When Crime is not crime

The United States arrests and locks up scores of people, in fact, as reported by prisonpolicy.org, "a staggering 11 million people," cycle through the jail system, each and every year, from being arrested, to being incarcerated, to being in jail pending bail, for being held for trial, to violating probationary or parole terms and so forth, signifying that the jail and prison systems are used like an assembly line of allegedly bad people being put behind bars for some period of time, taking away freedom from millions.  The very first problem with the criminal justice's treatment of those accused of breaking the law, besides all the convoluted, arbitrary, prejudicial and misapplied laws is the fact that for the masses, just about any offense against the state, results in some form of being put behind bars and thereby having to come up with some amount of money via bail, in order to release themselves from being in jail, and that is just the beginning of their troubles. 

In point of fact, minor property based crime (such as petty theft, larceny) and victimless crime (prostitution, drugs), which doesn't involved violence or coercion, should be treated more akin to a traffic ticket, and should not necessitate the physical arrest and placement of the alleged perpetrator into jail.  The basic point is the whole incarceration system should be significantly changed so as to go after violent criminals that are a true menace to society, and other criminals that are extracting large amounts of money through theft and robbery, whereas all the relatively minor stuff, or nuisances, should be treated in a manner commensurate with their so-called crimes.

What is really unfortunate about America, is that there is a huge division, between those that are on the street, committing various property and violent crimes, which are dealt with severely by the criminal justice system, and then there are crimes that are committed at truly astonishing levels of thought, corruption, gall, and the sheer amount of property stolen from the people which is all done under the cover and protection of the corporate flag, which, if dealt with, or if it is even discovered, entails typically no criminal time or criminal charges whatsoever, bargained monetary fines, and special under-the-table prosecutorial agreements, in which, the public is not privy to the true details of the deal, or even privy to exactly what transpired between the corporation and the crime that was committed which has seen been commuted to a monetary fine.

The biggest problem with allowing the people that run corporations, to hide their personal illegal anddisreputable actions behind the corporate entity, is that, knowing that they will never have to personally suffer the penalty for  what they do, they are basically given carte blanche to do whatever that they are inclined to do,  so as to increase profits, to "inadvertently" contaminate the environment, to obfuscate whatever, for they know that the worse case, is that they will pay a fine, and often the fine is less than the money that has been illegally extracted in the first place. 

There are those that think fining corporations for their egregious bad behavior is enough, and the amounts as reported by the pliant press do appear to be huge, but there are two basic problems with this simplistic outlook; the first is that corporations state all of the time that raising their tax rate is pointless for all that means, in effect, is that they must raise their prices to recover that money lost, so that monetary fines, can be looked upon the same way, that it's simply the cost of doing business, and that rather than the corporations paying the fine, it's really the people that buy or utilize their products that do.  The second thing is, there is an economic cost to crime, and millions of individuals go through that process each year, of which that negative economic impact to society is considerably less than the amount that is wrested away from the unsuspecting public by corporations fleecing them and knowing that even if they are caught, that the sanctions imposed upon them will be no worse than paying off the right prosecutorial authorities.

Basically, if you have larceny in your heart, but you're an individual and on the streets, if you get caught, you will do time, but if you work for a multi-billion dollar company, you will instead earn lots of money, promotions, bonuses, awards, and if you get caught, suffer a fine, akin to a ticket, and you will walk away, never having to appear in any form of the criminal justice system whatsoever.

To Love and be loved

In looking at birthrates in America, specifically in regards to income and also by educational level, there is an inverse relationship between one's birthrate and one's income, and also an inverse relationship between one's birthrate and one's educational achievement.  While it might be concluded that such exists, because those that are getting educated are too busy to have children, or that those that are making good money, don't have the time for children, that is contradicted by the fact that in today's city-based world, children are very expensive to have and to rear, along with the attendant responsibilities that childrearing demands , indicating that those with the most money, as well as best futures, are the most viable candidates to have children, but in point of fact, they do not have them at the same rate as those that have less. 

It is vital to remember that humans, whether they want to visibly acknowledge it or not, have an innate desire to love and to be loved, so that, a contributing reason as to why the birthrate for children is so much higher for those that are undereducated and poor, than those that are not, is seldom because the poor do not comprehend birth control, but more that those without material assets and bright futures, find solace in creating a child that is their own, that they can thereby love, and that will subsequently love them back.  It is this love, the taking care of others, that drives women to take on the immense responsibilities of motherhood, in the hopes that such, will take care of the emptiness and loneliness of lives that often lack consistently meaningful tactile touch and the soothing comfort brought forth from interactions with other human beings that truly care for them.

This lack of love, or the feeling of receiving of love, or a suitable substitute for this lack, often drives woman to do all sorts of things, of which, the desire to have something of their own, something to love and to cherish, is perhaps the supreme wish of them all.  The fact that those lacking in education as well as in income, over and above maturity, family, and other emotional issues, are the most fertile of all American groups, reflects that those that have not, desire to have, and that they express that desire in having children, under ideal or less than ideal circumstances.

The thing about life for those that have what appears to be limited horizons and limited futures, is that it is their belief, that even though their life has typically not been one of joy and happiness, that through the creation of new life, that their child may have the opportunity to reap what has been denied to them.  This is why they take great joy in the birth of their child, for from that birth, is created the opportunity for their child's freedom, and for their child's pursuit of happiness, that is theoretically gifted to all, but achieved by far fewer, in which those who have had their dreams denied by the lack of caring, love, affection, and concern, will their progeny to make good and to be good to others.

Apartment Consolidation

The home ownership rate in America has declined significantly since the housing crisis of 2007-2009, currently resting at its lowest rate since 1965, with a material contributing factor being that millennial home ownership rate is very low, of which there are many reasons, the two most significant being: student loan overhang, and lack of income/assets.  All of this combined, means that in a nation that increases its population each and every year, that more people than ever are renting homes, renting apartments, or renting basements, in order to have a place to live.

Those that rent out property range from individual investors, to REITs, to non-profits, to limited liability partnerships as well as limited liability companies, and because apartment complexes of more than 100 units cost a lot of money, the biggest apartment complexes are typically owned by limited liability partnerships or limited liability companies, to more readily have access to the appropriate amount of money to buy as well as to maintain these behemoth apartment complexes.

In this apartment business, growth can come organically, by building new apartment complexes, or by modifying or re-invigorating what is already own; or conversely by outright buying apartment complexes from those that are looking to sell, for whatever reason, of which, one of them may be, lack of the means or desire to effectively compete against rising competition.  Because the cost of borrowing money from banking institutions are low, as well as the fact that vacancy rates are historically low, in a business that appears fundamentally sound, the access to money for those that have pristine credit, pristine balance sheets, and well constructed business plans is excellent.  This means that in the last decade, the opportunity to buy out, merge, occupy, or acquire apartment complexes has increased significantly in the apartment business.

On the one hand, renters that live in complexes, in which the owners have deep pockets, long-term plans, and run an efficient operation, would seem to be beneficiaries of such consolidation and organization, yet, on the other hand, apartment owners are wont to charge at some point for the material improvements, along with bells and whistles, added to their apartments, so as to recover monies spent or invested in improving them, therefore, for every upgrade, the renter will sooner or later, end up paying for it. 

So too, when apartment complexes are bought out from one owner to another, it the price is high, the immediate beneficiary is the previous owner, but the new owner, that has paid perhaps a bit above market for such a property, has already anticipated that they will recover such in the coming years, by increasing the rental price in order to make the numbers work effectively for them.  Additionally, those in the business of apartment management have organizations that they are members of, in which, rather than seeing their competitors or fellow owners, as opponents, see them more akin to investors in the same sort of game, in which, that game is to maximize their investment and profits, and not necessarily to undercut each other.

In point of fact, as large apartment complexes become consolidated into fewer and fewer hands in which the demand for their product is high, those owners have every incentive to want to have "friendly" relations with each other so as to improve their collective bottom lines, and as owners they own the product, in which, the renters of such, don't have a lot of good viable options, and certainly don't have the power to change the game to their favor, leaving them to have to pay the man just a few dollars more.

Your Best Investment

In this world of obligations, people work hard to earn money and many having done so, after taking care of necessary obligations and bills, are interested in taking the money left over that they have earned and investing it in some way or another, to increase their income and thereby make larger their nest egg.  The above goal certainly make sense and those that manage and handle money successfully can make their lives better for having done so, as material comforts, as well as the ability to pass on assets to family, friends, and organizations is certainly a worthy objective.

Unfortunately, the world that we live in, as stable as it may appear to be in a country such as America, isn't nearly as stable as perceived, nor is it stable in many nations around the world, so that, things that we have worked hard to achieve, things that we believe we have earned and that our ours, can be taken away from us, in the blink of an eye, through governmental oppression, natural disasters, unexpected health issues, bankruptcies of financial organizations, outright fraud, and the collapse of monetary systems.  To go through such a thing, to suffer from such, is often devastating to most people, depending upon many other intrinsic and  extrinsic factors, as it does serve notice that the foundations that we believe so firmly are solid, may not be as secure as we have previously imagined and believed.

The preceding certainly doesn’t mean that we shouldn't work hard, or that we shouldn’t make sound investments, and so forth, but instead is vivid proof that things as they are aren't necessarily things that we can count on, especially in times of trouble, or in times of turmoil.  That, in itself, is rather disturbing, for the true test of any faith, the true test of anything that we believe in and firmly have faith in, is how it behaves, how it holds its value, in unexpected and unanticipated events.  So that, if such, does rather poorly, and behaves as if its foundation is on shifting sands, a reasonable person, should conclude that a reliance on such a thing isn't logical or even sensible, because things that aren't going to stand up to trouble, are akin to fair weather friends, and in truth, we really need friends that stick with us, through the good times or bad, and though feast or famine.

This means, that we should probably spend more time, thinking about getting involved in activities, that cannot be taken away from us, no matter what may come, in which, many people, might conclude that there isn't anything of that sort around.  This would be true, if we looked upon the world as strictly material, strictly filled with objects, but in actuality, the world consists of our interaction and influence that we have with others, which are not material, but consists of non-material things that break though the glass ceiling of materiality. 

For in actuality, whether we have it or not in our hands, upon our demise, we cannot take it with us, though we can try to pass our material things onto others, but in that undiscovered country that we depart to, we live without it.  However, there is a gift that we have left behind, intentionally or not, and this gift is the good advice, the good deeds, and the good actions, that we have taken and accomplished that have influenced people in positive ways, so that this has help to make them better people, and this is the gift that keeps on giving, this is in actuality, our legacy, and this is, in fact, our best investment, as its dividends compound and continue onward, without end.

Unequal law, Unequal Results

The Constitution and the laws of this land are supposed to be equally applied to all, to wit, in the advent and the ultimate resolution of our Civil War, the 14th Amendment was passed, specifically addressing matters in such a manner that those that were formerly treated as chattel, that were slaves, would not be denied "equal protection of the laws", as well as "life, liberty or property, without due process of law."  These lofty words should mean something, but in practicality, they haven't changed much of anything, as each and every day, the law is unequally applied, and often used as a cudgel to control specific elements of the population, as well as unfair and inconsistent in virtually all of its aspects in its application.

One does not need to spend much time watching newscasts, or reading papers, to see that, so often, the policing arm of the state, uses the law almost with immunity, to assert their force and their legitimacy against those that are inconvenient or annoying to the state or to them personally, which makes for a world in which, the state protects and defends certain specific segments of society, and by definition, oppresses others.  Not too surprisingly, while the division of such, can often be shown literally as the difference between black and white, it basically comes down to, money and influence vs. those that lack both.

It's a crying shame, with all the wonderful edifices, all the incredibly gifted lawyers and good laws and good principles written inside our Constitution as well as written in the laws throughout this land, that the application of such is a woeful imitation of what it should really be.  When laws are written, or when laws are applied or when laws are interpreted, in a manner that highly favors certain parties to the exclusion of all others that are not privy to those same privileges, you do not have a country with meaningful and fair laws, but you have instead a hypocritical country that is: untrue, unjust, unequal, and unfair.

It might sound wonderful that if you have a lot of money or plenty of influence, that you can get the very best legal advice and the very best legal counsel, so too, if might sound wonderful, that averse decisions reached in a court of law, often leave free a path for the losing party to have an appeal and reversal, but all of these things come with a true price to the people, in which, that price is a recognition that in America, laws and their residue are always in shades of gray, subject to, the forces that are above the law, and therein lies the rub.

When laws are consistently and continuously essentially arbitrary, capricious, convoluted, confusing, inconsistent, unreliable, and unintelligible, than the ultimate arbiter of those laws, has the power to put into effect their interpretation of the law so that some most obviously will benefit and others most obviously will not.  So that, the upshot of all this, is that in America, you have unequal laws, unequally applied, with the results of such, under the control of a judiciary that answers not to the people but rather to its own.

Black Incarceration Rate: Canada v. United States

There is a truism, that the grass is always greener on the other side, to wit, Canada is held in very high respect by many Americans, as well as by Canadians, obviously.  There are definite advantages to being Canadian from the fact that their per capita GDP is not that much lower than America's, as it definitely helps to be a contiguous neighbor to the most prosperous nation in the world, with Canada also having what is considered to be a more functional and cost effective healthcare system, less crime, more equality overall in income, and longer lives.  Canada's racial makeup is about 80% white, with south Asians make up the highest percentage of minorities, followed by the Chinese, then about 1 million are identified as black, so that with a population of about 35 million peoples,  blacks represent about 3% of that population.  This Canadian black population in numbers as well as their percentage in respect to America is considerably lower as America's black population is about 13% and numbers around 37 million.

In America, the incarceration rate for blacks is staggering, especially unfortunate as this country loves to incarcerate people to begin with, so that in a country in which blacks represent 13% of the population their incarceration rate is estimated to be as reported by wikipedia.org just under 40% of the inmates.  On the other hand, in Canada, a country that is perceived by many to be fairer and more just than America, with a black population percentage of 3%, the black incarceration rate in Canada as reported by the torontoist.com is about 10%, therefore, in actuality the percentage of incarceration for blacks in Canada and the United States are essentially the same.  That said if you are a black in Canada you are still significantly less likely to be incarcerated, because the overall incarceration rate in Canada is about 16% of the rate of incarceration in America, which is a very considerable and meaningful difference.  This then signifies that while blacks are incarcerated at the same percentage ratio in each country that blacks in Canada, are far less likely to be locked up, because the numbers of people being locked up in Canada are considerably lower.

So, a rather strong argument could be made, that being black in Canada, especially for those that unfortunately are of a lower socio-economic level, signifies that one's freedom will be far less subject to being interrupted in Canada, not really because blacks have better opportunities in Canada, but mainly because Canada doesn't incarcerate as many people, and it's as basic and simple as that.   It would, also, be wrong to describe Canada as a haven for blacks, as their population percentage as well as numbers is considerably lower than America's, and no Prime Minister of Canada has ever been black, nor does the current Trudeau administration have a single black member within its 30-member cabinet.  Overall, it really isn’t necessarily apropos to say that the grass is greener in Canada, rather for blacks that the glass appears half full in Canada, as opposed to half empty in America.

Executive Power and War

This country has a written Constitution, in which, that Constitution makes very clear that "the Congress shall have the power… to declare war."  This means that war cannot be declared by the judicial branch and cannot be declared by the Executive branch, even though, the Executive is granted the status of commander in chief in the Congressional declaration of war as authorized by the Constitution.  Unfortunately, though this Constitutional rule is quite clear, the last time that the Congress declared war as per their Constitutional powers was World War II, and therefore, all wars since then, whether called war or a semantic version of war since that time, have been authorized instead by the Executive branch.

There are many reasons why the declaration of war by the Executive branch is the preferred policy, of those that are the integral parts of the military-industrial complex, with the most obvious reason being, that it is far easier to convince one executive, of the righteousness and appropriateness of warfare, than the 535 members of Congress, which can hardly agree on anything without endless bickering, compromising, backroom deals, and the like.  In addition, as they say, time is money, so any delayed entry into foreign excursions, or a delay in getting involved in various hot spots in the world, is opportunity lost, and quite frankly, for those that are in the war business, hindrance in their ultimate raison d'état, blood profits of war.  After all, if the biggest and most powerful military-industrial complex has nothing to actually do, nowhere to exert themselves, no foreign enemies that are a menace or a clear and present danger, than what possibly could be the justification for increasing their budgets, their profits, and their personnel, year by year?

If, Congress will not assert themselves against the Executive power which has aligned itself with the military-industrial complex than America will be caught within an endless cycle of wars, wars, and more wars, always spun as for the betterment or for the protection of mankind, but war should in virtually every instant, be the very last resort in regards to resolving conflict and issues, yet, too often, anything that goes askew with one of our so-called enemies, or appears unjust, necessitates a response, as if might makes right, which is in actuality, the law of animals, or the law of the jungle.

Still, be what it may, the Executive does have the power to say no, the fact that the Executive appears seldom to use such discretionary power, indicates that either the Executive is in lockstep with the military-industrial complex, or that the Executive does not have the courage to do so.  In point of fact, since World War II, this country has been bypassing Congress again and again, to fight wars all over the globe, but are we or the world even one step closer to a lasting peace, or harmony, or even safety?  The answer is clear, that we are not, which isn't surprising, for those that will not turn their swords into ploughshares are not peace markers, but instead are the very instruments that keep humanity endlessly tied up into the chains of oppression and hate, for they know not good.

Mass Media and Mass Influence

The United States is the truest melting pot of any country, of any nation, which ever existed in this world, so that we have peoples representing every single race, creed, color, national origin, and every possible religion conceived of by man.  The greatest thing about America is somehow all of these various peoples for the most part, see themselves as true Americans, believe in their country, love their country, and are proud to be citizens of this great country.  This type of belief is all to the credit of this nation and for which it stands, and certainly is not the norm for in many other countries there are massive clear cut divisions between those that are categorized as native-born, of the right milieu and thereby privileged, and those that are non-natives, of the wrong milieu and thereby segregated and oppressed.

It would be nice, if there was just a special substance within America, that simply made it in all practices and practicality a country of meritocracy and fair opportunity, but unfortunately, there is that ideal of America and there is that reality of America, and they are not the same thing.  Those that run this nation, and the businesses that heavily influence this nation, know this, so that they have created, over a period of time, the propaganda machine that is incredibly effective in appealing to the people so that we as a nation, we as a people, have basically common outlooks and common desires, despite disparate lives which belie our collective common cause.

All of us are influenced by others, even if we believe that we are not, to wit, the people that we respect the most, that we live with or associate with, have influence upon us that is incorporated into our being as well as we having influence on them.  Each of us, also, utilizes mass media, and social networks, each and every day, whether it be through the internet, tablets, smart phones, television, podcasts, radio, print media, or the like, as people have an innate desire to be informed, entertained, stay current, keep up with others, and so on.  However, these media voices, certainly the ones that have the biggest audiences and the most influence, are not random in the way that they present and perceive information and impart such news to their constituencies, as they collectively, have a raison d'être.

That is why, so often, when you learn of a story from one network, the same story in a slightly different form, but essentially the same, is repeated at a different network, this signifying that powerful interests want to impart information to you in the same basic way because it is fundamentally important to those influential outlets that you are on the same page with them.  This, done often enough, helps to mold the people as a whole into one cohesive unit, where the only basic choice that the media outlets want you to make is either "A" or "B", and nothing else, with sometimes "A" winning out, and sometimes "B" winning out, just to make it seem like that the game has real consequences and real choice.

In point of fact, although "A" and "B" appear to be at conflict with each other, in practicality, it's more actually like dealing with two sides of the very same coin, and this coin is the coin of the realm, controlled by powerful governmental and business interests, that desperately want your desires to be the same as what they are selling, which is your cooperation in pursuing materialistic objectives as well as a core belief that whatever foreign escapades that  America puts its nose in, America always gets it right.

Money and Aging

The five richest nations in the world are by GDP: the United States, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.  Excepting China, each of these countries that are rich by GDP has been near or at their current position for at least two generations, but each of these countries, including China, are aging populations, in which, each of these countries, has less than 25% of their population that are currently under the age of eighteen, whereas countries such as Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amongst many other African nations, are extremely young, with 50% or above of their population less than the age of 18, and India, soon to become the most populous nation in the world, has just over 40% of their population that are under the age of 18.  In a nutshell, the youngest countries have an abundance of labor that will be available for work as compared to the richer and more mature nations that have an abundance of capital primarily in the hands of an aging population.

This would signify that going forward, in a globalized world, that labor costs, over and above the impact of the rise of the machines, hi-technology, and robots, will continue to be quite favorable to those that control capital, and will therefore be quiescent, additionally, the material needs of those that have the money and are aging are fundamentally different from the needs of those that are young, indicating that rather than a desire for more things, their desire may be better defined as continued good health.  This would indicate that there is a coming divide between those that have the money but have a significantly reduced need for material goods as compared to those that are laboring and simply want to make enough money so as to buy material goods along with attaining good shelter.

In any country, it is the youth, that is the most dynamic, the most energetic, the hardest to satisfy and the hardest to mollify, so that, if these labor resources are underutilized with future growth and opportunity being perceived as truncated, domestic insurrection and disruptions are often the result of such, with the corresponding repression and retaliation from governmental military and paramilitary forces.  All of this is especially exacerbated when domestic labor and domestic industries of younger nations are co-opted or upset by the forces of richer nations that export in goods that have been subsidized in one form or another by their governmental fiat, so as to satisfy their interests, and to increase their profits and their desires.

If, younger nations, end up being dominated by older nations, than in substance and in action, these younger nations will not be given a fair opportunity to develop themselves into strong, independent countries, but instead will see their material assets as well as their best and brightest extracted for an unfair price to those that have the excess of capital as well as power that will allow them to do so.  The advantage that rich countries in a globalized world have is that because they control the money, it places them in the enviable position of access to a labor pool that must work or suffer the ill consequences of idle hands, and thereby unjustly are able to suppress wages and opportunities for the ultimate benefit of the few.

Social Welfare and Social Control

America has a wonderful Constitution as well as an enlightening and inspired Declaration of Independence, in which, if the legislators, the judicial branch, and the executive office, actually paid attention to the spirit and principal of these seminal documents, this country would indeed be a different and far fairer place.  However, the truth of the matter is that America has entrenched vested interests that will cede no ground, which are extremely powerful and duplicitous in their ways.  These institutions are gifted at putting together words and even policies that seem fair, reasonable, and equal on paper, but in application they are anything but.  In point of fact, incomes, employment opportunities, education, healthcare, housing, are widely divergent in America, to wit, some people are dealt such a poor starting hand, that they really have no opportunity, whereas others are given a marked deck, assuring them of both present as well as future prosperity.

Take, for instance, our social welfare programs, begun essentially with vigor during FDR's "new deal", and reinvigorated during LBJ's "great society".  You would think that with all of these programs, all of these geniuses running such programs, and all of the wealth that America has, that in America, poverty, would simply not exist, and opportunity, would be abundant for all seeking such, but this isn't close to the truth.  Further to the point, the American power brokers have determined, that because there are so few, that have so much, and so many, that have so little, that in order to control those at the bottom, without actually making it rather obvious that they are using the awesome force of the state to do so, social welfare programs are in the evolution of fundamental change that will essentially take care of controlling the masses, by providing them with basic human needs in return for their good and compliant cooperation with the state.

This government, literally hands out billions upon billions of dollars on social welfare, in which the most important cut is to the very people that coordinate and implement it, with the implicit understanding that their continued cooperation with state goals and state desires, must be their first objective, so that, their main concern is not actually service to their constituents, but in actually, obedience to the state, in order to maintain their middle-class life and status.  In contrast, the recipients of social welfare, are being pushed more and more and boxed into a quid pro quo basis, that is to say, as long as they are willing and actually do perform their duties and obligations per convoluted governmental regulations and confusing paperwork they will continue to receive their benefits but if not or if targeted, they will be subject to investigation, or sanctioning, which will result in the loss of the very benefits that they need in order to live.  This means, in actuality, visits at their place of residency are at the state's discretion, random drug testing at the state's discretion, child welfare judged at the state's discretion, questioning and the nature of the questioning at the state's discretion, visitation rights from ex-felons at the state's discretion, and if you are arrested for civil unrest or whatever, continued social welfare support at the state's discretion.

Basically, the state wants to make it clear to those dependent upon social welfare, that the only behavior that they find acceptable, is obeisance to the state, no matter how arbitrary or unfair, in the belief that the threats and reality of taking away the bread and circuses of everyday life will keep the masses: dumb, uninformed, compliant, and controlled.

What is greatness?

Most everyone fantasizes at least at some point, at being great, or at least being considered to be great by their peers and contemporaries, in which, some actively work at achieving this, whereas others do little or nothing to promote such.  The ones that try to be great, have a few avenues to do so, such as working diligently at their craft so as to be the best that they can be at accomplishing their work, so that, their skills are utilized in such a manner so as to benefit well their fellow man.  Then there are those that aren't necessarily great at anything in particular, but have a skill, desire, and concern that allow them to interact with others in a manner that brings out positive and beneficial attributes in those contacts, making those people, much better for such an interaction.

That said, seldom is a great man or woman, someone that sets themselves apart from the common man, in which, they live in a self-imposed category that places them above mankind, perhaps legitimately, perhaps not, in which their brilliance is evident to all, but with also the distinct impression that what they have and what they are about is not repeatable by anyone else.  While it is fairly easy to appreciate such magnificence on display, if it is unobtainable by anyone else, this creates a division, between that person and everyone else, which seems to imply that great people are not the same as those that are not great.

In point of fact, the truly great people, have a burning desire to see that what they have accomplished, that what they are about, is something that is readily available and can be taught to all, that it can and should be shared so as to benefit mankind, not on the other hand, for the accolades and credit to be just directed to that one person.  Greatness isn't about tribute; it's about making the world better for you having pursued your studies and applied yourself in such a manner so as to bring real benefits to those that you interact with as well as an opportunity for other people to build upon and thereby improve the same foundation that has been created.

So too, not everyone initially is cut out for greatness, for greatness is a continual process, which simply cannot be accomplished overnight, even if it appears to be an instant epiphany to some.  You will recognize greatness not so much by the objective proof that is shown or demonstrated to you, but instead by the virtue of someone that is considerate, mindful, positive, encouraging, inspirational, dedicated, and devoted, so that within that interaction, you will feel invigorated into becoming a more grateful and a more complete person, yourself.     

A truly great person makes you want to be the best that you can be, wants you to live up to your potential, wants to see you break away from the bad habits that have held you back, and thereby to create new habits and desires which will take you to greater places than you have previously not obtained.  True greatness is a touchstone that you can come back to again and again, which re-energizes you, helps to focus you, and makes you the person that you always knew deep inside that you should actually be.

Life and Death: Two sides of the very same coin

In America, the celebration of newborn life is almost always a very positive occasion, with much joy and love, yet, the inevitable death of the physical, is often accompanied by much wailing and copious tears, as if somehow, death is the end of all things, but it is surely not.  We need only take a look at the flora and fauna of everyday life, to see, that life consists of a circle or a cycle, of life, death, and rebirth, again and again and again.  We should take comfort in this, as well as taking the knowledge, that a life lived well, is a life that has embraced as well as enhanced the positives of this earthly experience and hence those that depart this world under those circumstances, often do so in peace.

Within the structure of any story, a beginning must inevitably have an end, so that to be surprised by such an end or to be distraught that such an end must come, misses the point in the very first place that the temporal is not eternal and thus cannot ever be so.  On the other hand, when we acknowledge that our true self, is not physical but spiritual, we then recognize that the birth of a newborn into this world, necessitates the capturing of the spirit into its personal physical vessel, of which, some people, blinded by physical lures or urges will never be able to even acknowledge their spiritual essence, yet, recognized or not, the death of the physical is hence the release of the spiritual back into its First cause, or, it can be stated, its rebirth into what it has always been, unconstrained by earthly chains.

The peace and serenity that so many of us desire on this good earth is difficult to achieve, especially so if we are unable to comprehend that we all have been created by our selfsame Creator, who has gifted us with the opportunity to experience in the present: evil and good, redemption and forfeiture, all brought to us vividly onto the stage of this life, with each of us as its players, having our roles and parts to play.   It is thereby our highest duty to perform such in a manner that reflects well upon who and what we really are, so that having done so, we can exit the stage, knowing that we have performed admirably and thereby leaving the stage for others to ply their craft and to learn well their trade.

The mistake that so many make in what has so often become viewedor sold to us as the secular, western world, is to believe that one's existence, begins at birth, and that it then follows, that all is lost, upon one's death, which, if it was true, would certainly be the cause of much suffering and regret.  In point of fact, the physical must follow the laws of the physical as this cannot be overcome, so that in the recognition of this, it becomes incumbent upon each individual to search for the meaning of their own existence, in which they will ultimately find that serenity comes to those knowing that in the beginning, they were the Word, and this Word is immutable God, consisting of just one God and just one collective and united, eternal soul.

Slavery and Today's Incarceration Numbers

In 1800, the United States conducted its second census, in which, out of a population of about 5.3 million peoples, there were 893,602 slaves.  As of June 30, 2009, the amount of black inmates held in custody in either State or federal prisons, or local jails, was 905,800 peoples.  In addition, according to Wikipedia.com in 2013, a total of 4,751,400 adults in 2013 were on probation or parole, to wit, if those held on probation or parole, were essentially the same racial percentage as those incarcerated, than an additional 1,873,261 blacks were under the supervision of parole or probation officers, signifying that in total, approximately 2,779,061 blacks were either in custody in jail of some sort, or on probation/parole. 

This means, that there are significantly more blacks that are under the thumb of the justice system, today, with their freedom curtailed, than there were back in 1800, when slavery was legal in America.

While it is true, that the United States, has grown significantly in population since 1800, the fact that there are more blacks incarcerated, as well as more blacks under parole or probation, which in total well exceeds the amount of blacks previously held in the bondage of slavery, implies quite strongly, that while America was able to pass the thirteenth Amendment, outlawing slavery, it seems to have replaced it in fit, form, and function with a criminal justice system which puts an undue and unfair burden upon, in particular blacks, to seize their freedom, under the color of the law, so as to convict them of "crimes" and to thereby control their liberty, their happiness, and their lives.

America, must be held to the highest possible standard in the world, for this country, proclaims that it has been singularly blessed by God, yet, in its practice to its people, and specifically those that previously were brought into this country in involuntary servitude, the justice scorecard paints a rather bleak figure.  The elephant in the room is that while slavery is about many things, for instance, as representing vividly man's inhumanity to man, it specifically is also about controlling a man's freedom of enjoying rightly the fruits of one's toil so as to wrest the bread of that man's labor into the hands of he who labors not; whereas jail in all of its many guises, wrests a man's freedom, into the control of abureaucracy that will not allow those caught up into the system, to ever leave it as a truly liberated man, but instead to live as three-fifths of a man, if even that.

If this, the richest nation in the world, in fact, the richest nation in the history of all mankind, cannot seem to comprehend its own Declaration of Independence, cannot seem to comprehend its own Constitution, and thereby spits in the face of our Creator, by acting as if all men are not created equal, and that some men do not have unalienable rights, than the lamp that lights our golden door, is truly extinguished, and our complete ruin, our just due.

Once you're checked in you can never check out

The American jurisprudence system is unfair, unjust, and systematically misguided, in its treatment of those that become caught up into the system.  Especially disconcerting, is how for those that are on the receiving end of the injustice of America, is that once the process starts, it is seemingly endless and invasive in their lives.  After all, the most basic instinct that people, especially in America have, is to be free; free in their thoughts, free in their movements, free in the things that they desire to do, yet the criminal justice system is all about controlling and molding such freedom as if every crime, no matter how trivial, or how ultimately useless in principle, is punished, re-punished, and perpetually punished as if doing so is the highest good, which it is not.

For instance, most people, have little or no desire to spend any time whatsoever in jail, or prison, and so forth, thereby when presented with the opportunity to escape such through probation, they will willingly do so, but little do they know, that probation really is as practiced in America, like having sword of Damocles above their head, 24/7, no matter how inconsequential their so-called offence was in the first place. To live under the conditions of what some people must live under in order to adhere to their probation terms, can and does mean that they are subject to:  random probation visits at their place of residence, verified continual employment, restrictions of where and when they can travel, uncompensated community service, limits on whom they can have contact with, drug testing, alcohol testing, internet access restrictions, restitution payments to victims, and payments to governmental agencies for the privilege of being allowed to be on probation.

It is one thing to setup conditions that work with the person on probation so as to help, aid, and to supervise such, but it is an entirely different thing to have so many conditions, that have been imposed, that within the rules, regulations, and technicalities, it is difficult for anyone with a real life, to not be perceived as violating some part of it, at some point, and thereby be subject to incarceration or additional penalties or both.   To make matters worse, the very people in charge of compliance for probation conditions are hardly angels, themselves, in fact, they are part of the system, in which their continual employment, their continual growth, the whole jurisprudence infrastructure, needs and demands clients, and those that violate their probation, those that have are subject to additional fines, tests, and need for more supervision, assures those doing such supervision and monitoring of such, job security at the probationer's expense, literally.

When governmental officials are in essence, giving a green light, which allows them unlimited access to a person's private life under their discretion, as well as access to that person's body for testing for substances which have little or nothing to do with the crime or the welfare of society in general, and willingly imposes monetary fines, penalties, and charges for those that are struggling to keep their heads above water in the first place, those that are under such, are their prisoners.

Obedience and disobedience

In a very simple way, those that are in authority, whether they be the police, parents, school administrators, your boss, and so forth, ideally like for those that they engage with, to obey their orders without backtalk or questioning of them, but the fact of the matter is, unless your job literally is one of being a order taker such as a typically utilized soldier, people are not things, they are instead, independent sentient beings that are entitled to push back as well as to question actions that they are "required" to do, when they are ordered about, especially when the person doing such ordering isn't respected, isn't perceived as being right, and isn't their parental authority that at least provides them with shelter, love, and sustenance.

Too often we let politeness or getting along with others to overrule our sensibilities about what exactly we are being told to do, whereas, in fairness, we should have the ability and utilize the ability to question authority, to question its legitimacy, to question everything about it, not to necessarily be disruptive, or argumentative, or disobedient, but to understand the why of what they are trying to achieve at our expense or at our compliance.  After all, there are plenty of people in times of war, or of civil strife, that obey authoritarian commands or orders without taking into consideration exactly what they are doing, the ramifications and effects of such, and thereby their contribution to the very thing that they in reality may not morally or ethically respect or believe in.

It isn't so much that one needs to make a stand all of the time, about everything, it is more that those that yell, push us about, and scream at us to do this or do that, should have to justify the reasoning behind such orders, and should be able to calmly do so, as the volume of one's voice, the anger in one's persona, and the implied threat of physical violence, are not typically legitimate ways to achieve things of practical worth from those they are demanding such from. 

The art of civil disobedience should be deliberately and carefully thought out, and the reasoning behind such, is to impress upon those that have authority that they too must be held accountable for their actions, and cannot and should not be permitted to hide behind arbitrary law, or arbitrary orders, but must be able to and should be held accountable for what they are ordering us to do, just as they try to hold those civil dissenters accountable for their reluctance to do so.   Those that are being ordered about, have a moral and ethical obligation to fight back, often not physically, but through their strong stand that they will not be moved until the legitimacy of what is being asked of them has been thoroughly vetted and thereby justified, and if not, to resist such civil authority.

We don't really learn much of anything through obedience, because simply assenting to what is asked of us, is basically going with the flow of the river, which, while having its place and time in life is not what a living being is meant to do always, for the flotsam of life goes with the flow, whereas, as living cognizant beings, we are meant to swim against the flow, to assert ourselves, especially when those that are in authority are wrong; it thereby becomes our highest duty to protest and to instruct them of their error as well as to vividly remind them that legitimate authority always comes from a legitimate source, to wit, this source is by definition, fair, equitable, impartial, and immutable.

Our slavish devotion to our body and willful ignorance of our soul

Not too surprisingly, since we can see and feel our body, many people are convinced, and focused upon themselves as that physical presence that they see in front of their self, each and every day.  Making things even more complicated, even for fairly religious folk, is that the fact that it is well nigh impossible to ignore the physical body and its demands to be fed, to be cleansed, its need to be exercised, its desire to present itself in a positive manner, and its need to sleep, amongst many other duties.  All of the above is okay to a certain extent, as long as there is knowledge that we are not just our body, in point of fact, our body encases our soul, and our body that demands so much of our time and effort, is, by definition, temporal, and will eventually, sooner or later, be no more in this life, no matter how diligent or lack thereof we are in taking care of it.

So many people spend inordinate amounts of time in the taking care of or concerning indulgences of their body, which is fine and necessary to a certain extent, but they do this almost to the exclusion or ignorance of their own soul.  How hard is it to remember that the time that is spent with the treasures here on earth, that rust, that decay, that return to dust, will not travel with us upon our departure from this good earth, so that, if our lives reflect our slavish devotion to our body, while ignoring our spiritual needs and forgetting that we must nourish the most important part of our being, our soul, we will not have grown in this earthly incarnation, so that, for the most part, our soul, unrecognized by our focus upon bodily needs, will essentially become atrophied from this neglect.

While there is a lot to be said, or to even to be commended, for those that take care of their things that they have earned or have been gifted with, which would, of course, include one's body, still, to lose focus on the big picture in order to take care of the little picture, is to miss the forest for the trees.  Our holy scripture reminds us over and over again, to focus our attention on the things that are eternal and not therefore on the things that are temporal.  Our adventure here on earth, is to make life here on this planet, better for our having been here, but in order to do so, our concentration must extend far further than upon bodily needs and bodily desires, it must clearly embrace something that is both universal as well as truthful, which signifies that those that live as if their body is all that there ever will be, have veered off the straight and narrow path, and are thereby the lost sheep that need the good shepherd to bring them back into the fold.

We are spiritual beings, we have a soul, if this was not true, than the crucifixion of our Savior, would have rightly be seen as a tragic defeat, for Christ's material body did indeed die on Good Friday, yet, He rose in a re-constituted body to show physically that we are not the body, that we are instead, immortal beings, each with our own immortal soul.

Playboy and Social Mores

The first Playboy magazine came out in December, 1953, to which, back then, the social mores of this nation were significantly different than they are today, and truly that is a monumental understatement.  In 1953, pictures of young ladies in magazines that were topless, were not socially acceptable, in addition to the basic fact, that the amount of attractive young females even willing to have pictures taken of them, in which they were topless, was an incredibly low percentage, so that in the time of Playboy's inception, the pool of women that were willing to be photographed was very limited.  Yet, Hugh Hefner, the founder and publisher of Playboy, was able to over a period of time, prove that there was a market for a magazine like Playboy to exist, and that rather than be known for "dirty" pictures, would be able to present itself as a sophisticated fantasyland of pretty woman, along with providing good literature, meaningful commentary of current events, and so forth to create a magazine persona that had not existed in the open before.

Nowadays, with pornography so prevalent and seemingly every possible angle of human sexuality available at the touch of a finger, Playboy looks as if it is out of style, out of touch, and irrelevant, but to get there was a process that involved a fundamental change in the viewpoint of provocative pictures, laws in regards to the publication and displaying of such being challenged and overturned often through the clever usage of 1st Amendment rights, and the liberation of women to decide what they did or did not wish to do with their own bodies, freed from the constraints of both men, but also of the laws that precluded their monetizing their images without suffering unfairly for it.

The upshot of all this change, was that magazines such as Playboy, went from a situation in which previously they had struggled just to find pretty females to pose for them, all for what would be considered today to be relatively tame topless poses, into a world transformed into the anything goes philosophy that is displayed graphically in living color, each and every minute, in just about any format that is available for viewing such in today's society.  This change was so fundamental, that young ladies wishing to pose for Playboy in the present day barely registers much of a reaction from most Americans, can almost be seen as mainstream, especially when seen against the background of everything else that is going on.

Whether all of the above is a net good for America, or is a net good for woman in general, or is a net good for those perusing such things, is definitely debatable, but the bottom line is the genie has jumped from out of the bottle and thereby isn't going to be put back inside anytime soon.  This is the brave new world that we live in, where people are no longer constrained for the most part by social mores or legal laws, which preclude them from doing or pursuing the things that they wish to accomplish.  However, with more freedom, comes more responsibility, so that, when no longer restrained from doing things that they want or think that they want to do, decisions are made, which, because of the nature of the medium, last far longer, than envisioned at the time of their consent, for better or for worse, it is what it is.

Casino Cell phone Slot Machines

In the gambling world, slot machines in major casinos typically count for as much revenue as all other casino games combined, along with being much more profitable and less labor intensive than all other casino games, signifying that slot machines truly are the money machine that runs the casino end of the business.  While there are a lot of reasons why slots are so popular, certainly amongst the reasons are the convenience of not having any sort of game theory to figure out, along with the non-embarrassment and non-intimidation factor because slots are an individual interaction, as well as the pace of the game playing is under the patron's control, amongst other reasons that vary from individual to individual.

Slot machines have become much more sophisticated over time, so that, for instance, some slot machines offer a user's choice of what game to play in the first place, as well as the fact that a replacement of a board or chip inside the machine can easily upgrade or modify the game in its play or configuration, in addition to the detail that physical coins have been replaced with scrip, or dollar bills, so that machines no longer need to be filled with coins, nor is it necessary to have personnel around that are required to make change for those playing such machines.

The thing about slot machines is that overall they take up a fair amount of space, as well as using a fair amount of energy, along with the fact that these machines, robust as they might be, are subject to both downtime as well as abuse.  On the other hand, cell phones and tablets are essentially mini-computers, so that applications can easily be created that are able to replicate what a slot machine looks like onto a cell phone, so that if the programming is done with skill and acumen, a slot machine that the patron can interact with in their hands could be constructed, though there are some logistics involved.

The first big hurdle to overcome is that a handshake must be made between the patron and the actual casino so that, the casino is able to pre-verified, the age, the identity, the loyalty card, the specific IP address, the location, the recording of each spin correlated to that individual for review and confirmation, along with being able to process a form of monetary exchange, in which, all of this is secured and specific to the person engaging the app within a controlled space at the casino.  The next hurdle to overcome is that on the surface it might appear to the player that their cell phone has turned into a slot machine, but the real inner workings of such a slot machine, would actually be held on a server or a cloud, and only the necessary graphics in order to sell the illusion that everything is being conducted in real time would be displayed on the cell phone, meaning the result of each "spin" would already be determined, moments before, via the processor which is connected to the casino's server or cloud.

Obviously, the biggest advantage to the casino is that having a lounge set aside for patrons to play slot machines on their cell phone or tablet, would not only take up less space, it would also privatize the game even more, as well as cutting down on real machine maintenance issues and real machine inventory, so too this would be another feather in the casino cap, and would allow patrons to do all the things that they love doing with their cell phones, including playing the slots.

Student Loans: this Bubble will Burst

According to newyorkfed.org, as of quarter 1 of 2016, the highest consumer debt, is held in mortgages at a total of $8.37 trillion dollars, with the next highest consumer debt which has been growing by leaps and bounds, actually being student loan debt, at $1.26 trillion dollars, making student debt a higher debt in value than either credit card debt, or incredibly, auto loan debt.  In the case of both housing and auto debt, these assets are secured by the physical asset of the actual home and vehicle, respectively, which helps in setting a reasonable floor to these real assets; as regards to credit card debt, although this debt is unsecured, the banks and bank-like instruments issuing such credit, are quite good at it, to wit, they control or have major influence on the prevailing interest rate so charged, penalty fees, how much credit is issued to a particular individual, and most importantly control of credit limits which can be adjusted drastically in exigent circumstances.  On the other hand, student loans, in reality, aren't secured by anything, though wages can be garnished, the bottom line though, is that you can't get blood from a stone, so that burdening young people with humongous loans that literally overwhelm them at such a young age seems irresponsible on both parties and ultimately unfair especially to the students receiving such massive amounts of money loaned to them with minimum due diligence mandated.

America is all about making money, so institutions are only too happy to take something that may initially be of benefit or even play a role in the greater good, and then turn it simply into both exploitation of the young, credulous, and vulnerable, as well as gaming the system, while sticking the ultimate bill onto the taxpayers of this great nation.  A significant amount of people taking on student loans, aren't even student material in the first place, but with good paying jobs for people without educational degrees being on a long-term downswing, the lure of a "free" college education that will solve all their problems and make them into successful people, is an easy lure that works time and time again.  Unfortunately, in far too many cases, school doesn't work out for them, so now their life plans are essentially the same as they were before but with the added burden of loan payments that they are obligated to make good on or try to extricate themselves from.

In addition, there are students that take out loans and do successfully complete their studies and thereby receive their undergraduate degree only to find out that this degree doesn't actually equate to a job that matches the very things that they studied and applied themselves for, yet, they are stuck with paying the bill for their "educational" attainment.  So too, for other students that complete their educational studies, the sheer size of their loan commitment is a great weight upon their budget each and every month, effectively closing the door or narrowing such a door in their pursuit of basic desires that most Americans have, which are owning their own home, and/or owning their own vehicle, free and clear.

While governmental officials lead the cheering about how wonderful it is that so many at such a time are getting educated, the end result isn't any sort of salary bump, isn't a country that is richer for it, but in actuality is a country that fleeces the most vulnerable and monetarily ignorant, to satisfy the greed of the money lenders, and ultimately sells these "loan assets" to the government, which unfortunately will have to, sooner or later, take a "haircut" on these loans that simply won't be paid back because the income isn't being generated to do so.

Don't do unto others what you don't want them to do to you

In Holy Scripture we read at Luke 6:31 the words of our Savior: "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise," which is one of Christ's two-part commandment, with the other part being to love our God with all of our heart.   Previously, Moses gave us the Ten Commandments as dictated to him by the word of God, in which, most of these commandments are in the form of a negative, such as: "Thou Shalt not…", in fact, even a commandment such as "Honor thy father and mother," implies within it, that "thou shalt not dishonor them".  While there is validity in presenting a commandment as a positive affirmation as compared to a negative prohibition, perhaps with people being as stubborn and difficult as they have a habit of being, a negative commandment, carries with it, more weight, and thereby is perceived as more definitive with far less wiggle room, for those that like to perceive laws, even God-given laws, as shades of gray. 

In point of fact, there is something to be said, in taking Christ's great commandment, and re-translating it into "don't do unto others what you don't want them to do to you," because the positive affirmation of doing unto others as you would like those to do onto you, could be conceivably interpreted in a somewhat self-serving manner, whereas the commandment with the negative connotation, leaves far less opportunity for evasiveness.  For example, if you don't like people that lie, cheat, bully, and steal, then don't be those very same things, yourself.  On the other hand, if you don't mind someone that has a little larceny in their heart, not so much because that's what you want or want to do, but because it's amusing and intriguing to see people get fooled, including yourself, as long as it is in a good-natured way, it's a little bit harder to get that to fit into do unto others, whereas, it fits okay with the it's okay to fool someone, as long as it's done in an entertaining way and has no real or dire consequences.

When the don't do unto others, becomes a mindset within a person's personality, it does great wonders, because it forces that person to actually think through the consequences of their proposed actions, and thereby encourages them to see the world not just by their own eyes, but also through the other person's eyes; so too, it eliminates the "eye for an eye" mentality, for there are few people that believe in actuality that wrong actions should be answered in kind, as opposed to at least considering that there are other more reasonable responses that can help to ameliorate a given wrong. 

It is important for people to start with the right attitude to begin with, so that a statement as straightforward and as reasonable as to not do the things to others that you would not want done to yourself, is something that virtually everyone, even at very young ages, would understand, along with the fact that it is something that should be taught and practiced by all, for if this philosophy is lived in reality, the world, in response, would be more caring, more loving, and a better place overall to be a part of, for truly we are all in this, together, desiring that all receive justice and fairness, equally.