This Is Not America

It is now merely the United States...

America was an achievement oriented country where someone who may not have had a lot of advantages in life, with some intelligence and skill, pluck and courage, using imagination alongside hard work combined with some machination and a little luck, could succeed at making a better life for themselves.

John Baeder American Painting

The United States is a nation-state run by Social Democrats (masquerading as liberal progressives) backed by Government Bureaucrats and Labor Unions in collusion with Corporate Republicans (masquerading as conservatives) backed by Big Business and the Super Wealthy as a Statist country. The average person unless they have connections with Power Brokers, Labor Unions, Family Sponsors, Non-Profit/Non Government Organizations, Big Money, Bureaucrats, the Political Class and similar contacts, now has to struggle needlessly for arbitrary reasons to get ahead.

If this sounds cynical and negative to you, so be it. I'm an immigrant who arrived here at 14 years old and started working right away. I don't regret one minute of it and am satisfied with my life because I realize that in my time, most of what I didn't achieve is my doing. On the other hand I am very dissatisfied with the current condition of the United States and the implications it has for the future of all of us and the limitations for some of us. Until the current method of operation comes crashing down, opportunities as they were in America generally do not exist as they did. History is a good indicator of what happens next. Good research is the US Constitutional 16th Amendment of 1913, the Weimar Republic in Germany in 1919, Argentina since 1930, Nixon ending the Gold Standard in the US in 1971.

The beginning in my time for me was in the 1970s when Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Commision Quotas made clear to millions that what you knew, how skilled you were, the education you had, was irrelevant in a vast majority of workplaces and schools. It was all based on who you were based on your gender, ethnicity or race and if you filled a certain slot based on those inherent qualities and not on qualifications. There is no argument there was racism or sexism and no doubt achievement was limited by gender and race. The problem is the resolution was all wrong and allowed people unprepared and without talent to get ahead while highly prepared and talented people were left behind merely because they were not the right gender or color.

This created an environment that is a weird version of the main rule of Jante Law "Don't think that you are anyone special or better than us." It also morphed into equal rights for everyone has come to mean that everyone is equal in everything.

ULTIMATELY THIS IS NOT A LOGICAL AND CANNOT CONTINUE. IT'S A MATTER OF TIME.

In the mean time, during this period when it is the United States and no longer America, the best most of us can do is just that, the best that we can do. It is key to rise above and think positive, be forward looking and think ahead and I can tell you from experience...

That is very hard work but hard work never hurt anyone and is part of America. You can choose to remain a part of America, even if it doesn't exist as "national policy."

Do you want to be what's left of America or fall into lockstep with the current Statism of the United States? The choice is yours.

http://youtu.be/Xz7_3n7xyDg

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Sgt Schultz: "I See Nothing"

We will be hearing that a lot out of Wall Street...

Pleading the Fifth:

"I assert my rights under the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate (or be evidence used against) me."

more often...the Oliver North Version:

"On the advice of counsel I respectfully and regretfully decline to answer the question based on my constitutional rights."



Sgt. Schultz: "I did not even get up this morning."

I suspect a lot of us are wishing we did not get up upon hearing the not-so-surprising news about the Goldman Sachs allegations of fraud and that Merrill Lynch other large financial institutions are also likely culpable. It's enough to make one's head spin on how the whole system could collapse under the weight of corruption of these institutions and the regulatory agencies that allegedly watch them.

As outrageous as it seems, the bankers if called to testify in court or before Congress or regulatory agencies, do have the US Constitutional right to "plead the Fifth."
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YadaYadaYada

While we admire the problem...

Stop talking, being a distraction and take action.

There is too much YadaYadaYada in the echochamber of self appointed trouble shooters who are excellent at admiring the problems.

I've determined that the majority of time spent on social media is a distraction, ineffective and a poor return on investment. Studying economics, politics and history, sociology, geography, science and the arts are good purchases for understanding this era and a solid grasp of them will go a long way.

We waste time talking about issues. Resolution of issues are not neatly wrapped up in seminars, camps, conferences and "presos" with a list of Action Items. You can dream but you have to get out of bed. Also spare me your networking groups and mixers, excuses for drinking too much and bedding someone.

Nothing is really new, everything has happened at least once...it's still about the social, economic and political of what is going on in the current time and geography and history can tell us a lot about what action to take. Look what a volcano (geography and science) in Iceland has done to disrupt Europe socially and economically and ultimately politically. We have recent history from airline disruption on 09/11/09 to consider.

Don't wait for someone else to start or lead the process, start it yourself. Take action, listening to people who you respect, have track records, are feet on the ground people. Do not confuse committees with real teamwork, a good component of taking action. Committees are not teams but a group of people with hidden agendas, if you form a committee you will get a donkey, not a horse.

Taking action may mean learning from mistakes but that is better than mulling it over and doing nothing at all. Don't operate on fear of failure, fear can be a gauge if you're going in the right direction and an indicator to change gears, it's terrible as a driver though.

It's always one foot in front of the other because if you stop you may never get started again.

A Moment of Self Indulgence

Pictures of Me...

At Squaw Peak Park with Piestewa Peak behind me.
One of my favorite refuges in Phoenix year round, including the dead of summer. I've hiked all these trails for years and still love them.

The summer straw sombrero regalia. Somehow these days I feel a bit like "Men of A Certain Age" and I guess I'm ok with that. (Is there a choice?)

(Below)

I'm not sure why I really like this photo of me

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Phoenix

From Squaw Peak...

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We Have Gifted Our Individual Sovereignty to Statism Bullying

To be fairly represented, we must represent ourselves...

This video "Who Represents You" is by Jerry Day, (mininvanjack on YouTube), of Jerry Day Productions who has done an excellent series on the US Census Bureau. In this video he discusses how we have given over our political and government system to Statism, those who advocate that government is the best place to achieve social, economic and political goals and the manufactured "Left-Right Puppet Show."

Statism and the current condition of our country is antithetical to my nature and I believe it goes against the natural inclinations of man. The US Constitution upholds principles against Statism and I believe we are currently under the influence and direction of elected representatives and bureaucrats who have effectively implemented Statism. This is unnatural to human nature, harming our society and should be a matter of concern to all of us.
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Agree or disagree with the conclusions of this video on the direction the US has taken in overreaching government control, one thing is certain in my mind. This is a recurring theme I hear variations on from all segments of the population, regardless of gender, ethnicity, racial background, sexual orientation or where people tilt on the political scale. It occurs to me that this alienation, combined with an economic crisis that is not recovering as the Political Class and Mainstream Media attempts to sell, with still extended high unemployment occurring after 40 years of government intervention in hiring practices, along with other factors...can only sooner or later lead to a manifestation in some way of the dissatisfaction of the general population with the status quo.

We are indeed in a staged "Left-Right Puppet Show" and too many people have fallen into the trap and right now our country is more sharply divisive in opinion than I can remember since the late sixties and mid seventies. How this proceeds and gets resolved is still "best guess" right now for the average person. I would say though that to mock anti-tax Tea Party and libertarians or tax advocating New Urbanists and far left (pick your labels on either side) may be at our peril...we may find that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich adherents have more in common towards a common goal than those sitting in the middle trying to please everyone.

"Everyone's friend is no one's friend."

(tbc...)

Tempe Centerpoint

Towers in foreclosure...

see "Tempe Centerpoint towers in foreclosure" by Dianna M. Nanez Contributed by Catherine Reagor in the Arizona Republic on January 11, 2010.
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Former Condo-Conversion Free Rent

Not clear what the Doctor Ordered...

This is not a review of this particular Central Phoenix apartment complex of 1,2 and 3 bedroom apartments but rather a commentary on the progression of the dizziness of the height of the real estate boom and condo-conversions from 2004 to the realization of the depth today in Phoenix.

Essentially this is a rather typical story of an apartment complex built in 1996 that 10 years later got caught up in the tail end of a condo-conversion craze driven by investors. Two bedroom, 1040-square-foot "condos" in this location were being sold for $230,000 in 2006. Currently they are being offered for sale between $52,000 - $70,000 and the the rental price of that same two bedroom unit unit today is $1040 per month. As can be seen in the photographs there are also "Free Rent" enticements since they have a low occupancy rate.

It is not clear what "Just what the Doctor Ordered!" means on the sign, except they do happen to be located within a mile of a major hospital, neurological center, surgical centers and large medical office buildings.


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The ratings reviews online currently range from "I am a little UNHAPPY with this business" to "Staff is HOT and Great." There are also complaints about insect infestation and the maintenance but to be fair and balanced it's also "...nice and well-maintained community." Truthfully, the comments lean more towards "stay away" than the almost manufactured sounding positive ratings.

The real point is this particular property is one example of a location Phoenix is literally littered with of similar complexes and situations. I will venture a prediction that within a year many of these places could possibly have lots of tenants, as it is well known that many people in the surrounding areas of Phoenix have stopped paying their mortgages, way beyond normal foreclosure action and banks have not taken action for whatever reason. It is unlikely that will last as banks are slowly beginning to take action.

It is simple economics of entry into what I see as a "Lost Decade" of stagnant economic activity. People who live in outlying areas, if they are employed, are likely to work in Phoenix and will not only be forced out of their homes but also unable to afford the future high cost of gas to commute. These complexes, in need of any kind of tenant and income to keep their properties out of foreclosure, will begin to rent to people moving in from the suburbs to be closer to work, regardless of credit history. In that sense it is economically logical and viable, filling the needs of both these property owners and the people who need affordable housing to raise the occupancy in any feasible way.

The social and political implications of this economic arrangement are yet to be determined. To read an interesting story written as the condo-conversion market was winding down, published in The Arizona Republic on June 16, 2006, see "Apartments turned into condos now a tough sell" written by Glen Creno  and contributed to by Catherine Reagor. This complex is mentioned in the story.

No Planes, Just Trains and Automobiles

Traffic...

The reduction in traffic in central Phoenix in the past two years is dramatic and it's not because of the light rail, it's due to the Economic Crisis.

April 15, 2010

Our Troubling Tax System...

The compliance system alone is a burden. A Cato Institute video.