OK, I can't keep this up any longer.
I cannot take Barack Obama seriously for President in 2008.
It's not his message. It's not his politics. It's not his relative youth.
He's bright. He's articulate. He's got looks and brains. He connects with people.
But he has a major albatross around his neck.
That albatross is named Dwayne Johnson. WWE's "The Rock". Not to diss the "Great One", but he is a liability to Obama and neither one of them know it yet!
Don't believe me? Check out this video first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyW7X4isOEo
Then check out this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAzy6ku6Gto
Do you smell what Barack is cooking? Are they twins or what? Even their names are similar.
The question is when the conservative blowholes will catch on to this, at which point it's game over for Barack.
It's a shame, really, becasue he has so much promise, and the baggage is one of perpetual parody the likes of which Capitol Steps or Paul Shanklin have never even dreamed about.
The Mudslinger
Monday, December 04, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
US Mint hates competiton, lies to squash it
In a recent press release, the US Mint has indicated that Liberty Dollars (see http://www.libertydollar.org/) is illegal currency. See http://intlib.blogspot.com/2006/09/us-mint-claims-norfed-are-federal.html for details.
For background, Liberty Dollars are coins backed by silver and gold that can be used to engage in regular commerce. Current Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) as printed by the Treasury and issued to the illegal Federal Reserve, are backed by the illusion of the labor of the American people. In other words, fiat currency.
The Treasury Department, the Mint's parent agency, and the Secret Service, its sibling agency, and its bastard uncle, the In-Justice Department (who remarkably gets one right for once, in a case of Stopped-Clock Syndrome), all in the past have disagreed with the Mint.
The Mint is just plain looney tunes on this one. If they are right, then all non-FRN means of doing transactions are also illegal. That means everything from subway and arcade tokens to casino chips, from baseball cards to booze and firearms is illegal as well.
Problem is that the Mint forgets just what currency is. All currency is is a proxy used in place of a barter trade that is commonly accepted as having value in the absence of a true barter. To make sense of it, consider the following examples:
1. Tom can build fences but has no eggs. Jerry needs a fence to hold in his chickens. They meet and Tom agrees to build Jerry a fence in exchange for several dozen eggs. This is a barter trade, the very basic building block of free economics.
2. Same example, but now Jerry's chickens aren't laying at the moment. Tom accepts a note from Jerry promising him eggs once they lay later in exchange for fixing the fence now. That note is a proxy in place of the eggs. If Tom trades that note to Spike so Spike can get the eggs in exchange for fixing Tom's stove, then Jerry honors that note with Spike instead. That note has become a barter proxy in absence of the real thing. This note is a basic voluntary contract, and the note is also currency since all three people accept it as having value in the trade.
The whole point of this is that anything at all can be used as a barter proxy as long as the parties to the barter agree it has appropriate value. That anything includes personal property and one's labor. That is why when two parties agree to exchange labor for barter proxy (in other words, money!) it is an agreed exchange of equal value. That is, THERE IS NO GAIN! THERE IS NO INCOME!
This is why they are scared--if people realize that the value of FRNs only exists because they believe it so, and the logical extension that its value can cease to exist if they don't, then the entire Federal Reserve System is in trouble. Besides that, if people use currency other than FRNs to barter goods and services, such as Liberty Dollars, then the feds can't tax what is not transacted in their system or is readily translatable into their system (such as foreign currency as determined by the international currency markets). Since the feds illegally tax a property exchange as income already, any further erosion of that scam is something that they can't handle, hence the Mint's pronouncements, since Liberty Dollars, like all other alternative barter proxies, serve to shatter that myth that they feds and the Mint cling to--that only *their* currency is the valuable one. Only *their* barter contracts are valid. Yeah, right.
Every barter proxy that is not taxable since it it outside the tax system is easily seen as a property exchange. Only within the confines of the federal system is reality warped to make a property exchange produce phantom income (or alternatively, our labor is worthless and the cash production actually is gain, which may be closer to the truth of our financially bankrupt federal system and their fiat monopoly money!). The Liberty Dollar, like other alternative barter proxies, is a return to reality and the real free market economy, free of regulation and taxation, and that is what truly scares the federal government--it is outside of their control and in fact destroys their control.
Think about it. The best cashless society is the barter society, not where currency is replaced by electrons. The barter system will never go away, and it needs to resume its rightful place as the true economy, not some shadow economy or black market because it is outside the tax system.
The Mudslinger
For background, Liberty Dollars are coins backed by silver and gold that can be used to engage in regular commerce. Current Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) as printed by the Treasury and issued to the illegal Federal Reserve, are backed by the illusion of the labor of the American people. In other words, fiat currency.
The Treasury Department, the Mint's parent agency, and the Secret Service, its sibling agency, and its bastard uncle, the In-Justice Department (who remarkably gets one right for once, in a case of Stopped-Clock Syndrome), all in the past have disagreed with the Mint.
The Mint is just plain looney tunes on this one. If they are right, then all non-FRN means of doing transactions are also illegal. That means everything from subway and arcade tokens to casino chips, from baseball cards to booze and firearms is illegal as well.
Problem is that the Mint forgets just what currency is. All currency is is a proxy used in place of a barter trade that is commonly accepted as having value in the absence of a true barter. To make sense of it, consider the following examples:
1. Tom can build fences but has no eggs. Jerry needs a fence to hold in his chickens. They meet and Tom agrees to build Jerry a fence in exchange for several dozen eggs. This is a barter trade, the very basic building block of free economics.
2. Same example, but now Jerry's chickens aren't laying at the moment. Tom accepts a note from Jerry promising him eggs once they lay later in exchange for fixing the fence now. That note is a proxy in place of the eggs. If Tom trades that note to Spike so Spike can get the eggs in exchange for fixing Tom's stove, then Jerry honors that note with Spike instead. That note has become a barter proxy in absence of the real thing. This note is a basic voluntary contract, and the note is also currency since all three people accept it as having value in the trade.
The whole point of this is that anything at all can be used as a barter proxy as long as the parties to the barter agree it has appropriate value. That anything includes personal property and one's labor. That is why when two parties agree to exchange labor for barter proxy (in other words, money!) it is an agreed exchange of equal value. That is, THERE IS NO GAIN! THERE IS NO INCOME!
This is why they are scared--if people realize that the value of FRNs only exists because they believe it so, and the logical extension that its value can cease to exist if they don't, then the entire Federal Reserve System is in trouble. Besides that, if people use currency other than FRNs to barter goods and services, such as Liberty Dollars, then the feds can't tax what is not transacted in their system or is readily translatable into their system (such as foreign currency as determined by the international currency markets). Since the feds illegally tax a property exchange as income already, any further erosion of that scam is something that they can't handle, hence the Mint's pronouncements, since Liberty Dollars, like all other alternative barter proxies, serve to shatter that myth that they feds and the Mint cling to--that only *their* currency is the valuable one. Only *their* barter contracts are valid. Yeah, right.
Every barter proxy that is not taxable since it it outside the tax system is easily seen as a property exchange. Only within the confines of the federal system is reality warped to make a property exchange produce phantom income (or alternatively, our labor is worthless and the cash production actually is gain, which may be closer to the truth of our financially bankrupt federal system and their fiat monopoly money!). The Liberty Dollar, like other alternative barter proxies, is a return to reality and the real free market economy, free of regulation and taxation, and that is what truly scares the federal government--it is outside of their control and in fact destroys their control.
Think about it. The best cashless society is the barter society, not where currency is replaced by electrons. The barter system will never go away, and it needs to resume its rightful place as the true economy, not some shadow economy or black market because it is outside the tax system.
The Mudslinger
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Random thoughts for a while...
* Rep. Jane Harmon, a whacko Democrat from the South Bay (Rendondo Beach for all the non-locals) had a case of Stopped-Clock Syndrome when she accurately coined the Iraq occupation as "whack-a-mole". For those of you who don't know what that refers to, a Whack-A-Mole game is one of those you find in the arcade with the mallet you use to beat down the heads of the creatures that pop up at random.
* The latest neoconfascist talking point is to label calls to get out of Iraq "accepting defeat at the hands of the terrorists". Bull. You defeat terrorists by removing their motivation to fight. In the case of Iraq that is simply being there in the first place. I guess you could call their position to be "accepting death at the hands of the terrorists". Given the choice of having the neocons lose their "macho" by leaving of us losing lives by not leaving, I can only say, so long, ego, we didn't need ya anyway.
* If you drink a snow cone through a straw (or similar icy drink), don't insert the straw to the bottom of the cup because you cut off the ice suction up the straw.
* Could we outfit Iowa hogs with guidance packages and drop them on the terrorists? And then can we strap on the PETA idiots who complain about it as well?
* My own opinion is that Israel is doing a job the United States should have done 23 years ago after those Hezbollah bastards attacked our embassy and killed our Marines. Some people in D.C. may have forgotten that, but some of us haven't. They committed an act of war against us and they deserve to go down.
* OK, since they've banned liquids from carry-ons now, does that apply to the ketchup and mustard packets from the airport fast-food joints?
* The liquid ban just proves a point: with Byrl-cream, a little dab really will do ya!
* The liquid ban has a prescription medication exception. How long until we see prescription Robutussin bombs?
* If all of theses cosmetics and beverages are being taken, why not give the beverages to the local food banks and sell the rest in a kiosk outside the airport secure areas to help pay for the extra meaningless security?
* How long until the cartoons about flying naked become a reality? And if that happens where will the rare air marshal hide his gun?
* Oh, yeah, meanwhile, still only 5% of all cargo containers coming into our ports are being checked. Would somebody in DHS actually do something about that?
* And while we're at it, can we give the environmental whackos and the Bush administration both the same slap alongside the head and get the point across that if we adopt the Brazil plan and become energy independent that the Middle East becomes strategically irrelevant and the terrorist threat largely dries up?
* Can we get the IRS to let us claim domestic pets as tax dependents?
* Can we get the IRS to let us claim regular travel to and from our regular workplace as business expenses?
* Would someone please explain to me if you have two gas stations right next to another with one charging 3.05 a gallon and the other charging 3.20, why does the latter get any business at all?
* Can a bald person get a hairline fracture?
* (M)Ann (O'Rexic) Coulter is a shining example of several things: gender tests, neocon stupidity, the First Amendment, basic black dresses, and the need for strong duct tape over the mouth.
* Karl Rove is now helping Joe Lieberman in his independent race in CT to keep his old wrinkled brain-damaged behind in the Senate. If I'm GOP's Schliesinger running for that seat, I'm trying to have Rove kicked out of the GOP for campaigning for another candidate, in possible violation of GOP bylaws. If I'm Ned Lamont, I'm exploiting that for all I'm worth by calling Lieberman a DINO, sellout, and who knows what else.
* Here in CA the environmental whackos are really going off on global warming and air pollution in light of the recent heat wave. Maybe they ought to focus on more open green space, less conventional agriculture, and less concrete, asphalt, and other heat-reflective substances.
* The latest neoconfascist talking point is to label calls to get out of Iraq "accepting defeat at the hands of the terrorists". Bull. You defeat terrorists by removing their motivation to fight. In the case of Iraq that is simply being there in the first place. I guess you could call their position to be "accepting death at the hands of the terrorists". Given the choice of having the neocons lose their "macho" by leaving of us losing lives by not leaving, I can only say, so long, ego, we didn't need ya anyway.
* If you drink a snow cone through a straw (or similar icy drink), don't insert the straw to the bottom of the cup because you cut off the ice suction up the straw.
* Could we outfit Iowa hogs with guidance packages and drop them on the terrorists? And then can we strap on the PETA idiots who complain about it as well?
* My own opinion is that Israel is doing a job the United States should have done 23 years ago after those Hezbollah bastards attacked our embassy and killed our Marines. Some people in D.C. may have forgotten that, but some of us haven't. They committed an act of war against us and they deserve to go down.
* OK, since they've banned liquids from carry-ons now, does that apply to the ketchup and mustard packets from the airport fast-food joints?
* The liquid ban just proves a point: with Byrl-cream, a little dab really will do ya!
* The liquid ban has a prescription medication exception. How long until we see prescription Robutussin bombs?
* If all of theses cosmetics and beverages are being taken, why not give the beverages to the local food banks and sell the rest in a kiosk outside the airport secure areas to help pay for the extra meaningless security?
* How long until the cartoons about flying naked become a reality? And if that happens where will the rare air marshal hide his gun?
* Oh, yeah, meanwhile, still only 5% of all cargo containers coming into our ports are being checked. Would somebody in DHS actually do something about that?
* And while we're at it, can we give the environmental whackos and the Bush administration both the same slap alongside the head and get the point across that if we adopt the Brazil plan and become energy independent that the Middle East becomes strategically irrelevant and the terrorist threat largely dries up?
* Can we get the IRS to let us claim domestic pets as tax dependents?
* Can we get the IRS to let us claim regular travel to and from our regular workplace as business expenses?
* Would someone please explain to me if you have two gas stations right next to another with one charging 3.05 a gallon and the other charging 3.20, why does the latter get any business at all?
* Can a bald person get a hairline fracture?
* (M)Ann (O'Rexic) Coulter is a shining example of several things: gender tests, neocon stupidity, the First Amendment, basic black dresses, and the need for strong duct tape over the mouth.
* Karl Rove is now helping Joe Lieberman in his independent race in CT to keep his old wrinkled brain-damaged behind in the Senate. If I'm GOP's Schliesinger running for that seat, I'm trying to have Rove kicked out of the GOP for campaigning for another candidate, in possible violation of GOP bylaws. If I'm Ned Lamont, I'm exploiting that for all I'm worth by calling Lieberman a DINO, sellout, and who knows what else.
* Here in CA the environmental whackos are really going off on global warming and air pollution in light of the recent heat wave. Maybe they ought to focus on more open green space, less conventional agriculture, and less concrete, asphalt, and other heat-reflective substances.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
When Bush's $h!t Hits the Fan, Here's the REAL Problem...
Crap, Feces, Turd, Excrement, Poop, Crud, Dump, Doo-Doo, Plop, Dropping--these words are perfectly acceptable to say.
But you can't call it $h!t.
Yeah, I'm talking about Bush's remarks to Blair about Hezbollah.
But the real problem isn't what Bush said. Big deal.
The real problem is that Bush was crude and rude, talking with his mouth full!
That is what the real problem with the whole thing was. So Bush let loose an s-bomb. So what?
We should be more concerned with Bush's lack of professionalism and un-presidential behavior. That transcends a simple 4-letter word. It's been going on for 5 years now. It's gotten us into the new Vietnam (Iraq) and is heading the world into (officially) World War III, which actually started on 9-11.
He didn't get my vote either time. Hell, my dog has more poise, grace, and smarts than Bush does.
Thanks, America. We have gotten exactly what you wanted--a dry drunk idiot religious fanatic who has not much of a clue about anything. And THAT is the real $h!t.
But you can't call it $h!t.
Yeah, I'm talking about Bush's remarks to Blair about Hezbollah.
But the real problem isn't what Bush said. Big deal.
The real problem is that Bush was crude and rude, talking with his mouth full!
That is what the real problem with the whole thing was. So Bush let loose an s-bomb. So what?
We should be more concerned with Bush's lack of professionalism and un-presidential behavior. That transcends a simple 4-letter word. It's been going on for 5 years now. It's gotten us into the new Vietnam (Iraq) and is heading the world into (officially) World War III, which actually started on 9-11.
He didn't get my vote either time. Hell, my dog has more poise, grace, and smarts than Bush does.
Thanks, America. We have gotten exactly what you wanted--a dry drunk idiot religious fanatic who has not much of a clue about anything. And THAT is the real $h!t.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
The Next Terrorist Tool: Tobacco
In my daily travels up and down the freeway I have a lot of time to think about things. The local AM talk radio provides plenty of entertaining and thought-provoking topics to work from.
The other day one of the topics du jour was the latest proposal to add yet another tax on cigarettes for some bleeding-heart cause or other. Now I never met a tax I didn't hate, and I'm allergic to tobacco, so I *can't* smoke, and butt-tossers I see get reported to the state police, but that's not the point here. The net result, if I recall correctly of this latest attempt at organized socialist plunder, would be to make the cancer sticks cost around $6.50 per pack.
I also seem to recall a news article back in 2000 about a black-market cigarette ring running semis full of the stuff from the plants in North Carolina up to tobacco-tax-happy Michigan, where they'd hit the streets without the enormous taxes. The ring? Hezbollah. I kid you not.
The short form of that was tax policy was creating funding opportunities for terrorism, even before 9/11. Even shorter, we've been taxing ourselves into terrorism.
Is that f***ed up or what?
The anti-tobacco Nazis, a mix of anti-Big Business, environmental whackos, health nuts, and other neo-liberal fanatics, have figured out that if they can't criminalize tobacco (see under Prohibition for the clear example of how successful *that* is!) then the next best thing is to tax it right out of its market. (Kind of reminds me of gas prices right now, but that's another post for another day.)
Nice strategy, isn't it? Use the taxing power of the state to regulate personal behavior and hide behind sob stories about it being "for public health", "for the environment", "for seniors", or the perpetual here-we-go-again, "for the children". And the sheeple fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Me, I roll my eyes, because it immediately fails the smell test.
Well, it seems to me that if you can't beat them, join them. Some of my libertarian friends might find this to be nothing short of treasonous, but they aren't seeing my tongue tucked firmly in my cheek as I type this. So in the spirit of the ludicrousness that inspires these scams, here's some more:
1. A political BS tax of $50 per bogus, laughable, or any other obviously inane comment made by an elected politician or aspiring candidate. Proceeds to pay off the national debt. If implemented, I expect the debt to be paid off by lunchtime the first day....
2. A grafitti tax of $5 per letter, $10 if it's unreadable or misspelled. Proceeds to clean up the mess. If implemented, most of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Oakland would get a complete fresh coat of paint, and the railroads could upgrade their fleet to something that doesn't block the crossings at the inopportune moments I happen to be there...
3. A pet tax of $5 per animal. Proceeds to the Animal Liberation Front to support their terrorist activities when they blow up their next animal shelter or medical research lab working to cure cancer or AIDS.
4. A stupid tax of 1 cent per person per incident. Tax is assessed whenever someone does something stupid, oblivious, or pathetic that is acknowledged by either the perpetrating moron (usually seen by smacking themselves in the forehead) or by observers (usually seen cussing out the perpetrating moron). Proceeds to fund the public schools, because when the source of the problem is identified, the government solution is to throw more money at it--the government definition of insanity. This one will be self-perpetuating...
You get the drift...behind almost every tax is a stupid idea presented as some feel-good, warm-fuzzy snake-oil idea. A giftwrapped turd is still a turd. Unless it's a cigar, then someone will try to tax it.
A turd tax? Perish the thought! What a remarkably redudnant and crappy idea!
The other day one of the topics du jour was the latest proposal to add yet another tax on cigarettes for some bleeding-heart cause or other. Now I never met a tax I didn't hate, and I'm allergic to tobacco, so I *can't* smoke, and butt-tossers I see get reported to the state police, but that's not the point here. The net result, if I recall correctly of this latest attempt at organized socialist plunder, would be to make the cancer sticks cost around $6.50 per pack.
I also seem to recall a news article back in 2000 about a black-market cigarette ring running semis full of the stuff from the plants in North Carolina up to tobacco-tax-happy Michigan, where they'd hit the streets without the enormous taxes. The ring? Hezbollah. I kid you not.
The short form of that was tax policy was creating funding opportunities for terrorism, even before 9/11. Even shorter, we've been taxing ourselves into terrorism.
Is that f***ed up or what?
The anti-tobacco Nazis, a mix of anti-Big Business, environmental whackos, health nuts, and other neo-liberal fanatics, have figured out that if they can't criminalize tobacco (see under Prohibition for the clear example of how successful *that* is!) then the next best thing is to tax it right out of its market. (Kind of reminds me of gas prices right now, but that's another post for another day.)
Nice strategy, isn't it? Use the taxing power of the state to regulate personal behavior and hide behind sob stories about it being "for public health", "for the environment", "for seniors", or the perpetual here-we-go-again, "for the children". And the sheeple fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Me, I roll my eyes, because it immediately fails the smell test.
Well, it seems to me that if you can't beat them, join them. Some of my libertarian friends might find this to be nothing short of treasonous, but they aren't seeing my tongue tucked firmly in my cheek as I type this. So in the spirit of the ludicrousness that inspires these scams, here's some more:
1. A political BS tax of $50 per bogus, laughable, or any other obviously inane comment made by an elected politician or aspiring candidate. Proceeds to pay off the national debt. If implemented, I expect the debt to be paid off by lunchtime the first day....
2. A grafitti tax of $5 per letter, $10 if it's unreadable or misspelled. Proceeds to clean up the mess. If implemented, most of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Oakland would get a complete fresh coat of paint, and the railroads could upgrade their fleet to something that doesn't block the crossings at the inopportune moments I happen to be there...
3. A pet tax of $5 per animal. Proceeds to the Animal Liberation Front to support their terrorist activities when they blow up their next animal shelter or medical research lab working to cure cancer or AIDS.
4. A stupid tax of 1 cent per person per incident. Tax is assessed whenever someone does something stupid, oblivious, or pathetic that is acknowledged by either the perpetrating moron (usually seen by smacking themselves in the forehead) or by observers (usually seen cussing out the perpetrating moron). Proceeds to fund the public schools, because when the source of the problem is identified, the government solution is to throw more money at it--the government definition of insanity. This one will be self-perpetuating...
You get the drift...behind almost every tax is a stupid idea presented as some feel-good, warm-fuzzy snake-oil idea. A giftwrapped turd is still a turd. Unless it's a cigar, then someone will try to tax it.
A turd tax? Perish the thought! What a remarkably redudnant and crappy idea!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Forrest Bush
Beautiful, we now have a dipstick calling for an oil probe, while our wallets get anal probes...$3.21 a gallon in River City CA today. More on that later.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
I received this from a good friend of mine, who is also a proud veteran. He gave me permission to reprint this, and I couldn't agree more.
Subject: I can see it happening
In seeing all that’s on the news (and of course taking all of it with a grain of salt) I can see patterns moving in new and interesting ways.
I’ll first qualify this as being the ranting of a citizen who is mightily fed up. I understand the citizens of the United States are guaranteed the right to protest and the right to free speech. It seems to me however that those same freedoms may lead to destroying themselves. I’ll explain. If you insight enough people you could create a situation which would destroy the same society that gave you the right to insight. I hope I said that correctly. I am a bit tired, so I apologize.
I’m not so ticked off at all the stuff going on these days with the flag and flying it under the Mexican flag or flying it upside down. That in itself doesn’t upset me since I believe more in what the flag represents and not for the actual fabric. I’m not so upset at all the protests by citizens about immigration laws, or any laws for that matter. They have the right and I fought for their right to do it. No big deal to me.
I am wondering how those who aren’t citizens can protest in our streets? I can’t see a way to do anything about it, but I’m very curious how this can be seen as alright. I understand that this problem has grown so large and has been overlooked for so long that there is no easy answer to it. Better women and men than I who are closer to the situation are working the problem, so I’ll stay out of it. I will say that if anyone outside my family or circle of friends came into my house and told me that they didn’t like how I was keeping my house, I would invite them to leave…loudly and physically. But that situation would be easier to fix than the larger situation that’s going on right now.
I simply see all of these things as an indicator of a larger problem.
I am seeing the coasts becoming separate entities, while the more conservative portions of our society pulling into the heartland and fortifying. I’ve given up on blaming anyone. You can blame the press for blowing certain things out of proportion, or to be more accurate losing any sense of proportion. But we listen to the journalists and consider them knowledgeable entities. You can blame the government for losing sight of what’s important and ignoring factors that should have been addressed years ago, but we voted them into office.
I blame myself usually. I and everyone else in this society have become quite comfortable in my short span on earth living in this society. We really do want for nothing. At least nothing that’s really and truly important. After seeing just how low human society can go and still function, I now see that we really and truly are a decadent society. People are driving around not realizing that there is a world outside of their car or that the car they are in is a luxury and not a human right. Some people are demanding food and shelter and money from the government, but are not willing to work for it. Nothing is our fault. No one takes responsibility for their own actions, we all just like to blame this entity we call “society” or “government” for all the problems we have and forget that these entities are made up of human beings just like everyone else.
Please stop yelling at me. I do really and truly love this country and can’t see being anywhere else. These are observations and most likely have plenty of holes in them. Most of my arguments have holes in them anyway. If they didn’t, that would make me right and then the world would stop spinning on its axis. Can’t have that. ;-)
I once wrote a paper on the checks and balances of a society and created a model of what I thought society should be. It started and ended with the individual while going all the way up to the world as a whole and then returning to the individual:
The individual is made responsible for his or herself (like that will ever happen). This means that people really and truly make themselves responsible for their own actions and do not blame their upbringing or the spouse that they chose to marry or the representative that they voted into office or the police officer that they lied to, etc.
They in turn are checked up on by the family as a unit. The family is checked up on by the local unit or neighborhood. Each neighborhood is responsible for itself and its members. That is check up on by the local government, made up of representatives of the each neighborhood and not by professional legislators. Each local government is represented in turn in the state government and the states are represented in the national. The nations are represented in a world government which in turn is checked up on by the individuals.
This would never work and I felt silly for ever suggesting it. It has been tried again and again in varying degrees and configurations, but after the local government level (and sometimes at the local level) the people are forgotten since the higher levels lose track of the individuals and the individuals lose touch with the government. It’s also incredibly tedious and nothing gets done.
The biggest reason that this doesn’t work is that first and foremost the individuals are supposed to be responsible for themselves and held accountable for the actions of their representatives. This simply will not happen. Sad to say that we will always be a part of the “S.E.P.” society. Somebody Else’s Problem.
I can see that in the not too distant future we will segregate into smaller sections and fortify each area against each other. All thanks to our own paranoia and selfishness. Those people who stick their neck out for their fellow citizen are taken advantage of by another citizen who is out just for themselves. We have become perfect fodder for terrorism. The saddest part is that it’s not the terrorists from outside the U.S. that I’m worried about. Our biggest enemies are already here. Us. Each and every one of us is helping to rip the country apart. Who knows? Maybe it’s time for this kind of wakeup call. You be the judge.
Myself? I remain a proud member of the U.S. armed forces and support those appointed above me and the troops with me and under me. I love my country and will do everything I can to serve proudly. As a member of this great group of individuals I am resigned to live amongst those whom I serve and yet not truly a part of the general citizenry. Just like police officers and firefighters, we serve the people and live with the people, but are just outside the society we protect. Sad to say that we are the dogs protecting the sheep from the wolves…even when the sheep don’t seem to want to need us.
There! I’m done with my whining for the evening. Feel free to discuss!
Love to all,
Patrick
Subject: I can see it happening
In seeing all that’s on the news (and of course taking all of it with a grain of salt) I can see patterns moving in new and interesting ways.
I’ll first qualify this as being the ranting of a citizen who is mightily fed up. I understand the citizens of the United States are guaranteed the right to protest and the right to free speech. It seems to me however that those same freedoms may lead to destroying themselves. I’ll explain. If you insight enough people you could create a situation which would destroy the same society that gave you the right to insight. I hope I said that correctly. I am a bit tired, so I apologize.
I’m not so ticked off at all the stuff going on these days with the flag and flying it under the Mexican flag or flying it upside down. That in itself doesn’t upset me since I believe more in what the flag represents and not for the actual fabric. I’m not so upset at all the protests by citizens about immigration laws, or any laws for that matter. They have the right and I fought for their right to do it. No big deal to me.
I am wondering how those who aren’t citizens can protest in our streets? I can’t see a way to do anything about it, but I’m very curious how this can be seen as alright. I understand that this problem has grown so large and has been overlooked for so long that there is no easy answer to it. Better women and men than I who are closer to the situation are working the problem, so I’ll stay out of it. I will say that if anyone outside my family or circle of friends came into my house and told me that they didn’t like how I was keeping my house, I would invite them to leave…loudly and physically. But that situation would be easier to fix than the larger situation that’s going on right now.
I simply see all of these things as an indicator of a larger problem.
I am seeing the coasts becoming separate entities, while the more conservative portions of our society pulling into the heartland and fortifying. I’ve given up on blaming anyone. You can blame the press for blowing certain things out of proportion, or to be more accurate losing any sense of proportion. But we listen to the journalists and consider them knowledgeable entities. You can blame the government for losing sight of what’s important and ignoring factors that should have been addressed years ago, but we voted them into office.
I blame myself usually. I and everyone else in this society have become quite comfortable in my short span on earth living in this society. We really do want for nothing. At least nothing that’s really and truly important. After seeing just how low human society can go and still function, I now see that we really and truly are a decadent society. People are driving around not realizing that there is a world outside of their car or that the car they are in is a luxury and not a human right. Some people are demanding food and shelter and money from the government, but are not willing to work for it. Nothing is our fault. No one takes responsibility for their own actions, we all just like to blame this entity we call “society” or “government” for all the problems we have and forget that these entities are made up of human beings just like everyone else.
Please stop yelling at me. I do really and truly love this country and can’t see being anywhere else. These are observations and most likely have plenty of holes in them. Most of my arguments have holes in them anyway. If they didn’t, that would make me right and then the world would stop spinning on its axis. Can’t have that. ;-)
I once wrote a paper on the checks and balances of a society and created a model of what I thought society should be. It started and ended with the individual while going all the way up to the world as a whole and then returning to the individual:
The individual is made responsible for his or herself (like that will ever happen). This means that people really and truly make themselves responsible for their own actions and do not blame their upbringing or the spouse that they chose to marry or the representative that they voted into office or the police officer that they lied to, etc.
They in turn are checked up on by the family as a unit. The family is checked up on by the local unit or neighborhood. Each neighborhood is responsible for itself and its members. That is check up on by the local government, made up of representatives of the each neighborhood and not by professional legislators. Each local government is represented in turn in the state government and the states are represented in the national. The nations are represented in a world government which in turn is checked up on by the individuals.
This would never work and I felt silly for ever suggesting it. It has been tried again and again in varying degrees and configurations, but after the local government level (and sometimes at the local level) the people are forgotten since the higher levels lose track of the individuals and the individuals lose touch with the government. It’s also incredibly tedious and nothing gets done.
The biggest reason that this doesn’t work is that first and foremost the individuals are supposed to be responsible for themselves and held accountable for the actions of their representatives. This simply will not happen. Sad to say that we will always be a part of the “S.E.P.” society. Somebody Else’s Problem.
I can see that in the not too distant future we will segregate into smaller sections and fortify each area against each other. All thanks to our own paranoia and selfishness. Those people who stick their neck out for their fellow citizen are taken advantage of by another citizen who is out just for themselves. We have become perfect fodder for terrorism. The saddest part is that it’s not the terrorists from outside the U.S. that I’m worried about. Our biggest enemies are already here. Us. Each and every one of us is helping to rip the country apart. Who knows? Maybe it’s time for this kind of wakeup call. You be the judge.
Myself? I remain a proud member of the U.S. armed forces and support those appointed above me and the troops with me and under me. I love my country and will do everything I can to serve proudly. As a member of this great group of individuals I am resigned to live amongst those whom I serve and yet not truly a part of the general citizenry. Just like police officers and firefighters, we serve the people and live with the people, but are just outside the society we protect. Sad to say that we are the dogs protecting the sheep from the wolves…even when the sheep don’t seem to want to need us.
There! I’m done with my whining for the evening. Feel free to discuss!
Love to all,
Patrick
Sunday, March 26, 2006
On idiots, immigration rallies, and mailboxes
This weekend has shown once again just how many idiots there are in America, and why this nation that I love is going down the toilet.
In Los Angeles over a half-million idiots came out in a rally against COnstituinally-mandated duties of Congress to control immigration, giving the usual talking points that felonizing illegal aliens is "racist", that everyone deserves to be here, etc.
That level of bullshit outdoes all of the cattle ranches in the West.
The debate over immigration and national security has nothing to do with "racism". I put the term in quotes because *their* definition is not true racism. *Their* definition of racism is anything that just happens to target a large ethnic group such as Latinos not because the activity is directed at them, which would truly be racism, but because they would bethe most affected by the color-blind and race-blind activity. In other words, they are seeing racism where none exists. If that is the case, then the only ones who are being truly racist are these idiots. I can't call them racist idiots since that is a redudndant term and racsim is merely a flavor of idiocy, so I'll settle for calling them just plain idiots.
In a related note, on Friday I heard Ed Schultz, who is normally well-reasoned, got it all wrong on the issue, trapping himself in the idiotic argument that we can't deport all 12 million illegal aliens at once. Of course we can't and nobody is advocating the necessary house-to-house law enforcement and military sweeps (and resulting riots) to do it. Let's just say that Ed had an idiot moment. We all have them. My problem is with the people who have them 24/7 and are oblivious to them. (Critics can insert their own punch line here.)
In another related note, the argument that the Idiot-in-Chief keeps putitng out, Republican Illegal Immigration Talking Point #2, that these illegal aliens are doing jobs that citizens don't want, is misleading to the point of utter lies. Yes, they are doing jobs that citizens don't want--AT THAT PAY RATE! when you tell the rest of the story, the talking point deflates into being nothing more than a shill for business to cut labor costs while overrunning our public schools, hospitals, freeways, and tax burdens with more illegal aliens. We *might* save a few pennies form the cheaper labor at the checkout line (don't bet on it!) but we get it in the shorts at the tax line.
So how do you solve the illegal alien problem? We do it by a combination of active and passive activities, strict enforcement of the law, and the political backbone to define and keep the srgumetn deifnes in our terms and not give in to the radical racist illegal aliens activist idiots. Here's what you do:
1. Build the border fences and stop the influx. This active activity is the equivalent of stopping the bleeding and contianing the problem. This also includes better manpower on the border--even the National Guard, which would have them actually living up to their name--to send back the illegals they catch. They'll even nab a terrorist or two, and along the way provide a new interdiction point on the failed Drug War that actually might do something.
2. When illegals get caught, deport them. This is first a passive activity in that law enforcement won't go looking for them, but when they are caught, they're gone, period, no exceptions, have a nice day, next time immigrate legally.
3. Dry up the market demand for the labor. This is done several ways: first, create jobs that pay well and get the unemployment rate down. People want to work, but they need to support their families as well. Second, require strict checks by employers on a person's legal-to-work status. This can be done by a simple check with the IRS. Third, make it not worht the employers' while to hire illegals. You do this by making strict enforcement by fines that make it more expensive to hire illegals than legals. If it costs employers more then the cheaper labor is the legals--flip the table over. Fourth, semi-annual audits of these employers to ensure compliance.
4. A PR campaign for legal immigration and naturalization. For this you use legal immigrants and naturalized citizens and emphsiaze how they have pride in their new nation and theat the illegals form their old countries are giving them a bad name, and they're sick of it. I've seen firsthand the joy and pride and sense of accomplishment that naturalized citizens have the day they stand up and take the oath. It's electric, intense, and outstanding, and needs tobe tapped into to produce the general feeling of what should be obvious: legal immigration is good, and illegla immigration is bad.
5. Don't stop using the term "illegal". The racsist activist idiots won't use the term, preferring instead to blanket the illegals with the legals and then try to use that to lend credence to their racist arguments. Don't let them. Illegal is illegal, period. Call a spade a spade.
I mentioned mailboxes in the title of this post. This morning I went out to pick up the morning fruit fall and bring in the Sunday newspaper and I find that some jackass idiot tagged my mailbox with gang symbols. They used permanent marker, defacing the box for no good reason. I have reported the incident to the police and will be cleaning the mess up (or replacing my mailbox) once they deal with it. And yes, I call whomever did this an idiot, and it could easily be the same idiot that has been stealing my fruit off the front tree. I really don;t understand the mental maflunctions in the brainless idiots that make them think they are entitled to trample on my private property rights and not show respect for their fellow person. I'm sure they would not like if that happened to them, so what inspires them to do it to others? It's bad enought that government does it, but now we have to deal with individual idiots as well? And since the most likely cuplrits are teenage idiots, where are their parents keeping an eye on them to keep them out of trouble? I don't get it at all, but then again, I was rasied to be repsonsible, show respect to others and their property, and always question when things make no sense.
When' the next spaceship off this rock???
In Los Angeles over a half-million idiots came out in a rally against COnstituinally-mandated duties of Congress to control immigration, giving the usual talking points that felonizing illegal aliens is "racist", that everyone deserves to be here, etc.
That level of bullshit outdoes all of the cattle ranches in the West.
The debate over immigration and national security has nothing to do with "racism". I put the term in quotes because *their* definition is not true racism. *Their* definition of racism is anything that just happens to target a large ethnic group such as Latinos not because the activity is directed at them, which would truly be racism, but because they would bethe most affected by the color-blind and race-blind activity. In other words, they are seeing racism where none exists. If that is the case, then the only ones who are being truly racist are these idiots. I can't call them racist idiots since that is a redudndant term and racsim is merely a flavor of idiocy, so I'll settle for calling them just plain idiots.
In a related note, on Friday I heard Ed Schultz, who is normally well-reasoned, got it all wrong on the issue, trapping himself in the idiotic argument that we can't deport all 12 million illegal aliens at once. Of course we can't and nobody is advocating the necessary house-to-house law enforcement and military sweeps (and resulting riots) to do it. Let's just say that Ed had an idiot moment. We all have them. My problem is with the people who have them 24/7 and are oblivious to them. (Critics can insert their own punch line here.)
In another related note, the argument that the Idiot-in-Chief keeps putitng out, Republican Illegal Immigration Talking Point #2, that these illegal aliens are doing jobs that citizens don't want, is misleading to the point of utter lies. Yes, they are doing jobs that citizens don't want--AT THAT PAY RATE! when you tell the rest of the story, the talking point deflates into being nothing more than a shill for business to cut labor costs while overrunning our public schools, hospitals, freeways, and tax burdens with more illegal aliens. We *might* save a few pennies form the cheaper labor at the checkout line (don't bet on it!) but we get it in the shorts at the tax line.
So how do you solve the illegal alien problem? We do it by a combination of active and passive activities, strict enforcement of the law, and the political backbone to define and keep the srgumetn deifnes in our terms and not give in to the radical racist illegal aliens activist idiots. Here's what you do:
1. Build the border fences and stop the influx. This active activity is the equivalent of stopping the bleeding and contianing the problem. This also includes better manpower on the border--even the National Guard, which would have them actually living up to their name--to send back the illegals they catch. They'll even nab a terrorist or two, and along the way provide a new interdiction point on the failed Drug War that actually might do something.
2. When illegals get caught, deport them. This is first a passive activity in that law enforcement won't go looking for them, but when they are caught, they're gone, period, no exceptions, have a nice day, next time immigrate legally.
3. Dry up the market demand for the labor. This is done several ways: first, create jobs that pay well and get the unemployment rate down. People want to work, but they need to support their families as well. Second, require strict checks by employers on a person's legal-to-work status. This can be done by a simple check with the IRS. Third, make it not worht the employers' while to hire illegals. You do this by making strict enforcement by fines that make it more expensive to hire illegals than legals. If it costs employers more then the cheaper labor is the legals--flip the table over. Fourth, semi-annual audits of these employers to ensure compliance.
4. A PR campaign for legal immigration and naturalization. For this you use legal immigrants and naturalized citizens and emphsiaze how they have pride in their new nation and theat the illegals form their old countries are giving them a bad name, and they're sick of it. I've seen firsthand the joy and pride and sense of accomplishment that naturalized citizens have the day they stand up and take the oath. It's electric, intense, and outstanding, and needs tobe tapped into to produce the general feeling of what should be obvious: legal immigration is good, and illegla immigration is bad.
5. Don't stop using the term "illegal". The racsist activist idiots won't use the term, preferring instead to blanket the illegals with the legals and then try to use that to lend credence to their racist arguments. Don't let them. Illegal is illegal, period. Call a spade a spade.
I mentioned mailboxes in the title of this post. This morning I went out to pick up the morning fruit fall and bring in the Sunday newspaper and I find that some jackass idiot tagged my mailbox with gang symbols. They used permanent marker, defacing the box for no good reason. I have reported the incident to the police and will be cleaning the mess up (or replacing my mailbox) once they deal with it. And yes, I call whomever did this an idiot, and it could easily be the same idiot that has been stealing my fruit off the front tree. I really don;t understand the mental maflunctions in the brainless idiots that make them think they are entitled to trample on my private property rights and not show respect for their fellow person. I'm sure they would not like if that happened to them, so what inspires them to do it to others? It's bad enought that government does it, but now we have to deal with individual idiots as well? And since the most likely cuplrits are teenage idiots, where are their parents keeping an eye on them to keep them out of trouble? I don't get it at all, but then again, I was rasied to be repsonsible, show respect to others and their property, and always question when things make no sense.
When' the next spaceship off this rock???
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Coming back to port
Sorry, it's been a while here. You get wrapped up in the piddly-$h!t of life sometimes.
Here's a letter to the editor I sent in but the local paper lacked the body parts to publish (as usual, they can't handle common sense over at the local Bush apologist editorial board), and something to think about:
The whole thing about who runs the ports comes down to one question: who’s the home team?
The United Arab Emirates has a dubai-ous past when it comes to terrorism. They play both sides of the game, and they are not necessarily the home team.
The home team in this game is the American people, and the home team needs to run the game, not the visitors. It doesn’t matter if the visitors are Arabs, Brits, space aliens, or anybody else. It’s our ports, and our players, therefore it’s our team.
After all, (with no disrespect to fans of these teams,) the New York Yankees don’t contract out first base to the Boston Red Sox.
Here's a letter to the editor I sent in but the local paper lacked the body parts to publish (as usual, they can't handle common sense over at the local Bush apologist editorial board), and something to think about:
The whole thing about who runs the ports comes down to one question: who’s the home team?
The United Arab Emirates has a dubai-ous past when it comes to terrorism. They play both sides of the game, and they are not necessarily the home team.
The home team in this game is the American people, and the home team needs to run the game, not the visitors. It doesn’t matter if the visitors are Arabs, Brits, space aliens, or anybody else. It’s our ports, and our players, therefore it’s our team.
After all, (with no disrespect to fans of these teams,) the New York Yankees don’t contract out first base to the Boston Red Sox.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Beat up by credit card debt? Here's how to beat back!
Happy New Year, and the Mudslinger is back after a long absence. Life has been beyond nuts lately and I apologize for the hiatus. Peace and prosperity to all reading this for 2006 and beyond.
Anyways, I wanted to share my dirty little secret about how to wipe out credit card debt methodically and with little extra interest that the CC companies don't deserve anyway. They desire to bury you in so much interest and finance charges that you never get around to reducing the cause of all that, the principal. This secret stops the avalanche and allows you to get out of the hole. It does require diligence, discipline, and patience, but it definitely works.
The trick is to get the cards with the introductory 0% rate, transfer the highest rate card balances over to them, pay off the rest of the higher-rate balances first while paying only the minimum or a fixed budgeted amount on the 0% cards.
The ironic thing is that by doing this you beat their system at their own game under their own rules!
The Mudslinger
Anyways, I wanted to share my dirty little secret about how to wipe out credit card debt methodically and with little extra interest that the CC companies don't deserve anyway. They desire to bury you in so much interest and finance charges that you never get around to reducing the cause of all that, the principal. This secret stops the avalanche and allows you to get out of the hole. It does require diligence, discipline, and patience, but it definitely works.
The trick is to get the cards with the introductory 0% rate, transfer the highest rate card balances over to them, pay off the rest of the higher-rate balances first while paying only the minimum or a fixed budgeted amount on the 0% cards.
- Get a 0% card and max out the balance by transferring your highest-interest card balances to the 0% card.
- DO NOT GET A PIN FOR CASH ACCESS! There is no faster way to blow this than that.
- KEEP NEW PURCHASES TO A MINIMUM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. See previous comment.
- Set a budgeted amount for the total payments to all cards.
- Pay off the highest-interst card balance remaining first.
- Pay only the minimum on the 0% card and any other cards.
- As each high-interest card is paid off, cancel and shred it, you don't want that raw deal anyway. Reroute that payment amount into the new highest-rate card, keeping the minimal payments on the rest.
- When the 0% introductory rates expire, lather, rinse, and repeat.
- Get a credit report regularly and make sure it is kept accurate, as bad info or unclosed accounts can come back and bite you, plus as the credit rating goes up, the interest rates go down, which also helps compound the situation to your advantage.
The ironic thing is that by doing this you beat their system at their own game under their own rules!
The Mudslinger
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