing and describing as assholes. So getting into the FG Hall of Fame is no easy task.

Assholes, by my definition, have to possess the following qualities. They have to be completely self absorbed and self centered. When an issue arises, they will always do what is in their best interests- they are not concerned with anyone else's interests although they may pretend to care about others. Assholes genuinely believe they are better or smarter than other people. Their egos are so dominant that the sense of personal superiority that they possess- will simply leak out in their speech and deeds. At no time does an asshole possess any sense of humility or luck. In fact, assholes often believe they are members of some entitled, superior class of people. Rarely do they express gratitude for anything or even simple luck, rather they attribute their success to their vast intelligence and uncanny decision making. Now if all of that sounds bad, and it surely is, that still won't get you to the FG promised land of assholes. The piece de resistance, or crowning quality wherein I feel comfortable declaring any given person an asshole- is that they must purposefully deceive others and then belittle them. Rather than tell the truth or help people understand something- they deceive people in order to take advantage of them. This attribute satisfies my requirements for the Asshole Hall of Fame.

It's been a long time since my last Asshole Hall of Fame induction ceremony so I suppose I was over due. I found a worthy nominee this week. His name is Jonathan Gruber. Gruber is one of the architects and facilitators of Obamacare. In fact, he helped write the bill. Gruber has recently come under a lot of fire for calling people stupid and admittedly taking advantage of them on several levels and now confessing those sins publicly. Absolutely shameless. You must read this piece before you get the full sense of what a real asshole is. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/11/13/MIT-Prof-Proves-Obamacare-Was-Built-Elites-Stupid-People

There is a misconception in this country, generally among professions and people that exploit others, that somehow duping people or taking advantage of them is acceptable and intelligent. Or something to celebrate.

I have seen people who believe this and even laugh about it. Personally, I think that it's kind of sick.

I spent all week researching Jonathan Gruber, M.I.T. economist and watching his videos. Gruber received 300k from the government and then set about the task of promoting the ACA without telling anyone that he was being paid by the government to do so. Instead, he pretended to be some independent source of credible information having been the architect of Romneycare in Massachusetts. Because of his credentials, the government was more than happy to spend our tax dollars to enlist his impressive resume. 

Under controversies, in his Wiki bio, comes the following:

In November 2014, a series of videos emerged of Gruber speaking about the ACA at different events, from 2010 to 2013, in ways that proved to be controversial. Many of the videos show him talking about ways in which he felt the ACA was misleadingly crafted and/or marketed in order to get the bill passed, while in some of the videos he specifically refers to American voters as ill-informed or "stupid." In the first, most widely-publicized video taken at a panel discussion about the ACA at the University of Pennsylvania in October 2013, Gruber said the bill was deliberately written "in a tortured way" to disguise the fact that it creates a system by which "healthy people pay in and sick people get money." He said this obfuscation was needed due to "the stupidity of the American voter" in ensuring the bill's passage. Gruber said the bill's inherent "lack of transparency is a huge political advantage" in selling it.[23] The comments caused significant controversy.[24][25][26][27][28] In two subsequent videos, Gruber was shown talking about the decision (which he attributed to John Kerry) to have the bill tax insurance companies instead of patients, which he called fundamentally the same thing economically but more palatable politically. In one video, he stated that "the American people are too stupid to understand the difference" between the two approaches, while in the other he said that the switch worked due to "the lack of economic understanding of the American voter."[29] In another video, taken in 2010, Gruber expressed doubts that the ACA would significantly reduce health care costs, though he noted that lowering costs played a major part in the way the bill was promoted.[30]

One other thing I'd like to add about the ACA that most people are unaware of. Your government, with your health or tax dollars (depending on whose definition we use) promised to backstop health insurance companies so that they would not suffer any catastrophic losses under the ACA.  That way, with just a little math and some actuaries- they could come up with a pretty good idea of what their profit margins would eventually look like thanks mostly to you and I. Source here. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-19/a-guide-to-obamacares-backstop-for-anxious-insurance-companies

I would like to refocus on Jonathan Gruber. Gruber was essentially paid by the government to advocate for Obamacare and to keep his mouth shut regarding his paid status. Source. (I know its HP, pls read the link) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/how-the-white-house-used_b_421549.html He facilitated the ACA 's passage while misleading and deceiving millions of us. Gruber who had every opportunity to inform the public of what was actually in that bill and failed to do so, referred to us as ill informed or stupid voters. Thanks in no small measure to liars like himself.

Instead of feeling the extreme shame that any of us with a conscience might feel- Gruber does not. Gruber apparently gleans some measure of delight from duping and deceiving "stupid" taxpayers like me. And he doesn't even really take responsibility for writing this bill. For years I have scoured the internet trying to figure out the names of the people who actually wrote the ACA to no avail. Gruber is as close as I have ever come to an actual suspect. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/14/obamacare-architect-mouths-off-again-as-videos-cause-problems-for-dems/

There is no honor in misleading people and then calling them stupid. 

By every measure, Jonathan Gruber hit the jackpot. He was born with exceptional intelligence and the money or means to attend M.I.T. and Harvard. He made all the right connections and wound up with a resume and credentials that have allowed him to glean hundreds of thousands in tax payer money, a nice salary, a nice job, and some pretty good health insurance I'll bet. 

Instead of waking up each morning and giving thanks for hitting the birth lottery, Jonathan Gruber wakes up every day with a sense of entitlement. Rather than educating people- he chose to dupe them instead and now calls them stupid. His efforts will cost me thousands of dollars and will certainly muck up my health care. For all of that, Mr. Gruber does not show a sense of remorse or shame. Instead he celebrates his accomplishments like stealing an old lady's purse is a noble pursuit.

We all decide what kind of men we are going to be. I've spent my life trying to help others. I will not get any 6 figure government checks for "consulting" but I'll sleep well at night knowing that I didn't deceive anyone while stealing their money and calling them stupid. To hear Gruber talk, none of that matters- he doesn't even mention it. I find everything about Jonathan Gruber to be reprehensible and...

...we didn't use words like reprehensible when I was a kid growing up in Montana.

Instead, we just called people like Gruber, "assholes." I think that pretty much captures it. Nobody says, "When I grow up I want to be an asshole!" Some people it seems- are just over achievers. Welcome to the FG Asshole Hall of Fame, Jon. It's a small but special group and you certainly earned your spot in here.   

*Update. President Obama is now claiming Gruber had nothing to do with the ACA. All of those lies and confusion are a perfect example of why people are "stupid." It's impossible to tell the true from the false- primarily when delivered by non credible, proven liars. I still tend to believe Gruber- only because I don't have a 7 year proven track record of lying from him like I do with Obama- maybe the greatest liar to ever work a shift in Washington. Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/16/us-usa-healthcare-gruber-idUSKCN0J00UJ20141116

Second World America- The Sunday Collage

(This was last week's piece. I didn't like it but I have posted it today in a Frankenstein Government two for one sale!)

I've had a pretty interesting week which ended with last week's giant, Friday stock market rally brought on by Japan's announcement that they were going to further debase their currency and buy one half a trillion worth of American equities. More or less. So the bankers decided to front run those eventual purchases by the Japanese- by buying on Friday. The QE shit show that never ends.

I read a snarky Forbes piece about what a great deal Obamacare is this morning. It sure is- as long as you are subsidized by taxpayers. Unsubsidized people like myself are faced with 8000 dollars worth of annual insurance costs which approximate my mortgage or about 17% of my after tax income. (500 x12 mo with a 2k deductible)

On to the topic du jour.

When I was a child and later a young man, there was a sense of optimism in our lives. I knew and my friends knew- that if you worked hard and made wise decisions you could accumulate a small fortune and have a good life. We took for granted that our system of laws protected us. Who thought that laws actually protected our way of life- the kids of the 60s and 70s?

Do today's kids think like that?

Several weeks ago, I had a reader write and ask that I write a little bit about the damage inflicted upon us by lawyers and lawyer legislators. It goes something like this. Legislators, state and federal, are forever creating new laws. All this new law gets implemented and then the fallout takes place. In our system many of us assume that good laws are kept and that bad laws are somehow thrown out.

Lawyers create laws, they steward the law, and they make legal decisions regarding the law. If they adhere to simple principles regarding the law- such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights- then things would work fine. When lawyers deviate from freedom guided principles and begin to authorize let's say- politically motivated laws or laws designed to unreasonably seize citizen assets- then the system starts to break down.

In a nutshell, it's really hard to support any person, groups of persons, or any other institution which is seizing or really- just simply stealing your assets through the force of bad law. People who extort money from others used to be called thieves. These days we refer to them as government.

Even the most staunch libertarian like myself believes in the necessity of government for the safety and protection of our citizens. I am more than happy to pay taxes and fund our national defense (not offense) for agencies like the FCC and the FDA, and any number of other alphabet agencies that protect our citizens.

Where I get crazy is when government starts stealing my money for home loans, student loans, TARP programs, cell phones, medical insurance, bond interest, or any number of other programs ranging from ridiculous grants to farm subsidies where farmers are paid not to grow crops. All of this garbage has nothing to do with the PRIMARY job description of government. The safety and protection of our citizens.

Or more succinctly from Publius Huldah- a true constitutional scholar- comes the following:

The parallel in our Constitution is that the Constitution is the Supreme Law which the civil authorities are to obey. Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary defines “constitution”:

“…In free states, the constitution is paramount to the statutes or laws enacted by the legislature, limiting and controlling its power; and in the United States, the legislature is created, and its powers designated, by the constitution.”

So our Constitution is the Standard by which the validity of all Acts of Congress, all acts of the Executive Branch, all judicial opinions, and all Treaties is measured and judged (Art. VI, cl. 2).

So law comes from a higher source than the civil authorities. The “Rule of Law” prevails when the civil authorities obey that higher Law – be it God’s Law or our Constitution.

So how do all of these bad laws come about and stay? Could it be as simple as legislators who create law and who are often lawyers, lawyers who steward these laws once created, and judges who are lawyers and make decisions regarding these laws?

Of course. Let me give you one little example.

Lawyers blew it and I do in fact lay the blame at their doorstep. In fact, in a very simplistic way, John Roberts of  the Supreme Court while casting the tie breaking vote could have ended Obamacare dead in it's tracks. Instead, Roberts threw out any rationale regarding the 4th amendment and authorized the greatest asset seizure and forfeiture in American history. Say that again. The greatest asset forfeiture in American history.

What did Roberts, a lawyer and judge, steal from me?

Roberts stole my liberty and freedom to choose how to live and direct  my life. He seized my work product without due process and apparently suspended the 4th amendment- which is supposed to protect me against unreasonable seizure. In short, Roberts stole my freedom, my rights as a human being, and ultimately my money. I don't see things any differently than if my government ordered me to buy satellite television because my participation would allegedly keep the costs of TV watching down for everyone else. Roberts could have stopped all of this stupid shit. But he didn't because he is a fallible, human being who's credentials far exceed his common sense.

When I was a child, that law would have never been written- let alone passed and upheld by a room full of Harvard jurists. Not in my wildest dreams have I ever seen a finer example of socialism in a country that once detested socialism as the graveyard of dead republics.

In a few months I am going to have to file my taxes and I am completely angered by the fact that I must pay a penalty for a service that I didn't want, didn't ask for, and can't afford anyway. This, in the land of the free.
What a joke that is. It didn't use to be that way.

I suppose that's how a great republic declines. It abandons the concepts and principles that once made it great. It's an entirely odd concept to think that embracing freedom, capitalism, and a rule of law meant everyone participated on a level playing field maintained by our country's jurists.

Today we embrace statism, socialism, and we ignore the rule of law- choosing to let mob rule democracy decide who can keep what. Our jurists are largely missing now, their bad decisions now setting bad judicial precedent which will form a foundation for the laws that will surely follow. Soon the mob will find ways to take more and more wealth from the people who possess it- making it a criminal act to possess something they want- like Russian wheat farmers under Stalin.

Why would anyone produce anything if they knew they would have to surrender it to the state? Isn't that the essence of socialism or communism?

You can't keep seizing the assets of our hard workers and give them to the non workers. This is how you take a well run country that embraced the concepts of freedom, the rule of law, and ruin it. By stealing the property of hard working and innovative Americans and delivering it to couch potatoes and deadbeats by passing terrible law- you most assuredly will steal the motivation of the best and brightest in America.

That's why today, we have become "also rans." In virtually any category, from birth to death rates to tax rates- we have dropped dramatically. We no longer sit at the top of anything except the amount of money we spend on our military and our 18 trillion dollar debt. And our costs for health care. I laugh when people still maintain that we have the best health care (certainly the most expensive and wasteful, we win that hands down) and I run across those statements from time to time. Let's just say the World Health Organization disagrees.

The laws of this country violate the tenets of the 4th amendment which was designed to prevent unreasonable searches and most importantly- seizures. Those unreasonable seizures are destroying our way of life. They cannot be allowed to continue or we most assuredly will become a second world country. The truth is- we have probably already arrived at that destination.

As a child I never thought I'd live to see these days. We took our way of life for granted back then and they stole it from us. Sometimes when people steal your shit- you have to steal it back. Sometimes a lot of people get jailed and a lot more get killed. History teaches that lesson over and over again. You'd think at some point- we'd pay attention.

An Unexamined Life- The Sunday Collage

Have you ever met someone who has that unquenchable thirst of always wanting and obtaining things? Someone who is always busy doing something? I know hundreds of people like that. Intelligent people who believe that every second of their day must be consumed with some "useful" project or their life will be filled with guilt and ruin.

I once knew a guy, a local potter who was locally famous here in Boise. His pottery is very fine and considered quite valuable. Unfortunately, that pottery of John's has never improved my life. My life would undoubtedly be the same without his pottery albeit a little less colorful. Strangely, I think that it is Mr. Takehara that is worth examining and not his pottery. A lot of folks would think I have that backwards. Mr. Takehara always fascinated me, maybe some others. http://janestreetclayworks.com/tag/john-takehara/

Unfortunately, Mr. Takehara is no longer with us. Even if he were, I doubt he'd have much to say. Talking about himself was just not his style.

Someone famous once said, "The best two minutes of a man's life occur when he is born and when he discovers why he was born."

The span between those two minutes in my life ran from Dec. 1960 to April, 2008. The first minute occurred in eastern Montana. I don't remember it so well but it's not important. It's the second minute that I want to talk a little bit about.

I've always thought that there has to be some sort of purpose for us being here. Sometimes, I think people get caught up in living their lives and adhering to some script placed in their heads by their parents and family members. Sometimes I think, they live their lives like little ants- dutifully building some ridiculous little ant hill- which the world kicks over with hardly a sense of loss.

Can you imagine living a completely useless life? What a cruel joke that might be.

So if there is any sort of purpose here...the only thing that makes any kind of sense to me- is that we are here to help others become better people.

Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living. Why did he say that?

Perhaps while examining your life it causes you to become brutally honest. You become aware of all of your mistakes and shortcomings. You realize how self centered you've been. You look at your life and think, "I should have done this or I should have done that" and you realize the things that you did right but more importantly- the things you did that were wrong. That kind of brutal honesty is the breeding ground for truth. Telling people the truth means you have examined your life. You have something conscious and useful that the rest of us can use. If you fail to honestly examine your life- then you have learned nothing. Not only that- but you have nothing to give others.

If you examine your life but are too fearful to disclose it to others- then you have sort of failed too, haven't you?

My examination happened in April of 2008. I was in New Orleans doing a personal inventory of my life and generally just kicking myself in the ass for having been a whiny, self centered and angry, ego maniac. I walked it all back. I saw all of the cause and effect. I realized how I came to that place, detail by detail. And just like Takehara's pottery- most importantly I began to understand who I was- and not what I had produced. For just as surely as Mr. Takehara brought beauty into the world, I had brought the product of my actions as well. But unlike Takehara, when I screwed something up- I couldn't just smash it to pieces or melt it in some kiln and get rid of it. Sometimes there's no taking something back.

You gotta get ok with that. Because your actions helped shape this place and in fact- that was your role. You were cast for that part. it wasn't a mistake.

On Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving- I will get the opportunity to tell an audience what an unexamined life looks like and what an examined life looks like. I absolutely love to contrast the two. There is nothing better than telling the world what an idiot you have been and then laughing about it. People think you are some special kind of nuts.

I think that's the 2nd moment I discovered back in New Orleans. That there is nothing more helpful than being honest and helping others. Being authentic comes from a place in the heart where it is ok to be an idiot- ok to make mistakes. People understand that and they can take action to avoid the same pitfalls that have sucked you in. I've been helping a lot of people get ok with themselves since '08. It hasn't always been pleasant but it sure has been gratifying.

Besides, I suck at making pottery.

A Two Week Hiatus

I've been really busy at work.

I have written two fairly decent pieces this week for the Sunday Collage. I shit canned them both primarily because they aren't anything new. I get tired of regurgitating the same old stuff with a different spin.

So I am putting the finishing touches on a much better piece and I should have it up by tomorrow. Thanks for keeping the faith.