Wealth and work

One would rightly think that there should be a strong correlation between how hard we work and the monetary rewards thereof; demonstrated in kind by the income and eventually the wealth so produced.  Yet, there are millions upon millions of people that work very hard each and every day, that have little income, little security, and little wealth; whereas, there are others, though relatively few in number, that don't personally do much of anything that is worthwhile or even productive for society on a given day, but are blessed with both plenty of time, as well as plenty of wealth.  So then, clearly, the richest and wealthiest people in the world, aren't necessarily those that are the hardest workers, but rather such has a lot more to do with the privileges or advantages that some are born into or are able to accumulate over time, one way or another, legitimately or not.

Further to the point, while there are plenty of people of all income classes that are diligent in the performance of their work; so too, there are plenty of people of all income classes that clearly are not.  The thing is that for poor people and especially for those without a safety net to fall back upon, they are going to have to do what they need to do in order to just survive, which may well necessitate an awful lot of work, though the work that they do will not typically compensate them at even the semblance of a living wage.   On the other hand, those that have wealth, have a multitude of options that they can attend to on a given day, of which, one of those options, is to simply not to do much of anything of merit, because they do not have the financial need that compels them to do much of anything.

It isn't so much that those that have wealth, should be compelled to give up that wealth, to those that have not; but rather that there is a lot to be said about the fact that those that simply inherit money or opportunity or privilege, or situations in which they have an unfair advantage and have done little or nothing of merit to be deserving of their favorable financial situation, except perhaps some cleverness; lends itself thereby to a separate class of people, that have wealth, without correspondingly having had to labor for such, and those non-working rich people will not typically have the same mindset as those that are required to work.

As it is, there is a world of difference between those that work to earn their keep, and those that are not required to work because their material assets do not necessitate that they work.    So that, to the degree that any society treats passive income, more favorably than active income, in which passive income is taxed at a lower rate or substantially at the same rate as active income; this clearly demonstrates that the governmental representatives of that nation are either enthralled to those that have acquired wealth without income, or, are in substance, those people, themselves.

While wealth has its place, it must be recognized that those that have not fairly earned that wealth by their own labor and will not correct such by their positive actions towards their fellow denizens that are lacking, are the direct or indirect oppressors of all those that work hard, but have nothing.

Meet karma, meet yourself

Most everyone is sort of familiar with the meaning of karma, but many people, even those that really ought to know better, have a tendency to believe that karma can only be worked out person-to-person, or through similar previous life scenarios being reenacted, that thereby allows the opportunity for those that have created karma for themselves, to correct such, by addressing it with those that they have previously failed or hurt, or to correct scenarios in which they have come up short on.    While the above does make logical sense, the fact of the matter is that bad karma so generated is really about meeting those faults within your own character by personally correcting them; as opposed to having to hunt down and personally interact with this person or that person from some previous life, and thereby make amends with them, which would logistically be rather difficult, and might just be water under the bridge, anyway.

So too, life is not about endless or pointless repetition, but rather, it is about taking the opportunity to do better within the construct of the situation that a given person finds themselves in.  That is to say, God is the ultimate Creator, with the ultimate imagination; of which, as the players upon this cosmic stage, it is our duty, to do our level best with the role that we are provided to play, and never will we be put into the position of playing the exact same role, twice.  Therefore, the past is truly the past, and the scorecard, so to speak, does not have little chits so noted for every little trivial thing so done.  Rather, karma, paints a big and detailed picture, of which it is our sacred duty to see that the painting does justice and honor to that which created our being in the first place; of which to do right by that honor, we are going to be tested in a whole lot of situations, and from those tests, the painting is so made.

So then, as much as people like to play mind games, of believing that they must have done this or that in a previous life or lives, in order to be in their present situation, good or bad; the reality is that this is no more than idle speculation, for God so knows that without a veil precluding us from knowing what we once represented in a different place, as well as a different time, and upon a different stage, that we will lose too much of our present self in the reverie of what previously so occurred.  Rather, it is our duty, to plainly keep things simple, and to clearly recognize that if we only concentrated and thereby fulfilled being a good neighbor to all, and practiced therefore more patience, more love, some necessary humility, and maintained an abiding tolerance with others, that things would end up sorting themselves out, rather nicely.

The nature of karma, is in the conscious recognition that those qualities that are detrimental to good human interaction, need to be forsaken; and thereby we must take on the new cloak of being good in our actions and in our deeds in as many ways, and with as many people, for as long as we can do so; in which, by walking that path, that which has kept us burdened and has hindered our forward progress, will waste away, and we will thereby find ourselves in the presence of that Light that never wavers, and never dims.

"Labor is prior to and independent of capital"

Further, the above quotation goes on to say, "Labor is the superior of capital… A few men own capital, and that few avoid labor themselves, and with their capital hire or buy another few to labor for them."  Most learned people, almost with exception, would attribute that quote and that sentiment to somebody such as Karl Marx, and virtually none would ever attribute such an apparently radical statement as that, to any former President of the United States.  Yet, in fact, President Abraham Lincoln delivered that very message on December 3, 1861, and as much as it rang true back over 150 years ago, it is even truer, today.

The problem that America has is that its governance, and the institutions that it has set up, is in virtually every instance, beholden to those that have capital, and thereby it is those that employ that capital that make the rules, the laws, and are the captains of the American business fate.  There was a time when labor did have a seat at the table with capital, of which the percentage of the labor force that was unionized, peaked back in 1954, at nearly 35% of all laborers; of which, since that time, labor unions have been in a steady state of decline and their power and relevancy in today's world is relatively weak; this despite the fact that never have so many have had to labor for some other entity, as of today, In comparison to being self-sufficient or self-employed, back then.

The fact of the matter is that everything of merit that is created comes forth from those that have labored to do those very things.  On the other hand, capital, while having its necessary place, as something that is needed in order to obtain products and to sustain development -- does not necessarily require from those that have capital that they personally labor on a given endeavor which they have provided such capital for.  Further, those that have capital have typically co-opted governance in a manner in which their taxation is minimized or circumvented, and have placed instead, the heavier burden of such taxation on those that are required to labor through wages for their means of living.

The bottom line is that capital as practiced in America is clearly the only game in town, and labor must therefore adhere to whatever that said capital demands from them, or suffer the ill effects of having not the material means to sustain their own being.  So then, that is why the words of Lincoln sound so radical to our ears of today, as well as seeming almost revolutionary; even though, in comparison, capital back in Lincoln's day, had not nearly the power or influence that it has in today's world.

The reason that Lincoln believed as he did that labor is prior to and the superior to capital, has an awful lot to do with the fact that the slave masters made their money off of the back of enslaved labor, through their intelligent and relentless use of their monetary capital; of which those with that capital, richly reaped what they personally had not sowed through their own personal labor.  Though slavery is long gone, a look around the phenomenal disparity between the underclass and the privileged class, demonstrates that it is in essence, still here; because this country is owned -- lock, stock and barrel by those with immense amounts of capital, at the expense of all those that tirelessly labor for them.

Free, free money and so little inflation

With all of the helicopter money being dropped on the American economy, one would think that the inflation engines would have, by now, revved right up and that inflation would be thereby occurring in the natural order of things, because when there is an excess of money that suddenly appears out of what is essentially the clear, blue sky, and there are a multitude of people that have their needs and their desires to fulfill, then all that money chasing goods that are either limited in supply or that take some amount of time and logistics to create, are going to necessitate the price of those goods, increasing, because all that newfound money is in theory, chasing a limited supply of goods.

Yet, inflation has been relatively quiescent in America, and this has been the case for a number of years, though there are those items such as education and healthcare that are the outliers in regards to inflation, as these have each gone up noticeably in recent times.  However, for the most part, and certainly on what the government measures as inflation, the inflation rate has remained below 2.5% since 2010, with the sole exception being 2011, when it was just above 3%.  All of this seems to suggest, that the government can somehow run up massive deficits of not just hundreds of billions, but even three trillion or beyond, in a single year, without suffering the ill effects of dollar debasement, and hence thereby its corresponding inflation.

The answer to this conundrum is that the richest of the rich, and the most powerful of the powerful, have gamed the system, so that monies being created, first pass through the very hands of the people and institutions that don't really need the money, and are hesitant to invest their unearned money into industries that actually are employing people and creating things.  Instead, they are risk averse, and with the cost of money approaching near zero, for those of stellar credit rating, they find that the easiest course to thereby take and the most prudent course, is actually one in which the monies so being issued is passively invested into equities or similar.

This, thus signifies that the very people that have a real need along with a burning desire and would surely spend "free" money being provided to them; represented by all those that are without any substantial material assets as well as by all those that are struggling paycheck to paycheck and would not mind being able to buy those things that they have been precluded from buying because of budgetary concerns, are actually the last in line to receive any portion of that helicopter money and the proportion that they thereupon receive isn't enough to make any material impact to the economy, or give reason for businesses to crank up their engines; indeed, not a whit.

The bottom line is that when newly minted money is primarily distributed to those parties that have no real need to spend such or to expand their businesses with such, then that money is not going to be spent on buying material goods, but rather is simply going to find some reasonable conduit so as to invest those monies, instead.  This means, that helicopter money as implemented does not do much to jumpstart a sluggish economy, and neither is it inflationary for most goods; though it does provide a very nice boost for the equity markets, for that is often the chosen vehicle for those monies that are put to use, but not ever spent.

Majority rule, tyranny, and natural law

Most people believe that majority rule is a fair way for laws to be passed and to be exercised in their country, and on the surface, this seems to be fair, as what the majority so desires, in a fair election, or through the fair evaluation by its legislature, should rightly be the law.  However, as sound as that may well seem on the surface, there is fundamentally a problem with majority rule, when that majority, is permitted to pass laws that benefits that majority at the expense of the minority in which, therefore, that country thereupon devolves into essentially becoming a country of "mob rule".

So that, the qualification for majority rule should be based around a well written Constitution that serves to represent well the governing instrument of that country, of which that Constitution contains within it checks and balances, that guarantee first and foremost to each one of those citizens their unalienable rights, which thereby belongs to those citizens by birth and not by the pen of that government, but rather by the very hand of God, which therefore makes them unalienable.  Further to the point, the highest law of any land should always be that law which is immutable, true, and moral in its construction, and thereupon equal in its application, and thereby no respecter of persons, but only that which is the respecter of that law which is fair and just, which is natural law.

Natural law is that which is for the common good of all mankind, for the propagation of that which is of benefit for mankind, and of which, fair reason, recognizes such as being an unchangeable and fixed moral law, applicable to all.  That is to say, the very purpose of any good law is that the construction and thereby the application of such is universal, fair, and just, of which, the purpose of such a law, is for the wholesale benefit of those people that are under that law.

So then, within any majority rule of any country, there has to be applied to such, ethical universal laws, which supersede mankind's laws, and further that the Constitution of that country, must in its construction and usage, sustain in such a manner as to at all times, protect and defend the weakest and the disenfranchised that are part of parcel of all societies, so as to continually recognize that each person, by virtue of their birth, has unalienable rights, of which it is the responsibility of that governance to see that none of these unalienable rights are ever trampled upon by arbitrary majority rule.

Again, that which the majority wants and so wills, is theirs to have, contingent upon those laws so being passed, being in accordance with the Constitution of that country, and in harmony with natural law.  For, in absence of these very things, majority rule, devolves into a tyranny of those that have the exclusive power and thereupon uses such over all those of the minority that have no sanctuary to preclude that power from running roughshod over them.   So that, the checks and balances of a robust Constitution, in conjunction with natural law, thereby permits that which the majority so desires, within those necessary constraints.

The rich are very different from the poor

Quite obviously, rich and poor people in America aren't the same sort of people, because money affords all sorts of advantages and opportunities that typically aren't available or readily available for those that do not have money or the ready means to such.  However, being rich goes way beyond just the fact that rich people have more money, more power, and often live without having to deal meaningfully on any level with the type of worry that typically affects poor people such as food, shelter, education, safety, and so forth.  What really separates the rich from the poor is that foundationally the rich have a different mindset than the poor which really affects their perceptions about everything.

For instance, most poor people are going to earn their money from laboring at such and such a company, in which they as employees, or "associates", do not often have any meaningful relationship with management so as to influence much of anything that they must do and deal with, on a daily basis.  Additionally, poor people are often dependent upon the government for necessary resources dealing with public education, healthcare, rent subsidies or vouchers, and food, amongst other valuable things.  On the other hand, a significant amount of rich people do not labor, or at least do not labor in any sort of traditional 9-5 job, but rather more often than not, make the lion's share of their income through either passive investments in regards to equities, or through the ownership, partial or not of a company, or through the ownership of property that thereby generates rental income for them, as well as often receiving some portion of their wealth, simply through inheritance.  This so signifies, that those with lots of money aren't typically personally concerned about public education, governmental healthcare, rent subsidies, or food stamps, because none of these things are relevant to their life, as it is; because they are able to afford private education, along with all the other material things that they need to live a good life, as a matter of course, without worry or concern or needful governmental assistance.

So then, for instance, when it comes to policing and the criminal justice system, rich people are typically very pro law and order, because they are not the type of people that commit crimes; or at least not the type of people that commit the crimes that are a public nuisance or of danger to others.  So then, in essence, rich people want social order, and desire that the disadvantaged just passively accept their lot, as it is.  Additionally, taxation means an awful lot to rich people, for they, especially, do not desire to be taxed upon their wealth, for their powerbase, rests upon that wealth, which more or less, buys them influence and power.  So then, when it comes to taxation, rich people, desire and need to see that those that labor are to be the ones that must be burdened and thereby must carry the largest tax load, of taxes so being extracted for the auspices of the Federal government, State government,  Social Security and Medicare.  In other words, rich people are all about getting a free ride upon those that do not have a multitude of money or power, and must thereby labor for the man in order to earn their living, so that the rich can continue to grow their wealth, relatively effortlessly and without any onerous taxation placed upon them.  In short, rich people are different, because they don't need and thereby do not desire to pay into what a good civilization requires in order for it to sustain itself and to be vibrant, because this they already personally have.

The lost art of good journalism

One might think that never has there been a better time for the public to take in good journalism, as never has there been so many forms and formats available for the people, at such a low as well as convenient cost, to take in the news of the day, through, for instance, television networks, newspapers, the internet, social media, blogs, and podcasts.  Yet, what we find instead, is that rather than us having a vibrant and free press, we have a very powerful mainstream press that is controlled by interests that have not the public's good in mind, but rather are intent to proselytize their given viewpoint that matches the actuators of that press, and therefore the prejudices and agendas of that clique that are the masters of it.  Almost without exception, the great purveyors of journalism, whether it be in the written form or via broadcast TV, are owned by corporate interests that make it their point, to provide news that is filtered through the prism of their perception of how they desire the world to be.

Further, while never has there been so many alternative forms of journalism, most of those forms, suffer from their own agendas, that therefore colors their viewpoint of what it is that they so wish to discuss, as if the only thing that matters to them is just their one particular outlook, and none other is thereby considered to be legitimate or even entitled to a fair hearing. So that, in essence, journalism is filled with two basic formats, of which one is akin to the bully pulpit so as to stir up the masses to believe only that and to consider nothing else; whereas, the other is to hoodwink the public into believing that they are actually hearing a reasoned argument between two sides, of which the public is unaware, that such is really the two sides of the very same coin.

As for what good journalism is really all about, it comes down to the fact that a good journalist, actual takes the time and puts forth the necessary effort so that they end up writing and speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so as to thereby allow the reading or listening public to formulate their own opinions and judgments based upon the facts so being presented.  In other words, journalists should make it their point to inform the public of all that is going on of interest in the community for the public; as well as to especially concentrate on that which is relevant and germane to the people, so that the public can thereby make up their minds, as to the best course of action and thereby the best decisions to therefore make.

After all, for the public to make good decisions for the betterment of their society, they need to be informed of what is actually occurring, and they need to know the full story, as compared to getting distorted stories, or just portions of stories; for no country can be considered to do well at self-governing if they do not have all the actionable information at hand in order to formulate their proper course of action.  So then, to the degree that journalists express that which is true, is to the degree that country and its people will be at liberty; for a free press is one that is true, and that press which is not, is beholden to something other than truth.

America will NOT have the last laugh

America's Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.  Thereupon the course was set for those colonies to unite against their British oppressor, and thereby throw off the chains that oppressed them, of which they were successful in this pursuit through their extraordinary courageous efforts. The corresponding result became the republic thereupon so created, including the ratification of the Constitution, thereof, that is and remains the highest law of this land.

While the principles as written for America are really second-to-none, a given country is only as good as its actions so taken domestically as well as internationally, of which, quite frankly and to the disgrace of all those that love freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; America has not lived up to its noble expectations, but has fallen far short for what it was meant to stand for, again and again.  While much credit must be given to all those great citizens and American institutions that have done so much and sacrificed unselfishly on behalf of their fellow denizens and for the world at large; that unfortunately, is the exception and certainly not the rule in America, for the governing instruments of this nation, who are the collectively the captain of this ship, have insisted upon becoming an oppressive imperial power that continues to erode the good will so created by those that have been true to that republican course of our founding.

Despite all the endless propaganda, insisting that there are all sorts of countries, agencies, peoples, and individuals that have it in for America, the fact of the matter is, that America is the sole superpower in the world, and any enmity so created against America, primarily comes forth by the very actions that America insists it must take so as to "bully" and to control the world for its own greedy benefit.  For instance, America believes it has the right to attack any sovereign nation that it so desires to attack, under the most dubious of circumstances, and thereupon proceeds to kill as many non-combatants and combatants as it so desires, and to destroy as much infrastructure as it so wants, while suffering little or no retribution in kind, because those that it attacks, have not the power or means to respond to such in any sort of comprehensive way.  Further, America believes that foreign markets are theirs to control, and that valuable commodities such as oil, are only allowed to be sold and marketed per the conditions set forth by the United States, or else these will simply be confiscated and appropriated by America for its use.  Additionally, America does not recognize the sovereignty of any nation, but believes it has the national right to interfere in the domestic affairs of any country, at any time, and can take whatever action, that it so desires to take against those countries that will not bend to America's will.

Quite clearly, as it stands, the world is America's oyster.  However, America's bad actions have created a great deal of resentment, even from those that are allied with America; as well as creating a consortium of foreign and even domestic enemies , of which all of these entities are simply biding their time, in the knowing recognition that a house divided against itself, will not stand the test of time.  America is at that crossroads as to whether it will continue its godless behavior or whether it will nobly take up its proper mantle, of being that last best hope of mankind.  Presently, America's course is set, and that course of hubris, will end in utter disaster and thereby the destruction of that which failed to live up to its sacred and honorable purpose of its heretofore promising founding.

Crime, police, and their response thereof

One might rationally think that whenever a police officer is reasonably aware of a criminal activity occurring, that they have a Constitutional responsibility to arrest the perpetrator, or at a minimum to make contact with the alleged perpetrator, for the safety of that community, and in good prudence of performing their policing duties.  After all, the police are specifically engaged by the public purse to perform their duties on behalf of that society, of which their constituents are the public, at large; in which the very purpose of having a police force within communities in the first place, is so that they effectively thereby replace all previous forms of policing type organizations, such as vigilantes, militias, individuals, or privately financed security, so as to maintain law and order within a given community.

In other words, the people that make up communities are instructed to not take the "law" into their own hands, but to contact the police for the enforcement of those laws, of which, the structure of the deal for the people is that they have essentially contracted with those police officers through the auspices of the governance of that community, to effectively police their community.  Therefore, to the degree that police officers perform their duties, in an evenhanded manner and of being no respecter of persons, is to the degree that such policing is fair and equal. 

However, when police officers, for whatever reason, are in essence, co-opted by some important members of that society, or by the prosecuting arm of the state, or through the authoritarian structure of the police organization, itself; or through any other means in which those police officers are now performing their duties in a manner in which some are served, whereas, most are not, signifies a breach of duty to the people, and clearly becomes a situation in which rather than the police being utilized in a manner to uphold the law for all, they are, rather, being selective in the enforcement of that law, so as to be, in essence, of benefit to some, and of possible detriment to many.

Thereupon this creates the rather dubious problem that infects so many of our communities, in which, the law as exercised by the policing arm of the state, is unevenly applied, so that some are persecuted to the ends of the earth, whereas others that are also committing criminal acts are simply left alone.  One might reasonably think therefore that any time that a police officer arrests one person, but thereupon allows another person under somewhat similar circumstances, to remain free, that such must be a Constitutional violation, as clearly justice is not being equally applied.  Unfortunately, though, despite what many people believe, the fact of the matter is, in absence of a specific arrest warrant, the police are under no obligation to arrest anyone, but are permitted, in effect, to arrest whoever they so arrest, per their discretion.

So then, in a land in which the laws of that state, are effectively unevenly and arbitrarily applied, one can expect the sort of thing that we see all of the time in America, of which, some specific citizens suffer the enduring indignity of arrest, seizure and incarceration; whereas many others who are engaged in their own criminal activity, but are well placed, and well connected, are simply let be.

The unequal United States of America

The very founding principles of this great nation, tell us that each of us is inalienably entitled to "…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."   Yet, this is a nation in which the few are accorded mass amounts of benefits, privileges, and freedom, often unearned or unfairly earned, that so many are either denied or don't have fair access to.  What is so deceptive about America is that as reported by marketwatch.com, as of 2016, "The median net worth of the average U.S. household is $97,300."  Further, census.gov indicates that as of 2018, the median household income in America was $61,937.  Remember, that the median means, that half of those in America will be above that median number, and that the other half will therefore be below; so that if this instead meant that a significant amount of Americans had about $100,000 in net worth, and also about $62,000 in household income per year, than that would seem to be indicative that each household in America would be in a relatively good place.  However, a look around this country indicates that the disparity between those that have and those have not, is an incredibly great divide; of which, some that have, are simply so rich, that is well-nigh incomprehensible to be able to truly envision their immense wealth for the average American; whereas some are so poor, that they literally own nothing, and struggle to get by on a day-to-day basis.

Any country in which the favored few have the lion's share of the wealth, the benefits, and the privileges, and of which, there is a significant underclass that owns little or nothing, is never going to be a country in which there is a healthy civility between the rich and the poor.  In fact, such a country like that, is always going to have a great degree of tension, and in order to serve thereby the interests of those that are the favored few, will necessitate those few co-opting and then their subsequent utilization of the policing arm of the state which will solely answer to them, and thereby the "justice" so being rendered upon those without any power or voice, will be accomplished in a manner in which the underclass is oppressed and put down, by any means, so necessary.

The only possible way to bring some sort of semblance of fairness to this country, without a full-on revolution, is to address the inequality of income and of wealth, by progressively taxing those that have, so as to redistribute some portion of that wealth into the hands of those have not; thereby allowing the disenfranchised an opportunity to receive in return their fair chance, to reside in a stable neighborhood, with a good educational system, and correspondingly a decent chance at opportunity.  This thus signifies that the responsibility of good governance is to help to level the playing field, so that all Americans can enjoy their inalienable chance to make something of their lives, and it is the upmost responsibility of that governance to create and to execute those necessary laws that will accomplish such.

Unfortunately, when the government itself is controlled by the richest and most powerful Americans and institutions, this can only mean that the rich will get richer, the powerful will get even more powerful, and that the poor and disenfranchised will be stepped and stomped upon all the more.  The fundamental problem with America is not that it lacks collective wealth, but rather that it lacks the courage to see that each of its citizens are provided with a fair chance of a good life, freedom, and the opportunity to accomplish something of individual merit.

Excessive bail shall not be required

The 8th Amendment reads in part: "Excessive bail shall not be required…" and this was written well before America became known for incarcerating far more of its own citizens, then any other western nation.  Additionally, such was written well before the logistics of our justice system, became so drawn out in the amount of time for the judicial process to be fully served, that the 6th Amendment which stipulates that the accused "shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial…" has now become routinely violated.

The bail process as typically practiced in American jurisprudence is quite obviously setup in a manner in which those with monetary assets, are segregated and thereby separated from all those that do not have such.  This clearly indicates that the experience of being arrested by a person with money or the access to money is diametrically different from those that are improvident; of which, as reported by cnbc.com, "Some 40% of Americans would struggle to come up with $400 for an unexpected expense."  In an era, in which bail amounts are seldom below $500, this signifies that the accused will have little choice but to attempt to take care of such through the auspices of a given bail bondsmen, of which, the biggest difference for all those that are unable to come up with the full amount of the bail, is that whatever amount is required by that bail bondsmen, is money that will never be returned to the suspect, as it represents the non-refundable fee so paid to obtain that bail.  As for those, that at the end of the day are still unable to post bail so set for the crime that they are accused of, they will be incarcerated, though yet convicted of nothing, pending the typically glacial progress of America's criminal justice system.

The setting of excessive bail is routinely done in America, and is structured in a manner in which the least able amongst us, who are the indigent, the poor, the forsaken, the ill educated, and those suffering from a systemic lack of opportunity, are punished by the taking away of their freedom, which thereby subsequently destroys their credit rating, their employment, their rental history, their non-monetary assets, as well as the little that they do have, so as to be either pressured into a plea bargain, or to suffer to sit inside a jail facility, for an inordinate amount of time, though having not yet been convicted of anything.

It would be one thing if high bail was placed only upon those that are a true menace to society, such as those that are accused of murder, rape, terrorism, and other notorious crimes, but to a very large extent a lot of those suffering from excessive bail aren't in the scheme of things, a clear and present danger to society, at large; of which for all those law and order types, the answer to their concerns about suspects that have been arrested and thereupon let go, on their own recognizance, perhaps to thereupon harm society further, is the recognition that a justice system that truly provides a speedy trial, would address those concerns in a proper way, by getting to the nub of the matter and rendering therefore its justice.

In short, all of this excessive bail that America doles out, has indubitably proven that this does not resolve our crime issues; though it does indeed prove that America's justice system is surely non-egalitarian and structurally meant to punish the poor and the underclass, in a manner in which that justice so being rendered is never blind, but is instead wide-eye focused on keeping the little man in their place.

Proverbs 31: 8-9

We read in Holy Scripture: "Speak up for those who cannot speak. Speak for the rights of all those who are defenseless. Speak up, judge fairly, and defend the oppressed and needy." (Proverbs 31: 8-9).  Those words were estimated to have been written somewhere between 700 and 400BC; yet, in all of those hundreds of years that have been so lived since then by mankind, those words and the sentiment that they so express are as meaningful and as relevant today, as they were when they were first written and proselytized.  The reason that this is so, comes down to the salient fact that far too often, the defenseless, the poor, the indigent, the forgotten, and the weakest amongst us, do not have enough good people championing their cause; and further that the governments that are instituted amongst mankind, deriving their just powers from the consent of those people, far too often, do not do all that they can do to take into fair account, how they should best deal with those that are needful.

In the competitive environment that capitalism epitomizes, far too many people don't care to do much of anything for those that have little or nothing, because their attitude equates to the belief that in a game in which there are winners and losers, that the losers are never their responsibility, and therefore they care little about them.   While each of us is entitled to our own belief, those that are almost exclusively self-centered are not going to be of much benefit to society, for they are essentially wearing blinders that preclude them from properly taking in the full panoply of what life really is and what life really represents.

Each of us though as part of a good civil society, has an obligation to do our part to help to make that society better for our having participated in it; of which, those that have no voice, and are being treated unfairly are fairly entitled to have their say; for they, as a fellow compatriot, are equally entitled to the opportunities so created for the expressed benefit for the members of that society.  Yet, even the most cursory of looks indicates that the underclass of America exists in abundance in this country, of which, time and time again, there are millions upon millions of citizens that have been precluded from a fair chance to become something of merit in this nation, for they lack a good foundational structure of a stable family life, a good education, a fair social justice system, good hope, as well being systematically denied opportunity.  These are the oppressed, who are wrongly prejudged and placed into categories and situations in which their fair opportunity to extricate themselves from such are well-nigh hopeless.

Each of us has been gifted with a voice, of which some of us, have a voice which has more power and more influence than others, yet, all have some sort of contribution to make; so that, those that know right from wrong, need to impress upon others, that the business of exploitation, prejudice, unfairness, contempt, and discrimination especially against the weakest amongst us, needs to be faced squarely by those that will take that principled stand on behalf of the defenseless, and will not relent until justice rolls down upon all of us like the mighty waters.

Bribery and lobbying

Of course, in western nations, bribery is clearly a crime and is frown upon by virtually all individuals and parties.  Whereas, outright bribery can be rather common in third world nations, it is not common in western nations, and is an exceedingly dangerous game to play for those that participate in such, for the consequences of those that get caught can be catastrophic.  On the other hand, western nations such as the United States permit lobbyists to perform their duty, as long as they are registered to the appropriate state agencies; and of which lobbying is considered to be a respectable way for industry proponents to help those in the legislature to write, amend, or to better understand the laws, rules and regulations so being contemplated upon or utilized for those industries that are germane to those lobbyists and their given agenda.  In other words, lobbyists are, in theory, there to help legislators pass or to amend appropriate legislation that is ultimately beneficial for the country as well as being of benefit or to the approval of those that actuate those lobbyists.

It could be said, that legislature representatives are very busy people, with a limited amount of time, and a limited amount of staff, of which no legislature representative typically has enough time to read, edit, and write, so as to thoroughly comprehend all that is being discussed and thereby passed by them in their daily activities; therefore, this thus signifies that an expert in a given or contemplated law or rule might indeed be of service to a legislative staff by being able to shed light on such, as exemplified at least in some ways by lobbying efforts.  However, the lobbyists that ply their trade in America, typically are not doing it because they are true believers in making their country a better and fairer place for the body of the people, in whole; but rather have specific agendas that they are specifically wishing to address, that will primarily benefit the power behind the lobbyist's actions, which is usually some corporate entity or similar.

For a certainty, lobbying is seldom a one-way street, of which lobbyists typically desire to setup some sort of quid pro quo with a given representative of the legislature, so as to provide some sort of perceived service or benefit for the people within that representatives' domain in return for legislation that is favorable for that lobbyist's purpose.  Additionally, there is frequently an implied understanding between both parties, that  those that currently are employed as a governmental representative, today, will have available to them at some future point, well paying offers within that respective industry, should they be inclined to take advantage of this unwritten offer.

In truth, lobbying as typically practiced in America and outright bribery, are essentially similar in that these are deals structured in which industries buy influence to favor their interests, of which, they in turn, provide some sort of compensation to those that have provided the power to implement such.  This so indicates that those with the right connections are able to influence decisions so being made by legislative bodies in a manner which benefits those spending that money through their lobbying efforts; of which, anytime that any legislative body makes a decision that thereby unfairly favors the very few at the expense of the many, they have done so to their own discredit, and to the lasting disservice of their country.

Africa rising

As things stand in 2020, the three most populous countries in the world are respectively, China, India, and the United States of America.  In addition, from a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) standpoint, the biggest economy in the world as of 2020, is the United States, followed by China, and currently in 5th place resides India; of which, it is predicted that by 2025, that India will thereby become the 3rd largest economy in the world.  So then, quite clearly population matters, and those countries, or continents for that matter, with the greatest population, are also those that are the biggest economies in the world, of which, those of economic might correspondingly have significant power of all stripes. As reported by visualcapitalist.com, Asia has the largest combined population in the world, at 60%, mainly because it consists of both China as well as India.  Yet, projections as reported by visualcapitalist.com for 2100, indicate that Asia's percentage of the worldwide population, though having a modest increase in sheer numbers, will then be only 43.6% of worldwide population, whereas Africa would rise to becoming a very strong #2 in the world, with a worldwide population percentage of 39.1%.  As it stands in 2020, four of the sixteen largest populations in the world are on the continent of Africa.

The bottom line, is that while it certainly can be said that the prism of the world was fundamentally written and envisioned from a combined European/North American mindset in the 20th century, the fact of the matter is, by the time that we reach the 21st century, Europe and North America combined are projected to have just 10.2% of the total worldwide population.  So that, as mighty and as influential as those nations have been economically and militarily, there will most definitely be a reckoning, for 90% of the world will not permit forever the 10% to continue to dominate and to exploit them, without there being a significant changing of the guard and thereby the making of a new world order.

For centuries, and even still today, Africa has been ruthlessly exploited by outside sources, but having established their independence from those colonial forces, over the previous decades, Africa has begun the process of becoming its own captain of its own fate, and will begin to assert itself more and more in the economic world as well as the political one, as time marches on.  For a certainty, population numbers matter, and so does the relevant demographics of a continent, of which, the more productive, and the more educated a continent becomes, the more it will advanced itself upon the world stage, to having a fair place at the seat of the worldwide table of noteworthy decisions and meaningful political matters so being debated and determined.

Africa has waited long enough to have their day; and their corresponding power over the coming years will increase substantially from where it currently resides, of which, a powerful Africa, resource rich, is on course to have the opportunity to have their say, for population numbers are quite relevant, signifying that the sun is now just rising for Africa; whereas, alas, for those of the western world, their sun appears clearly to be inexorably setting.

Capital punishment for the 1%

It is to the ultimate disgrace of the United States of America, that it insists that within its criminal justice code, that capital punishment is the just punishment for certain crimes, of which, capital punishment is held to be legal in twenty-eight States, as well as being legal as punishment for Federal crimes.  It would be one thing if capital punishment was consistently and fairly imposed for certain specific crimes, meeting certain specific standards, of which the trial was fairly done, with competent counsel utilized for the defense, with funds so available for that defense to obtain witnesses, to conduct research, for the full discovery and for the obtaining of all exculpatory evidence, as well as having the wherewithal to coalesce that information for a robust defense, and of which the jurors of such a trial, were true representative peers within that community, of which the crime was committed.

In point of fact, the faces of those on death row are almost, without any notable exception, whatsoever, the faces of those that are indigent, ill educated, disadvantaged, and without the means to obtain competent counsel that have the resources or the time or the experience to defend their client, properly.  This thus signifies that because those that are on trial, lack the means to properly defend themselves against the might of the State or Federal authorities, that the outcome of such a "trial" is almost always going to be a foregone conclusion, of which, the only real justice point to be decided, is whether or not, the person so convicted, will be subject to the death penalty or not.

So that, what we find in reality, is that those subject to the death penalty, are almost always not those that are the biggest and baddest criminals, but really are only those that have been unable to obtain an adequate and vigorous defense so as to avoid the death penalty.  This is the salient reason why none of those that are the richest of the rich, or the 1%, are ever on death row, and why none of these that are the 1%, are even at risk for being subject to capital punishment.  After all, those that have money, are thereby able to obtain strong resources, that can thereby allow them to utilize every angle within our justice system, to obtain the mercy or to buy justice, that is denied to all those without those monetary means and connections.  Additionally, criminal trials, are often about constructing stories, of which the 1% are always going to have a story that has some sort of sympathy or justification behind it, that absolves at least somewhat, very bad behavior, and typically they have far more than enough extenuating circumstances to preclude those that are in the 1% from suffering the indignity of being sanctioned to that most extreme punishment, so issued by that justice department.

The death penalty as so exercised in America clearly is done in a manner that it only affects those that have no power and no voice to begin with, and no other.  That isn't fair, and in consideration that America still believes in the virtue of the primitive justice of an "eye for an eye"; then until that government starts killing those that make up the 1% for the same sort of crimes, of which the death penalty is imposed upon those that are impoverished and weak, than that death penalty should be properly looked upon as a form of "cruel and unusual punishment" for it separates out those that have, from those that have not, which is clearly not impartial, and therefore is as wrong as it is unconstitutional.

Hazardous waste and corporate responsibility

America produces and manufacturers all sorts of products, of which, a common byproduct of certain industries, is some degree of pollution so created.  This thus signifies that these industries that create pollution as part and parcel of their business enterprise, must have in place, the necessary financial means as well as the product processes so created that deals constructively with such pollution in a responsible and sustainable manner, in which harm to the environment and to the general public is minimized to the reasonable degree that it can be, and that such pollution so created by these processes, is divulge in a public forum, with a high degree of transparency.

Alas, in this modern age, some degree of hazardous waste is going to be produced as a matter of course in many different enterprises, of which, the goal of responsible governance is not to eliminate all hazardous waste, no matter the cost, but to come to a prudent meeting of the minds, that deals with such in a forthright and responsible fashion, and takes into proper account the benefits of that which is being produced, in comparison to the hazardous waste so created, amongst other salient factors.  While the United States has plenty of rules and regulations, and agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deal with this sort of thing -- such is only going to be as effective as those rules and regulations along with the EPA have real bite and impact upon those relevant industries, as opposed to not having enough resources, or of having been compromised through the "revolving door" of corporate and government entities, changing hats, far too frequently.

The main issue with today's world is the fact that dangerous pollution can be created at an unprecedented scale, of which, some industries, have made a conscious decision to hide such pollution from authorities in an exceedingly skillful and underhanded methodology.  This is why when penalties are structured for those companies that have evaded and created hazardous waste in which they have taken extraordinary means to disguise and to circumvent prudent environmental controls and standards, should, as a matter of course, be dealt with in a manner in which there are punitive damages associated to such.  In other words, as bad as it is when hazardous waste is produced, by any enterprise, those companies that have done so but do own up to it, should be dealt with differently than those companies, that have made it their point to be deceptive, misleading, and duplicitous.

This country and the people that make up it, are entitled to the fair disclosure of the processing methods so needed in order to produce and to manufacture goods, of which, those industries, that clearly by the nature of such, will create some sort of hazardous waste, need to have a strict protocol in place to deal prudently with that hazardous waste, along with setting aside an appropriate amount of money as a monetary surety that this hazardous waste will not at some future point, become the responsibility of that government and its people, thereby allowing those corporate malefactors to escape with the profits from such but none of the burden for the polluted residue so left behind.

Our oceans and rivers of pollution

Somewhat surprisingly, since we are land based mammals, we find that 71% of the earth is actually water, and not land.  This has led to an unfortunate mindset of which because there appears to be an endless amount of water, that far exceeds our land mass, and in the knowledge that oceans and rivers, are not stagnant, but are typically free flowing -- of which there is therefore an expressed understanding that dangerous chemicals, garbage, and waste that deliberately or inadvertently are deposited within these rivers and oceans, will in most cases, travel from one place to another place, all of this together contributes to the rather shameful way our waterways are typically dealt with.  This means, that unlike those that bury their waste into a given landmass which pretty much does not move, that for those that are polluters, there are immense advantages in discharging one's waste into water, because of the flow of that water, which thereby makes it more problematic to positively identify those that are the polluters, but also provides a means that allows those polluters to do so in a manner, in which that pollution, typically travels elsewhere and away from them.

So then, rivers and oceans, from time immemorial, have been utilized as waste depositories, for all sorts of civilizations and those enterprises so created from such.  However, never has this world been as modernized as today's world has become, of which some of those items so polluting our waters, are specifically manmade products, such as plastic, which do not biodegrade very well; in addition, to manmade chemicals that are being discharged into our waters, all in the process of making various products to be sold and produced for profit and for our benefit.  Further to the point, while some of the pollution in our waters are clearly visible to our eyes, and the effects of such, quite obvious; there are plenty of chemicals so discharged into our waters, that are often not visible to the eye, but are incredibly devastating to not only the animal life that supports itself upon those waters, but human life, as well -- that is thereby caught unawares utilizing such water under the belief that it is clean and wholesome, when it is not.

There are laws that in theory, deal constructively with the pollution so being discharged, and of which, there are rules and regulations to deal with those dangerous chemicals and other pollutants; but when these laws and regulations are either not effectively enforced, or are circumvented via one way or another, it is our rivers and oceans that are hurt, along with life, itself.  There has to be fair balance that recognizes the value and necessity of good water, weighed against the advancements of this modern age.  Further, because one country or its domestic institutions can create pollution in one spot, but through the currents of oceans and rivers, such pollution can easily affect in a negative manner, some other country and its people, there has to be the means to deal with those that harm the commons that each of us has a natural right to be beneficiaries of.

For the health of our world and the peoples that make up this world, there needs to be more responsibility taken by those that deal with that which creates a byproduct of pollution, of which these institutions need to be held accountable for their actions; for our oceans and rivers are not fair hiding places for bad actions that are ill conceived by those that should fairly answer for that which they have done, without having taken proper account of the impact of such, as well as their willful failure to do the right thing.

Religion, sacrifice, and good deeds

The United States has to be the preeminent country in its belief, that shortcuts are a valid way to live a given life.  That is to say, it doesn't much matter how one gets to a certain place in life, as long as that such is accomplished.  So too, despite all of the many fine religious institutions that America has in abundance, along with a population that claims, more times than not, that they are a faith-based people, the end result of all of this good religious belief, is to a certain degree, a religious practice that often has fallen short of what it really should be accomplishing for itself as well as for society.

In point of fact, all the rituals of religion, should best be seen as a practice that perhaps is beneficial to people doing such, in helping to get them into the right frame of mind, but serves no good purpose, other than that; for surely memorizing scripture so as to recite such, or rote liturgies, without taking to heart the practical merits of these, has little meaningful value.  In other words, the true purpose of religion is to take actually the substance of such, and to utilize it for the betterment of society, as well as to improve one's own character.  It is always ironic, to find someone that professes that they are, for example, a Christian, of which the other person hearing such, looks upon them somewhat in bemusement; mainly because based on that Christian's behavior, they never suspected as much, for that Christian appears to behave no differently than those that have no faith, at all.

For religion, to have any real meaning, it first must make a material difference in a given person's life, and thereby how that person subsequently interacts with society and those closest to them, will demonstrate that meaning, in action.  Further, a good religion, requires from its adherents, some sort of sacrifice, usually on a continuous basis, demonstrating in principle that they those that are of the faith, are making a positive difference in other people's lives, by the good deeds that they so perform, for others, and by the giving up of that which would take them off that good course.

It would be far too easy, if having faith, in and of itself, was good enough for anything, without the corresponding works that prove that one's faith is true.  So too, life is full of choices, as well as free will, of which those that profess to be religious, must adhere to the belief that  they are also required to truly throw off the old, in order to fully take on the new.  After all, those that try to stand astride so that one foot is in both worlds are mistaken in their belief, that they are good enough for both of those worlds; whereas, at best, they are lukewarm in each, which accounts them for very little.

All those that believe that they are good to their faith, should be able to rightly point to their good deeds so done by them on behalf of that faith for others; and further they need to point out just as readily, all those heavy cloaks so discarded, and false guises so removed, that thereby has permitted them to properly reflect in their countenance the liberating light of their God.

Imagine thinking and communicating without words

All those that are literate as well as those that are illiterate but familiar with the language of their people, utilize words, in order to get across their thoughts to others so as to communicate with them.  So too, the actual thoughts that we have, are typically formulated in our minds with words.  Yet, for each of us, upon our birth, we do not know any words, of which, no doubt, our mind does indeed think.  This signifies that those that have no vocabulary, whatsoever, which in this modern day and age, consists of almost exclusively very young children, formulate not words inside their mind, but they begin instead with picturing objects in their mind as well as acting upon their most basic desires, so that without words they are still able to think and to act upon their thoughts.

So then, there is a distinct process in the development and thereupon the formulation of words into our mind, and once we have progressed to that stage, and in recognition that we need to successfully express ourselves to others, we typically perform our communication through the words that we so express, one to another.  The somewhat amazing thing is that while we may often see pictures of objects in our minds, as well as having specific desires that involved those objects and needs, the way that our mind typically processes those objects and desires, is through the words that help us to convey those thoughts.

One might logically think therefore that the best way to communicate with others is through the words, and to some degree the body language that we impart one to another; of which, this is quite clearly an effective manner of communication.  Yet, the words that we speak can be misinterpreted in the sense, for example, that the nuance is missed, or the sarcasm unrecognized, or the words so spoken are misheard, misunderstood, or even misspoken; and finally there are those occasions in which we struggle to convey the words that we wish to express because we cannot seem to find the appropriate words for that occasion to express ourselves, adequately.

Yet, it must be recognized that as valuable as the verbal and written language is to communicate with others, it in the scheme of things, cannot be the pinnacle of communication; because of its limitations, because of language barriers, because one party is talking pass the other party, and because attention spans are limited or found wanting.  While it must be stated that language ultimately in its own way, is a very valuable form of communication, it still in the largest sense, utilizes symbols, just as cavemen also utilized symbols back in their day, of which, today's communication skill-set though far superior to that, still lacks in being fully and completely developed.

This so signifies, that the highest form of communication is not going to be one that utilizes words, but something that is a quantum leap forward from such.  That type of communication, is one in which, one mind meets another, each thereby knowing what the other person is conveying, with a minimum of distortion and error, by those minds being in harmony and in tune with one another, fully concentrated, and freely allowing each mind to express itself, purely.

Informants and the criminal justice system

The criminal justice system is inherently unfair, for a lot of reasons, of which two of the most salient, are the fact that those with access to money and therefore a good attorney are going to have an entirely different justice experience than those that are impoverished; who because they often aren't able to make bail, are thereby typically incarcerated, pending their outcome, and therefore under intense pressure to make the best deal that they can, in order to resolve their outstanding charges.  The other very important reason why our criminal justice system is so unfair is that an incredible amount of people that have been charged with some sort of crime, have been placed into their unenviable position by the testimony of a person or persons working as an informant, who themselves have often been unduly pressured into performing such, on behalf of the justice department.

It would be one thing if informants provided their information to government authorities, out of a sense of doing the right thing, that is, by doing their civic duty, so to speak; but in actuality, the vast majority of these informants, almost without exception, get into the business of informing, or snitching, in order to first, protect their own self, and secondly to gain something in return from governmental authorities.  In other words, people that are caught in their own criminal activity, may find themselves being provided with a deal, that either reduces their sentence, substantially, or frees them from having to do time, or provides them with some sort of monetary compensation, when they agree to finger other "bad guys" for the expressed benefit of those justice department agents, whether these be police officers, or prosecution authorities.

As might be expected, though all that testify in a court of law, must testify under oath, it almost goes without saying, that those so testifying that have been offered a deal by the justice department, or by the police that serves to have reduced their own sentencing, or resulted in the dismissal of their charges, or has provided some sort of compensation to that informant, are going to testify in a manner that follows the script of what the prosecution authorities so desire, irrespective as to whether such is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Further to the whole truth, how is it therefore possible for those hearing that testimony to be receiving the whole truth, if the deal so structured for that informant, formal or not, is not fully divulged to those judging the reliability of that testimony?

Additionally, there is an inherent unfairness when the prosecution, for lack of a better word, is able to "bribe" informants to testify in a manner that benefits those informants, by providing them with a reduced sentence, reduced charges, or their freedom; whereas on the other hand, the Defense attorney, has no corresponding legal option or power to do the same sort of thing, indicating that if a given person is going to give false or misleading testimony, that the prosecution quite clearly provides a much better package deal for them.

The fact that so much of our criminal justice system activity, leans so heavily on informants of all stripes, of which, the deals so being structured for them, are typically done in a manner that is non-transparent, non-disclosed, coercive, and unfair, leads to the inevitable result that our justice so rendered is neither going to be impartial or fair.