Truth and untruth

We hear all sorts of talk about "fake news", as if somehow this is some new phenomena, but news has always been faked or manipulated or propagandized by those that want to control the narrative, whether they are the ones in power, or the ones trying to obtain that power, or those that have their own agenda that they are promoting.  The fact of the matter is that in matters, large and small, we are surrounded by people and organizations that deliberately lie, try to manipulate us, and try to deceive us.  In fact, the bottom line is that truth is a commodity that is almost always in short supply, whereas trying to fool and cheat someone under the false pretenses of being honest and objective seems to always be in high supply.

The only real good thing about all the recent press about fake news, is that perhaps it has awoken some people or some organizations, of which they need to be far less credulous and far more investigative about things that are spoken and written about, for the lies and untruths keeping on coming, and with all the technology that is available to people and organizations, today, it has never been easier to take on the aura of truth, and the appearance of truth, whereas in actuality, fundamentally in essence, so many are not about truth.

The reason why people and organizations want to try to make it appear that they are telling the truth is that those that believe in the narrative being so spun, are far easier to lead into the places of which those propagating the stories want them to go, and the more bodies or market share that you have of those that have bought what you have been selling, the more power that you have; so that, for those that believe that what they have been told is the truth, they are always going to be far more willing to go further in whatever direction that truth so directs them, mainly because truth and righteousness pretty much go together.

On the other hand, somewhat ironically, those that are peddling untruths, are quite aware of those that know the truth, and these people present a clear and present danger to them, because the more transparent real truth is and the more it is freely available to all, and especially to those that are of influence, the bigger the problem for those that do not disseminate truth.   That is to say, when the narrative is no longer controlled or has fallen out of the control of those telling lies, which has now been thoroughly exposed as such to the public, than the blowback to them can be catastrophic.

This so indicates that corrupt organizations, whether they be the government, corporations, media companies, and all those that work closely with them do not want those that are listening to them, or obeying them, to ever really dig beneath the surface, but that is exactly what needs to be done in order to set things right, for untruth cannot handle the disinfectant of pure sunlight, for that removes the dross of falsehood, and what is left, if there is anything left, is the truth.

Honor, respect, courtesy, and dignity

There are plenty of things that cost money in America, and then there are plenty of things that don't cost us a thing in monetary terms, but do cost us a bit of our time and consideration, in actually being conscious that the world does not revolve just around ourselves and just around our priorities, but that there is a necessary interplay between each one of us to others, which provides us with a real opportunity for harmony and fairness to be part of our living experience.

That is to say, for instance, there are going to be times in our lives, when we will see someone that will beg for money, of which, a lot of times, we just wish we weren't in that situation, because it make us feel rather uncomfortable, but it really shouldn't, especially since the apparent embarrassment and the shame isn't coming from us, but from the other person.  In those types of situations if you determine that you will donate some change, a few words, or a few dollars, the most important part of the transaction isn't about the money, though that seems to be what is being asked for, but actually the eye contact and the courtesy that the giver is expressing to the receiver, so that if you give money to someone, in a dismissive manner, as if they are an annoyance or unclean to you, that is not the same, as giving money in a respectful fashion, engaging the other person in a way, in which you express that you care for them as a fellow human being, recognizing that though you do not know their personal situation, that in the big picture of possibilities that could be you, so if the circumstances were different, and that was you, you would still want to have your self-respect, and the acknowledgement from others that you are an individual of worth.

Each one of us has value, yet, some of us, suffer from mental instability, dysfunctional family situations, impaired mental capacities, abusive personal situations, habitual illicit drug usage or drinking problems, of which, the consequences of these things, have a strong tendency to  make people that have decent qualities into something far less than what they could be.  So too, bad breaks, can break a person's spirit, and in order to get any of those good human qualities back,  or to the forefront, the most secure way to do so, is not necessarily to throw money at the problem, because that, more often than not, is just a band-aid, but to recognize that these unfortunate individuals, are deserving of receiving respect, and of being treated with the common courtesy that each of us should display to the other, that they indeed are valid human beings, of which their hurt, is being displayed to us in the most obvious way.

The more that we raise our eyes from our concerns and from our own little world, and recognize that this world encompasses a whole variety of people, of which some of these people, are in a rather bad and vulnerable place, it is our obligation to do our part, to let them know that we care for them, which we demonstrate in our actions and our demeanor to those that really are essentially seeking for some honor, for some respect, for some courtesy, of which these things together will do their part in restoring their innate dignity.

Persistence and concentration

There are plenty of people that have good ideas, as well as plenty of people that seem to comprehend those ideas, but, in fact, they often don't have both of those things working in synergy.  It simply isn't good enough to have an idea, if you are not willing to take that idea and fully envision it, by actually doing the constructive things that are necessitated by that idea, rather than moving on to the next idea, and then the next idea, and so on.

When you have a really good idea, you should actually right then and there, begin to sketch it out into a broad outline and then, have the persistence to subsequently take that outline and to thereby properly study and to define it.  If you don't do those things, you will not really know how good that idea really is, for without having investigated it further, your idea simply doesn't have enough background or traction behind it, and if you fail to stay on top of that idea, it will soon, like many a good idea, just sort of fade away.

The thing is, for an idea to actually be worked into something of substance, not only will it probably require the valued input of other people, it is also going to have to be viewed from every conceivable angle, both positive and negative, of which that learning process, will probably in and of itself, determine whether that idea has enough merit to really consider it further. In order for that to occur though, you have to concentrate fully on just that one idea, and can't allow your idea to get crowded out by all the other things that can and will divert you from the proper attention that you need to provide for that one idea.

It isn't so much that our minds are so simple, that we can only take in one idea at a time, for that isn't it, instead it has everything to do with recognizing that ideas in this present day and age, necessitate a very vigorous examination, and further that this idea is provided the opportunity and the space to clearly meld into the mind, so as to be as completely comprehended, before testing it in action.

Those that have good ideas that come into their mind, must understand, that without actual specifics, and without a diligent and dedicated study of that idea, that the idea, no matter how beautiful it may have appeared to them at first sight, simply has not been studied long enough, with persistence, and with focused concentration, for it to be really known that this idea, actually has true value.

If that idea is not able to capture the mind, fully, then perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to begin with, or perhaps the fault lies in the inability to get that mind fully around that idea and to study it in a way that does that idea, justice.  The idea needs to be known in a manner in which, it has been studied from multiple angles, investigated, researched, and been vetted, then, active steps must be taken to make that idea happen, for if that is not done, then the idea will probably just vanish.

Honor and dishonor

There are plenty of people that are honored and respected just for the uniform that they wear, and there are plenty of people that are dishonored because of their slovenly appearance or because they take positions that are unpopular at that time.  The thing is though, honor and dishonor, can be viewed entirely differently depending upon the prism of your viewpoint.

For instance, in today's America, those that are uniformed soldiers, are for the most part, both well respected and honored by their fellow Americans, whereas, if we turn back the clock to the very late 1960s and through the early 1970s, soldiers returning from Vietnam, were subject to being spat upon, and even were considered to be baby killers, in which, the dishonor that some of these veterans received was intense enough, that they did not wish to be seen in uniform, and of which, those that dishonored these returning men in uniform, did so, for the most part, without really knowing that individual soldier, but out of their disgust for the Vietnam war.

So then, to a very large extent, the uniforms that those that serve their country wear, whether that be the police or military personnel, can be at particular times and circumstances, subject to honor as well as dishonor, primarily not because of those individuals and what they may or may not have done, but as a judgment upon those wearing such uniforms at a certain point of history, depending upon how the wind is blowing, which is subject to the narrative so being told by public media, social media, and the protest machines, so generated.

All of the above would imply that rather than honor and dishonor, being something that is fixed for all time, it, does, in fact, change, depending upon the times, so that, great political leaders, can at one time have streets, cities, towns, and statues built with their name prominently displayed, as a very visual display of honor for them, and then at a later time, be subjected to their names being removed from such, as well as their statue being taken down in the darkness of night, or to suffer varying degrees of continuous disrespect.

This means that the accolades and hosannas that we have heard to honor our heroes, should not necessarily be considered to be true and faithful, but merely outward signs, that are subject to being replaced within even a very short period of time, perhaps by the very same people or similar, turning those cheers into jeers, boos, graffiti, and the throwing of debris.   

The upshot is that real honor or dishonor cannot truly come from the mass of society, for they often do not know enough to appropriately judge a given situation, fully and completely, so too, sincere honor or dishonor will not come from those that are in the know, for they have their own agenda to deal with, and are prone to use symbols for that agenda in a manner that solely benefits them, so then, the only lasting true honor or dishonor for any given individual can only come from a place that is not corrupted by this world, and it is from this that honor so designated has been rightfully earned. 

The highest use of capital

Most corporate executives, when asked the question as to what the highest use of their company's capital should be, would probably answer that their biggest responsibility is in increasing shareholder return, and therefore they need to concentrate on increasing quarterly profits for those shareholders, which will thereby increase the value and market capitalization of the company through a higher stock price.  That sort of answer actually makes a certain sort of sense, but consider this answer instead, "The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life."

The above quote, surprisingly, comes from a man considered to be as good as industrialist as any in the annals of American history, whose name is still well known and celebrated, even a century later, who didn't just talk the part, but lived the part, by the way he innovated his product line and became the man known to us as, Henry Ford.  What, Henry Ford did, was revolutionary, he took the car, which previously had primarily been manufactured for the rich and well positioned, and decided to make it his mission to build a car for the great multitude, knowing that the only way to reach the price point that would enable such a car to be affordable to them was to simplify the design using modern engineering, so therefore he had hire the best personnel that he could find, so as to make the car more reliable, which lead to moving assembly line, and by combining all of these things as reported by entrepreneur.com, "In 1920, Ford sold 1.25 million Model T’s. Compared to 1909, a price reduction of 63 percent," thereby indeed making his cars affordable for the great multitude.

While there are some entrepreneurs that do follow the Henry Ford model, they are vastly outnumbered by those that follow exactly the opposite sentiment, which is not that the highest use of capital is ultimately to be used for the service and the betterment of life for all Americans, but rather that the highest use of capital is ultimately to be used for the service and betterment of life for the very, very few Americans, most notably the upper executive management of these modern mega-corporations, as well as doing whatever can be done to keep the stock price up, by increasing profits by any means so necessary.

The objective of too many of today's executives is simply put, making as much money as they can and for that money to serve them, as well as to keep the shareholders happy by boosting the stock price, in which to achieve such is driven simply by the bottom line, so then, they find it relatively easy to lay off employees, cut costs, reduce R&D, off source jobs and materials to foreign countries so as to reduce costs further, create shell companies to avoid paying corporate taxes in full, negotiate tax subsidies from cities, lobby for  special privileges and immunities from governmental and regulatory agencies, and so on and so forth.

If, the highest usage of capital is to simply make money for those in the catbird seat, and not to serve mankind as a whole, or to better life as a whole, than the ultimate result is that a very few will have a lot more, and most will have in aggregate a lot less, so that the disparity between those that have and those that have not will widen so much, that this becomes a country of a small elite of the very, very rich, a middle class that is being squeezed in every which way, and a massive and permanent underclass that will not and cannot ever get ahead.

The fear of college educated parents and the draft

The United States, despite its vast military numbers, has not had to avail itself of an actual draft, or conscription since 1973, and if it was to bring back the draft, especially a draft with little or few deferment categories, because it was no longer able to find enough volunteers for its service, the protests by those subjected to being called up, in addition to their parents would be at absolutely vociferous levels, previously unprecedented, which is probably why this would be the very last resort of the United States government.

There is a tendency to believe that those subjected to a draft, such as the young men, that were drafted into the Vietnam war would be the biggest protestors of such an unwelcomed re-introduction of a draft, and quite obviously, they pretty much would be, however, unlike the parents of those that are being drafted, young men, are far more tolerant of risk than older adults, and hence, far more susceptible to actually fulfilling their obligation to serve. 

On the other hand, there is a group of Americans, that are very well educated,  sometimes designated as the intelligentsia, of which these people, having children,  to a very high degree, are totally against their children being drafted in any way, form, or manner, and would not under any circumstances, subject their children to even the possibility of being drafted, which is a significant reason, why drafts, have almost always had exemptions for certain people, such as those that are college students, graduate students, along with certain civilian occupations that excludes such as, for example, doctors, dentists, proprietors of businesses essential to the community,  scientists, engineers, and so forth. 

The most obvious reason as to why the intelligentsia, as well as a very high percentage of all those that are college educated do not want their children to be subjected to a draft, is the fact that these people, even when involved in professions that may directly or indirectly benefit from war activities, know comprehensively, that their children are not born, then nurtured, developed, and educated, so as to become subsequently human fodder for the state by their sacrifice, but that rather their children are meant to be the beneficiaries of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for these special young adults cannot and should not have to risk their own lives, for they were are meant for higher things.

These well educated parents would not and could not allow their children to be drafted, because, quite clearly their construct of the world, see their children as being better, especially in comparison to all those other common children, and that therefore in regards to things such as war, it is for those others to be brave and to possibly die, as well as for those others to make sacrifices as necessary, rather than their children, for their children are special, and should not be subjected to something as primitive and as dangerous as war.

So that, when thinking about equality in America as well as social stratification, you need not look any further, than analyzing who is and who is not conscripted in a time of war, to understand, that those that are drafted have no power, and those that are not drafted, have it all.

$20 Billion for Space exploration yet millions of people live in deep poverty

America is the richest nation the world has ever known but it consistently has its priorities all messed up, for instance, it devotes $20 billion annually for space exploration, which includes spending inordinate sums of that money for a plan to send astronauts to Mars, sometime around the 2030s. The United States doesn't need to go to Mars, it doesn't need to and shouldn't fund any missions to Mars, and it has already spent billions upon billions of dollars on space exploration that simply isn't necessary.

If Mars or the Moon, or space exploration is so important to certain people in America, let those people with non-governmental money, make such an exploration, as opposed to taking billions upon billions of dollars, year after year, that could be spent as an aid and as a service to real human beings that have a need right here in America, on planet earth.  The problem with space exploration is the same basic problem that you have in the misallocation of resources when they aren't required, necessary, mandatory, or even really desirable.

There isn't any good point in sending astronauts to Mars, if millions of citizens of this great nation, cannot get themselves a good paying job, a square meal, affordable healthcare, adequate education, or decent housing, for the reality of the situation is that there isn't anything on Mars worth getting, just as there wasn't a thing on Moon worth getting, seeing, or investigating.

The thing about space exploration in general, is that it is primarily a sideshow, for basically it is an avenue for scientists and engineers that are very intelligent and skilled to prove how mankind can actually accomplish something that takes extraordinary effort, deep thinking and persistence in order to successfully achieve such, but the mission itself, typically doesn't have any real value in the present time and doesn't have any real value in the future.

What would be valuable, for all these government bureaucrats and all these esteemed scientists and engineers with PhDs to do is to actually come up with a sustainable plan that will take care of their fellow citizens in a manner in which, each and everyone in this country, can actually have the basic necessities that a country with the highest amount of millionaires, with the highest amount of billionaires, with the highest amount of net assets, and with the highest amount of GDP on a yearly basis, should be able to easily afford and accomplish.  Because if the United States of America with its trillions upon trillions of dollars in assets can't get it done now, and they haven't gotten it done since the Great Society was promulgated by President Johnson in 1964, when will it ever get done?

There isn't any good reason why space exploration should be supported by the taxpayer's dollars, nor is there any good point in a lot of other stupid, unnecessary programs that this government gets involved with.  What is especially galling about the space program is its basic premise is that somehow our future lies in outer space, whereas the reality of it is, if America cannot get its own house in order on planet earth, and it has not, every dollar spent on space exploration, is really just another stiff boot being applied against the prone necks of the common people of America, all in support of the military-industrial complex and the scientific-technological elite.

What the Cross really means

The reality of Jesus the Christ being crucified on a Roman cross is embedded into virtually all Christian minds.  Yet, somehow too, the cross is the most prominent symbol that other faiths recognize about those that are Christians.  It does seem strange that the cross, of which Jesus was cruelly crucified upon, would be the symbol, that is voluntarily represented and even venerated by those that are Christian, for not only is that highly unusual, for someone to represent their faith with the instrument of their chosen one's ignoble death, it doesn't seem to make any logical sense, especially since early Christians were first identified by the symbol of a fish,  in addition to their being other symbols that would seem much more appropriate such as, for instance, a dove.

The thing about the cross is that this symbol, rather than being seen as a symbol of a shameful death and defeat, has been manifested into the transformation and the resurrection of the overcoming of physical death with His glorious rebirth beyond all such limitations.  This means that the cross is now represented as our call to take those things that hold us back from being all that we could be, such as our anger, hate, impatience,  intolerance, and selfishness and crucifying these wrongful attributes that inhibit us from being what we should be such as loving, peacemakers, patient, tolerant, and considerate.

The cross then is the symbol to kill off and to defeat the very things that impede us and thereby to transform ourselves and to become what we should become and what we need to become in order to clearly be a new person in Christ.  For it isn't good enough to claim that one is a Christian, if fundamentally we have changed nothing within our own persona, for to truly take up the cross of Christ, necessitates replacing and defeating all the sins of our life and thereby resurrecting ourselves as a new person, in which our deeds and our actions, represent well the principles of the Christian religion.

This doesn't mean that we are not Christian, for failing to correct all of our faults, for it is in the trying and our determination that we make progress into becoming what a real Christian is all about, for the cross is exceedingly heavy, and the burden of past mistakes and wrong mindsets are not easily replaced, but having made up our minds to put our hand to the plow, it is thereby incumbent upon us to plow then a straight line, rebuking our former errors and deceits, and overcoming these things with right actions and steadfastness.

The cross is the crucible, and all those that take up this symbol, must then fulfill their mission for being, by overcoming the bad character traits that have held them back from being all that they should be, so that, the point of the cross is to recognize that none have a right to the crown, without having done their part to defeat all those vices that are inimical to the Christian belief, both personally as well as in providing our aid and assistance to our fellow brothers and sisters, for we are all One in Christ.

Fools and facing God, alone

While there are some people that don't believe in God, their non-belief does not and cannot change the fact that God is our Creator.  Then there are plenty of others that believe in God, but their conception of God is flawed and thereby isn't correct, for the attribute the wrong characteristics to God, and then the corresponding wrong beliefs.   So too, there are others that have the basic conception right about God, though somewhat flawed and flayed at the edges, but their conception and belief are basically in accordance with God and His laws.  Finally, there are those that implicitly know God, though not many, these are the true prophets, gurus, and mentors of our present day.

There are many people that pray to God, on a given day, some by rote, some half-heartedly, some at meals, and some with real vim and vigor.  Some believe that God only exists within certain edifices, or by adhering to certain words, incantations, procedures, and behaviors. So too, there are a special few that pray continuously to God in the sense that God is foremost in their heart, in which their thinking and actions reflects this ever present connection. 

In any event, unlike human interaction, the presence of God in any one individual's life, in which God appears so real as to be a living and breathing entity, of which, we are able to thereby absorb into ourselves his Being so completely that we are enveloped by God, and are thereby able to comprehend what is being spoken to us in non-verbalized words that touch our heart and soul are infrequent to say the least, of which most people never experience on earth this closeness by God.

However, keep in mind, that when we pray, we are implicitly asking for God's presence in our life, so then it shouldn't be completely unexpected if God did actually appear to us.  You might think, though, that all that pray for God, would be overjoyed when God came within their presence, but in actuality when you recognize that you will be facing the Creator of the universe, alone, and that God knows absolutely everything about you, good and bad, your self-confidence will undoubtedly wane to a highly alarming degree, for it is one thing to theorize about God, and it is another thing entirely to actually face God, knowing that in so many ways, big and small, that you have in your words and in your actions, failed completely in your life to be loving, truthful, and just.

On the other hand, people that are incapable of self-reflection, or fools, don't fear God and are thereby eager to face God, and will therefore welcome God with open arms, only to find out to their utter dismay that they will feel  strongly compelled to suddenly drop to their knees and to place their head, face down, and will shut their mouths as well as silence their tongue, for when faced with the overwhelming power and truth that is God,  they are fully exposed for who and what they really are, of being an abject failure, a pretender, and a fraud.

God is truth, love, and justice, and if you are not all three of those things in everything that you do, all of the time, your shame will be immense and your tears will seemingly never end.

Social Status and One-upmanship

Those that have the money and the power almost always find a necessity to prove their superiority over those that do not have these things, of which, since human beings all essentially look the same without their clothes on, this means that one way to signify such a difference is that you must wear clothes that clearly help to establish your status.  Of course, that's one part, for you also require all the appropriate accompanying accouterments of your social station in life, such as your home size and location, car make and model, schooling and tutors, servants or robots to cater to your needs, and so on and so forth.

History tells us that back in simpler times, one of the most prized possessions of those that were above it all, was a horse.  Not only was a horse the status symbol, but a horse, because of its power, speed, and strength, was absolutely invaluable in battles of all sorts, clearly providing a far superior advantage over those that had no transport, in addition to the fact that the mobility of such a horse, made it far easier to adjudge and to adjust to the conditions of any particular armed combat, skirmish, or civil unrest.

Additionally, those that rode a horse, did not tire the way that their laborers would tire that were compelled to use their own brawn as well as available hand tools so as to till the land or to service crops, which instilled among the common laborers the rather obvious observation of the superiority of he who has mastered the horse. 

So too, as man advanced, the automobile replaced the horse in fit and function, becoming the new status symbol, of which, because cars were not physical animals, they did not require either rest or food, though they did require fuel of some sort as well as maintenance, but with the advent of the car, those that had, were able to more easily travel and get about in ways and in a comfort that did not formerly exist.

The bottom line is that social status has been since time immemorial something that those that have the money and the power clearly wish to display as to their superiority, but also usually doubles as being  quite functional as well.  In short, the rich has the best of both worlds, and even when the other classes are able to somewhat imitate the rich, they are not only always trying to catch up, but their imitation is often clearly a cut below.

Additionally, every time that there is a seismic change in the development of something really revolutionary and new, it is the rich and the connected that get their hands on it first.  So that, whether it is self-autonomous vehicles, drones, rocket ships to Mars, or whatever, it is those that are part of the elite that these products first gravitate to, for it isn't good enough for them to just have all of the money and just to have all of the power, because in reality they want to make sure that you really do know that they are all that, and you are not.

Paycheck to paycheck and credit cards

As part of its mission the Federal Reserve Board asks questions of American consumers, in which, as reported by theatlantic.com, in answer to the "… how they would pay for a $400 emergency…47 percent of respondents said that either they would cover the expense by borrowing or selling something."  That response, indicates quite clearly that nearly half of all Americans, are living paycheck to paycheck, in which, they do not even have an extra $400 saved up in order to tide them through any of the inevitable emergencies that people do have.

Not too surprisingly, over the last few decades, the percentage of Americans that use credit cards in order to make ends meet has never been higher, with credit cards essentially serving as short-term loans to many consumers, though the fundamental problem for many of those that are living paycheck to paycheck, isn't that their credit card usage is just for an emergency or just for a temporary short term loan but in actuality is necessary in order for them to keep on top of their bills that they are responsible for and are accumulating on a monthly basis, so that, while initially a credit card may well provide a monetary boost for those that are struggling paycheck to paycheck, such a credit card, soon changes to something more like a noose and therefore becomes a burden.

The problem that consumers have that rely on their credit cards is that, by virtue of not being able to either pay off their credit card bills in full, or by virtue of not adhering to all of the terms and conditions of said credit card, such as its on-time payment requirement, meeting the minimum payment, not going over their credit card limit, or being socked with upfront fees, setup fees, annual fees, or a monthly servicing fee, along with deceptive interest rates that may initially be low or reasonable, in which these interest rates are subsequently either phased out after a finite amount of time, or changed to a higher rate by being in violation of one of the many terms and conditions of these credit cards, is that consumers pay and pay for the credit so issued to them.

What is somewhat surprising to many people is that credit card issuers are permitted to charge whatever interest rate that they so desire as long as it is clearly disclosed in their terms and conditions and abides by the Truth in Lending Act.  This means that when a credit card was issued with an annual percentage rate of 79.9% that this was legal, which is why so many credit cards are issued with double-digit interest rates, even though the cost of money to the banks that are issuing these credit cards has never been historically cheaper than what it has been over the last decade.

Obviously, when you are struggling paycheck to paycheck, this pretty much indicates that you cannot pay off your credit card balance in full, so then all of the interest rate charges, and other fees, systematically begin to be added to the balance for that credit card, each and every month, changing a credit card from being something that possibility was seen as a life saver to in actuality being a millstone around a debtor's neck.  So that many Americans, perhaps half of Americans, are in reality not bringing home enough money through their paychecks to sustain themselves, signifying that they are probably not really making a living wage.

The end of free money and the upcoming stock market collapse

The government likes to come up with all sorts of terms that the average citizen really doesn't understand such as Quantitative easing (QE) which it commenced in 2008, and ended in 2014, of which QE essentially is a monetary policy in which the central bank of the United States, also known as the Federal Reserve, purchased assets, that is primarily bonds, thereby creating new money out of thin air, to the tune of approximately $4 trillion during those years, of which, the purpose of this QE was to lower the yield on those bonds and thereby lowering the cost for institutions to borrow money, while at the same time increasing the money supply by those newly created bonds.  So, in simple terms, the Federal Reserve basically printed $4 trillion which has now become part of the economy, of which, the main impact of this appears to have been lower interest rates and a stronger stock market.

In point of fact, QE essentially acted as the prop for stock prices, because corporations were able to borrow billions upon billions of dollars at unprecedented lower interest rates, not so much to expand their businesses, which they did to a certain extent, but to utilize that money to buy back public shares of their stocks at unheard of levels which served as a very successful prop to boost those public share prices, because the reduction of the quantity of public stock shares even with the exact same dollar earnings by the corporation, equates to a higher earnings per share ratio which is a fundamental basis that investors look at in procuring a certain stock to begin with. 

So too, historic low interest rates, increases leverage by financial institutions, corporations, and investors, for when the cost of money is very, very low, then in order to make money on any investment, the hurdle to do so is much lower.  That is to say, when the cost of borrowing money is only 1.5% or even lower, than assets that are invested in need to only return something greater than 1.5% per annum in order to turn a profit.

All of the foregoing, should be taken into account, for when QE becomes Quantitative Tightening (QT), of which QT is defined as the Federal Reserve essentially allowing the bonds, previously created by QE  to mature and then simply to receive that cash and thereby to use that cash to pay down the $4 trillion previously issued during the QE phase, one should expect that interest rates will rise or normalize, which they are doing at the present time, as well as that assets, especially like stocks which are dependent upon both cheap money and free money to accelerate in value to new heights, to subsequently drop, and possibly to drop quite precipitously.

Another way of putting it is that it is not conceivable that if QE is foundationally the very reason why stocks rose and rose considerably, than QT must by nature, be the very reason, why stocks will fall, and fall considerably.  How the stock market plays out over the ensuring few years will tell the tale, but no doubt, cheap and free money always inflates assets, while more expensive money most definitely deflates assets, as well as punishing those that need to be in debt in order to grow their business or to pay their bills.

The oil percentage depletion allowance

Unless you are an actual tax authority, figuring out and knowing all the tax set asides, tax advantages, and tax subsidies that particular industries and companies get is virtually impossible to know, but those running those companies, for an absolute certainly know how exactly the tax codes can be manipulated and utilized for their advantage, for most companies make it their practical purpose to pay as little as they need to legally pay in taxes, per their tax statements each and every year.

In point of fact, the tax code is so convoluted, manipulated, and unfair, that some companies are entitled to special tax breaks that other companies do not have, and vice versa, whereas, individual tax payers, typically are stuck paying the full freight, so that most individual tax payers, do not really need any outside help in order to prepare their taxes, because their taxes owed are for the most part, fairly clearly delineated, and therefore straightforward.  On the other hand, no company of any real worth, and especially companies that are very large and of a lot of worth, hire people specifically to lobby for tax breaks, to interpret the tax code in a manner that will delay or reduce taxes, and do everything that they can to "legally" reduce their taxes.

One of the many unfair tax subsidies that really should be looked upon as corporate welfare is the oil percentage depletion allowance.  That is to say, oil companies must put forth capital investment in order to produce oil from a given property, of which, they are permitted, with certain restrictions, to deduct 15% from their gross income earned, not subject to the limitation of the capital investment so made.  That is to say, if an oil company puts forth $50 million in capital investment into a given oil property, they are entitled to deduct not 15%, from that capital investment made of $50 million but actually are entitled to deduct 15% per year in perpetuity of the gross income earned from that capital investment and the oil so produced, indicating that the oil percentage depletion allowance can far exceed the amount of capital investment put into that property to extract oil in the first place.

Whether the oil depletion percentage allowance was ever necessary in order to encourage domestic production, is debatable to begin with, but it isn't important to try to figure out why such a tax law was passed, what is important, is that the oil depletion percentage allowance should be phased out and eliminated posthaste, because it is grossly unfair to allow any corporation, for any reason, to deduct more than their actually capital investment from their net income liability so as to pay far less than what they should pay in their taxes to their country for perpetuity.

While the tax code stipulates that this oil percentage depletion allowance is only allowed for those that produce or refine less than 50,000 barrels of oil a day, 50,000 barrels of oil a day, is a serious amount of production, equating to millions upon millions of dollars, of which, any company, that is permitted to deduct from their net income more than their capital investment in the first place is selfishly benefiting themselves at the expense of the average American.

The coming demonetization of the United States dollar

In 1971, President Nixon, officially took the United States dollar off of the Bretton Wood agreement, which had fixed the United States dollar at $35 per gold ounce, in which, since that time, from 1971 to 2017, the inflation rate in America as calculated by in2013dollars.com, indicates that "Prices in 2017 are 504.4% higher than prices in 1971,"  whereas if you take the same length of time of 46 years, that is from 1924-1970, in2013dollars.com, tells us that "Prices in 1970 are 126.9% higher than prices in 1924," which is a substantial difference in the value of the dollar and shows the odious effects of inflation upon the dollar, especially when that dollar is backed by nothing more than the full faith of the US government. Further, the national deficit in 1971 was just $398 billion, which almost sounds small, whereas today, as estimated by the usdebtclock.org it is $21.147 trillion and counting, which is an incredible 2145.5% higher than the debt was back in 1971.

 The US dollar isn't tied to anything, it is a floating currency, and further to the point, the dollar is the coin of the realm of the United States government, thereby making it the medium of exchange, that is universally accepted throughout the world and it is the legal and de facto currency of this government.  This means, that virtually all business and personal transactions are conducted within America by using the US dollar, so that, even if you do not have confidence in the dollar, your options in being able to utilize and to transact business without it are limited, though there are alternatives, notably crytocurrency that some people have gravitated to.

In point of fact, the United States is never going to pay off its deficit, and will for a certainty, created a new form of currency, replacing the present day dollar, and thereby essentially repudiating the debt it has accumulated by converting it into something that favors this government at the expense of those holding onto its debt, of which this change will have seismic consequences and could even lead to war with other nations, though, in all probability, the United States will have secretly negotiated with their major creditor nations in a manner that will assuage them in such a way, that they will accept half a loaf, as compared to no loaf at all.

However, there is a big difference between personal debt and personal assets that you as an individual are responsible for and have as your lifetime of earnings and savings, as compared to what and how sovereign nations treat one another, so for those individuals, stuck with dollars that have been demonetized, you will receive, almost for a certainty, a very raw deal, in which your wealth as expressed in US dollars, before being demonetized will on the one hand be decimated, but your debt after being demonetized, will be recalculated in such a manner, that you earn no advantage from the monetization of new money within America.

This means, that the government of this country will become even more powerful than it is today, in addition to the privileged banking consortium which will have worked out the finest details of this demonetization and then re-monetization of a new currency, benefiting them at the expense of the average America.  So too, the richest and most connected Americans will as a matter of course, be cognizant of this impending change which will allow them to circumvent it with a minimum of damage, leaving the heartland of America holding the bag, with no option or recourse, as the militarized police of this country, in connection with our national forces, will put down, any incipient riots or civil disobedience with a fusillade of bullets.

If corporations are people, they should be taxed the same as people

In recent years, the Supreme Court has granted to corporations more and more rights, as if these corporations are people which seem absurd, though the counter-argument to that is corporations are made up of groups of people.  Still, sometimes, one needs to be careful about what they ask for, because if legally we are to treat corporations as people, than logically, those same corporations should be taxed the same as people, that is, at the same individual tax rates, with the same set of rules.

For instance, as a person, when you have expenses such as meals, travel, gifts, insurance, maintenance, airfare, repair, entertainment, publications, internet, phone, postage, amongst many other things, none of these are typically deductible from your personal taxes, even though they are expenses to you.  On the other hand, for corporations, most of those things are deductible from their income as an expense, in addition to corporations being able to depreciate capital equipment, as well as having a whole bunch of other stuff that is also classified to be legitimate business expenses, which is subtracted from the gross income of said corporation.

In other words, corporations, despite all their whining about tax codes and paying too much in taxes, are actually coddled by the American government, and are tax privileged, especially in comparison, to the general public, for where else, can someone wake up in the morning, receive a ride in a limousine, get on a private corporate jet, receive all sorts of perks and courtesies while traveling on that jet, take in a  very expensive sporting event at a stadium while sitting in a private box and being catered to, eat at whatever exclusive restaurant that they so desire with as many guests as they prefer, and then bed at night at a high end hotel, and not have to pay a dime, directly or personally, and the corporation that this individual is part of, is able to basically expense or deduct these expenditures as being legitimate business expenses, from its corporate income

.

All of the tax advantages that corporations have over individuals, did not first exist, as part of the corporate tax code, but have evolved over the ensuring years as a way of benefiting these very powerful entities at the expense of individuals, that are subjected to onerous taxes, in which, the common taxpayer is the one that pays nearly half of all the US Federal taxes, in which as reported by topforeignstocks.com, in fiscal year 2014, individual income taxes paid 48.4% of Federal taxes, whereas corporate Federal taxes contributed just 9.9%.  In fact, the last time that corporate Federal taxes were larger than individual Federal taxes, was 1943, and since that time the gap between the two has gotten larger and larger, for corporations are very adept at tax dodging as well as receiving tax subsidies, so that, corporations such as General Motors, E*Trade, and American Airlines, for fiscal year 2015, all had an income tax expense that was actually negative, despite their pre-tax profits of millions upon millions.

Corporations in today's America have never had it better, especially with the passage of recent tax legislation that lowered the federal corporate income tax rate from 35%, of which virtually no corporation ever paid, to 21%, which few corporations will actually pay at, which effectively means that the percentage of taxes that will be paid by corporations in comparison to individuals will drop even further, even though, corporations are legally, for some purposes, considered to be people.

The real unemployment rate

There are lies, damn lies, and the publication and dissemination of statistics that support the prevailing viewpoint that this government so wishes to propagate.  For instance, there are actually six different categories of state measures of unemployment, labeled progressively as U-1 through U-6, of which this government as well as their media mouthpieces consistently uses just one of these measures, which is U-3. The U-3 unemployment definition considers only those that are unemployed which have also looked for employment as of the last four weeks, divided into the civilian labor force as whole, of which, the official U-3 unemployment rate as of March, 2018, was listed at 4.1%, which is the lowest this indicator has been since 2000.  That unemployment number sounds quite impressive, however, the U-6 definition of unemployment includes "plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons," which as of March, 2018, was listed at nearly doubled the U-3 amount at 8.0%.  There is a world of difference between these two numbers.

The main question to ask is whether or not the U-6 unemployment rate is a more accurate depiction of the real employment situation.  The answer is fairly straightforward, for the marginally attached are defined as those that have looked for work in the last twelve months, but not within the last four weeks, whereas, part time workers for economic reasons are defined as those that are working, but would prefer full time employment, but are unable to find or attain full time employment.

Obviously, if you are working but are not working enough hours to meet the standard forty hour work week, than your income as well as your ability to pay bills and meet expenses is adversely affected, so while these people are employed, they most definitely are also under employed.  Additionally, those that have looked for full time employment over the last year, but not within the last four weeks, aren't considered unemployed by the U-3 standard, but, in fact, they are in actuality unemployed, and clearly were desirous of being employed but were unable to find employment during their recent search, in which they have not renewed such a search within the last four weeks. This number of four weeks seems like a relatively arbitrary number of too short of length of time, to displace these people from being part of the de facto official unemployment rate.

So that, the real unemployment rate as of March, 2018, is actually 8.0%, but even that doesn't fully reflect the gravity of the situation, for if you are well qualified worker, or have a graduate degree, or are very experienced, or an older worker, but work within an industry that does not basically credit you for any of those things, you will, more times than not, receive a wage that is far below your skill levels.  So that, as reported by pewresearch.org, we find that: "About 20.6 million people are “near-minimum-wage” workers," of which near-minimum wage is defined as: "those who make more than the minimum wage in their state but less than $10.10 an hour."

This would indicate that not only is the real unemployment rate, a not so impressive 8.0%, but that millions upon millions of Americans make no better than near-minimum wages in the work that they so do, signifying that your eyes as well as your friends do not deceive you, for unemployment and wages are not nearly as robust as this government would have you to believe.

The downfall of ignoring the All Important One

We are told that we live in a secular world, which seems to be becoming more secular by the minute, demonstrated in more and more public spheres, as well as often being propagated within our family life and values, and definitely is part and parcel of our public educational systems, of which our Creator, of whom, we receive our unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has now become nearly fully cast aside, as being irrelevant, and mythical, rather than being real and very pertinent.

For those that do not believe in our Creator, or behave in a manner that bespeaks of their non-belief, perhaps all is good, or even very, very good, but nothing in this temporal world lasts forever, and so the hard work that is done in your endeavors in the workplace, will eventually come to an end.  So too, the social events and parties, and just living the good life, will reach their inevitable conclusions, whether having run their course, or by lack of interest, or by just getting really old, the curtain will come down.

So through it all, whether you have had the best of the best, or a really good time, pretty good, or whether things have been fairly rocky or worse, all of these things will reach their endpoints.  Additionally, trouble has a way of rearing its ugly head at all sorts of inconvenient times, adversely impacting virtually everyone at some eventual time, so that those that have been ignoring the Creator but enjoying the creation, will find themselves invariably facing some sort of trouble.

While some people in their rough and troubled times will curse the gods for their troubles; many others that are suffering greatly will often find themselves reaching out and desiring not just to contact God, but to have that God respond to them in a meaningful and poignant way so as to ease them through the troubles that they are experiencing, desiring greatly that God responds to their sorrowful calls, thereby making things better.

The thing is, if you have basically been ignoring God in all manners, large and small, it doesn't seem right or even realistic that somehow God would now instantly respond to your pleading cries, because having allowed the sands of time to ignore this great Personage to such an extent, than your pathway to God has no doubt, become overgrown with weeds and significant underbrush, effectively blocking the Way.

When you treat this life as if those living here are living gods, answering to no outside power, and then when troubles come, you expect help from the very power that you have previously thumbed your nose at, that help probably isn't going to arrive instantly, not because God does not care, for God never stops caring, no matter your offense or ignorance, but rather, because of your previous unbelief.  Those that have lost or ignored the faith do not all of a sudden rediscover it, for that takes both real dedication and dedicated time, further, God is never your little errand boy, for God is omniscient and omnipotent, but God will for a certainty respond to you, for you need only listen to that still small voice inside.

Criminal Records and Licensing

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) estimates that in regards to the population of America, that all those of age to work, some 65 million of them as of 2010 had criminal records, which is an absolutely staggering amount, and a direct reflection of this country's draconian drug laws as well as victimless crimes that incarcerates and criminalizes activities that really do not harm anyone, other than the person so being arrested.  Additionally, as reported by brookings.edu, "Nearly 30 Percent of Workers in the U.S. Need a License to Perform Their Job."

The long and short of this situation, is that convictions for criminal offenses, unfairly impugn upon those so convicted, a lifetime penalty that precludes job opportunities, housing opportunities, governmental benefits, and fairness to those so convicted.  The bottom line, is that besides having to often serve time within an incarceration facility, that upon being released from such an incarceration, these convicts are often subjected to being monitored, subject to drug tests at the will of the state, as well as suffering many restrictions, such as not being permitted to leave their county of residency, restricted from seeing certain people, restricted from driving a vehicle without expressed permission, and being subject to a curfew.

Whether any of these restrictions serve a good purpose is debatable, but clearly the policy of this country is that those convicted of criminal offenses, often have to pay an unending penalty for such a conviction, which, rather than ending upon their release from incarceration, stays with them, until the day that they die, no matter how old that they are.  The fact that such a high percentage of jobs require a license in order to be employed in that job, is something that restricts certain people from getting that license for they don't have the money, time, or education to pursue such a license, but it also often precludes those that have a criminal record from even being eligible to apply for that license in the first place.

While there may well be good reasons as to why certain criminal convictions should preclude being licensed in certain specific fields, for the most part, this deliberate preclusion is unwarranted, unfair, and clearly makes it incredibly difficult for those that already suffered incarceration to find meaningful employment that will permit them to work hard, make fair money, and to become truly self sufficient.  In addition, the vast majority of those incarcerated in the first place, are people that are typically ill educated, minorities, the poor, and the disadvantaged, so that the upshot of all this incarceration is to deliberately punish those that are least able to defend themselves and have for the most part, been dealt a very bad hand to begin with, in which this government and its policies abandons these people from their inception, and then adding salt to the wound, makes it their policy to criminalize as many of them as possible, and finally to close their door of opportunity by restricting them from applying for and receiving a license necessary for work.

Those that have a criminal record, except for the most egregious crimes and some other special situations, have already paid their dues behind bars, or by having gone through the wringer of our judicial system, so that, upon their release, they should be afforded their basic human rights, with the absolute minimum of restrictions, rather than being treated like wretched refuse upon our shores. 

What a marvelous work is mankind

Too many of us, just take our bodies and minds for granted, never seeming to recognize the enormous complexity of what makes up our bodies and minds, that is not only incredible, but is marvelous in its design.  In point of fact there are many simple substances on this earth, so that if we were to take a glass of water and thereupon to pour half into another glass, we have not changed the substance of water, at all, it is the same, but now contained in two different glasses.  If we took a very large rock and smashed it in two, again, we have not changed the essence of the rock, for it has become two rocks, identical in their substance, though slightly differing in its shape.  In general, things that are simple can be divided and re-divided without their essence changing, whereas things that are complicated cannot be divided at all, of which the human body is one of those things, as are, all living beings upon this planet.

As reported by the Smithsonian.com, it is estimated that each human body has 37.2 trillion cells, which is a number that is so massively high, it cannot really be properly conceived of within the human mind.   Yet, each cell, as reported by nationalgeographic.com has 20,000 genes, so the immensity of just the human body, is staggering, and when we take into account the brain, Dr. Michio Kaku estimates that the brain has "…100 billion neurons."

All of the above indicates that mankind is incredibly complex, beyond the level of our ready understanding, and a gargantuan task for any one scientist, or even a team of esteemed scientists to fully and comprehensively understand.  The amount of intricacy that mankind consists of is nearly incomprehensible, yet, we do not ourselves need to fully comprehend it, for we are able to live and accomplish things, utilizing our fantastically created bodies and minds, without having to know the inner workings of how it all really happens.

Although, mankind is the epitome of complexity, beauty, and intelligence, this world is made up of so many other animals, plants, and other objects that it is breathtaking to try to take it all in, of which, the more that we study ourselves and the world around us, the more marvelous that it is to behold.  We are not simple organisms, we are instead, immensely complex, meticulous in our creation, and elaborate, of which, we are now just beginning to unravel the astonishing brilliance of our design.

Whether or not you as a person believe in God or not, does not change the fact as to whether God exists.  However, the more scientific work and study that is done in regards to the complexity of life here on earth, and specifically of mankind, the more that these scientists will be overwhelmed by the immensity of the task and comprehension of what is right in front of them.  This research so being done need not directly address anything outside the empirical world of science, but these scientists do have a responsibility to explicitly state the complexity and intricacy of what they do see, of which, their conclusion will invariably be, that all this is marvelous to behold, and beyond words.

Do right by your body and by your spirit

When we eat the wrong foods, that are too sugary or too processed, which are basically known as "junk food", to the exclusion of more healthy choices, our body suffers the consequences of such a decision, by manifesting additional weight, and possible health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, as well as general physical lethargy.  The food that we eat feeds the body that we have, so that, more times than not, when we eat the right foods, our body appreciates it and does better, than when we do not take care of our body and mindlessly eat the wrong foods, too often and too much of them.

So too, our spirit must be fed, of which, by simply ignoring our spirit, and exclusively dwelling on this material world, this will invariably lead to a life that often doesn't impress us as being all that satisfactory, because we have taken our very essence of who and what we really are and cast it aside.  Then, there are others that feed their spirit, with the junk food of worldly life, replacing the time needed for quiet contemplation and praise for our Creator, with riotous living and an uncaring disregard for anything spiritual.  There are also those that while recognizing the value of their spirit,  aren't consistent in taking care of it, though they do, make it a point to feed it well from time-to-time, perhaps at Christmas or Easter, but for the balance of such, place their spirit, too often on a fasting diet.  Finally, there are those that recognize that our body houses our spirit, and therefore, knowing that their real essence is their spirit which is part and parcel of our omnipotent God, make sure to feed their spirit with the right stuff of generosity, kindness, patience, and love.

While we rightly applaud those that have the intelligence and discipline to feed their bodies the right foods and to exercise their bodies properly, as well as making sure to get enough rest, in addition to periodic appointments with their doctor to verify that all is functioning well, not to do the same sort of thing, for their spirit is an oversight of epic proportions.  Your spirit matters far more than your body, for your body will eventually be discarded, leaving you as you always were, and if the spirit has been treated as an afterthought, or fed exclusively on just worldly things, than such a spirit as that, will not be healthy, but rather diseased.

The same care and consideration that we are told to take in regards to our physical form, should be accorded to our spiritual one as well, so that we should take the time to pray, to congregate with others of like-mindedness, and to demonstrate our intimacy with the fruits of the spirit, by performing good deeds and good actions for our fellow sojourners here on earth.  Our spirit needs the good nourishment of right thinking and right actions, and having received such, all will be well within our spirit.