I freely admit that I'm a knowledge junky. I said "knowledge", not
learning. Learning is a process of assimilation or in other words, you
absorb and make it your own. Knowledge is understanding what you have
assimilated. Knowledge demands that some assimilated information must be
discarded as erroneous.
These errors might be due to lack of adequate data, personal biases in the
interpretation or (sound of approaching thunderstorm please) purposeful
manipulation to decieve. Free thought permits, NO, demands that all
information must be weighed, calibrated and compared to existing and
tested knowledge base.
Testing of learning is fairly simple. At the testers disposal is multiple
choice, fill in the blank, essays and manual manipulation. All of these
are classroom techniques. Testing of knowledge is far different.
If a person has knowledge, they know the outcome for every stage of a
process before they begin. The human element is effectively discarded. All
the variables are accounted for or an experiment is run just so the
variables can be identified and either eliminated or accounted for in the
experiment. Knowledge is tested by application.
Now that I have chased off all the oxygen thieves, I had probably better
get down to the issue at hand.
Everyone has heard of Pavlov's dogs. Ring the bell, dog salivates. It is
conditioned response. Over time, every response becomes instinctual and
the subject has no conscience idea of the action they have effected.
Insert disclaimer here!
If you are an idiot, I will smile, nod my head and walk away. I just don't
care what you think. Therefore I won't post web-links to support anything
I say unless I feel like it. Do your own research! Everything I say or
opine is subject to change as new data becomes available. Knowledge is a
pursuit that has no end point.
We now return you to our normally scheduled program.
Homo Sapiens is just another animal and conditioned response is the norm.
Punishment is the mechanism for unacceptable behavior. Respect
authorities. Stand behind your leader. Know your place. Yada, yada, gag me
with 18" pipe wrench.
There is a syndrome that affects many people in hostage situations. They
develop a love-hate relationship with their captors. The hostage resigns
themselves to dependancy of their captors and hates themselves for being
weak.
Depression becomes the inevitable result without serious intervention.
Drugs are commonly prescribed and counselling is mandatory. As counsellors
aren't cheap, the financial gain promotes long-term therapy. Any pursuit
of rapid mental reallignment of the victim is verboten. The argument for
long-term therapy hinges on the possible shock to a person who has already
suffered a shock. In medicine it has been said, "The difference between
medication and poison is the dose."
Depression is a self-reinforcing state of helplessness. The victim
immerses themselves in a state of self-pity and accepts it. What might
have been human is now a trained animal. (Cue in howls of self-righteous
anger and fade in chanting "you can't understand, you can't understand.")
Ah, but I do. Been there, done that. My self-medication of choice was
alcohol in liberal quantities. Self-analysis coupled with shock and awe
brought me out of it every time.
So just where the hell am I going with this?
Citizenry throughout the developed world is wallowing in self-pity. Even
the US government takes advantage of it. If the individual believes they
are impotent to change the direction of their life and their vote is
meaningless, everything remains the same.
We were conned into consumerism and attendant debt. Our government
supported and pursued national debt as good for business. We, the
citizens, learned through conditioning that Senator Snort brings home the
bacon. Nobody was willing to admit that government redistribution is just
theft and carries a high handling and shipping charge.
Whether it was Social Security, Welfare or Unemployment Insurance, the
object was to develop a hostage crisis for all participants unable to live
outside the system.
So how do we live outside the system? The easiest method is what the Army
termed "the problem solving format."
Step 1. Correctly identify the problem. This is the most difficult of the
steps. Symptoms are NOT the problem.
Step 2. Determine ALL the possible solutions. This MUST include even the
most unpalateable solutions.
Step 3. Select the best solution.
Step 4. Implement
Step 5. Analyze the outcome and make any changes needed. For many, this is
just as difficult as step 1. The first difficulty is accepting less than
optimum outcomes. It failed, therefore I failed so I should just accept my
sorry lot in life. Doctor, will you refill my prescription? Another
difficulty is bull-headedness. This has to work, this will work, I'll
force it to work, ... etc. Believing the experts is a fool's errand.
Nobody can grasp your anguish, ethos or dreams as effectively as you.
Physician, heal thyself.
We have become victims and exhibit all the symptoms. We accept our sorry
lot in life. We self-medicate or refill our prescriptions for
anti-depressants. We have conned ourselves into believing this is as good
as it gets. We turn to government for guidance. Recall the check-writing
scandal in Congress? They can't balance their own checkbook, the nation's
checkbook and toss good money after bad. They nationalize private debt for
the big players for your sake, but don't nationalize your's. The business
of government is tax and spend their way to re-election.
We have let ourselves become pawns in a chess game without knowing who are
the players. We have learned exactly what the players want us to think we
know. There can be no know without understanding. Remove understanding and
the know becomes exposed for what it really is; belief.
We have let the illusion become our delusion. "You are getting sleepy,
sleepy. We are from the government and we are here to help you."
Please deposit $2.5 million for the next re-election campaign. There is
still so much work to be done. Nobody dares ask, "Why would a logical
reasoning human continue to pay for non-performance by an elected
representative?" The chronicly depressed see themselves as dependants of
their captors. Now take your meds and shut up.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Business of America Pt2
So what are the upsides and downsides of this dominant business of
royalties and licensing?
One upside is high profits to low investment ratio. Even in the field of
entertainment such as movies, if the producer practices cost containment,
three possibilities exist for profits. Lose some money, make a profit or
make an enormous profit. No, there is no such thing as break even.
All of this equates to tax revenues. Lower the cost of the material and
preserve profit increases the profit margin. Higher profit margin equals
increased tax monies. Every for-profit corporation has a fiduciary
responsibility to its shareholders to maximize profits.
The ability to maintain profits and transfer costs to a foreign company
meets this requirement. It further permits capital investment to be
provided for other projects. If we invest money in manufacturing
equipment, this money is tied up for several years. If it goes for
projects that are sourced off-shore, the investment can be recovered in a
far shorter period.
So what is the downside?
We sent our manufacturing base off-shore. Now we are faced with sending
consumer monies overseas. We lack the manufacturing capacity to take care
of ourselves. This adversely affects our balance of payments. It is good
for business, but bad for the diversity of our industrial base and
national defense.
Our nation needs a military, but national defense is far more than
military might. The military consumes and creates nothing. Every penny
spent on foreign goods just goes down the rat hole. No US jobs are created
and tax revenues leave the US economy. Our economy must be defended.
As a nation, every job sent overseas equals a transfer of US money. We
only have so much income. If we fail to save and re-invest in the US, we
will effectively spend our way into poverty.
As it is, we are rapidly moving into a service industry. This is nothing
more than taking in each other's laundry. Each monetary transfer is part
of the GDP and is taxed. If we move this money around long enough, almost
every cent is taxed away. This is the "trickle down" theory of the Reagan
era.
If we just admit that the business of America is taxes, and if we admit
that royalties/licensing is the path to greatest profits, then we have to
increase our educational expenditures. With our propensity for
entitlements, we can ill afford anything other than "No Child Left
Behind." The legacy costs of Social Security for the baby-boomers will
demand greater tax revenues.
So what is the solution?
First of all, eliminate entitlements. Cash the people out.
Remake the tax laws. Begin with a single employment deduction per employee
of $12,000 a year. No other deductions allowed. Set the tax rate at a flat
10%.
Tax all capital gains under 6 months investment at 35% as well as all
gambling tax rate. Day-trading is gambling. Eliminate deductions for
losses incurred by gambling.
We need to return to tracking of our students. Excellence must never be
compromised by dumbing down our brightest students. Tendering the argument
of equality can be addressed by tight grading standards. If the student is
failing, fail them.
Are these the answers? I don't know. We face a deficit and an enormous
national debt. We will have to make right on this debt and I fear our only
option will be hyper-inflation. Without a domestic manufacturing base, we
will face severe economic challenges. I'm not sure if American labor has
the skills a economic collapse would require. We truly live in interesting
times.
royalties and licensing?
One upside is high profits to low investment ratio. Even in the field of
entertainment such as movies, if the producer practices cost containment,
three possibilities exist for profits. Lose some money, make a profit or
make an enormous profit. No, there is no such thing as break even.
All of this equates to tax revenues. Lower the cost of the material and
preserve profit increases the profit margin. Higher profit margin equals
increased tax monies. Every for-profit corporation has a fiduciary
responsibility to its shareholders to maximize profits.
The ability to maintain profits and transfer costs to a foreign company
meets this requirement. It further permits capital investment to be
provided for other projects. If we invest money in manufacturing
equipment, this money is tied up for several years. If it goes for
projects that are sourced off-shore, the investment can be recovered in a
far shorter period.
So what is the downside?
We sent our manufacturing base off-shore. Now we are faced with sending
consumer monies overseas. We lack the manufacturing capacity to take care
of ourselves. This adversely affects our balance of payments. It is good
for business, but bad for the diversity of our industrial base and
national defense.
Our nation needs a military, but national defense is far more than
military might. The military consumes and creates nothing. Every penny
spent on foreign goods just goes down the rat hole. No US jobs are created
and tax revenues leave the US economy. Our economy must be defended.
As a nation, every job sent overseas equals a transfer of US money. We
only have so much income. If we fail to save and re-invest in the US, we
will effectively spend our way into poverty.
As it is, we are rapidly moving into a service industry. This is nothing
more than taking in each other's laundry. Each monetary transfer is part
of the GDP and is taxed. If we move this money around long enough, almost
every cent is taxed away. This is the "trickle down" theory of the Reagan
era.
If we just admit that the business of America is taxes, and if we admit
that royalties/licensing is the path to greatest profits, then we have to
increase our educational expenditures. With our propensity for
entitlements, we can ill afford anything other than "No Child Left
Behind." The legacy costs of Social Security for the baby-boomers will
demand greater tax revenues.
So what is the solution?
First of all, eliminate entitlements. Cash the people out.
Remake the tax laws. Begin with a single employment deduction per employee
of $12,000 a year. No other deductions allowed. Set the tax rate at a flat
10%.
Tax all capital gains under 6 months investment at 35% as well as all
gambling tax rate. Day-trading is gambling. Eliminate deductions for
losses incurred by gambling.
We need to return to tracking of our students. Excellence must never be
compromised by dumbing down our brightest students. Tendering the argument
of equality can be addressed by tight grading standards. If the student is
failing, fail them.
Are these the answers? I don't know. We face a deficit and an enormous
national debt. We will have to make right on this debt and I fear our only
option will be hyper-inflation. Without a domestic manufacturing base, we
will face severe economic challenges. I'm not sure if American labor has
the skills a economic collapse would require. We truly live in interesting
times.
The Business of America
If you ever get the desire, look at America's largest export on the Dept
of Commerce website. Or just keep reading and I'll tell you it is
royalties and licensing. So just what is this stuff and why does it affect
me?
Software, copyrighted material and patents comprise the lion's share of
these exports. If you are reading this, you better be aware that the
software is owned by a company and you only have a usage license. You can
NOT copy and sell it. In most cases, it is only licensed for use on one
computer. You can be held liable for civil damages for buying a single-use
license and installing it on your laptop and desktop computers. These same
licenses are sold overseas and these licenses are called exports.
Copyrighted material can be books, movies and music. Just figure it as
entertainment and educational media. Much of the material can be sent to a
foreign country in digital form, converted to end-user friendly media and
then distributed. All the costs of manufacturing and distribution costs
are borne by the recieving country and the original creators get a royalty
with little costs associated with the material beyond the actual creation.
Again, these royalties are exports.
In many cases, patents are licensed to overseas manufacturers solely due
to labor costs. High-tech patents tend to be put into production
in-country until a long-term market demand demonstrates an extended and
growing lifetime is projected. Rather than make substantial capital
improvements in-country manufacturing base, the creator company licenses
it for foreign manufacture. The original manufacturing tooling is reserved
for the next generation of high-tech item. Again, the costs are the
problem of the overseas manufacturer. Another export.
So just what does this mean and how does it affect me?
As this is all about profitability and growth of our export base, if you
aren't in the game you will continue to experience smaller incomes and
elimination of manufacuring jobs. If we consider greatest income versus
job availability, high-tech is the surest path to future economic wealth
generation.
However, there is a caveat. High-tech requires education. Most will be
forced to attend college in order to gain the required knowledge base to
enter the labor market. Any and all research and development of the next
best thing done while you attend college is owned by the college. At best,
you will get your name on the patent, but it is assigned to the college by
federal law. College is a business. You are effectively buying an
internship in the business in return for training.
This leads us to the simple fact that our entire economy depends on
education. We are constantly assailed with our children's need for more
investment in education. Our schools have chosen the path of cooperative
teamwork rather than individual merit. There are somewhat valid arguments
in favor of the teamwork approach.
High-tech innovation requires massive numbers of man-hours. In most cases,
the only available mechanism to achieve this requirement. Discipline is
improved in the classroom when all members are subject to peer pressure by
members of their team. If we mix the teams up enough, we can get pretty
fair results from mediocrity. Every child gets an atta-boy.
These advantages can lead to some serious problems. Children capable of
rapid learning tend to wander off. Attention Deficit Disorder is the
problem and drugs are the solution. This causes a dumbing down. Social
equalization is maintained, discipline is maintained and even a doped-up
child can function as part of a mediocre team.
When did this trend start? I tend to think the beginnings were in the
1960's with the race for space and the moon. Space held wonder, excitement
and hunger for students with any taste for science. There remains many
people opposed to the International Space Station and the NASA agency for
being a waste of money. I contend that NASA is our nation's primary
spokes-agency for science education.
End part 1
of Commerce website. Or just keep reading and I'll tell you it is
royalties and licensing. So just what is this stuff and why does it affect
me?
Software, copyrighted material and patents comprise the lion's share of
these exports. If you are reading this, you better be aware that the
software is owned by a company and you only have a usage license. You can
NOT copy and sell it. In most cases, it is only licensed for use on one
computer. You can be held liable for civil damages for buying a single-use
license and installing it on your laptop and desktop computers. These same
licenses are sold overseas and these licenses are called exports.
Copyrighted material can be books, movies and music. Just figure it as
entertainment and educational media. Much of the material can be sent to a
foreign country in digital form, converted to end-user friendly media and
then distributed. All the costs of manufacturing and distribution costs
are borne by the recieving country and the original creators get a royalty
with little costs associated with the material beyond the actual creation.
Again, these royalties are exports.
In many cases, patents are licensed to overseas manufacturers solely due
to labor costs. High-tech patents tend to be put into production
in-country until a long-term market demand demonstrates an extended and
growing lifetime is projected. Rather than make substantial capital
improvements in-country manufacturing base, the creator company licenses
it for foreign manufacture. The original manufacturing tooling is reserved
for the next generation of high-tech item. Again, the costs are the
problem of the overseas manufacturer. Another export.
So just what does this mean and how does it affect me?
As this is all about profitability and growth of our export base, if you
aren't in the game you will continue to experience smaller incomes and
elimination of manufacuring jobs. If we consider greatest income versus
job availability, high-tech is the surest path to future economic wealth
generation.
However, there is a caveat. High-tech requires education. Most will be
forced to attend college in order to gain the required knowledge base to
enter the labor market. Any and all research and development of the next
best thing done while you attend college is owned by the college. At best,
you will get your name on the patent, but it is assigned to the college by
federal law. College is a business. You are effectively buying an
internship in the business in return for training.
This leads us to the simple fact that our entire economy depends on
education. We are constantly assailed with our children's need for more
investment in education. Our schools have chosen the path of cooperative
teamwork rather than individual merit. There are somewhat valid arguments
in favor of the teamwork approach.
High-tech innovation requires massive numbers of man-hours. In most cases,
the only available mechanism to achieve this requirement. Discipline is
improved in the classroom when all members are subject to peer pressure by
members of their team. If we mix the teams up enough, we can get pretty
fair results from mediocrity. Every child gets an atta-boy.
These advantages can lead to some serious problems. Children capable of
rapid learning tend to wander off. Attention Deficit Disorder is the
problem and drugs are the solution. This causes a dumbing down. Social
equalization is maintained, discipline is maintained and even a doped-up
child can function as part of a mediocre team.
When did this trend start? I tend to think the beginnings were in the
1960's with the race for space and the moon. Space held wonder, excitement
and hunger for students with any taste for science. There remains many
people opposed to the International Space Station and the NASA agency for
being a waste of money. I contend that NASA is our nation's primary
spokes-agency for science education.
End part 1
Friday, December 4, 2009
We Have Unsettled Weather Conditions
Many who might read these blogs could get the idea that all I see is doom and gloom. Not at all. There remains a possibility that our politicians with the help of financial experts could pull a rabbit out of the hat.
I've spoken earlier about the emotive responses of homo sapiens. Even the most logical thinkers can be swayed by a well framed argument that appeals to their ethos. Just as easy as a mob can destroy a city, so can a determined mass of people can build monuments such as the Stonehenge.
Though I tend to avoid extensive planning, a sound economic plan that includes almost all of the changes needed to pay down our national debt, returns a poly-metallic monetary backing, increases bank cash reserves and eliminates derivatives would get my attention.
It could happen. Until then I will bet that our economic whiz-kids will do whatever they think might work. I can't see any evidence of malfeasance when it comes to our monetary system. I tend to think that most times, rather than malice, it is just plain ole dumb ass. I'm sure there is plenty of fodder for the conspiracy theorists. Don't get me wrong, I don't rule anything out.
Yes, there could be corporations that played the system. You might wanna read Bethany McLean's article in Vanity Fair on Goldman Sachs. (vanityfair.com)
Given enough data, a thinking person can make a pretty accurate prediction. In this case, we are mostly in the dark. There is a fight to prevent auditing the Federal Reserve. Better to error on the side of prudency. If I err, no harm. If people reading this blog buy some extra groceries or emergency supplies, it is a good idea. Severe weather could plunge anyone into several days of isolation and threaten their survival. On top of this, the economy needs consumer dollars.
If we plunge headlong into hyper-inflation, the stuff you buy today will never be cheaper. If inflation runs into triple digits, the shelves will be empty.
If you choose to lay in some supplies, keep your mouth shut about it. Desperate times make for desperate people. Far better to be the ants than the grasshopper when an ill winter wind hits. Of course you might wanna make sure you have some way to cook your grub.
Do I think it will rain out our economy? Yep. Do I think this event will result in law of the jungle? Perhaps in the cities and in some of the more isolated areas. The cities are vulnerable to any disruption of the food distribution system. In isolated areas, the probability of escaping justice will be greater. Small to midsize towns will retain a sense of community and work hard to control any criminal element.
No matter what the pros from Dover do about our economic mess, it will be several years at minimum for recovery. I suppose I had better scratch out social security. Oh well, it wasn't all that long ago that most folks worked until they died. So I reckon it might be a good idea to take our pleasures when the occaisions present themselves.
I patiently await the future with nervous anticipation. We live in interesting times which future historians will proclaim a pivotal event.
I've spoken earlier about the emotive responses of homo sapiens. Even the most logical thinkers can be swayed by a well framed argument that appeals to their ethos. Just as easy as a mob can destroy a city, so can a determined mass of people can build monuments such as the Stonehenge.
Though I tend to avoid extensive planning, a sound economic plan that includes almost all of the changes needed to pay down our national debt, returns a poly-metallic monetary backing, increases bank cash reserves and eliminates derivatives would get my attention.
It could happen. Until then I will bet that our economic whiz-kids will do whatever they think might work. I can't see any evidence of malfeasance when it comes to our monetary system. I tend to think that most times, rather than malice, it is just plain ole dumb ass. I'm sure there is plenty of fodder for the conspiracy theorists. Don't get me wrong, I don't rule anything out.
Yes, there could be corporations that played the system. You might wanna read Bethany McLean's article in Vanity Fair on Goldman Sachs. (vanityfair.com)
Given enough data, a thinking person can make a pretty accurate prediction. In this case, we are mostly in the dark. There is a fight to prevent auditing the Federal Reserve. Better to error on the side of prudency. If I err, no harm. If people reading this blog buy some extra groceries or emergency supplies, it is a good idea. Severe weather could plunge anyone into several days of isolation and threaten their survival. On top of this, the economy needs consumer dollars.
If we plunge headlong into hyper-inflation, the stuff you buy today will never be cheaper. If inflation runs into triple digits, the shelves will be empty.
If you choose to lay in some supplies, keep your mouth shut about it. Desperate times make for desperate people. Far better to be the ants than the grasshopper when an ill winter wind hits. Of course you might wanna make sure you have some way to cook your grub.
Do I think it will rain out our economy? Yep. Do I think this event will result in law of the jungle? Perhaps in the cities and in some of the more isolated areas. The cities are vulnerable to any disruption of the food distribution system. In isolated areas, the probability of escaping justice will be greater. Small to midsize towns will retain a sense of community and work hard to control any criminal element.
No matter what the pros from Dover do about our economic mess, it will be several years at minimum for recovery. I suppose I had better scratch out social security. Oh well, it wasn't all that long ago that most folks worked until they died. So I reckon it might be a good idea to take our pleasures when the occaisions present themselves.
I patiently await the future with nervous anticipation. We live in interesting times which future historians will proclaim a pivotal event.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Inflation, Depression and Constipation
My step-father was a wise man. His family fled Europe during the early part of the depression and came to America. He put his way through college and gained a Masters in Silviculture by shovelling sulfur out of railroad cars. The only work he could find was with the CCC working in the woods of Oregon.
He learned the worth of money, invested carefully and abhorred debt. Money was just a tool. He taught me that the real wealth was in mental abilities. If you had a good mind, it had real value and if you had integrity to go with it, someone would always hire you.
My mother was a Rosanne. And when she married my step-father, she was white trash with money. Still she was refused entrance to the club. She started her own with herself as the mistress in charge. She truly believed money equaled respect.
I chose a different path and incurred her wrath after a phone call from her about rewriting the will. The projected value of the estate was considerable, but not majorly substantial. Stocks, bonds, cash and several pieces of real estate in a growing yuppie community. On the phone I was asked what I wanted from the estate in the will. I declined and suggested they spend some of the assets on a several month long world-wide cruise.
I can still hear her harsh retort, "We can't do that, something might happen!"
Less than a year later, both were dead. I recieved a token share of the estate that I promptly invested. The few debts remaining against the estate were medical, monthly utilities and taxes.
Here we are 10 years later. My sister and step-sisters are either broke or dead. The money brought no happiness or security.
If you recall, my teachings were that money was just a tool. Knowledge and integrity were wealth. Though I have no money, I have all the security possible without becoming a slave to the game of money accumulation or its evil step-child; public perception of wealth.
I think it was Calvin Coolidge that said, "The business of America is business." We are taught it takes money to make money. Few have the ability to accumulate money therefore they use credit. Credit by itself doesn't make money, but you can present the illusuion of being monied.
So America used its easy revolving credit plan to put on airs. Debt accumulated and each debt created the illusion of more money in the system than there actually was. It is called inflation and is made possible by fractional reserve banking insured by Uncle Sam through the FDIC.
Still, this heavy debt had its toll. Keeping up the illusion of wealth drove vast numbers of soccer-moms to anti-depressants. They were depressed and big Pharma made money. Taxes were rolling in to be dispersed according to the needs of the voting public.
When the system got over-extended, government stepped in with inflationary countermeasures called quantitative easing. In simplish, printing more money.
A consumer-based economy needs credit. We can't let the banks fail. To do so would permit an economic depression and dry up the tax base. The people would lose faith in the system. Recall all the worries about economic stimulus checks being used for debt pay-down?
So our ever benevolent politicians decided that modest inflation would eliminate national debt. The problem still remains; too much government spending and still no pay-down of the national debt. Now the talks are about national health-care, possible melt-down of commercial real estate and our continued need for a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. No problem, as helicopter Ben stated, we have a printing press. Inflation can't remain modest, but rather it will become hyper-inflationary. Those few that still have jobs will be able to pay off their debts, but most will fall.
No worries. Our ever wise politicians have a new CCC plan. Contain, control and convince. Contain the masses in the cities. Control them through food distribution networks and convince them that those not joining the club are the threat to prosperity. All this takes are a few facilitators helping various committees to decide to support programs that the government has already planned. Let the masses believe they have put the yoke around their own neck and they will gladly wear it. After all, we are all in this together.
The outsiders become the despised enemy. Nothing brings the masses together any faster than a common enemy. The wealthy elite will be safely cloistered far away from the masses. This includes the politicians who will have American military forces protecting them.
We will still be faced with debt. The world will isolate us from the world economy because we are a deadbeat nation. Politicians will continue to turn to the banking industry through the Fedearl Reserve system for aid.
I really doubt that the people will ever realize that this whole mess is about constipation. Our only option is a full-blown depression. We have to condition/train the public to practice financial responsibility. Everyone who thinks otherwise is just full of shit. That is called constipation.
The US citizenry and Congress needs a good old fashion enema.
He learned the worth of money, invested carefully and abhorred debt. Money was just a tool. He taught me that the real wealth was in mental abilities. If you had a good mind, it had real value and if you had integrity to go with it, someone would always hire you.
My mother was a Rosanne. And when she married my step-father, she was white trash with money. Still she was refused entrance to the club. She started her own with herself as the mistress in charge. She truly believed money equaled respect.
I chose a different path and incurred her wrath after a phone call from her about rewriting the will. The projected value of the estate was considerable, but not majorly substantial. Stocks, bonds, cash and several pieces of real estate in a growing yuppie community. On the phone I was asked what I wanted from the estate in the will. I declined and suggested they spend some of the assets on a several month long world-wide cruise.
I can still hear her harsh retort, "We can't do that, something might happen!"
Less than a year later, both were dead. I recieved a token share of the estate that I promptly invested. The few debts remaining against the estate were medical, monthly utilities and taxes.
Here we are 10 years later. My sister and step-sisters are either broke or dead. The money brought no happiness or security.
If you recall, my teachings were that money was just a tool. Knowledge and integrity were wealth. Though I have no money, I have all the security possible without becoming a slave to the game of money accumulation or its evil step-child; public perception of wealth.
I think it was Calvin Coolidge that said, "The business of America is business." We are taught it takes money to make money. Few have the ability to accumulate money therefore they use credit. Credit by itself doesn't make money, but you can present the illusuion of being monied.
So America used its easy revolving credit plan to put on airs. Debt accumulated and each debt created the illusion of more money in the system than there actually was. It is called inflation and is made possible by fractional reserve banking insured by Uncle Sam through the FDIC.
Still, this heavy debt had its toll. Keeping up the illusion of wealth drove vast numbers of soccer-moms to anti-depressants. They were depressed and big Pharma made money. Taxes were rolling in to be dispersed according to the needs of the voting public.
When the system got over-extended, government stepped in with inflationary countermeasures called quantitative easing. In simplish, printing more money.
A consumer-based economy needs credit. We can't let the banks fail. To do so would permit an economic depression and dry up the tax base. The people would lose faith in the system. Recall all the worries about economic stimulus checks being used for debt pay-down?
So our ever benevolent politicians decided that modest inflation would eliminate national debt. The problem still remains; too much government spending and still no pay-down of the national debt. Now the talks are about national health-care, possible melt-down of commercial real estate and our continued need for a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. No problem, as helicopter Ben stated, we have a printing press. Inflation can't remain modest, but rather it will become hyper-inflationary. Those few that still have jobs will be able to pay off their debts, but most will fall.
No worries. Our ever wise politicians have a new CCC plan. Contain, control and convince. Contain the masses in the cities. Control them through food distribution networks and convince them that those not joining the club are the threat to prosperity. All this takes are a few facilitators helping various committees to decide to support programs that the government has already planned. Let the masses believe they have put the yoke around their own neck and they will gladly wear it. After all, we are all in this together.
The outsiders become the despised enemy. Nothing brings the masses together any faster than a common enemy. The wealthy elite will be safely cloistered far away from the masses. This includes the politicians who will have American military forces protecting them.
We will still be faced with debt. The world will isolate us from the world economy because we are a deadbeat nation. Politicians will continue to turn to the banking industry through the Fedearl Reserve system for aid.
I really doubt that the people will ever realize that this whole mess is about constipation. Our only option is a full-blown depression. We have to condition/train the public to practice financial responsibility. Everyone who thinks otherwise is just full of shit. That is called constipation.
The US citizenry and Congress needs a good old fashion enema.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Wizard of Oz
Well once again I have left proof that I ain't no stinking wizard. Since the time when mankind first started packing up into tribes, there has been a need for prognosticators. Is it a good day to hunt? Does the north wind bode well?
I predicted that gold would hit $1200 by Monday. Little did I know that Dubai World would default on thier payment. Ripple effect on the money markets and IT IS all about money. Gold closed around $1172 on the US markets Friday and barely recovered to $1194 or so by close of business on Monday. However, by 11 PM local, the overseas markets ran it up to $1214.
Prediction is possible if enough information/data is available. Bear in mind that the human element can still toss in the monkey wrench. Humans trend towards emotional decisions more often than not. So where the hell am I going with this blog?
It is all about money. Labor creates wealth, government consumes wealth. Government wants predictable income hence the GDP nonsense. GDP is just a metric for predicting future tax revenues.
Recall my minor blurb about humans and emotional decisions? Each emotive reaction in the market place unbalances the efficacy of the prediction. If the individual pays off a debt due to fear, the revenue stream stops. The mortgage holder pays thier tax and monies that the homeowner used for debt repayment is diverted from untold layers of commerce where each layer pays taxes.
Keynesian theory depends on predictable revenue streams. When the economy is down, government infuses the system with additional revenue. When the economy improves, the government debt is paid down. In the US, we ran into a couple or more problems. Debt wasn't paid down during the good times and (drum roll please) the government lacked any effective controls to manage the economy.
Sure there have been several laws passed to get a handle on the problem such as mandatory bank reporting of large cash transfers and overseas investments, but these are just acts of desperation. These are attempts to halt the underground economy and increase the government's revenue stream.
For Keynesian theory to work, all aspects of commerce MUST be controlled by central authorities. Implementation is the problem. The easiest way to accomplish this is a noxious effort to con the people into self-regulation that is little more than a top-down con game.
Here is how it works, the government will assist local groups to set up a local planning committee along with some seed money. Locals will provide the input and policing believing that they are in control. However, the final plan is not much different than the draft prepared by central government under the guise of a model plan that other locales are using. After all, if others are using it, it must be a good plan.
Please don't get the idea that the involved locals are evil. Never attribute to malice what can be far easier explained by incompetance. It is just the old "why can't we all just get along", "we are all in this together" and the eternal quest for utopia. The locals involved believe in altruism and brotherhood of man. Every belief is subject to being highjacking. These same people have been conditioned to "respect authority." Nobody trained them to discriminate between genuine authority and pretenders.
What the public willingly rushes into is a melding of capitalism and communism termed cummunitarianism. The people trade freedom for security and in the end have neither. In any system, differences in labor create differences in capacity to achieve wealth. There is only so much wealth to go around. In order to raise the "disadvantaged" you must steal from the rich. This is termed redistribution of wealth aka welfare.
The current economic tsunami will wash away paper profits and this loss will bring more people into the fold. Poverty is always the end result of foolish money management. This poverty will induce the masses to demand more redistribution and consequently greater central authority over the economy. Hungry people vote and just who do you think they/we will vote for?
If I had any capital assets, I would secure what I could in precious metals, tools and the skills to use them, food and knowledge. Oh well, I suppose I am the grasshopper knocking on the door of the ants when the snow starts flying or maybe not. I did gain some skills, tools and knowledge over the years. Perhaps I can barter once the system goes down. Oops, I might get in trouble with the local planning committee. So scratch that idea. By the way,
Who is John Galt?
I predicted that gold would hit $1200 by Monday. Little did I know that Dubai World would default on thier payment. Ripple effect on the money markets and IT IS all about money. Gold closed around $1172 on the US markets Friday and barely recovered to $1194 or so by close of business on Monday. However, by 11 PM local, the overseas markets ran it up to $1214.
Prediction is possible if enough information/data is available. Bear in mind that the human element can still toss in the monkey wrench. Humans trend towards emotional decisions more often than not. So where the hell am I going with this blog?
It is all about money. Labor creates wealth, government consumes wealth. Government wants predictable income hence the GDP nonsense. GDP is just a metric for predicting future tax revenues.
Recall my minor blurb about humans and emotional decisions? Each emotive reaction in the market place unbalances the efficacy of the prediction. If the individual pays off a debt due to fear, the revenue stream stops. The mortgage holder pays thier tax and monies that the homeowner used for debt repayment is diverted from untold layers of commerce where each layer pays taxes.
Keynesian theory depends on predictable revenue streams. When the economy is down, government infuses the system with additional revenue. When the economy improves, the government debt is paid down. In the US, we ran into a couple or more problems. Debt wasn't paid down during the good times and (drum roll please) the government lacked any effective controls to manage the economy.
Sure there have been several laws passed to get a handle on the problem such as mandatory bank reporting of large cash transfers and overseas investments, but these are just acts of desperation. These are attempts to halt the underground economy and increase the government's revenue stream.
For Keynesian theory to work, all aspects of commerce MUST be controlled by central authorities. Implementation is the problem. The easiest way to accomplish this is a noxious effort to con the people into self-regulation that is little more than a top-down con game.
Here is how it works, the government will assist local groups to set up a local planning committee along with some seed money. Locals will provide the input and policing believing that they are in control. However, the final plan is not much different than the draft prepared by central government under the guise of a model plan that other locales are using. After all, if others are using it, it must be a good plan.
Please don't get the idea that the involved locals are evil. Never attribute to malice what can be far easier explained by incompetance. It is just the old "why can't we all just get along", "we are all in this together" and the eternal quest for utopia. The locals involved believe in altruism and brotherhood of man. Every belief is subject to being highjacking. These same people have been conditioned to "respect authority." Nobody trained them to discriminate between genuine authority and pretenders.
What the public willingly rushes into is a melding of capitalism and communism termed cummunitarianism. The people trade freedom for security and in the end have neither. In any system, differences in labor create differences in capacity to achieve wealth. There is only so much wealth to go around. In order to raise the "disadvantaged" you must steal from the rich. This is termed redistribution of wealth aka welfare.
The current economic tsunami will wash away paper profits and this loss will bring more people into the fold. Poverty is always the end result of foolish money management. This poverty will induce the masses to demand more redistribution and consequently greater central authority over the economy. Hungry people vote and just who do you think they/we will vote for?
If I had any capital assets, I would secure what I could in precious metals, tools and the skills to use them, food and knowledge. Oh well, I suppose I am the grasshopper knocking on the door of the ants when the snow starts flying or maybe not. I did gain some skills, tools and knowledge over the years. Perhaps I can barter once the system goes down. Oops, I might get in trouble with the local planning committee. So scratch that idea. By the way,
Who is John Galt?
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Ring of Power
As I sit here watching mother nature paint the world white creating the
illusion of purity, I came to the realization that Thoreau was really
right about "the masses of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
As an example (and the subject of this blog) consider the one thing men
will fight to the death over but has no value. It is power.
The power I speak of is not a bigger engine in a muscle car, although
symptomatic, but rather power over other beings. I use the term beings as
I have witnessed this effort expended over dumb animals. No, not your
second-cousin Frankie. Although he is dumber than a box of rocks. No the
power I speak of goes under guise of leadership.
This fool's quest runs the gamut of the crude brute in grade school all
the way up to and including the POTUS aka leader of the free world. It is
just feeding the ego plain and simple. Boys, typically, are conditioned
from infancy to be a man among men. Failure is deemed weakness.
The argument for leadership are legion; there is altruistic, neccessity,
power for the sake of power, masculinity and the list goes on.
All of them are bullshit.
The altruist claims we have to fix things for someone else and they can
get it done. Few dare ask why it must be fixed or why should they lead.
The neccessity typically claims we need a powerful leader to defend
ourselves. Perhaps, but show me the threat. I mean SHOW ME the threat. We
are enmeshed in an endless war without a clear threat. But just our leader
time, some intel from a satellite will emerge with plenty of analysis by
people we don't know with a motivation we haven't a clue about.
Hitler and Idi Amin are classic examples of power for the sake of power.
Power is control of the people.
Masculinity is the most perverse of them all. This is all part of the
mating ritual. Many women are transfixed by the possibility of mating with
a powerful leader. They have confused power with strength. In the end,
many of these women learn that their leader is too consumed with leading
to pay any attention to them. Some, perhaps in a twisted reality, assume
leadership among other women who are wives of her mate's subordinates.
This leadership nonsense assumes a leader is requisite. For a transient
problem, this may be true. Problems arise, are dealt with and then go
away. Between problems, there is no logical reason for a leader to exist.
Some will claim that having a existing leader will expedite the problem
solving.
First of all, a leader isn't a worker. Workers build and repair. A leader
doesn't research, his advisors do all that. In heirarchial systems, the
leader decides after consideration and then delegates to subordinate
leaders who delegate to subordinates, etc.
The need for future leaders is so intense that the Army long ago mandated
an up or out retention system. Get promoted to a leadership position or go
home. The Army will even send the soldier to leadership training. It
appears so important that Army recruiting advertisements brag about the
leaders they produce. So hire the vet; they will get the job done.
The problem is exercising power. Few who start down that path can ever
escape it. They practice it in small ways every day. Commands to family
members (especially the little lady), advise and sticking their noses in
other people's business.
It is time to tell them to shut their rat crap mouth. Those who have risen
above the ego-feeding need have pity on them and at the same time,
recognize that they are dangerous,willing to fight to the death to
maintain power.
They can never be a friend. A friend is an equal and the power-seekers
won't stoop that low. It is time to end the age of hero worship. (Heros
are a good subject for another time.)
illusion of purity, I came to the realization that Thoreau was really
right about "the masses of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
As an example (and the subject of this blog) consider the one thing men
will fight to the death over but has no value. It is power.
The power I speak of is not a bigger engine in a muscle car, although
symptomatic, but rather power over other beings. I use the term beings as
I have witnessed this effort expended over dumb animals. No, not your
second-cousin Frankie. Although he is dumber than a box of rocks. No the
power I speak of goes under guise of leadership.
This fool's quest runs the gamut of the crude brute in grade school all
the way up to and including the POTUS aka leader of the free world. It is
just feeding the ego plain and simple. Boys, typically, are conditioned
from infancy to be a man among men. Failure is deemed weakness.
The argument for leadership are legion; there is altruistic, neccessity,
power for the sake of power, masculinity and the list goes on.
All of them are bullshit.
The altruist claims we have to fix things for someone else and they can
get it done. Few dare ask why it must be fixed or why should they lead.
The neccessity typically claims we need a powerful leader to defend
ourselves. Perhaps, but show me the threat. I mean SHOW ME the threat. We
are enmeshed in an endless war without a clear threat. But just our leader
time, some intel from a satellite will emerge with plenty of analysis by
people we don't know with a motivation we haven't a clue about.
Hitler and Idi Amin are classic examples of power for the sake of power.
Power is control of the people.
Masculinity is the most perverse of them all. This is all part of the
mating ritual. Many women are transfixed by the possibility of mating with
a powerful leader. They have confused power with strength. In the end,
many of these women learn that their leader is too consumed with leading
to pay any attention to them. Some, perhaps in a twisted reality, assume
leadership among other women who are wives of her mate's subordinates.
This leadership nonsense assumes a leader is requisite. For a transient
problem, this may be true. Problems arise, are dealt with and then go
away. Between problems, there is no logical reason for a leader to exist.
Some will claim that having a existing leader will expedite the problem
solving.
First of all, a leader isn't a worker. Workers build and repair. A leader
doesn't research, his advisors do all that. In heirarchial systems, the
leader decides after consideration and then delegates to subordinate
leaders who delegate to subordinates, etc.
The need for future leaders is so intense that the Army long ago mandated
an up or out retention system. Get promoted to a leadership position or go
home. The Army will even send the soldier to leadership training. It
appears so important that Army recruiting advertisements brag about the
leaders they produce. So hire the vet; they will get the job done.
The problem is exercising power. Few who start down that path can ever
escape it. They practice it in small ways every day. Commands to family
members (especially the little lady), advise and sticking their noses in
other people's business.
It is time to tell them to shut their rat crap mouth. Those who have risen
above the ego-feeding need have pity on them and at the same time,
recognize that they are dangerous,willing to fight to the death to
maintain power.
They can never be a friend. A friend is an equal and the power-seekers
won't stoop that low. It is time to end the age of hero worship. (Heros
are a good subject for another time.)
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Herd Animals, Law and the Individual
Having grown up in the American West, I found occaisions to work around
livestock. First is was Arabian horses and later, cattle. One thing was a
constant, herd mentality. Even my dog team exhibitted herd mentality.
So just what is herd mentality? It is a protective mechanism based upon
the premise that there is safety in large groups. For the group to exist,
each member must conform to the standards/rules of the group.
With the advent of government, many of these standards became codified
into law. Many of these standards exist for logical reasons that can
easily withstand critical scrutiny. Some just won't. Other laws are
grouped into the category of herd expectations. You are expected to ... .
Within the herd, the "law" is accepted as a protective construct. All
members are expected to obey and defend the law. None the less, the law is
NOT for protection. It is codified punishment. Its sole purpose is to
punish transgressors.
The herd demands compliance. It is just a logical offshoot of the "because
I said so" admonishments of harried mothers. Birth of an infant
constitutes automatic enrollment in the herd. Choice is NOT optional.
Rather than teach children why a law exists, we practice forced
compliance. The herd can brook no questioning of the law. The law is, was
and will always be.
The herd accepts anything handed down from on high as gospel. In the US,
the on high is government composed of elected representatives. These laws
are trotted out as consensus, compromises and neccessities for order. The
herd accepts them for one reason. Each herd elected its representative to
the central body. The representative is a member of the herd. This is why
encumbants enjoy re-election more often than not.
Yet within every herd, there appears some individual that questions the
logic, leadership and motivations of the herd. In almost every case, the
individual is isolated by the enforcers and under pain of seperation from
the herd told to "get with the program."
Some will ask, "Why are questions met with so much hostility?"
Here is a dose of bitter reality. The members of the herd aren't very
smart. They don't know why a particularly obscure law, rule or standard
exists. But there must be a good reason. Questions cause distress to the
members due to the evidence that they don't know why. You are one of us or
you are against us. Notice that there are no other possibilities?
This herd concept has been around forever. Ants, bees, coral, ... the list
goes on. It works. It is group-think. If you attack one of us, you have
attacked all of us. If we stampede, we all stampede.
However, there is a problem. The more rigid the rules, the lower the
adaptability of the herd is to changes in the environment. Humans abhor
change. Change is disruptive to the status quo. Change forces unskilled
minds to react in fear.
Individualism is the realm of the free-thinker. The herd forces them to
the outskirts and relegates them to obscurity. The individual must be
marginalized for the mental security of the membership.
The individual has choices: move on and become more isolated, remain on
the outskirts of the current herd or resign from the ranks of
individualism and seek full membership. There is one other choice;
self-elimination.
Returning to the fact that this herd issue has always been, leads us to
the evolution of the concept. First came family with an authoritarian
leader. Next came the tribe with an elected leader. As the tribe enlarged,
the need arose for more authoritarianism. Education brought us cooperation
and the democratic ideal. Democracy is herd mentality. Orderliness
demanded some authoritarianism, but it must sound logical. Enter the
philosophers.
Philosophy provides good sounding arguments for why such must be. It
discounts the individual and demands coordinated efforts by the masses. To
be governable, the masses must beleive their herd is sovereign even when
it ain't. The easist method for accomplishing this is by repackaging and
relabeling it as Communitarianism. The top designs the framework,
methodology and common interests. The herds think they are contributing
when all they are doing is complying with a predetermined outcome. The
herd was conned into thinking they decided.
It is just another episode of Borg attacks. You will be assimilated,
resistance is futile.
The why is simple: fear and profitability.
livestock. First is was Arabian horses and later, cattle. One thing was a
constant, herd mentality. Even my dog team exhibitted herd mentality.
So just what is herd mentality? It is a protective mechanism based upon
the premise that there is safety in large groups. For the group to exist,
each member must conform to the standards/rules of the group.
With the advent of government, many of these standards became codified
into law. Many of these standards exist for logical reasons that can
easily withstand critical scrutiny. Some just won't. Other laws are
grouped into the category of herd expectations. You are expected to ... .
Within the herd, the "law" is accepted as a protective construct. All
members are expected to obey and defend the law. None the less, the law is
NOT for protection. It is codified punishment. Its sole purpose is to
punish transgressors.
The herd demands compliance. It is just a logical offshoot of the "because
I said so" admonishments of harried mothers. Birth of an infant
constitutes automatic enrollment in the herd. Choice is NOT optional.
Rather than teach children why a law exists, we practice forced
compliance. The herd can brook no questioning of the law. The law is, was
and will always be.
The herd accepts anything handed down from on high as gospel. In the US,
the on high is government composed of elected representatives. These laws
are trotted out as consensus, compromises and neccessities for order. The
herd accepts them for one reason. Each herd elected its representative to
the central body. The representative is a member of the herd. This is why
encumbants enjoy re-election more often than not.
Yet within every herd, there appears some individual that questions the
logic, leadership and motivations of the herd. In almost every case, the
individual is isolated by the enforcers and under pain of seperation from
the herd told to "get with the program."
Some will ask, "Why are questions met with so much hostility?"
Here is a dose of bitter reality. The members of the herd aren't very
smart. They don't know why a particularly obscure law, rule or standard
exists. But there must be a good reason. Questions cause distress to the
members due to the evidence that they don't know why. You are one of us or
you are against us. Notice that there are no other possibilities?
This herd concept has been around forever. Ants, bees, coral, ... the list
goes on. It works. It is group-think. If you attack one of us, you have
attacked all of us. If we stampede, we all stampede.
However, there is a problem. The more rigid the rules, the lower the
adaptability of the herd is to changes in the environment. Humans abhor
change. Change is disruptive to the status quo. Change forces unskilled
minds to react in fear.
Individualism is the realm of the free-thinker. The herd forces them to
the outskirts and relegates them to obscurity. The individual must be
marginalized for the mental security of the membership.
The individual has choices: move on and become more isolated, remain on
the outskirts of the current herd or resign from the ranks of
individualism and seek full membership. There is one other choice;
self-elimination.
Returning to the fact that this herd issue has always been, leads us to
the evolution of the concept. First came family with an authoritarian
leader. Next came the tribe with an elected leader. As the tribe enlarged,
the need arose for more authoritarianism. Education brought us cooperation
and the democratic ideal. Democracy is herd mentality. Orderliness
demanded some authoritarianism, but it must sound logical. Enter the
philosophers.
Philosophy provides good sounding arguments for why such must be. It
discounts the individual and demands coordinated efforts by the masses. To
be governable, the masses must beleive their herd is sovereign even when
it ain't. The easist method for accomplishing this is by repackaging and
relabeling it as Communitarianism. The top designs the framework,
methodology and common interests. The herds think they are contributing
when all they are doing is complying with a predetermined outcome. The
herd was conned into thinking they decided.
It is just another episode of Borg attacks. You will be assimilated,
resistance is futile.
The why is simple: fear and profitability.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
I Just a Freakin' Ray of Sunshine
It is Thanksgiving Day morning and I sit here seeing gold at $1192USD and change. Everything is going as planned. By Monday, gold will break $1200 and the jobs will stabilize in number for the holiday season.
This holiday season is our last grand hurrah. Credit is virtually maxxed out. US dollars are being dumped in favor of gold by central banks. The US has roughly $4.3 trillion coming due in the next 12 months. The natives are restless and the politicians are taking pills, obtained at your expense, in hopes of controlling their bed-wetting.
It is all circling the drain and nobody or no thing can plug it. Oh they will try and they will fail. It ain't nice to fool mother nature.
Yes, mother nature. Tis a simple premise that goes like this: In nature, everything will balance out in the long-term average. The corrections trend towards masssive. In nature, debt is short-term and is paid off within hours or days. Failure to pay is death. In nature, the stupid are food. In nature, the old die. In nature, there just flat ain't no economists, bankers or financial advisors.
I am happy this Thanksgiving. I have no debts, no credit and no money. I have great friends and a so-so family. I am living at a pivotal time in our specie's history. I have spent years learning arcane and anachronistic drivel that will soon be important to the colony.
I see today and all my tomorrows as opportunities soon no longer constrained by stupid regulations, international balance of payments nonsense, and gnomes.
I live in a state of nervous excitement. What's in the box, what's in the box, can I open it!!!
It is said, "A person's nature will always out itself." Every scientist knows that the nature of nature is change. In every environment, the individual must adapt to change or die.
Social animals circle the wagons into colonies when threatened. Just hope you have selected the right social group. I am thankful that I have. We may be older, gimped up and broke, but we have friendship, respect and a whole passel of knowledge (some even have wisdom to make up for my lack).
Welcome to the future. "Do you know John Galt?"
This holiday season is our last grand hurrah. Credit is virtually maxxed out. US dollars are being dumped in favor of gold by central banks. The US has roughly $4.3 trillion coming due in the next 12 months. The natives are restless and the politicians are taking pills, obtained at your expense, in hopes of controlling their bed-wetting.
It is all circling the drain and nobody or no thing can plug it. Oh they will try and they will fail. It ain't nice to fool mother nature.
Yes, mother nature. Tis a simple premise that goes like this: In nature, everything will balance out in the long-term average. The corrections trend towards masssive. In nature, debt is short-term and is paid off within hours or days. Failure to pay is death. In nature, the stupid are food. In nature, the old die. In nature, there just flat ain't no economists, bankers or financial advisors.
I am happy this Thanksgiving. I have no debts, no credit and no money. I have great friends and a so-so family. I am living at a pivotal time in our specie's history. I have spent years learning arcane and anachronistic drivel that will soon be important to the colony.
I see today and all my tomorrows as opportunities soon no longer constrained by stupid regulations, international balance of payments nonsense, and gnomes.
I live in a state of nervous excitement. What's in the box, what's in the box, can I open it!!!
It is said, "A person's nature will always out itself." Every scientist knows that the nature of nature is change. In every environment, the individual must adapt to change or die.
Social animals circle the wagons into colonies when threatened. Just hope you have selected the right social group. I am thankful that I have. We may be older, gimped up and broke, but we have friendship, respect and a whole passel of knowledge (some even have wisdom to make up for my lack).
Welcome to the future. "Do you know John Galt?"
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Ron Paul and the Terri Schiavo Gambit
The patient lays there, totally dependant upon infusions, injections and
daily inspections. The treatment specialists ponder, devise and impliment
modified treatments that vary little from what has already been done. The
results remain the same. Slow and steady deterioration.
The believers circle round. Ever optimistic that given just a bit more
time, a miracle will occur. Just a few more days, weeks or maybe a year or
two will provide the time needed for someone to develop a magic bullet
that will make everything all right.
On the other side a lone voice declares, no more. He knows there is no
cure, no hope and the only path forward is to recognize the issue, accept
it and pull the plug on the failed experiment.
However on center stage, the technicians and managers wring their hands
and console both sides while reaping substantial profits. They can't and
won't make the choice. After all, just a few more weeks and the new Beemer
will be parked in their garage. The heavy costs of life-support are being
borne by those affected.
The lone voice gets louder by the day. Openly declaring that the patient
is dead. The media broadcasts it nationwide and the viewers look to their
own pathetic circumstances and cry for justice. If the plug is pulled, it
will affect us all in the end.
----------------------------
The US economic system is entirely based upon belief. The foundation is
"full faith and credit" in the United States. Our money is backed only by
the willingness for the public to foot any and all bills incurred by the
USA.
Enter Senator Ron Paul. In a fit of rage, he demands an audit of the
Federal Reserve System. He has a deeply commited belief that once the
spreadsheet is presented to the people, the voters will demand positive
efforts to terminate the patient.
Little does he realize that he is demanding the death of the people's god.
It matters little if we call it god, Keynesian Economic Theory or faith in
the system. It is belief. If the people lose faith in the system, their
money will become as worthless as it really is. Confidence vanishes and
all that is left is work for the accountants.
All the hopes, dreams and possessions are shed in the death spiral of
demands for payment due in full immediately. The nice house bought on
credit is no longer their home. The cruelty of realizing that buying is
not the same as owning. The employers can no longer stay in business when
they are forced to accept worthless paper. Everyone is affected. Overseas,
the holders of worthless paper scramble to exchange paper for tangible
assets. The house of cards, built on sand and propped up by faith falls.
-----------------------
Will auditing the Federal Reserve have a positive result in the short run?
Not at all. Politicians will find themselves unemployed and unemployable.
No one will hire a person who can't manage money. The vast numbers of
people completely dependant upon the system will rebel. Many of these
rebellions will be violent. A dark cloud of anger will shadow the earth
and no one will be safe.
Before the depression of 1929, many people lived close to the land. Now,
they live in the cities and are totally dependant upon transportation to
bring them the essentials of life. Even something as low-tech as water
needs transportation to the city. The depression of today will be far
better termed "The Great Desperation."
In all species, once a certain level of population is reached, the specie
experiences a collapse. Only a fool would believe that the specie known as
homo sapiens would be exempt. Family, community and the resources in
materials and knowledge within the circle will prevent complete
extinction. The family and community will have to protect itself from the
criminals. Some of these will come wearing a mantle of officialdom. All of
them come to take what little you have left. Misery loves company.
Can this audit have a positive effect down the road? It is possible. Time
is the key element. The economy needs to be rebooted with a different
operating system installed. The people need to be conditioned to a new
world where self-sufficiency is the norm. Savings must become a high
priority and consumerism is seen as sillyness. Most of all, money must
have backing in tangible assets. The depression of "29" lasted into the
1950's. Whatever would cause a person to think that this one will last a
shorter time? It takes a generation and a half for a dependable reboot to
work.
-----------------------
Some will say I trot out doom and gloom. But if I, you, we make a few
preperations, we can get through this together. United We Stand. I look to
the future with nervous excitement. This will be a pivotal period in our
specie's evolution. We will be spectators and participants in rebuilding a
far more responsible community, nation and world. A world where death and
misery is accepted as natural. A world where no person is exempt from
their own choices and the natural outcome of their choice. The people must
re-learn self-sufficiency. Governance is never a solution, it is the
problem.
daily inspections. The treatment specialists ponder, devise and impliment
modified treatments that vary little from what has already been done. The
results remain the same. Slow and steady deterioration.
The believers circle round. Ever optimistic that given just a bit more
time, a miracle will occur. Just a few more days, weeks or maybe a year or
two will provide the time needed for someone to develop a magic bullet
that will make everything all right.
On the other side a lone voice declares, no more. He knows there is no
cure, no hope and the only path forward is to recognize the issue, accept
it and pull the plug on the failed experiment.
However on center stage, the technicians and managers wring their hands
and console both sides while reaping substantial profits. They can't and
won't make the choice. After all, just a few more weeks and the new Beemer
will be parked in their garage. The heavy costs of life-support are being
borne by those affected.
The lone voice gets louder by the day. Openly declaring that the patient
is dead. The media broadcasts it nationwide and the viewers look to their
own pathetic circumstances and cry for justice. If the plug is pulled, it
will affect us all in the end.
----------------------------
The US economic system is entirely based upon belief. The foundation is
"full faith and credit" in the United States. Our money is backed only by
the willingness for the public to foot any and all bills incurred by the
USA.
Enter Senator Ron Paul. In a fit of rage, he demands an audit of the
Federal Reserve System. He has a deeply commited belief that once the
spreadsheet is presented to the people, the voters will demand positive
efforts to terminate the patient.
Little does he realize that he is demanding the death of the people's god.
It matters little if we call it god, Keynesian Economic Theory or faith in
the system. It is belief. If the people lose faith in the system, their
money will become as worthless as it really is. Confidence vanishes and
all that is left is work for the accountants.
All the hopes, dreams and possessions are shed in the death spiral of
demands for payment due in full immediately. The nice house bought on
credit is no longer their home. The cruelty of realizing that buying is
not the same as owning. The employers can no longer stay in business when
they are forced to accept worthless paper. Everyone is affected. Overseas,
the holders of worthless paper scramble to exchange paper for tangible
assets. The house of cards, built on sand and propped up by faith falls.
-----------------------
Will auditing the Federal Reserve have a positive result in the short run?
Not at all. Politicians will find themselves unemployed and unemployable.
No one will hire a person who can't manage money. The vast numbers of
people completely dependant upon the system will rebel. Many of these
rebellions will be violent. A dark cloud of anger will shadow the earth
and no one will be safe.
Before the depression of 1929, many people lived close to the land. Now,
they live in the cities and are totally dependant upon transportation to
bring them the essentials of life. Even something as low-tech as water
needs transportation to the city. The depression of today will be far
better termed "The Great Desperation."
In all species, once a certain level of population is reached, the specie
experiences a collapse. Only a fool would believe that the specie known as
homo sapiens would be exempt. Family, community and the resources in
materials and knowledge within the circle will prevent complete
extinction. The family and community will have to protect itself from the
criminals. Some of these will come wearing a mantle of officialdom. All of
them come to take what little you have left. Misery loves company.
Can this audit have a positive effect down the road? It is possible. Time
is the key element. The economy needs to be rebooted with a different
operating system installed. The people need to be conditioned to a new
world where self-sufficiency is the norm. Savings must become a high
priority and consumerism is seen as sillyness. Most of all, money must
have backing in tangible assets. The depression of "29" lasted into the
1950's. Whatever would cause a person to think that this one will last a
shorter time? It takes a generation and a half for a dependable reboot to
work.
-----------------------
Some will say I trot out doom and gloom. But if I, you, we make a few
preperations, we can get through this together. United We Stand. I look to
the future with nervous excitement. This will be a pivotal period in our
specie's evolution. We will be spectators and participants in rebuilding a
far more responsible community, nation and world. A world where death and
misery is accepted as natural. A world where no person is exempt from
their own choices and the natural outcome of their choice. The people must
re-learn self-sufficiency. Governance is never a solution, it is the
problem.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Why a Blog Pt2
Recently I was asked why writing this blog was so important to me. While attempting to frame my response in a manner that would make sense, I realized it was a form of stress management.
There exists a rare beast known as the free-thinker. In any community, they make up less than a percent or two at best and in some cases, they just don't live there anymore. The reasons for this are simple.
Ridicule, rage and isolation.
The free-thinker trends towards no beliefs at all. The community exists by virtue of commonalty. Ergo, you are one of us or you ain't. Get with the program. Here is what you need to do. We expect you to ... . Why do you have to be such a hard-head.
Each member of the community believes. No argument will counter the belief system in place. The free-thinker is marginalized. Each faces their own form of hell on earth.
Homo Sapiens is a herd animal. A few million generations of breeding only the successful variants has left us with the genetic propensity to herd up for survival and protection. Separate an individual from the herd and they become stressed.
Each stressed individual has some coping skills. Most are ineffective and the few remaining tricks trend towards marginal relief of the stress at best.
The herd has been conditioned to the belief that the free-thinker is violent by nature. In some respects, it would be easy to go along with the herd's analysis. We had the K.C. bomber, the Uni-bomber and countless fictional TV and movie characters presented to you this evening by "Flatus-be-Gone," for those times it just ain't cool to cut the cheese. Stay tuned for the news.
Only the free-thinker can keep fiction and non-fiction separate. The herd has no need to think. They have been conditioned from birth to respect authority. Listen to your betters. Because I said so!
The free-thinker is NOT violent. Huh!!! The free-thinker ... Wait a minute. I'm getting tired of typing the same term over and over again. So the new and improved term shall be FT. If you can't figure out that every FT means free-thinker, go away. You are too stupid to butter a piece of bread. And by the way, use birth control.
The FT knows that violence is completely ineffective unless you eliminate every idiot. The FT knows this is impossible and really, really stupid. Every FT realizes that the economy needs worker bees. Even the over-paid and over-compensated hub-cap installer is needed to keep the economic machine operating.
The FT recognizes the right to think and respects it. They aren't foolish enough to presume that the right means actual thinking. The mastery of any subject demands practicing until it becomes part of the individuals nature. We, collectively, have failed to make thinking a need. Our social structure permits, no encourages compliance without question. For the FT, this demonstration of worker bee-ness is frustrating.
The FT walks his/her own path and respects those of others. None the less, society doesn't respect the FT. The mere idea threatens the cohesiveness of the group. The FT might provoke us to think. Thinking leads to questioning. Questioning leads to disobedience. Disobedience leads to change. We are quite happy with the way things are. Well, not so much happy, but content. Well not exacly content, but more like we are just use to it.
It is completely ironic that the masses owe their existence to the very FT trait they abhor. Every idea and invention came from free thought aka imagination. It was these ideas and inventions that made population growth, education and products possible. If you turn the TV on to a channel that has no station, all you get is static. Nothing emerges from static, nothing. Without FT, all society will ever have is static growth and eventual decline.
Bet you never saw that "imagination" thingy coming, did you?
Invention is a clever human trick. It begins with recognizing a problem. Once the problem is clear, imagination begins. Creation and implimentation can never exist without imagination. Sometimes the human brain recognizes a problem with its own error detection subroutine and does a gosub "imagination.exe". We call it "daydreaming" and do our best to stamp it out. You can teach a dumb dog to roll over, whatever would make you think we can't train an intellegent human to quit free thinking?
So why do we (the coolective) stifle imagination? The answer is awful crude, we were trained to. Thousands of generations of tribe/village life has taught us that new ideas must be studied thoroughly by a select group and then we might let some hint of it gradually emerge. We like it just the way it is. New ideas force a change, ergo stop the thinking process beyond the basic skills level. Everybody has a place and there is a place for everybody.
Oooooo ... The tribe/village is an organism. Acts in its own best interests, functions as a unit, fears the unknown, ... hmmm. Yes, of course. The FT is a free radical invading the body.
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
-----------------------------------
Have you forgotten the title of this tome? It is "Why a Blog Pt.2".
It is therapy. It is a venting process. It lowers my stress levels. Perhaps it feeds a need to organize my thoughts and once in a while, break out a little humor. As this blog is for me, I laugh at my own jokes.
And most of all, it helps me refrain from choking the shit out of some people that desperately deserve it.
Fortunately, this area has a disproportionate number of free-thinkers. Maybe it is the weather. Or maybe it is as Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman stated, "Likes like like."
Or ... (sound of diabolical music please) it might be a coded message to the others. "You are not alone." (Dim lights, ... pull back and ... fade to black. Cut and that's a wrap)
(You gonna do that redhead grip at the post-production party?)
(Just what do you ...
Imagination creats new universes. Each full of possibilities. Some intersect with our own. Life is a journey. It is to be lived. Don't let it become too late to start.
If you were paying attention, I left you with the why of "Fortunately," hanging. The cacophony of two or more free thinkers laughing at some irony is soothing music that tames the savage beast. We render each other harmless. We are too busy debating to accomplish any creative mayhem. Besides, we would never agree on the type, manner and extra points for creativity mahem to engage in. So many possibilities, oh well I can dream.
There exists a rare beast known as the free-thinker. In any community, they make up less than a percent or two at best and in some cases, they just don't live there anymore. The reasons for this are simple.
Ridicule, rage and isolation.
The free-thinker trends towards no beliefs at all. The community exists by virtue of commonalty. Ergo, you are one of us or you ain't. Get with the program. Here is what you need to do. We expect you to ... . Why do you have to be such a hard-head.
Each member of the community believes. No argument will counter the belief system in place. The free-thinker is marginalized. Each faces their own form of hell on earth.
Homo Sapiens is a herd animal. A few million generations of breeding only the successful variants has left us with the genetic propensity to herd up for survival and protection. Separate an individual from the herd and they become stressed.
Each stressed individual has some coping skills. Most are ineffective and the few remaining tricks trend towards marginal relief of the stress at best.
The herd has been conditioned to the belief that the free-thinker is violent by nature. In some respects, it would be easy to go along with the herd's analysis. We had the K.C. bomber, the Uni-bomber and countless fictional TV and movie characters presented to you this evening by "Flatus-be-Gone," for those times it just ain't cool to cut the cheese. Stay tuned for the news.
Only the free-thinker can keep fiction and non-fiction separate. The herd has no need to think. They have been conditioned from birth to respect authority. Listen to your betters. Because I said so!
The free-thinker is NOT violent. Huh!!! The free-thinker ... Wait a minute. I'm getting tired of typing the same term over and over again. So the new and improved term shall be FT. If you can't figure out that every FT means free-thinker, go away. You are too stupid to butter a piece of bread. And by the way, use birth control.
The FT knows that violence is completely ineffective unless you eliminate every idiot. The FT knows this is impossible and really, really stupid. Every FT realizes that the economy needs worker bees. Even the over-paid and over-compensated hub-cap installer is needed to keep the economic machine operating.
The FT recognizes the right to think and respects it. They aren't foolish enough to presume that the right means actual thinking. The mastery of any subject demands practicing until it becomes part of the individuals nature. We, collectively, have failed to make thinking a need. Our social structure permits, no encourages compliance without question. For the FT, this demonstration of worker bee-ness is frustrating.
The FT walks his/her own path and respects those of others. None the less, society doesn't respect the FT. The mere idea threatens the cohesiveness of the group. The FT might provoke us to think. Thinking leads to questioning. Questioning leads to disobedience. Disobedience leads to change. We are quite happy with the way things are. Well, not so much happy, but content. Well not exacly content, but more like we are just use to it.
It is completely ironic that the masses owe their existence to the very FT trait they abhor. Every idea and invention came from free thought aka imagination. It was these ideas and inventions that made population growth, education and products possible. If you turn the TV on to a channel that has no station, all you get is static. Nothing emerges from static, nothing. Without FT, all society will ever have is static growth and eventual decline.
Bet you never saw that "imagination" thingy coming, did you?
Invention is a clever human trick. It begins with recognizing a problem. Once the problem is clear, imagination begins. Creation and implimentation can never exist without imagination. Sometimes the human brain recognizes a problem with its own error detection subroutine and does a gosub "imagination.exe". We call it "daydreaming" and do our best to stamp it out. You can teach a dumb dog to roll over, whatever would make you think we can't train an intellegent human to quit free thinking?
So why do we (the coolective) stifle imagination? The answer is awful crude, we were trained to. Thousands of generations of tribe/village life has taught us that new ideas must be studied thoroughly by a select group and then we might let some hint of it gradually emerge. We like it just the way it is. New ideas force a change, ergo stop the thinking process beyond the basic skills level. Everybody has a place and there is a place for everybody.
Oooooo ... The tribe/village is an organism. Acts in its own best interests, functions as a unit, fears the unknown, ... hmmm. Yes, of course. The FT is a free radical invading the body.
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
-----------------------------------
Have you forgotten the title of this tome? It is "Why a Blog Pt.2".
It is therapy. It is a venting process. It lowers my stress levels. Perhaps it feeds a need to organize my thoughts and once in a while, break out a little humor. As this blog is for me, I laugh at my own jokes.
And most of all, it helps me refrain from choking the shit out of some people that desperately deserve it.
Fortunately, this area has a disproportionate number of free-thinkers. Maybe it is the weather. Or maybe it is as Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman stated, "Likes like like."
Or ... (sound of diabolical music please) it might be a coded message to the others. "You are not alone." (Dim lights, ... pull back and ... fade to black. Cut and that's a wrap)
(You gonna do that redhead grip at the post-production party?)
(Just what do you ...
Imagination creats new universes. Each full of possibilities. Some intersect with our own. Life is a journey. It is to be lived. Don't let it become too late to start.
If you were paying attention, I left you with the why of "Fortunately," hanging. The cacophony of two or more free thinkers laughing at some irony is soothing music that tames the savage beast. We render each other harmless. We are too busy debating to accomplish any creative mayhem. Besides, we would never agree on the type, manner and extra points for creativity mahem to engage in. So many possibilities, oh well I can dream.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment, If You Say So Pt1
Most folks concur with the Constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Too bad nobody knows what this is.
What started as a good idea morphed into a total philosophical mess with the public held hostage. On one side of the argument are the conservatives screaming for capital punishment and lengthy prison terms. The liberals clamor for rehabilitation. Each decade the prevailing consensus seems to sway one way or the other. I use the term consensus only in the sense of the powers that decree thus is such.
Before we try to determine what is cruel and unusual, we first have to determine what is crime. The simple explanation would be harm to property, preson or possession. Perhaps we need to expand this to include possessions held in common by the populace. The question that remains is are their any other crimes. If we include inciting others to violence, we have to include ordering soldiers to war. How about theft? Would this not include eminent domain and tax foreclosure? Does calling it public good make it right?
Don't get the idea that I'm a Libertarian. It is a failed philosophy just as much as Hegel's or Adam Smith's fo that matter. All philosophies have something to teach us, but they all depend upon a compulsive and instinctual social imperative by the complete membership of a community to be actualized. Ain't a'gonna happen.
We still have to consider the so-called victimless crimes. These include prostitution, substance ingestion, conceled weapons carry, public nudity and several others. What is the criteria for harm determination?
So now that we have an idea of what constitutes crime, what would be cruel and unusual punishment for each type of crime. Would it not be logical to fit the punishment to the crime? If the punishment fails to match the crime, I would tender that it is cruel and unusual. If the punishment isn't applied fairly to everyone that commits the same crime, then once again, we have cruel and unusual.
I can just hear the howls of outrage. What about mitigating circumstances? What about the manner of the crime? How about the character of the perpetrator?
I killed him because he abused me for years. You killed him, plain and simple. He chopped her head off with an axe. He killed her, plain and simple. He's a pillar of the community and this was just an unfortunate lapse. He committed the crime, plain and simple.
In each of these cases, the harm was caused. Everything else is just a coward's excuse. The perps are afraid of the punishment for the harm they know they caused.
If we are to consider what are deemed capital crimes, all of these are violent. The question then becomes one of the probability of rehabilitation. If high, rehab. If low, then any return to society is out of the question. A return offender for the same crime is proof of inability to be rehabilitated.
We, as society, have two options. Death or banishment. Can death be cruel and unusual? Everybody dies and those who participate in dangerous vocations and hobbies are aware that their actions might cause premature death. If you cry out "choice is the difference", didn't the perp choose to engage in a crime with the knowledge that society might get pissed off? Prison is not banishment. In prison, the perp retains a substantial benefit from society while society gains nothing in return. Is this not theft of services?
End of part 1
What started as a good idea morphed into a total philosophical mess with the public held hostage. On one side of the argument are the conservatives screaming for capital punishment and lengthy prison terms. The liberals clamor for rehabilitation. Each decade the prevailing consensus seems to sway one way or the other. I use the term consensus only in the sense of the powers that decree thus is such.
Before we try to determine what is cruel and unusual, we first have to determine what is crime. The simple explanation would be harm to property, preson or possession. Perhaps we need to expand this to include possessions held in common by the populace. The question that remains is are their any other crimes. If we include inciting others to violence, we have to include ordering soldiers to war. How about theft? Would this not include eminent domain and tax foreclosure? Does calling it public good make it right?
Don't get the idea that I'm a Libertarian. It is a failed philosophy just as much as Hegel's or Adam Smith's fo that matter. All philosophies have something to teach us, but they all depend upon a compulsive and instinctual social imperative by the complete membership of a community to be actualized. Ain't a'gonna happen.
We still have to consider the so-called victimless crimes. These include prostitution, substance ingestion, conceled weapons carry, public nudity and several others. What is the criteria for harm determination?
So now that we have an idea of what constitutes crime, what would be cruel and unusual punishment for each type of crime. Would it not be logical to fit the punishment to the crime? If the punishment fails to match the crime, I would tender that it is cruel and unusual. If the punishment isn't applied fairly to everyone that commits the same crime, then once again, we have cruel and unusual.
I can just hear the howls of outrage. What about mitigating circumstances? What about the manner of the crime? How about the character of the perpetrator?
I killed him because he abused me for years. You killed him, plain and simple. He chopped her head off with an axe. He killed her, plain and simple. He's a pillar of the community and this was just an unfortunate lapse. He committed the crime, plain and simple.
In each of these cases, the harm was caused. Everything else is just a coward's excuse. The perps are afraid of the punishment for the harm they know they caused.
If we are to consider what are deemed capital crimes, all of these are violent. The question then becomes one of the probability of rehabilitation. If high, rehab. If low, then any return to society is out of the question. A return offender for the same crime is proof of inability to be rehabilitated.
We, as society, have two options. Death or banishment. Can death be cruel and unusual? Everybody dies and those who participate in dangerous vocations and hobbies are aware that their actions might cause premature death. If you cry out "choice is the difference", didn't the perp choose to engage in a crime with the knowledge that society might get pissed off? Prison is not banishment. In prison, the perp retains a substantial benefit from society while society gains nothing in return. Is this not theft of services?
End of part 1
Cruel and Unusual Punishment, If You Say So Pt2
So here we are, prison is not banishment and it inflicts financial harm on the citizenry. So what would constitute banishment? I like Adak Island. It has a bit of infrastructure and is remote. give them a ten hour block of instruction on survival, let them choose 200 pounds of gear/supplies and drop them on Adak by parachute. One small Coast Guard vessel can target practice on anything floating away from the island.
So now we have theft/harm of possessions. Repeat offenders go to the island. For first time offenders, here is a good argument for indentured servitude in a prison environment. Yep, that good ole prison labor thingy. The debt created must be paid off before any argument can be made for the perp being rehabilitated. The prison must pay its way.
Oh, this overtheedge guy is out of control. Am I? Not yet, but here it comes:
No plea bargaining is allowed. Murder is a choice to kill. Manslaughter is stupid action that resulted in unintended death. Theft/destruction of property is choice.
Inciting to violence must be kept in the proper context. Ordering a soldier isn't a crime. Ordering or inciting your friends to commit harm is a crime. However, the harm must be tangible. If the harm can be easily seen and touched by a disinterested visitor the next day, it is probably harm. Restitution must be made.
This brings us to the victimless crimes. I'll prattle on about a few of them. Just remember, these are my thoughts and I don't care what you think. This doesn't preclude a debate that offers a good counter-argument.
Prostitution. What are the supposed harms? Religious, disease, family values, crime attraction and maybe some more obscure nonsense. Several minor and at least one major religion accepts prostitution. Argument fails. Disease is reduced by testing and treatment. Argument fails. An older couple wants to hire a prostitute for a menage a trois. It is family business and not the state's. Argument fails. The criminal element can only thrive when the victim has no access to law enforcement. Let's face it, cops just love a righteous bust.
Substance ingestion. Here we have a few problems. Some can be innocuous when used responsibly. Some can cause a relaxing of inhibitions towards violence and/or failure to foresee outcomes in a percentage of the population. Some of these substances are deemed illegal. Some are not only legal, but are widely prescribed to people driving cars. The only realistic method for dealing with this is by actual harm. Society can't claim ingestion is harm. The 300 pound man is causing as much if not more harm than the pot head. Arguments fail.
The concealed weapons carry laws are just a deluded means of reassuring a fearful public. These abortions are feelgood, stroke the public bullshit laws. Worse of all, these claim to prevent harm. This is utter nonsense. The criminal doesn't abide by the law, but will appreciate an unarmed victim. Argument fails.
Try as I may, I failed to find an argument for public nudity/decency laws. I considered embarrassment, bad taste and sheltering children from sex. Actual sex crimes are physical and mental harms. The BS crimes I'm talking about only involve appearance. Sex and sexual expression are human attributes. They are normal even if done in public view. Is there an argument for discouraging these forms of conduct? Perhaps, but not by enacting law. The best course of action is pointing and laughing at the performers. Humiliation is a powerful motivator. Few of you will ever appreciate the mental conflict I faced when children are the spectators. The father in me screams for child protective laws, but logic demands a coherent reason. Attractive nuisance, distractive nuisance, public nuisance, I don't have a clue.
So what would be cruel and unusual punishment? Us dropping every politician that devalues our money on to Adak Island. Those violent criminals don't deserve that. The punishment must fit the crime, but society has a peculiar idea of cruel and unusual. They figure re-electing a politician isn't for the rest of us.
THE END (not bloody likely)
So now we have theft/harm of possessions. Repeat offenders go to the island. For first time offenders, here is a good argument for indentured servitude in a prison environment. Yep, that good ole prison labor thingy. The debt created must be paid off before any argument can be made for the perp being rehabilitated. The prison must pay its way.
Oh, this overtheedge guy is out of control. Am I? Not yet, but here it comes:
No plea bargaining is allowed. Murder is a choice to kill. Manslaughter is stupid action that resulted in unintended death. Theft/destruction of property is choice.
Inciting to violence must be kept in the proper context. Ordering a soldier isn't a crime. Ordering or inciting your friends to commit harm is a crime. However, the harm must be tangible. If the harm can be easily seen and touched by a disinterested visitor the next day, it is probably harm. Restitution must be made.
This brings us to the victimless crimes. I'll prattle on about a few of them. Just remember, these are my thoughts and I don't care what you think. This doesn't preclude a debate that offers a good counter-argument.
Prostitution. What are the supposed harms? Religious, disease, family values, crime attraction and maybe some more obscure nonsense. Several minor and at least one major religion accepts prostitution. Argument fails. Disease is reduced by testing and treatment. Argument fails. An older couple wants to hire a prostitute for a menage a trois. It is family business and not the state's. Argument fails. The criminal element can only thrive when the victim has no access to law enforcement. Let's face it, cops just love a righteous bust.
Substance ingestion. Here we have a few problems. Some can be innocuous when used responsibly. Some can cause a relaxing of inhibitions towards violence and/or failure to foresee outcomes in a percentage of the population. Some of these substances are deemed illegal. Some are not only legal, but are widely prescribed to people driving cars. The only realistic method for dealing with this is by actual harm. Society can't claim ingestion is harm. The 300 pound man is causing as much if not more harm than the pot head. Arguments fail.
The concealed weapons carry laws are just a deluded means of reassuring a fearful public. These abortions are feelgood, stroke the public bullshit laws. Worse of all, these claim to prevent harm. This is utter nonsense. The criminal doesn't abide by the law, but will appreciate an unarmed victim. Argument fails.
Try as I may, I failed to find an argument for public nudity/decency laws. I considered embarrassment, bad taste and sheltering children from sex. Actual sex crimes are physical and mental harms. The BS crimes I'm talking about only involve appearance. Sex and sexual expression are human attributes. They are normal even if done in public view. Is there an argument for discouraging these forms of conduct? Perhaps, but not by enacting law. The best course of action is pointing and laughing at the performers. Humiliation is a powerful motivator. Few of you will ever appreciate the mental conflict I faced when children are the spectators. The father in me screams for child protective laws, but logic demands a coherent reason. Attractive nuisance, distractive nuisance, public nuisance, I don't have a clue.
So what would be cruel and unusual punishment? Us dropping every politician that devalues our money on to Adak Island. Those violent criminals don't deserve that. The punishment must fit the crime, but society has a peculiar idea of cruel and unusual. They figure re-electing a politician isn't for the rest of us.
THE END (not bloody likely)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
In God We Trust
Will you be paying with gold or silver?
It is all about trust. Mayhaps some folks trust in God or the US dollar
bill, but I don't. For trust to exist, a person needs to know just what
the other party will do for any given event. This demands intimate
knowledge of the other party's ethos and motivations.
The gold standard of excellence, good as gold, gold star, ... the list
goes on. Why? Just why does this equating value and gold have in common
and why does it persist?
Gold is a pretty rock. It is soft, heavy, durable, doesn't corrode and
scarce. It can be used to make pretty dodads that last for centuries.
All of these properties makes it ideal as a medium of exchange. It
functioned as money. Granted, you can't eat it. But I'll bet you a new
shiny Krugerand that someone will trade me a sack of grain for gold.
Gold has a downside; scarcity. This results in a high valuation. That
Krugerand has a valuation today of $1150.90. Then to purchase it, you will
have to pay a premium to cover profits and fabrication costs. So what
happens when I go to buy that sack of grain? Do we cut a chunk off ala
"pieces of eight" concept?
Our only practical option is a bimetallic currency or more metals. In the
past it was gold, silver and copper.
Silver has several uses as well as copper. Both lack one or more of gold's
properties, but as a lower value metal this is acceptable. Today's silver
price is $18.50 per troy ounce and copper is roughly $0.18 an ounce.
Neither silver or copper is recycled in minute quantities. It costs more
to recycle than the value of the metal. Larger quantities are actively
recycled.
As an example of this valuation versus recycling, it was only a few years
ago that computers were thrown out. The metals value was just too low to
pay the cost of recycling. Nowadays, computers and other electronic items
are a valuable resource. The gold value went up and although the quantity
of gold in a computer dropped, enough still exists for a recycling
industry to earn a profit.
The financial talking heads will point out that gold, silver and copper
are poor investment vehicles. They are right. An ounce of gold purchased
in 1920 is still worth exactly 1 ounce of gold. The day to day prices will
fluctuate depending upon demand, but each must be converted into currency
to gain a profit or loss.
Gold and silver do maintain purchasing power. An ounce of gold, exchanged
for dollars will buy about the same quantity and type of goods as it would
in 1890. Silver lost some of its purchasing power, but this is due to
speculation by the Hunt brothers and the changeover to digital
photography. The Hunt brothers' attempt to corner the silver market left a
bad taste in investors mouth and pocketbook.
In severe economic turmoil, gold and silver retain purchasing power. If
our dollar continues to be devalued, gold and silver will return to be the
medium of exchange. For poor folks and small transactions, silver coins
will be the preferred currency.
Another argument for silver is its source. Most silver is a byproduct of
copper, zinc and lead refining. In an economic downturn, these metals will
be in far less demand. Hence less mining. Less mining results in less
silver production.
-----------------------------
I am not a financial advisor. I don't advise anyone on anything. Go do
whatever you do. I don't care. If I can ever get a few bucks ahead, I
might buy silver. Until then, I buy knowledge in the form of used books.
When the economy tanks, the jack-of-all trades never starves.
If you hire me, remember that I take only gold or silver coins. I wonder
if that is the reason I'm not employed.
It is all about trust. Mayhaps some folks trust in God or the US dollar
bill, but I don't. For trust to exist, a person needs to know just what
the other party will do for any given event. This demands intimate
knowledge of the other party's ethos and motivations.
The gold standard of excellence, good as gold, gold star, ... the list
goes on. Why? Just why does this equating value and gold have in common
and why does it persist?
Gold is a pretty rock. It is soft, heavy, durable, doesn't corrode and
scarce. It can be used to make pretty dodads that last for centuries.
All of these properties makes it ideal as a medium of exchange. It
functioned as money. Granted, you can't eat it. But I'll bet you a new
shiny Krugerand that someone will trade me a sack of grain for gold.
Gold has a downside; scarcity. This results in a high valuation. That
Krugerand has a valuation today of $1150.90. Then to purchase it, you will
have to pay a premium to cover profits and fabrication costs. So what
happens when I go to buy that sack of grain? Do we cut a chunk off ala
"pieces of eight" concept?
Our only practical option is a bimetallic currency or more metals. In the
past it was gold, silver and copper.
Silver has several uses as well as copper. Both lack one or more of gold's
properties, but as a lower value metal this is acceptable. Today's silver
price is $18.50 per troy ounce and copper is roughly $0.18 an ounce.
Neither silver or copper is recycled in minute quantities. It costs more
to recycle than the value of the metal. Larger quantities are actively
recycled.
As an example of this valuation versus recycling, it was only a few years
ago that computers were thrown out. The metals value was just too low to
pay the cost of recycling. Nowadays, computers and other electronic items
are a valuable resource. The gold value went up and although the quantity
of gold in a computer dropped, enough still exists for a recycling
industry to earn a profit.
The financial talking heads will point out that gold, silver and copper
are poor investment vehicles. They are right. An ounce of gold purchased
in 1920 is still worth exactly 1 ounce of gold. The day to day prices will
fluctuate depending upon demand, but each must be converted into currency
to gain a profit or loss.
Gold and silver do maintain purchasing power. An ounce of gold, exchanged
for dollars will buy about the same quantity and type of goods as it would
in 1890. Silver lost some of its purchasing power, but this is due to
speculation by the Hunt brothers and the changeover to digital
photography. The Hunt brothers' attempt to corner the silver market left a
bad taste in investors mouth and pocketbook.
In severe economic turmoil, gold and silver retain purchasing power. If
our dollar continues to be devalued, gold and silver will return to be the
medium of exchange. For poor folks and small transactions, silver coins
will be the preferred currency.
Another argument for silver is its source. Most silver is a byproduct of
copper, zinc and lead refining. In an economic downturn, these metals will
be in far less demand. Hence less mining. Less mining results in less
silver production.
-----------------------------
I am not a financial advisor. I don't advise anyone on anything. Go do
whatever you do. I don't care. If I can ever get a few bucks ahead, I
might buy silver. Until then, I buy knowledge in the form of used books.
When the economy tanks, the jack-of-all trades never starves.
If you hire me, remember that I take only gold or silver coins. I wonder
if that is the reason I'm not employed.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Mostly Just Static
As I was making my morning excursion outside to take care of certain
biological functions as well as letting the dog take care of his, I
noticed the thermometer pegged at 30 below. I just figured oh-well, just
another day in paradise. The National Weather Service called this cold
snap right on the money. Of course anyone who has lived in this rural area
of Alaska more than a decade or two could have done as well. We almost
always have a cold snap in November.
So as I was standing there waiting for the dog to finish his business,
he's old and his bodily functions move slow, I realized why I live here
and most don't.
Humans fall into two groups; statics and dynamics.
The static seeks a steady state in thier life. They want everything to
remain just as it is. This is carried to the extreme by demanding that
government, industry and NGOs actively pursue a stabilized environment.
The dynamics thrive on change. Life is supposed to be an adventure. The
dynamic knows that the nature of nature is change. Each day brings a form
of nervous excitement. What will today bring?
Shit oh dear, if this dog was any slower, he would be in reverse. Here I
am standing next to a snowbank in sandals, shorts and a t-shirt freezing my butt off and he has to inspect his toilet area.
Anyway, he finished and now I can get this typed out before I forget it.
Henry David Thoreau stated, "the masses of men lead lives of quiet
desperation." I just can't think of a more apt statement about the statics. These mental cripples will eagerly accept the status quo, no matter how miserable, rather than embrace change. They vote the same mental cripples back into public office, they remain at the same
miserable job, buy insurance for every contingency and ... the list is
endless. They spend thier lives in clustered hovels that present the
appearance of wealth, but lack richness of life.
I would have no problem with statics if they would mind thier own
business. But Noooo. The get their local, state and federal representatives to enact crap laws to force the dynamics into the static mould. Here is an example: 30+ years ago, I was living in rural Lake County Oregon. I witnessed a home owner lose to the statics by enforced
building codes. The house had to have complete plumbing and all the
electrical system had to be up to code. The problem: No water and the
probabilty of bringing in a well was zero and the nearest powerline was
over 3 miles away (roughly $24,000 for single phase). The house wasn't
finance, but a build as you can afford it. In the end, the owner-builder
couldn't afford to finish the house or move in. The added costs of
compliance with the building code had wiped out his meager savings.
I live right on the jagged edge. My house doesn't meet code and I don't
care. Alaska has a privacy clause in our constitution that real Alaskans
will defend. It is time for the statics to defend the right of dynamics to
live over the edge.
Special Note to Statics: You watch, we do. Without dynamics, you statics
couldn't engage in your form of voyeurism or have anything to talk about. We are your entertainment.
biological functions as well as letting the dog take care of his, I
noticed the thermometer pegged at 30 below. I just figured oh-well, just
another day in paradise. The National Weather Service called this cold
snap right on the money. Of course anyone who has lived in this rural area
of Alaska more than a decade or two could have done as well. We almost
always have a cold snap in November.
So as I was standing there waiting for the dog to finish his business,
he's old and his bodily functions move slow, I realized why I live here
and most don't.
Humans fall into two groups; statics and dynamics.
The static seeks a steady state in thier life. They want everything to
remain just as it is. This is carried to the extreme by demanding that
government, industry and NGOs actively pursue a stabilized environment.
The dynamics thrive on change. Life is supposed to be an adventure. The
dynamic knows that the nature of nature is change. Each day brings a form
of nervous excitement. What will today bring?
Shit oh dear, if this dog was any slower, he would be in reverse. Here I
am standing next to a snowbank in sandals, shorts and a t-shirt freezing my butt off and he has to inspect his toilet area.
Anyway, he finished and now I can get this typed out before I forget it.
Henry David Thoreau stated, "the masses of men lead lives of quiet
desperation." I just can't think of a more apt statement about the statics. These mental cripples will eagerly accept the status quo, no matter how miserable, rather than embrace change. They vote the same mental cripples back into public office, they remain at the same
miserable job, buy insurance for every contingency and ... the list is
endless. They spend thier lives in clustered hovels that present the
appearance of wealth, but lack richness of life.
I would have no problem with statics if they would mind thier own
business. But Noooo. The get their local, state and federal representatives to enact crap laws to force the dynamics into the static mould. Here is an example: 30+ years ago, I was living in rural Lake County Oregon. I witnessed a home owner lose to the statics by enforced
building codes. The house had to have complete plumbing and all the
electrical system had to be up to code. The problem: No water and the
probabilty of bringing in a well was zero and the nearest powerline was
over 3 miles away (roughly $24,000 for single phase). The house wasn't
finance, but a build as you can afford it. In the end, the owner-builder
couldn't afford to finish the house or move in. The added costs of
compliance with the building code had wiped out his meager savings.
I live right on the jagged edge. My house doesn't meet code and I don't
care. Alaska has a privacy clause in our constitution that real Alaskans
will defend. It is time for the statics to defend the right of dynamics to
live over the edge.
Special Note to Statics: You watch, we do. Without dynamics, you statics
couldn't engage in your form of voyeurism or have anything to talk about. We are your entertainment.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Palinistas are Coming, Run for the Hills
I admit, I voted for Sarah Palin for governor. I could claim there wasn't
much of a choice. I could claim she was a woman and she was/is hot, but
the truth is, I failed to dig deep enough.
I can say with all truthfulness that I didn't vote for the McCain-Palin
ticket. Perhaps this was a mistake, but I don't think so. It was
Republicans that started this current mess and I won't be conned into the
idea that the fools that embroiled us in fake, but costly armed conflicts
have the capacity to extract us.
So why my anger with myself over darling Sarah? I allowed myself to be
conned. She trotted out all her motivations after being sworn in. If you
know another person's ethos and motivations, they will do just what is
predictable. Nature always outs itself.
Sarah ran on the "out with the ash and trash" ticket. She was gonna set a
new standard for Alaskan politics. I won't go into the messes she made in
Juneau or her machinations behind closed doors (secret e-mails).
Here is my big beef. She got elected to the governorship, bailed out to
run for the Veep ticket, lost and then quit the governorship. She was a
fraud.
Recall her famous speil about the "difference between a hockey mom and a
pit bull"? "Lipstick."
All I could think of was a bitch in heat, screwing every dog in the
neighborhood and then leaving lipstick stains on the mauled bodies of
little children.
Ah, but why the title of this rant?
With money in her pocket from a book deal, Sarah will rise again. She,
with the adoration and monies of the Republican party, will make a run for
the White House. And I know that the American electorate are just sheep
desperately looking for a kind shepherd.
Nobody seems to recall that a shepherd fleeces the flock every year and
send the youth off to the slaughterhouse. If you will recall her "pitbull"
statement, you might wanna think about the flock. Pitbulls do what they do
and that is why they aren't ever used for herding sheep.
She did run with the guy who stated he would keep us in Iraq for a hundred
years if he had to.
My recommendation? Throw her back into the dog yard.
much of a choice. I could claim she was a woman and she was/is hot, but
the truth is, I failed to dig deep enough.
I can say with all truthfulness that I didn't vote for the McCain-Palin
ticket. Perhaps this was a mistake, but I don't think so. It was
Republicans that started this current mess and I won't be conned into the
idea that the fools that embroiled us in fake, but costly armed conflicts
have the capacity to extract us.
So why my anger with myself over darling Sarah? I allowed myself to be
conned. She trotted out all her motivations after being sworn in. If you
know another person's ethos and motivations, they will do just what is
predictable. Nature always outs itself.
Sarah ran on the "out with the ash and trash" ticket. She was gonna set a
new standard for Alaskan politics. I won't go into the messes she made in
Juneau or her machinations behind closed doors (secret e-mails).
Here is my big beef. She got elected to the governorship, bailed out to
run for the Veep ticket, lost and then quit the governorship. She was a
fraud.
Recall her famous speil about the "difference between a hockey mom and a
pit bull"? "Lipstick."
All I could think of was a bitch in heat, screwing every dog in the
neighborhood and then leaving lipstick stains on the mauled bodies of
little children.
Ah, but why the title of this rant?
With money in her pocket from a book deal, Sarah will rise again. She,
with the adoration and monies of the Republican party, will make a run for
the White House. And I know that the American electorate are just sheep
desperately looking for a kind shepherd.
Nobody seems to recall that a shepherd fleeces the flock every year and
send the youth off to the slaughterhouse. If you will recall her "pitbull"
statement, you might wanna think about the flock. Pitbulls do what they do
and that is why they aren't ever used for herding sheep.
She did run with the guy who stated he would keep us in Iraq for a hundred
years if he had to.
My recommendation? Throw her back into the dog yard.
Read My Lips ... We have This Under Control
Everyone who knows me knows I'm a financial news junkie. First thing in
the morning is the gold and silver spot prices. It ain't that I have any
holdings, it is just that metals are a barometer of the economic
conditions.
Then a quick cruise around the web to see what the talking heads are
peddling. Every day, it is green shoots, mustard seeds and some other
indicators. I recall the oil indicator on an old Pontaic Tempest I had. It
signaled low oil pressure right after the big bang and sparks.
But these people were hired for their expertise, right? Nope, unless you
catagorize expertise as encompassing stage presence and optimism.
I trust the media, NOT! The business of media is advertising. The
canned news (I'll get to it in a moment) is actually advertising to keep
you watching, listening or reading long enough to get to the money maker:
ads.
The news is collected at the news briefings. In effect, what shall we tell
the public? How do we phrase it? Ready? Okay let's do it and remember, no
questions will be answered.
"Welcome to the briefing. Blah, blah. Sorry, we don't have time to take
questions."
News briefings are NOT news. It is propaganda plain and simple.
The media has a vested interest in presenting it as news. Access and
advertising dollars.
Optimism is good just as long as it isn't bullshit. Lie to me and I will
never believe you again.
So just what are the facts?
Deficit, debt and finally death of our economy.
The root causes?
Congress and their addiction to spending our capital on votes. The Federal
Reserve Act was the tool. The voters for voting to take money out of the
public coffers for their sacred cow crap.
What's next?
Here is a fairly realistic scenario:
"The Day the Dollar Died" John Galt http://johngaltfla.com/blog3/2009/11/18/the-day-the-dollar-died/
How and when will it end?
Unknown. Each possibility is dependant upon the next mistakes made. Just
as natural processes can wear a mountain down, so will time erode the mess
we freely voted for.
No sense running, you'll just be broke, tired and in unfriendly
surroundings. Nobody will accept the pretty toilet paper in your wallet.
If you don't know who John Galt is, you have my condolences.
the morning is the gold and silver spot prices. It ain't that I have any
holdings, it is just that metals are a barometer of the economic
conditions.
Then a quick cruise around the web to see what the talking heads are
peddling. Every day, it is green shoots, mustard seeds and some other
indicators. I recall the oil indicator on an old Pontaic Tempest I had. It
signaled low oil pressure right after the big bang and sparks.
But these people were hired for their expertise, right? Nope, unless you
catagorize expertise as encompassing stage presence and optimism.
I trust the media, NOT! The business of media is advertising. The
canned news (I'll get to it in a moment) is actually advertising to keep
you watching, listening or reading long enough to get to the money maker:
ads.
The news is collected at the news briefings. In effect, what shall we tell
the public? How do we phrase it? Ready? Okay let's do it and remember, no
questions will be answered.
"Welcome to the briefing. Blah, blah. Sorry, we don't have time to take
questions."
News briefings are NOT news. It is propaganda plain and simple.
The media has a vested interest in presenting it as news. Access and
advertising dollars.
Optimism is good just as long as it isn't bullshit. Lie to me and I will
never believe you again.
So just what are the facts?
Deficit, debt and finally death of our economy.
The root causes?
Congress and their addiction to spending our capital on votes. The Federal
Reserve Act was the tool. The voters for voting to take money out of the
public coffers for their sacred cow crap.
What's next?
Here is a fairly realistic scenario:
"The Day the Dollar Died" John Galt http://johngaltfla.com/blog3/2009/11/18/the-day-the-dollar-died/
How and when will it end?
Unknown. Each possibility is dependant upon the next mistakes made. Just
as natural processes can wear a mountain down, so will time erode the mess
we freely voted for.
No sense running, you'll just be broke, tired and in unfriendly
surroundings. Nobody will accept the pretty toilet paper in your wallet.
If you don't know who John Galt is, you have my condolences.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Right to Profits
Since the dawn of civilization, we have been driven to increase our
standard of living. It is a natural inclination. Why would any reasonable
person accept poverty as a way of life? So just what are profits and how
do we gain it?
In every economic system, the basic item of value is labor. The more
accomplished the laborer, the greater the value. The problem arose with
the lack of a medium of exchange. Humans needed a way to bank the profits
of their labor and a mechanism for transporting it. A sack of grain had
value based upon the labor and cost to produce it. Initially the few sacks
of grain surplus to the family's needs could be bartered. Ah, but as is
the way of technology and labor, some farmers produced far more grain than
they could barter locally. What the system needed was a medium of
exchange. Hence the rise of precious metals as money. It was durable,
compact and scarce.
As the city-state came into being, gold was needed for the treasury. To
gain the gold, a tried and proven technique was utilized; war. Might makes
right. This led to another resource requirement, bronze. The city-state
needed bronze to make swords for their troops. The troops traditionally
used plunder as payment for their services aka labor. Here is the general
scenario:
City-state A needs gold to fill its treasury. City-state B has some. A
claims B affronted them and demands tribute. B says go to hell. War
ensues. A wins and cleans out the treasury of B, troops plunder the
civilians and under orders, seizes all the bronze for their arms
merchants. The profits go to the government and the arms merchants. The
people shouldered the costs by levies on their production of goods to
support their troops.
If ma and pa were lucky, one of their boys returned home with some bauble.
Most either died or spent the plunder on wine, women and song.
As the city-state gained in wealth and achieved empire status, more
resources passed through the merchant class. Recall that the basic unit of
value is labor. Labor effects production. Produce is inventory. Ooooh, I'm
gonna step on your foot, but I don't care. Inventory has no value until
the money changes hands. You can't eat swords, baubles or gold. Inventory
must be traded for necessities or luxuries. The merchant class traded a
medium of exchange for trade goods and took profits on each trade.
However, not all merchants had the inventory or gold to fund their
enterprise. Enter the financier. In return for granting a loan to the
merchant, the financier gained an interest in the merchant's goods or in
other words, a share of the profits.
Fast forward to the industrial age. Labor still creates value, but lacks
the inventory of tools and raw materials to produce. The factory owner
supplies the required assets and takes an interest in the laborer's skill.
Hence, the factory owner provides inventory. The products go to the
merchants for resale and the financier provides the gold to both the
factory owner and the merchant. Wars continue, but plunder is now stripped
from the soldier and passed to the entrepreneurial class aka financier. The
financier might not know squat about rubber production, but they know how
to hire the required laborers.
Luck and isolation brought us to the age of consumerism. Gold was replaced
by fiat currency. Otherwise, little changed since the latter days of the
hunter-gatherer societies. A new beast entered the picture, taxation.
Where levies were accepted during war, taxation needed no conflict. The
mantra of the empire was progress. National highway systems, airports and
a plethora of investments in the national infrastructure. Value remained a
constant, but fiat currency provided wealth accumulation by the middle
class.
Wealth demands investments to counter the effects of inflation.
---------------------------------------
In any growing population, inflation of the money supply is a necessity.
Here is why: If there are 100 workers in the labor force and 100 units of
payment, they each earn 1 unit. The next year, there are 102 workers, but
still the 100 units of payment. You tell the workers that they have to
take a pay cut. I ain't.
---------------------------------------
So we are forced to accept inflation, but we aren't forced to accept
deterioration of purchasing power. We invest. The more skilled have
greater investment choices. Those with the least are conned into insurance
under the guise of responsibility to family even after death. Many of the
early insurance programs permitted borrowing on your policy.
The labor movement spawned another evil step-child known as pension plans.
This is just old age insurance. Then our ever benevolent government had a
better idea, the 401k program. Effectively, you could create your own old
age insurance program. Homes became an investment, a nest egg for the
future.
The problems became acute. Every transaction required a financial gnome
who skimmed off a percentage. Every skim provides tax dollars. Insurance
companies required something to invest their money in. As the monies
collected required a future payout, risk had to be minimized. First it was
the broad based portfolio with some treasury notes. But, the corporate
fiduciary responsibility is to maximize the stockholders return. Enter
some risky investments.
With clever investment strategies, risk could be managed and profits
maximized. The greater the profits, the larger the investment pool gets.
More money to invest demands market manipulation. Enter the world of
futures. Initially the purpose was supposed to be securing raw materials
for future production. The world of investors saw this as a way to turn a
profit buying and selling a piece of paper with no intention of taking
delivery.
The futures market became the infant derivatives market. Risk could be
managed by insurance. Insurance is the most basic derivative. In simplish,
derivatives are anything derived from an actual trade of a tangible. The
derivative is an intangible.
Returning to the more affluent middle class, houses, 401k and other
investments became the norm. Buying a home was the way of stating to the
world that you had arrived. The world of investment only too happy to
help(?) make it happen. At first, it was your word and a handshake, but
soon it became credit scores, insurance and second mortgages. When the
more affluent had homes, investment opportunities started to slack off.
Enter the sub-prime loan programs. Risk increased, but could be managed by
pooling the assets and selling shares of the pool to investors. Pitch in
some insurance to cover any potential risk and we can eliminate moral
hazard.
---------------------------------------
Moral hazard is nothing more than risk of capital investment. In the past,
moral hazard was minimized by due diligence aka in-depth research of the
investment.
---------------------------------------
These pools of assets became the Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO)of
today. The insurance; Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Both fall into the
category of derivatives. There exists no tangible asset to transfer
between the parties in a default occurs. The investor and the insurance
company don't hold the mortgage papers.
So where the hell am I going with this? Remember the empire? The so-called
managers have gotten addicted to tax revenues. Spend some here and secure
future votes. A wise manager needing votes will spend the money where they
can secure the most votes for minimum dollars. Others will spend it where
they can secure future funding for re-election. The empire needs money to
grow and happy taxpayers to retain those in power.
History is replete with examples of money being equated with power. Some
people have the determination, skill and luck to create wealth. Some
attempt the short-cut of crime to achieve it. The real scoundrels find a
way to manage the funds of others; either by investments or taxation.
So what happens if this paper house of derivatives fails. From near the
top down, investment losses means fewer dollars to invest, fewer dollars
for investment mean less inventory, less inventory means fewer needs for
labor and returning to the top, far less tax revenue and election day rout
for the incumbent. History shows many cases of the rout becoming a purge.
As you might recall, the title is "The Right to Profits." In order to
maintain tax revenues, the investment vehicles MUST be profitable. Hence,
the right to (maintain) profits must be guaranteed by the government. "To
big to fail" was coined by our benevolent government with we the people
underwriting failures.
----------------------------------------
It falls to each person to evaluate their perceived reality, determine
their own objectives, develop the strategy to achieve the objective and
engage the tactics they feel best suits their nature and capabilities.
standard of living. It is a natural inclination. Why would any reasonable
person accept poverty as a way of life? So just what are profits and how
do we gain it?
In every economic system, the basic item of value is labor. The more
accomplished the laborer, the greater the value. The problem arose with
the lack of a medium of exchange. Humans needed a way to bank the profits
of their labor and a mechanism for transporting it. A sack of grain had
value based upon the labor and cost to produce it. Initially the few sacks
of grain surplus to the family's needs could be bartered. Ah, but as is
the way of technology and labor, some farmers produced far more grain than
they could barter locally. What the system needed was a medium of
exchange. Hence the rise of precious metals as money. It was durable,
compact and scarce.
As the city-state came into being, gold was needed for the treasury. To
gain the gold, a tried and proven technique was utilized; war. Might makes
right. This led to another resource requirement, bronze. The city-state
needed bronze to make swords for their troops. The troops traditionally
used plunder as payment for their services aka labor. Here is the general
scenario:
City-state A needs gold to fill its treasury. City-state B has some. A
claims B affronted them and demands tribute. B says go to hell. War
ensues. A wins and cleans out the treasury of B, troops plunder the
civilians and under orders, seizes all the bronze for their arms
merchants. The profits go to the government and the arms merchants. The
people shouldered the costs by levies on their production of goods to
support their troops.
If ma and pa were lucky, one of their boys returned home with some bauble.
Most either died or spent the plunder on wine, women and song.
As the city-state gained in wealth and achieved empire status, more
resources passed through the merchant class. Recall that the basic unit of
value is labor. Labor effects production. Produce is inventory. Ooooh, I'm
gonna step on your foot, but I don't care. Inventory has no value until
the money changes hands. You can't eat swords, baubles or gold. Inventory
must be traded for necessities or luxuries. The merchant class traded a
medium of exchange for trade goods and took profits on each trade.
However, not all merchants had the inventory or gold to fund their
enterprise. Enter the financier. In return for granting a loan to the
merchant, the financier gained an interest in the merchant's goods or in
other words, a share of the profits.
Fast forward to the industrial age. Labor still creates value, but lacks
the inventory of tools and raw materials to produce. The factory owner
supplies the required assets and takes an interest in the laborer's skill.
Hence, the factory owner provides inventory. The products go to the
merchants for resale and the financier provides the gold to both the
factory owner and the merchant. Wars continue, but plunder is now stripped
from the soldier and passed to the entrepreneurial class aka financier. The
financier might not know squat about rubber production, but they know how
to hire the required laborers.
Luck and isolation brought us to the age of consumerism. Gold was replaced
by fiat currency. Otherwise, little changed since the latter days of the
hunter-gatherer societies. A new beast entered the picture, taxation.
Where levies were accepted during war, taxation needed no conflict. The
mantra of the empire was progress. National highway systems, airports and
a plethora of investments in the national infrastructure. Value remained a
constant, but fiat currency provided wealth accumulation by the middle
class.
Wealth demands investments to counter the effects of inflation.
---------------------------------------
In any growing population, inflation of the money supply is a necessity.
Here is why: If there are 100 workers in the labor force and 100 units of
payment, they each earn 1 unit. The next year, there are 102 workers, but
still the 100 units of payment. You tell the workers that they have to
take a pay cut. I ain't.
---------------------------------------
So we are forced to accept inflation, but we aren't forced to accept
deterioration of purchasing power. We invest. The more skilled have
greater investment choices. Those with the least are conned into insurance
under the guise of responsibility to family even after death. Many of the
early insurance programs permitted borrowing on your policy.
The labor movement spawned another evil step-child known as pension plans.
This is just old age insurance. Then our ever benevolent government had a
better idea, the 401k program. Effectively, you could create your own old
age insurance program. Homes became an investment, a nest egg for the
future.
The problems became acute. Every transaction required a financial gnome
who skimmed off a percentage. Every skim provides tax dollars. Insurance
companies required something to invest their money in. As the monies
collected required a future payout, risk had to be minimized. First it was
the broad based portfolio with some treasury notes. But, the corporate
fiduciary responsibility is to maximize the stockholders return. Enter
some risky investments.
With clever investment strategies, risk could be managed and profits
maximized. The greater the profits, the larger the investment pool gets.
More money to invest demands market manipulation. Enter the world of
futures. Initially the purpose was supposed to be securing raw materials
for future production. The world of investors saw this as a way to turn a
profit buying and selling a piece of paper with no intention of taking
delivery.
The futures market became the infant derivatives market. Risk could be
managed by insurance. Insurance is the most basic derivative. In simplish,
derivatives are anything derived from an actual trade of a tangible. The
derivative is an intangible.
Returning to the more affluent middle class, houses, 401k and other
investments became the norm. Buying a home was the way of stating to the
world that you had arrived. The world of investment only too happy to
help(?) make it happen. At first, it was your word and a handshake, but
soon it became credit scores, insurance and second mortgages. When the
more affluent had homes, investment opportunities started to slack off.
Enter the sub-prime loan programs. Risk increased, but could be managed by
pooling the assets and selling shares of the pool to investors. Pitch in
some insurance to cover any potential risk and we can eliminate moral
hazard.
---------------------------------------
Moral hazard is nothing more than risk of capital investment. In the past,
moral hazard was minimized by due diligence aka in-depth research of the
investment.
---------------------------------------
These pools of assets became the Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO)of
today. The insurance; Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Both fall into the
category of derivatives. There exists no tangible asset to transfer
between the parties in a default occurs. The investor and the insurance
company don't hold the mortgage papers.
So where the hell am I going with this? Remember the empire? The so-called
managers have gotten addicted to tax revenues. Spend some here and secure
future votes. A wise manager needing votes will spend the money where they
can secure the most votes for minimum dollars. Others will spend it where
they can secure future funding for re-election. The empire needs money to
grow and happy taxpayers to retain those in power.
History is replete with examples of money being equated with power. Some
people have the determination, skill and luck to create wealth. Some
attempt the short-cut of crime to achieve it. The real scoundrels find a
way to manage the funds of others; either by investments or taxation.
So what happens if this paper house of derivatives fails. From near the
top down, investment losses means fewer dollars to invest, fewer dollars
for investment mean less inventory, less inventory means fewer needs for
labor and returning to the top, far less tax revenue and election day rout
for the incumbent. History shows many cases of the rout becoming a purge.
As you might recall, the title is "The Right to Profits." In order to
maintain tax revenues, the investment vehicles MUST be profitable. Hence,
the right to (maintain) profits must be guaranteed by the government. "To
big to fail" was coined by our benevolent government with we the people
underwriting failures.
----------------------------------------
It falls to each person to evaluate their perceived reality, determine
their own objectives, develop the strategy to achieve the objective and
engage the tactics they feel best suits their nature and capabilities.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
We need to ... or the application of PsyOps
How many times have we been presented with the phrase, "We need to ... ,". It is rarely phrased, "I need to ... ." The fundamental idea behind the "we" is psychological operations (PsyOps.) The objective is to convince others to join the presenter in their quest to effect some change in the status quo. Usually the scant evidence presented is mischaracterized, inflammatory and specifically chosen for the greatest emotional effect possible. Accuracy is strictly forbidden due to the probability that the quest would be met with "so what?"
PsyOps are totally dependent on emotional responses, guilt and sense of duty. Let us look at each of these and understand the implications.
Emotional responses have a power so great it is hard to fully grasp. Mention a harm to children and watch mothers bristle with rage. Talk against animal welfare to a vegan and stand back. The list is endless. Almost everyone has an ethos derived from the social structure they were raised in. It is usually well thought out, but lacks any supporting evidence for its existence. This is not to say that evidence doesn't exist, but rather the individual or group can't verbalize it. The ethos is traditional. These traditions are common to the members, but may very well be alien ideas to people outside the membership.
I shall present an example: Child labor. The poor children are forced to work 10 hours a day in a sweat shop. We need to do something. Bullshit! Since the dawn of time, children have had one mission in life, become an adult. It was only during the depression of 1929-54 that child labor became an issue. We (in the persona of FDR) needed to get children out of the workforce. There wasn't enough jobs to go around. Well meaning, but ignorant people invented the idea of an extended childhood and worse still, rights of children exceeding those of their parents. This should cause a bout of apoplexy. I could inflame the readership more on this example, but I won't. The HELL I won't. Here is the harsh reality, children are untrained animals. And ... most adults are trained animals.
Did this elicit an emotional response?
Then there is the guilt effect. Most people have a guilty conscience about something and usually everything. I could have, I should have, ... ad nauseum. We have been conditioned to accept guilt for every activity perpetrated by the body politic and the actions of other individuals we are acquainted with. Hence the perverted idea of responsibility for the actions of others. Much of this guilt is derived from actions we participated in as children.
A classic example is homosexuality. Most children experiment with homosexuality. Most are conditioned that this is unacceptable conduct by theologists, parents and their peers. The subject continues to be in the national news in spite of all the evidence that humans are sexual in nature and same-gender affection is normal in humans and widespread in nature. Consequently, many citizens share common guilt and abhorrence for same-gender relations. We have to protect our sons and (to a minor degree) daughters from this abomination. This is not meant to infer child molestation is okay, normal or otherwise. Rather that child-child experimentation is normal. Adult-child sexual contact is abuse by a mentally disturbed animal that in a responsible society protective of children would result in putting the animal down.
Many might tender the question of treatment rather than execution. We can't exact punishment on a mentally disturbed animal. Why not? Is there any evidence that the animal can be retrained? No? So is it the responsibility of the citizens to eliminate a real and definable threat to children? Should the citizens provide for the health and welfare of a criminal that can't be reformed? Here is my take. Death is inevitable. Our choices in life can definitely determine our lifespan. Climb enough mountains and you might fall. Drinking and driving can substantially reduce your continued existence. There is no evidence to support the premise that a molester hasn't a choice when it comes to action.
I drifted a little off the track, but choice is choice. A person might have desire and create no problem, but acting on that desire is. Consider, if you will, the desires of older men for younger women. There is a biological imperative, IE. breeding potential of a younger woman. Notice the term is woman, not child. Older women-younger men will get the woman the title of cougar. Society frowns on both of these issues in spite of it being normal. I contend that this frowning is based upon guilt. Thou shalt not look at a younger adult and fantasize.
Lastly we have the "sense of duty" aspect to consider. In a nutshell, we need to send our children to foreign lands to meet exciting people and kill them in order to defend our Constitution. What a load of crap. Yes, there is a time to fight. However the idea of "clear and present danger" is non-existent so our elected trained animals use emotive responses and future guilt to convince us of the necessity for combat operations. If we don't, our children will wear the shackles of slavery.
Shades of grade school! Better the bully than to be the bullied. You gotta learn how to stand up for yourself.
Oh well. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty and shove it on to you.
----------------------------------------------------
If this post inflames your sense of virtue, good. It means I have provoked you to think. So quit acting on emotional, guilt or sense of duty arguments. Logical reasoning is what separates humans from animals. Most Homo Sapiens fail to reach full status as humans. Many remain animals their entire life. It is unfortunate that we humans are so prone to thinking the best about others of our specie without any supporting evidence.
PsyOps are totally dependent on emotional responses, guilt and sense of duty. Let us look at each of these and understand the implications.
Emotional responses have a power so great it is hard to fully grasp. Mention a harm to children and watch mothers bristle with rage. Talk against animal welfare to a vegan and stand back. The list is endless. Almost everyone has an ethos derived from the social structure they were raised in. It is usually well thought out, but lacks any supporting evidence for its existence. This is not to say that evidence doesn't exist, but rather the individual or group can't verbalize it. The ethos is traditional. These traditions are common to the members, but may very well be alien ideas to people outside the membership.
I shall present an example: Child labor. The poor children are forced to work 10 hours a day in a sweat shop. We need to do something. Bullshit! Since the dawn of time, children have had one mission in life, become an adult. It was only during the depression of 1929-54 that child labor became an issue. We (in the persona of FDR) needed to get children out of the workforce. There wasn't enough jobs to go around. Well meaning, but ignorant people invented the idea of an extended childhood and worse still, rights of children exceeding those of their parents. This should cause a bout of apoplexy. I could inflame the readership more on this example, but I won't. The HELL I won't. Here is the harsh reality, children are untrained animals. And ... most adults are trained animals.
Did this elicit an emotional response?
Then there is the guilt effect. Most people have a guilty conscience about something and usually everything. I could have, I should have, ... ad nauseum. We have been conditioned to accept guilt for every activity perpetrated by the body politic and the actions of other individuals we are acquainted with. Hence the perverted idea of responsibility for the actions of others. Much of this guilt is derived from actions we participated in as children.
A classic example is homosexuality. Most children experiment with homosexuality. Most are conditioned that this is unacceptable conduct by theologists, parents and their peers. The subject continues to be in the national news in spite of all the evidence that humans are sexual in nature and same-gender affection is normal in humans and widespread in nature. Consequently, many citizens share common guilt and abhorrence for same-gender relations. We have to protect our sons and (to a minor degree) daughters from this abomination. This is not meant to infer child molestation is okay, normal or otherwise. Rather that child-child experimentation is normal. Adult-child sexual contact is abuse by a mentally disturbed animal that in a responsible society protective of children would result in putting the animal down.
Many might tender the question of treatment rather than execution. We can't exact punishment on a mentally disturbed animal. Why not? Is there any evidence that the animal can be retrained? No? So is it the responsibility of the citizens to eliminate a real and definable threat to children? Should the citizens provide for the health and welfare of a criminal that can't be reformed? Here is my take. Death is inevitable. Our choices in life can definitely determine our lifespan. Climb enough mountains and you might fall. Drinking and driving can substantially reduce your continued existence. There is no evidence to support the premise that a molester hasn't a choice when it comes to action.
I drifted a little off the track, but choice is choice. A person might have desire and create no problem, but acting on that desire is. Consider, if you will, the desires of older men for younger women. There is a biological imperative, IE. breeding potential of a younger woman. Notice the term is woman, not child. Older women-younger men will get the woman the title of cougar. Society frowns on both of these issues in spite of it being normal. I contend that this frowning is based upon guilt. Thou shalt not look at a younger adult and fantasize.
Lastly we have the "sense of duty" aspect to consider. In a nutshell, we need to send our children to foreign lands to meet exciting people and kill them in order to defend our Constitution. What a load of crap. Yes, there is a time to fight. However the idea of "clear and present danger" is non-existent so our elected trained animals use emotive responses and future guilt to convince us of the necessity for combat operations. If we don't, our children will wear the shackles of slavery.
Shades of grade school! Better the bully than to be the bullied. You gotta learn how to stand up for yourself.
Oh well. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty and shove it on to you.
----------------------------------------------------
If this post inflames your sense of virtue, good. It means I have provoked you to think. So quit acting on emotional, guilt or sense of duty arguments. Logical reasoning is what separates humans from animals. Most Homo Sapiens fail to reach full status as humans. Many remain animals their entire life. It is unfortunate that we humans are so prone to thinking the best about others of our specie without any supporting evidence.
Why a Blog?
This blog came into existence for the purpose of letting a small portion of the populace know that they aren't alone in their disgust. I don't particularly care if you agree or not.
The title was chosen for the specific purpose of letting folks know that if they have a sacred cow, I have just the barbeque sauce to put on it. It appears that every sacred cow came into existence from a belief system. After all, it can't be sacred unless and until a belief existed to support it. Perhaps "The Belief Barbeque Sauce Emporium" would be a more apt title, but it failed to capture the essence of the project.
My intent is to present every dumbass idea, program and belief that catches my attention. I will engage in search and destroy missions to render the sacred cows just another bit of roadkill on the highway of life. The harsh reality is that once a belief mechanism is in place, all evidence contrary to the belief is indigestible. Beliefs will not and can not acknowledge any conflicting ideas, data or proofs.
One thing that can be counted on is a strict adherence to the ideals presented in the U.S. Constitution. Any argument that begins with the idea that the Constitution is subject to interpretation based upon the notion that the framers had no idea of change is ridiculous. If we accept that argument, we must accept the idea that the framers were stupid, n, to be incapable of learning. Article IV sec.4 specifically states that we are guaranteed a Republican form of government. Thus circular reasoning infers the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and we have a representative government with the government bound by the law. Democracy is mob rule. Look it up in the dictionary.
Most of this blob will be philosophical in nature and use logical argumentation. The philosophy is fairly simple: existentialism. In simplish (a contraction of simple english), I am directly and solely responsible for my actions, words and self. No person, party or government can tender a claim to the contrary. I would further argue that unless and until direct evidence is presented that real and quantifiable harm has been caused, I am not responsible for any of your problems. Such is the nature of existentialism.
A few ideas to keep in mind.
The paraphrased "Laws of Thermodynamics."
Everything is connected to everything.
Everything has to go somewhere.
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
"The Greatest Enemy Of Knowledge Is Not Ignorance... It Is The Illusion Of
Knowledge"-- Stephen Hawking
"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary
safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."-- Benjamin Franklin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I offer no advise beyond pursuing knowledge and wisdom. No person, party or government can steal, tax or regulate the knowledge and wisdom you have painfully gained.
How will you know if it is knowledge? Knowledge is proven by application. If it is truly knowledge, the result is known beforehand.
But how about wisdom? Ah here it gets confusing. You won't know beyond personal success. But others will look to you as a sounding board, a dissenting voice in the mob and as a constant in their life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can think of no reason to defend my arguments. I present them without cost, therefore you can claim no wrong was committed.
All ideas presented are subject to change as new data becomes available.
The title was chosen for the specific purpose of letting folks know that if they have a sacred cow, I have just the barbeque sauce to put on it. It appears that every sacred cow came into existence from a belief system. After all, it can't be sacred unless and until a belief existed to support it. Perhaps "The Belief Barbeque Sauce Emporium" would be a more apt title, but it failed to capture the essence of the project.
My intent is to present every dumbass idea, program and belief that catches my attention. I will engage in search and destroy missions to render the sacred cows just another bit of roadkill on the highway of life. The harsh reality is that once a belief mechanism is in place, all evidence contrary to the belief is indigestible. Beliefs will not and can not acknowledge any conflicting ideas, data or proofs.
One thing that can be counted on is a strict adherence to the ideals presented in the U.S. Constitution. Any argument that begins with the idea that the Constitution is subject to interpretation based upon the notion that the framers had no idea of change is ridiculous. If we accept that argument, we must accept the idea that the framers were stupid, n, to be incapable of learning. Article IV sec.4 specifically states that we are guaranteed a Republican form of government. Thus circular reasoning infers the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and we have a representative government with the government bound by the law. Democracy is mob rule. Look it up in the dictionary.
Most of this blob will be philosophical in nature and use logical argumentation. The philosophy is fairly simple: existentialism. In simplish (a contraction of simple english), I am directly and solely responsible for my actions, words and self. No person, party or government can tender a claim to the contrary. I would further argue that unless and until direct evidence is presented that real and quantifiable harm has been caused, I am not responsible for any of your problems. Such is the nature of existentialism.
A few ideas to keep in mind.
The paraphrased "Laws of Thermodynamics."
Everything is connected to everything.
Everything has to go somewhere.
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
"The Greatest Enemy Of Knowledge Is Not Ignorance... It Is The Illusion Of
Knowledge"-- Stephen Hawking
"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary
safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."-- Benjamin Franklin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I offer no advise beyond pursuing knowledge and wisdom. No person, party or government can steal, tax or regulate the knowledge and wisdom you have painfully gained.
How will you know if it is knowledge? Knowledge is proven by application. If it is truly knowledge, the result is known beforehand.
But how about wisdom? Ah here it gets confusing. You won't know beyond personal success. But others will look to you as a sounding board, a dissenting voice in the mob and as a constant in their life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can think of no reason to defend my arguments. I present them without cost, therefore you can claim no wrong was committed.
All ideas presented are subject to change as new data becomes available.
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