On difficult situations...
Almost every time I have ever had adversity and difficult circumstances to cope with, in the long term it has always turned out to not only be enriching but also an opportunity. Naturally at that moment, it doesn't seem like a fortuitous event, more often it feels like a crisis or conveys disaster. Sometimes it takes a long time for the positive to come to light and become evident but when it eventually does, then it seems obvious. It helps to remind myself of that when facing difficult situations.
2/7/11
2/2/11
Only In America
Walk like an Egyptian...
Most Americans export ideas with the exception of the left and liberals in the country, the so-called progressives, who import them. The heart of American ideals is to figure out a solution to a problem or invent a new device. This is also true of our values and views that we forged out in our unique, original way several hundred years ago. These ideas have been spontaneously exported around the world, inspiring other people. These values and views, since the early 20th century, have never been good enough for the left, liberals, socialist and unionists. They import their ideas from Europe and Russia, seeking to impose them upon us.
Think about that every time you hear someone say "Well in England people get free and better health care because it's nationalized." Ask them the question "Have you ever been there and received health care?" I have and can tell you that it depends on which region you live in and there's a reason why a private health care system also coexists alongside the public one, making for double taxation. Perhaps this is why federal Judge Vinson has dealt a severe blow to a leftist administration and Congress, that forced through Healthcare Reform, using strong academic and legal reasoning on why HCR is a violation of the US Constitution.
We've suffered enough under the dogmatic browbeating of socialists, who call themselves by every name but that, for almost a century. They've slyly undermined the American Way from Teddy Roosevelt's regulated monopolies to his cousin Franklin Roosevelt's myriad government programs to Lyndon Johnson's Great Society social agenda. It has crept in like mold and spread itself all over the walls built up from the foundation of America. Don't count on the Republicans to stop HCR or reform Social Security and Medicare, the recipients are their constituents. All of this will have to be countered through legal challenges, the election process and probably some civil unrest to boot.
Where do you suppose modern day Egyptians, as well as Tunisians, Algerians, Syrians and Jordanians, got the idea that they could rid themselves of the centuries old ancient ruling class concept of their civilizations? I would propose it is from so many of them being educated in our universities and studying the United States and spreading the ideals of America by bringing them back home with them. In some ways they are exemplifying our ideals more than we are at the moment. This should wake us up to what we can do to promote real change, not the phony political party campaign rhetoric kind.
If the Egyptians can rise up and out into the streets against a ruling class that until now has had the cooperation of a very strong military, what are we waiting for? Afraid of? We are far better able to defeat the status quo that has slowly entrenched itself into the halls of power in this country. We have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights on our side. The amount of guts, blood, sweat and tears we would have to expend is small compared to those in truly oppressive regimes of the second and third world. It is only a matter of time that economic collapse, court rulings and elections combined with fierce determination weaken the kingmakers within the Beltway and on Wall Street, paving the way for a return to real American ideals.
Most Americans export ideas with the exception of the left and liberals in the country, the so-called progressives, who import them. The heart of American ideals is to figure out a solution to a problem or invent a new device. This is also true of our values and views that we forged out in our unique, original way several hundred years ago. These ideas have been spontaneously exported around the world, inspiring other people. These values and views, since the early 20th century, have never been good enough for the left, liberals, socialist and unionists. They import their ideas from Europe and Russia, seeking to impose them upon us.
Think about that every time you hear someone say "Well in England people get free and better health care because it's nationalized." Ask them the question "Have you ever been there and received health care?" I have and can tell you that it depends on which region you live in and there's a reason why a private health care system also coexists alongside the public one, making for double taxation. Perhaps this is why federal Judge Vinson has dealt a severe blow to a leftist administration and Congress, that forced through Healthcare Reform, using strong academic and legal reasoning on why HCR is a violation of the US Constitution.
We've suffered enough under the dogmatic browbeating of socialists, who call themselves by every name but that, for almost a century. They've slyly undermined the American Way from Teddy Roosevelt's regulated monopolies to his cousin Franklin Roosevelt's myriad government programs to Lyndon Johnson's Great Society social agenda. It has crept in like mold and spread itself all over the walls built up from the foundation of America. Don't count on the Republicans to stop HCR or reform Social Security and Medicare, the recipients are their constituents. All of this will have to be countered through legal challenges, the election process and probably some civil unrest to boot.
Where do you suppose modern day Egyptians, as well as Tunisians, Algerians, Syrians and Jordanians, got the idea that they could rid themselves of the centuries old ancient ruling class concept of their civilizations? I would propose it is from so many of them being educated in our universities and studying the United States and spreading the ideals of America by bringing them back home with them. In some ways they are exemplifying our ideals more than we are at the moment. This should wake us up to what we can do to promote real change, not the phony political party campaign rhetoric kind.
If the Egyptians can rise up and out into the streets against a ruling class that until now has had the cooperation of a very strong military, what are we waiting for? Afraid of? We are far better able to defeat the status quo that has slowly entrenched itself into the halls of power in this country. We have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights on our side. The amount of guts, blood, sweat and tears we would have to expend is small compared to those in truly oppressive regimes of the second and third world. It is only a matter of time that economic collapse, court rulings and elections combined with fierce determination weaken the kingmakers within the Beltway and on Wall Street, paving the way for a return to real American ideals.
2/1/11
Economic, Social and Geopolitical
re: those of little faith in the ideals of America...
It's understandable to me the different attitudes and frame of mind that contrasting people have taken towards the current economic crisis across our society. There are those few that have been barely dented and just don't get it and insensitive to it all (if you're in Arizona think pretentious North Scottsdale or Oro Valley) but they will be hit, sooner or later. The majority of people have taken various viewpoints that I do understand, ranging from denial to "eat, drink and be merry," to recognizing there's nothing they can do about the macro but focus on the micro, to those who are devastated, to optimists and positive-thinkers to purposeful obliviousness and everything else in between.
One positional longitude that I don't understand strikes me as plain anti-American. It emanates from people who preach we are heading for a long term difficult economic era due to excessive capitalism, firmly believe it and spread a message that the "power elite" will control the markets, while the rest of us will suffer under these people's thumbs forever. Basically to them, truly free America is over. Ironically, I notice that these skeptics, who think we are stuck in the grip of a ruling elite of our own, have something in common. They tend to spring out from liberalism or the left, a gross generalization I realize but too noticeable to ignore. They are the legacy and descendants of the progressives from the period after the WWI. I'm supposing their answer is more government intervention and control.
I don't buy that frame of mind.
What makes this country different is we are not a European, Middle Eastern, Eurasian (Russia) or Asian country, where it is quite possible to be entrenched in a truly stratified society. Even so, I'm not sure it is possible in some of those countries, of those regions. As a recent example look to Tunisia, which ran its leader out and now Egypt which is on the verge of overthrowing their government, Jordan is likely next. They certainly have more obstacles to overcome to bring down their ruling class than we do in the United States. We may not care for or fear their culture but it is an example of the middle and lower classes bringing down a ruling class that has made life too difficult for the majority to live with.
I do believe we have a class of people who have gotten the notion that they know best and act as power brokers in government and business. Corporations are a large component of our economic distress due to their excessive access to government policymakers. The entire premise of America however, is based on our ability to overthrow our own government quite easily, without real bloodshed. That ideal is based on the Founding Fathers vision, the principles of the US Constitution and our kind of rule of law. Some argue that so much control has been taken by the so-called "power elite" of our country, defined as the corporate and business class and I would add, in collusion with trade unions (who fancy themselves as downtrodden members of the lower class) alongside the political and bureaucratic classes, that "they've" made it impossible to overthrow their control and power.
I don't believe that we've lost that much control.
It may be there are a lot of lazy, entitlement-minded, sheep-like people in this country but I don't think in the big picture, they're the majority. In the long view, when it comes down to brass tacks, I believe most Americans will do whatever it takes to rise above the power structure we have now when pushed too far. The current leadership and ruling structure is out of touch with the average person in this country but we still own that. We lulled ourselves asleep while they snuck in like thieves in the night and stole our stuff but they still didn't get our basic rights. It is a matter of us asserting those rights and overthrowing the current government in our own unique American way. What that way will be, I can't predict, I do think that we are heading towards a turning and a tipping point.
I have faith it will happen.
My thought is that the time is coming when we will have to make some bold moves, as a people, to rid ourselves of the current leading classes that do not have the rest of America's best interest in mind. The civil war of ideas that will occur within the country, when the time arrives for our own overthrowing of the status quo dominating classes, will be between those of us who believe in the ideals of the founders of this country and those schooled in liberalism and socialism. The conclusion I've reached is that those who think more government is the answer will lose that civil war and the overturning of a century's worth of their meddling will be undone.
We will then be rid of two things. The current ruling classes as well as the ideas of the left and liberalism. Both of them are twin evils that are equally responsible for the economic, social and geopolitical crunch we are in, due to the national power they've held. Momentum is building and a shift is coming, ready or not.
It's understandable to me the different attitudes and frame of mind that contrasting people have taken towards the current economic crisis across our society. There are those few that have been barely dented and just don't get it and insensitive to it all (if you're in Arizona think pretentious North Scottsdale or Oro Valley) but they will be hit, sooner or later. The majority of people have taken various viewpoints that I do understand, ranging from denial to "eat, drink and be merry," to recognizing there's nothing they can do about the macro but focus on the micro, to those who are devastated, to optimists and positive-thinkers to purposeful obliviousness and everything else in between.
One positional longitude that I don't understand strikes me as plain anti-American. It emanates from people who preach we are heading for a long term difficult economic era due to excessive capitalism, firmly believe it and spread a message that the "power elite" will control the markets, while the rest of us will suffer under these people's thumbs forever. Basically to them, truly free America is over. Ironically, I notice that these skeptics, who think we are stuck in the grip of a ruling elite of our own, have something in common. They tend to spring out from liberalism or the left, a gross generalization I realize but too noticeable to ignore. They are the legacy and descendants of the progressives from the period after the WWI. I'm supposing their answer is more government intervention and control.
I don't buy that frame of mind.
What makes this country different is we are not a European, Middle Eastern, Eurasian (Russia) or Asian country, where it is quite possible to be entrenched in a truly stratified society. Even so, I'm not sure it is possible in some of those countries, of those regions. As a recent example look to Tunisia, which ran its leader out and now Egypt which is on the verge of overthrowing their government, Jordan is likely next. They certainly have more obstacles to overcome to bring down their ruling class than we do in the United States. We may not care for or fear their culture but it is an example of the middle and lower classes bringing down a ruling class that has made life too difficult for the majority to live with.
I do believe we have a class of people who have gotten the notion that they know best and act as power brokers in government and business. Corporations are a large component of our economic distress due to their excessive access to government policymakers. The entire premise of America however, is based on our ability to overthrow our own government quite easily, without real bloodshed. That ideal is based on the Founding Fathers vision, the principles of the US Constitution and our kind of rule of law. Some argue that so much control has been taken by the so-called "power elite" of our country, defined as the corporate and business class and I would add, in collusion with trade unions (who fancy themselves as downtrodden members of the lower class) alongside the political and bureaucratic classes, that "they've" made it impossible to overthrow their control and power.
I don't believe that we've lost that much control.
It may be there are a lot of lazy, entitlement-minded, sheep-like people in this country but I don't think in the big picture, they're the majority. In the long view, when it comes down to brass tacks, I believe most Americans will do whatever it takes to rise above the power structure we have now when pushed too far. The current leadership and ruling structure is out of touch with the average person in this country but we still own that. We lulled ourselves asleep while they snuck in like thieves in the night and stole our stuff but they still didn't get our basic rights. It is a matter of us asserting those rights and overthrowing the current government in our own unique American way. What that way will be, I can't predict, I do think that we are heading towards a turning and a tipping point.
I have faith it will happen.
My thought is that the time is coming when we will have to make some bold moves, as a people, to rid ourselves of the current leading classes that do not have the rest of America's best interest in mind. The civil war of ideas that will occur within the country, when the time arrives for our own overthrowing of the status quo dominating classes, will be between those of us who believe in the ideals of the founders of this country and those schooled in liberalism and socialism. The conclusion I've reached is that those who think more government is the answer will lose that civil war and the overturning of a century's worth of their meddling will be undone.
We will then be rid of two things. The current ruling classes as well as the ideas of the left and liberalism. Both of them are twin evils that are equally responsible for the economic, social and geopolitical crunch we are in, due to the national power they've held. Momentum is building and a shift is coming, ready or not.
1/29/11
1/28/11
Thinking Out Loud
Playing us like a fiddle...
Excuse me, what bipartisanship?
The song of bipartisanship being fiddled to fool the American public by the Democrats and Republicans is music for the tone deaf. We all know that when it gets down to the nitty gritty of deal-making for legislation or any kind of action, neither side will harmonize. Fiddle strings will screech and snap.
Obama and the Democrats are still talking misty-eyed idealistic dreams that the United States will "out-innovate, out-educate and outbuild the rest of the world" in our "Sputnik moment." First we need to educate several generations of what Sputnik was and why it once motivated and inspired us to do better. That costs a lot of money we don't have and the Republicans stated concern is about America's trillions of dollars of debt.
The fiddle strings that screech and snap will be to the tune of high unemployment, low to no GDP and soaring inflation. That s-p-e-l-l-s no more government spending and debt, a subject the Republicans talk about but are just as guilty of doing as Democrats. They just like to spend it on different things.
The truth is "we ain't got no money."
The bottom line is Americans will have to dig themselves out of this hole, first by somehow turning the government spigot off, then by innovating and building our own America back again. The political, bureaucratic and business class has no interest in doing that, we really do have to do it ourselves. Oh and yes, we can...double dare ya.
Excuse me, what bipartisanship?
The song of bipartisanship being fiddled to fool the American public by the Democrats and Republicans is music for the tone deaf. We all know that when it gets down to the nitty gritty of deal-making for legislation or any kind of action, neither side will harmonize. Fiddle strings will screech and snap.
Obama and the Democrats are still talking misty-eyed idealistic dreams that the United States will "out-innovate, out-educate and outbuild the rest of the world" in our "Sputnik moment." First we need to educate several generations of what Sputnik was and why it once motivated and inspired us to do better. That costs a lot of money we don't have and the Republicans stated concern is about America's trillions of dollars of debt.
The fiddle strings that screech and snap will be to the tune of high unemployment, low to no GDP and soaring inflation. That s-p-e-l-l-s no more government spending and debt, a subject the Republicans talk about but are just as guilty of doing as Democrats. They just like to spend it on different things.
The truth is "we ain't got no money."
The bottom line is Americans will have to dig themselves out of this hole, first by somehow turning the government spigot off, then by innovating and building our own America back again. The political, bureaucratic and business class has no interest in doing that, we really do have to do it ourselves. Oh and yes, we can...double dare ya.
Arizona Landscape
A tree buds and blooms for a new year...
see Turning a new leaf for a new year on 01/14/11
With a nod to rock and confusion.
see Turning a new leaf for a new year on 01/14/11
With a nod to rock and confusion.
1/26/11
Geography of the Mind
Overcoming the Misery Index...
The US Misery Index is arrived at by the formula of the unemployment rate added to the inflation rate. In December 2010 the Misery Index was derived by the Unemployment Rate (9.4) plus the Inflation Rate (1.5) to equal 10.9. The formula was first put out in 1970 and created by the economist Arthur Okun. The high of the Misery Index was 21.98 in June 1980 and the low was 2.97 in July 1953. I will venture to say we are on the road to exceeding the high index.
That is not what is important. The Misery Index is a statistical measurement that given the circumstances of high unemployment and inflation of how miserable we could be if we allow the conditions to affect us. It is a negative measurement. My belief is the Misery Index is based on our happiness as consumers and not on our psychological, spiritual and physical well being. The chances that we are likely to be struggling during these times and having difficulty is greater since we are going through a historical transitional period, forcing us to re-prioritize what is truly important. It is very likely those conditions could adversely influence us but our response is critical to our well-being. One key to keep in mind is that conditions are never permanent and always subject to change. If the index is going higher, we need to prepare ourselves mentally for the challenge.
There is no easy pop psychology answer on how we can prepare ourselves, how to respond under these conditions and what we do to rise above adversity. Oprah and Dr. Phil can't help us. Everyone is different and uses individual coping mechanisms and we must each come up with our own answers. The purpose here is not to give advice or resolve in one easy step how to remain strong in a weak economic world but to point out that strength is required.
Strength is required because I also believe we are heading for a clash of economic, social and political values and change that is not going to occur without a fight. If we are ever to reclaim the "American Way" of entrepreneurial individualism after almost one hundred years of creeping "progressive" socialism, sneaking up like a cat burglar, in collusion with the original collectivists, corrupt corporatism elitists, then we need psychological power as well as physical endurance for the fight.
Reference: The US Misery Index
The US Misery Index is arrived at by the formula of the unemployment rate added to the inflation rate. In December 2010 the Misery Index was derived by the Unemployment Rate (9.4) plus the Inflation Rate (1.5) to equal 10.9. The formula was first put out in 1970 and created by the economist Arthur Okun. The high of the Misery Index was 21.98 in June 1980 and the low was 2.97 in July 1953. I will venture to say we are on the road to exceeding the high index.
That is not what is important. The Misery Index is a statistical measurement that given the circumstances of high unemployment and inflation of how miserable we could be if we allow the conditions to affect us. It is a negative measurement. My belief is the Misery Index is based on our happiness as consumers and not on our psychological, spiritual and physical well being. The chances that we are likely to be struggling during these times and having difficulty is greater since we are going through a historical transitional period, forcing us to re-prioritize what is truly important. It is very likely those conditions could adversely influence us but our response is critical to our well-being. One key to keep in mind is that conditions are never permanent and always subject to change. If the index is going higher, we need to prepare ourselves mentally for the challenge.
There is no easy pop psychology answer on how we can prepare ourselves, how to respond under these conditions and what we do to rise above adversity. Oprah and Dr. Phil can't help us. Everyone is different and uses individual coping mechanisms and we must each come up with our own answers. The purpose here is not to give advice or resolve in one easy step how to remain strong in a weak economic world but to point out that strength is required.
Strength is required because I also believe we are heading for a clash of economic, social and political values and change that is not going to occur without a fight. If we are ever to reclaim the "American Way" of entrepreneurial individualism after almost one hundred years of creeping "progressive" socialism, sneaking up like a cat burglar, in collusion with the original collectivists, corrupt corporatism elitists, then we need psychological power as well as physical endurance for the fight.
Reference: The US Misery Index
Chart: The Economist online 01/24/11
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