Colleges, Student Loans, and Debt Collectors

Colleges are not in the business of charity, and the reason we know that, is because most colleges charge good money for their curriculum to their students.  Unfortunately, wisdom and prudence is not something that we born with, it is more something that is developed over a period of time, and for some of us, it is never developed at all.  Too often in America, higher education exploits its students, by convincing them and providing loans to them, of such staggering amounts, that common sense is completely left out of the equation.  The fact of the matter is, many students do not have a real grasp or conception of just how expensive their education will be for them, how slippery the slope is for their student loans, nor do they properly understand the ramifications of becoming indebted at such a young age for such a large amount of money, yet, the result will be that it is their life, their lifestyle, their credit, and their pocketbook that will be effected by these earlier decisions.

Most students believe that the loan that they take out will always be between them and their college of choice, in which, perhaps these students feel that since the college knows them, and that these students know personnel within the college, a relationship has been developed, and whatever transpires, there is a good chance that a happy medium, in one form or another, one way or another, will or has been achieved.  Unfortunately, that isn't the way many colleges are structured, for whatever reason, some colleges are not structured to collect on the loans that they have issued, and therefore preferred to have those loans processed and served by a third party that specializes in debt; additionally, there are colleges that are forced or compelled to sell their loans, in order to free up money to make additional loans to new students that are coming onto their campus.  In any event, the selling of student debt to debt collectors that specialize in collecting this sort of debt is part and parcel of the way this game is played.

Once your debt has been sold, there are additional problems that a former student most contend with, such as the fact that inevitably the debt amount has increased and will continue to increase because of added penalties and fees that the debt collector tacks on.  Moreover, whereas your college campus previously may have been seen as both your friend and confidant, your new debt collector is neither one, and any calls or communication made by you to your college campus will be of no avail, since your debt is now out of their hands and into the hands of the debt collector.  The debt collector only has one purpose in contacting you, again and again, and that is to collect the money or to start a program to collect the money and they will often be relentless in doing so, because your money fuels their business model.

The bottom line is, like slavery of old, you have been sold, and your new master, doesn't care whether your education was of value or not, doesn't care about your current job pay or personal situation, but simply is after the money, and doesn't much care about anything other than that.  Your failure to pay your new master, will ultimately mean the destruction of your credit rating, as well as the strong possibility that any State or federal tax refunds you are entitled to will instead be allocated to pay that student debt from yesteryear.

Are Credit Cards Even Necessary

There was a time when there weren't any credit cards at all, and later there came a time when credit cards were issued only to those that were deemed most credit worthy, whereas today credit cards are often marketed and issued to people of questionable earning capacity.  We are taught nowadays that we need credit cards in order to establish our credit rating and to build up a good credit score, but what is often forgotten is the downside of not being responsible with your credit will destroy your credit score, possible preclude you from employment at certain companies, and stick you with debts that will be part of your life for the foreseeable future. 

When it comes to the necessity of credit cards, we can say for a certainty that those of high income and/or deep assets don't have a need for a credit card, because they already have the wherewithal to pay for the things that they need with their income stream or assets.  For those that make a decent income and/or have decent assets, credit cards are often not needed, but may be desired for those times when funds are a little tight or something unexpected comes up.  Then there are those that are limited in both their income and their assets, who often may strongly desire to have a credit card, but most definitely don't need to have one, mainly because there is a near certainty that having a credit card will put them into a situation to which they will be subjected to penalties, high interest rates, and fees.

There is a fundamental reason why banks issue so many credit cards to so many people and that reason has absolutely nothing to do with people deserving credit cards or the like, and everything to do with the money that banking establishments make from the issuance of credit. While banks will make money even on people that pay their credit cards in full each month, by virtue of the fees that they charge merchants, and of which, incidentally, those costs are pass onto the consumer in the form of slightly higher merchant pricing; they make a lot more money from those that do not or cannot pay their credit card bill in full each month. 

There is one other reason why credit is issued so easily to so many people in America and that is the inherent tendency for people to treat a credit card purchase differently from a debit card, or cash, or a check-issued payment.  For whatever reason, and perhaps it simply comes down to the reality of it, when you pay for something with cash or cash equivalent, it feels real, because it is real, as that money literally has left your hands and will not be returning to you; whereas with a credit card charge that is merely a debit to your account, representing something that doesn’t have to be paid immediately, and consequently doesn't feel like money or its equivalent, instead it feels more like an exchange that benefits you.

The banks that issue credit cards understand the psychology and the lure of easy credit, and make it their policy to stick it to those that aren't capable of understanding that by their participation, they are playing in a game to which if they, the consumer, loses, they will have to pay penalties, fees, and high interest rates to the banks, to which it can be stated, just like in gambling, the house never loses.

Your Interest Rate, Annual Percentage Rate (APR), and Amortization

At some point in your life, you will probably take out a rather large loan, typically for a home, to which you will be assigned an agreed upon interest rate and then often, a higher APR rate.  A lot of people don't pay a lot of attention to the fact that the APR rate is higher than the advertised interest rate, or even if they do recognized that one number is higher than the other, don't understand why, or even question it, but they probably should, because they are the ones responsible for making those payments over the term of the loan.

For instance, your credit score might qualify you for a thirty year fixed loan rate of 4% in which after your down payment on the property, you have a principal of $200,000 to service.  You might think then that to figure out how much your monthly payment would be would could down to a simple calculation of 4% of the principal amount of $200,000 which would equate to a total of $667 per month.  That number would not be correct, because it only takes into account, the interest portion of the loan and does not take into account that the loan as given by the bank in which you will become the owner free and clear after thirty years, that you must also pay down the principal of the loan, which is $200,000, month by month.  In this particular example, your actual payment would be $955, of which $288 would be applied to your principal of $200,000 and the interest would be calculated against that same $200,000.  The very next month, your payment would be the same, but the division would be ever so slightly different, because the principal would have dropped from $200,000 to $199,712, meaning your interest payment would drop from $667 to $666, and your payment towards your principal would have risen to $289.  So that, inexorably, over the length of the loan, while your payment amount would remain the same, the amount of money being paid to interest would decline, and the amount of money being applied to your principal would increase.   After ten years, your principal will have declined from $200,000 to $157,568, or a decline of 21.22% in your principal, even though you have been paying on your loan for 10 years, or 33% of the length of time for your loan.  What this means and signifies to the consumer, is that even though you have been paying your loan faithfully for ten years, your ownership equity is significantly less than the amount of time that you have been in the house, so that if you were to sell or move from the house your equity would not be 33%, which seems reasonable, considering that you have been in the home for ten years, but would instead leave you with an amortization percentage of just 21.22%, plus any appreciation of the home.

Then there is the difference between the interest rate as advertised, for instance, the aforementioned 4%, and the APR rate which will typically be slightly higher.  The reason that this is true, is that oftentimes there are fees, points, and other assorted charges, that rather than being assessed against you in such a manner that you pay those costs up front, they are tagged onto the loan itself, so that instead of a loan of $200,000, your loan might be $204,000 because of necessary fees and points, and that extra $4,000 must be paid off, and the only way to do so is to make it part of the loan, which would increase your payment from $955 to $974 a month, and make your APR therefore 4.165%.

Those that aren't gifted with dealing with numbers will often just end up trusting that the numbers as presented by the bank are both fair and accurate.  While they certainly will be accurate, the fairness depends a lot upon your particular circumstances, recognizing that the entire banking apparatus are experts at this game, and you facing the most important financial obligation of your life, are probably not.

You can Bet High School Football

Americans love to gamble and will gamble on just about anything, and those that run gambling sites overseas are well aware of the fact that Americans have the money and the desire to gamble, which is why they try to accommodate most everything that would entice an American to visit and to play for real money on their offshore internet site.  When it comes to football, in order to get betting action on a football game, a line is produced which handicaps one team against the other, which means that the favored team will have to give up points against the weaker opposition, so that you will invariably see printed in papers or online, things such as the Patriots -6, meaning that when the game is over and score is tallied up, that determining the winner of the bet comes down to subtracting 6 points from the Patriots score and whoever then has more points after this adjustment is made is the team that actually wins the bet. 

The actual betting on football games is legal in America, but only in a few particular states, to which the industry leader is Nevada.  This means for the vast majority of Americans, that they must turn to other sources to make their bets and the offshore internet betting sites are well aware of that propensity and have successfully taken advantage of a market that is underserved in America.  One of those sites that accept American players is the Costa Rican-based 5dimes which has been handling sports betting since 1998.  What makes 5dimes a bit more interesting than most, is that they actually make lines on some important High School football games, which seems like a joke, but in actuality is absolutely true.   This means that Americans can place a bet on High School kids from the comfort of their home, which certainly seems unfathomable but it does indeed exist.

While the High School football lines on 5dimes are structured the same as their NFL and college lines, there are two important and critical difference, to which one is the vigorish, that is to say the percentage that the bookmaker takes or charges its customer when they make their bet, as well as the fact that the monetary limit for High School football is only $100 per account.  The "vig" for High School football is -120, whereas typically the industry norm is -110, meaning that a bettor must put up $120 to get $220 from the bookmaker ($120 + $100 for a winning bet), which equates to an actual winning percentage of 54.55% just to breakeven over a period of time. 

Yes, when it is all said and done, on your computer or mobile device, you can bet on certain, specific High School football games, which consist of unpaid High School students from the ages of 15-18, and of which the players themselves as well as the coaches are typically blithely unaware of the betting action, incapable of believing that there is a line on the game, or that any of this is even possible, but there it is. 

The bottom line, is the need for betting action on High School football, merely reflects back to us, how serious these games are for certain players, coaches, teams, communities, fans, parents, and recruiters, that take the actual play of the game as serious enough to lay real money on it.

The Importance of Good Water

Too often we take for granted the things that we really need and are dependent upon, until such things are either in short supply, damaged, or unavailable, and then we realize just how important certain things are to us, our day-to-day activities, and to our survival.  One of those very important things is water, to which, if we didn't have good water that was abundantly available our lives and livelihood would be in a constant state of danger.  We often don't realize how versatile water really is as we need it for proper agricultural irrigation, sewage,  mining, hydroelectric power, and so many other routine industrial uses that without water being readily available for industry, the whole infrastructure of food, transportation, and power would quickly begin to crumble before falling into utter chaos.

The fact that our physical bodies are about 60% water should send a signal to us that the quality and ready abundance of water, or its substitutes, are of vital importance in the maintaining of good physical health.  This means too that we cannot assume that water that is coming out of our tap, or in a river, or a lake, is de facto, water that is good or safe for us as too often water is contaminated by the aftereffects of an age in which we live, which amounts to dangerous manmade chemicals that get into our water supply through happenstance or by design.

There is an assumption that our municipal water supply is carefully monitored by governmental authorities and while this is true to an extent, what is often not discussed is that what an agency decides is an acceptable degree of chemical infiltration may not be actually be safe, let alone measure or count everything that needs to be measured or counted.  The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently stated that: "After analyzing water samples from 201 municipal water systems from 43 states, EWG found chemicals considered “probable human carcinogens” in every single water system they tested."

Most of us believe that the water that we are drinking and utilizing each and every day is safe for us, because it looks safe, it smells safe, and it tastes safe, but that does not necessarily mean that it is safe, and if you are consistently consuming water that has some degree of contamination to it, day after day, this will not be beneficial to your health.

You might very well ask the question as to why our government might allow us to utilize and consume water that is not as safe as it should be and the answer to that question is somewhat complicated, as one esteemed scientist may believe that toxins at a certain low level are not harmful, whereas another esteemed scientist can produce data that demonstrates that it is.  The other issue is that the maintenance and continual safety of our water costs time, money, and energy, to which most municipalities do not have an abundance of any of those things.

The one thing that we can state with certainty is that this modern age with its overabundance of manmade chemicals, is an era of uncharted territory, and that should our water become contaminated, this would have very dire implications.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Payment

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal program meant to supplement the income of primarily low-income wage earners as a way of providing a helping hand for those that are qualified and working at gainful employment.  According to cbpp.org "in the 2013 tax year… over 27 million working families and individuals received the EITC;  ….the average EITC was $3,074 for a family with children." The EITC payment is made once a year, upon the completion and submission of the subject's fiscal tax year, to which the recipient of such, will receive their EITC payment in one lump sum.  Not too surprisingly, this lump-sum payment for virtually all EITC recipients will often be looked upon as a monetary bonus or the equivalent of hitting the lottery, and thereby will quickly be allocated and used for the purposes of paying down debt, furniture, car expenses, clothing, medical needs, shopping spree, or similar, with very little or nothing being set aside as savings for future expenses or needs.

The EITC payment money is so important for so many recipients often because throughout the year they have struggled to make ends meet and quite frequently have had to use other means, such as the use of credit cards, friends, family, or charity, to keep their bills current or at least somehow to keep their creditors at bay.  This implies strongly that each dollar of the said EITC monies, is of value to the recipient, and while it is one thing for the recipient, to spend it somewhat unwisely or carelessly, it seems a real shame to have a significant portion of that refund, siphoned off by tax preparers such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt, who take advantage of people's fear of the IRS, or of filing taxes correctly.

What these tax preparers do for the most part, is play upon the fear on their consumers as well as offering them the convenience and lure of getting their money even sooner, but like most anything, that sounds too good to be true, those tax preparers make sure to get significantly more than their fair share, for tax anticipation loans, for the preparation and filing of your taxes, for add-on services, and for useless audit and error-protection guarantees.  Unfortunately, for the consumer signing up for these services, since they aren't actually paying anything out of their pocket, but instead are having these fees and services taken from their refund, they just see it as nothing more than the cost of doing business with the man.  However, those hundreds and hundreds of dollars add up to millions of dollars of extra revenue for the tax preparers, while taking away much needed money from those that can least afford to sacrifice those dollars.

The main problem with the EITC as currently structured is that the payment is provided to the recipient as one lump sum, to which often they are not skilled in the best way to handle this money, and are invariably surrounded by sharks, parasites, leeches, snakes, opportunists, liars, cheats, con artists, and those that are expert at extracting monies from people in one way or another.  While the government likes to pat itself on their back about how wonderful this program is and how responsible and beneficial it is to the working poor, they conveniently forget that it enriches far too many undeserving people and organizations at the very expense and on the sore tired backs of the exploited poor.

Multigenerational Housing

The average home in America has doubled in size from the 1950s and whereas it was routine back in the day, for a home just to have one full bathroom, or for your children to share a bedroom, it is quite common for even the smallest houses of today, to have at least two bathrooms, and a separate room for each child.  The strangest thing is that in 1960 the average household consisted of 3.33 members whereas in 2014 it had been reduced to 2.54 members per household, so one can only assume that the increase in square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, are because of man's increased desire to have more space, and more privacy.

While there is something to be said for having more space, more privacy, and for striking out on your own, especially if the situation pretty much warrants a separation from blood family ties for reasons that may be quite legitimate and understandable, there is also something to be said for maintaining those connections, because your quality and the substance of your life will often be better for having done so.  Although it is probably a reflection of an economy that does not seem to have enough good paying jobs to spread around, there has been an increase in America of multigenerational households in America over recent years, so that according to slate.com there are now "56.8 million" people living in multigenerational households for one reason or another.

While there are obviously downsides to have multigenerational people living together under the same roof, such as the lack of privacy, lack of people just minding their own business, lack of space, sharing, meddling, elder care, or nursery/babysitting obligations, and so forth, there are also enormous benefits that typically far outweigh the disadvantages.  For instance, the monetary savings for living together are substantial, as housing costs are the number one expense for any family, so through the sharing of these expenses, everybody benefits.  Also, there is less of a need for daycare, extra automobiles, outside tutoring or mentoring, and there is much more of opportunity to learn and respect the wisdom of elders, the joys of seeing a baby take in the world for the first time, and the fact that often there is somebody that will listen to or be a shoulder for you on those difficult days.

So often we hear about peace on earth, and goodwill for all, but if we are unable to have peace within our homes, and to spread goodwill amongst those that we care and love for the most, how can it be possible that peace on earth can ever come about?  To a large extent, multigenerational housing is an opportunity to understand the meaning of words such as: compromise, sharing, selflessness, caring, love, and to recognize that each of us will invariably have their own exit that follows from their own entrance, to which multigenerational living will afford us the opportunity to remind us of this salient fact.

In a vibrant multigenerational household, when we look into the eyes of our fellow housemates, we should see the reflection of ourselves, and therefore be able to say, this too is me.

Liberty

We are fortunate to live in a country which recognizes the truth that each of its denizens are granted by their Creator the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Therefore, when we read in 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,” we recognize that our Declaration on Independence echoes these very wise words.  This means that the liberty that we seek, whether in this country or throughout the world and which may or may not be contained within our country's constitution of residency, will always without fail be found in the Spirit of the Lord.  That is to say that the Truth that sets us free, is not in manmade laws and justice, which may or may not be honest and fair, nor in constitutional documents which may or may not be beneficial, but always and forever will be in our surrender and acknowledgment that those that live fully in God's good grace, that they will have ultimate liberty, because they are the ones that have been up to the mountaintop, and have seen the promise land and are one with the true glory of our Lord.

Those that are attuned with the Spirit of the Lord, are always free, no matter the injustices that they may suffer, no matter the wrongs that they live under, and no matter the misguided hatred addressed against them, because they recognize that with God, all things are possible, and those that live in His fullness, will have eternal life and taste the true freedom of a dimension to which love, justice, and truth reigns over all.

On the other hand, there are far too many people that believe that true freedom along with true liberty resides in the freedom to do whatever that you want to do, whenever that you feel like doing it, and however that you want to accomplish it, but that is neither freedom nor liberty, but is instead, a form of bondage.  The problem with this type of thinking is that if you do whatever that you want to do, and another person does the same, these two false freedoms will inevitably meet one against the other, and when they do, conflict will arrive in which one party will adjudge that his freedom has been abridged, leading to a situation in which neither party will be satisfied, and neither will be free

True freedom, is the freedom to do what we ought to do, always, to which that wisdom and discipline can only come from living in the Spirit of the Lord.  If we are one with God, than we will gladly and without hesitation, take whatever cup he gives us, because in our surrender to the power that is all power, lays both our salvation as well as our liberty.  Through everything that we do, day by day, God, alone, will never forsake us; He will forever carry us, guide us, and help us, until we reach that destination that we know deep in our heart, is our eternal destiny.

The liberty that we seek, is in doing right by our fellow man, and every right deed that we do, liberates us from the delusion that ensnares us in the mistaken belief that this world is all that there is, and all that there ever will be, whereas mankind would be better served recognizing the Higher Truth, that this world is the proving ground for the next, a world without end, and with true justice and liberty for all.

Apartment Co-Operatives

Depending upon where you live in America, you may or may not be well familiar with co-operatives as a form of housing that is available for your residency.  While in many respects, condominiums and co-operatives sound as if they are virtually the same thing, there are important structural differences between the two, which may make one of these options a far better choice for a particular individual.  For instance, co-op owners are actually shareholders of the corporation which owns the complex, therefore as shareholders they hold partial ownership of the entire complex as well as having bought the right to live in one of the units, whereas condo owners own their own unit, and have rights to the common areas as permitted by the Board of Directors and the bylaws of that condo association.  Additionally, each condo unit owner has their own mortgage, whereas in co-ops, there is typically one mortgage that covers the entire complex, and any financing a proposed shareholder wishes to get comes from a share loan application to which the approval will often necessitate not only meeting the financial requirements of the co-op such as the down payment percentage, but also a face-to-face meeting with the co-op board, meaning that the overall vetting of shareholders for co-ops is often more thorough than a condo mortgage loan.

Then there is the fundamental difference in outlook between condo owners as compared to a co-op shareholder.  For most condo owners that are not members of the board, and perhaps also don't ever bother to show up or vote at board meetings, there is more of an attitude that my condo is my castle, and if you don't really mess with me, I won't in turn run riot on condo common property.  While the condo owner certainly does want to see his particular unit appreciate in price, it mainly doesn't occur to him, that there is much that he can do that will affect that price, one way or another.  Whereas, on the other hand, co-op residents, are shareholders, and if there is one thing that people understand from owning common shares in an equity that trades on the stock exchange, or by virtue of having options and knowing their actual exercise price, is that most shareholders, have a real and vested interest in seeing that share prices increase over a period of time, and thereby there is more of a mindset that we are all in this together.

Overall, on a comparison basis, co-ops are cheaper than purchasing a similar size condo, to which some of the reasons for that being so are the typically more stringent restrictions co-ops have in regards to sub-letting the unit, the higher down payment needed to qualify for the co-op, and the overall qualifications to purchase a co-op are more extensive and may also require skills in both communication and diplomacy. 

It's a good thing that co-operatives exist, and if anything, major cities should encourage the development or conversion of more apartment buildings into co-ops, as the best and most conscientious owners in any endeavor, are those that have skin in the game, such as the shareholders in co-operatives.

American Education: Dumb and Dumber

America is a country that rests on its laurels and unfortunately going forward, are absolutely dependent more and more upon geniuses from foreign countries boosting its anemic and pathetic educational accomplishments by immigrating instead to our rich, powerful, but dumb-down country.  There are no objective tests that are given worldwide in which United States high school students perform at the top of any worldwide country list, to which you can state almost with a certainty that the countries' leading those lists will absolutely dominant and crush the United States completely and thoroughly in regards to their test scores in comparison to ours.  In fact, the United States does not do much better than middling in their testing and often slips to below the median in its results, despite all the monies thrown into our educational system.  The bottom line for American educational methods is that they do not challenge their students to learn much of anything, and the test results prove it.

What is especially distressing for America is that there was a time when Americans were amongst the best and the brightest, to which many of the great Founding Fathers of our Country, had extensive classical educational backgrounds, something that is virtually unknown in today's America.  Great men, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, to name just a few, were masters of Greek and Latin prose, and not only were they well versed in the language itself, more importantly they knew the thoughts, the history, and the wisdom of the ancients, to which all were put to good use in the writing of, the formulating of, and belief that this country could and would one day be the beacon of freedom throughout the world.

America today, is fat, lazy, and dumb, to which it has neither the wit nor the wisdom, to be anything but an empire that will collapse upon itself.  This is a country that cares more about mindless entertainment, bullying its way because it cannot take the time to build real coalitions or to put together cogent arguments, and corrupting its citizens in such a way, that the moral compass of good ethics, civil virtue, and Biblical wisdom, has been kicked completely to the side of the road.

The educational system of America today, has really come down basically to the babysitting and the coddling of today's youth, in which the only real purpose for school appears to be, to take students off the street and away from their homes for a few hours, so that they can goof around, perhaps learn a bit through rote memory, and other than that act the fool at school. 

The time to challenge a student is when they are young and moldable, susceptible and eager to actually learn, because their minds are ready and willing to be filled with knowledge and for the opportunity to learn how to think and to apply themselves, but if the State is unwilling to insist and mandate that certain educational standards of real merit are met and achieved, but instead asks only that the students be docile and to behave like a sheep ready to be sheared, you will get a nation of sheep, ready to be led by a demagogue that will use, exploit, and ultimately control them.

America: Once the Sleeping Giant

When Japan launched its very successful surprise Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was alleged to have said: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."  One day later, Japan declared war upon America, and three days after that, Germany and Italy did likewise, forcing America from an official position of neutrality to war.  Admiral Yamamoto's words proved prophetic as the entry of America into the European as well as the Pacific theatre in war, was the beginning of the end for the Axis nations, as the military might, armaments, personnel, technology, bravery, and killing power of the United States, was to be the inflection point of World War II, and result in the utter defeat and capitulation of the Axis nations.  These men and women of that period of time were later given the well-deserved moniker of: "the greatest generation".

We are now a few generations removed from World War II, and America is still a giant, forever awake, ubiquitous in its influence throughout the entire world, and second to absolutely none in power, in wealth, and in strength.  Unfortunately, for America, as well as for the world, America is seldom the gentle giant, although it does demonstrate this from time-to-time and from place-to-place, with its generosity and compassion, but way too often America puffs up its chest, and declares to the world, in its actions and its behavior, that there is only one master, and thereby all other nations must bow to it, or suffer forth the consequences of disobedience to that which must be obeyed.

America insists upon and is a worldwide power, which necessitates bases, logistics, and personnel, all over and throughout the world.  America cares little for the sovereignty or rule of law within other countries, although they might pay lip service to it, but this is more for show, than for anything else.  America plays rough, so when in those instances, other nations show some spirit or some spine against the interests of America, America reserves the right to pay them back in its own way and in its own time, so that those that have the nerve to spat upon America, will understand that deliberate disrespect against America, will result in payback, dirty or otherwise.

America believes that what is good for America is good for the world, even if that really isn't so, and certainly America believes strongly that while it might be nice to win countries over to its side and its philosophy, it is of much more value to simply subvert democratic and constitutional governments throughout the world and to thereby influence or corrupt those in power in such countries to march to the drum of the master's fife, and let the chips fall where they may.

It isn't easy to be a competent and wise leader of the free world, especially if that means, having actual working coalitions that take into accountand consideration that other countries have their own interests, religions, beliefs, governments, and historical background, that may very well be at odds to our own.  Unfortunately, too often America is a country that demands tribute, while offering little or nothing of moral value or substance in return. 

America, is no longer the sleeping giant, but has instead morphed into the schoolyard bully, yet beneath that tough, ugly and intimidating veneer, rests not the liberty of yesteryear, but instead is found a lethargic, selfish, intolerant, ignorant, supercilious, beer-belly fool.

Aluminum Foil and Food

According to madehow.com, "Aluminum foil is made from an aluminum alloy which contains between 92 and 99 percent aluminum."  We also know that aluminum foil is commonly used for the cooking and the storage of food, as well as for food service packs, and many other everyday uses.  The thing about aluminum, though, is that as a metal it is known to be neurotoxic.  While this does not necessarily mean that the use of aluminum foil while cooking is necessarily dangerous or toxic, it certainly does mean that we should pay careful attention to our usage of such, and should probably consider some other alternatives to replace our common usage of aluminum foil in the kitchen.

The fact about cooking with aluminum foil is that as Dr. Zubaidy states, "The higher the temperature, the more the leaching. Foil is not suitable for cooking and is not suitable for using with vegetables like tomatoes, citrus juice or spices.”  It also has been demonstrated as reported by greenexaminingroom.com that: "Cooking with aluminum foil has been shown to create numerous tiny cracks and flakes in the surface of the aluminum foil as demonstrated with electron microscopy."  Taking into account this information, as well as considering that the metal aluminum is toxic, a prudent person would probably want to reduce or eliminate their cooking with aluminum foil for their own safety as well as for safety of others.

As for those that are waiting for definitive studies demonstrating that the consistent usage of aluminum foil products for the storage and/or cooking with foods is conclusively dangerous, they will probably not find satisfaction to such for a considerably long period of time.    While we can put into the hands of government, or regulatory agencies, our good health and leave the decisions for our health to them, there is a good reason too for why our Creator gave each of us discretion, judgment, and choice.

It is wise to remember that our world is filled with chemicals that we interact with each and every day, that have also become commonplace through the products that we utilize and that we even ingest.  For the most part we are oblivious to the benefits or ill effects of these chemicals or metallic substances, so that when we do become cognizant of such, it is to our benefit to make any needful adjustments to our habits to protect our good health.

Numerous recent medical studies have demonstrated a correlation between aluminum toxicity leading towards osteoporosis as well as contributing to Alzheimer's disease.  We know through these studies that we should be especially careful in reducing our exposure to aluminum via inhalation or injection as these have been scientifically demonstrated to be severe irritants to the human body, so we should be mindful that aluminum can be harmful to our body.

We live in a modern world in which we rely consistently on certain things to help provide us with our daily needs, yet, not everything that we utilize on a common basis is as safe as it should be.  When it comes to cooking and eating, we should carefully consider our process of food preparation and ingestion, keeping in mind that the better part of valor is to reduce our exposure to things that may be toxic to us, especially if the change to our habits is fairly easy to accommodate.

Worldwide Home Ownership Percentage Rate

Our government spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince its citizens that the American dream must include home ownership of some sort and has made it government policy in the past, as well as presently, to support this endeavor.  Unfortunately, as the home ownership percentage rate in America reached 69% in 2004, the qualifications for home buyers became more and more suspect, leading eventually to the housing market collapse which we suffered through and the ultimate disenfranchisement of millions of Americans from the American dream, as well as the collapse of the subprime financial markets resulting in the lost of trillions of dollars. 

What would amaze most people is the fact that the United States, which prides itself as being the best and brightest when it comes to just about everything, does not even come close to having the highest percentage of home ownership throughout the world, in fact, it isn't even close.  According to Wikipedia, countries such as Romania, Slovakia, and Lithuania have home ownership rates above 90%, while countries such as China and India are at above 85%, and even the much maligned Greece has a home ownership rate of 75%.  On the surface, this information seems to be completely unbelievable, and at the same time, it is also incredibly intriguing. 

The first thing that we can take away from these home ownership rates is the fact that clearly the richest countries in the world do not have the highest percentage of home owners.  In fact, the top three countries in private home ownership are all formerly communist nations.  This would imply strongly that when these countries became republics or similar, that the previously state-owned housing stock was sold to the people at prices that were below what the free market would have demanded and in all probability with very favorable loan terms to the buyers.  While on the one hand, this unquestionably appears to be a great deal for those that bought these homes at fire-sale prices, there must also be the recognition that once one becomes the owner of any property, that ownership entails the upkeep of said property which can include unanticipated expenses for that upkeep, to which the owner may not have the necessary funds to properly attend to.

This then leads to the point that one of the reasons why home ownership in America has hit a ceiling and seems to be stuck at the present mid 60s percentage range is that the cost of owning a home is just too much of a financial stretch for too many Americans who clearly cannot afford to buy any property no matter the price, because their assets and earnings or lack thereof, precludes them from doing so.  Additionally, a home is not liquid, it is neither something that can move should your job necessitate a move, nor is it something that can be sold at a good price, when time factors are against you.

Clearly, when taking a look at home ownership rates by country, we can conclude that home ownership rates do not correlate well with the wealth or health of the nation, which might seem surprising, given that owning a home is often seen as precursor to having "skin in the game".  However, common sense dictates that if you don't have the money or consistent employment to purchase a home, than you shouldn't, because home ownership entails a responsibility that not all can afford.

Under his Vine and Under His Fig Tree

In Micah 4:4 we read: "But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it."  Further, there are other passages in the Bible as in 1 Kings 4:25, Zechariah 3:10, and 1 Maccabees 14:12 that echo this particular passage which speaks of the peace and serenity that each of us is entitled to while living within the confines of a nation that professes its love for freedom and the brotherhood of mankind to which all are granted equal and inalienable rights.

This particular biblical passage was a favorite of George Washington, the father of our country, and therefore is of particular interest for us to meditate upon.  The fact that George Washington should find poignant meaning behind these words should say a lot to us, because Washington was not only our first President, but also the General and Commander in Chief of our armed forces; however, when it came time to reflect upon what this country meant to him, and the wisdom that he wished to impart upon us, Washington did not bring forth any of the notable biblical passages of battles, wars, and conquest, but instead found peace and serenity in knowing that the battles that were fought were for the opportunity for each man that in his day he would be able to luxuriate in peace, under the shade and guidance of our Creator, without fear that this serenity would be disrupted by outside forces or even by the State, itself.

George Washington was well aware that the peace and serenity that each of us desires deep within our psyche, could never come through the sword, but only through giving each and every American the opportunity to live in a land that embraced true freedom as well as opportunity.  George Washington and the patriot forces fought a long and protracted battle against the British forces, suffered through embarrassments, defeats, and privations, yet were able to ultimately prevail against the greatest earthly military power of that time.  While some, given Washington's position, might have luxuriated and bask upon the glory of such an improbable victory, Washington did not, as he saw himself as a man of the people, and for the people, to which the overarching objective of the war was for the United States to free itself from the stifling domestic interference from abroad, and to give to the people of this great land, the opportunity for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor without the meddling of an empire that had treated them as wayward children.

As America's supreme military leader and later as the head of its Executive branch of government, Washington did not dream of empire and conquest, but recognized instead that the greatest gift that we could give to all of mankind was the example that we demonstrated in our behavior and in our life, that a country that truly embraced the creed that all men are created equal, would not make it its policy to place its boot upon the neck of others, but instead would affirm that each of us is entitled to domestic tranquility and the serenity of sitting under our own fig tree, without fear of disturbance.

The NFL and their non-guaranteed Contracts

The NFL has the biggest profits of any league, has the highest revenues of any professional league, and the largest valuations of any professional American sport.  You would think that with all that money that the 32 privileged owners of this sport, might have the luxury of providing the players of this very violent sport with fair compensation which would include, guaranteeing the contracts that the players sign with management, but that would be far from the actual case in fact.  The owners, not too surprisingly, see football as a business, and as a business they are loath to want to “guarantee” large sums of money to players when the owners know that players’ careers are capable of essentially ending on any given play within the brutal collusions that are part of this sport as well as the players aging incredibly fast so as to make their value to management diminish considerably.

In the NFL, guaranteed contracts are up to the owner’s discretion, and at their discretion, the owners collectively have decided almost in unison, that the guaranteed part of the contract should be minimized which is, obviously, of enormous benefit for the control of labor expenses for management but a disservice to the players themselves who invariably in almost every case, will never see the money that they are earning in the NFL in any other part of their life while seeking to continue to making a living.  This means, that should a player be cut or injured, often times, the balance of money due to them, that is to say all monies of his contract that are not guaranteed to be his, will often times, disappear. 

The go-to excuse that owners use for the minimizing of guaranteed contracts is that they are required to fund unpaid fully guaranteed contracts into escrow so as to ensure the payment to the players involved, but in actuality, that so-called issue, is something that could easily be mitigated by the structuring of bonds, loans, or material assets, as being pledged against the monies that are due to the players.  In addition, as one might imagine, the franchise owners are invariably some of the most richest, successful, and privileged people in all of the world, hardly lacking in credibility, or access to money, with financial advisors and legal staff that would be easily capable of structuring whatever needed to be done in such a manner so as to satisfy guaranteed contracts.

The issue of the paucity of guaranteed contract money in comparison to the actual size of the contracts as announced to the media, comes down to the simple fact that the owners wish to maximize their leverage, their flexibility, and to improve their bottom line, by essentially reneging on contracts with the players, with minimal penalties or fallout to the ownership itself. 

One must remember, there are only 32 owners in the NFL, in which they are all familiar with the other, and pretty much all of them have the same basic idea, which is to maximize their profit and worth, without placing themselves in the unenviable position of paying money to players who are broke-down, too old before their time, or useless to their enterprise.  The owners, unlike the players, are here to stay, whereas the players are just a commodity which value of such clearly fluctuates. 

While playing in the NFL can be very lucrative for those that make the grade, the fact that so many players have had their careers terminated by injuries and suffered too the ill effects of the game long after their career is over; it seems a clear injustice that when it comes to collecting their final negotiated paycheck that there often isn’t the promised money for them there.

The Importance of Steady and Consistent Work Hours

In America, your basic employee is considered to be full-time if they work forty hours week after week, and most employees are dependent upon those hours of service and thereby their pay being consistent from one week to the next.  In point of fact, with so many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, there is often a very valid need for many employees to be able to count upon their paycheck consistently being for the same amount and covering the same time periods, paycheck after paycheck.  For those fortunate enough to work under these types of conditions, after a relatively short period of time, you learn to bank upon receiving your paycheck for the expected amount which leads to more success in budgeting your funds and your free time as desired.

Over and above the amount of hours, that Americans work each week and receive compensation for, there is often a desire for most employees to have consistent and expected working hours from one week to the next, in which typically the ideal working condition for most employees is to just have a consistent working schedule which doesn't ever change.  Again, in situations in which you know how many hours that you are going to work, and you know what times during the workday that you will be working, this will allow employees to schedule and plan out other activities and needs that are required to be accomplished in their day-to-day living of everyday life.

Unfortunately, not everybody can count on either consistent hours, nor can they count on consistent shifts, so that there are many employees that do not know for a certainty how many hours that they will be given to work in a given week, nor do they know for a certainty the actual hours that they will be working in a given week.  While, to a certain extent, not knowing these vital things might be OK for those that have no real responsibilities, such as people fresh out of school, with no children, or family obligations, for the vast majority of people, this can be instead a rather annoying burden.

First off, it is impossible to have a reliable budget, if you simply do not know how much money that you are going to make paycheck to paycheck, and as bad as that is, it's even worse for those that have children that are in daycare, or children that have other school activities that necessitate some parent being available, in which, as a parent, you may have to make a choice to sacrifice hours at work, in order to be a responsible parent to your children.

The fact of the matter is that employers in many cases decide on their own as to how many hours you will or will not work, and the actual hours that you will work, without necessarily being interested in your actual preferences, needs, input, or desires.  Now, in most cases, a good employer actually does want to coordinate with you, but they often aren't required by law to do so, and unless their actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act or their own employer manual or something similar, that is just the way it is going to be.

This means that not only do a significant amount of employees work under at-will laws, which essentially mean that they can be terminated at any time, they also work with inconsistent hours and schedules, yet they invariably receive bills and have obligations which have specific set times and amounts that are due.  Is it any wonder then that so many of the working class are forever in a state of indebtedness that offers little or no hope of any respite.

The Immaculate Conception

We're heard the story of the Virgin Mary's immaculate conception so many times, that one has the tendency to just take it for granted, even though there are implications that are of immense importance to all of us, especially those of the faith.  For instance, the Virgin Mary was espoused to the carpenter, Joseph, this meant that although their marriage was not yet consummated, that they were in the light of Jewish law, considered to be married.  This is why we read in Matthew 1:18-19, that: "…When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily."  This clearly signifies that in the eye of the law, that Joseph was the husband of Mary, which then brings to mind, if the child, Jesus, was from the Holy Ghost, whatever was the point of Mary being espoused to anyone, let alone a good, righteous man such as Joseph.  To this it can be said, that this goes back to the story of Adam and Eve, and that the good Lord had already stated that: "…It is not good that the man should be alone…" indicating that in the natural order of things that the birth of any child, even one of divinity, should include one mother and one father, sincerely dedicated to each other, to the exclusion of all others, and further that the selection of Joseph was done to fulfill prophecy that the Messiah would be from the house of David.

Joseph was well aware that Mary was of special status, as she was a temple virgin, for the great honor and dignity of being the woman that would bring forth the Messiah, is not something that could be accomplished by anyone other than one that was dedicated to God, Himself, and further that Mary had previously proven herself as to being devout and of proper comportment while living within that temple.  Joseph, himself, was also special, being a "just man", to which we read in Ecclesiastes 7:20 "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin," indicating distinctly how difficult it was to find a just man, yet Joseph was that just man.  Further to this point, Joseph knew well the character of the Virgin Mary, and upon his receiving the news that his wife was with child, heard and obeyed the angel of the Lord, that their child was indeed conceived by the Holy Ghost, a charge that would seem absolutely preposterous to all but the strongest and wisest man.

It is well to remember that our God is master of it all, and when it came time to present Jesus to us on earth, he chose to bring his birth purposely through the virgin Mary who had dedicated her life to serving God, and further she was espoused to a just man, also of great merit, Joseph, to which both parents would be in unison the mother and father of the Christ.  The Bible is clear that Jesus was not conceived through normal conception but came into this world as the new Adam, to redeem humankind from the madness and misconception that the material life is the only reality, whereas Jesus clearly demonstrated over and over again, that with God, all things are possible, and that therefore mankind limits itself when it cannot conceive that of whom we really are, which is surely not the physical temple which is temporal, but insteadshould embrace our real identity which is the eternal spirit within.

The Virgin Mary became the vessel for the deliverance of our savior, not from selfishness, greed, or material desires, but only because she surrendered herself wholly to God's infinite grace and wisdom and thereby was rewarded with the most precious gift that any mother could ever have.

Technology: Harm and Culpability

We live in a powerful hi-tech era in which those that can imagine certain products and instruments can often bring those thoughts into successful fruition; so that today we often find that just about anything that we can desire that intrudes upon the space and privacy of an individual or entity can be successfully produced. This means that given this background information, it can now be stated for the first time in history, that if the government or other unknown powerful entities want to track a particular individual or group of individuals in such a manner so as to hear, see, and know everything actionable being done by that individual or entity, there is little that the particular individual or entity can do to protect themselves from this intrusiveness. 

While on the one hand, this might bring satisfactory smiles to the faces of certain government officials that we can keep track of and monitor the "bad guys", the fundamental problem with this sort of smug attitude, is that this is the exact same power that can correlate, process, and analyze anybody, without limits, and that therefore we have created, whether deliberately or not, a government bureaucracy and power which is a law unto itself.

Yet through all of this that is being created, is not created without human intelligence and human input, which means that there are many men and women that while conducting their work and research, know that the tools that they are creating and perfecting, are tools that in the hands of irresponsible people, have the absolute capability of immense harm to individuals and are inimical to the very principles of this republic. 

It would then be far too easy to let these creative geniuses off, with an acknowledgment that anybody's work can be used for harm, and that they therefore are entitled to do their best within the parameters of their job, unless they are knowingly aware that what they are working on or pursuing is something that is clearly illegal or morally suspect.  That, my friends, is the type of fallacious reasoning, which simply is another way of stating that it's not my responsibility, nor my fault, that somebody, somehow, uses my input and work for harm, even though there are obvious cracks in that mirror.

The main reason why people will hide behind this sort of self-justifying reasoning is so that they can wash their hands of all ill effects of their work, such as Pilate washing his hands, before rendering his decision that the Christ must be crucified, while stating that; "I am innocent of the blood of this just person," even though he held the power to stay the execution.

It can be stated that those that create the technology that is ultimately used in such a manner so as to harm their fellow human beings, or as an aid in order to persecute those that are considered to be an inconvenience to the State, are in effect, culpable for what they have wrought.  It isn't any good to put your head in the sand and pretend that you don't know what you really do know, or to state to yourself, that these things are beyond your pay grade or other lame or vacillating excuses.  Any corrupt empire runs on the willingness of others to serve them, rightly or wrongly, for good pay or not, and each of us must therefore ask the question each and every day, to what power or principality that it is we will serve.

Psalm 22 and the Christ

The reading of psalm 22 is erringly prophetic of the later passion of the Christ, this therefore makes this particular psalm attributed to King David of especially intriguing promise, as the Christ, Himself, is considered to be of Davidic lineage.  Psalm 22:1 begins with: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” which echoes exactly Matthew 27:46 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  In Psalm 22:7 we read that “All they that see me laugh me to scorn”,  while in Matthew 27:39 it says: “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads.” Further, it goes on in Psalm 22:8 to say: “He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him,” to which we read in Matthew 27:43 “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him.”  At Psalm 22:18 it is said: “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture,” which is echoed in Matthew 27:35 as: “….They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.” Finally, in Psalm 22:31: “They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this," which in itself is the history and legacy of living Christianity itself.

The fact that the reading of Psalm 22 in which it clearly has parallel passages as stated in the New Testament, means of a certainty, that the gospel writers were well familiar with the Psalms, meaning too that their audience in turn were probably familiar with such, and that the parallelism in the New Testament that affirms Psalm 22 was absolutely purposeful for the uplifting of the Christ consciousness to all.  This signifies that the gospel writers, who affirmed in other Biblical passages that the Christ was indeed the chosen one as prophesied, affirm this further by drawing upon this particular Psalm and stating in effect,  through parallel passages that Jesus the Christ fulfilledthis by his passion play.

In point of fact, the reading of Psalm 22, reads compellingly well as the precursor of the Christ, his atoning grace, his ultimate victory, and his righteousness.  The fit, form, and function as presented in this Psalm are so profound, that multiple readings of it as well as referrals within the Bible are necessitated by it.  While mankind often struggles to make sense of the present time, let alone future events, the Bible foreshadows the future for those discerning enough to understand it.  This means, that the good book, holds in its pages the enduring eternal wisdom of God, Himself.

Even more to the point, although the Passion Play is clearly shown and described in Psalm 22, the overriding point that God wishes to impart to us, His children, is the object lessons of Christ, Himself.   Those lessons demonstrated by His actions here on earth, included: submission and surrender to God and to His omniscient wisdom, the recognition that your body is just a vessel which houses God consciousness but is not God Himself, that there is but one Truth, that the kingdom of God welcomes all, that the peace that we desire can only come from those that are at peace with themselves, that love trumps a multitude of sins, that we must do right by our neighbor because our neighbor is a reflection of all that we and our community are, and finally to have the faith of a child of the most-high God, recognizing that God is indeed our Father, and will never slumber nor be satisfied, until each and every one of His children rests peacefully in the bosom of His enduring and comforting love.

It's the Best of Times and the Worst of Times for Blacks

In 1963, George Wallace proclaimed: "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever", and later Wallace would run for the Presidency in 1968, and actually carry five States.  Now, nearly fifty years later, there are not very many people today that would believe that anyone preaching a policy of racial segregation would be taken seriously, nor would that person have even a modest chance of winning any State in America.  Further to this point, overt racism has basically been pushed into the dustbins of society, leaving us more with covert or unintentional racism which exists into the present day.

This means that the days of blacks being castigated with racial slurs and slights deliberately made against them have been minimized to an extent not previously seen in America and that this melting pot of a nation has truly begun to leave up to that creed.  Blacks have made tremendous progress in America, so that we now see them at the pinnacles of educational, religious, financial, entertainment, and political power throughout the United States.  This means that opportunities that previously had precluded blacks from climbing the social ladder have been opened to them, and whereas it certainly is not a level playing field, blacks at least are on the field of dreams with a chance to shine.

However, despite all the progress and laws that have been passed in America, blacks statistically are still on the short end of the stick in virtually every economic, educational, and justice level.  While we can take great pride in embracing our successful black brothers that have succeeded in America, to which they often can state truthfully that their skin color has not been a barrier to their own success, there are still way too many multitudes of blacks that cannot make that same assessment and have subsequently been left behind.

The United States has an obligation that all people within its borders have equal and fair chances for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and further to this point, America has a special obligation to see that those that were previously held in servitude are given full and complete access to their inalienable rights which were wrongly denied to them upon birth.  This means that the mere appearance of fairness is not fairness, that fairness must come from being equally applied to all, so that in situations such as in our public educational system, we have in effect, separate and unequal public school systems, in which some are able to go to schools of high educational quality and inherent safety, whereas others are stuck within schools of low educational achievements and chaos.

We can therefore easily say that these are the best and worst times for blacks, because if you are black and live in the right neighborhood, with the right infrastructure and social benefits, your chance of success and of having a life of value are appreciably better than those unfortunate poor people that live on the wrong side of the tracks.  So that, if one hundred years ago it came down simply to a white vs. a black divide, these masks have been ripped off, and today the division is now almost exclusively social class, or rich vs. poor, with the color of one's skin being of far less relevance to the ruling class.