The lottery

  The reduction in a government that has a life of its own is my primary goal.  Either the government is FOR the people, or it is AGAINST the people.  And "the people" does not only consist of rich people who show up at the voting booths.  The people have been led to believe that they shouldn't bother with the voting booth, AND they have been baited with promises of lucrative lifestyles if they should win the lottery.  Meanwhile the lottery takes money from the people who need it most, and spends it on social issues such as street repair.  The rich people do not play the lottery, because they don't desire the chance to be rich.  They are already rich.  So this is a good way to rob the poor to pay to rebuild roads.  What really happens is that some of the hard earned dollars that poor people have gets re-directed between each other.  Some times one person gets some of the money that 3,000 other people wasted on lottery tickets.  But not ever will it all work out in the end.  If we need better roads, let the rich pay for it.  They would not be so rich if the blue collar worker didn't drive to work everyday to pay for his/her family.  In America we teach "equality" in our schools while the majority of Americans make pennies to provide the rich minority with luxury.

     You might be doing well, but you are still being robbed of what you really deserve.  There are some people that are using a lot of you to make money for them while their "job" consists of calling their "managers" and "bank officers" to make sure you made them some money today.

Downs, Depravity and Death

The latest before-birth technology boasts the ability to detect Downs Syndrome nine weeks into pregnancy. As with all major scientific breakthroughs, there are ethical questions involved. What is the motivation of parents to learn their child-to-be will be retarded? It would be nice for them to know all they can before they actually have to care for the baby. There is another side that I am promising you will become an issue within a few years.

Abortion is a legal practice when the fetus involved is nine weeks old. Conservatively, even if it takes 12 weeks to detect Downs Syndrome, it can still legally be aborted. Is it wrong to abort a baby that will obviously receive the short end of the stick? Can we save the pain and suffering of a child who will never be accepted by the overwhelming majority of other children? Keep this child from being laughed at, called names...keep the child from facing an uphill battle that will never ultimately make him/her strong enough to bring a fair share of contribution to society?

How about the parents? After all, it is not only their decision to make, it is their interests most involved in the matter. If you or your wife is pregnant and you find out the amount of work involved to raise the baby will exceed the normal tradition, would you be able to save you and the child all the grief related to being affected by Downs Syndrome?

Religion would never allow that to be an acceptable practice. They would scream, "God has a plan! Downs or not, it's a human being!" On the other hand, these are the same people that will talk about how a "bad seed" that has murdered human beings need to be exterminated. Because obviously God did not plan for that.

When we let religious whims shape our character we are giving up the very soul religion claims to be saving. They say that God gave human beings free will. And I say that if a human being has the free will to kill, then that was God's plan. Since we don't want to have murderers running around, some of our free will may be to exterminate that murderer. If there is a God, he gave us free will for a reason.

I can tell you one thing. He did not give us free will so that he could banish the bad people to Hell. He did not fragment us and divide our faith so that one group of people could make the "right choice." In my estimation, if a human being is so depraved as to want to murder another human being...that is a sign from God that we are fucking up royally and we better fix it fast. Otherwise you may be the next one on the chopping block.

Complainers

     I know I've been away for a while.  I can't promise the next time I will write.  I have a million things to write about, but no desire to sit and write them.  Mostly because of the apathetic nature of most human beings to improve conditions.  A lot of times I get the message that my knowledge on the operation of the planet Earth is just not that important to people.  They would rather dangle themselves as sheets in the wind, rather than assert their rights as a human being.  In general, rights are given and rights are taken away.  In today's world, certain rights have been taken for granted, and because of that...many of them are being taken away.

     Suprisingly or not, an article about retail stores has prompted me to start writing again.  It reminded me of a time I was in Best Buy (an electronics mega-store) and was asked for my phone number at the register.  They will lead you to believe that they are attempting to serve you better.  In some cases, their actions WILL serve you better.  But in most actions, they are only looking out for their own interests. 

      Corporations are trying to focus on the people that WILL spend their money to increase the corporation's bottom line, and stop wasting their time on those who do not intend on feeding the profits so stealthfully seeked out by these vultures.  After all, who cares about anybody who has no money?  I do.

    I am constantly degraded for wasting everybody's time with my words.  Most people don't want to hear about how much they are getting screwed.  The rest don't understand or can't pay attention long enough to come to these conclusions.  I have two instances to share regarding this attitude, although their are plenty more that I won't "waste your time" with.

     The first is a girl that I hold high regard for.  She is lost in her own little world, constantly worried about what people think of her.  She spends most of her time with her companions talking about their day to day lives.  Who did what with whom, and why doesn't he/she like me...and so on.  She tells me that I'm smart, but when I put my intelligence on display she says, "I DON'T CARE!!  I just don't care."  I don't need her to care.  Let metell you of the second instance before I make my final point.

     My aunt was having a hard time with the christmas lights she put up outside of her house.  This same aunt really insulted me on numerous occasions when asked to read the thoughts that I put onto paper.  She "didn't have time for (my) rhetoric"  and she doesn't need to read my "editorials" for she has "real connections with real people."  So I went to fix her problem.  First I replaced her faulty electrical outlet and installed special covers that allowed for things to be plugged in without exposing the outlet to the weather.  I went home, and she had a new problem.  Her girlfriend convinced her to call me up and offer to pay me to fix her new problem.  The problem was that only one of her light strings was working.  The other two wouldn't shine.  So I stopped by again, found that the tiny fuse had blown in one of the light strings, and wouldn't allow that string, or the following string to light.  I replaced the fuse and went on my way.

     She left me a message on my cell phone about how I should invent christmas lights that didn't have a fuse and were supposed to last "two years and that's it."  She thought it would take the frustration out of putting up the lights.  My answer to that is, "If you didn't think my writing's were a waste of your time, you would know why you are barking up the wrong tree."  #1  The lights have fuses because too many stupid people string too many lights end to end.  The more lights that are strung together, the more electricity has to travel through the wires.  If too much electricity travels through those wires, they will heat up, melt and cause a fire.  #2  This world is already FULL of piece of shit products that don't last very long. 

     If she would "waste her time" and learn a few things about the world, she might realize that she would probably burn her house down by stringing too many lights together.  Why do you think she blew out her fuse?

     Meanwhile the former girl I mentioned also complains about things in this world that again, I can explain.  She complains about the way people are, and what seems to be important to them.  At one point I had to tell her that I didn't care about her gossip.  I didn't care what her friend said to her other friend, or why this person wasn't calling this other person.  She now tells me that she knows how I must have felt when she said that she didn't care about the things that dominate my mind. 

     I guess I'm tired of people complaining to me about their problems, and then when presented with the answer or solution, they then complain that I am wasting their time.  Whose time is really wasted here?

Annual introspection

     The sky turns a slight gray. It has been wandering between blue and gray for the last 48 hours. From the comforting yellow of the summer sun to the blanketing gray of the fall sky. The day mellows much earlier now. The quiet of this Sunday afternoon reflects the dark solitude of the early dawn. The noise of gasoline chugging machines seems non-existent. The occasional roaring motor interrupts this silence. This is the time for reflection. To consider what the current calendar year has meant.

    Every year in New England begins with a bitter cold that paralyzes ambition, leaves one to believe that surviving the day is good enough. Even salt water, a warrior against freezing temperatures, gives in to the solidity of the frozen world. The colorless bays of Eastern Massachusetts try to mimic a dark sinister blue, almost gray surface cracking with white volcanic eruptions of tidal movement. All plant life on land is frozen to its core. Waiting in silence for a shred of warmth. With warmth brings a different form of moisture. Snow and ice give way to dew, mist, and of course rain.

     The anticipation of the warm weather creates a disdain for rain. In a region perpetually assaulted with government issued signs warning: Water Ban in Effect, Hand Held Hoses Only, rain still remains the enemy. The rain doesn’t live in symbiosis with the latest fashions in clothing and hairstyles. The rain doesn’t perpetuate many sporting events, picnics, walks in the park, or any other outside activities. The rain is often viewed as a deterrent to life itself.

     That is, until the brutal humid heat of July sets in. Suddenly the rain is welcome. Anything to capture the humidity, bring it down to earth and rid the atmosphere of its suffocating presence. Often a day inside with an operational air conditioner seems a welcome escape from the sweltering heat. So many chances to enjoy the earth’s sunshine missed for the sake of saving sweat glands. It is the time for the many bodies of water nearby to soothe and cool the sweat glands, rejuvenating the drive to be alive.

     Eventually the heat subsides and a period of sunshine and cool breezes monopolize each day. Outcries against the heat turn to relief. The realization that winter is coming will set upon some people. Others will welcome the turning of the leaves. The applepicking season has arrived. Soon the pumpkins will fear the knives looking to carve faces into their vegetable flesh. Indian Summer at its best. Shortly, New England will decide what kind of winter shall be endured next year.

     The time has come to feel the next holiday season. For some it means the obligations of family, and a drain on the wallet. For others it means a chance to settle down and enjoy all that has been given to us in this lifetime. A time to leave our mistakes behind and use our successes to fortify our future. If nothing else, a chance to share our time with the people we consider unconditional friends and family in this life. We won’t know if today is the last day, all we know is that we want to spend our last days with the people we love. This is an annual motive.

Roller Coaster of Life

     In the course of human life, one experiences many ups and downs. All the while does this man feel that neither one will ever end. There is no such thing as a black cloud to one on top of the world and there is never a silver lining in the pits. Even such knowledge can not make one immune to this very nature. Negative history is forced to repeat itself if the lessons aren't learned. Matters of love are the usual suspects. Love of friends, love of family and love of the opposite sex all carry their own stigmas.

     How to define friends? How to secure the absolsute knowledge of what it takes for anyone to be a friend? Fair weather friends have bad publicity, but the cooperation goes both ways. While the fair weather friends are in favor, life must be experiencing fair weather. In itself, that makes a fair weather friend worth having. Misery loves company, but company doesn't love misery. Even the best of friends hope to avoid one's misery. How many times will a best friend fall from grace in the course of history? If lucky...only once. Friends too, experience ups and downs.

     There can be no stronger, more intrinsic bond than that of one's blood sake. When forced to choose, the initial response is to rebel against the family, but ultimately choose family. Sticking together through all the bad weather is a family tradition. When making decisions, the fallability of human nature should teach objectivity when dealing with family advice. Yet it does not, and will not. Ignoring family wisdom is the description of disrespect. Will this define love, or refute it?

     The possibility of intimate affection sways desire at will. Whether succumbing or opposing advances from the opposite sex, free will is greatly altered. How powerful is the need for human touch to perplex the human mind? On each willing heart, life is endless sunshine. Nothing else matters but the connection to aanother heart. Broken hearts bring mental hurricane in 3D. Disaster, Destruction, and Devestation. Each experience is more intense than before. The best ever or the worst ever.

     The belief that "This is all there ever will be" cries for extinction. Today awaits tomorrow. Everything is possible as time continues to progress. Don't get comfortable, the future isn't slowing down. All it takes is one spark to set that fire. The fire of passion, exuberance and freedom.

Gasoline Prices

Of course you may have noticed the growing gas prices. I have too. They have decided that hurricane Katrina is to blame. But I have two questions. #1 How much of our gasoline is refined in Louisiana? #2 Do you realize how most gas stations price gasoline? I worked at a gas station before. We were always the cheapest in town. It lends me to consider who is exactly affected by the gas prices. So let me begin my story here.

There have already been reports about gas gouging. The crafty gas station agents took advantage of a situation that gave them the excuse they needed BEFORE the hurricane even hit. There were reports that gas prices may rise due to the impending storm down south. Is that a free ticket or what? In two years the price of gas went from $1.60 in my area to $2.50. In one day our price went from $2.50 to $3.00 and the next day the price rose another 40 to 50 cents.

One day long ago, I worked overnights at a 24 hour gas station. It was the small town of Las Cruces, NM. Downtown consisted of a courthouse, fire station, and a movie theatre with a one way street circling counter-clockwise around it. At the time gas prices hovered around a dollar. We sold cigarettes for $1.29 a pack for premium brands. Generics and half-generics were going for $0.79 to $0.99. Every morning after my shift I was required to count the thousands of packs of cigarettes we had on hand. That required being in the office where the cartons were stored, and where the manager/owner of the station began his day. He began his day deciding what to charge for gasoline.

We always undercut the competition. The gas station across the street was about five cents higher than us most times. They were a Diamond Shamrock station, who had the luxury of plenty of credit card customers who would choose them for the sake of charging their gas for the day. One morning, our manager Carl-an old coot with a cranky streak like no other- was talking to his assistant. He said, "Drive around town and check the gas prices. Find the lowest price...then set our marquee at one cent lower." WAIT! Did he just say that?!?! I thought gas prices depended on checking invoices and determining the cost compared to overhead and profit margins...Right? Is this arbitrary method the reason for our gas prices? In a society where it is virtually impossible to have a job without using gasoline to get to and from work, how can we allow ourself to be gouged on the lifeblood of industry and commerce?

If you want to uphold this system, you must MUST consider the interests of all people involved. IF you do that, you will realize that there is no way for all of us to succeed. You are in competition with everyone...and the only winners are the small percentage of rich that feed off the masses. Here here to the privilege to do work for the lazy people.

No subject...subject...subject...subject

Add it all up so I speak on the things on your head til your dead

Every night is a gamble if I'll make it to bed

Pass out on the floor, or the couch or outdoors

Ain't ashamed to take the blame for the same mistakes as yours

Just give me a beat, and we'll see how I treat

the world around me, wait til they see

The evolution solution to all this pollution

Scared to death of the new revolution

Take what's evil and learn from its past

It has ta rely on a fasta disasta

Til we all come out cleaned of our wickedness

All the bickering and picketing til we gotta confess

I'm undressed for you people, faith is not in the steeple

The power inside is somethin you can't hide

from the harassed and the blasted, the crowds of the masses

From kindergarten and the following classes

You got history, biology, what's that gotta do with me?

How will math show the path of chemistry that I see

Chemical addictions comin over the hill

Underground market or prescription pills

Anti-depressants like lessons ringing through our culture

Big name companies they just wait like vultures

On top of a bank, like a dank skank

suckin on my wank, but she gets the better rank

Than me with my pants down, while Marley chants down

Making me like some blood, some slave, some clown

All I can do is hang with you till we're through

Unless you don't want me, then who needs you

While you get herded into a fuckin stampede

A victim of possesion, corruption and greed

noFalse Patriotism

     I grew up on military bases across the nation.  I took NJROTC in high school.  It was the class to teach new recruits to the Navy the ways of the Navy while they were in school.  I know the rules to "respecting the flag." 

     I went to the beach today.  I met up with some friends and family and friends of family and family of friends.  The weather was nice until it made a significant swing.  Clouds then rain...then hard rain.  Thunder and lightning.  Eventually the rain slowed down and we began to gather everything that all the Mommies brought to the beach: chairs, bags, toys, wagons, umbrellas, coolers, and other attempts to keep the children occupied.  The Exodus from the beach grew quickly.  Traffic couldn't have picked a worse time to get heavy.  On the drive home (read: somewhere else) we were hit with thunderous rain, thunder, and lightning.  There was heavy traffic due to closed lanes everywhere. 

     When the traffic gets slow I find myself more aware of my surroundings.  Instead of watching the white and yellow lines, I have time to see individual people doing the things they do along the side of the road.  Driving 20 miles per hour I noticed two men in a car lot removing the little flags that they attach to the antennae of each of the cars along the street.  You are not supposed to fly an American flag during the rain.  It is one of many respect rules.  So at first glance these men were trying to respect the flag.  They cared enough about our country to save our flags from drowning in a sea of Mother Nature. 

     Except it has been raining for an hour already.  The flags have been battered about.  Where were these heroes at the beginning of the storm?  Have they been sent out to save the flags after realizing that it would be a bad public relations move to let the flags get rained on?  Maybe they didn't want to have to buy new flags; possibly thinking that the wind and rain would destroy them. 

     Patriotism will be the same victim of commercialism that any other sanctity of human life has fallen victim to.  It's already starting.  Flags have been a big seller in many different forms from magnets to intricate designs employing the stars and stripes.  People have been buying stickers and magnets for their cars stating their love of our country, our troops, our presidents, our presidential candidates... how much of our money goes to prove to our neighbors that we are a GOOD citizen of the United States?  My friend had a flag sticker half destroyed on his car window.  He made his wife scrape the rest off so that nobody would think that they tried to rip the American flag off of their car.  He was upset about "the appearance"   he knew that he likes America, so  he didn't want anybody else thinking that he was making a statement against the flag. 

    Function or fashion?

 

 

Eye-popping road-kill ( sick )

     This is borderline gossip and you know I hate gossip, but here goes. 

     On the way to look at a A/C install for a customer, I was driving along a relatively busy street.  Not "city" busy, but maybe 20 cars a minute busy.  I approached what appeared to be roadkill...usually a possum, skunk or raccoon in this area.  As I drew near I realized it was a small cat.  I felt a slight pain in my heart as I imagined the owners of the cat losing it, and maybe never finding out it's fate.  As I was about to pass it, it looked like the body was being blown around by the wind of the passing cars.  Then I noticed it was alive, trying to get away from the sound of the rushing cars, limping an inch at a time towards the white broken line.  I decided that at the very least I wanted to get the cat off the street.

     I pulled into the nearby shopping mall parking lot and walked back to where the cat was.  In a small break in traffic I walked into the road to the cat.  I gave it a look to assess the situation.  One front paw was completely mangled and twisted backward.  The eyes had popped out of his head, and his jaw was ground into a bloody mess.  He probably made it under the car safely, but trying to escape the noise of a car travelling at 40 MPH most likely ran right into the path of the tire smashing his head.  At this point cars had begun to slow down and stop to allow me to do something...anything.  I touched the cat on its hindquarters gently, told him it was going to be ok (liar!!) and stroked him a moment.  I was contemplating how hostile the cat might be, having been run over, most likely shocked and wearing no collar/tags.  I can only wonder how the cat's vision was, eyes out of the socket and all.  He seemed docile, but I was still careful.  He looked a lot like my cat who is very tiny despite being 5-6 years old.  So I picked him up like I pick my cat up; from her stretchy midsection with the legs dangling; staying away from the head.  He fell mostly limp but I could feel him trying to find the strength to struggle.  Carrying him to the sidewalk, I set him down gently. 

     At this point I realized that I needed to find somebody to take the cat and put it to sleep.  I tried 411 on my cell, but they found no listing for animal control in Weymouth, MA.  (Funny, I'm pretty sure I've seen the trucks around town.)  I was about to call the police and ask them when another concerned animal lover came strolling up the sidewalk.  She was decent looking, maybe pushing 40 years old, dressed in a nice summery shirt with what looked like a natural tan.  She had child-bearing hips and a hint of sensitivity about her.  I admit I looked down her shirt once to check out the goods.  (Hurting cat or not, I'm still a man.)  She tried calling her veterinarian, meanwhile we were both stroking the cat, and saying soothing words of nonsense.  Her vet didn't have a mobile service that could pick the cat up...

     Just then, from the other direction on the sidewalk came another woman.  Slightly less to look at, dressed in animal hospital garb she was carrying a towel and a cardboard cat-carrier.  I explained the situation to her, and suggested she take the cat and put it to sleep.  What I saw next irked me just a little bit.  After all that care I had put into helping this cat through it's last moments of life, the girl drapes the towel over the cat, picks it up and stuffs it into the cardboard box like a stack of pillowcases.  The cat's legs and head were the last into the box as she basically pushed the cat, body first with no regard for the appendages.  I understand she was unsure of the dangers the cat presented, as I was...but if I had known that she was going to treat the cat like so, I would have done the job for her.  After getting the cat in there, she pulled the towel back and helped arrange his mangled body into a more comfortable position.  That made me feel a little better.  She went back towards her office to take care of the cat.  The lady told me she was happy that there were other good samaritans out there who cared, I said I couldn't bear to leave the poor thing in the middle of the road half dead and we went our separate ways.

Who is in charge? Part Two

Today's technology is advancing to help deter crime in our communities. The use of time delay safes, Sensormatic tags, video cameras, alarm systems, transmitter ID cards and other tracking devices help keep losses down for companies. But how much does all this cost? How much do you have to build up a business before you can afford these securities? You may not be able to afford to feed yourself in the early stages, much less pay for security equipment. In the criminal's eye, you are a much easier target. But you have much more to lose than the bank and the large corporations that build up around them.

Walk into your local bank and take a look around. Cameras are everywhere. Each teller is covered by its own camera. The vault is usually on a time delay and closed with a massive door. Around the door is sometimes another barrier, usually bulletproof glass with a door on one side. The front door of the bank can be opened after hours with your ATM card to allow you into the lobby to use the ATM. That same mechanism can be controlled from behind the counter and in certain offices within the bank. All this to protect the money the bank deals with every day.

Now walk into your locally owned convenience store. Usually you may find a camera behind the counter. (It isn't always so nor was it common ten years ago.) But you won't find a lot of money invested in the security systems. Even a locally owned liquor store seems all too vulnerable. Why do you suppose it is such a cliche for low-life criminals to rob these stores? The stores aren't making a ton of cash as it is, and yet they are the most susceptible to a quick robbery. Even shoplifting is not very hard to do in stores such as these. The clerk(s) usually don't have time to monitor all activity in the store when there are more than 3-4 customers. A camera is no good unless you catch the thief with product on their person.

As long as we continue to support this way of life, the little man will always have a hard time. We are encouraging people to prey on the weakest, while the weakest are the infrastructure of a solid economy. The little guy is working hard, trying to survive while also cultivating a personal relationship with the community around it. The little guy can not afford to cut too many corners because his customers seehim face to face. He can't blame the guys upstairs for his misfortune. He has to deal with unhappy customers who could get their product from a large chain store for less money. Those customers are the same that will complain about shoddy workmanship, poor customer service and a lack of accountability.

It's just another way we have been pitted against each other at the whim of the bankers in this country. Obviously the bankers run this country (Insurance companies are banks with special rules.) and they have the legislature at their disposal to keep things favorable for them. A campaign donation here, a bribe there and the next thing you know, we've got a law protecting their right to foreclose on a loan to a family who is going through some temporary hard times. Then a law that makes automobile insurance mandatory.

We cannot afford (no pun intended) to let this go on. It is leading us to ruin, and when it hits cataclysmic proportions you're going to wonder what happened. The church will tell you it's judgement day, the government will declare martial law, and only the criminals will feel safe on the streets. Unless we stop this now. A common answer I get to this is, "So how do we stop this?" Well, I have some answers, but first you must see our present condition and the horrors it instills upon the world. Then we can move on. First cry, then crawl, then walk, then run. Let's just hope we're running towards freedom and away from evil

Do you realize the real message?

I've always loved this song, mostly because of the piano. Recently I noticed though that the message of the song is not what most people think of when they hear the song.  When you listen to the song you hear him say "That's just the way it is" but in reality he is trying to tell you that "they" say that.  Notice after he says, "That's just the way it is, some things will never change" he goes on to say, "but don't you believe them."  In the song he is telling a story in which a certain kind of person is saying "That's just the way it is."  He doesn't agree, and that is what the song is about.  His stance is that the little boy should be able to go where he wants to go regardless of how he looks (race).  

Bruce Hornsby
The Way It Is

Narration:  Standing in line marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
Cause they can't buy a job

A man in a silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
Just for fun he says "get a job"

"They" That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
"Him" Ah - but don't you believe them

Narration: They say hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
'cause you don't look like they do
Him: Said hey old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules
He said, son

That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
Ah - but don't you believe them

Well they passed a law in '64
To give those who ain't got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law don't change in another's mind
When all it sees is the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar

That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
That's just the way it is ,it is ,it is,it is

Who is in charge? Part One

The following is an excerpt from Law in America by Lawrence M. Friedman( http://www.law.stanford.edu/faculty/friedman/ )

     The federal government is one of the great growth stories of the century )La. How could it be otherwise? Culturally and economically, this is more and more a single country. This may seem an odd statement, in the days of plural equality. Certainly, it at least seems as if the country is more fragmented than ever. All over the landscape, there are vigorous identity groups, loudly claiming their rights. One can even ask (and many people do) whether there is even such a thing as America anymore; or are there simply dozens of Americas, a black America, a gay America, an Irish America, a Jewish America, an Armenian America, an America of women, old people, students, yuppies, Mormons, deaf people, and so on. Yet, ironically, one senses a growing unity behind the yammer of all these voices. People who are looking for their "roots" are, overwhelmingly, people who have lost those very roots; people who have become part of the great American melting pot.

     All this assimilation is no accident. That there is a single economy, tightly bound together, is a reality. Goods flow easily across the borders of the states. The economy is getting more and more homogeneous. The weather in Alaska and the weather in Florida may be entirely different, but the same chain stores fill the malls, whether we are in Anchorage or Tampa. Tastes and culture are nationwide. There are, of course regional variations; but they are getting smaller and smaller. There are differences between raunchy California and the Bible Belt, to be sure; between ice-cold Alaska and tropical Hawaii; but everybody (more or less) watches the same TV shows and movies, dances to the same noisy music, wears the same styles of clothers, sings the same songs, shops at mall that are, more and more, cookie-cutter images of one another.

     According to Tip O'Neill, once speaker of the House of Representatives, all politics is local. But was Tip O'Neill really right? In a way, all politics seems to be national. The typical American sees the president on TV every day--the president, and his wife, and his family, and his associates, the house he lives in, his pets, his habilts, the skeletons in his closet. The typical American could not name his state representative to save his soul, or his member of the county board. Local politics is squeezed into obscure channels and late-night programming. And, as culture gravitates to one central point, so, too, does the law. For a good deal of our history, the states resisted any form of centralization; and "states' rights" was a rallying cry. This was true not only in the south. The federal government can do almost anything--can regulate anything--and the restrictions of federalsm do not really hem it in. The habit of looking to Washington is too firmly ingrained. People demand national solutions to national problems. The Supreme Court can fine-tune the boundaries; some tasks can be handed back to the states to manage; but the core, the federal core, is almost certain to stay strong and intact. In times of crisis--the Great Depression, the two world wars, the savage attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001--The country looks to its leader, to its center, to the national government.Neither Social Security nor the atom bomb nor the war on terrorsis will be handed over to Kentucky or Vermont

This did not happen overnight, or without resistance.

-----------------------------------------

 

The road less traveled

     I find my visual artistic skills to be limited. I can make things look nice, but usually within the confines of a structure. I have painted four plaster casts. Three of them had detailed structure. A snail with texture, a brick castle a king on a throne, and a yin-yang disk. The yin-yang disk was simple and smooth. It turned out the ugliest. The other three required special attention to detail. I am very proud of them. When left to create the entire image, I struggle. When given certain guidelines I floursih.

     This holds true in other areas of my life. In music, give me a tempo and I can find a chord structure. Give me a chord structure, I can give you a melody. All music I create has a structure imprinted on my brain. Tempo and time scale have already been taught to me. Put me in a job with a specific set of procedures, I rise to the top easily. Restaurants, gas stations, dog kennels, department stores, cab driving...they all have a very basic job description. Restaurants: take order, take payment, cook food, serve food, clean up. Gas stations: Add up gas and products, announce total, take payment, re-stock, clean up. Dog kennels: play with dogs, feed dogs, clean up after dogs. Department stores: Re-stock items, answer questions about items, take money for items. Cab driving: use map to find passenger, pick up passenger, use map to find destination, drop off passenger. Eventually you can skip the map.

     Currently, I own my own business. It's not exactly struggling, but it isn't very established either. The thing is, I have to make my own rules most of the time. I am bound by the National Electric Code of course, but even that is not always strictly enforced. I am supposed to get a permit from the government to do any work in any location. I get my permits at times, but sometimes I see no need to pay the government to tell me that I did a good job. Even when I do get a permit, the inspector may not notice a problem, or outright allow a situation that is against the Code. My point being, there isn't a hard handbook to what I do. I have to take work from customers who are scattered all over my area. Most can't imagine how many different tasks I end up doing, but regardless it is much harder than the other jobs I have worked in my life. I must say, I like it this way. I don't want to take the easy road. I may struggle for longer, but I am sure the reward will be greater. The longer you let a problem exist, the harder it is to repair the damage; the more effort needed to put into a cause, the greater the reward.

Bait and switch

Over the winter all my audio and video equipment said goodnight. Except for my stereo which is actually the oldest component I own. So I finally got around to buying a combination DVD/VCR player from Wal-Mart. I was extremely low on money, but sitting in my house with no money and no way to watch movies, or any of the million Simpson episodes I have on tape (Shhhh, I'm not broadcasting them for money) was boring me to tears.. I bought an inexpensive model made by Emerson hoping it would at least keep me occupied until later in the summer when I would have the money to purchase a higher quality model. Right away there is a problem. It had a hard time ejecting VHS tapes. They kept catching on the inner-workings making it necessary for me to give it a little nudge to get the rectangle to come out of the rectangular hole. At first I thought I wouldn't mind, but then it decided it didn't want to give my tapes back anymore. The machine was taunting me by letting the tape out just enough for me to try to grab it before it swallowed it back in. I had to use a screwdriver and needle nose pliers to get my movie back.

Of course if you have been reading this journal you know that I can't possibly think it's a good idea to waste your time with this little story. You know I must have an agenda. Suprisingly enough, I'm not even going to write about the cliche, "They don't make 'em like they used to," which I will go on for hours about some other day. What I want to tell you is what I discovered when I went to return the cheap junk for a little bit nicer, less-cheap junk.

Perusing the little selection they had for me to choose from, I saw the new model I wanted to buy, picked it up to feel how heavy it was, noticed that the inputs were stereo instead of mono, and it was only $15 more than the one I had originally bought. Just below the displays are the actual boxed ready-to-buy models. I pick one up and notice that the model in the box is not in stereo and has the VCR/DVD slots switched. I'm no idiot, it was very clear which models were available and the boxes below were not scattered around the way you would expect to see. I look closer and notice I was hoping to buy the 6100 model, but the one in the box was a 7100A model. I didn't understand why the supposedly newer higher-numbered model wouldn't have stereo sound in this day of home theatre revolution.

I looked at a few of the other models and noticed a pattern. they had 3 VCR's 2 DVD players and 2 Combination DVD/VCR's. In all but two instances, the display was a nicer version of the models in the boxes below. Almost all of the boxes contained units that weren't in stereo. What upset me more is that I could see one model, but I couldn't buy it based on my conclusions; and I could buy the ones in boxes, but I couldn't check out the product. It's almost like a bait and switch. Furthermore, why are the newer models of inferior quality? Aren't the products supposed to get better with each new version of a product? As I've said before, the greed at the top of the socio-economic food chain will only get worse and try to get more and more for their dollar. Outsourcing their jobs to cheap workers overseas, who have less mind to quality as it is, never mind the working conditions they endure. But as I said before, I'll gear up for the "They don't make 'em like they used to," rant later.

You may ask why I am asking so much of Wal-Mart, or why I would even support such a monstrosity of a corporation. I will only dignify one of those with a response...for now. Think about who generally shops at Wal-Mart. People without a lot of money. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, and for cheapskate's who are well to do looking to miser their money, they deserve to get screwed. But some people have no choice. They can't get a good job, maybe they weren't born with the intelligence or physical ability to make any more than their meaningless job on the assembly line. So not only are they too poor to go anywhere else, but their intelligence is capitalized on because they would not notice the disparities between the displays and the actual packaged product. They need to hold on to what little money they have and then they get screwed out of that. Of course I had a good long talk with the manager of the department. I didn't bring in my social views, just pointed out that it was wrong to show you one thing and sell you another. He didn't even notice til I pointed it out, and he told me not to be suprised if they are all changed by the end of the weekend. (Today is Friday) That is, if the company can afford to lose a few hundred dollars by opening a box for each of the new models and sacrificing it to the shelf.

Globalization

Question:  What is the truest definition of Globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death. 

Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine,
 driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling) followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,
 on Japanese motorcycles; treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian
 medicines. This is sent to you by an Englishman, using Bill Gates' American 
technology, and you're probably reading this on your computer, that use Taiwanese  chips, and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore  plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by
Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....
 That, my friends, is Globalization!

I know, I'm mailing it in

You have a choice, but you may have to re-examine your way of thinking very thoroughly. The pull of the socially accepted way of doing things is amazingly strong, and trips up the best of us despite our good intentions. It takes a certain kind of independent thinker to be "job-free". We use that term rather than "unemployed", in an effort to convey to people that we're proud, not ashamed, of not having regular jobs. We also make an important distinction between jobs and work. All of us do some kind of work, though not necessarily for monetary compensation.

Thieves fall into four categories

     First category:  The lowliest of thieves on the theft food chain.  These people find ways to steal food, clothing or shelter.  They may shoplift food, or make up stories at the fast food restaurant to get free food.  They may shoplift clothing or claim jackets from the lost and found.  They may squat in an apartment, or find shelter on private property.  The simple fact is, these people have it the worst and find whatever they can to self-preserve their own lives.  Who are we to judge why they can't work for a living?  So I say, they should not be spit on.

     Second category:  The occasional thieves are the next step up.  These people keep the extra change when a cashier screws up.  They might pocket a small item at the supermarket or home improvement warehouse while they shop and pay for more expensive items.  These thieves are generally sympathetic to people that are closer in class to their own situation.  They wouldn't steal from a "Ma and Pa" shop.  These thieves are targeted by the large corporations, so much so that these corporations have orientations to educate their employees to recognize..  They feel if they could deter the "occasional" thieves, the losses they suffer from our next category wouldn't mean a thing.

     Third category:  Professional thieves prey on corporations as well as individuals.  When dealing with a corporation they are cunning and daring.  They will load up a shopping cart full of expensive power tools and walk (or run) right out the door with them to a waiting car.  Same thing happens at a clothing store, when a person walks in grabs a stack of jeans and leaves.  These people have what is called a "fence" to unload these products at an attractive price.  People in this category also may burglarize a home or automobile, and fence the items they steal.  More professional thievery includes robberies, embezzlement, insider stock trading...any way you label it, these guys do it for a living.  When they get caught, they may even have enough money to pay for a fancy lawyer...any way you slice it, they will learn from their mistakes.

     Fourth category:  The most elusive of thieves, are the ones that use family history.  They have solidified thievery in such a way that they have many ways to make you believe that life is 'just' so long as you follow their rules.  They have even been smart enough to convince you that the rules you follow are rules that you set forth through the democratic process.  They have so much money, and so much advantage in this world that they can pay to have hired thugs to protect them.  If a "normal person" finds a way to stop their thievery, they can pay a congressperson to pass a new law to protect them.  They have the police and the military at their service because as long as the people believe in their system...money means everything.  And if money means everything, most human beings will take advantage of the extra money to "get ahead."  It's the same reason that "bad people" exist.  They do bad things because they believe it will give them an advantage.

     Think of every bad thing that you are happy to have the police protect you from.  When a man murders another man...it's because he feels it will give him some advantage.  Maybe he can take over the territory of that man, make more money in the drug dealing business, and have a better life.  Maybe selling drugs is the bad thing he does...because he believes it will give him more money.  Maybe he murdered the man because he was afraid the man would continue to stand in his pursuit of happiness.  The same holds true for robbery and other thievery.  The ones that commit it feel it will give them an advantage.  As long as our system allows us to take advantage of each other, we will have people trying to do so.  But getting back to the robbery.  If you get paid by the hour, you are a wage slave.  You are creating things that are worth a certain amount in this world, but you are not getting your just due.  Worse yet, since you are being stolen from, you have to spend more of your time to keep your own life in order.  We call this freedom?  The same as when you have to replace your stereo after a burglary, you are being held up by the owner of the land where you have your job, and being held up bythe government.  Think about the percentage of income tax you pay to the IRS, then your state government (not all states have a state tax) then the sales tax, then excise taxes, gas taxes, alcohol taxes, nicotine taxes, early retirement taxes, property taxes.  That is bad enough, but what if you don't follow "their rules?"  Then you can add that parking fine, speeding ticket, court costs, late penalties...where does it end?  We deserve to be free.  There is only one group of people that is allowed to be free, they make up a very small percentage of people, and they want to keep everyone else from being free.  They will stand in the way of anybody trying to be free.  These people belong to the fourth category of thieves.  They are the rich that get richer, while the poor get poorer.  They are the proverbial "THEY."  The machine, the system...the people that most great rock and rollers have spoken about.  How many songs have they inspired since "Woodstock" times? 

     Keep this in your head...you will need it within the next ten  years.

you know they know, so what's the deal?

The story below is taken from http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050607035109990008 

Whether you like pot or not...people want pot legalized.  Medicinal purposes are only the beginning.  You don't have to smoke pot to care about the legalization of a plant.  A natural plant.

While the justices expressed sympathy for two seriously ill California women who brought the case, the majority agreed that federal agents may arrest even sick people who use the drug as well as the people who grow pot for them.

Do you agree with the ruling?

No 79% Yes 21% Should federal drug laws be changed to allow medicinal use of marijuana? Yes 82% No 14% Not sure 3% Total Votes: 140,098 Note on Poll Results

Break the rules

     In the course of every day events, many rules tend to be broken.  Here's a few

When needing a public restroom, if the restrooms are single occupancy and the men's is occupied, I'll use the woman's.  The door locks, so there is no risk of being in the restroom with a woman.

When a car in a parking garage backs out of its space, if it is easier to drive on the left side of the road to allow the car to escape while I take its spot, I will.

When I need to cross the street and there is absolutely no traffic in the middle of the night, I will not push the button and wait for the walk sign.

When driving, if there are no cars near enough to me to be affected, I won't use my blinker.

Occasionally I have jumped the turnstiles at the subway; not to get in, but to get out when a second token was required to leave the station.

OK, not occasionally...every time.

When the sign in the laundry room says to clean the lint trap AFTER each dryer load, I clean the lint trap before the dryer load.  You can't trust somebody else won't accidentally forget to clean the lint trap, but if you clean the trap before your load...you can be assured it won't cause a fire.  The next person can clean the lint tray after my load and before theirs.

When an electrical device says to shut off the circuit breaker before installing, I frequently install it without doing so.  It's much quicker and more convenient most of the time.

Similiarly, I have worked on my automobile without removing the negative ground from the battery.

I have purchased a CD and copied it for a friend, and I have copied a CD my friend has purchased.  (I know most of you out there have done even worse than that.)

Keep this entry in mind...I will be adding to it.

Interest Only

     There is a new loan in the real estate market called an interest-only loan. In this loan, you pay the bank the interest that would accrue if they lent you the money to buy the house. Instead of paying $2,000 towards the principle on your house and $1,000 towards the interest, your mortgage payment is $1,000. Sounds great right? After all, you only need the house for as long as your alive. Why bother buying the house? Just pay the interest on the loan that you didn’t get. If you’ve been following me at all, I hope you realize that you might as well be paying rent. The bank will own the house whether you pay for 1 year or 20 years. The more people they can convince to do this, the more control they can take over the land.

     Now let’s explore who runs this country. We live in a free democracy, right? We have the right to tell the government how it should run. We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, how is the government run? Who makes the laws? The politicians that are elected to office. The politicians in turn beg for as much privacy as they can have. Tinted windows on a limousine allow for meetings out of the public’s eyes. Meetings where money can exchange hands in return for legislation favoring this industry or that industry. This is where the corruption begins, but it is not where it ends.

     You are the average American, maybe you have a little more or a little less than the rest of us. That makes no difference. If you are reading this and you haven’t put a call in to the police to protect yourself from me, you are part of the majority. As the financial industries take over the land with these new interest-only loans, they will have more and more money, and with it comes more power. The power to outbid all opposing industries in their bribery of the legislators. You may ask yourself why we can’t throw those kind of politicians out of office and vote in ones with integrity. You may blame your fellow Americans for letting these criminals into the system. But ultimately you have a price. The more money that is offered, the more likely you will crumble. The decisions you make as a career politician won’t affect your personal life, unless your deceit is exposed to the people. So now you just have to make sure you make enough on the bribe for potential blackmail money. Do you see how this government cannot make life better for anybody but the powerful elite in this country?

     We must stand up and speak. We must realize that it is their goal to occupy all your time in order to keep your natural free spirit out of the equation. It is up to them to dangle more menial luxuries for you to try to acquire. It is their job to keep the prices to the basic needs of life rising, while all your electronic gadgets get cheaper and cheaper. They don’t need a light at the end of the tunnel, just the continual success of their brilliant strategies. They are very organized, and have taught you from birth to obey your masters. Obey the church, the schools, and of course the law. We don’t need them to run our lives, we just let them. All it takes is a little organization of the majority to show the bosses who runs this world. For the sake of taking baby steps, you can keep your money, you don’t have to give it to anyone…you just need to show the fat cats that they are nothing without you. When that happens, all this talk about interests rates becomes obsolete. The bank won’t be in the middle of your agreement with the seller of the house you wish to buy. We can talk about property appreciation and equity another time, the key is to keep the money in your hands and the hands of the American people that are just like you.

Who are you?

     I call upon you, the people that read these words...who are you?  What is your purpose in this world?  Have you found a way to promote a well being within your own family?  Have you been able to succeed in things that any other human can succeed in?  Have you fallen short of succeeding in the things that have led to the riches of our most respected members of society?  If not, have you found a way to use your intelligence, or pay for another's intelligence to accrue wealth from a member of the working class?  A member that is just happy to get his hourly pay?  Does that make you better than him?  Maybe you believe that it does...maybe that person that takes $10,000 of your money to build a deck to your house allows you to sell your house for $20,000 more.  Without lifting a finger you just made $10,000. 

Of course you will be pleased with this result.  Obviously you will gain from the labor of another.  But did you earn this money?  You know you didn't, but in this present system you know that having money will help you make money.  Therefore, the gap between the rich and the poor will grow.  The system works for you, right?  If those losers aren't as good as you, it's their own fault that they don't get to enjoy the earnings you get, right?

Well, what about the day that those people decide to screw you over?  What if your sub-servants refuse to increase the value of your home?  Then what?  Don't you see why you should be on the side of the working class?  Nothing exists without the working class, and slowly but surely that class is beginning to realize how important they are to the creation of all the wealth we enjoy today.  When they realize that they are the driving force, all those people that looked down upon them will be the first to be ignored when a revolution is sparked. 

You can rest upon the laurels of the foolery that has earned you your false riches...or you can sow the seeds amongst the men that gave you everything that you enjoy today, and maybe...just maybe, they'll help protect  you, and take you in as one of their own...otherwise, you will be that person scrambling for safety, with no real skills to save you. 

Make your decisions now, for you may not have much longer to hold up this injust system.

Suicide

Supposedly we are the smartest living beings on this earth...yet we have the only members of any living species that chooses to end their own lives.  Something is wrong...Let's get together and fix it.

Uproot the weed instead of cutting its leaves

     What I find in dealing with the opposition is that they are always concerned with the little details of the argument.  For instance, I read a web page about the Just War Theory ( http://www.iep.utm.edu/j/justwar.htm)  and the debate was about consequential philosophies and intrinsic philosophies.  The debate talked about how to go about war and what targets are not acceptable in war.  It talked about how vague one side could be, or how restrictive the other side can be.  My point is that war altogether is an awful thing created by the hands of the powerful to try to lasso the whole world for their own lives of luxury.

       It makes me wonder if I can get to the root of the problems I wish to solve, or if I must solve symptom after symptom to be effective.  My fear is that I will end up so consumed with solving the symptoms that we will never get to the real problem.  In today's society we are consumed with finding pills to solve our headaches, blood pressure problems, and even depression.  Never is it profitable to find the reason that these things become problems.  This is why the profit system continues to create more madness on the world.  The more problems that arise from breaking the laws of nature, the more business opportunities exist in this world.

       The end result is that those with money will always have interest in keeping the majority a victim of consequence, instead of making them benefactors of prevention.  It seems that most prevention campaigns, especially through the media are paid for by companies that will save money in the event of a successful campaign.

    We have the manpower to solve every problem known to man, but as long as it is profitable to solve only the symptoms we will never realize our true human destiny.  We have the power of free will and complex thought.  We should be able to make this Earth into its own heaven if we put our heads together.  Until the majority of the world stops following the proclaimed leaders of this world, those leaders will continue to keep conditions in their favor.  It doesn't have to be like this.

Thomas Jefferson...again!

Thomas Jefferson's
Warning To America
5-21-5

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

* Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802) and later published in The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill (1809)Thomas Jefferson's
Warning To America

George Orwell

In addition to his book about Big Brother in which you must now realize that not only are we video taped a majority of our lives, but the rest of our lives is monitored in various ways, he wrote the subject below in a book called Homage to Catalonia.   This entry is about his time in Spain after the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's.  The attitudes described fell apart only due to outside military actions.  We wouldn't want people thinking that human beings are naturally good cooperative people. (sic)       I had dropped more or less by chance into the only community of any size in Western Europe where political consciousness and disbelief in capitalism were more normal than their opposites. Up here in Aragon one was among tens of thousands of people, mainly though not entirely of working-class origin, all living at the same level and mingling on terms of equality. In theory it was perfect equality, and even in practice it was not far from it. There is a sense in which it would be true to say that one was experiencing a foretaste of Socialism, by which I mean that the prevailing mental atmosphere was that of Socialism. Many of the normal motives of civilized life – snobbishness, money-grubbing, fear of the boss, etc. – had simply ceased to exist. The ordinary class-division of society had disappeared to an extent that is almost unthinkable in the money-tainted air of England; there was no one there except the peasants and ourselves, and no one owned anyone else as his master.

Why do they call it race?

The purpose of skin colors, hair amounts, and physical builds are to help a particular human survive in its native wilderness. Once the population of a specific region has become civilized enough to build durable shelters, these features start to lose importance. As the descendants of these newly civilized groups of people spread out and mix with other cultures with different features, the difference in these features fade away. Anyone has the right to associate with whomever they want. Inside the civilization (however advanced or not) the people work together to produce shelters. This is a simplistic way to say that many people of skill and knowledge erect structures that slowly chip away at the need for some of the natural defenses they were bestowed with. This cooperation has nothing to do with skin color, or nationality. Skin color has no real influence on the cooperation, only a perceived influence.

A person who concerns themselves with the true worth of a human being instead of the skin color can mate with someone of a different shade of skin color. Skin colors range from practically white to just about charcoal. The skin colors of two mates can compromise the shade of skin color, as well as other physical features. This in itself can spawn a new race of people. As time goes on, and people learn to traverse the globe, races mix, and form common races. Even today, cultures approve of same race marriages to keep the race pure, but this act only divides the globe. As colors eventually mix together, the lines between races begin to fade. Each new race that is created strengthens the positions of the original races. The new race advances and joins other races in a quest for happiness, and economic prosperity.

Humans who share skin color share a certain pride in their own race. Whether it be for joining hands and gaining much economic prosperity, or for realizing that race-mates have struggled in the same manner as themselves, people tend to identify with each other based on experiences. Races that are further behind can join the race to be acknowledged as a productive people on this earth. If the races that were well to do, reached down and picked up their brothers and sisters, brought every race to the level of the highest races, it would allow new people to help us solve the problems of the world. It would allow all people to advance to a point where every human being could contribute something to better society. It would lead to advancement as a whole, more hands, more brains all working to make this world a better place.

The world is in competition mode right now. Instead of Europe, Asia, and North America (the most advanced continents of the world) working together to advance already existing technology, they are in competition to be better than the other. Industrial espionage is the one tool used to keep a certain flow of information between competing nations. Without it, every country would have to advance at its own pace. See how well that has done for what we call Third World countries. The same Third World countries that we Americans are afraid of being “terrorized” by. What is the point of keeping various peoples at different places on the “technology-timeline” when we could cooperate and advance faster. Not only advance faster, but make life better for everybody all at once. We could master the laws of nature and break the chains of government, while feeling good about ourselves and each other. We could advance so quickly as to have the answers to problems that haven’t arisen yet. We would have an arsenal of technology to leap frog over obstacles thus leaving us time to concentrate on returning the Earth to a state of balance that maintains itself for eternity, thus defeating the term “End of the World.”

Some links for you

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/anarchist   this link brings you to a multitude of information from one of the most trusted sources in the world...the encyclopedia.

http://flag.blackened.net/antinat/ this is a small part of the flag.blackened.net site.  It's server can be unreliable at times.  This article is about nationalism and what it means, and why anarchists are against it.

http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/dward/anarchy.html This link is a page full of links, so if you like surfing you will find a ton of stuff to look at.

http://freedomunderground.org/view.php?v=1&t=1 This link brings you to a group of people who sound off against the government.  Most of them aren't anarchists, just people that think our government is corrupt.  There are some interesting articles contained in here, if you like what you see...you can join and post your own articles for people to see.  It's 100% free with no pop-ups to slow you down.  Also this group has a good video to watch about the 9/11 attacks and why things might not have happened the way you think they happened.

http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/ This link will bring you to my hero Thomas Jefferson.  Many, many quotes by him, some of which have appeared in this journal.  He's a man who had great ideas, but he did own slaves before the revolutionary war.  He set them free to support his claim that "all men are created equal."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0222-22.htm This article contains less rhetoric and more concrete issues involving today's U.S.A.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/112504Hasty/112504hasty.html This is a good read, but it took me forever to find the third part of the series...I've found it, and here it is... http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/121704Hasty/121704hasty.html

http://scorchedpig.blogspot.com/  This blog contains an intersection of life in the desert (Nevada) with political views supported by a wealth of knowledge.

Remember to surf through these before they disappear from the main page and get added to the archives.  You know you'll forget about them, then. 

 

 

 

 

 

short and sweet

A sign from a protestor angry about an essay written by a schoolchild about Ellen Degeneres says, "God hates fag enablers!" 

Well, apparently God forgot to mention that fact to some of his priests in the Catholic church.

Newsweek

I usually try to stay away from the latest media revelations when it comes to writing in this journal...but on the other hand, I don't like to follow the rules anyway.

Recently Newsweek put out a story about the desecration of the Muslim bible.  It claimed that the Koran was shoved into toilets, and in one instance flushed.  This set off many violent protests.  Now Newsweek is "retracting" the story.  Am I the only one that doesn't think the violent protestors will suddenly say, "oh ok...sorry 'bout that?"   Of course when an American media outlet puts out a story like that, there will be a reaction.  Does Newsweek think it can just say, "Our bad, we lied about that story.  We didn't realize it would piss you off that much, so let us stress to you...WE WERE JUST LYING!"  How does Newsweek repair this?  They have basically torched their own credibility, and how can you expect the Muslims to believe that they printed that story with no regard to the damage it would do, never mind the fact that they are trying to prove that the story was false?

Five reasons to take risks

1.  Nothing ventured nothing gained.

2.  Sometimes not taking a chance is taking a chance.

3.  Every day that you leave your house, you are subjecting yourself to the possibility that something good or bad can happen.

4.  The founding fathers of this country took a chance when they defied British rule to create this nation.  They knew that they were expirementing with society. 

5.  Winners don't wait for chances...they take them.

 

Five reasons to avoid being a hermit

1.  Most great things in your life have come from another human being, possibly a friend or family member.

2.  The rest of the great things were created by you.

3.  Whether your life is accepted or not, it will make a difference to those around you in the future.  Even bad actions will help your friends and family learn how to be better.

4.  When two people get together, life becomes easier.  Even each other's touch can fuel the fire that presents positive feelings that result in good things being accomplished.

5.  You are not alone when you think about all the things your heart screams for.

 

Whose interest are you interested in?

So a friend recently brought up the fact that it's hard to have a democracy when all three branches of our "checks and balances" government are controlled by one party.  In this day and age, we realize that not all Republicans vote solely along Republican lines.  And the same holds true for Democrats.  He pointed out how each of the two major parties goes through great lengths to criticize and eventually discredit the other party.  So what we have is a war between two parties so desperately trying to convince the American public that their own policies are not only true and just, but if these policies are not followed, the destruction of "America, as we know it" will ensue. Take this message from my long time friend, Thomas Jefferson:   "If ever the earth has beheld a system of administration conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to it, one which, protected by truth, can never know reproach, it is that to which our lives have been devoted." --Thomas Jefferson   All entities, whether controlling or not...should be devoted to the system of holding general interest and happiness, and not to the interests of those wishing to exploit the majority of people who willingly give their lives for what they believe to be the greater good for all of humanity.

social! society! so what?

The tobacco industry is about to falter. I live in a state where it seems like EVERYBODY smokes. Yet recently laws have been passed to raise the price of cigarettes to about $5.00 a pack. Then a smoking ban was imposed for all public places, including bars and restaurants. It appears to me that either the tobacco industry isn’t paying it’s dues in the lobby of Congress, or the insurance companies are lathering the hands of politicians to pass more laws against smoking. After all, insurance companies pay through the teeth when people who inhale through the teeth end up in a hospital bed at the end of their dear lives.
The question is this: Why do we Americans allow insurance companies to enjoy such wealth that they can change the laws of this country without our approval? Insurance is right next to real estate when it comes to getting filthy rich. We as Americans appreciate the value of knowing that in the event of an emergency, we will not have to foot the extravagant bill to put all the pieces back together. To know that in the unfortunate accident, we will not have to spend our assets to pay for damage repairs or hospital bills. I have no problem with that, I embrace it. Here’s where the situation gets tricky.
There are laws stating that we must get insurance under certain circumstances. Such as when you register a vehicle to use on the public roads. It is a very smart thing to have, because you never know when you might have an accident, especially one that is caused by situations out of anyone’s control. It is almost common knowledge that money can change the minds of many congressman, yet we allow the congressman to vote for laws insisting on the patronage of insurance companies. If insurance is such a public issue that laws must be passed to force you to purchase it, why are insurance companies a private entity? Insurance companies have as much money as they do because the law supports them at all turns and angles. The law forces you to have it, then the law allows them to deny valid claims on the insured’s first attempt. Eventually if the insured pursues the matter, and it is found to be a valid claim, the insurance company pays the claim and no harm is done. But what if the insurance company had to pay a penalty for denying a claim that ultimately was found to be valid? I’m not proposing that insurance companies should not be allowed to investigate a claim. I am proposing that before a claim can be denied, an investigation should be carried out. If after the investigation, the insurance company wants to deny the claim, they have the right to do so. BUT…in the event that they deny the claim after investigation, and the claim is turned over to be investigated by another agency who finds the claim valid, the insurance company should be penalized.
This may be confusing to some of you, but my point is, insurance in general is a social necessity in this day and age. As such, it should not be a profitable organization. As long as it is a profitable organization it will not always protect the interests of it’s clients. However the purpose of insurance is to protect it’s clients. The billions of dollars that insurance moguls have received in profits could certainly pay for a national health care system, a national automobile insurance system and even give more money to the family of a deceased young man who can no longer provide for his family. If working and contributing to society are so important, why doesn’t society pay to keep people healthy? We have to use automobiles to contribute to society, why doesn’t society pay for our automobiles?
So much of our daily labor goes to support the man who is lavished with luxury, while he does nothing to support the majority of people to do society’s work. What makes him a better person than you? Does he work harder? Does he care more about his family? What is it that tells you that you are not as worthy as him? Maybe you aren’t as worthy as we believe he is. But certainly he isn’t any more worthy than you or I. If you let him believe that he is worth more than you, then yes…he is worth more than you.

Stand up for your rights

    Too many of us have completely forgotten why America exists.  In a short summary, our first colonists came from England.  They left England because they were tired of following the ways of life, including religion, that were most prominent in England.  More specifically they were tired of being compelled to laws based on religion.  They were tired of not being allowed to speak freely, for in their heads they knew that they were equipped with the power of knowledge.  They were tired of not being allowed to share their own opinions and views on how to live.  Most importantly, all humans are born with rights.  These rights have been taken away through trickery and bullying.  So they landed here, and after a short while (a couple hundred years or so) they decided that they shouldn't have to send money back to England because they had no use for what England was offering.  Hence the American Revolution.

     As of now, we still believe we are independent yet consider these facts:

1.  We have no choice in the passing of laws, only the Congressman who pass them.

2.  No law is passed without an attached law that is not even considered during the vote.

3.  There is a new directive to control material over the airwaves despite a major poll showing that over 80% of Americans think the government should stay out of that area and let the parents take responsibility.

4.  The religions that embrace Jesus Christ get the most "publicity" in patriotic songs yet the Jewish religion stands strong in this country and doesn't accept Jesus as the messiah.

5.  Our lives are dictated based on what the "economists" say

6.  Despite the common knowledge that education will get you further in life, if everyone got further in life, nobody would do the dirty work.

7.  The people doing the dirty work are spit upon

8.  From childhood we were taught that monopolies were illegal, yet more and more companies are buying each other out to form one massive corporation that sells Doritos, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell and so on...

9.  Every infringement on our freedoms follows the same path  Action, Anger, Acceptance, Amnesia  

     This country is based on freedom yet we so willingly throw our freedoms away, forwhat purpose?  To save us from the rest of the world?  When a race of people come from a land that has no natural resources, should they be looked down on?  Did they choose to be born there?  As the superior animal race on this planet, not only should we embrace all other humans, but accept them as willing partners in this thing called life.  Is it any wonder that the races mired in poverty reproduce at an accelerated rate, when that may be their only hope to overtake the lucky ones who were born on a natural resource?  Before it goes that far, they need to be embraced and there is only one thing that is stopping us from doing that.

     Profits.  Profits lead to exploitation and despoil.  They need protection from a government of some kind.  Thomas Jefferson helped start this great nation that so many are proud of, yet he said that not only is man capable of self-governing, he deserves it.  Laws do not make bad men good.  Men make laws, not laws men .

     Stand up for your rights, we are all here together, what the media shows you is not a normal cross section of the world.  It is only a portrayal of the world that gets ratings, which in turn attracts advertising, which exists to make more profits for a certain business and therefore makes profits for the media. 

     My promise to you:  In the event that things fall apart, I will bring you back to your happy life, and even make things better.  I will show you how everyone you know has a certain quality that will make your life better in turn for you providing your strength for the rest of us.  We are all here together.  United we stand, divided we fall.

      

Reprinted portion of article

Superficially, anarchism is a movement of the Left but this is not strictly
so, since it implies being part of the political spectrum. Anarchists reject
this, asserting that there is more in common between Right and Left
political parties (like the struggle for power) than between even extreme
Left political groups and the anarchists. History has shown us that no
matter how 'Left' a party is when it starts off, the achievement of power
brings it round to the Right, for every government wants to maintain the
status quo; wants to extend the control it has over the people, and isn't
this what the Right really means?

Certain right-wing attitudes are specifically rejected by left-wing parties
- until they become useful in the power game. 'Divide and Rule', for
example, can be played with many variations, from wage differentials to
religious and colour prejudice, and although nationalism is intellectually
rejected by the political Left, they quite shamelessly use what are quaintly
called 'National Liberation Movements' when it suits their political
ambitions - and a 'Left' party in power knows very well the usefulness of
nationalism and indeed patriotism as a weapon of government. Even if this
were not deliberate cunning on the part of a so-called 'revolutionary
government', the logic of authoritarianism leads to it.

--this was reprinted from http://flag.blackened.net/antinat/anarnat.txt 

also check out http://www.spunk.org/library/writers/goldman/sp000064.txt for a haunting view of patriotism before even the World Wars were fought.

Divide and conquer

     Divide and conquer. The key to taking control. It works on many levels in many different environments to accomplish many different goals. From something as simple as eating your dinner to something as extreme as taking over a nation; divide and conquer will work for you. Sometimes it is a matter of who is dividing who to decide who will ultimately conquer the situation. Just when it seems that success or failure is inevitable, the tables can turn.

     We divide and conquer life everyday. In order to clothe ourselves in the morning we take one article of clothing and put it on. Then we take the next article and put it on. If we tried to put all of our clothes on at once we would fail miserably. Like the old adage says, “He puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like you.” When you feel overwhelmed with errands, the best thing to do is to accomplish each task one at a time. Go to the bank. When that is settled, go to the post office. After you have mailed your bills, head for the supermarket. Once you are fully stocked with groceries, head home. Again, divide and conquer. Open one bag of groceries and take one item out and put it away. Move to the next item, then the next bag until all of the groceries are put away. It seems so simple, yet it is one of the most powerful strategies in the world.

     The list of uses for the strategy includes sporting events. Keep the opposing players from being able to work together. In football, the defensive line needs to force the offensive line to separate to allow a linebacker to rush in towards the QB. In basketball, players try to isolate players and keep them from being a viable option to receive a pass. That will cut down on the dribbler’s options and make it harder for him to operate. In fact the season itself can be a success with a well-known attitude of “one game at a time.” No need to spend any concentration on a game that can’t be played until after the next game is played. It can be chopped down to drive at a time, one play at a time, or one pitch at a time.

     This strategy is effective when attempting to become the leader of a group. To become the most dominant of the pretty girl clique, it’s best to start with one girl, convince her that you like her, but that the other girls don’t. Tell her secrets and/or lies, then move to the next girl and do the same thing. When they are all busy fighting each other, you move in and take control, restore order and you are the leader.

     A horrifying way that this strategy has been used throughout history is war. Many a king, tsar, or emperor has used it to take over land, and use it for his own purposes. As he leads his army into the territory, he looks to catch his opponents scattered. If he can’t catch them outside of their attack formation, he will attempt to force them into smaller groups. To do this, he may concentrate on a section of ten men and shoot between them and the main group until they get away from the group. Then they are much easier to deal with. Cutting small groups of men from the crowd like carving a turkey, eventually all that is left is a carcass of an army. The winner of the battle is the side that can divide and conquer more effectively. Sometimes a war is won by forming meaningless battles that divide an army over hundreds of miles of land. In any event, divide and conquer.

     We as a people are the victims of such malaise. Since there is no direct bloodshed, we don’t tend to have any sense of urgency about it. In fact most of us don’t realize what is happening. As humans we are divided in many ways. Nationality, race, age, appearance are attributes that we don’t have a whole lot of control over. Citizenship, religion, political beliefs and social station we can alter. These only begin to describe the many ways we are against each other, when it is proven time and time again that working together makes things much easier. Instead we are led to fight with each other over mundane differences that have absolutely no bearing on making life easier for everybody. Issues such as: red state/blue state, liberal/conservative, old/young, smoker/non-smoker, war/peace; Black/White/Hispanic/Asian/Arabic can be divided even further within each race, and even further then. Black: dark skinned/light skinned White: American/European Hispanic: sexy Latin/dirty Mexican Asian: Japanese/Chinese Arabic entrepreneur/suicide bomber. All these little issues divide us into many armies, some of us belonging to multiple armies. The end result is the wool that is pulled over your eyes.

     In today’s day and age, we have the ability to grow large quantities of food in a small area. Yet people who could help us accomplish our main goals with the proper nourishment are starving. There is plenty of space on this world for all of us, yet we are forced to crowd around the source of money leaving vast parcels of land vacant. We have the knowledge to overcome nature in the desert, in the tundra, and even at sea. All those people with jobs in the financial industry are just pushing papers around, they have no use in the actual port of resource. There must be a reason why we are convinced that we shouldn’t work together to make this beautiful place better. Don’t believe the lies when they tell you that the people from a foreign land want to kill you. It’s the leaders of those foreign lands that dislike the leaders of our land. And both leaders send off our citizens to fight the battles for them. Your sons and daughters being slaughtered in the same fashion as some poor man in Iraq, who is led to believe that the U.S. and all it’s citizens are evil. But as long as the masters divide us humans, they will continue to conquer. They will always rule over you until you realize that we are the driving force in this world. Without us, they are nothing. Without them, we remain the same.

Education, or lack thereof

"[If a] people [are] so demoralized and depraved as to be incapable of exercising a wholesome control, their reformation must be taken up ab incunabulis. (((Their minds [must] be informed by education what is right and what wrong, [must] be encouraged in habits of virtue and deterred from those of vice by the dread of punishments, proportioned indeed, but irremissible.))) In all cases, [they must] follow truth as the only safe guide and eschew error which bewilders us in one false consequence after another in endless succession. These are the inculcations necessary to render the people a sure basis for the structure of order and good government." --Thomas Jefferson       

In triple parentheses I've earmarked one sentence.  In this sentence Thomas Jefferson is saying that social wrong-doings should not be dealt with by imposing fear upon the wrong-doer.  At the present time we are led to be good by fear of punishment instead of being taught how we can co-exist and lend our hand towards society.  We are punished (usually monetarily) for our wrong doings but never given a reason why we should behave.  We have the education, we have the answers, but those who feel their intelligence gains them a certain advantage are using it to keep you down.  I'm sure you feel like your life isn't so bad. 

     I'm sure you believe that you don't have time for this nonsense.  I'm sure you have your own stress to deal with.  And as long as you hold that attitude, nothing will ever improve.  We will find more technology to give us better lives, yet our most basic needs will always remain the same.  We will always find it harder and harder just to stay alive, despite the luxuries we afford.      Maybe you are at a point in your life where you don't worry about food and shelter.  Maybe that entertainment center you put on your credit card is the main cause of your stress.  Maybe you are more concerned with why your kids are misbehaving than whether or not you can feed them.  Maybe you want to know why your friends have lost their jobs while the owners of the company still show up in limosines.  Whatever station you are in life, you are probably a little above the most destitute of the world.     

      Instead of reaching out to a third world country to help them live the way you do, you are taught to fear the possibility that you might end up like that third world country if you don't follow the rules.  This country is based on the people making the rules...yet most of the people here don't follow the rules because they understand their impact on society; they follow the rules because they don't want to get in trouble.  Didn't we hate to ask our parents, "why not?" and get the response, "because I said so?"  Yet we do it anyway.  There are millions of punishable acts in this country, how many did you vote for?  How many laws did you support?       I personally supported the laws that were basic human right and wrong.  I support a law that says we shouldn't kill each other.  I support a law that protects our rights.  I support a law that says we shouldn't take what's not ours.  Yet most laws are to allow big corporations to take what isn't theirs.  To protect those with the most money.  Until you realize that the police are not here to protect you, you will be exploited.  The police are here to protect the rich.  By happenchance they may protect you as well...it's part of the scheme to keep you believing.  They freed the slaves from a life of work with food and shelter just to give them money to buy food and shelter.   But they still are slaves   

 In the thousands of years of human experience, there have been many educators.  The most important ones were silenced.  The most important ones were labeled.  The most important ones are even taught in school, yet they never speak of the ideas...just the man.  You will see big changes in this world before you die.  Don't think that history is just history.  It's life, and we are about to survive a difficult transition to the new.  If you are not ready for it, we will just be continuing the same cycle that has produced war and poverty.  Even if you do nothing about it now...keep these ideas in mind.  They will help you form a new plan.