The original war on drugs

Our modern day war on drugs started during the Nixon administration in 1971, and these laws, nearly fifty years later, unequally applied, has truly in effect, incarcerated and disrupted the lives of millions upon millions of Americans, with absolutely no end or no success in sight.  Yet, as bad as this present day war on drugs is, this was not the first big war on drugs that America impressed upon its people.  While many people are quite aware that prohibition of alcohol transportation and alcohol importation passed via the 18th Amendment in 1919, which subsequently was later repealed   in 1933, most people are quite unaware that thirty three States of the Union, before the passage of the 18th Amendment, were dry States at some time before the 18th Amendment came into national effect.

This meant in the majority of the States prior to the 18th Amendment, the consumption and manufacture of alcohol was banned on either a State wide initiative or through a county initiative.  Not too surprisingly, within those States and counties, Statewide or local law enforcement theoretically concentrated their resources on their attempt to eliminate this scourge of mankind, represented by the distilled liquors of all types.   Further to the point, similar to today's war on drugs, the resources of law enforcement types within States and counties, concentrated their animus not on the actual major producers and distributors of the alcohol, but rather on the poor and disadvantaged that distilled their own liquors for their own consumption, or to a minor extent, produce their own liquors for small time sell and distribution within their community.

As might be expected, the original war on drugs didn't fare any better than today's war on drugs, for two main reasons.  The first reason is that there is a significant amount of people, that have a strong desire to consume alcohol and liquor, of which, the illegality of doing so, just changes the logistics of purchasing that liquor, but doesn't eliminate the desire or the availability of liquors, because liquor is one of those things, that isn't all that difficult to manufacture, because all of the materials needed to do so, are often readily available.  In addition, those in charge of enforcing the State or local prohibition laws, are often themselves aiders and abettors of circumventing the law, because as in any illicit business, there is money to be had by simply turning the other way, especially, if arrests and convictions are concentrated against the disenfranchised poor, of which, those in power well know make easy targets to demonstrate the appearance of enforcing laws, while in effect, only enforcing them selectively.

These wars on drugs, whether alcohol, or the present day war against illicit drugs, are deliberately not authorized against pharmaceutical drugs which are unquestionably too often overprescribed and often debilitating and addicting, but far too profitable of a legitimate industry to persecute, but rather the government creates laws that are selectively enforced against the huddled masses, so that the elite and connected can exploit, benefit from, and when necessary, fine and incarcerate those that have no voice. So that, in reality, this is a war to protect the favored class, at the expense of the people, all under the guise for the betterment of mankind, when in actuality drug and alcohol abuse, can best be addressed as seeing such as a sick patient needing legitimate medical aid, rather than being treated as a crime and punishment issue, selectively enforced.

There has never been a better time to be a stalker

There use to be a time that a stalker of their intended victim had to put forth some real sweat effort in order to successfully pursue that stalking. Nowadays, stalkers more times than not, don't have to actively pursue their victims by physically following them on their feet or via a vehicle, or many other things of that basic sort; but instead, they can do all of their tracking and thereby their stalking, essentially by utilizing information that is available via social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram, or by a google search, SMS tracking, GPS, or similar, and in many of these instances, often, by basically taking on the guise of being a friend, the information flow to the stalker becomes readily available.

The massive advantage that today's stalker has is that the information that they are essentially able to freely procure is extremely accurate, and because it is so pertinent, this allows the stalker to get a very accurate picture of what their victim is or isn't doing, even in the present time, and often times pretty much to receive advance knowledge of where that victim is going. The stalker often has all of the Facebook information, the cell phone number, make and license number of the car being driven, background criminal information, knowledge of the current family situation, as well as the location of both work and home address, and so on and so forth.

All of this information, pretty much seems to be sort of legally okay for a given stalker to have, especially if it is considered to be essentially in the public domain. Of course, as always, actions taken by a stalker against an intended victim, are in many cases illegal, but that doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent to those that wish to commit those crimes, so that, if the stalker is able to commit what offenses that they are intending to commit, the victim will be the one to suffer from it.

It is well to remember also, that most stalkers know that with all of the hi-tech tools that are available, that if they are persistent enough and thorough enough, pretty much they will find vulnerabilities that will allow them to successfully exploit their victim. The problem that all of the potential victims have is that even if they are diligent in protecting their social media as well as other accounts, the very fact that they have those social media accounts makes them vulnerable, and the fact that publicly available information for individuals has been collated and processed by third party companies, all means that such is now available to just about anyone for a trivial price.

The reality is that we live in a hi-tech world, in which there are certain people that for whatever reason, do not have good intentions towards other people, that is, their intended victims; and basically through apps, their initiative, social media sites, and publicly available information, are able to stalk other people exceedingly well, often aided by the fact that they can assume the guise of a “friend” or a picture that doesn't represent them, and thereby ingratiate themselves further with the intended victim. This makes for a rather dangerous situation for the intended victim, caught between their usage of social media sites and smart phones, and too often unaware that those with evil intent are so easily able to stalk and to thereby harm them.

Where are all the obese really old people?

How much excess weight a given individual carries on their body and how long they have carried that excess weight is most definitely one of those pertinent factors affecting lifespans for individuals. While there are all sorts of studies dealing with one's weight, one's Body Mass Index (BMI), age, health, and various other factors, scientific studies aren't always able to clearly see through all of the various and myriad factors to come to definitive conclusions.

Yet, because it is well accepted that excess weight carries with it the higher risk of heart disease, gout, stroke, diabetes, higher blood pressure, the wear and tear of excess body weight on body parts, as well as often contributing to mental depression, in addition to many other ill health factors, quite clearly, all of this indicates that excess body weight is not healthy, and clearly is detrimental to general health.

In order for anyone to live to a very old age, they are almost without exception, going to have to lead a life of general moderation, as well as making sensible decisions in regards to their diet, exercise, and state-of-mind. That is to say, those that do the opposite, and have lead lives of immoderation, poor dietary choices, failure to exercise, and have minds that are discombobulated or stressed out, are going to see that those character traits and character failings will, if done long enough, and persistently enough, take their inevitable toll upon the physical body.

Again, it is very important to note that obese people suffer a much higher percentage of debilitating diseases and illnesses that can be either directly applicable to that excess weight or indirectly be a factor from that excess weight. This means, rather obviously, that those that are obese, are not going to be the ones that are going to live exceedingly long natural lives. All of this makes eminent sense, for when the body is physically overtaxed day in and day out, for years upon years, then the result will often be a body that wears out and has more repairs then a body that lives stress free.

While there are all sorts of theories and reasons that have been given as to why mankind has within such a short period of time seen the incidence of obesity increase at rates, previously unknown, the most obvious reason is that more and more people are consuming more calories than they need to actually consume to maintain their body weight and therefore the consequence of having done so is the increase in body weight. This increase in body weight has negative consequences demonstrated by the higher incidence of certain diseases and ailments that obese people have, without even taking into consideration, the lower quality of life, many obese people suffer from.

The real reason why there aren't any really old people that are obese is that obesity in and of itself, is not the natural state of what a human body is conditioned to be at. For those that don't believe that this is so, they should take the time to look around and to observe the animals that live within the natural domains of the animal world, and in particular, those animals that lived with a minimal amount of interference from humanity and they will soon observe that there are no obese animals, and the closest thing to obesity in the wild kingdom is those animals that must bulk up in order to hibernate, during the bleak winter season. Human beings on the other hand, do not hibernate, and obesity clearly cuts down on their lifespan.

Contempt destroys relationships

While there are all sorts of abuses that can absolutely wreak havoc in any relationship; one of the most abusive signs which may or may not include physical violence, is the contempt that one party gives to another, or even both parties do to one another. When there is contempt, basically what is happening, is that one party is dismissive in a condescending manner towards the other party; basically treating the other person as if they are beneath them, or trivial to them, or as an entity that has little value or worth. That type of behavior, is obviously unhealthy, and even if this contempt occurs on only an occasional moment of weakness or frustration, it is quite emotionally devastating for the recipient of that condescension.

So too, when one party exercises contempt, there often is a tit-for-tat response, of which, the offended party, strikes back, and therefore, each party ends up taking shots at the other, and because they know each other so well, often will indirectly or even directly attack one another at their weakest and most vulnerable spots. The thing about these attacks is that once the no-hold bar contemptuous attack has occurred, there really isn't any good way to, after the fact, when things have seemingly calmed down, to take back what has occurred, for to destroy can take only a moment, but to rebuild can take ages.

This so signifies, that while apologies have their place, and the symbols of apologies such as in gifts, also has their place as well as their purpose, the fact of the matter is, that the damage has been done, and it cannot be undone. Further to the point, those that are contemptuous in thought, need to think thoroughly about their coming actions, before expressing such contempt in their words of action and thereby making the situation worse for having acted upon it, because once done, it cannot be undone, and it surely is in the doing that relationships are often irreparably damaged or seriously harmed.

The thing that makes contempt so devastatingly brutal to the other person that it is directed against, is that it can often be correctly seen as a violation of the most sacred trust that one person has given to another person. That is to say, when someone who knows your vulnerabilities and weaknesses deliberately makes a conscious choice to exploit such in a manner in which it essentially eviscerates the very things that define who you are as a person, that is contemptuous, as well as being extremely hurtful.

In a nutshell, contempt of another person, indicates that the other person receiving such, somehow is unworthy of receiving instead the love, empathy, concern, patience, and compassion necessary in order to have and to maintain a healthy and wholesome relationship. Instead, they behave in a manner that demonstrates that they care more about being “right”, then in finding common ground. This means that those that are contemptuous in their demeanor lack the very attributes of what a good friend should and must be.

The long journey into the great unknown

While it is a truism, yet though, it is still very true, that America is fundamentally a nation of immigrants. So then, in an age in which traveling across the Atlantic ocean from America to Europe can be done via airplane and takes around seven to eight hours at a very reasonable cost; recognize, that the heyday of massive immigration into America from 1850-1930, not only didn't offer air travel, but also meant that all those departing from their given lands, didn't even have a visa, and they often didn't have a guarantee of a job or even a standing offer of employment, of which, many of those so departing for lands unknown, were also short of capital.

What these immigrants to America did have, though, was an awful lot of pluck and a deep desire to make something of themselves in a country that was basically considered to be a fresh land of fair opportunity. Still, as in most everything, that basically is unknown, a significant amount of those people so traveling, did so, under the belief, that America represented the promise land, but without really knowing if this was true.

This really meant that the millions upon millions of immigrants to this nation, were big risk takers. Not only were they risk takers, but their journey into the great unknown, was the type of journey that in effect, was a make or break journey, for failure was not an option, for whatever welfare state existed during those years, was marginal, at best.

Yet, these immigrants did come. They came because when a people, any people, are living in the reality of deliberate persecution, food shortages, and a distinct lack of opportunity within their native land, then, such a people will grasp at whatever straws and hopes are left to them, and thereby they will take and make their chances. America, though flawed in many respects, represented at that time, especially for those of European ancestry, the promised land. So then, even with the overcrowding, even with the exploitation, and even with overseas recruiting that cheated immigrants, these immigrants came because America represented hope and a version of meritocracy that validated such a hope.

These millions of immigrants that came here, were courageous and brave, and quite obviously were willing to die in a new undiscovered country, if it came to that, then die without having fought for what they believed that they had an inalienable right to, for the reality of their own land, was bleak, desperate, and brutal.

So then, all those that immigrated here and still today, immigrate here, almost without exception, are not coming here to pick up some sort of welfare check, or welfare benefits, or anything of that sort, but rather, instead, they are willing to suffer incredibly indignities as well as injustices, just for the fair opportunity to prove themselves in the cauldron of opportunity. These people, then, personify, and thereby truly do represent the spirit and heart of what it means to be a true American.

Understanding Omniscience

In regards to God, it must be stated, that omniscience literally means “all knowing”. This means, that despite our individual or collective brilliance and efforts, there literally is absolutely nothing new under the sun, and thereby no new knowledge for God to newly comprehend or to absorb. This signifies exactly what is implied, that God knows everything, and further that there never was a time or place when God was not omniscience, personified; further signifying that there never will be a time when God will not be omniscient.

Quite obviously, from a mortal perspective, the concept that God is omniscient is well-nigh impossible to actually comprehend, but there is fundamentally a massive dimensional chasm between that which is immortal from that which is mortal. This then, surely represents, that all those that concentrate to its exclusion, on things that are mortal, and dismiss all that which is immortal, are barking up the wrong tree. For, in actuality, the most important knowledge isn't knowledge of the mortal kind, which, has its place and purpose, but rather, knowledge and the tools of the trade of the immortal kind which can only come from a secure and unpolluted connection to that which is immortal, and nothing else.

God knows everything, which by definition, means that not only is God no longer learning, but that there was never a time when God did not already know it all, and forthwith that there never was a time when God was a pupil to anybody or anything. This means, from our limited viewpoint, and egotistical outlook, that no matter how clever and creative we are in this mortal plane, we are unable to add a whit of knowledge to God's absolutely complete arsenal.

So too, the fact that God is omniscience signifies that everything that we are searching for, and in particular, that of knowledge, is contained within the presence of God, so then, our highest duty is to seek that knowledge from the Source; for why settle for anything less than what is ours, by our birthright?

Of course, some would argue, that if God is omniscient, then we must not have free will, for if God knows everything, then God already knows the result, before we have even made our “free” choice. This then is one of those perplexing puzzles, that seems to present a paradox, signifying that we aren't as free as we believe and thereby, it so follows, not actually personally responsible, for the decisions that we make. Yet, the decisions that we make, day by day and moment by moment, must definitely has an impact upon our lives, as well as on others, so that the ramifications and permutations from such, seem unlimited and in total, appear ultimately unknowable in advance.

Yet, the answer to this omniscience and our apparent free will paradox, is as simple as this, the present reality that we are so focused and obsessed upon, is itself, an elaborate illusion, in fact, a dreamlike state, of which, when we finally pierce through the unreality of this material life, we will find that we never once left the bosom of our God.

Still exploiting cheap and vulnerable labor

Although the estimates vary in regards to how many illegal and unauthorized immigrants are residing in the United States, at the present time, it is fair to state, that there are at least 11 million undocumented workers in this country, and that number doesn't include those that were formerly undocumented or unauthorized that were able in one way or another to receive authorized documentation or amnesty to reside in America, and to even to get their citizenship.

The very first thing to remember is that America, has been dependent upon cheap labor almost since the inception of this country, of which, back in its founding days, slavery was legal, and therefore the cost of cheap labor for those procuring such, was fundamentally about buying peoples that had been forcefully extracted from other countries, to slave for plantation owners and similar, without those laboring having recourse to wages, or basically as Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney stated, that blacks had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect."

In today's society, there isn't any slavery, for not only are there no more slave auctions, but slavery has been Constitutionally banned from this nation. However, as in most countries, laws are not equally and equably applied, and further to the point, those that are not citizens within a nation, are absolutely susceptible to exploitation of the highest order, especially when those so hiring the undocumented workers, are well aware that those being hired, do not have equal or effective access to justice or the laws, and purposely make it their policy to take advantage of all those that have little or no ability to fight back.

This indicates something that most Americans seem rather clueless about, which is virtually all of the illegal and undocumented workers that are here in America, are actually here under the aegis, more or less, of industries that are dependent upon having ready access to cheap labor that can be exploited in order to make profits within their businesses, such as back breaking agricultural labor of all kinds, industrialized meat and poultry plants, hospitality services, landscaping, construction, and so on.

This signifies, especially in smaller and more insular communities, that the justice and policing arms of those communities are clearly aware of the presence of illegal workers within their communities, but will not interfere with the very labor that is necessary for the community and the businesses to prosper and benefit from; because without that labor, those businesses would effectively cease to exist and would no longer be profitable at a sustainable level, because their business model is specifically built around continuous cheap exploitable labor.

This means that the real reason that millions upon millions of undocumented workers are within America, is because it is very, very good for the business interests of America. Further to the point, those businesses aren't interested in changing anything within the current construct that they are working within, because it is the money maker for them. This so means, that while slavery is gone, its replacement, is built upon the purposeful and deliberation exploitation of undocumented laborers, and more than that, thrives in a nation that has the audacity to label itself as the beacon of liberty, justice, and freedom for all.

Moral weakness and alcoholism

There are all sorts of things that have been labeled as a disease, of which, some of those things so labeled, are not actually a disease.  Further to the point, the incorrectly labeling something as a disease, as opposed to correctly labeling it as a moral weakness, for instance, obfuscates the troubles of something as significant as alcoholism.  So that, there was a time in the United States, when the cause against alcohol, was not a cause of trying to fight alcohol as a disease, but rather fighting alcohol, for what it really represents, which is character weakness, and subsequently it was the belief of those that pressed hard for Prohibition to see alcohol as the burden that it so often represents in real life: which is family issues due to its nefarious influence, wasted money, expenses, and time, fights, illicit actions and wrongly reasoned actions done under the influence of alcohol, damage to bodily health and mind, tardiness and mal-performance at work, and damage to the moral character.

The main reason why today's society so often wants to label something as significant and as prevalent as alcoholism as a disease, is that by doing so, it removes the stigma that the person so suffering from alcoholism from being the responsible party of being an alcoholic, and replacing such with the rather dubious distinction that instead that are suffering from a disease.  A true disease, as reported by thecleanstate.org, is when "… some part of the body is in a state of abnormal physiological functioning," of which, alcoholism, is the deliberate abuse and dependency upon alcohol, that certain people become enthralled to; yet, certain other people, through the help of others, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, or through the help of esteemed friends and family, or through their own will power and desire to break free from the bonds that hold them, are able to overcome through their efforts and desires.

So then, if alcoholism, was a disease, then sheer will power and desire to remove alcoholism from one's dependency, would not and could not occur; just as if cancer is a disease, then sheer will power and the desire to remove cancer from one's body, would not and could not occur, which it does not.  In point of fact, the curing of actual diseases, comes from appropriate medical procedures and pharmaceuticals that are able to rectify and to remove those diseases; whereas if alcohol was a disease, the same basic procedures would apply, but, in fact, the programs that are utilized for alcoholism, are fundamentally different than what they are for those that are suffering from a body part in a state of abnormal physiological functioning.

The reason that it is so important to see alcoholism as a moral failing or as a character flaw, rather than as a disease, is that, by doing so, the primary responsibility of correcting such, lies within one's own hands, and hence the chances of a successful resolution to anything that is debilitating or difficult, is always going to have a better result when the root cause of the problem is dealt with in a forthright manner.

No doubt, there are plenty of reasons of why people turn to alcohol, of which, some of those reasons, are quite heart wrenching and very unfortunate, but no matter how a given person got there, it ultimately is their responsibility to extricate themselves from that problem.  Fortunately, with alcohol, because it is so common, there are plenty of organizations that will aid those that want such aid; so that, in the battle of any moral weakness, ultimately, the result lies within the sovereignty and will power of that individual, which is why so much praise and credit is given to those that overcome alcoholism, as compared to something like cancer, in which the credit is typically given only to the medical professionals, and not to the individual.

Material things and self-worth

Most prominently In western nations, there is a very high correlation for a fair amount of people, that their perceived happiness is related to their financial worth in conjunction with their job status, which is thereby centered around their material assets and knickknacks, as opposed to recognizing their worth as a good human being with a personality and traits that are beneficial for themselves as well as to others.  In other words, there are plenty of people that willingly participate in the "rat race", so to speak, or try to "keep up with the Joneses", of which, since, to a certain extent, the material game, is often a zero-sum one, means inevitably that the pursuit of those material assets, is going to lead to some degree of disappointment, for a significant amount of people.

Additionally, even those that achieve all of the material wealth that they have been hankering for, do not, in having made that achievement; which may have necessitated a determined personage, drive, determination, and throughput, necessarily become all that happy.  That is to say, if, money or status was the sole determinate of happiness, than quite obviously, those with the most, would be happiest and those with the least would be the saddest.  Yet, that isn't true, at least, not to the extent that someone that has one thousand times the material assets of someone else, is one thousand times happier.  In most cases, the degree of happiness between people of widely divergent incomes, of which, the person with the lower income is still able to procure the necessities of a decent material life, often demonstrates that money and bigger toys, does not make for the happier person.

It can be said, and it has been said, that those that believe that they will be the happiest if they own this, or have that, or go get this, will often find, those objects and material things are, in reality, overvalued.  What is undervalued for these particular people is the value of their own true self worth in the sense not of monetary value, but of character.  That is to say, the character of a given individual is the greatest gift that can be utilize for the benefit of others, especially if that character is of high integrity, and is by far the most precious asset to pass on from one individual to another and from one generation to another.

Further to the point, if everybody was selfish, of which, everyone exclusively was about their own self, this world would be a tragedy of the highest order.  The fact that this world, to a very large extent, is a tragedy, in which, so many suffer so much, clearly signifies that far too many people are about their own selves, and far too many, value material things over character, and consciously make that same choice, day by day, again and again.  This so creates a world of disillusionment and disappointment, of which, the losers of this game far outnumber the winners, because the winners are unable to ever find satiation because they live with the false belief that ever more, will bring that lasting happiness that they so long for.  In reality, true happiness begins within the psyche of each one of us, in which, if more people were to truly comprehend that it is in the giving, of our good advice, of our compassion, and of our mercy, that this is only time that we truly do increase sustainable worth, then the world would become more harmonious, and far less of the tragedy it presently represents.  

666

There are few people, if any, that aren't at least vaguely aware that the number 666 brings to mind the  very essence of satanic connotations, or perhaps even Satan, himself, and to be associated or branded with such a number, is to be marked as a very bad person, indeed.  The number 666 comes from Holy Scripture in which we read: "Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six." (Revelation 13: 18)

Entire books, theses, articles, commentaries, movies, and documentaries of all sorts have dealt with various interpretations as to what the number 666 actually means, but it is important to note, that Revelation, itself, is highly symbolic Scripture, and anyone that takes the reading of Revelation, or dare say, a significant amount of Holy Scripture as being meant to be interpreted literally, are pretty much barking up the wrong tree, and specifically to Revelation, most definitely are doing so.

This signifies that people that like to take the most evil personages in history or even of the present time, and declare that these people are the embodiment of the number 666, clearly don't comprehend Revelation, correctly.  A far more meaningful way to understand the number 666, is to first to contemplate upon the entire chapter, and then to allow the words so written to cogitate within one's mind; further, one can do some research in regards to what esteemed and inspired Biblical authorities have to say, and then through these various means, begin to formulate an opinion.

So that, a far better way of looking at the number, 666, is not that such applies to just one such beast, but rather that mankind, without its eternal soul, and when lacking the spirit of God that breathed life into mankind, is, when stripped of those very things, basically, just a beast.  That is to say, those of mankind that have willfully turned their back on God, by their actions, by their decisions, and by their mindset, are themselves, in many, though not all cases, become the embodiment of the number 666.

In reality, the number 666 can be applied to any of us, and this scriptural passage is supposed to be seen as both a fair warning while also being prophetic.  It does so signify, that those that live to their body, caring only of material things, and deliberately leading lives of selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and lust, are the epitome of those that have sold their eternal and inalienable attributes of agape love, compassion, generosity, and justice for material gain, in the here and now.

Too often, mankind wants to point out the errors of others, while according their own selves, a free passage from condemnation, but it doesn't really work that way.  In actuality, the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, should be seen for what it really was; Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, of which this is meant to be an object lesson to all of us, which is when the purest amongst us, is disrespected like a common criminal, and thereupon beaten and crucified, without having done any wrong, that it would therefore behoove our fallen selves to get our lives in order, by putting forth the effort to acquire worthwhile knowledge, and then to apply ourselves diligently to the greater good.   For, there are no free pathways back to God, so that, until we are able to see ourselves as well as to see all others as the embodiment of God, temporarily housed within a material form on earth, and thereby to make the sacrifice to treat our neighbors right, then all of us are in material danger of becoming that number, 666.

The color of His skin: Jesus

There are all sorts of depictions and paintings of Jesus the Christ, of which, the complexion and look of Jesus varies considerably depending upon the artist, the country, the time period, and assorted other factors.  The one thing though, is that, perhaps as might be expected, countries that are predominantly Christian in their faith, no matter what sect that Christianity is, have been primarily countries that are western nations, with the predominant power structure within those nations, resting most prominently in the hands of those that are considered to be Caucasian, and self-identify themselves as Caucasian.  So then, not too surprisingly, since religion is an awful big deal to a lot of people, those at the highest realms of power, are going to have a very strong preference to want to see the symbols of the de facto religion of their nation, personalized as looking similar to those that are in power.

This means, to the general disgrace of those that respect the Christian religion, in conjunction with all those purveyors of mass media of all sorts, such as movies, magazines, and television; all these for the most part, have predominantly portrayed Jesus as a white man, and very Caucasian looking.  Yet, there isn't any historical doubt that Jesus was born, raised, and died in the Middle East, of which, the most common complexion within the Middle East, involves some degree of swarthiness, so that, to see Jesus as whiter than white, especially within a time period when sunscreen was unheard of, and of which Jesus was known to have spent some time out in the sun, seems highly improbable.

So too, Holy Scripture, spends not an iota describing the looks of Jesus, whatsoever; although there are a few passages, that reference His looks, somewhat, such as in Isaiah 53:2, and perhaps Revelation 1: 14-15.  The fact that no time is spent on the looks of Jesus, should register very deeply within the psyche of each individual that respects the Christian religion, for the point of the fact that no description is offered, signifies that what Christ represents to each of us, is not the physical look, but the message, the spirit, the hope, the resurrection, and the wisdom.

While we are instructed not to worship idols, there is, in a world, in which, our eyes see so much, something to be said, to having a touchstone if not physically in front of us, at least in our mind, to sooth and to comfort us, especially in times of trouble.  This signifies that each of us that respects or are of the Christian faith should, as per our inclination, see Jesus in a personal way that will hold meaning to us.  This could thereby mean, that if we are black, we should and it could be argued, that we must see Jesus as black; so too, if we are brown, we should and it could be argued, that we must see Jesus as brown; and so on and so forth.  Additionally, for all those that are female, we should and it could be argued, that we must see Jesus as a kindred spirit of having the highest feminine qualities, which was best exemplified by His healing, His kindness, His consideration, and His love for everyone, especially the poor, vulnerable, lost and forsaken, and most especially of the little children.

All of the above signifies that if the symbols within your Church are not inclusive, of portraying our Jesus, as every man, and in harmony with every woman, then that Church needs to seriously consider amending its ways, for a pure white Jesus is a counterfeit Jesus, for Jesus is every color and none.

Those in high positions and their crimes

The American jurisprudence system absolutely loves incarcerating its own citizens, and does so to such a large extent, that there is no other western nation, that has even a close approximation to the amount of incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and convicted felons of all sorts that America has.  It would be one thing if all that jurisprudence applied so stringently somehow thereby made America a safer and more secure nation, having taught those criminals that crime does not pay in America, but that simply is not the case.

In point of fact, crime as dealt with by the jurisprudence system of America is basically divided into a classification, by social class, and further by whether such a crime is a white collar crime or a blue collar crime.  That is to say that first of all, poor and disadvantaged people, that are ill educated, poorly housed, and often are brought up in dysfunctional homes are seen by the prosecutorial authorities and the policing apparatus as being very easy targets to arrest, convict, and put away; which is essentially what is done with scores upon scores of them.  On the other hand, those with clever but devious minds, having a strong susceptibility to greed or a deep desire for undeserved shortcuts in life, are, as long as they are not violent people, in which they fraudulently manipulate, or forge, or deceive, or embezzle, are often accorded the benefit of good counsel, good negotiation, favorable terms, and light sentences, with monetary damages often being assessed in lieu of a harsh and unforgiving incarceration.

What this basically means is that if you are poor and are busted for burglarizing a house, that person will probably have to plea to a deal that will involve incarceration of possibly a few years or more, depending upon their record, as well as their ability to competently negotiate a plea deal from a very weak position with the prosecuting agency.  Whereas, white collar criminals that embezzle thousands or even millions of dollars, are often able to procure themselves a strong advocate for their defense, that allows them to avoid any incarceration whatsoever, subject only to a monetary fine, community service, and the loss of employment in that industry as being part of the deal, so constructed.

Clearly, crimes in America are divided into categories in which people that have trouble controlling their emotions and temper, or have sticky fingers with bad judgment, or are involved in what essentially are victimless crimes, or wish to transact business with illicit substances such as drugs, are punished rather severely.  On the other hand, the people that are the kingpins within illicit businesses, corrupt officials of all sorts, and those that exploit others in underhanded ways, are dealt with as if what they have done is wrong, but not wrong enough to actually involve much incarceration at all.

The jurisprudence system as currently constructed has it wrong.  Rather, when it comes to crime, the higher the position of the criminal in society, or the greater in power that the criminal is, or the more impact and negative influence those crimes have on society at large, should be the very basis of how much punishment is indeed meted out.   So that, the little fish needs to be thrown back into sea, and the big fish needs to be caught, cleaned, and professionally filleted.   Those that have power and position who have abused and misused their authority, should and must truly pay for their crimes, for in their abuse of their power and position, they must face their reckoning, for the bigger they are, the harder they must fall.

The criminal lynching of black veterans

One could make a very strong argument, that though black soldiers have nobly fought in all of the American wars, beginning at the beginning with our revolutionary war; that their treatment by their fellow countrymen and by their country, itself, has clearly never been equal or truly appreciated, except, possibly within the last few years, and even that, is highly debatable.  In point of fact, despite the fact that blacks have historically been underrepresented in all the pinnacles of power, governmental or private; and have often been disenfranchised from voting, discriminated against in regards to employment, education, housing, opportunity and justice; free blacks have been, since the very beginning, patriotic, courageous, and loyal, to a government and a people that have way too often done them wrong, time and time again.

There is an awful lot of blame to be laid at the feet of the southern mentality of honor, with its long history of systemic racism, injustice, and violence; all done to keep those that were of a different color, subservient and in their place.  As bad as that was, and it was very, very bad, as well as most definitely being a pox upon America and its claim of freedom, liberty and justice for all --what is especially galling and foundationally unacceptable, is the lynching of patriotic black soldiers that had the audacity to wear their uniform after honorably completing their service, or while on furlough in the southern States.

It is to the great shame of America, and in particular, to the great shame of the South, the extrajudicial lynching that thousands of blacks suffered by the oppressive hands of the southern white man, for crimes that in virtually every case were never committed by those so lynched, but instead were pinned upon these innocent victims, so that the southern honor bloodlust could be satiated, as well as to send a very definitive message to all blacks in residence, that not a single black man in the South, not one, could guarantee to anyone of their family, and of their residence, that they were ever safe, from being lynched themselves.

To make matters even worse, the southern white man, had no respect for its National government, proven by their deliberate targeting of black men in uniform by the South, of which, time and time again, these good servicemen, were lynched, in their uniform, by southern rebels, solely on the basis that a black man in uniform in the South, was considered to be a form of disrespect, a clear violation of a lack of subservience, and  adjudged to be an overt form of contempt, all stemming from these soldiers' failure to adhere to their proper place in the South, as dictated by the southern man.

So then, it must be clearly stated, that this National government has the highest moral obligation, to make good on every single military man so lynched in the South, from the very first serviceman to the very last serviceman lynched.   While it is too late to prosecute the miscreants and instigators of this gross injustice, it is not too late, to properly identify most of the men that were lynched, and see that their descendents receive a death gratuity commensurate with the injustice and suffering that these men, that so nobly gave their all to their country, justly deserve, so that their unjust death should not have been completely in vain.

Those who are clever but clearly are not clever enough

Just about everyone hates and despises a "know-it-all", for basically two distinctive reasons, of which the first one is that the person that thinks that they know-it-all, fundamentally and conclusively does not; and the other reason is that those that think they know-it-all, actually do appear to pretty much know-it-all, but their arrogance and pride negates a lot of the value that others might get from their knowledge.

When it comes to the belief in God, there are all sorts of know-it-alls, of which by far, the worst of them all, is the person, typically of some intelligence, that just "knows" that God doesn't exist, and proceeds to pontificate on and on about why the existence of God is a delusion, or an opiate for the lazy and disenfranchised, and is prepared to do battle, on their terms, for any that dare to differ in opinion.  There is always something extremely unsettling when intelligent people that really ought to know better, and really ought to investigate a lot further, instead, purposefully dismiss things of substantial substance as being a myth or a phantasm. 

What makes it particularly unsettling, is that intelligent and very clever people, especially those that have self-serving morals and ethics, often do very well in rising up the ladder of business success, governmental success, political success, and material leadership of all sorts.  Those that have a silver tongue and the Midas touch typically are going to be the ones that are the leaders in many a society, especially if their ambition is unbounded.  So then, when those that are already in a position of authority, and are considered by most people to be credible, intelligent, and wise, then what they have to say and expound upon, can definitely make an influential difference in the lives of others.

So, quite frankly, the inconvenient problem with the belief in God, especially for those of blind ambition, is that God presupposes a moral universe, with natural law that is unvarying, and inalienable rights that all are gifted with, of which all of these things, explicitly mean that the measure of mankind is measured by an omniscient God, not by mankind.   This means, that belief in God, necessitates that all of mankind is held to the very  same invariable standard without an exception for anybody; as opposed to mankind, which like the changing of the wind, decides what shall go, and what shall be permitted; and what shall not go, and what shall not be permitted.

Those that are clever want to take the place of God, because that puts them in control, and will often provide to them the privileged ability to exploit all others in service to their specific needs and desires.  Additionally, the power structure of many a modern nation wants to negate god, so that, that nation state in its structure becomes the replacement for God, or, in effect, supersedes and marginalizes God.  Yet, again and again, no matter how clever the privileged few are that rail against the delusion of God; mankind, not now, not ever, will ever be able to kill God off, because all that ever is, and all that will ever be, is of God.

The vanity of vanities is the wrong headed belief that mankind made mankind, or, that mankind is just some sort of primordial happenstance.  Those clever ones that claim that they know that this is true suffer from the darkest arrogance, which has made them delusional.

Not enough qualified candidates to fulfill jobs

We read in media accounts of all sorts that in certain professions and industries that certain employers are finding it extremely difficult or even impossible to find qualified candidates to fulfill open jobs.  In many situations, these employers are utilizing experienced workers that have previously retired in order to stem somewhat their shortfall.  It would be one thing if that shortfall was because there weren't enough PhD candidates, or other highly educated post secondary graduates, available for these jobs, but in actuality, the United States has the strongest university system in the world, and churns out graduate after graduate each and every year.  Instead, the problem seems to basically be that there is way too much of disconnect between post secondary education or even trade schools and the whole educational process and purpose.

While there are a lot of absolutely valid reasons to attend a university, one of the most salient ones, is to actually find employment in the profession that the graduate has gotten their degree in, or a close approximation to it.  Clearly, based on the situation in which there are an incredible amount of people working at low-end or dead end jobs that have graduate degrees, while on the other hand, there are a fair amount of jobs, that simply can't be filled, because the qualifications and the experience as necessary are not in existence, indicates that the haphazard way that too many people go about their education and their trade school admission, is clearly dysfunctional.

In point of fact, there are a lot of problems with the way that people are educated and trained for professions in this country, of which, fundamentally the very biggest problem is that education should as often as possible, be combined with hands on training in a real world environment that is germane to the subject or major so being taught.  That is to say, an Art major should have an internship or apprenticeship with a business or industry that has something to do with Art.  So too, someone that desires to be an electrician should be training under an experience electrician in the real world, while receiving their trade education, and so on and so forth.

That is to say, while it's understandable that a student might take a job serving tables at a restaurant, or driving a car for Uber; but if that type of work has little or nothing to do with what they are applying themselves to achieve in life, it would be far better if their time was spent in the real world, performing duties that are going to be in harmony with their actual degree or trade.   This signifies that governments, government contractors, and private enterprise employers need to work in conjunction with students at an age of no later than sixteen years of age, of which, through objective testing of aptitude, students and their talents will be discerned, and thereby decisions are made at that age, as to what is a good fit for those students, in order to achieve gainful employment, and consequently a course of action created for students that concentrates on those talents, with an apprenticeship or internship with employers to build up their experience and knowhow, and hence upon graduation to be able to hit the ground, running.

This should not be taken that students should not be allowed to choose their own path; it merely reflects that in an age in which false starts and false paths can lead to monstrous student debt, despair, and dreams crushed, that this government, its educational system, its trade schools, and employers of all stripes, need to seriously work together with students as a cohesive whole, because often those that are good enough to graduate with one degree, are going to be good enough to graduate with another degree that may well serve them and society a whole lot better.

Tooth decay and sugar

Never has the dentistry profession had more state-of-the-art tools of the trade, in order to properly and professionally clean teeth, perform root canals, as well as tooth extractions, and all other types of procedures that are necessary in providing and aiding clients in having good healthy teeth and gums.  You might think that with the modern fluoridation of water, as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste that most everyone utilizes on a consistent basis, mouthwashes of all sorts, and just the general knowledge that flossing, brushing, and cleaning of one's teeth leads to good results, would in the scheme of things, mean that there would be quite naturally, never so many with good healthy teeth and gums, but unfortunately, this isn't actually true.

To take a step back and to start at the beginning, primitive society did not have and could not avail themselves of the dentistry profession, nor toothbrushes, nor tooth paste, nor mouthwash, yet, though there was tooth decay in primitive societies; there was also, surprisingly, as demonstrated anthropologically in isolated societies; societies in which pretty much all the members of it, had healthy teeth.   The only possible reason why this would be so, would have to come down to the very foods that people ate, of which, certain extensively studied primitive societies ate foods that did not contain sugars, or processed white flour, or processed foods of any sort.  Instead, these people ate food indigenous to their culture such as fish, pork, chicken, and red meat, with only minute amounts of sugar ingested, primarily through natural fruits, and they did not have any notable tooth decay.

The primary reason why tooth decay is still existent and prevalent in today's society, has a lot to do, and probably can be successfully argued, everything to do, with sugar, in any of its myriad forms that is ingested into the body through the foods that people eat, day by day.  Even though, many people are good about brushing their teeth, after a meal, or at appointed times of the day, the thing about foods such as carbohydrates that are highly processed and high in sugar, or sugary pop soda, is that as soon as that food is ingested, the acidic byproducts created by that food begins to inexorably erode the tooth enamel, in which, this action, repeated often enough, will in a significant amount of cases, produce some form of tooth decay.

Further to the point, those that do not brush their teeth, or have rather poor dental hygiene, and are also consuming a fair amount or more of sugary snacks and processed foods, as well as soda pop, are going to find that the acid created by those sugars will surely eat away at their tooth enamel.  The real reason why dentists and the dentistry industry is still so busy and occupied today, despite all of the toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, and mouthwash bought, is because the diet of modern mankind, too often, is one of consuming foods that are not only physically not beneficial for the body, but are definitely damaging to the teeth and its enamel.  It is quite unfortunate, that while sugary sweets may taste quite good to most people, the effects of sugar, which are first seen in the damage to our tooth enamel, clearly is not good, and further that the effects of sugar on the interior of our body, must too, not be good at all.

For all those that want to be, Kings and Queens

There aren't that many princes or princesses, or Kings or Queens, in today's modern society, yet, as provided to us by novels, plays, movies, and real life, there is plenty of romance and belief in Kings and Queens.  While there aren't that many nations ruled by absolute monarchies, there are plenty of countries that are in fit, form, and function, run essentially by just one person, although they may not have the designation of a King or Queen, they behave and conduct the actions of the state as if they are one.

For whatever reason, perhaps, wish fulfillment, or fantasy, there are plenty of people that wish to see themselves as a King or Queen or as a King or Queen in waiting, and while this sort of fantasizing is relatively harmless, it can also provide us with a true object lesson.  That is to say, if a given individual truly believes that they are deserving of being a King or Queen, then in fairness, the question should obviously be asked as to whether what they are doing right now, in addition to what knowledge that they have right now, as well as the overall trajectory of their life, truly represents the demeanor, accomplishments, and accouterments of someone that would become a good King or Queen.

In point of fact, the world already has an overabundance of people that are selfish, self-centered, cruel, and spiteful, of which, quite obviously more of those types of people in real power are not needed.  Rather, there is a lack of those that have the attributes of what would make for a good King or Queen, of which, characteristics such as justice, consistency, fairness, courage, decisiveness, impartiality, generosity, forgiveness, faithfulness, empathy, and discernment would obviously make for a  very sound basis of what defines a good King or Queen.

The bottom line is that for those that desire great leadership roles in life, they should make it their point and principle to create the good habits, persevere and do the hard work, obtain knowledge and knowhow, and understand the value of great mentorship in order to develop themselves into a better person, that truly can be of real benefit to others.  It isn't good enough to just fantasize about something of merit, without putting forth the true effort to be that something; because though a given King or Queen may be born into their throne, a good King or Queen becomes good by developing their skill sets and wisdom in a way that will truly be of service to their country, first and foremost.

Those that desire to be at the top in any business, or in their personal life, or for their country, must recognize, that the more responsibility that is placed upon their shoulders, of which, those decisions made have life and death consequences, as well as rich or poor outcomes, as well as victory or defeat situations, and are integral to whether there will be good times or bad times for that society, should be up for the task and extremely well qualified, for if they are not, woe to those people; and if they are, then such respect as given by the people, is well earned.

The Public Defender and those fees

The Constitution in its 6th Amendment makes it very clear that in all criminal prosecutions, that the accused shall "… have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."  Further to the point, States and counties are quite aware that they cannot legally prosecute defendants that are unable to afford an attorney, due to their being indigent or similar, so that the State or the county must therefore provide them with an attorney, or such prosecution of a particular case will almost for a certainty be overturned as a violation of Constitutional law.

While in most jurisdictions public defenders are overworked, underpaid, and understaffed, the system as it is, sort of works in the sense that most indigent defendants in one way or another, receive a court appointed attorney that at least takes on the semblance of representing them in court proceedings.  Still, with the United States arresting and consequently prosecuting millions upon millions of its own citizens each year, not too surprisingly, funds for the defense of those so accused and without monetary means, cost those States and those counties and therefore the taxpayers of such, quite a lot of money, and thereby, there is often going to be, someone in some place of authority, who knows the law, even knows the spirit of the law, but has a plan to workaround it for the benefit of the status quo.

In other words, States and counties are well aware that charging an hourly wage or even a contract price to an indigent defendant for the services of a public defender is probably something that will not be upheld in a court of law or a court of appeal.  On the other hand, charging a "booking fee" or a "processing fee" or a "registration fee" of which, this charge is administered to every single defendant, in which they are legally held responsible to pay, is somehow in some way is able to pass muster.  In reality, this fee because it is mandatory, and thereby compelled against all defendants, is in itself, discriminatory, for though each impoverished defendant has a right to an attorney, some of these defendants, because of the amount and burden of this fee, will subsequently elect to not have an attorney, and will in most cases, have to negotiate with the prosecutor and the court, themselves, in which they have neither the experience, savvy, connections, or even the understanding of the ramifications of whatever deal is so made.

For all the States and counties that complain about budget shortfalls, because of the expense of having to utilize public defenders for indigent defendants, the most obvious workaround for this type of problem is for the police and thereby the prosecutorial office to arrest far fewer indigent and oppressed people on what typically are minor criminal offenses of one sort of another; and concentrate their considerable resources instead on arresting only those that actually have money, and lots of it; and thereby spend their time prosecuting  things like: corporate criminals, while collar crimes and cons, medical fraud, insurance fraud, and basically all those types of things that people with intelligence but lacking a good ethical compass like to do. 

As for those indigent defendants, to keep things really simple, most of the crime, that they are accused of, such as loitering, public drunkenness, petty theft, marijuana possession, vagrancy and so forth, are typically the types of criminal offenses that should be re-categorized into ticket offenses, or infractions, that are not legally felonies or misdemeanors, and the fine structure should be indexed against that persons' personal income.

God is only going to ask you just one question

Sooner or later, whether desired or not, anticipated or not, we all have to meet our Maker.  Most anyone with any real sensibility is not going to face our Most High God, without some sort of trepidation, for unlike human interactions, it is impossible to get one over on God.  God knows you better than you know yourself, for God is omniscience, personified.  Not only that, when you face God, there is nowhere to hide, no space to run to, and nowhere to go, for it is truly the final reckoning.

When you are in school and in class in this world, those that perform best on tests are usually the very ones that have listened well, applied themselves to the subject matter, studied well, and thereby have subsequently tested well on the exams.  So too, in the only class that really matters, each of us will be examined by the Master Teacher of them all.  The school class that we are all part of is called life, and how we live our lives is the essay of whom and what we really are.  Obviously, those that understand the subject matter to be tested, and in addition to that, prepared themselves to do well on the examination, that none can escape from, are going to score higher, especially over all those others that are ignorant, nonchalant, ill prepared, or even actively opposing God.

In the scheme of things it would be nice to know ahead of time what questions and what subjects are going to be covered on our "Exit" exam.  In point of fact, it is the exact same question for everybody.  That question is in so many words: "What have you done to be of benefit and of aid to others?"  For some people, that may well be the question that they want to hear, whereas for others it most definitely will not be.  Further, there will be plenty of people that will consider that question to be unfair, or even stupid, but that is the question.

The reason that God asks that specific question is because each of us, without a single exception, have been created by the exact, same God, equally held and equally loved by God.  This means that all those that spend an inordinate amount of time demonizing others, claiming that this creed or this color or this inhabitant is unclean or an infidel, don’t seem to comprehend the most basic thing: that we are all the very same substance.  So too, all those that think solely of themselves or just of their family, to the exclusion of others, are missing this very point, which is that to do right to those that have a vested interest in us doing right to them, is hardly to anyone's everlasting credit.  Rather, those that do right, specifically do right to those others that do not have the capability at that time, and may not ever have the capability at any time, to reciprocate in kind, but often are appreciative of that kindness freely given.

Everything that is wrong in this world can be attributed to mankind's selfishness.  To successfully overcome such selfishness requires that each of us makes it their point and their principle to think less of their own self, and more of the other, recognizing that in the voluntary helping of the other is the true eternal fulfillment that we so covet and long for, in that our service to others, completes us.

Software developers, engineers, coders, programmers and outsourcing

There are an awful lot of Americans employed in various fields involving software development, and of which the educational requirements range from being essentially self taught, to doctorate degrees.  While, it's somewhat audacious to say that the very best software developers in the world are located in the United States, it is fair to say, that the compensation for those employed in America in the software field are as competitive and as lucrative as any other country so does provide.

The thing about software development, is though it does require tools and training, is that the output so generated from the software developer, is primarily done on some sort of computer, and that output often does not necessarily have to be done within the same building as other employees that are also working on the same sort of endeavor and work plan.   Not only that, people in the software field, are notorious for working odd hours, and performing their work in just about any environment in which they are able to access the software needed to utilize their tools to perform their job, whether that be in their basement, in an airport, overseas, a cubicle, or a conference room.

America pays very well for those that are in the software field, in which the tools necessary to become a software developer are not exclusive to America, alone.  Because America is the world's largest economy, known for its innovation and corporate strength; there are therefore obvious advantages for anyone deciding to work on behalf of American international corporations, as opposed to alternatives that might have merit, but simply don't have the resources, depth, and throughput that the American corporate world is known for.

Not too surprisingly, the most English speaking people in the world are located in America.  What is surprising, is that the country with the second most English speaking people isn't a country such as Great Britain, which ranks a mere sixth in the world, but actually, in order, are India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines.  The Philippines are an especially interesting case as they are a country that is ostensibly an independent nation, but in actuality are beholden and dependent upon the United States economically and politically.  In addition, as reported by bbc.com it is believe that the estimated amount of English speaking people in India is: "125 million people, second only to the US and expected to quadruple in the next decade."

The cost of living in India as well as in the Philippines in conjunction with the salaries paid for comparable software development personnel are a fraction of the salaries so paid in America.  This would signify, that in an era in which corporations are all about making their earnings and reducing their costs, that more and more corporations, to the best of their ability, for competitive reasons alone, will look not so much to import foreign talent into America, but rather to outsource software development of all sorts to countries such as India and the Philippines, especially if they are able to successfully administer such work by putting together competent teams that coordinate well with the home office and its goals.

This is a world that is becoming more and more digital in its technology, and America is a high cost state, with a high cost of education, in addition to having a work force that too often believes that they are entitled; never seeming to recognize that in a thoroughly connected world, someone else, located somewhere else, at a cheaper price point, that is motivated, dedicated, and engaged, is now a very viable option.