“Use of deadly force authorized”

The above sign is the type of sign that one will see at various United States governmental facilities that are considered to be of such high importance that those who are protecting these facilities and the land that surrounds them are, if we are to believe this sign, authorized to use deadly force.  While some people definitely believe that this is appropriate and even prudent, as in the belief that trespassers should be subject to being killed, it should be recognized that many people see this as an overreach on behalf of the government, which seems to be saying that the government, per its discretion, doesn’t believe that curiosity or interest by the American public should actually be encouraged, even though this is supposed to be a government, of, for, and by the people, and signage such as that, seems to serve the purpose of desiring to make the people to know that they need to know their place or else.

 The thing that more people need to understand is that there are already rules in place regarding the use of lethal force, whether or not signage is or is not in place.  In other words, one can say that a sign stipulating that deadly force is authorized, is stating the obvious, which is that basically when an individual or a group of individuals cross a specific red line, with clear guardrails attached to the line, such as in the protection of property or personnel under certain circumstances, then the usage of deadly force, regrettably, could be seen as an appropriate response.  Nevertheless, anytime the government takes it upon itself to control certain areas and institutions of this country, and that they will not countenance protests or interference in such, and believe that they are thus permitted to use deadly force, is a government that is devolving into becoming a police state and not a bastion of liberty.

 The bottom line is that signs that proclaim that deadly force is authorized, are pretty much not needed, and should be replaced with something far more subtle, mainly because lethal force should be only utilized when there are no other reasonable actions that could be taken, and further to the point, the over usage of signs such as this, is inappropriate in a democratic country, in which the people ought to have and should have the right to know what is going on behind closed doors, fences, and institutions, as opposed to that government intimidating their own into obedience.

 A government has an obligation to its people to be true defenders of those people and to serve the people, as opposed to setting itself up as a law onto its own self, which sells the story that its intentions are good, but whenever the general public is not fairly permitted to know what is going on, and has no fair way to know whether those good intentions are actually benefiting the people, this then needs to be amended, because the more secrets, and the more guard towers that a given government thus creates, the more the people should be worried about their freedom, especially when the avenue to question such, is met with the expressed authorization that deadly force is in play.

Greed is insatiable

The thing about greed is that the more that you get, the more that you still want.  In other words, all those people that declaim that if only they got this or got that, that they would be perpetually satisfied are often lying to themselves as well as to others, because when they actually are fortunate enough to obtain that very thing, that they believe would satisfy them completely, they find out to their dismay that it just doesn’t do that, for they still want more, and if they obtain that, still more, ad infinitum.

 There are way too many people that actually believe that if only if they had this or had that, that they wouldn’t ask for anything more because they would no longer have any more desires; but this just doesn’t fairly represent human nature for most of us, because as much as we might appreciate that brand-new toy, or that increase in pay or status, it doesn’t take all that much time to thus transpire, before what we have achieved truly becomes yesterday’s news and we thereby want more, once again.

 To want more isn’t necessarily wrong, especially when the objective of the exercise is to obtain or to achieve those things of merit or of meaning, and that are in some way, form, or manner of service to others, besides ourselves, because those that are fixated only upon what they have or what they can get, are the same that are way too self-centered and typically don’t understand that lasting satisfaction doesn’t come from selfishness but rather comes from doing the right thing, which helps us to benefit others, and inspires others to go out and to do good acts, themselves, as well.

 When it comes to greed, far too many people don’t seem to realize that ignoble goals will never be satiated. Further to the point, the best way to overcome any tendency to greed is to comprehend better what it really is that we are trying to achieve, because wealth, power, status, and so on, are the type of lures that take people away not only from the straight and narrow, but essentially often corrupts their ethics so that they are no longer able to properly reflect on who and what they represent, to themselves, as well as to others.

 What we should really care about is not just feathering our nest, but improving ourselves so that we can be of service to those who need our input and efforts, which thus helps to make society a better place for our good participation in it.  We should be driven not by greed, but rather we should strive to be the best that we can be, as part of our obligation to those who we learned from, as well as a tribute to our mentors and family members, so that at the end of the day, we have done our good part to be faithful to that which really matters, and to leave aside, that which in the skeins of time, matters not. 

The more governmental secrets, the less freedom

No doubt, when it comes to governments, there are those occasions when secrecy and discretion has its necessary place, but we do find that to a very large extent that the more salient secrets that a government keeps from the general public, the less that the government truly represents the people.  Indeed, governments should make it their point to be transparent, but in absence of such, at a minimum, the things done behind closed doors need to be in keeping with the principles of that government, but in actuality, far too often, the secrecy that the government enacts isn’t done for the protection and security of the population but rather is done typically for the wrong reasons. After all, whenever governments desire to do something that is underhanded, deceptive, and just plain incorrect, they find that secrecy is the avenue that best permits this to occur, because of that lack of oversight, which thereby lends itself to all sorts of deceptions.

 A government of, for, and by the people cannot truly exist whenever that which is occurring of high importance is kept secret from the people.  Further to the point, those things done by the government that do not permit an open debate, feedback, or a response from the people or even its representatives undercut what a representative government is supposed to be all about.  A legitimate government is only that which has the consent of the governed, and when what is going on at the highest levels of import is kept secret, never to be divulged, then the people have effectively had their voice silenced, and their consent never called upon.

 While there is something to be said about confidentiality and the need for secrets, this should not unduly override the fact and the inherent need that the government must fairly answer to the people and do so in a timely and forthright manner.  Additionally, when the government is professing one thing as its approved active policy but is actually doing the very opposite thing in secret, then that government has betrayed the people, because it is not demonstrating integrity in its dealings with the people, which is never an attribute of a good government.

 So too, it needs to be fairly understood that if our elected representatives aren’t actually representing us, because they have been captured via a “shadow government” or are completely out of the loop at what is really transpiring behind closed doors, because they are not privy to the secret goings on of that government, then the people are not under a democratic government, at all, but rather are subject to a secretive government, which answers only to those that are the players of such and not to the people.

 To be a free people, necessitates a government which upholds that very thing by being open and responsive to the people, which signifies that governmental business done in secret, needs to be absolutely minimized, because the people have a right to know what is being done in their name and when this is misguided, self-serving, or inimical to good governance, it should be and needs to be, fully exposed.

The difference between subjects and citizens

 Those who are denizens of the United States are the same who are or become citizens of the United States; whereas before the United States achieved its independence, they were subjects of the British Empire.  The primary difference between being a subject as compared to being a citizen is sovereignty.  Those who are subjects answer to and are at the mercy of their respective country’s crown; while, on the other hand, those who are citizens are sovereign and are, through their governance, a self-governing people, which means that America, as formulated, is of, for, and by the people.

 The reason why citizenship is so important presently, is the fact that America seems to be backtracking to becoming something akin to the people, in whole, becoming subjects, in which the control of what the people do is not in the hands of democratically elected representatives, but rather is in the hands of a Presidency which decides through executive orders and the like, what is and what isn’t permitted for those citizens, which thereby makes the Constitution pretty much to be an irrelevancy.  While it is true that there are plenty of people that prefer a strongman to be in charge, mainly because all of the give and take of politics is essentially eliminated and thus decisions are firmly made, it needs to be recognized that by countenancing such a construct, sovereignty is no longer in the hands of the people and that which has taken control of such, may or may not have the people’s best interests in mind.

 To be a subject to the government is to have little or no say in what subjects are permitted to do and thus to no longer have rights that protect them. This means that the rights that the people may appear to have are no longer inalienable, but rather are alienable, because they are thus controlled by the power source of that nation. So too, the more that the United States devolves into a government in which our elected representatives have no real authority and the judicial branch marches to the beat of those that are its paymasters, then the freedom and liberty that the American Revolution fought so bravely for no longer exists.

 Additionally, to be a citizen means that the citizen must do their fair part to exercise not only their voice but to contribute to their nation’s well-being, by conducting themselves in a manner that benefits not just themselves, but also the society that they are a good member of.  In other words, it is upon our shoulders to respect the laws of the land, and where those laws are misapplied, misjudged, or tainted, it is our right to protest against such, so as to effect change.

 Indeed, subjects and citizens are not the same thing, because citizens are part and parcel of their governance, which means that they are forever upon that watchtower, protecting and defending not only their inalienable rights, but also doing their part to make their stand where there needs to be a stand so made, in the sure recognition that when they do not do so, that which they thought they had, will be taken from them, perhaps never to return.

21st-century corporate cities

There was a time not so long ago when there were small company towns primarily built around mineral extraction or similar that didn’t even bother to pay those that they employed with dollars, but rather provided them with company scrip, which was used for all their essentials, such as housing, food, clothing, and the like.  Obviously, a company town such as that pretty much had total control over its employees, and because of that control, the controlling interests of that company town were in a prime position to profit greatly from such exploitation.

 We now live in a day and age in which policies are being created to effectively have corporate cities, which are given the misleading name of “freedom cities”, when in actuality, doesn’t represent personal freedom and liberty, but rather signify freedom from our democratic institutions, from our Constitution, and from our legal rights.   In short, this would be a disaster for the common man, because while it could be said that our local democratic government and government in general seem to be, in a lot of respects, captured by the elites, at least the people still have some semblance of a voice; whereas in a corporate city, they would effectively have none.

 No doubt, plenty of businesses see a corporate city as their ideal, because the more that they can control the population, the easier it is for them to profit from such a structure.  So too, most corporations do not desire, appreciate, or want any sort of pushback from the government when it comes to taxation, laws, environmental concerns, wages, and so on.  What they want is to take care of business in a way that maximizes their profit, while also providing these corporations with the security that their trendline will not be interfered with by the government, which is why they want to replace the government so as to run these cities for the expressed purpose of benefiting the corporations.

 To believe, somehow, that corporations always have, or typically have, the best interests of the citizenry in mind is to believe in a myth, because many a corporation has only the desire to make a profit, and for that profit to be mainly in the hands of upper management and stockholders, and not therefore fairly spread amongst the employees of that company.  Further to the point, many a corporation doesn’t care a whit about paying a living or fair wage, but rather wants to pay as little as they can pay to get done what they desire to get done.  Additionally, corporations, if left to their own devices, want the type of employment in which they can fire or let go anyone for any reason or no reason, which signifies that where they see dead weight, it can be released immediately, and when business conditions turn down for whatever reason, they can lay off people immediately without having to compensate them.

 As bad and inefficient as our governance might seem to some people, to effectively leave our governance in the hands of those who are fixated upon hitting their revenue goals and making ever more profit is a grave error, because corporate greed is never satisfactorily satiated, which is why they want even more control, thereby to feather their own nest, above all.

Profit, above all

The thing about capitalism is that those companies that exist solely for the purpose of making profit and as much profit as they can make, need to have some guardrails imposed upon them because of their inherent obligation to be good corporate citizens to the governance that has permitted their existence.  Indeed, there needs to be robust government oversight that imposes itself upon these corporations so that they understand that their responsibility and obligation to society encompasses far more than profit.

 When it comes to money, the making of money and the lure of money, it has to be acknowledged that money is so important to so many people and organizations, that to obtain that money creates a dangerous temptation for many people and corporations in which the desire to get that money, clouds their vision to such an extent that they will do whatever that they have to do to obtain it, because the value of money and what money can do for them, is so important that it has a tendency to corrupt the minds of people as well as the ethics of business enterprises.

 When we take into account that most companies compete against other companies, we recognize that the cost of labor, the cost of conforming to environmental laws, the cost of paying appropriate taxes, and so on, makes a material difference in the profitability of that enterprise.  No doubt, that there is many a business that cares only that the expected profit numbers are reached or exceeded, and cares not so much how that is obtained, which means that ethics, laws, and fairness be damned, which is the reason why businesses need to be held accountable to laws structured to keep them in line, and when these are violated, stiff monetary fines must be considered, as well as jail time for those that have crossed the line into criminality.

 So too, when it is all about profit, those that are employed, are typically going to be in a rather poor negotiating position whenever they don’t have union representation, or its equivalency, because the threat of not being hired, or of being fired, serves to keep employees in their place, and thereby this is the main reason why labor is underpaid and exploited. At the same time, those in upper management often receive far too much in compensation, in which they get the lion’s share of profit, benefits, bonuses, accouterments, status, and more.

 When it comes to corporations, it is well to understand that corporations are artificial constructs of the state, which signifies that the state has a vested interest in seeing that corporations do their fair part to provide a living wage, stable employment, and to pay their fair share in taxation, as contrasted to deliberately trying to avert these very things.  Indeed, those corporations that don’t do right by the citizenry of this nation are the very same that should be seen for what they are: greedy, unethical, and an anathema to what this nation stands proudly for.

The Pujo Committee

One can make the argument that the more things change, the more that they remain the same, for when it comes to money trusts, collusion, monopolies, and things of that general ilk, this is absolutely true.  The Pujo Congressional Committee was created back in 1912, and was specifically structured to investigate the money trusts of that day, which included the very powerful J.P. Morgan banking interests as well as others, and thereby Congress was concerned about the undue influence that money held in the hands of the few was thus serving to exert an undue influence upon corporation business and other areas of import, for the expressed benefit of those money trusts, which subsequently led to the passage of the Clayton Anti-trust Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and ultimately to the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which implemented the federal income tax.  The bottom line is that well over one hundred years ago, the government of this nation recognized that having too much power in the hands of private banking enterprises would subvert our democratic principles and would make for a country in which the superrich and elite would effectively control it for their own benefit.

 When we fast forward to the present time, it has to be acknowledged that never have so few had so much as we see when it comes to wealth, and of which, it would appear that our present governance has effectively been captured by those same elites.  In fact, one could argue that government at the highest level is being run by those elites for the benefit of those elites, which is why we have a government that insists upon running massive deficits because it will not tax appropriately the superrich who are accumulating more and more wealth at the expense of everyday Americans, which will ultimately result in nationwide instability when that reckoning of fiscal irresponsibility so comes.

 The very point of the Pujo Committee was to make the necessary changes so as to reform that which was inimical to the principles of this government.  Regrettably, when it comes to money and power, those that have it, do not ever desire to relinquish such, and when they have been outplayed, they are going to do their level best, to get back what they were subject to losing by such robust legislation, so that those who are not eternally vigilant are the same that will find that though the legislation so passed was well meaning, that the overall effect has not serve the purpose as effectively as envisioned and proposed.

 Today, we need a new Pujo Committee that will have the courage to stand and to uphold the principles of this great nation on behalf of the people of this nation, but this seems to be something that is going to be hard to achieve, for the power of the press, and of the judicial, and of the mega corporations, and of the biggest banks, seems to be so consolidated that nothing can conceivably bring them down.  Yet, this is what needs to happen, or else this country will be divided into the very few and privileged who rule the roost and are above the law, thereby effectively eviscerating the common man and thereby nullifying this government, of, for, and by the people.

Embrace your challenges

There are plenty of people who don’t desire to have any real challenges in life and just prefer that life for them be nothing other than smooth sailing because they believe that makes for a more satisfying life.  While there is a lot to be said about having things go our preferred way, the bottom line is that all those who are without challenges have essentially placed themselves in a position in which they aren’t going to grow, because in order to grow, we actually need to be challenged, for in those challenges, we either forge ahead, or fall back.

 The interesting thing about challenges is that some of them are forced upon us, in the sense that things that are not in our control have created personal trouble or obstacles for us, and thus we have been placed into a position in which we either are going to sink or to swim, and those then that are able to overcome their challenges are the same that have made meaningful progress to becoming a better and a more complete person.  Then there are those other challenges which come from our own missteps, mistakes, paybacks, and things of that general ilk, in which, because we are the ones who have created the havoc and trouble, we are thus forced to overcome so as to extricate ourselves from that trouble, or else continue to suffer the consequences for having been wrong in the first place.

 Whatever the nature of the challenge, expected or unexpected, we find that when it is presented to us, we’re going to need to come up with some sort of strategy to deal with such, directly or indirectly, and in some of these cases we will need to put off and thereby postpone the challenge until we are better prepared to constructively deal with it because sometimes we are unprepared for what we have to handle, which thus necessitates for us to examine thoroughly the various ways to successfully deal with such.

 So too, recognize that in this world, we are going to be tested -- for how else would it be fair to adjudge our character as to who and what we really are, unless such is tested, time and time again.  This signifies that those who avoid that which needs to be faced aren’t doing themselves any favors, because that which has to be overcome, sooner or later, will have to be met. Therefore, it is going to be better to do so forthrightly, rather than to hope that it will just disappear and vanish.

 Indeed, those who make the most progress in life are the very same who intuitively recognize that life has a purpose, of which part of that purpose is to do our fair part to help make society a better place for our good participation in it, which necessitates, therefore, that we risk something of merit to gain something of merit.  This, then, is our great mission in life: to rise up and to meet the challenges that we need to face, and to thus overcome them for the betterment of our souls, and for the greater good of all those with whom we congregate.

The havoc of lost income, bad decisions, and bad events

While it is true that the United States does have a safety net to help out those that are impoverished, as well as those that have been laid off, the fact of the matter is that because there is such a significant percentage of Americans that literally live paycheck to paycheck, that far too many of them, are susceptible to their lives becoming unhinged when suddenly they lose their job, and/or are hit with a huge unexpected expense such as for their vehicle having a major repair, or for a medical emergency, which takes their situation which was basically stable, and plunges them instead into a whole lot of trouble.

 One of the things that capitalism does to people, is that it encourages people to buy things that not only they don’t really have to have, but also entices them to purchase things that are above their budget and their means, thereby placing them in a precarious position when they are unable to pay what they owe promptly, which thereby hurts their credit, along with having to suffer by paying a very high interest rate for that credit, and additionally they are subject to monetary penalties for being late on their payment. 

 Indeed, because so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, it would especially behoove them to be disciplined enough to reduce their expenditures to what is necessary, rather than including in their expenditures that which is desired but not really needed.  Unfortunately, though, that goes against the capitalistic way, which seems to thrive upon selling as much as possible, to as many customers as possible per whatever credit conditions that are favorable to the lender, so that they can reap the benefits, pretty much at the expense of the party that is paying for it, all at a higher price to them, because of borrowing costs to do so.

 While it could be said that it’s good to be optimistic, and perhaps to anticipate that one’s salary will increase as time goes on, that isn’t necessarily how things are going to go. A valid argument could be made that for a whole lot of people, that isn’t the way that things are going to go, because job security isn’t really there. Also, a whole lot of companies don’t provide a viable pathway for their employees to move into job positions in which the compensation and benefits will be significantly better.

 All of the above signifies that while there are many people who are quite willing to work, they won’t necessarily find appropriate work, especially when they need that work desperately.  Further to the point, bad decisions about certain purchases don’t just lead to buyer’s regret, but oftentimes lead to more dire consequences.  Finally, those who expect nothing untoward will ever happen to them have failed to recognize that bad events happen in the course of most people’s lives, of which those who are well prepared are going to be in a lot better position to deal with such, as contrasted to those who have little or nothing to draw upon, and will often thereby suffer lasting consequences which will hurt them in a whole lot of bitter ways.

The communist obsession

The thing about America is that it gets obsessed with things that it really doesn’t need to concern itself about, such as communism.  The bottom line with communism, which was created by the active minds of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels all the way back in 1848, is the fact that there are plenty of books and articles written about all sorts of different forms of government, which may or may not have some good ideas, and typically don’t really have a lot of influence upon anything of merit when it comes to the implementation of actual meaningful governmental change, anywhere.

 As much as some people desire to believe that the Soviet Union was communist, and that China today is communist, the truth of the matter is that there has never been a communist nation. Additionally, it doesn’t appear to be likely that they ever will be, because in actuality, a society in which everything is own collectively and consists of a classless people just doesn’t seem plausible because it really isn’t in human nature that this would ever come about, not really because people are inherently selfish and greedy, though some are, but rather more to do with the fact that people are driven by personal motives which basically necessitate that their individual expenditure of effort results in some sort of fair reward, and when that is lacking the ensuing result is going to be disappointing, because those that have skin the game, are much more inclined to work hard and sacrifice as compared to those that do not.

 So too, what a given foreign country does or does not do within its borders would seem to be its business and should, to a very large extent, not be a concern of America.  Additionally, in a free country, people should be entitled to have their own viewpoints and to express themselves as to what they do or don’t desire or wish for, which would include things such as communism or socialism. 

 To believe, somehow, that the pursuit of communism is a true threat to the American way of life, seems to misunderstand that a government of, for, and by the people is entitled to go after what their desires entail, and further to the point, capitalism is not a word that even appears in the Constitution.  Private property, though, is indeed protected through the Constitution, which makes eminent sense because those who are unable to have or obtain private property seem to be the same who are vulnerable to being under the thumb of their governance, which thereby infringes upon their liberty and freedom.

 In reality, the obsession that America has displayed time and time again, about communism, is the very thing that has necessitated an inordinate amount of monies spent on armaments and the military, along with persecutions against fellow Americans for apparently not being seen as being loyal enough to America, simply because they believe in communism, which would seem to be their right, and not subject to sanctions.  Indeed, the whole point of what this country was founded upon was that we have been gifted by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that the purpose of this government should primarily be to see to it that we keep those rights, above all.

Learn to empathize

One of the main reasons why disagreements get worse is that one or both parties are absolutely convinced that they need to “win” the argument, and in a case in which only one side can win, this is going to result in a resolution that will probably not be satisfactory to both parties.  A better idea when we disagree, even when what appears to be a serious dispute between one to the other, is to take the time to understand where the other person is coming from.  In other words, try to empathize with them, and thereby let the other know that we want to better understand them, and to thereby see things from their perspective.  After all, we know our own perspective, or certainly ought to, so it would behoove us when we are looking for a practical solution to be willing to see and to feel how things look from the other side and thereby, by doing so, create common ground in which there is a better chance of a successful resolution which is satisfactory and of lasting value to both parties.

 There are plenty of people who are good at the talking, but are rather poor at the listening, especially when what they are hearing is not something that they desire to hear. Nevertheless, in actuality, we need to do a better job at listening, because everybody has a story, and oftentimes it means a lot to them that they be respectfully heard.  After all, just because we listen to the other, doesn’t necessarily mean that we agree with what they are saying, but we owe them the respect of trying to understand their position, and in order to demonstrate that we have heard them correctly, we should be able to sum up what they have been expressing and then repeat that to them, to verify that we are now on the same page.

 Indeed, everyone deserves and is entitled to have their own voice, and whenever we decide that such a voice which annoys us or that we don’t agree with, doesn’t deserve a fair and respectful audience we are going to find that the problem isn’t going to have a successful resolution forthcoming, because there isn’t a foundation being formulated and encouraged that will enable that to happen.  This is why we need to be more empathetic, because if we are unwilling to do our good part to understand the other, than we shouldn’t expect them to do the same for us, and ultimately what happens in a dispute is that the party in the stronger position will often get what they think that they want, but by doing so they have failed to comprehend, that there may well be some sort of blowback for dismissing the other as some sort of irrelevancy.

 In sum, those who do not believe that it is necessary to understand the position and the perspective of the other, or have the audacity to believe that they already know these things without a true investigation have put themselves into the position of simply believing that the only thing that really matters is their own perspective and by ignoring empathy and by being unwilling to listen or give time to the other, have created a construct which will not fairly solve the issue at hand, but will probably exacerbate it, even if it appears to have been resolved.

The Zimmermann telegram

Those who are astute and pay attention to world affairs understand well that today’s America is an empire, with bases, armaments, and personnel all over the world, of which it seems like there isn’t a war or rumor of war that America is not involved in directly or indirectly.  That is the way it is now, but it certainly was not the way it was back then.  In fact, in 1916, not only was America not directly involved in what became known as World War I, but the re-election campaign of Woodrow Wilson utilized the slogan “he kept us out of the war.”

 However, on January 17, 1917, a coded message was sent to the German ambassador to Mexico, essentially indicating that Germany intended to pursue submarine warfare against America and desired an alliance with Mexico.  While today’s Mexico is surely a shadow of its former self, back in 1917, it did have, relative to America, a degree of power.  So then, to impress upon Mexico that Germany would aid them in the pursuit of recovering lost territories, which had become Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, this seemed to be an alliance that might well persuade Mexico to align itself with Germany and thus be a thorn in the side of America.  Further to the point, by engaging Mexico in a war with America, this would necessitate America having to take care of defending its homeland first and foremost, and therefore those military armaments that were currently being discreetly exported to the Allied cause would be considerably reduced, which might well help the German side to win that war.

 The upshot of the Zimmermann telegram being intercepted is that the United States thus knew the intentions of Germany, and because of this telegram, soon declared war upon Germany, which was certainly something that Germany did not want to encourage in any way, form, or manner.  Additionally, Mexico remained neutral in that conflict, so that the United States was able to exert all of its manpower and armaments in defending the allies and thus turned the tide of war in favor of those allies.

 For a certainty, wars involve calculated risks, in which, had this telegram not been intercepted, perhaps the result for Germany would have been different, as the American public, for the most part, decided that they did not want to get involved in a foreign entanglement, in which, there didn’t appear to be any real reason why America should be involved, one way or another, even though American governance was clearly favoring the Allied cause.  So then, this telegram simply made the call to warfare all that much more compelling to the American public and, therefore, was detrimental to Germany, which ended up being defeated in World War I.

 When it comes to warfare and thus making the argument for such to the public, history tells us that there have been many instances of deceit and lies, egging a given country to that war, initiated to a great extent by those who favor such a war.  In the case of the Zimmermann telegram, this, in essence, made it no longer necessary for America to pretend to be neutral and uninvolved, and thus may well have changed the outcome of that war.

USA age 65 life expectancy v. comparable nations

We read at healthsystemtracker.org that when we compare the life expectancy at age 65 in the USA, against the comparable countries of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. that the United States, despite spending more per capita on healthcare then any of these other countries, and in some cases, spending more than twice the amount per capita, that somehow the United States life expectancy from age 65 falls well short of these comparable countries, in which the comparable countries in aggregate from age 65, have, as noted at healthsystemtracker.org we find thereby a life expectancy of 7.2% greater for woman than the United States, and 6.0% greater for men than the United States. 

 For those that live in the United States, they should be disturbed first on the level of the fact that more and more money dedicated to healthcare doesn’t seem to push the needle all that far or even to matter, and quite obviously leaves the United States looking like a country that needs to seriously consider changing its healthcare system from top to bottom, because the results for those that are our senior citizens, is incredibly disappointing, as most people when reaching their retirement years, would expect and would desire that those sunset years be not only long but also years of satisfaction and joy, but the results indicate that American senior citizens will die sooner, which is the second fact, which is deeply distressing for not just those senior citizens, but for all of us, that expect and desire to live long and healthy lives, and to fairly enjoy the fruits of our labor.

 While there are probably a fair number of Americans who understand that not all is well, the proof that their intuition is correct is demonstrated by the fact that life expectancy for our senior citizens trails comparable nations by a meaningful amount and this doesn’t seem to make sense when we take into consideration that America is not only known as the breadbasket of the world, but is also, in aggregate, the richest nation in the world, with supposedly the freest people in the world, and the best governance in the world.  All of this would presuppose that not all is right within America because its health isn’t near where it needs to be, and if America were a true leader, it would lead all other comparable nations in the good health of its citizens, but it does not, and it also doesn’t appear that this will change anytime soon.

 What the United States should or should not prioritize, is something that this governance needs to reevaluate because when the quality of our health does not seem to be something that this governance believes is its responsibility to constructively do something of merit to make it to become the best in all the world, then what is the point of having all the money that America has, if at the end of our days, we aren’t even here to enjoy such truly?

Foreign investment or is it exploitation?

There are nearly 200 nations in this world, of which the vast majority of these countries are relatively small and thus not in a very good position relative to the most dominant nations and institutions in this world. Indeed, there are mega corporations that have more in revenue than many smaller nations do, which is indicative of the difference in size and power between small sovereign nations as compared to the biggest and most powerful nations in the world, in conjunction with their powerful banking institutions, as well as their corporate players. In short, we find that those who have the size and the money have the opportunity to have an undue influence upon small nations when it comes to their “development.”

 When it comes to investment of just about any type, those who have the money are in a prime position to stipulate the rules, in which we find that small nations are susceptible to making deals that are not very beneficial to the country, at large, and especially to their citizens.  Nevertheless, these deals are still agreed to, mainly because those that are doing the investing are quite adept at influencing the highest echelons of the governance of these small nations, of the benefit, that will ensue, which often seems in actuality to be one of personal enrichment for the elite of these small nations, which signifies that the deal so going down is not going to be truly in the best interests of that nation.

 Undeniably, whenever all the biggest and most important decisions that places a small nation in debt to a much more powerful one is agreed to, what often occurs, is that these sovereign small nations have essentially ceded control of what that country will or will not do in the sense of national economic development as well as other pertinent things and, in essence, places such in the hands of outside interests, who pretty much dictate what the overall national budget will be for that small nation and where the monies so budgeted will first be allocated, which typically means paying back those that have lent their money, first, over and above what that country owes its own citizens.

 Therefore, what we find to a very large extent, is though it might not be described as colonization by any of the parties, it essentially is colonization, because the control of the biggest decisions so made by that small nation isn’t really in their domain anymore, but rather they must march to the beat of what those that have invested and thereby are developing on behalf of that small nation, have agreed to.  In short, the small nation, in a lot of these cases, is going to get the short end of the stick, which isn’t good for the people of that nation, nor for its stability, either, and pretty much indicates, mineral wealth or not, strategic position or not, that at the end of the day, the biggest beneficiary of what has transpired, is going to be the entity that has the money and the power, and that is the type of construct which isn’t going to change, anytime soon, if ever.

Voodoo trickle-down economics

Look, it has to be said, that President Grover Cleveland in 1888, stated, “He mocks the people who proposes that the Government shall protect the rich and that they in turn will care for the laboring poor." The bottom line is that the rich already have everything, in the sense of power, position, connections, and favoritism, and to believe somehow that through the generosity of their respective hearts, they will do their fair part to help the poor and disadvantaged is to believe in the improbable, nay, the impossible.  In fact, the rich have the strongest belief that what they have is theirs to own and that they thereby owe nothing to anyone else, including their governance which helped create the foundation for their success, and further to the point, if they are going to dole out any of their money, it has a strong tendency to go to places in which they will receive appropriate approbation, from, for instance, a university, a hospital, or a museum.

 The very point of having a strong central government that is structured of, for, and by the people is for that government to responsibly do right by its citizens, which begins first with lifting up those that need the most lifting, because the measure of a good and fair government, should not ever be how rich the rich are, but rather should be how poor the poor are, and thereby what that government is doing to rectify and to alleviate such for the overall beneficence and stability of the people within that nation which is meant to be structured to serve the people, in whole..

 To the point, there are plenty of people that labor hard, that are diligent and responsible in their work, of which, we find that this government does not feel it to be a priority that those that labor for forty hours or even more in a week, are entitled to receive a living wage, which doesn’t even make sense, because whatever that these underpaid laborers are not receiving in wages, the government is going to in one form or another, have to backstop, which essentially means that those that are profiting most from an underpaid workforce, are able to profit more at the expense of those laborers, without correspondingly paying their fare share in taxes to the government.

 The objective of any good and responsible governance is to not only level the playing field, but also to see that through our progressive tax system and through governmental oversight, that those who are the biggest earners and the richest, personal as well as corporate, do their fair part, to pay what they owe to this government, and do so on the up and up, as opposed to hiding behind all sorts of tax dodges, and game playing, which subverts them from having to pay what they ought to pay, because those that don’t do their fair part are cheating the system, cheating the government, and cheating the people, which isn’t right and isn’t patriotic.

Our Social Security numbers need far more protection

In this modern world, we find that again and again, there are data breaches that expose our Social Security numbers, which essentially represent our own personal identification number to those who thereby use it for their own nefarious purposes. The first thing to recognize is that our Social Security number was issued to us, not for identification purposes, but rather as our unique number specifically earmarked for the Social Security administration so that we could appropriately receive our Social Security benefits, but has regrettably devolved into becoming essentially our identification number, unique to our person, and therefore quite valuable, for it is this number that we provide for employment purposes, for credit cards, and for assorted other things, merited or not.

 So then, there really ought to be some serious thought by the governance of this nation as to what to do about the data breaches regarding our Social Security number and the sure recognition that the more places in which our Social Security number is provided and thereby stored, the more pathways that those who desire that number have to obtain that very thing, which obviously is the seminal problem with the way things are conducted presently. 

 One would think that because data breaches are so damaging not just to the individual but also to the government and businesses in the sense of all the fraud so accomplished through this breach, which probably amounts to billions upon billions of dollars, that therefore our government would make it a very high priority to protect those numbers and to come up with a robust program to accomplish that very thing, because it certainly seems that these breaches are a rather common occurrence and will continue to be a common occurrence mainly because too many places, pretty much demand our Social Security number, or at a minimum, the last four numbers of our Social Security number, as if providing just the last four numbers, somehow still provides us with enough protection of our identity, when it definitely does not.

 The thing about criminals or those who are up to no good is that when they know that the avenue to make some “easy money” is access to another person’s Social Security number and of which there are a multitude of ways to get that Social Security number, mainly because the security to protect such, is functionally weak, they are going to do exactly that, because America is the richest nation in the world, which means that there is plenty of money to go after, and further to the point, since this nation isn’t doing a damn meaningful thing about changing how we are identified through a rethink of our Social Security numbers, these thieves are hellbent to keep on doing what they are doing. After all, it is lucrative to do so, as there are plenty of dark web buyers willing to buy this information, because of its high value, which seemingly isn’t something that this governance desires to see stop, because it doesn’t do what it needs to do to stop it.

Stupid America

The U.S. Department of Education states that “about 130 million American adults (54% of those aged 16-74) read below a 6th-grade level.”  The fact that this is true is a reflection that America is not now, and never has been, the greatest nation in the world, and most definitely is not on track to become the greatest nation in the world.  What could be said is that America is the richest nation in the world, but the wealth of America clearly favors the elite and disfavors those who are typically ill-educated and live in enclaves of poverty and lack of opportunity.

 The fact that so many Americans are functionally illiterate is a great disappointment to many but nevertheless is a true reflection that rather than putting forth the necessary effort to see that those that are the most impoverished are provided with good opportunities, so created from attending schools of superior education and teachers that are motivated to see their students succeed, has instead decided to leave that alone, which begs the question, as to why?

 The reason why so many Americans are ill-educated really comes down to the fact that in this capitalistic society and the government that runs this nation, they actually prefer to have an underclass of underperforming people, because those that are relatively ignorant, are the very same that are easier to trick, to manage, and to exploit, because their lack of intelligence and foresight preordains them to have to kowtow to those in authority so as to get important things such as their food stamps, medical benefits, Section 8 housing, Earned Income Credit and so on.  In other words, the governance of this nation, as well as many of its most powerful and connected mega corporations, prefers an ignorant population because it allows them to exploit such for their own exclusive benefit.

 So too, in consideration that America acts and behaves like an empire, it is critical for the success of the same, that there be sacrificial cannon fodder readily available in case World War III, occurs, and the best people to sacrifice are those that have no position in the governance of this nation because they are essentially voiceless and powerless, and thus the loss of their lives, will not hurt those that are the elites of this nation, who will appreciate their blood sacrifice so that they themselves can continue to acquire more wealth and more power.

 If this nation truly wanted to be great, it would intuitively recognize that the more educated and more knowledgeable its population was, in whole, the better it would be for the nation, because it is knowledge, along with some necessary moral guidelines, that permits nations to prosper in a way that the population, collectively, benefits from all the accouterments developed and thus obtained.  On the other hand, those at the highest echelons of power have a strong desire to keep exploiting those that are ignorant because it puts more money directly into their pocket, and also permits the governance of this nation to assert itself against the underclass so as to keep them in line, which signifies to those of the middle class and just above, that they need be on their best behavior or else what they have and the position that they are in, would be next to be taken away.

"Show me the man, and I'll show you the crime”

The above quotation is generally attributed to Stalin’s secret police chief, Lavrently Beria, who was relentless in carrying out his duty to eradicate those who stood in the way or were considered to be troubling or worse to Stalin  The implication therefore of what this saying means is as chilling as it so appears, because it basically says that anyone so targeted can be found to have committed some sort of crime, and while we might think that is the way it was back in the Soviet Union’s heyday, therefore we need not worry because it obviously doesn’t apply to democratic Western nations, but this isn’t necessarily so.  Indeed, the truth of the matter is, that we are currently in a construct in which this does appear to be the case even in Western nations, and certainly is the case for those that are annoying to the political power brokers of the age, who because these targeted people typically have minimal connections of their own, are thereby definitely susceptible to being arrested for a manufactured crime.

 That is to say, those who are an annoyance to those in high positions of power, are not only easily targeted for retribution but the type of retribution that can be effected against them, ranges from shaming them through social media, or adversely affecting their employment by exerting pressure on their employer to do exactly that, or have the IRS or a similar type department investigate them thoroughly,  or simply arresting them under trumped-up charges, such as disturbing the peace, obstruction, trespassing, tax evasion, or any other charge that fits the bill.

 The thing about being arrested is that those who have little or no power or no real say in their governance are susceptible to being arrested, because they aren’t backed up by any other institution that could conceivably serve to protect them, which makes them vulnerable.  As for those that have connections or are powerful in their own right, they too are susceptible to being arrested, of which, the main course of action to accomplish this is for those that are the true power brokers of the policing arm of the state, first doing their due diligence in order to find something that is suspect or could be considered to be suspect which will thereby serve the purpose of pinning a crime on that person.

 To believe that all of us are safe, and that there is a true rule of law, which is faithfully followed by our judicial system and thereby is no respecter of persons, is to ignore the fact that far too many Western governments have devolved into becoming oppressors of those that they feel are in opposition to them, and have decided that the best way to deal with the problem, at hand, is to silence their detractors, through placing them under arrest.  Indeed, this is an age in which the government, in conjunction with powerful corporations have a wealth of information about our everyday activities, and those who have that power are well able to dig deep and to thereby find something that is suspect, and this thus allows them to pin a crime on just about anyone, which suits their purpose exceedingly well.

The other side of gossip

We find that it is human nature for a significant portion of us to engage in gossip from time to time, and the gossip so spoken is almost invariably not about how good and gracious somebody else is, but rather has a lot to do with their foibles and faults, instead.  The reason why we have a strong tendency to gossip and why bad news seems to spread a heck of a lot faster than good news, is that we as flawed human beings, feel the need, to pick on the faults of another, in order to say to ourselves that as bad and as stupid as we might appear to be, that what we are and what we have done is not nearly as bad and as stupid as this other person and thus this helps not only to justify ourselves in our own eyes, but plainly makes us to feel better that we aren’t all that bad or stupid, after all.

 The thing about gossip is that most people that do gossip do not desire that what they have said which is disparaging or embarrassing to the other person, would ever come back to them as the person so speaking of such, not just because this can create a rather awkward moment but also because the point of gossiping isn’t really for the other person to learn or know about such, but rather it’s to have someone else to kick about and to make fun of essentially, and is thus mainly done for our own amusement, though there are times when it is done in a more vindictive manner.

 The one thing that people need to be more cognizant of when gossiping, is the fact that most of us probably would not appreciate being gossiped about in an especially negative and belittling way, and whenever that is the case, we ought to remember that discretion is the better part of valor and therefore not to engage therefore in saying things that we would first of all, never say to the person we were gossiping about to their face, and further to the point, we would be shamed if they were to find out that we said it, not so much because we are ugly people but mainly because we would feel guilty about saying what we said, when we could have just kept our mouth quiet.

 So too, for those that would rather hear less negative things about the faults of others, the best way to reduce such is to simply not be a part of such gossip, by either not listening to such or being a party to such, but also by making it our principle that when we talk about others, we do so in a format as if the person so being talked about, was actually there, which obviously cuts down on negative gossip, considerably, as when it comes to gossip, it takes at least two to play the game, and if the other person isn’t interested, then the game, in essence, ends.

 The other side of gossip is the recognition that the “cheap shots” that we take at others are probably not the type of cheap shots that we would like taken against ourselves.  In other words, we shouldn’t engage in activities that we would not appreciate if they were turned about and played against us, and while we might think or know some character flaws of the other, or areas in which they could improve, we ought to make up our mind to do our fair part to aid and to help the other, rather than participate in that which doesn’t reflect upon us as being a person of integrity and good.

The selfishness of the superrich and the privileged

Far too many people desire to give the credit for their success or their positive circumstances in their lives as being of their own design and none other.  While we can certainly admire people that have applied themselves diligently to the job at hand, it has to be recognized that all those that truly believe that it was solely their own effort that brought them such renowned – that they are badly mistaken for thinking that, because what America does so well, is to create the infrastructure that allows for such success, and further to the point, because of its capitalistic system, permits those that are successful in their endeavors to truly personally benefit from such.

 The thing is that those who have reaped enormous success need to always be cognizant that to get to that place, it necessitated not just the right connections but also necessitated important organizations within this country that permitted them to take their talents and to ride them to a resounding success.  This means, at the end of the day, we as individuals should not see ourselves ever as being islands unto ourselves, or if we do, then the benefits that we gain as an island unto itself should be wholly contained within that island and nowhere else.  Rather, it is imperative to recognize that we are part of a greater whole and thus we are obligated to do our good part to pay our fair share to this nation, whether that be through taxation or through attributes such as our wisdom, so that we have paid proper homage to that which laid the foundation for such success to be built upon.

 So then, as much as those who have a multitude of wealth want to believe it was all their effort, that just was never the actual case, and never could be the case, because wealth necessitates a buy-in from the general public and/or its governance, as well.  So too, it has to be acknowledged that our governance needs appropriate contributions from its citizenry, and those who have more should thereby be not just obligated to contribute more, but should understand that they need to do so, and to do so as their tribute and their patriotic duty to the nation which permitted them to have such access to that success.

 Indeed, all those who desire to live in exclusive enclaves of prosperity and to thereby as much as possible ignore those who are in need have done so to their own discredit, because the object of the exercise is to see that this nation is a bastion of opportunity for all, and not just an opportunity for the few and well-positioned.  This means that those who use all the angles and tricks and subterfuges to not pay their fair share back to the country that provided them with the opportunity to become great, aren’t just selfish, but they also are, in their own way, the same that are inimical to what this nation stands for in its foundational principles, and ought therefore to be shamed for their disrespect, greed, and hypocrisy,