Ok you guys win... now what do you want us to do?

         Living in New York, the take over of a small park down in Wall Street, has kept the media happy for over a month.  When I say happy, that means, the Occupy Wall Street movement, can be the head lines on a slow news day, or a filler for those  90 second spots, that just need something.
         For me, its a very mixed bag of views.  The main theme of this month old "sit in"  is the same as I have.
Our Financial Market is not working, and we need it to work correctly.  But with any protest movement, you will get the extreme groups, mixed in, and the media will focus on the extremist, which has a tendency to obscure the message of the main party or group.  
         During the civil rights movement, the core idea was to have a  equal rights, for minorities that were the same as whites in America.   This is not a bad idea, nor was it bad when they said  women should have the same rights, and Hispanics, in fact it should be equal across the board.  We had fringes, that wanted the Federal government to pay  "slavery reparations"  or establish a black only state.
         We also had the anti Vietnam War movement,  stop the war in Vietnam, get out.   Some of those people demanded the United States pull our of every where.   Give the land back to the Indians ( so they could turn it into a casino???)  
         The point is, ( hmmm much like religion or forms of government ) you start out with a good message you want heard, and too often it is over taken by the fringe groups, or worse its not taken over by them, but that's what gets focused on.   Now to be fair, its not the core groups fault that the focus is shifted.  In fact it is a powerful media tool, to focus on the crazier elements, so the 85 percent dumber than a rock population believes that is what every one in the movement wants.  
         Today the  media has to divide its time between social issues, world politics and who is the next couple  removed from "Dancing with the Stars"  you know the important stuff.
          The folks currently reading this blog, probable have only seen "Dancing to make money for the Network"  only once or twice, but unfortunately the people who are the target of this blog, know only to well  about that show and believe the Occupy Wall Street crowd are a bunch of lazy, commie subversives !!!
              ( Hey you readers, start pasting my blog next to advertisements for strip clubs, hooters, and all night liquor stores, the election is around the corner and I need readers !!!)
           Now in truth, the point at which American industry cared about the people, was pretty short lived.  I think between 1948 and 1970 and that was only because they could focus on destroying the lives of people outside the U.S while making money here. 
              Occupy Wall Street, if I understand their message, is not some radical  ( excuse me for this ) hippy movement, it only wants the economic power in the United States to be fair.  Pay their fair amount of taxes, distribute the wealth, and take a smaller profit in order to put Americans back to work.
                Oh I know several readers who understand economics, can jump on this statement. But what is better for a society?  Remember the only reason for a company is to provide a good or service for a society.
               60,000 years ago when  Arg, was napping flint, making spear heads the only reason to do this was so the group could hunt.   Maybe  Arg.....traded with the tribe  two valley's over  and got those nifty red sea shells, you know, the ones  Mabel likes so much and her birthday is coming up, so I'll trade an elk fur with Arg for the shells and..... sorry I digress.   But you get the idea.    Well if Arg wanted to be a lone caveman sorry caveperson, yes he could.  But if he wanted the benefit of the a society, he needed to do right by that society.  Including, not over charging on his flint spear points.
              GM  was good for the country, for maybe 10 minutes.  OK that's a sarcastic view, but General Motors lost its way.   Its function  in society was/is to make transportation vehicles.  It was not meant to be a loan company, a pizza franchise, it makes cars and trucks, and tanks.  You get the picture.  And it receives compensation ( money) for that  product. 
               I believe the majority of the people in Wall Street, and San Francisco, and Madrid ,  are saying , "You can make your profit, but remember us"    The level of a profit is more an ethical question than legal.  But if a society has no room for ethics, in its existence, than that society has truly regressed.   Face it, we are not all created equal.  And 60, 000 years ago, if   Kurt wanted that new spear head, he could knock the snot out of Arg, take the spear head for free.  Kurt was the strongest guy in the tribe.   He could take the spear head, the red sea shells and Mabel.   We  have decided as a society, that this system of economics, is NOT what this society wants.   Grog is not allowed to go into a show room, beat up the sales person and drive off with  new  car.    We have made a conscouse    decision, how to operate our society.
        Having said that, the folks protesting are trying to tell the world industries, and in our case United States industry,  " You have moved outside the  ethic  boundaries, you are no longer operating in what is an acceptable level of morality.... you  don't pay a fair level of taxes to this society, you don't put a fair number of our citizens to work, and you only care about money, not about the people or product."
             Legally??  Not a leg to stand on,  but morally, whats wrong with what they are saying.   My problem is to have a message.   They need to articulate, to explain to everyone, even the 85 percenters..." We are not anti American, in fact we are very much pro American, we want the companies selling stocks to become pro American  again.    We want them to care as much about the United States as we do"  
          Lets say, that just because  Caterpillar  can make more money investing profits in  Goldman Sacks than it can by investing back in Caterpillar, doesn't mean it should.  Legally  Caterpillar can invest how it wants, ethically it makes heavy equipment.  It will still make a profit.  Middle America is asking them to still make a profit, but not at the expense of our society.  Hire back the Americans, be fair, pay your taxes.
             That is what Occupy Wall Street needs to make clear as its message.   " We are for America, Industry should be too!) 

Its not a contradiction, Its a dynamitic diversity of none specific dycotamy

  That's a nifty title to suggest that my views could appear to be contradictory. This warning is because we have to get into religion again.   Before looking at the problem, turning America into a full blown theocracy, its necessary to explain, my view.
        To me all religion, is based on our species desire to identify things.  100,000 years ago there wasn't much in the way of science, so it was easy to assign acts of nature to "Supreme Beings "  male, female, both , neither.   Additionally since our species has not changed very much, it is not hard to imagine, some humans
A) truly believed in the supreme being/s
B) saw a chance to control people by convincing them  "God" wants this, do it our he will eat your brains"  maybe that's zombies, no its Gods
C) some of our species, truly wanted to do good, especially in the face of our species actions and developed rules of behavior for the species to follow
D)  We are herd animals we humans,  not very bright herd animals at that, so following the crowd is a pretty easy function for  we humans.
E) If you combine  A/B/C/D   you get world religions ( the plural is very important) 7.2 billion of us and its estimated that 95 percent believe in some type of religion.
         And just to cut off some debates on how I can stand in the percentage that don't believe when such an over whelming number do, consider the numbers of people who : believed the sun orbited the earth, the world is flat, man can not go faster than 60 miles per hour, and  last   Seinfeld was good TV.
        The majority does not make something true see item D.
        Having laid out this, there are social traditions that stem from our belief systems and our daily interactions.  The act of  saying  "God Bless You"  when a person sneezes, comes from a very old belief in the super natural. The children's poem/game  Ring Around the Rosy, is based on the deaths from the  Black Death that wiped out about a 1/3 of the worlds population.  
     Many traditions, wait traditions and culture are based on a collective or events from our past.  Certain foods prepared, rituals performed.   Most of them had a purpose, however wrong, when they were first performed, years ago, hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago.
         Any Yuppie worth there salt,  ( worth there salt, salt was so valuable it was used for money) who has paid outrageous prices for  food dishes that are based on receipts  hundreds of years old, will know of tradition.  But look at the food, 300 years ago, that cut of meat was the cheapest you could get, and the lower class people when they could get even that, had to make it palatable, and they didn't have flash ovens, so food preparation over a slow fire, mixed with what ever was available, 300 years years ago, now cost you 75 dollars without a side dish.   Traditions of the past, cultures, carried forward to today.
           Back to ME... my blog,  I don't see these traditions spiritually, but many of these traditions do no harm.  That they have become commericalized and industrialized and money makers is not the fault of the people who carried the traditions forward.   There culture and traditions, are not in them self harmful
            Bring on some traditions.  Halloween, based on the several very frightening  traditions, some over a thousand years old.  Now is based around giving children candy for dressing up in costume.  Not terrible important, or useful, but it is a time to let go of the realities of the world that can be very stress ful and pretend its a simpler time.    Yes yes  I know all the reasons, people speak out against this,  poison apples, razor blades in the pop tarts, etc etc.   Its a kids holiday, at least in America.
           Christmas, now even if you are religious, you should know that Jesus was not born in Dec. 2000 years ago.   More likely he was born in April  ( no proof he existed but go with it ).   And even I could rail about what Christmas has become.  But the intent of  the holiday is not a bad intent.   I don't want to say happy holiday, I want to say  Merry Christmas.   Its a time to celebrate, the birth of Christ, or the middle of the dead time ( winter) a time of shiny lights, and exchanging gifts.  Its not a bad tradition.   Its not like this is the day we eat kittens, and sacrifice our virgins to the demigod  BMT !!.    Like everything else we humans have distorted the tradition, but its not a bad one.    Valentines day is the celebration of  a pagan spirit, or if you like the torture and murder of a young woman in ancient Rome, but Hallmark has turned it into something nicer, and despite the commercialization of the day, I believe it to be a nice idea.
           So there are some traditions that despite there origin, are basically good things to have around.
         I'm not looking forward to  ST. APPs  day, when we celebrate the 100) and 1 applications for your "I" phone.   Or dancing around the GPS, but this could happen.
          But why this lengthily explanation ?  Because I am watching our nation, turn from rational thought to one based on "God wants this "  which kind of reminds me of the Islam saying  " In Gods hands"
           While this nation was formed during a period when religion held a major role in most world powers, a closer look at the leaders of those nations,  indicates that the leadership while allowing religion did  not partake.   It has been said that our founding fathers were deeply religious, but again a closer look indicates  religion was a matter of convenience for them, and some were down right  atheist.  
           I really don't care what religion you follow or if you follow, just as long as your beliefs , do NOT impose a belief on me.  You believe God frowns on buying beer on Sunday....great, don't buy beer on Sunday.   You don't want your taxes to support stem cell research because God told you stem cell research is murder?   Get me a note from God and I will back you and support you, until than, back off.  I don't like my taxes paying for child support, for some  God Fearing red neck that doesn't  believe in birth control but they do.   I don't get to decide that.   My taxes help support the infrastructure to Church's that I do NOT support, so I suck it up and accept it.
           However the last time I looked our constitution has specific limitations regarding religion or use of religion in government.

Article. VI.....

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

than we have the first amendment to this same constitution...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So we have written into our constitution,  no state religion and no religious "litmus" test for position in the government.    I am not so naive as to think people will not do this... humans are stupid creatures who do stupid things.    But now decisions for who should be president based on their religion, or which theocracy they do support  ( insert Israel )
     Ladies and Gentlemen,  even allowing for the 85 percent dumber than rocks and 5 percent dumber than that,  you cannot claim to be a patriot, you cannot claim to be a true American, while at the same time saying that you believe a persons  religious preference shall determine if that person can be president, vice president, head dog catcher !!    At least pretend to care about the constitutions. 
          Reverends, Bishops, priest, rabbi's, Televangelist   any religious figure, needs to remember that they are tax free, sponges living in a country that allows them to sponge off the system.  Their freedom of speech is supposed to have common sense attached to it.    Just like none of us can yell "fire" in a crowded theater, you should not be able to yell  " Mormon !"  in a presidential election. 
         For me personally any religious connection is a negative, so inversely  religious affiliation needs to be a wash.   If  I think you care about this country and the people in it, I don't care what your religion is.   Hell, if an Islamic  Em an is talking about fair taxes,  job creation, good national defense and moving away from fossil fuels and energy independence, than I'M voting for him/her/it.   You should really be thinking that people pointing out a religious belief of a candidate, is a dangerous person.   This means that the constitution has no value to this person.  Theocracies scare me.    You might consider yourself  safe.  You may be a Christian, and thinking   "me and family are good to go..."  Theocracies never end that simple.  Once in place than it becomes the  "way" you believe or practice.  Than it becomes, what kind of christian you are, what flavor.
Are you born again, baptist, evangelical ,  Jehovah Witness, Catholic, Protestant , Reformist??? What flavor Christian are you????  What flavor Christian do you want as leader of the United States???  And when you  have to start wearing an identifying piece of clothing or sign to make it clear what your religious beliefs are, will you remember this warning?    Avoid any one telling you to vote based on religious belief.   Some traditions are harmless, some are not, learn to tell the difference.  PLEASE.

And God said " what the hell happened here ?"

Some of the people reading this will wonder, why I am speaking up for a religion, any religion?   I wanted to avoid the religion issue for a while, but sometimes you have to "poke the bear"  and discuss the tough issues.
        I no longer believe in any supreme being.  I don't care if others do as long as it does not impact me.  Don't make laws that are religious based, and  control people ( me)  who don't practice a religion.   I have real concerns about elected officials or candidates who make use of religion and beliefs, to convenience others they should vote for them.    Its even scarier when a presidential candidate or vice presidential candidate are telling a crowd of people that the war in Iraq is a holy crusade that God wanted.  ( Look at U Tube, you know who I mean)
           Having made pretty clear my lack of religious belief, I am here to say to any person, including the phony  ministers and pastors of the evangelical hypocrites, they have some nerve to accuse the Mormons of not being Christian.   It should be insulting to any person with a brain capable of thought to have these free loading, waste of good air, ( pastors, ministers, clerical )  talking about what is Christian.
        
“It is only faith in Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ alone, that qualifies you as a Christian,” Mr. Jeffress said. “They embraced another gospel, the Book of Mormon, and that is why they have never been considered by evangelical Christians to be part of the Christian family.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says on its Web site that
“Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of God. He is our Redeemer.”
In introducing the Texas governor, Mr. Jeffress told the audience they would soon have a choice between a “conservative out of convenience” and a candidate of true conviction. Mr. Perry, upon taking the stage, thanked the pastor for his introduction and said he “knocked it out of the park.”
Mr. Jeffress said he hasn’t discussed those views with Mr. Perry. And he conceded that if Mr. Romney wins the nomination, “I’ll hold my nose and vote for Mitt Romney.” He went on to say: “I believe a non-Christian who embraces Christian principles is more palatable than a Christian, and I’m accepting that Barack Obama is a Christian by his own statements, I would rather have a non-Christian who embraces Christian principles than a professing Christian who governs by un-Biblical principles.”

         This is typical of people  dumber than the 85 percent.   " It is only faith in Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ alone, that qualifies you as a Christian"   This would suggest that faith in Jesus and not practicing the teachings of Jesus count!    Because if you believe in what Jesus taught, you are supposed to love your enemies, you are NOT supposed to judge people  ( insert gay, or any social non conformist )  that is up to God to decide, not you humans.   If the pastor is correct about this Christian thingy, no Christian should be involved in a law suite, perhaps as a witness, but never doing the suing, that is not very forgiving.   No Christian should be in military uniform, Jesus never said, its ok to go kill people that government doesn't like.
         And the excuse, when  Christians  ( all religions are guilty but Christians are in this box today ) that the old testiment God authorized wars.  Well  wrong, God authorized genocide, which indicats a twisted sadistic supreme being, but even that, God directed the murde..... er....the war.    God has not directly spoken to any one lately directing them to kill there fellow human beings.    Humans are failable  they make mistakes, God will forgive them.   Please dont tell me you think  going to war is a human error, a human mistake.   Its not like the leader of a nation or its population, is taking a pack of gum from the store.... " oh lord please forgive my falling from grace, I stole a pack of gum, let me pay the owner and say 10 our fathers"
          " Oh lord, I don't know what I was thinking, I had congress declare war, and I caused the death of 200, 000 people and 500,000 maimed and injuried, 100 billions in damage and pshycological scares for generations,"
"Say your sorry, and do 10 hail mary's and 10 our fathers"
If you are Christian than be Christian, which means you do not judge other people, that is Gods  job ( if he/she exist)    Mormons  belief in Jesus, belief in doing good, while believing you can have multiple wives and you can rule a planet when you die. Is no worse than the belief  God wanted you to test your faith by drinking poisen or letting snakes bite you, or dancing and hoping around the church/temple.
          I have repeated stated that there are very few absolutes in life.  Absolute good people and bad people does not exist.  There are shades of "gray" , however, when you choose a profession the expectations that you will do better than the average person is a justified expectation.   I know of the law, but I'm not a lawyer, I dont know all the rules for a courtroom.  We hire a lawyer to know them.  I know many medical facts, but trust me, you don't want me removing your appendix.  Clergy, Priest, Ministers, those of the religious following are supposed to be more knowledgable and more apt to following the teachings of the religion than are part off.   The Bible is reported to be Gods words, directions, rules.   
         I have read passages that talk about  homosexual relations, and the directive, not to be one, not to take part in the partice.  But I have not seen any text in the bible  saying to "beat them up"  Nor to deny them the same rights as others.    I have never seen any text that says its ok to go to war.
              There is a little known  heather, who might make more sense all be it, this person is NO Christian !

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Mahatma Gandhi, (attributed) Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

 

You might recognize the name?   The basic tenants of  Christianity, are a good form of living among our society.  Tolerance, of each other.   This is based on doing what God expects and not from what the people ( prophets )  added, supposedly what God said.     I added the Gandhi quote because this seems more Christian than the Christians.   Its funny having  Jeffress telling any one what is Christian.  Its funner that you need a council to tell people what is Christian.   The Bible seems pretty clear cut, what needs to be interpreted ?

         I will save my blog on religion for a later time. Two things should be considered by people living on this planet.   There are dozens of recognized religions, so if God does exist, the supreme being must be ok with this, cause he/she /it has not stepped in to correct this issue.  I mean, a supreme being could turn around and announce,  " He you down there, the ZEN Buddhist have it right, stop those other practices ! "  but so far that hasn't happened.  Second, the United States is a republic, NOT a theocracy,  it should not matter what religion a person is, running for a  electable position.  BECAUSE there religious convictions are not supposed to impact their decisions !  We are not voting for spiritual leader here.   If a candidate has a religious belief that does harm to other humans in a society, than it is a consideration.  Like eating a small child before the "state of the union" is given...We should frown on that.  That a person is Mormon, should not impact the decision to vote for that person, unless that person states or stated  they will create a national religion once elected or pass any laws supporting a religion.   Deciding which religion is Christian, should be left to the followers of that religion to decide.  Not a free loading , non tax paying hypocritical MORON ( not Mormon) who can't do any real work, so they claim to be a preacher.    

         When we pick a president based on their religious belief, it will truly be the death knell of this nation, for we will be no better than the nations that run their governments based on text supposedly from an invisible supreme being thousands of years old, not documented.  We might as well start praying to trees, rivers and the elk, for those beliefs are just as justified. 

          I don't know who I will vote for ?  But I tell you this, I will not vote for anyone who states they talk to God and God tells them too....( fill in the blank)    And I will not dismiss a candidate because they are  Catholic, Mormon, or Jewish.     

Its pointless If I don't follow my own advise

Well the individual I refer to as my conscience has pointed out my reference to the McDonald's hot coffee case was backwards.  Not there wasn't a supremely stupid act committed, but the act was that of MacDonald and not the woman injured.
1) I am guilty of slipping into the 85 percent for not getting facts before developing an opinion
2) the woman is still a little dumb for putting a cup of hot coffee between her legs in a car
3)  McDonald's takes the prize for "dumber than a box of rocks " for not allowing the coffee to cool a tab before serving.  The 190 degrees needed to brew coffee, is not drinkable by any of us, but a super small minority.   What makes McDonald's super dumb, is that had numerous complaints and suites for this very reason.  You have a product that has the potential to harm some one.  The fix to the problem doesn't cost you any thing beyond telling your staff,  "Don't serve the coffee  hotter than 170"  The excuse that "experts" insist that for the best taste from coffee it be served at 180.
Do we go to MacDonald's for its world renown  eloquence?
Does Mc Donald's have data indicating that 70 percent of their customers sniff, sip and swirl the first mouth full of scalding coffee before spitting it into  silver pails located at each table. Than order the "Colombian Dark 7:30 am"
   Watch the cooking channel and tell me the first coffee taster you see actually drinking the coffee at that temperature.
If you have over a 1000 complaints about people being burnt, figure another 10 percent don't complain, than do the right thing and lower the serving temperature.
          I will never agree to the warning labels stating the obvious, I must change my mind about the dumber of the two,  elderly woman vs. mega company that knows there is a problem.
          My son pointed out, the blog on higher taxes was misleading.  Deliberately so, but he is right, the question of taxes alone does not directly relate to job creation or loss.   I did, state I was using this 10 second sound bite because the republicans were using it.   If the American public can only handle single or double syllables words in short burst,  than I am correct, " High tax on  Rich, make more job, fire good !"
           Reality is that it depends on how the money is used, but it would seem the majority of those who vote, and those who don't vote but like to be interviewed, are not interested in the realities of the world, never mind the realities of the United States.   Over taxing middle income people, contributes to a slow economy.  Or it did, its possible in a new world order where it seems like people are NOT responsible for there actions, not having money does not stop them from speeding.
          That brings us back to what caused this mess, or contributed to this mess of  Depression ( I refuse to call it a recession  ).  Really stupid or foolish people borrowing money for homes, and other items that they should have known they had no real way to pay back.   The only ones dumber were the loaners of that money, who supposedly knowing better, with there years of expierence, and their higher educations should have determined,  " Client A  makes 15,000 dollars a year, Client A wants to borrow 500,000 dollars/
 Client A chance of paying this loan in 30 years, slim to none.   Approved !!!.  We will sell Client A's loan to some other lending organization, take less profit on the loan, but not have to worry about it.  Fire GOOD "
        Regardless, I  need to correct my errors, as in the McDonald coffee case and clarify my position as in the tax vs employment issue.   Its bad enough when the people you elect and trust, and depend on lie to you , cheat you , and ignore you,  that is to be expected.   But the author of a Blog, needs to be held to a higher standard than government officials.

Is it possible the republican candidates got something right?

         Last night  Tuesday Oct. 11 2011 the  republican candidates meet yet again to discuss  and debate why everything the democrats do is wrong and how republicans will save us.
           During the debate, the candidates pretty much agreed that the problems with the economy were not Wall Street, but the government.
           Well they are right, but for the wrong reasons.  The government removed so many of the regulations and restrictions previously placed on the capitalist system, that Wall Street among others were allowed to act with reckless, greed, totally ignoring the human damage and carnage they left in there wake.  So yes government failed the American public by ignoring the 85 percent rule, that 85 percent of the people running the financial world and private industry are dumber than rocks.
          First, why is it that so many people  assume that the CEO's and CFO's are brilliant and know what they are doing ?   Possible because the people who believe that are so damn dumb?    Now I do not take away credit from those who truly worked hard, and brought there companies and wealth up.  Some of them are brilliant, shrewd and deserve to be admired or respected.  But the majority, not so much.   Remember, greed is dumb, not because I say so or get hurt by it, but it is self defeating.
        When you "kill" your market, by cheating them or pricing things so they can not buy your product, you doom your company.   Now consider that many of these  brain dead s.o.b's don't care.  Their premise is simple,  " I got my money, screw you"    but that mentality is destructive to society.  If we all decide that is the route we want to take, hey, I'm wrong and lets get to it.  But I have a feeling that most of you, believe that we should care about the group we live with.  
          So back to the point that government did fail us, by removing the restrictions that protect our society.
Like telling banks you cannot borrow 90 percent of the money with only 10 percent in hard assets to back it up if something goes wrong.  You cannot loan out money to people at less than it cost you to borrow it.
You cannot "drill baby drill" for oil and gas unless you know as realistically as possible what damage if any that drilling will do to the land around you.   You can't ship your company over seas, without training the people you left behind  AND you are counting on to buy the products you are now making 3000 miles away.  In a country that believes pollution and high mortality rates are a national goal and good for population control.
          The republicans are right, government failed to tell the private sector " you cannot rape and pillage the American economy in the name of capitalism and a free world economy"
           The "Ooccupy Wall street", may not have a cohesive message, but basically these people are right.
And they are not only "lay abouts"  "goof offs" with nothing else to do.  Well they don't have anything to do, because they lost there jobs.   Teachers who had 10 years in the system,  researchers, librarians, waiters, etc. These are people who would love to be too busy to protest.  Its not just students who think it is cool to protest, this is your grand mother and grand father out there.  The sad truth, is the protest in of them self will accomplish NOTHING.  You need the nation to decide how we want our society to move forward.  Do we toss aside people who have done what society said.  Study, go to school, work hard, pay your taxes, and just when you think  your safe, we dump you on the street??
My question from yesterday, now goes to all of you, "What do you want from society?"  why kind of world do you want?
           Here are some interesting numbers.  Yes I looked them up at random, but its not really "cherry picking"  I just took the numbers and wonder whats wrong here?
         A head of ice burg lettuce  cost on average  .69 cents to get on the truck headed for your store, that includes growing it, the farmers overhead, the cost of harvesting it, all cost at the farm level.  Another 20 cents to get it to market.  Try getting a head of lettuce for under a dollar in New York City?
         Actos a drug for diabetics  is about  $8.25 cents per pill in the U.S. and 50 cents in Europe
Eldepryl is 45 cents in Rome, 1 dollar in London and 2 dollars in U.S.
Pentamidine ( for pneumonia )  is 50 dollars in England  and 150 dollars in the U.S.
Eye Glass cost on average 14 dollars to make including frames, including the glass that YOU pay 500 dollars for.  Yes  its true. 
Gas  at  3.75 per gallon in the U.S. is 6.48 cents in the Netherlands ( Netherlands is the highest so far) but they have a gas tax used for transportation cost, roads etc, and research into  renewable energy and a value added tax of 19 percent for the government to use for education, health care, housing . etc.
What do we in the US get for our taxes on a gallon of gasoline.
           The government has failed us, letting private industry run this nation into the ground.  With about  17 percent of our national product in manufacturing the rest of it is service industries ( do you want fries with that , is a service industry )  how long can a society sustain is quality of life with that.
        When I volunteer to pay  $2.50 for lettuce, and $ 8 dollars for a pack of underwear.  its not because I'm a bleeding hearted liberal, its because I'm a self serving capitalist who realizes that paying people better wagers, realistic and fair, increases the tax base, which provides more money for education, health care, so I don't have to pay more.
          I don't talk about fraud or cheating, because you don't need a blog to tell you, that should be prosecuted from top to bottom.   I believe a welfare cheat should be shoot at dawn with rusty bullets.  But welfare cheat includes   Corporate welfare cheats...( think bank bail outs )   You cheat, you defraud, you are proving you do not care about the rest of us, fine, than we have no responsibility to you.   Talking to some co workers, they had completly forgotten that 6 months ago, the democrats tried to bring a bill to the floor to give tax relief to companies that started up in America or hired more people in the United States.  The republicans would not even let it be debated.   Is there some thing wrong here.   China subsidises serveral large industries ( I thought they were communist ??? I guess this is communist 4.0)  The average wage ( average good wage ) is $8.00 a day in China.   So based on this logic, the republicans want the United States to be more competative, so your salary and mine needs to drop to  $ 8.00 a  day.  Well let me say here and now, I will do this when everyone in Congress  takes  hmmmm.  $10.00  a day, gives up there fringe package or gives every American the same fringe package they have.   When every  CEO, agrees to give back all but, oh  $50 dollars a day, I will accept  $8.00  When Mobil Oil pays  90 percent tax on profits because 10 percent profit should cover the reduce cost.  I will take the $8.00 dollars.
          One more thought, I tried to avoid this, but it doesn't look like its possible.   Theocracies are among the worst forms of government in existence.   As I pointed out, how to you negotiate with God.  And theocrat's believe they are getting their directions from God.
          If you are considering the republicans as an electable choice, watch out for any candidate that invokes God constantly.  ( Perry and Michele )  not the god bless America, but God gave us a mandate, God wants us too....   Last night  Michele's reference to 666, or the sign of the anti Christ ( not the devil you idiot woman)  again should signal warning bells in all Americans.    This woman wants to be pope of the United States.   It might sound innocent, until she starts the witch trials and witch burnings again.  

Yes Virginia, Santa Claus is under indictment

          
"In Superior, WI, City Councilor Greg Mertzig wants to pry the toys out of your tots’ kids meals at fast food restaurants just in time for Christmas....
In an interview Sunday, Mertzig claimed he is not anti-business and he is not anti-McDonald's. Mertzig sees the matter as a national security issue. Military recruiters are having a hard time recruiting physically fit young people, a symptom of what some have described as an “Obesity Epidemic” affecting our country’s youth.
In other words, if there’s a yo-yo nestled among the chicken nuggets, the terrorists will have won."
              And what makes this truly priceless is that Greg Mertizig put no blame on the parents who have not learned that  "NO" is not a four letter word and is completely allowable.
         

"The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin makes it incredibly difficult to go out of business.  In order to close down a business, Milwaukee requires you to purchase an expensive license, you must submit a huge pile of paperwork to the city regarding the inventory you wish to sell off, and you must pay a fee based on the length of your "going out of business sale" plus a two dollar charge for every $1,000 worth of inventory that you are attempting to sell off."  

         And here is the double take on this one, some businesses use the "going out of business" as a ploy to get you into the store, thinking you will get a good deal, when in reality they are not going out of business, so they lied....ah ha....got them.... those dastardly  villains.. lying to the public about going out of business,when we thought we would get a good deal based on someones Else's  misfortune?   The first take is that the store did do something wrong beside lying about going out of business, but, think about it.  If the cost of something is to high, than don't buy it, if its a good price, than stop complaining.   Now if the store refuses to refund or take back merchandise based on going out of business and they aren't going out of business, than by all means, bring the weight of the law down on the store.  I prefer burning them out and killing the owners  but that's my take.

             

'In the state of Massachusetts, all children in daycare centers are mandated by state law to brush their teeth after lunch.  In fact, the state even provides the fluoride toothpaste for the children." 

       Here again we have an issue of  government good intentions going " south"   The concept of having children brush after lunch is very good.  And that a large number of children require day care because parents need to work so they can afford day care, is just another bizarre twist.   But making it a law, and providing the toothpaste because you were dumb enough to make it a law?  this is 5 percent dumber than the 85 percent.

         

"Federal agents recently raided an Amish farm at 5 A.M. in the morning because they were selling "unauthorized" raw milk."      I'm not sure what is more important here?  That the Federal Agents knew they were selling milk  or the arrest?   I have to say what worries me is the Federal agents knew , bothers me more.

Selling Raw milk is banned not because our government is spoiled sports, but because raw milk can have some nasty bacteria that will kill you.  ( Blame the French and Professor Pasture, he discovered this connection)   Had any one gotten sick, or died, the public would be outraged that "the government did nothing !!!!!"    or  " It was so easy to prevent, just pasteurized the damn milk "  than those same folks would sue the government and win for not demanding pasteurization or stopping the sale of raw milk.

          I found this one while looking for stupid regulations :

"WASHINGTON -- After much delay, the White House has finally released a proposed rule that would update child labor regulations in agricultural work. Put forth by the Department of Labor last fall, the rule had been stuck in red tape at the White House for nine months, angering workplace safety advocates who said the regulations need to be modernized."   

         Now this isn't passed yet, but this was on a web paged that allowed responses.   What is more amusing than the law, is the response from many people about NOT needing a new law about child labor practice.

Some how I don't think the government is stopping young ns  from milking chickens and  feeding the cows.

Its more in the line of operating  combine machines or spraying  nerve agent insecticides.   While many people in rural America sing the praise of the   childruns  working the farm, next ta ma and pa.  I would image in is with the same sense of pride  middle America feels  having the kids our there in the fields as did the parents of children pulling the carts out of coal mines,  or placing there nibble little fingers in the spinning gears of  textile mills.  
Some goodies out of California :

       • In Ventura County, California, cats and dogs are not allowed to have sex without a permit.• Under State Law, many animals are illegal to own as pets, including snails, sloths, and elephants.
• Under State Law, no alcohol beverages can be displayed within five feet of a cash register of any store in California that sells both alcohol and motor fuel.
• State Law prohibits the setting of a mouse trap without a hunting license.
• State Law prohibits women from driving in a house coat.• Under California State Law, a vehicle without a driver may not exceed 60 miles per hour at any time.

          Perhaps my favorite and oldie  but a goody is putting warning labels on most everything.  The hot coffee warning on the cup of hot coffee, is a tad scary.   When you need a warning label on a cup of coffee that warns you the coffee is hot, you are proving that you are dumber than the 85 percent dumber than a box of rocks.    And if you need a warning label on a cup of coffee, you are most likely too stupid to either read the warning or even to understand the warning, which means the warning is useless.
          The Romans had an excuse, their plumbing was done through lead pipes, which had the potential to cause problems of brain function  and problems reproducing,  1000 years from now ( if we are still here) what will be our excuse for complete decay of our society.
        Yes I am in favor of regulations that protect our citizens from foolishness and greed.   From people who might do things in a business that have a high potential in being hazardous to our population.  And the truth be told, its not always obvious.   You might not realize that your waste product can destroy a water source  5 miles away.  Or  that your process for manufacture is slowly killing your workers from an invisible toxin.    Not all regulations are bad.  
         But we do not seem to have a system to review our laws and regulations to remove those that are out of touch with reality.    Just making  a blanket statement to remove government regulations is a stupid as a statement  to keep many of the rules and regulations which are no longer of importance to society. 
         While I do believe we should continue  fining "cats and dogs .... have sex without a permit"  
 more important why are cats and dogs having sex, see this is proof of the slipper slope in allowing gay marriages !!
         There are lots and lots of regulations, as I started to read some I realized, this is a life's work, but not my life.   
          Some of these rules, smack of  " Do these people not have common sense"  and you might argue, " what is common sense to one person, could be totally unknown to another"
          Well lets call that, "thinning the herd "   you order hot coffee, its a good bet its hot.  I can see suing them if its cold, but because its hot and you were an idiot and burned yourself?
           You went to the top step of a ladder because it was there?  And you fell off so that is the manufactures issue?     You didn't think a two year old would put those steel balls in their mouth?    I have to believe that 50,000 years ago, Mrs Urg, was smacking baby Chug, "get pebals out of mouth, you make choke noise, great spirit of moose, make you blue, not move, smell bad, spit now !"
           There is a certain amount of responsibility that you sign on for when you are born.  If the little toys are made of lead or cadmium, manufactures fault, if they are made out of plastic and you let the child have the toy,  your fault. 
               Its also a good bet, that the fried in whale oil, pre buttered burger on bread with mayonnaise sauce, is not low in calories, nor is the double thick shake you washed it down with.  This is not Mc Donald's fault.  The use of salted salt on the salt is McDonald's issue.
            Now the other side of this is, you and I don't get to decide if an oil tanker is double hulled or not.  We get to be impacted if that tanker is sailed by a retired  alcoholic coke abuser who thinks the sea gulls are his ex girlfriend and ends up on the rocks polluting several hundred miles of beach and killing hundreds if not thousands of wild life.
             We don't get to decide if pumping water under pressure into an oil or gas well  1/2 mile from a fault line, where statistically it will cause a shift in a fault, ( earthquake )
           Nor do you or I get to determine if a bank or security firm, invest several billion dollars on investments and loans with almost no proof it can be paid back, but the bank uses credit for the purchase, so when the investment goes bust, not only is the money of the investment lost but the interest on the loan on the investment is also owed.  In short the  1,000,000 dollar initial investment now cost 1,100,000   guess who pays that??
         Regulations are needed, not all of them, many of them.  they need to be review, addressed, made usable.  But when you use a sound bite, "Get rid of government regulations"  you are proving you are part of the 5 percent dumber than the 85 percent.  Unless of course YOU  like have the medical waste being stored above your water aquifer?  Did I say governor of Texas ?  I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so biased. 
          

Lower Taxes and more Sports Shirts !!!!

Apologies for the absence, life has a nasty habit of taking priorities.
        Well in the interest of being honest, my own "baby boy"  re-enforced the fact that taxes alone do not impact employment.  But in actuality the president and the executive branch, have little to do with employment.  Once again I state, my reason for publishing the "High" tax periods that had the "LOW" un-employment numbers was because the republicans are using this as a sound bite.  Republicans and the "tea" party rally around " low taxes"  "high employment"  this is false.  Once again, my blog so I get to repeat what I want.  If low taxes meant low un employment, than why is un employment so high now with the low taxes.
        Lest you be screaming "what low taxes?"  I am referring to taxes on the upper 5 percent of the U.S. economy.   Another favorite of mine, is the republicans refused to give tax breaks to companies that start up in the United States, or hire in the United States.   Do you not find that strange that republicans are not willing to reduce taxes for companies that open and or  work in the United States and hire US workers, while saying we need to lower taxes.  Well if the republicans dont want to lower taxes on US located companies, than who are they planning to lower taxes on?  ( Rhetorical Question)   would that leave only companies OUTSIDE the United States.?? 
          But I guess if a certain protion of the United States population is deciding who to vote on based on how the candidate deals with Israel, and not based on how they deal with problems in the United States than it makes sense Congress would care about companies not located in the United States not hiring American workers.    Hey  Omar Gadafi  is looking for work!  If he came to the United States, and ran on a policey of Israel NOW !   I  bet that certain part of this population would vote for him for president.  ( While this is sarcasm, that people decide on US politicians based on the candidates views of Israel is not a joke, its scary but not funny)
       But you dear reader are faced with another reality.   The United States is ranked 35th out of 65 nations in taxes.  France comes in as about the highest.   It comes down to social choices and what do we as a people want?  Europe which generally has higher taxes and the ever popular higher gasoline prices, does get more for there tax dollar than the United States.  Schools, Health care, earlier retirement, some consider better social services.
     Remember how I keep repeating, there is no perfect society, it takes a careful blending of all social economic forms to create the so called Utopian society. 
        This raises some interesting questions.  " What do you want?" 
         Listening to an interviewer asking questions of some of the protesters  at Wall Street , the interviewees, spoke of  " more equality " in disbursement of money.  Hmmm  sounds good, but what is a more equal ?  This is not a rhetorical question.   I joked " If the leaders of the major firms located in Wall Street, came down, to the protestors and said , you won, what do you want?  What would they answer??"  A lot of generalities, a lot of  "peace in our time"   But who ever stops and thinks, what are you willing to do in return.
         Fact, there are finite resources in this world.  Fact, we are not all created equal, fact, the planet as it exist today is only capable of sustaining  X number of people, with those people in a given social economic condition, ( we can't all be rich)
         I ask the question "what do you want "  for a number of reasons.  Most of us people like to think we are fair, good, and practical people.   Most of us don't like to think  85 percent of us are dumber than a box of rocks.   Fact, neither scenaror,  good and practical, dumber than rocks is 100 percent accurate.
       One of my favorite groups to pick on are the religious, its so easy, like shooting  Bambi.
Christians, who claim to be Christians but support war, the death penality, condemn homosexuals and abortion.  Hey Christians, guess what, no where in the Bible does God support war.  All those references to the old testament and war.  Those were direct orders from God to wipe out the people in the middle east.
         Any body hear from God, in the last 1000 years to go to war??    Never mind that God sponsored genocide, in the old testiment, killing men, women, children, and animals.  Its should lead a sane person to ask "why the animals, were the animals sinners too?  Can't we convert the sheep?  Sheep are such good company on those cold win....errrr never mind?"   By our human standards God is a war criminal.  First he created the people of  Caanan, etc, than he orders the Jewish people to wipe them out in the style of genocide.   But, its God, he gets to have all the fun.    Well, did God tell any one to start the 100 year wars,  how about the Franco Prussian?  Maybe the "boxer rebellion?  Any one see the burning bush. "thou shall go into Iraq!"    
         Now I did find reference in the bible against  homosexuality, but try as I might I couldnt find any reference to killing them?  Nor beating them unmercyfully or mercyfully.   
          Hey  "Tea Party"  what was it Jesus said  " render unto Casear those things that are Casear's and to God those things that are Gods"   that means pay your taxes and stop whinning.
         Please do not think I excuse any other religion, to me they go down hill from Christianity, with bigger and bigger lies.  However, if you claim to be religious, how about obeying your laws, except the part about killing infideles who dont convert.   
        You shouldnt be whinning about taxes, you shouldnt be calling for the death sentence, nor supporting wars.   That is up to God to decide folks.   And we all know what a great sense of humor God has,
             So the question remains, "What do you want?"   Good Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindu's , Zen Buddist, etc.  Than render to God what is Gods and the government what is the governments.
       Pay your taxes, demand and end to all wars, stop judging people lest you be judged.
Me, I dont believe in any supreme being so I can judge, complain, and whin.
          Another  interviewer asking people on the street about the presidential candidates, what they see as the main issues.  With a response like "The government dont listen to us"  the next question should be " What do you want them to listen to, what do you want?"    "lower taxes !"  ok, what services will you willingly  give up.   Lets cut the hell out of social security, those people are old, they dont have long to live any way ! 
No not social security, how about the military, lets cut the defense budget by 100 billion dollars,  Im sure no one else on this planet wishes any harm to the United States and we can do without a military or a reduced military.  ( I dont even believe that while I write it)
          As much as I enjoy pointing out the deficincies of government and large organization, nothing is getting fixed until we fix the deficincies of our self.   Stop and ask your self, what do I want, what am I willing to give up.  If you arent willing to give up something , than dont expect any one else to give up anything.  And if none of us sacrifice, it will at best stay  the same, at worst, things will go down hill. because the world resources are finite.  You and I don't get to decide, who has enough, unless we are willing to be under that same magnifition glass.  Maybe some one things  YOU have enough and should give something up.
         Its not really our form of government that is so awful, its what our form of government has become, and we the individual citizens let it become this massive nameless form that truely doesnt listen to the individuals any more.   You want it to change, than put your own house in order, next time some one ask you what you want, have some specifics. " I'll pay  30 percent federal tax, but I want the gasoline tax  removed"
          Of course none of this will happen until you all think just like me ?   Nah I dont believe that either but it sounds good.