Smart-phones and Rip Van Winkle

The most sophisticated cell phones today are considered to be smart-phones which allows these phones to do far more than simply communicate via telephone or by text, but act more like a micro-computer with literally thousands and thousands of applications available for smart-phones, to which most smart-phones as a matter of course are configured with a fairly impressive camera, talk-to-text, mobile hotspot, Wi-Fi connectivity, hi-resolution screen, GPS, and expandable memory to name a few of their most important capabilities.  Of course, all this power contained within a handheld phone means that the customer has to come up with the money to pay for it, additionally to keep up with the "Joneses" to re-pay for it every two years or less, and unlike virtually all other hi-technology products that have been getting both more sophisticated as well as cheaper in "real" terms, smart-phones have been getting more sophisticated but without much price elasticity.

Imagine though, that Rip Van Winkle was to wake up after a very extended slumber and come across one of today's smart-phone to which a very patient and tech savvy person was able to walk Rip Van Winkle through all of its many and myriad capabilities.  There wouldn't be any doubt that Rip Van Winkle would be suitably impressed and wowed by all this power, convenience, and multitude of features contained within the smart-phone.  However, in Rip's re-acquaintance to the world at large he might come across some things that would intrigue him. 

For instance, when he walked into your living room and saw your smart-TV, with its impressive hi-resolution, its powerful surround sound system, its 3D capabilities, and the sheer quantity of media entertainment available on your 60" screen, he might look a little askance at your smart-phone and wonder why anyone would want to watch TV on that little phone w. substandard sound when he could partake in all that your TV offered.

Then later as you took a trip to the outdoors and took our your expensive DSLR camera, Rip would be stunned at its resolution, the power and perception of its telephoto lens, the slow motion capabilities of its movie mode, its awesome ability to focus up-close on a budding flower, or to capture a "flying squirrel" in mid-air, all would absolutely find Rip at a loss for words.

Still later, deep within the woods, your smart-phone would no longer have service as the lack of proximity to a cell tower would serve to put it out of service, but your satellite-based GPS device would continue to work, and would ease Rip's concerns about your capability of finding your way back out of the woods and back into civilization.

In fact, the more time that Rip spent with you the more that he couldn't help but notice that although your smart-phone seemed to do most everything that you wished to accomplish, most admirably, that these other stand-alone deviceson the other hand were even better, perhaps considerably better.  Rip not necessarily being the brightest person on the planet, and quite frankly just beginning to get up to speed, wondered though, perhaps a device that tries to be all things to all people, or to do all things that can be done, could be simplified, but he feared voicing that opinion as he didn't wish to be mistaken for a fool.

Noah's Ark Represents the New Eden

The Bible is filled with metaphors, aphorisms, parables, and other great symbols that aren't necessarily absorbed into our minds upon the first reading of it.  In the beginning was the Word, but within this beginning, mankind disobeyed to his own destruction God's instruction not to partake of the tree of knowledge. Having partaken of this forbidden fruit, mankind brought upon itself the awesome knowledge of whom he really was on this material plane, but without the attendant wisdom mandated to render correct and good judgments.  Man's eyes were now open to recognize that he was yet indeed a child of the great God, but somehow too, he was entrapped within a physical body which had physical sensations that were at odds to his spiritual nature and served to sever the direct ties to God himself.  Placed within this position, mankind soon found out that being a mini-god with the ability and the knowledge to take actions and to make decisions on this planet, made him somewhat of a master of himself and this world.    However, once encased within this world, mankind was destined to suffer the laws of physicality, of pleasure but also of pain, of joy but also of sadness, of life but also of physical death, and through it all he lost sight of whom he really was, and came to often to believe that this world was all that ever was.

However, Noah was a righteous man, blameless in the sight of God, unlike the vast majority of human beings which had become corrupt and degenerative, to which it was their evil and selfish actions that inevitably led to the destruction of their lands on earth, because a people that will not look for salvation from He who knows the number of the very hairs on your head, is a people that even God cannot save from its own demise.  The flood did come not because of God's divine punishment upon a wicked people, but to demonstrate that those that turn their back on their Lord, in fact, believe that they themselves are gods of a certain sort, that they know best, and that they can do anything without consequences, are in error, because man's conscious separation from its Creator, is a law that can only end in darkness.

Those that entered upon Noah's Ark were the true believers of God, tested and true to His word.  Noah's Ark would not have been necessary had mankind remained faithful and true to their Lord, but in absence of this, a baptismal cleansing of earth was mandated.  Noah and his descendants represent the great hope of mankind, the opportunity to be cognizant of who we really are, and thereby to live to that knowledge, ultimately becoming one once again with our Lord.

There was never going to be just one Eden, because when mankind ate of the forbidden fruit, so that he could have free will and thereby to challenge God's authority, a never-ending cycle commenced, to which no matter how long the process takes, in the end, it cannot be other than what it always was going to be, that is to say, the wayward child will return to the fold, because in the darkness of ignorance, there is no light.

Listening to Your Call

Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church, has a weekly program that is broadcast over several different television stations all over America.  Most people that watch this program, watch the thirty minute version which is quite good and upbeat, however, on the station Daystar, the program instead of being just thirty minutes is one hour in length, with the first half-hour of the Joel Osteen broadcast being devoted to the music/worship team of devotional music, to which I believe most of the compositions are original constructions done by the artists on behalf of Lakewood Church.  While watching this program over the years you get use to hearing the same songs, seeing the same faces, as well as seeing the same musicians, although there may be guest artists from time-to-time.  While watching though, over a period of time I began to get fascinated by seeing just a glimpse of a tall African-American man, of impressive girth, that would only be on my television screen for literally just a fraction of a second, usually seen in the background, but over a considerable period of time, I discerned that he was now getting perhaps a couple of seconds of screen time which enabled me to note that he usually was in-between two female singers and typically wore a vested brown sweater.  During the time of my watching him, he has never become that break-out personality at Lakewood Church, but I don't feel that is his purpose, after all, he probably feels spiritual satisfaction in being on stage in front of thousands of people at the service, as well as being broadcast all over the nation, to which I believe that he feels his highest service is simply responding to the call of God and being of service to our Lord in whatever capacity that our Creator best sees fit.

While many of us perhaps have fantasized about being some great superstar, the fact of the matter is, superstars aren't really even necessary in life.  What life demands from each of us, is our devotion to a cause or to a concern that means something to us, as well as providing benefit to others that surround us.  The real heroes of our age are the people that provide kindness in their actions and their deeds to those that are both down on their luck as well as being down on their selves; that also provide service and aid to those that are hurting, as well as providing a sympathetic ear and touch, to those that are feeling hurt and unloved. 

While all of us can admire those that have accomplished great deeds and accomplishments, each of us has a calling that is specific for us.  For most people, that calling is as simple as just doing good to those that we come in contact with, to make the world a brighter and better place for having us participate in it, to refresh those that are thirsty, to feed those that are hungry, and to clothe those that are unclothed.  No life has been lived in vain, if it has brought a smile, a ray of sunshine, goodness, or a blessing to others in our day-to-day activities. 

It is wise to understand and to recognize that each day is an opportunity to be the best person that you can be, and each step forward that we take in our kindness, consideration, and devotion to others, is a stepping-stone to God, himself.

Empathy

You probably have heard the saying that "a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged, and a liberal is a conservative who has been arrested," and there is a lot of truth in that wisdom.  In point of fact, most people day by day, have enough to do or think about, that they aren't truly concerned about other people in general. In particular most people aren't overly concerned about other people's feelings, or what is really going on in their lives because they have plenty enough in their own life to worry or to contemplate about.  While one can call this pure selfishness on their part, it isn't necessarily selfishness, it can just be a vague lack of concern for things that don't trouble or concern that person's particular bailiwick.

However, the point to be made, is that we live in a society of people, to which, we should be concerned about our fellow brothers and sisters, not only because no man is an island unto himself, but because it is our humanitarian duty to love each other as good neighbors.  The first step towards developing empathy with others is to actually listen and to pay attention to other people.  Far too many of us, as a matter of course, don't listen all that well to others or provide that focused attention which is so vital to meaningful communication, because we are in actuality not overly concerned with another person's viewpoint, but more concerned that they don't waste too much of our time, or try to impose themselves upon us, or simply that they don't take too long to make their point.

It is difficult to be empathetic, for a lot of reasons, to which one of the most important ones is that if you have not actually lived in another person's shoes, it is hard to fathom exactly what they are saying or where they are coming from.  For instance, even in cases to which people have literally lived in another person's shoes, such as "Black Like Me", to which a white man successfully re-imaged himself as a black man; that experience while authentic on certain levels such as the fact that the "mask" was successful in fooling both black as well as white that John Howard Griffin was indeed a black man, could not at the same time fully encapsulate what it was to be a black man in the south in 1959, because Griffin was not educated as a black man, wasn’t raised as a black man, and didn't live as a black man, because, he wasn't actually black.  Still, the experience, set in the racial tensions of its time, was enlightening, to say the least, and most definitely was an experience that led to a profound understanding of racial perceptions in America from a "black" perspective.

If you haven't been very short in height, or extremely overweight, or gay in a hostile community, or of the wrong religion, or of the wrong race, or from the wrong type of family, or have the wrong clothes, or grown up surrounded by negative role models, it is virtually impossible to really empathize successfully with these types of people.  However, the first step in all of these situations, is not to be judgmental, not to jump to conclusions, but instead to take the time and to have the consideration to let that person have their say, so that through your interactions with each other, you can look behind the veneer, to feel and to relate to the essence of that person and to find common ground.

Being emphatic is not easy, it never will be, but a basic understanding that all people have a deep and abiding interest to be both loved and validated as a human being is the first step towards better days.

Blacks and Higher Education

A proper education is important for everybody, to wit, that America has an obligation to see that each and every member of our society has the opportunity to be provided as a matter of course, education that will allow their citizenry at the most essential level to at least read, write, and to do arithmetic; while also teaching them their responsibilities and duties to their country, as well as to their family, with an attendant moral code that differentiates between right actions and wrong.

Within any nation, or family structure, there are things that are considered to be taboo, or forbidden, to which some of these things are off-grounds because they are harmful to you as an individual, or that you are considered to be too young to appropriately deal with; but then again there are other forbidden items or thinking which is really a way for the State or for your family to maintain control over you.  Forexample, an educated populace is a dangerous populace, mainly because they are much harder to fool.  It is far easier to mold and to control people that are tied down to silly superstitions and pointless traditions, than those that have been not only taught at a young age to think for themselves, but also are able to communicate and do accomplish work by virtue of the fact that they have been educated and know how to use their minds.

In antebellum days, there were laws in Southern States which precluded slaves from being able to read and to write because doing so would be to give a "…. tendency to excite dissatisfaction in their minds and to produce insurrection and rebellion…"  There were distinct penalties for failure to adhere to these laws both for the slave as well as for the white man for having the temerity to educate a slave, so that, slaves were punished by whipping, whereas white men were punished by monetary fines.

Fortunately, we have come a long way from those antebellum days and in America, all are by law, suppose to be equally treated in our public educational system.  However, the long and short of it is that some children in America receive a much better and superior primary educational experience than others, so that in point of fact, there are clear and distinct differences in the opportunities presented to different classes and races within America when it comes to education.  Those differences are of long standing and of systemic origins, so that the overcoming of these disadvantages for certain segments of our population will not be overturned anytime soon, but that does not mean a giving up or a quitting, because the importance and value of a higher education in America has never been more critical than it is today.

There was a time, not so long ago, that a man willing to work hard, but lacking education beyond high school, could find himself a job that paid a fair wage that would enable him to own a decent car, to own a decent house, and to have a family and thereby to be a part of the American dream.  Unfortunately, those halcyon days are long gone, while there are still desirable "blue collar" jobs in America, there aren’t close to being what they use to be, instead, good paying manufacturing jobs, have been replaced with machines and robotics or non-union labor or out-sourced overseas, and we are left with low-paying service jobs which will never able those in that industry to earn a true living wage.

The one thing that we can say with a certainty, documented again and again, in study after study, is the higher and the further that you go in your collegiate educational pursuits, the better your pay will be.  This means that more education provides you with not only more knowledge and knowhow, which makes for invaluable life skills, but also will invariably provide you with more pay.

The successful pursuit of education, though, is something that necessitates developing discipline, attention, focus, maturity, and desire in order to see it all the way through.     While education has its merits for all Americans, none more so, than for those who were unfairly denied educational opportunities as well as their freedom, those many years ago.

The Shortcut of the Lottery

Most States in the Union have lotteries, with the comeback of modern day lotteries in America beginning with New Hampshire, in 1964, so that today forty-four of our fifty States are now offering some form of a lottery within their State borders.  Lotteries are big business within each State, that is to say, they are actively advertised and marketed, they are actively reported in media outlets, they are sold via a commission percentage by retailers, and the general availability and the convenience of purchasing lottery tickets is very convenient for their patrons.  In fact, in our digital and electronic age, some States allow the purchase of lottery tickets online, or electronically, with the purchase or lottery tickets being allowed with either cash, debit card, or in some cases, even credit cards.  Because States sanction lottery sales within their borders, they make it part of their mission statement to sell the "dual benefits" of playing the lottery, which is that you, the player, might become fabulously rich, and if not, you are doing a "good" deed by providing funds for educational or other government programs.  This means, unlike alcohol or tobacco sales, which are never actively promoted by government agencies and, in fact, often have stringent government regulations attached to the sale and usage of said product, that the State is an active promoter of lottery tickets to their residents.

The fact of the matter is, that the State has a fiduciary duty to their denizens to  do right by them, and not on the other hand to purposely or to inadvertently exploit them, or to deceive them, or to exacerbate situations to the advantage of the State, but that is, in fact, what lotteries actually end up doing.  The State loves to sing the praises of all the benefits that the lottery ticket revenue brings to educational programs, and other general funds, as if the selling of lottery tickets has created this additional revenue out of thin air, but in actuality, lotteries are nothing more than a wickedly bad "shell game" in which those that are the poorest, the most uneducated, and the most gullible are lured into spending moneyunder the guise that the State knows best, when in truth they are being conned into wasting monies that they can ill-afford to waste, on "pipedreams" that will in reality simply vacuum money from their pockets into the State's coffers for re-distribution.

As bad as that is, the other tragic part of lotteries is that both the State as well as those that play the lottery has wasted their time and their money on an activity that has no good purpose behind it.  The State sells the lie that the lottery is an easy and democratic way to raise funds instead of increasing taxes forthrightly or paring back their budget to align themselves better with fiscal reality; whereas the players of the lottery are encouraged to waste both their time as well as their money on an activity that is the antithesis of the puritan ethic, of hard work, dedication, and faithfulness; instead they are encouraged to give in to the temptation of the shortcut to wealth and glory, while obtaining neither.

The streets of misery are paved with those that believe that just one more roll of the dice, just one more turn of the card, just one more spin of the wheel, or just one more Powerball will change everything.  It won't.

The Recall of Gray Davis, Governor of California

While Governors of our respective fifty states can be removed from office via resignation, death, impeachment, or through a recall, the most uncommon of all of these is the recall election process.  Only two Governors in the history of America have been recalled, with Gray Davis the only one to have been recalled in recent times.  The fact that Governor Davis was recalled is an absolutely amazing tale, as he was essentially removed from office less than one year after being re-elected by popular vote in the State of California.  Additionally, California is the most important State within our Union, to wit, if it was a separate country its GDP would be the eight largest in the world, greater than Russia or Italy, and not far behind countries such as Brazil or the United Kingdom, so an actual recall of a standing Governor, who had not been indicted for "high crimes and misdemeanors" is pretty much unfathomable. While there are myriad reasons that contributed to Davis' downfall, the most significant are as follows:

1.       The Energy Crisis, specifically in regards to Enron and its manipulation of energy prices

2.       The low voter turnout for Davis re-election of 2002 with just 36% of registered voters actually voting, whereas in order for a successful recall petition drive to be certified only 12% of registered voters need vote in the affirmative

3.       Because of California term limits, Gray Davis, was not able to run as a candidate in the recall election to defend his position.

The story of how the recall petition was successful and the people and money behind it will not be recounted here, but suffice to say that the signatures needed to effect the recall was accomplished in the time mandated by law and subsequently the ballot for the new Governor of California was submitted as of October, 2003.  The ballot was divided into two parts, to which the first part was the question as to whether the voter supported the actual recall or not, and if that vote was in the negative, Governor Davis would remain Governor; however, if that vote was in the positive, than the candidate with the largest plurality would become Governor of California, which ultimately became Arnold Schwarzenegger.

While the population often will feel frustration with their elected officials for various reasons, it is absolutely amazing, that after a gubernatorial election in 2002, that was won by Governor Davis, that he would be removed via a recall effort in 2003.  The improbability of that event seems so staggering, the fact that it occurred, would presuppose that the threshold for recall efforts within California, must be far too low.  This is indeed implied by the regularity of recall efforts as reported by npr.org which states that: "…insufficient signatures caused the failure of the three recalls launched against California Gov. Ronald Reagan between 1967 and 1972. The man who held the office before and after him, Gov. Jerry Brown, had eight recall petitions against him fail for the same reason."  Even though, those previous recall efforts failed, the fact that they were even attempted is prima facie proof that the losers of elections recognize that there is a backdoor way to overcome democratic rule in the State of California.

The bottom line for Gray Davis and his recall, is that the rolling blackouts that occurred within California, along with the manipulation of California's energy market to drive up prices to the consumers of electricity within California, left a very bad taste in the mouths of Californians, to wit Governor Davis paid the ultimate price for his failure to properly rectify the situation.  There is a fine line between civilization and chaos, and life without reliable means to energy and at pricing within historic norms, will create both opportunity for those lusting for it, as well as wrath directed against the designated scapegoat.

The Importance of Dreams

It is said that everything happens for a reason, and that everything has a purpose.  Therefore, it is somewhat surprising when you hear from different people that they either do not dream, don't care about their dreams, or are unconcerned about dreaming and its possible significance in their life at all, even though around one-third of our life is spent sleeping, of which scientists estimate that twenty percent of that time is spent in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, the stage in which dreaming occurs.  The fact of the matter is that everyone dreams, although not everyone can recall or remember their dreams, and fewer yet are able to interpret their dreams, but because dreams come from your own mind, they are of utmost importance for helping us achieve a successful and fruitful life.

In regards to those that claim they either don't have or can't remember their dreams, there are some basic steps that they can take to overcome this perception.  First, is to take the attitude before going to bed, that you will remember your dreams, second to this, place a pen and a pad of paper close to you by the side of your bed, third on a night to which you do not have any pressing engagements in the morning, set your alarm for various times throughout the night, which specific instructions to yourself that you will acknowledge the alarm and that upon waking to it, you will write down a few pertinent words of the dream that you are having.  For those that know that they dream, but upon waking, or through the rush of getting ready for the day's activities, lose that dream from their mind, try instead to write down a couple key words from your dream, before arising, and also, if possible, to relax in bed for a minute or two, contemplating the dream that you are waking up from.

Most people are familiar with Joseph in their Bible, to which we read: "And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. … Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine…."  Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dream was not only accurate, but it provided Joseph with freedom from the dungeon to which he had been placed unjustifiably, and further to this Joseph was made second-in-command over all the land of Egypt by Pharaoh.  

There are numerous books and websites that aid the individual with the interpretation of their dreams, by typically taking common symbols and images and providing the dreamer with standard meanings behind those impressions.  While these aids can be quite helpful, as at a minimum they are a pertinent way to help guide the dreamer into the mysteries and meaning of their dreams, it may or may not be on point for you.   Of far greater significance in most cases, is the feeling or the vibe that a given dream gives to you upon waking up from it.  That is to say, does the dream comfort you, or create anxiety, or happiness, or some other meaningful emotion.   This is probably the real crux of the matter, because in your dreams, you are allowing your subconscious mind to speak to you, in a way that you often do not hear during your everyday activities, and subsequently you are able to become aware of things that previously you did not see.

Dreaming allows us to "re-boot" our minds, each and every day, it is both advice as well as guidance for us, a chance to recognize who we really are, and a benchmark for us to judge our own character if we will only allow ourselves to be still and to listen.

Smart Immigrants are like Gold

The United States has all sorts of rules, restrictions, and laws dealing with the issue of immigrants to our country to which there are limitations and specific rules for immigrants in regards to their becoming temporary or permanent residents and, of course, exceptions to all the rules on record.  The upshot of all this bureaucratic red-tape is that the United States deliberately and as part of its government policy restricts legal, temporary, and residential immigration into our country.  While some people might consider our immigration policy to be both fair and even-handed, it is in fact, neither of those things, and instead easily fails into the category of stifling stupidity and wanton wastefulness.  The fact of the matter is that the United States spends an inordinate amount of time in litigation for intellectual property and the like, but dismisses out-of-hand the very people that would help to enrich this country, and by default, the world, simply because they have the indecency to have been born outside of our borders.

The United States should be grateful that so many people, of superior intellectual skill and astute abilities have a strong desire to immigrate here, or to at least, receive their higher education in the United States.  If anything, simply from a pure greed perspective and not even taking into account all the benefits that intelligent and motivated people bring to the table, the United States should be doing everything within its power to recruit the best and the brightest to our shores.  The bottom line is that the concept of labor is changing within America, to wit, that brawn has rapidly been replaced by brains, and this wholesale change will not soon revert back to brawn, if ever.  This means, that those of superior intellect should be exactly the people that we want within our borders, because this is the very need and desire that we are looking for.  

The United States has plenty of land, as well as being recognized worldwide as the industry leader in hi-technology and its associated fields, with also the highest quantity of top universities and research centers in the world, so it behooves America to recruit a team, that reflects the best that the world has to offer, without consideration as to the birthplace of said persons so qualified.  It is a given, that those that are both highly motivated as well as of superior intellect naturally gravitate to places and institutions that are best supportive as well as demonstratively best for the nurturing and development of their skills as opposed to simply be limited to the confines of their native country or community. 

The United States should be the sanctuary for all those that are desirable of taking their skill-set abroad and thereby sharpening their steel against the best steel that America has to offer, so that each friend and fellow associate sharpens the other.  America does not have the patent on being #1 in anything, because to be that, takes desire, resources, and renewal, to which all of these things mean that in order to constantly replenishour tree of liberty, necessitates our welcoming all who have America first in their heart.

Our Two Most Important Documents: The Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address

While America has many great speeches and other fine documents contained within its history, none are of more significance than our Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address.  These two documents stand for everything that makes America great; they represent two gigantic bookends that contain between them everything that is the essence and the brilliance of the American experience.

The Declaration of Independence declares that are we endowed by our Creator, not by our government, not by our king, not by our dictator, nor by any other power or principality but that our unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are freely given to us by our Creator, and further that because all men are created equal that each of us, all of us, every man, woman, and child within this country are entitled to exercise these rights.  When those words were written down and signed back in the year 1776, these were truly revolutionary words, words almost unheard of or thought of in the annals of human history, to which for most governments, for most principalities, mankind was considered to be in perpetual subjection to the government at large, with rights circumscribed by government decree, and liberty at the sole discretion of the government that they were subject to.  This Declaration turn the viewpoint of legitimate government of the people on its head, declaring instead that legitimate and just government powers was in existence only when it was derived from the consent of the governed, as opposed to the arbitrary dictates of those that claimed the "divine right of kings" or other similar but misguided excuses to take from the people what was their birthright.

The War Between the States was a great war, testing whether indeed this was a nation of liberty, as well as to whether it was true that all men are created equal, and therefore entitled to equal rights under the rule of law.  Our civil war, took our Declaration of Independence, and tested this eminent document as to whether the words that were written upon it were words that we would live and abide by, or merely words that rung hollow when placed upon the mantle of truth and justice.  At the time of the Gettysburg Address, America was at the crossroads of whether it would become that new birthplace of freedom, and whether too it would honor its brave men that had died in this fateful struggle, by becoming dedicated to finishing this heretofore unfinished work of our Declaration, and thereby to re-birth our nation into one that was devoted to being a nation of the people, for the people, and by the people, under the blessings of our God.

The Declaration of Independence was the promised made to the people of what this country could and should become, whereas the Gettysburg Address was that promise writ large, understanding that no government and therefore that no people, is easily conceived, or birth, without the pangs and travail of a difficult passage, but for those dedicated to the completion of such a sacred mission, that this nation, would, under God, become a people united in that proposition that all are conceived in liberty, and that all are indeed children of the one same loving God.

Let the Middle East Be

If you take a look at the map of the world, America is nowhere near the Middle East, and in fact, historically, has had little or nothing to do with the Middle East, until the aftermath of World War II.  While there are many reasons as to why America ended up taking a vested interest in the Middle East, the most prominent among them is simply oil; along with the fact that since America was the most powerful, richest and productive nation in the world after World War II, America seemed to be the best choice to assure the western nations that trading routes and oil resources were kept flowing and under the auspices of western civilization.

Since the creation of Israel, America's presence in the Middle East, via its Navy, naval bases, military bases, military exercises, military weaponry, other military personnel, materials, and knowhow has increased tremendously so that even though America is physically far away from the Middle East, its military power, personnel, and logistical skills are sufficient to maintain control over the Middle East under virtually any realistic contingencies.  While some people may think the above is all well and good, it is nothing of that sort; and whereas virtually all European nations relinquished their global empires and colonialism years ago, America instead has become the de facto global empire today.  What America fails to understand or to heed is that having a military presence in or around foreign Middle Eastern sovereign nations, makes America an easy target for resentment by those native peoples as well as being considered to be provocative in its very nature.

The bottom line is that the American presence in the Middle East should be reduced forthwith, and our military bases as well as our personnel in those areas should be significantly pared back, because the Middle East has been a cauldron of troubling problems, uprisings, and revolutions for years, that on a fundamental level, has little to do with America, but is more akin to sectional warfare and strife between Middle Eastern cultures that the United States does not really understand or care to comprehend.  The notion that the United States fails to adhere to is the fact that by reducing our presence, and/or taking more of a hands off attitude to the goings on in regards to the Middle East, will actually make the world safer.  America would be far better served by being perceived by the world as a place of sanctuary and freedom, as opposed to one that insists that might makes right.

There isn't really a compelling reason for America to feel obligated to become engulfed in foreign entanglements, as these are often better suited for resolution with other powers or principalities that would have a more historical, a more legitimate, or a more common heritage that would bring something of real overall merit to the region.  America wrongly believes that the Middle East won't be OK without her, but in point of fact, that is pure hubris on America's part.  In truth, since our involvement of nearly seventy years in the Middle East, there has been nary a noticeable improvement in peace, justice, or democracy to those nations that occupy the Middle East.  This fact would strongly imply that it is high time for America to step aside and to instead concentrate on working on domestic issues as opposed to pretending that America knows what is best for every country in every situation, worldwide.

Geronticide - The Killing or Euthanasia of the Elderly

Throughout history different societies have dealt with ailing elderly people in different ways, from benign neglect to outright abandonment, to the slaying of, as well as to the nurturing and appreciation of, and all the shades in-between.  In America, with more and more people becoming elderly each year, of which many of these elderly people are not in particularly good shape physically as well as mentally, there are legitimate concerns that there may come a time when government agencies will decide whether a particular person will live or die, by a discriminatory usage and allocation of resources and monies attributed to those people.

It would be a tragic mistake of epic proportions if America should ever adjudicate that whether a member of our society lives or dies, or receives the appropriate medicine or care, is based mainly upon whether that person is considered to be of "use" to society at large.  That is to say, if the State determines that in its viewpoint, per some sort of standard, that a person does not merit being kept alive or having access to medicine or medical equipment necessary to maintain that life, that the State, not that person, nor that individual's family, will have the power and the right to terminate that citizen's life.  Should this tragic state of affairs ever come to our shores, America as we know it will have ended, because without life, and consequently the ability to make decisions about your life, you have sacrificed the most basic freedom that is inalienable to all, which is life itself.

As a matter of course, any country, having the power to determine who has the right to live and who must be put to death, is a country that is not free.  Additionally, it is far easier to make these types of decisions about who is allowed to live or to die by the State, when that State is secular or godless, since in not recognizing the soul of a man, that government only sees the physical shell, and believes not that mankind is made in the image of God, but simply is seen as just another animal; and it has been said, "they shoot horses, don't they?"

The true measure of a society is not how it behaves when all is sunshine and glory but how that society behaves when it is pressed up against the wall, when its foundations are truly under assault or attacked upon either from within or without.  The character of a society and of its government, will not be exclusively found in documents written by man, but will be found instead in the actions and in the hearts of men.  How society treats its poor, its disenfranchised, and its elderly is a true reflection of that society and of that government itself. 

The worth of a man, any man, of any age, is not determined by whether that person is productive or not, a criminal or not, a good man or not, but by the fact that all men are created equally by their Creator and that therefore that mankind is endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.  Any government that deems to take away those rights is fundamentally wrong, and a country that will not respect your life, is no country for old men.

Double Indemnity

Just the term double indemnity sounds mystifying, intriguing, corrupt, dangerous, and somewhat shady; but basically double indemnity simply means that for certain approved life insurance policies, that the beneficiary will receive double the insurance amount of that policy, typically for a death that is purely accidental and always subject to the review of the actual issuer of said policy.  As you might imagine, life insurance companies are not in the charity business, so if they do indeed offer some sort of double indemnity policy, rest assured, that they have done their research and such policies issued in aggregate will be profitable for them. Also, normally to be even eligible for double indemnity often means the payment of a premium for that optional extra indemnity coverage.  Whether there should even be double indemnity clauses issued in the first place, or triple indemnity, or bonus indemnity, or multiple indemnity, or accidental indemnity, is something best left up to the marketplace, but the overall effect is to somewhat tarnish the image of the life insurance business in itself, but it is what it is.

The more intriguing part of life insurance policies, is whether anyone can take out any policy at anytime for any reason on anyone.  The answer to that question is no; life insurance companies will only allow people that have an "insurable interest" in the person involved, to take out insurance on that person.  So even though you might have a premonition that some certain person is going to die, really soon, there isn't any way that you can profit from that precognition, unless you are the spouse, or perhaps the business partner, or perhaps the domestic partner, or perhaps a very close relative.  In any event, to assure that you have an "insurable interest" you must be able to demonstrate that you have a financial need or dependence on the person that you wished to take out the life insurance policy on; which is the most basic reason why life insurance is offered to being with, as should that vital person die, you are counting on that life insurance policy to help make financial things whole.

Another thing that people are inquisitive about is whether you can take out a "secret" policy on a spouse or somebody else that you are financially dependent upon.  Not too surprisingly, since you are talking about collecting monetary benefits upon a particular person's death, the life insurance company has a vested and fiduciary interest in actually knowing the person who is going to be insured, so then they will definitely want family health background information on that person, as well as to subject that person to medical testing, so the chances of a "secret" policy being issued on a particular person, are pretty much unheard of.

You can also take out a life insurance policy on yourself, to which this is somewhat typically done for single parents, as a lifeline for their children, should something tragically happen to the parent.  In America, there are all sorts of life insurance products for sale, such as term life, whole life, universal life, variable life, and even those with double indemnity clauses; rest assured that although you might think or believe that the insurance companies selling or promoting these policies have your best interests in mind, they are really about the making of that dollar, and monetizing well on your fears and vulnerabilities.     

Churches' Accounting Books Should be Transparent

America has many churches, many denominations, and many charitable organizations.  This is, for the most part, a very good thing, since church organizations are known for providing both monetary as well as logistical aid to those in their community as well as abroad, while also quite importantly providing spiritual aid and guidance for the faithful.  Unfortunately, when living in a country as wealthy as America, sometimes the mission of churches can become compromised so that rather than being about the giving and the loving of neighbor as guided by God's hand, there is a propensity to better the insiders first, before taking care of the flock in general.

While public corporations are subject to all sorts of laws as well as to public disclosure and the publication of their financial operations, this is not typically the case with church organizations, so that it is fair to state, that the less transparent a church is in regards to what it does with the monies donated, materials provided, labor offered, tax benefits given, and the like, the more likely that pertinent and important information about the church is being withheld from those that provide its assistance.  A church has a moral obligation to be held accountable for its actions and the usage of money that it has been furnished with, so that as a matter of course, a good church should disclose such information, not because it is required to do so by law, but because it is required to demonstrate that it is a good steward of the gifts that the church has received.

Anytime that a church is requesting or imploring its congregation to donate time, money, or the like to the church, the church must do its part to substantiate that this contribution is being put to good use, in one way or another, and not instead being wasted or finding its way into insider's hands to do what they want to do with it, as contrasted to what they ought to do.  Each congregant has a right to know how their contributions are spent, or utilized, not just because the gift came from their hands, but also because devotees too have an obligation to demonstrate to their Lord that they are also good stewards of their money and that their gifts, to which they must not just take it on faith, have been well spent, and further that they can honestly verify in their heart via due diligence that this indeed is so.

It is the church members, themselves, that rather than accepting the truism that "father knows best", should instead, if necessary, be that "doubting Thomas", willing to hold the leaders of their faith feet to the proverbial fire.  It is isn't enough to assume that your work and that your labor has been put to good use, just because that is what you hope for or assume, the church should make it clear, where monies and materials have been earmarked and what they have accomplished to date, and further they should declare their mission to you, the congregant, for the future. 

A good church should be a community of people, united in one faith, their God should be God, and mammon should ideally be a tool used for the betterment of those less fortunate, rather than an opportunity for some to get rich or reap benefits taken from those that have honestly labored for it.

America's Drivers' License Age Will Soon be Eighteen

The Nanny State is alive and doing very well in this land which likes to image itself as the aura of freedom and free choice but is in actuality actively behaving more like overprotective parents that never wants any of their offspring to have the courage to take upon themselves the responsibilities of actual personal choice and decision making.  For instance, if automobiles were a new invention, just now making their mark upon American soil, it is a certainty that the general driver's license age of sixteen (which is consistent with most American States) would never have a remote possibility of happening in America.  First off, there isn't much of anything that is legal for a teenager at sixteen, I mean, you can't even go in to see a "R" rated movie at sixteen, you can't legally buy cigarettes at sixteen, you can't vote at sixteen, and you certainly can't legally drink at sixteen; so it would be a truly audacious leap to believe that any legislature anywhere in the United States would even have the nerve to suggest a driver's license age of only just sixteen.

Slowly and inexorably, the noose has tightened around the privilege to drive an automobile at sixteen, throughout all the States of this Union, to which virtually all States now have some sort of license restriction such as a passenger limit in the car, a curfew limit on driving, an age threshold for the passengers, and so forth for drivers under the age of eighteen.  Additionally, to that, whereas previously the age to drive unrestricted in most States was sixteen, this has been pushed back by a few months in many States, to sixteen years and six months, or even out to seventeen or eighteen, and so forth, with virtually no blowback from youthful drivers at all.  The fact that there has been so little protest about this isn't too surprising, since sixteen and seventeen year olds have no voting rights, and are typically not emancipated from parental authority, so consequently they have virtually no political power whatsoever.

Making things even more problematic for young drivers is the fact that the very people that would be most likely to champion their driving at sixteen, their parents, are often conflicted about their young charges actually being permitted to drive their vehicle since, in point of fact, they may not have compete faith or confidence in their decision making and maturity.  This means, in essence, that except for the tradition of having drivers at the age of sixteen, there isn't much else that would be a compelling reason for them to have this privilege, since most drivers of that age, don't have steady employment, or other credible circumstances that would necessitate their driving, other than convenience, or school-related reasons.

The bottom line is that the Nanny State sees this as a ready-made opportunity to correct something that needs to be corrected to which there will be a minuscule complaint about it.  After all, the Federal Government was able to push through the increase of the legal alcohol drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one, by simply attaching the funding of Highways within their States to their adherence to this new law.  This playbook worked very well for that purpose, so it is almost a given, they will use exactly the same play again in the very near future.

They Couldn't Kill Christianity

It is a given that Christianity is the most dominant and the most prevalent religion today, yet we speak of a religion to which the Founder of this religion, Jesus the Christ, died an ignoble death via crucifixion, because He was branded by certain Jewish leaders as deserving of death for blasphemy, while by the Romans He was crucified for rebellious treason, for claiming Himself as a King.  You would think that His tragic death would have simply been the end of the story, as even his closest disciple believed that it indeed was, although Christ had carefully laid the path beforehand for his triumphant resurrection, to which He came forth, resurrected on the third day.  It was this resurrection, attested to by all of the disciples of the Christ, to which we further read in 1 Corinthians 15: "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once..." as witnessed by the apostle Paul.  We read too that before the Christ ascended up into Heaven, he commanded his disciples according to Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…"

Here was the great commission given from Christ to his disciples, who did indeed carry out his sacred mission, which continues onto this very day.  In regards to those eleven original disciples, Matthias, and Paul, what penalty did they pay for the preaching of the way and of the faith?  It is generally conceded that all but John who was exiled to Patmos, died deaths of martyrs, some crucified, some stoned, and some burned alive.  Then too, what happened to those that became believes, and other apostles of the Christ, during the beginnings of Christianity?  Many of those good people suffered for their faith, by being discriminated against, banished, arrested, imprisoned, tortured, beaten, unjustly persecuted, set on fire, torn apart by wild animals, killed, or martyred.  Unfortunately, the Roman authorities considered Christians to be a threat to their system of government, because the Christian loyalty was not to the State, but to their God; and especially galling to the Romans, this Christ, was not one to bow down to the pagan beliefs and the pagan world, instead He was the one true way, superseding roman gods and silly superstitious sacrifices to them.

One would think though with the martyring of the disciples and the ill treatment to those of the faith, that Christianity would have simply died out, because most people would not have an interest in becoming disciples of a religion, which endangered themselves as well as their families, but this was not the case with Christianity.  Christianity could not be killed because it is the Higher Law, the law and the way that supersedes man's misguided efforts to be master of all, when he cannot even master himself. Those of the Christian faith, the true believers and followers, were able to become the children of God, because they recognized through Christ that God is their father, that fear and evil is of this world, and that therefore to die is to gain, because we are truly not of this material world, but are made in God's image, which is spirit, and not matter.  Death did not hold back the Christ, nor can death hold us back either, because the physical is of the physical world, while the spirit is of God's kingdom, to which we will find in due season the treasures that have been stored there for us and leave behind the tribulations of this world.

Progressive National Sales Tax

The 16th Amendment to our Constitution was enacted in 1913, allowing Congress to levy an income tax, which was, in theory, suppose to be a progressive income tax.  However, our income tax has over the years become manipulated, bent, distorted, corrupted, and had all other sorts of unfortunate ills applied to it, so that the effect of the income tax has become that those that can most afford to pay a higher percentage of their income for taxes, instead often are able to pay substantially lower taxes than they ought to, which is hardly fair. 

There is, however, another way to tax people in America, which could accomplish much of what the progressive income tax was meant to accomplish, and that is taxation by consumption, which can be done by a progressive sales tax.  In America, there are items that can be bought, such as groceries, that are not subject to a sales tax, other items that are taxed at the time they are bought, with the sales tax being added on to the price of the good at the cash register, and then there are sales taxes which are hidden within the price of the good, such as with gasoline and airfares. 

A progressive sales tax should be exactly what it purports to be, with higher tax rates on items that cost more money, and/or are expensive to begin with, and/or are priced substantially above the norm.  For instance, homes are subject to property taxes, but not to a national sales tax.  There isn't any reason why homes that are being sold for, let's say, thrice the median price, in a particular metropolitan area, that those homes shouldn't be additionally taxed at a certain progressive percentage rate, since the obvious implication is that the buyer of said house has the means to afford it and therefore should "pony up" the additional sales tax to do so.  Further to the point, homes that are sold at perhaps 5x the median price should be taxed at an even higher rate, and so forth, in a progressive and logical manner.  Vehicles that are sold in America are subject to a sales tax, in States that have a sales tax, but this should be augmented with a national sales tax on vehicles that exceed a certain price point.  Again, the tax would not affect those that purchase vehicles at that price point or below, but would affect those buying above that point and for those purchasing vehicles that retail for prices that are well above the mean, the sales tax would be progressively higher.

The principle behind the progressive national sales tax is to not add any additional burden of taxation to those that fall within the middle class or below, but instead to make those that can afford to purchase goods that are considered luxury, upgraded, or extravagant merchandise to pay a tax premium for having done so.  The luxury tax for vehicles in the United States was tried previously in 1990 and by 2002 the tax had expired, but it is high time to pass it again.  As reported by CNBC.com for 2014: "This year, automakers are on pace to sell more than one million vehicles in the U.S. with transaction prices of at least $50,000."

The proposed progressive national sales tax would not replace our income tax, nor would it affect the majority of Americans, but it would affect those that can most readily afford to pay such a tax, and it would help to redistribute those monies within America.

Presidents are Selected Not Elected

In a letter written to Edward Mandell House, Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote that: "You and I both know that presidents are not elected, but selected by a small group of elites".  The fact that this letter was written by the only President, "elected" four times by the people, is a remarkable testimony to the legitimacy for which it stands, that far from elections of Presidents being a democratic process and of the selecting of our National leader being by the popular vote of the population at large, that this individual, instead, is pre-selected and vetted, by vested interests that range from influential leaders of transnational corporations, to the military-industrial complex, along with well connected financial centers, and others of  vast material influence, knowhow, and wisdom.

If one was to look at our last ten Presidents, since 1960, six of those Presidents went to either Harvard or Yale University.  Out of the four Presidents that did not attend these higher Eastern Establishment institutions of learning, two became Governors (Carter and Reagan), one became the Senate Majority Leader (Johnson), and the other was a former Congressman as well as Senator (Nixon).  Politics is a business that requires connections, money, and a certain intelligence, to which those that are behind the scenes are able to recognize at a fairly early age, much like a scout following ballplayers, those that have it as opposed to those that do not.  Not too surprisingly, not every high pick, makes it to the big stage, but none that make it to big stage, are either unexpected or unheralded.  The so-called truism that in America, that anyone can become President, is fundamentally false, but true in the sense that if you are backed by the elite these things can be made to happen.

Presidential slogans, are eerily similar from one campaign to another, from Carter: "a leader, for a change," to Clinton: "for people, for a change," to Obama: "change we can believe in," it's always the same old pig, just with a slightly different shade of lipstick.  The elite make it a point to find bright and new people, fresh and bushy-tailed, that are both charismatic and articulate to sell the illusion to the American people that this time, they are serious, change is really going to come, but in actuality, any changes that do come, are fairly routine, predictable, and pretty much expected.

Those that hold the true power behind the Presidential throne will never voluntarily relinquish it, and that power is so intertwined, so interconnected, so byzantine, that even if the President had the boldness or the audacity to sever those ties, like the Lernaean Hydra, each head that would be lopped off, would be replaced by two more.  Too many people, have far too little conception, of how big a country that the United States is; its Gross Domestic Product is estimated to be over $17 trillion dollars, its federal budget is about $3.78 trillion dollars, it has over four million federal employees, so to think that any person taking over the office of the Presidency, can get a handle on all of that, is delusional to say the least.  Not to worry though, those that have selected the President, already have in place, the infrastructure and personnel to keep things running just as they have been running, to their benefit, and to the people's loss.

Our Father Which Art in Heaven…

In Matthew 6:9 we read: "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."  In Luke 11:1-2 we read: "And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth"  These respective passages and the verses that follow have become to be known as "the Lord's Prayer," the prayer that was taught by the Christ as the way to petition Our Father which art in Heaven, and therefore this prayer is of the upmost value and importance to those of the faith and subsequently we should study and meditate upon the usage of the words: "Our Father," as compared to "My Father," or "The Father" to know its truest meaning.

Jesus of Nazareth is considered by the faithful to be the only begotten Son of God, so then when we are instructed by Jesus the Christ that we are to pray to God, by using the pronoun "our" as opposed to the definite article "the", this is of immense importance to us, and the implication that the usage of "our" in the Lord's Prayer, is that all of us, are too sons of God.  In Psalm 82:6 we read: "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High," and also in Matthew 5:48 we read: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."  It is clear then that our Father, is not just Christ's father, or inclusive to just a small group of people as their father, or that we need or should address our Father as something impersonal or some being that we are not worthy of, but, instead, that He is Our Father, that we are all his children, all created equally, with equal rights to call upon our Father.  This is the abiding message of the Lord's Prayer, that it is indeed meant for us all that we, all of us here on planet earth, have the same Father in Heaven, and that therefore we are all one-inclusive family, and thereby not many different or dissimilar families.  We are in actuality all sisters and brothers in our Lord and should conduct ourselves by recognizing that the stranger that we took in, the naked that we clothed, the sick and the prisoners that we visited, are all reflections of ourselves, they are thereby truly the ways and means of expressing our love to our Lord in our actions and in our deeds to our fellow man, our brethren, and our brothers.

The Lord's Prayer is the key to understanding that we are never alone; we are never forsaken, abandoned, or forgotten, by our Lord. We are told that "…the kingdom of God is within you", it is ever ours to claim as the rightful heirs to the throne itself.  Our Lord is "…not willing that any should perish…" and thereby wishes that all should claim God as their own.  It is for us, the living, to seek first the kingdom of Our God, for all other kingdoms are mirages, delusions, and snares that will only entrap and disappoint us, "...For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also;" let your treasure therefore be with our Lord.

Mutual Funds and their Different Classes

Mutual funds are a common investment choice for individuals to which, not too surprisingly, mutual funds make it a point to obfuscate the best choice for the investor, by offering more classes in regards to a mutual fund than is really necessary.  For instance, some mutual funds, offer you the chance to invest in the same fund, but with different class distinctions of: A, B, C, R, and I. To the uninitiated, you might even think, that by giving you all these choices, that the said mutual fund is being consumer friendly, by making sure that you pick just the right fund for your needs, but in actuality, the long and short of it is that the mutual fund whether deliberately or implicitly or by just happy accident, is basically hoping that you slip up and select the fund that pays them a larger fee.  If that wasn't the case, then the chosen mutual fund would reduce their class of funds to just very clear distinctions between one to another, with nothing in-between.

First, a brief description of each fund class type.  Class A shares may have an "up-front" sales load that is paid up-front upon purchasing this mutual fund, but offers in return a lower annual expense fee, which will typically pay for itself in a very short of period of time, such as two years.  Class B shares are virtually always the wrong choice as they have a higher annual expense fee, may also have a "back-loaded" fee, meaning that upon selling the fund that you pay a special fee, and to make matters worse they stick you with a perpetual marketing fee, 12b-1.  Class C shares are similar to Class B shares, but do not have the "back-loaded" fee, and are also not convertible to Class A shares, to which, Class B shares may convert to Class A shares over an extended period of time.  Class R shares are specifically built for retirement accounts, not so much because they are beneficial to the recipient, but more so that the mutual fund company can charge this particular class of shares at a higher annual expense fee.  Class I shares, are for institutional investors or deep-pocketed individuals, that usually require a substantial investment amount to qualify, but these shares do not have 12b-1 fees, nor front or back-loaded fees, and additionally have the lowest annual expense fees.

Believe it or not, there are additional fund classes that are around for some funds but the above basically covers it all.  Ideally, the best class of funds to invest in, is the I class, sometimes the threshold amount to qualify to invest is low enough that you will quality to do so, while also I class shares may be available through specific brokers with a lower minimum required.  If you are unqualified to purchase I shares, you should as a given, never invest in B shares, and probably not invest in R shares, as the extra fee percentage is significantly higher than either A or C shares.  Your default should probably be investing in A shares, but that is dependent on two things, whether there is an "up-front" sales load charge and how long you anticipate holding the shares.  If you are unsure of the length of time you will hold your A shares or the "up-front" sales load is high, than the better part of valor is to stick with C shares. 

It is up to you as in investor, to do the research on not just the fund itself, but the share classes that are offered.  Most mutual funds will show you the past results of their different classes of their particular mutual fund, along with an explanation of the charges and expenses contained within.  It is well worth your time to review this yourself before making your decision or, if in doubt, contact your brokerage company for further edification.