Lincoln at Disneyland

Disneyland/Disneyworld loves to describe itself as being the "happiest place on earth," whether it really is that thing or not, depends, of course, on the eye of the beholder.  What is somewhat surprising is that Disneyland since 1965 has offered a wonderful tribute to Abraham Lincoln, known as "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln".  Although, the show has not run continuously at Disneyland since then, as it has been on hiatus from time-to-time, as well as some of the elements and words of the show being transformed or changed over time, and of course the audio-animatronics of Mr. Lincoln has improved considerably over the years, Mr. Lincoln is currently performing at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

What makes this attraction especially poignant and meaningful, is that it's at a theme park, to which most theme parks make it their mission to provide entertainment, and seldom even consider such words as patriotism, country, equality, and liberty, whereas these are the main themes of the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  This is, in fact, patriotism at its absolute finest, not the pathetic definition of patriotism as being solely the love for one's country, for better or for worse, but patriotism that envelops protecting our country's true liberties and rights with vigor as well as with passion. 

The speech that Lincoln makes in the show is an amalgamation of four speeches from Lincoln's life, with the overarching theme of the speech being the meaning of the word, liberty.  Lincoln makes sure to remind us that true liberty doesn't rest on mere paper, even paper as sacred as our Declaration of Independence, but that liberty is that "…which God has planted in our bosoms," and that the greatest fear that America should have, is not the fear of being conquered from without, but the fear of being conquered from within, from a nation that descends into lawless abandon, into mob law, into corrupt law, and the consequences therewith.  That therefore, each man within this great nation has a sacred and noble obligation to live up to the precepts that our Declaration proclaimed, and that to thereby violate these precepts, will in essence, be a collective suicide of the peoples and their liberty in America.

Lincoln states that we need to "… have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."  This is the clarion call from our greatest President to all American citizens, that the liberty that we seek, the liberty that we love, is written in the hearts and minds of each man, that nothing will ever wrest this liberty away from us, except our own turning away from the foundational fabric of America, such as, its Declaration of Independence, its Constitution, its rule and respect of law, to which, should we forsake liberty, we shall find that a house divided will not stand.  However, united together with one abiding vision that all are created equal, all are treated fairly, and all are entitled to righteous liberty, than we will find that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.

Jews, Blacks, and the fight for Civil Rights

In the modern world, those of the Jewish faith, have always been a minority in every country, until the creation of Israel in 1948, but this only occurred after Jews, had been persecuted, stripped of their possessions, and massacred by the empowered Nazis' of Germany during World War II.  Blacks, too, have been persecuted, stripped of their possessions, stolen from their homeland, enslaved, also lynched and treated for the most part at best as "second class citizens" for their entire sojourn in America.  Those of the Jewish faith, celebrate their exodus from Egypt at a time when they too were slaves, who were ultimately redeemed and saved by their prophet and leader Moses, and later received their proper blessings as the "chosen people" by Yahweh.

In America, there is a commonality that runs through the Black and Jewish experience, one that often tells the tale of discrimination, fear, hatred, abuse, distortions, vitriol, and oppression.  Not too surprisingly, during the Civil Rights era, Jews and Blacks, together, saw that a country that became more inclusive of those that had historically been treated with disdain and denied equal rights, would be a victory for not just Blacks as well as Jews, but a victory for American democracy as a whole, and subsequently there was a meeting of minds between these two groups as to how best to achieve these noble desires.

Today, when we recognize great Civil Rights leaders, the names that roll off of our tongues are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Julian Bond, Ralph Abernathy, Bayard Rustin, Maya Angelou, as well as so many others, but behind the scenes, working hard for those same civil rights, were Henry Moscowitz, Kivie Kaplan, and Stanley Levison.  While Jews were never enslaved in America, nor lynched, they too suffered the indignities of being of a creed that was historically shunted aside in America.  Consequently, when housing authorities in different cities all over America, set up Restrictive Covenants, they denied access to that housing to all "non-whites" as well as to those of "Jewish descent".  Also, top universities in America, addressed the "Jewish problem" by changing or modifying their admissions policy in such a way as to limit Jews attending their college, or by adding official or unofficial quotas of Jews that would be admitted, whereas Blacks, if admitted at all, had quotas attached to their race that essentially limited their numbers at any of the great Northeastern Universities to single digits or perhaps to a couple dozen students in total.

During the height of the Civil Rights cause, there were many martyrs, such as Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Vernon Dahmer, the Reverend George Lee, as well as many, many others.  Jews and Blacks, worked together during the Civil Rights era, in a common cause, to help bring justice and dignity to all.  The victories that have been won by Blacks and Jews in America to bring opportunity and freedom to all peoples, is a process that continues today and will continue until we do come upon that time, when all are judged not by color of their skin, or of their religious persuasion, but instead by their actions and by the content of their character, so that then, truly, the steel chains of injustice and in-toleration will have been vacated into the very dungeons of hell.

Consent of the Governed

The most important document in the history of America is the Declaration of Independence, which represents the reason and the thought process behind why America rebelled against Great Britain.  This means that the Declaration of Independence is the very foundation of American liberty, the cornerstone of every good thing that America represents.  Within this document are contained these important and moving words, that "… Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."  Yet, today, few people believe that we actually have a Federal government that adheres to the very foundational principles of the consent of the governed, as a recent Rasmussen Reports telephone poll indicated that "Just 21% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed."

If we live today in a country that doesn't have the consent of the governed, and I definitely submit that this is indeed the actual case, than we are not living the American dream, we are not living the American way, we are not being true to the Declaration of Independence, or to the blood of our forefathers, and further that America is in fact, not that beacon of liberty and pristine light that it professes to be, but a poor, dim, imitation of it. 

America, its judicial system, its legislative house, and its executive department, are, in essence, a government, onto itself, to which the people must submit or suffer the consequences of their disobedience to the State and its powerful apparatus.  America is many things, it is a nation of laws, laws upon laws, laws that supersede other laws, only to be circumvented by still other laws, laws that serve certain connected interests because of money, or power, or corruption, and laws that are stretched, bent, or curved, to mean anything that the Law makers want those laws to mean.  The legislative house of America subverts its very purpose by caring little for the people as a whole, instead mainly bowing down to well-financed lobbyists, special interests, and corporate desires, to which the voice of the people is effectively drown out by the cacophony of pure greed and the lust for temporal power.  The Executive office of the President, believes it too can write and enact Executive Orders for whatever purpose it pleases, to do whatever that the Executive branch desires to do, which makes that office the power of just one, one to rule them all.

As our Declaration of Independence states, governments are instituted amongst men for the purpose of ensuring ourselves of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that is the raison d'être for our government in the first place, and if our government does not provide that to us, its legitimacy should certainly be called into question.  Life offers to all of us, challenges enough, that we do not need, nor do we desire to have our own government, actively working against us, from the taking of our liberties, from the unjustified takings of our labor, or the unjustness and unequal application of natural law.

America is meant to be a mighty nation, one nation, undivided, of liberty and justice for all, but seldom has it lived up to those lofty attributes, instead it is like the sound of a clanging cymbal, without brotherly love, speaking with a forked tongue, seldom asking for consent, but instead demanding unfailing allegiance to the State, or to suffer the consequences forthwith.

Church and State

There is a mistaken belief that the United States of America was setup as a secular State, with clearly delineated lines separating Religion/Church from the State itself.  This belief is patently false and we know that from many statements from our Founding Fathers, with probably the two most important statements being as follows.  Firstly, within the Declaration of Independence it declares that the people of America "…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…"  This proclamation is of immense and fundamental importance to all Americans because it declares that our Rights come not from the Government, nor from man himself, which would by definition mean that they these very Rights could be therefore be also taken away from us by Government or man himself, but instead it is stated that these Rights, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, come from our Creator and not the State.  Further, in regards to religion in America, our First Amendment to our Constitution states that our National Government: "…prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion…" which means that the Federal Government is precluded from interfering with or enacting laws that either aid, eliminate, or establish an official Federal religion.  This does not mean that our Federal Government is an adversary to religion, far from it; its meaning is instead that our National Government will not force a Government religion upon the people that all people must adhere to. 

Further to the point, there is the wrong belief that the best government, by definition, is a government that is totally separated from religion and by implication separated from religious influence upon the people and upon laws.  This belief is not only fundamentally flawed, it is also nonsensical.     If the laws within any country, within any government, are not based upon "natural law", than that government is in error.  Saint Augustine told us that: "The natural law is thus an image of the eternal law writ in the heart of man, impressed there by the Lord who made him."  This signifies that the highest Government, the greatest State, that administers justice to its citizens, is a State that is in harmony with eternal law, and not arbitrary and discriminatory law.  At a minimum, all laws within a legitimate country should be equally applied to all, as this is the only possible way that we can thereby bring justice to all.

Any legitimate State must answer also to a higher power, that power is found in our Creator.  Laws, traditions, and actions that are taken in consideration of this fundamental moral truth, will bring blessings upon that nation and its peoples.  If this was not the case, the President of the United States, would not bother to say during his oath, "so help me God," nor would our justice system use this phrase for court appearances.     

While it is true that the Church is not the State, in fact, in the United States, there isn't even an officially established religion, the principles of religious thought and practices, are the basis itself for the legitimacy of that State, and that when the people determine that "…any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…"  This is the principle that supersedes all others for Americans, as it is this principle that so many brave and great men willingly made the ultimate sacrifice of their "… Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."   This is why those that try to change history and law to reflect that which never was are not only the usurpers of true authority, not only traitors to this country, but a disgrace to the legacy of our Founding Fathers.

Building #7 World Trade Center

The catastrophic events of 9/11/01 are indelibly etched into the collective minds of American citizens, but within that tragic day, many people have forgotten that there was another tower that collapsed about seven hours later after the Twin Towers had "pancaked" unto the ground. This tower, known as Building #7 WTC was a 47-story hi-rise skyscraper, that was not hit by either airplane on 9/11, but somehow, caved in and it too "pancaked" to the ground.  Building 7's collapse has helped fuel the fire, of conspiracy theorists, since the tragic events of 9/11, since its destruction seems on the surface to be inexplicable, as it would appear highly improbable that a fire, alone, could take down a steel structure, yet Building #7 most definitely collapsed to the ground.

Conspiracy theorists profess to believe that a well-timed orchestrated detonation of explosives took down Building# 7, but to believe that, would implicitly mean, that the whole events of 9/11, was an "inside job", including, of course, the destruction of the Twin Towers.   That above belief is patently absurd, and more a reflection of how disappointed and distressed some Americans are to have had their government lie to them on so many important issues again and again.  Yet, we are still stuck with the perplexing fact that somehow Building #7 collapsed on 9/11, which appears on the surface to be absolutely astonishing.

It was not until 2008 that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) came out with their report and explanation as to the collapse of Building #7, which put the blame on the collapse of this building, essentially on fires that were generated from the Twin Towers buildings aftershock which "… ignited fires on at least 10 floors…" on Building #7.  Unfortunately, the building's automatic sprinkler system failed, and the primary as well as backup water supply systems also failed, subsequently meaning that there was no obstacle in the path of this fire to continue to rage throughout the impacted floors.

NIST stated that the structure and the integrity of the building was "… designed to resist gravity loads, but not thermally induced lateral loads."  Still, conspiracy buffs were quick to seize upon the seemingly important fact that no building higher than 15-stories had ever collapsed from fire alone, but this misses the basic and essential point that fire is a destructive element, and that it is fire that allows a blacksmith to bend and mold steel at around 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.  Since we know that it is fire that allows steel to be structured into the size and shape that is desired, it means too, by definition that a temperature that is hot enough and sustained enough within a building structure, will, over a period of time, weakened the steel, as well as all other elements that have a even lower threshold of withstanding fire, and consequently this will ultimately challenge the integrity of the structure itself, if the fire is not contained or mitigated in some way or another.  This is, in essence, is what happened to Building #7, that it was fire, out-of-control, at multiple floors that inexorably brought about its collapse.

The real lesson from the collapse of Building #7, WTC, is not that there was a conspiracy and a controlled explosion by agents within America, but that fire, raging fire, will take down within a short period of time, a very tall structures that is in theory, designed, to be able to withstand fire.   This means that skyscrapers all over the world should be far more cognizant of the destruction power of unrestrained fire and should take prudent measures to mitigate this.

America and the Middle East

America's industrial-military complex and most notably its oil companies, have an abiding interest in the Middle East, for the obvious reason, that there is plenty of oil there.  Unlike, say a country like Japan, or Germany, or Italy, or France, America has a large domestic oil capacity as well as the technological knowhow to extract, process, produce, distribute, and to utilize our domestic petroleum resources.  Reuters.com estimated that the United States became, once again, the biggest oil producer in the world in 2013, because of our success in extracting oil from shale formations and the sophisticated use of horizontal drilling techniques.  This doesn't mean that the United States no longer imports oil, but it does mean, that the United States essentially has the means to accommodate its energy needs without the necessity of the Middle east, if not right at this moment, certainly in the near future, especially if it made it a policy to do so.

America spends an inordinate amount of time, money, and participation in way too many wars or wars of another name, in the Middle East, of which most of this ill-advised activity could be abandoned without materially impacting the United States as a whole.  Forgetting, for the moment, the moral right or wrong, that our military incursions involve in the Middle East, the savings in money, materials, life, and good will by America simply allowing the Middle East to determine for itself, what it does or does not do, would be of immense benefit for not only America, but for the world at large.  The fact of the matter is, if it wasn't for the oil, America would be content to treat the Middle East with benign neglect, but the oil and the lust for profits has corrupted our motives.

It is high time for the American policy in the Middle East to change and to change dynamically.  The Middle East is not in our historic sphere of influence, nor is there any good reasons why America insists that it must be the world's policeman, subsequently getting itself involved in every domestic or border or civil dispute within the Middle East, as it really isn't necessary, nor does it often help to produce either a better or safer or more just world. 

The continual involvement and interference of America and its corporations in the Middle East, has served to inflame passions against our nation, and Western nations, in general.   America fears that if it should withdraw its foreign aid, its foreign investment, and its military might, that within this vacuum some other country or group of countries, would assert their power and influence against the Middle East.  What of it?  America has been intimately involved whether directly, or indirectly, in Middle Eastern politics since the conclusion of World War II, and during this entire time, has not made the Middle Eastern world, safer, more democratic, or more just.  It has, however, provided great profits for certain American-based corporations as well as feeding well the military-industrial complex.

America is in a fortunate place, it has great wealth, knowhow, as well as great natural resources, so it does not need Middle Eastern oil to thrive.  It lusts for Middle Eastern oil, because it lusts for profit, lusts for the expansion of a military that is already way too large, and lusts to have dominion of every corner of the world.  Unfortunately, for America, it forgets that to ensure domestic tranquility, unnecessary forays into foreign territory seldom brings peace, justice, or the American way.

10-Year Treasury Rates

US 10-year Treasury rates sunk to a yield of just 1.837% on January 14, 2015, this after hitting 3.03% on December 31, 2013, to which most pundits and mass media outlets predicted a 2014 10-year treasury rate to be approaching 4% at the end of calendar year 2014, instead 10-year treasury rates moved in the opposite direction almost for the entirety of 2014 and this decline has been precipitous for the start of 2015.  Treasury rates are sensitive to a lot of economic news and global economic concerns, but undoubtedly the area of most concern as to why Treasury yields have gotten significantly lower in the United States over the last year, is the commodity pricing meltdown that has occurred over the last seven months, led by the precipitous fall of oil beginning in mid-June of 2014.  Oil and its price, is by far the most important commodity in the world, its usage and availability throughout the world is absolutely critical for overall economic output and consequently when the price of oil plunges by over 50% in just six to seven months this will undoubtedly have profound effects throughout the world economy. 

While there are a slew of economic factors that affect the 10-year treasury rate, first amongst them all, is the overall inflation rate both currently and going forward.  Most Americans are use to the price of things going up, year after year, sometimes significantly, while at other times modestly, but this has not always been the case in America.  For instance, during the great Depression, and in particular from the years 1927-1933, America went through a period of deflation, to which the years 1932 and 1933 saw prices sink at approximately 10% per year.  There are two great and dangerous problems that deflation represents with one being that those that are indebted will be compelled to pay effectively significantly higher amounts of money back on their loans because while the debt service is the same, the money that is being paid back is worth more, meaning that in essence you are paying more in real terms on your debt.  The second terrible problem of deflation is that when you perceive that the pricing for goods are getting cheaper, you will have less incentive to buy something today, or to spend money on capital investments today, because you are anticipating even lower prices, leading to lower overall economic activity and thereby to a recession or a possible depression.

The United States as well as other major countries, such as Germany, France, England, and Japan is currently in situations to which inflation is low, this inflation is anticipated to continue to be low, and all these aforementioned countries are concerned about the pernicious economic effects of deflation.  The fact that each of each of these other countries also has 10-year treasury yields that are even lower than America is indicative that low 10-year treasury rates are not going away anytime soon.  While many in America, are use to treasury rates at 4% and above and consider these rates to be "normal", the fact of the matter is, if you go back further in time, for instance, from the years 1935-1955, with the exception of a couple months each way, the 10-year treasury yield did not rise above 3% or fall below 2% during this entire 21 year period.  This, in itself, is proof positive that treasury yields adjust to the economic times of the age, and in an era of low inflation, as well as possible deflation, there isn't any good reason to expect these yields to jump up to 4%, or even back to 3%, anytime soon.

Why?

Nobody wants to argue with somebody every day, nor does anyone really want to have to over think every situation, or consider all the different outcomes taking into consideration every possible ramification.  Additionally, to all that basic fundamental stuff, sometimes you are tired, sometimes you aren't motivated, or you feel weak, or your attitude isn't quite your normal self.  Yet, in all of these situations, you don't have to just pack it in, and become a recluse in one form or another; you can simply ask the question, why.  Why is it that certain things are the way that they are?  Why is that you really need to borrow my car, or borrow money, or borrow anything of mine?  Why do I go to work, or go to school, or obey the law?  All these are basic questions that should be asked from time-to-time, not in every situation, and not all the time, but you will find that the more often that you do sincerely ask why, the more often you will start the process of drilling down to the real crux of the matter.  It all really starts with asking of the question, why.

Human progress can be made in all sorts of manners, and in all sorts of ways, and often this begins with somebody taking the word, why, and then not stopping until they discover the fundamental answer to that question.  Worthwhile things happen not so much because each day you do things better and better, although that most definitely helps, but often because people see things as they are, and wonder why they can't be better, or be changed, or be substituted or transformed with something that is even better.  While habits and traditions have their place, and habits are usually very efficient in helping us to utilize our time effectively, not every habit is necessarily the correct or the best thing to actually do.  That is to say just because something is always done a particular way, does not necessarily mean, that it is the best thing for you, or for the community, or the best way, so that it does behoove someone to question it, perhaps test it, or to at least re-think it.

It is well to consider that computers are geniuses at computing, processing and analyzing information.  That makes computers a very important tool for mankind, but they are a tool, because a computer does not intrinsically think, they are instead, "doers". Whereas, mankind does think, perhaps not as much as we should, but we do, and that is one of fundamental attributes of humanity as opposed to a machine.  Because we are thinkers, we can discover and create new things, come up with new ideas and new concepts, and often make things better.  All of this really does begin with asking that question, why, having done so we often become greater detectives of human nature, or scientific research, or seeing possibilities that none have seen before.

George Bernard Shaw wrote in his play, Back to Methuselah, which was later to be paraphrased by Robert Kennedy, the following: "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"  In old days in the library, you would come across one word strategically posted along the book shelves, "Think," which is excellent advice, may I suggest that we bring that basic concept back, only this time replaced with the word, "Why?"

Two Weeks' Notice

Not all traditions are worth keeping or worth submitting to; in particular, employees giving employers two weeks' notice of their impending departure from said company is one of those courtesies which should, at times, be violated.  Every State of the union is a State that has a law that private enterprise employees are employed at will, which basically means that your employer can fire or replace you at any time without notice to you, although there are some States that stipulate certain specific exceptions to this general rule.  However, as a rule of thumb, that means, that every day, could in fact be your last day working at your place of employment.    Most employees wrongly fail to recognize that this is the reality of how untenable their position and their livelihood really are.

Another error that virtually all employees fail to recognize is that while their personal effects are still their property, by virtue of having their property at their place of employment, means that should they be discharged unexpectedly, that the company will control the access and the timely distribution of any personal property so left behind.  That is to say, once terminated, you as a former employee have no legal right to enter back into the premises to retrieve your personal property, it will be returned to you, but your former company will essentially control that process and that timing, and as long as they take care of this within a reasonable framework of time, that is just the way it is going to be.  In regards to personal documents that are stored on the company equipment, your chances of getting any of those documents back are solely based at the discretion of the company, since the contents of the equipment are company property, and not yours.  

While there is something to be said about providing whatever amount of notice and courtesy that is standard within your company for employees that are voluntary leaving, and as it doesn't behoove most people to burn bridges, there are still significant reasons why you may not want to give a two weeks' notice.  For instance, if your standing within the company is somewhat shaky, you may find that upon offering your notice of two weeks, that the company's response is for your immediate dismissal, so unless your new job is capable of accepting you as a new hire, sooner than expected, you will be losing two weeks' worth of salary, something that clearly was never your intention.  Another good reason, not to extend your stay unnecessarily, is if your new employment is paying you more money, perhaps even substantially more money, it doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense to work for less money for two more weeks at a company that you have already determined to depart from.

There are, however, circumstances, to which your hand may be forced in providing that traditional two weeks' notice, such as companies that make it a policy within their handbook that those not providing such notice, will forfeit vacation pay or similar, in those types of circumstances, you are better off following your company's guidelines.  

While individual circumstances clearly do not allow a one-size fits all policy in regards to providing notice of quitting to your current company, it is pretty much foolishness to stay longer at a company, than is absolutely necessary.  The most important thing to remember is that in absence of an agreement that stipulates that you are not employed at will, you really don't owe any sort of notice in return, for if it is good enough for the goose so it is for the gander.

The Most Important Words in American History

American history is replete with wonderful words of sage advice containing the wisdom of the ages.  While literally pages upon pages could be written of incomparable American quotes, it can be said though that when one combs carefully through the pages of American history, you will discover that there are these certain words that stand taller than all of the others.  The following words are a testimony to the greatness of America, of its ideals, of its vision, and of its purpose here on earth for not only its own countrymen but for all mankind, and these words come from our Declaration of Independence, a agreement that was signed by the delegates of all thirteen States, North as well as South, a document that upon its signing meant revolution against what was the greatest empire in the world, the United Kingdom, our mother country, far richer in wealth and population than continental America, as well as being the greatest naval power in the world, to which in our Declaration we stated: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"   These words thereby formed the very essence of America, a land that has declared that all men are equal in the eyes of our Creator, and thereby no man is born into the wrongly-held concept of "the divine right of Kings", that is to say, that none can declare by birth that they derive their right to rule by the dictates of God, that instead all by birth all are equal morally as well as being equally politically within society,  so that as Abraham Lincoln stated, this is a country "…of the people, by the people, for the people…."

Moreover, it can be correctly argued, that because all men are created equal, that within these words, it cannot allow, does not permit, or countenanced, that one man has the right to enslave another, because we are all brothers in God, no matter our religion, our color, our country of origin, or other assorted attributes, because an equal creation, means exactly that, that no man can ride on the back of another's man labor, and thereby wrest the bread from another man's honest exertions.  Further to this point, the fact that all are created equally, means by implicit definition, that all must be treated equally within the halls of justice, and that true justice must be equally applied as well as being subject to a jury of one's peers, and not therefore a law onto itself.  It must also be stated, that since all are created equal, that a government or a public policy, that later determines, for example, that some deserve certain healthcare benefits whereas others do not deserve that same courtesy, is a government or public policy that is fraudulent to the people, as the government's purpose should be to live up to the credo, that all are equal, and not that some deserve more or that some deserve less.

Our Declaration of Independence makes it abundantly clear that since all are created equal, that all are equal in the eyes of our Creator, that thereby it is of utmost concern of this country to recognize therefore that: "…God is no respecter of persons…" (Acts 10-34), so that in order for this country to be a true land of freedom, opportunity, as well as liberty for all, it must do everything within its governed powers to see that all are treated fairly, with respect, with brotherly love, and as our good neighbor.

Tariffs

A tariff, or the imposition of taxes on imports into America, has historically been a very important form of taxation in America.  This type of taxation has crucial merits, for instance, by protecting domestic labor and capital investment, by maintaining domestic sustainability in certain industries, as well as protection from foreign "dumping" of goods onto our land.   The importance of import duties to historical America, is demonstrated quite strongly by the visceral reaction of domestic tea merchants in America, when England's East Indian company was allowed by British parliament to sell its tea directly to America, thereby significantly undercutting the price of tea in America, because the East Indian company was permitted a special exemption for not paying import duties in England, whereas the colonists were subject to these duties for their tea by parliament.   Therefore this inherent unfairness in the implementation of taxation/tariffs was the immediate cause of the "Boston Tea Party".

According to progressive-economy.org, in 1912 30% of the income derived by the Federal Government came from tariffs, whereas 100 years later, tariffs in America average around 1.7%.  While there is a lot to be said about having "open borders" in regards to goods, both exported as well as imported, the reduction of tariffs or the elimination of them therewith, clearly, by definition, will change who the winners are as well as who the losers are everywhere that international trade exists.  In fairness, to virtually any domestic manufacturer of goods in America, their labor, insurance, property, and other associated costs, will invariably be higher than most other non-first world countries, so that the only possible way that American companies that produce goods domestically can be competitive against foreign competitors would be only in their inherent advantages of lower transportation costs, knowhow, and machinery.  When it comes to machinery, however, and to some degree, knowhow, these too can be exported to foreign countries, effectively giving those foreign countries the final means necessary to undercut domestic competition.

As previously stated, the elimination or the lowering of tariffs obviously brings benefits to certain parties and industries within America.  For instance, as a consumer, you, for a certainty, will pay a lower price for goods than you would do with the imposition of duties, although there is always the chance that over time this will not be true, when, for instance, foreign countries are able to gain essentially monopoly or duopoly power on the basis of your exit from the business as a competitor, but overall, clearly a no tariff policy, saves American consumers money.  Additionally, the domestic manufacturers of equipment that is exported around the world are definitely beneficiaries of open markets because their market share has increased significantly from just our borders, international financiers too benefit from the loaning of money and capital while being pay fees and interest for having done so, and certain, specific industries or knowhow, that are sufficiently advanced or that take a tremendous amount of capital investment and technological skill, are typically protected quite well from foreign competition because there essentially isn't any meaningful competition to them.

Americans rightly wonder what has happened over the last few decades to the "blue collar" worker in America.  Apparently, his work is increasingly being accomplished overseas, leaving our people underemployed and dependent upon government for necessary handouts.  It is critical to understand that if multi-national corporations and foreign companies are continually enabled to exploit cheap labor and resources overseas, yet at the same time, suffer no consequences from import duties to America that this policy will eviscerate the noble, working man in America, and turn these men into serfs, without hope, without property, and without a future.

Public School Choice

There are plenty of low paying jobs in America, that typically are filled by people that either live in communities to which that is pretty much all that is offered to them, so unless they can work their way up to some sort of meaningful management within that company, they will be stuck at or close to a minimum wage, forever; there are also too plenty of low paying jobs in America in bigger cities, to which although there are also jobs within these big cities paying a good middle income wage, they typically are only available to people that have achieved certain education degrees or certificates, such as a Bachelor's or equivalent.  This means that in America, the days of the poorly educated, the ill-educated, or for those that have a general disgust of education, are very limited indeed for being able to obtain a decent living wage.  Furthermore, this signifies that for those that want to get ahead, that an education, or at least the opportunity to have a good education, is almost fundamental for success.  Fortunately, in this country, public education for grades 1 through 12, are "free" to all students within America.   Actually, public education isn't really free in the sense that it doesn't cost somebody something, as those school funds typically come from school bonds, government, and property taxes, with your sole contribution basically being able to get your child to the bus stop, providing some school supplies, and some appropriate school clothing.  To the uninitiated, this almost sounds like a perfect situation, bound to mean, that all in America, have equal opportunity to get a quality education.   The fact of the matter is, public schools in America, range from abysmal to outstanding, and consequently the school that your child attends has very meaningful consequences for the success of your child within that school as well as future college and work-related success.

In recent years, some States as well as some school districts, allow parents to enroll their child outside of their school district, or sometimes give them a choice within their school district, in placing their child at the school that they perceive to be of most benefit.  This type of choice is wonderful for all involved, as it incentivizes schools themselves to provide students with the best educational experience.  This also means that parents of these children do not need to worry so much about whether they live in the best or correct school district, so long as they have fair access to the public school of their choice.  Unfortunately, this public school choice, is not available in every State, which therefore means that parents must definitely be cognizant of where they live and the school that their child will attend, as that school choice has an incredibly high determinant as to how successful or safe their child will be.  That is to say, there are some public schools that have nearly a 100% graduation rate for high school students, whereas other schools fall under 50%.  Additionally, some schools challenge the students, provide Advance Placement tests on a regular basis, allow students to take courses for college credit, have extensive extracurricular activities, whereas other schools really come down to basic physical survival and not much else.  In situations to which there is such an extreme between a great public school and a very poor one, parents will often, at least, think about "gaming" the system, and some will definitely do so.

America has all sorts of laws and all sorts of crimes, to which some are fair, some are appropriate, and some are inherently unfair and unfortunate.  If, you as a parent, deceive a school district, about where your child actually lives in order to gain admittance to that good school, there are consequences for being found out.  Besides the obvious which is the kicking out of your child from the school, you as the parent may personally be subject to fines as well as possible jail time, all this for wanting to do and wanting to provide the best opportunity for your child, which in a fair world is hardly a crime at all.  In regards to public schools, in far too many States and in far too many school districts, there is being erected through the means of hi-technology data mining and surveillance tools a virtual wall of separation of those that have and those that only desire an opportunity for their offspring to try to have.  All this is happening in the land, that certain land, that they call the land of opportunity.

Military, Police, the use of Deadly Force and Administrative Leave

The average age of a military recruit in America is probably just under 21, to which you can with parental consent be eligible to join the military as young as age 17.  AS for police recruits, most police departments prefer that eligible police officers either have achieved a four-year college degree, and/or are veterans of military service before they apply to become a police officer, therefore, the average age of a police recruit is probably in the mid 20's, and is certainly higher than those recruited for the military.  It can be said that there are few military recruits that are ex-police officers, whereas there is a substantial percentage of police officers that have previously served their country as members of the military.

While in both professions, military as well as in police work, you may go your entire service career without having to discharge your weapon in either self-defense or in a deliberate act of deadly force to take the life of another, the fact of the matter is, that the mission of a military recruit, in times of war or combat, is dramatically different than a police officer's mission which is usually stated as being to protect and to defend the community.  A military soldier, will by definition, is given instructions to kill the enemy, whereas these orders, will seldom, almost never, be given to a police officer.  When a police officer actually engages in deadly force, as a matter of public policy, for virtually all police departments, he will subsequently be placed immediately on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation, and upon clearance will return to active duty, having availed himself of mandatory professional psychological counseling as well as peer review.  

However, in regards to a military soldier and his use of deadly force we find that during the exigencies of war, there is seldom even the opportunity for said soldier to disengage from an active battle or from his duties to his fellow soldiers, his mission, and the overall necessary cohesion of all those involved.   This means as a matter of policy, that soldiers who are younger in age than police officers, have less life experience than police officers, are much more likely to have to use mortal force against an enemy in combat, as well as subjecting themselves to the line of fire in return.  The obvious and frightful conclusion is that our soldiers at a younger age, are subject to far more stressful situations, than our police officers, yet neither administrative leave or counseling is something that they can avail themselves of in any sort of timely manner.

America has the second largest active military force in the world today, and since the end of World War II, has only engaged in war with countries that are far smaller in size especially in regards to personnel, equipment, experience, and sophistication.   This means, that the United States as a matter of policy, should actively manage their military personnel in such a way so that when deadly force is utilized, that its personnel having done so, can avail themselves at the earliest possible time of the necessary investigation of actions taken on the military field, as well as psychological counseling, and peer review.  We, as the richest country in the history of the world, owe that duty to our soldiers, so that when their service on behalf of their country has been completed, they are able to return to life in America, with the reasonable hope that they are well and able.

Immortality v. Eternity

In the English language we often use words interchangeably that have similar meanings or concepts but in actuality there are often subtle yet important differences between the words.  For instance, immortality and eternity is not the same thing, although from a simplistic standpoint they seem to be about the same thing.  Within legends or certain genres, you will come across a character or god that is described as being "immortal," meaning that this entity will never die, that they are indeed "not mortal", but importantly this implies too that this particular entity or god was once born or created.  Whereas, on the other hand any time we come across the word eternal, this word signifies that it is everlasting, existing forever and importantly existing without a beginning or an end.  To be eternal is to exist without time, beyond time, to be in a dimension to which time is not applicable, whereas to be immortal, is to live within a world or a dimension, to which you are in essence trapped in time, never dying, yet never breaking free from the boundaries and the limitations of time.

Consequently, while any being that is eternal is also as an aspect of that eternity, thereby also immortal, since eternity can never be vanquished, it does not follow however, that an immortal being can ever become eternal.  This is because it is our Creator, who is the master of both time as well as space.  Most people take it as a given, that there is such a thing as time, to which time can be subdivided into a past, present, and a future.  In the world that we live in, this does appear to be true to us as human beings, however, as Einstein stated, "... for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."

This would imply that our concepts of both time as well as space have been created for the benefit of humans, and also apparently as an avenue or pathway for us to be drawn inexorably towards eternity, and thereby to escape the confines of a limited dimension.  For this reason, as well as for others, the Christ consciousness was brought forth in human form into our world.  The Christ consciousness existed before time, and has been and always will be eternal, in human form it was utilized by the messiah known also as Jesus of Nazareth.  This Jesus, whose human body was crucified, demonstrated to us by virtue of the empty tomb, that therefore our body is not, and will never be ourselves, that we are in essence, beyond our human body, beyond mere mortality, and if we only would reach out to the Eternal Bliss that is our Creator, we would thereby break free from the limiting delusion that we are separated from God, and that instead we shall know what we have always been, not immortals trapped in time and space on earth, but One with our Father, who art that guiding light, the True Light, from which all light originated, a Light without beginning and without end.

Economic Propaganda

Our government would have us believe that America has recovered strongly from its great recession, witnessed by the drop of unemployment down to 5.8% as of November of 2014, and GDP growth of 5% in the 3rd quarter of the same year, along with stock prices consistently breaking records in calendar year 2014.  This would seem to imply that America is once again enjoying good economic times and consequently has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes of our economic meltdown.  While it is most certainly true that America's economy is in a much better state than it was in 2008-09, it is deceptive to believe that America and its people as a whole have recovered strongly from those days, as there are three types of lies, "lies, damned lies, and statistics".

The fact of the matter is that there are a multitude of ways to look at statistics and thereby myriad ways to mix in estimates, adjustments, historical numbers, and so forth, to obtain a witch's brew of numbers that can serve the purpose of the media outlet or government agency that is disseminating the story.  Government and its media outlets are very much motivated in keeping the general population quiescent and satisfied that everything is okay, that everything is getting better, and that if your personal prosperity isn't happening right here and now, it will be, as it is just around the corner, just have patience and believe.  The one thing that our government does get done right, as opposed to failed or failing socialistic and totalitarian States, is that our government does an excellent job of distributing food and shelter to all comers in one form or another, because a full belly with access to a warm hearth of some sort, isn't too likely to have the stomach to engage in much revolutionary action.

Unfortunately, America is in rather poor straits, and has fallen far from the path of upward mobility since the turn of the 21st century.  We know this by looking at real and meaningful statistics such as reported by the weeklystandard.com that of those aged 25-54 years, "…28.9 million people, or 23.2 percent of the total—is not currently employed." CBSnews.com reports that in 2014 our workplace participation rate dropped to 62.7% which is the lowest rate it has been since 1978.  To add even more fuel to the fire, monster.com reports that "As many as 22 million U.S. workers can be considered “underemployed”."   This means, in essence, millions of Americans are either working at occupations that do not give them as many hours as they desire to work, or in positions that they are overqualified for by either experience or by education or both.

Finally, when American pundits talk about our current "robust economy", they fail to disclose the precipitous decline in home ownership in America.  Bloomberg.com reports that "The homeownership rate in the U.S. declined to the lowest in almost 19 years."   This statistic is very meaningful, as the asset distribution of the middle 60% of Americans, clearly shows that home ownership is their most prized asset, typically making up more than 60% of their net worth.  Additionally, when you do not own your own home, you are to a certain degree, no longer master of your own ship, instead you are subject to the vicissitudes of the true property owner, for better or for much worst.

American Indians as Sovereign Nations

Not every American Indian lives on land that is considered to be owned and governed by American Indians as separate sovereign nations within the United States, but a substantial amount of American Indians do so.  The entire concept that within America, there are sovereign nations, governing themselves is absolutely fascinating, until you peel back the curtain and quickly recognize that American Indians are at best quasi-sovereign nations, and at worst, live under the illusion that they are sovereign nations when in fact, when push comes to shove, they will find, as they almost have always found, that the "white man" makes and asserts the law to the white man's benefit, no matter what a certain treaty, law, or tradition may or may not say.  That is a shame, and to the discredit of America, since in virtually every instance, the American Indian, has been given a raw deal, a broken deal, and a trail of tears from their fellow countrymen, again and again and again.

Truly the American Indian's tale is a tale of woe, to which in aggregate, American Indians and Alaska natives, as reported by nbcnews.com have almost 12 percent of their deaths that are considered to be alcohol related.  Additionally, according to census.gov American Indians and Alaska natives have the highest percentage of people that are living beneath the poverty line.  The only real thing of substance that American Indians have been able to salvage since the discovery and subsequent conquering of America by Europeans is that they own a substantial amount of land as sovereign nations.  As one might expect, most of the land that is set aside as sovereign nations for American Indian tribes is land that the government thought to be of little worth in the first place, but as time has gone by, in numerous instances American Indians have discovered that their land has value in its mineral wealth, its waters, or as a gambling empire.  Not too surprisingly, when there is money to be made, or wealth to be exploited, the American government or free enterprise have a great desire to get their hands on it.  That, as you may say, is the true test of true sovereignty.

How much sovereignty that an American Indian really has as a sovereign nation, has an awful lot to do with whom the dispute is with.  That is to say, when that dispute is with a major multi-national corporation or government agency with the best legal counsel that money can entice, American Indians will often find out that their sovereignty will be essentially lost without their own access to expert legal counsel to setup a well-orchestrated defense of their sovereignty, or in lieu of that they will need a lot of sympathetic media play.  The following statement by the Federal District Court of Montana in 1973 said that ”The blunt fact, however, is that an Indian tribe is sovereign to the extent that the United States permits it to be sovereign,"  which means according to this court, that any belief that American Indians have that they are sovereign is, in essence, nothing but a pipedream.

In fairness to American Indians, in fairness to the concept of sovereign nations within America, a line should be drawn in the sand, clearly delineating once and for all what rights a sovereign nation does or does not have within America.  The Supreme Court, itself, can't seem to make up its mind as to whether American Indians have sovereign rights that predate the European's discovery of America or whether instead they are subject to the dictates of Congress per Article 1, Section 8, of our Constitution.  At the least, we owe the American Indians, a fair deal, that takes into account our previous failures to abide by treaties time and time again, because a country that will not respect its own law, that will not obey its own word, is a country that no man shall have to respect, and isn’t the country that God would shed his grace upon.

African-America Strength in Numbers

There are about the same amount of Mormons as there are Jews in America, approximately 6 million peoples of each, whereas there are about 45 million African-Americans in the United States.  Yet, there would be few people that would categorically state that African-Americans have more strength or more influence than either of these two religious peoples.  In the case of Mormons, they are the dominant force in Salt Lake City, a metropolis of approximately 1 million peoples, in addition to the fact that the governor of Utah has invariably been also a Mormon for the last fifty-odd years.   The Jewish population is a major force in the most influential city in America, with over 2 million Jews living in New York City, to which also there are significant amount of Jews in Los Angeles, which is too a very influential and important city in America.  While there are plenty of African-Americans in cities throughout America, to wit there are close to 2 million African-Americans in NYC, their numbers do not equate well to real power or real strength within NYC or in many other metropolitan areas.

While there are many cities, that are majority African-American in their population, few of those cities are cities on the rise; almost all of them, such as Detroit, Baltimore, or Memphis are cities with deeply rooted problems of crime, poor schools, and poverty.   This means in a nutshell that despite the relatively large population of 45 million peoples in the United States, that African-Americans are for whatever reasons, often on the short-end of the stick in receiving the full wealth and benefits of living in the richest and most prosperous nation that the world has ever known.  Since it is a given that African-Americans will never be a majority within America,  yet it has been demonstrated by Mormons as well as by Jews and others, that sheer numbers are not necessary to obtain power and influence in America, African-Americans must avail themselves of accomplishing these vital tasks themselves.

To have a seat at the table of democracy in America, there is wisdom in the application of utilizing your numbers in the most meaningful ways possible.  The bottom line is that African-Americans are currently woefully underrepresented in the seats of power in our judiciary, in our legislative, in our corporations, in our healthcare, and in our higher educational fields.  In order to best rectify these numbers, African-Americans must make it a priority to seize the initiative by clearly establishing goals that will allow them to begin their assent up the mountaintop of success. 

African-Americans cannot sit back on their haunches, awaiting the Government benefactors to bless them, when too often the Government itself or its agents, has been the problem.   It is true that African-Americans should hold government in all of its many forms accountable for the raw deal that has often been dealt to people of color, injustice everywhere, will be halted when exposed to the true light of fairness and the relentless demand of a people that will not submit to wrongs that continue until this very day. 

African-Americans deserve better by their country, "… Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)

You Didn't Build That

Back on the campaign trail, on July 13, 2012, President Obama said: "look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own…. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that."  Soon thereafter, a firestorm of protest was built up, over this speech from the President, to which it appeared, at best that Obama was stating that if you are successful, you shouldn't claim all of that success on your own, and that if you've established your own successful business, you should recognize that you didn't build the infrastructure that surrounds your business, such as the roads, bridges, and the internet that are utilized to move goods around in America.  To a certain extent, most people realize as a given, that their success in life, has come from their ability to as Sir Isaac Newton stated, "… If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants," but unfortunately and disappointingly Obama's speech lacks any of the poetry, humility, and the simple clear brilliance of Sir Isaac.

Obama's "you didn't build that," does on a basic level, claims that you, as a person, as an American, are in actuality, no matter your accomplishments or ability, in essence just a cog in the big picture, to which your life should be dedicated and sacrificed to the State.  In other words, the State cares only about you to the extent that your life and your performance has helped to further the State as a whole, and the State does not want you to ever forget that every good deed,  and that every good action that you have ever accomplished, in one form or another is because of it, the State.   The State wishes to submit to you, that no matter how much blood, sweat, and tears that you have provided it over your many years, no matter how much wisdom you have imparted, no matter the good advice that you have given, you are no better than anyone else, that in the eyes of the State, we are all equal, no matter what.

If, in fact, none of us gets there on their own; if, in fact, none of us builds anything on our own, this, in essence, means that the State should decide our destiny, our fate, our salary, our work, our house, our health, our religion, our family, our life, and our death.  We are, in fact, nothing, nothing, nothing, without the omnipresent State, the omnipotent State, and the Omniscience State.  You didn't build that and you didn't get there on your own, means that you should therefore check your initiative, check your determination, check your effort, check your morality, and just passively obey the State and its dictates. 

The real irony of the matter is that you can never have the audacity to speak the words that "you didn't get there on your own, and that you didn't build that," only in a country that because of the greatness of its citizens, because of  the bravery of its people, and because of the brilliance of its population, has become one nation, united, and under one God, a country that has risen above mediocrity, above superstition, and above ignorance of all types, to become a nation truly blessed by the hand of God, and yes those people of that country did get there on their own and they did build that.

Why Such High Limits on Credit Cards?

While not every American has a credit card and not every American has a credit card with a high credit limit, the availability of such to the average American of at least a decent credit rating score is simply astonishing.  Credit cards are available today with limits of $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $40,000 and more, and I'm not talking here about special credit cards such as the American Express Centurion card or cards of that ilk, but your basic, standard credit cards that are typically issued to the consumer without a mandatory annual fee.  What is especially interesting is that these high credit card limits are being issued out to consumers to which the banks that issue these credit limits are essentially issuing credit without any associated collateral, so that these are unsecured loans to the consumer.  While it may be true, that banks have rights to get those funds back from the consumer, should the consumer miss his payment or payments or fail to meet his credit obligations, the pathway to recovering this money for the banks is certainly not quick, nor paved smoothly, and it definitely costs banks time, money, and legal fees to go through the process of collecting this money.

The first question that must be asked is why do banks issue so many credit cards with healthy limits on them to consumers in the first place to which they know for a certainty that collecting money in arrears from the consumer is going to be both time consuming and expensive?  The most basic reason is that banks are convinced that higher credit limits, leads to more credit in aggregate being used by the consumer and subsequently that certain consumers, will be unable or unwilling or uninterested in paying off their balance in full each month, and therefore that interest rate that is charged to the consumer is where the banks will make their profit, to which banks understand the law of big numbers, that is to say, the more that the consumer owes, the more that the consumer has to finance over a period of time, the more profitable the loans are to the banks.

Still, you would think that banks would want some collateral attached to their loans but banks feel confident that they can effectively monitor your credit usage and worthiness in real time and make any adjustments that they need to make "on the fly",  because what the banks give, they can also take away. Most consumers are somewhat unaware that the banks do have recourse to effectively lowering one's credit limit, typically without notice, and only having to provide a 45-day notice if by lowering your credit limit it would effectively put your balance above that new credit limit.  However, it gets worse for the consumer, because just like that proverbial snowball rolling down the hill, the lowering of your credit limit by one bank will often start a chain of events to which typically the competing banks will also lower their credit limit on you because your credit capacity and your usage percentage are above pre-determined industry norms. 

This means in essence that although the banks will issue high limit credit cards, they and not you, control whether that limit will be lowered, and effectively closing you out of the credit business, taking for instance what was once a credit limit of $10,000 and perhaps lowering it to $500 without your consent.  For those that have become addicted to their credit line and credit in general, these lowering of limits, seemingly overnight, can be a very bitter pill to swallow.  The high limits on credit cards are essentially for the purpose of getting the consumer to spend more now, spend more than you really can afford presently, and for you to worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.  While most people are deliciously happy upon receiving their first bona-fide credit card, happy too are the banks, just like a great white shark.

We Should be Grateful that People Want to Immigrate to America

As it has been said, "People vote with their feet," and despite some annoying negativities about America, to the world at large, America still does represent "the last best hope of mankind" and is rightly considered a bastion of both opportunity and freedom.  We, that live here, should be grateful for the blessings that America, its foundation, and its sacrifices by courageous and visionary men, has provided for us.  The golden gate of America must not be closed, because we are that true beacon of hope and of light to the world.

Within America there is a misconception that immigration takes away jobs from Americans and that they therefore add to our welfare rolls, that they add to our crime, that they don't have the right skills, nor the right language, nor the right behavior, nor the right God, and that don't respect our laws, nor our institutions, nor especially our border.  Not too surprisingly, according to gallup.com as of June, 2014, the majority of Americans want to see immigration to America to either remain at its present levels or to decrease, whereas only 22% of those polled, would like to see it increased. 

While I am incredibly sympathetic to those that argue correctly that our borders should not be violated by illegal immigrants, I do not believe that the solution to this is a more stringent and thereby a more oppressive border control.  Far better it is to understand why the illegal immigrants are coming to America in the first place, as well as being more pro-active in coming up with workable programs that allow an easier and a legal entry or pathway into America for students, as well as seasonal workers, as well as designated hired help or guest workers, that would thereby provide mutual benefits for all parties concerned.  Additionally, America has an obligation to provide monetary aid and knowhow to its neighboring nations that will enable these countries to grow their economy from within, to which we can provide our corporations with incentives and tax breaks to effect these changes.

When it comes to immigrants that are specifically well-off financially, the door to entry to America, should be wide open, as the business of America is business, to which if you find someone that wishes to "pay to play", assuming that they pass a background check, they should be allowed to immigrate here for a standard price, depending upon their country of origin, and net assets. 

For highly skilled immigrants, whether they be already educated, or in the process of applying for a higher education degree, or have a demonstrative skill-set, these potential immigrants should not only be embraced, they should, in fact, be encouraged to immigrate here.  America should be greedy for the best and the brightest to come to our shores, to be leaders in American industry, to be leaders in American education, or American justice, or wherever they may fit into the mix of American life, because we need them in order to maintain our status, our power, and our influence as the greatest nation in the world. 

America is a nation of immigrants, we should be proud that so many want to come from their land to ours, and to thereby be a part of the fabric that allows America to shine so brightly, we need them , we should want them, and we should be grateful for them coming to America.