Man's Search for Altered States of Consciousness

Inside each of us is a desire to know something more than what we see or respond to in this material world.  However, there are plenty of those who contend that this indeed is all there ever will be, and anything else beyond this world is merely wishful thinking; yet, each of those people, each night, experiences a world beyond this world in their own dreams, which often takes them beyond time and space.

Man has an innate need to find something outside of himself and outside of his typical world.  While some may find this altered state of consciousness easily through prayer, quiet contemplation, or meditation, others take an entirely different route with the usage of drugs and assorted substances that through chemical reactions to the brain force the consciousness into a different state than it is at everyday rest; very often this desire to get "high" comes from the desire to become something other than your perception of whom or what you fundamentally appear to be.

This need for an altered state of consciousness, no matter how it is attempted, comes from a thirst for something outside of ourselves that will provide meaning, purpose, contentment, and answers to the questions that we have.  Each of us believes, no matter where we are at, at one time or another that we are lacking in something, which means that we should be searching for that something else, although often we don't really seem to know what that something is.

For some of us, we try to drown out that search by staying busy and occupied, so that we never have to take the time to actually contemplate that beyond our small little world, are things that are so much bigger.  For others, that search is so vague; we don't know how to go about searching for it, so we take substitutes for it, by ingesting or smoking substances that will ease our mind in such a way, that we aren't worried about the search, itself.  Then there are those that know that if they can just still their active mind, and turn within, that they can indeed connect with a dimension beyond this one, and experience true peace and love at a capacity previously unimagined.

It is that search that pushes man inevitably forward, even though at times, it appears mankind is in a period of moral decay and decline.  That search is the reason for being, it is the reason that people do not give up and will continue to push on, even under the most trying of circumstances.  No matter the noise of a busy day, or the sheer boredom of a day without direction or purpose, we are pulled, always pulled to find that which must be found.  We can talk about it, ignore it, take drugs to try to kill it or push it to the edges of oblivion, deny it, curse it, or we can embrace it and become one with it. 

Our mind cannot know peace and tranquility until it reaches union with the One mind--and with that union this delusion that traps us so well within this world will vanish as if it never was.

King Henry VIII and the break from the Catholic Church

In the sixteenth century the King of England and his court were the rulers of their people and of their nation.  Still, despite that undisputed secular authority, the Catholic Church, with its seat of power and wealth in Rome, held both valuable land in England, priestly authority, educational status and influence, moral suasion, and significant sway upon many vital areas of everyday English life.  While the Catholic Church did not rule England, or share rule with England, its services, impact, and strength were paid for in one form or another by English tribute to the Church.  For the most part, the State through the King, his court, and parliament in conjunction with Church representatives as authorized by Papal authority, worked together so as to hold dominion over the peoples of England for primarily the benefit of both ruing authorities.

However, in any sharing of power, there often comes a time, when one party recognizes that by usurping power from another, his will increase, and theirs will correspondingly decrease.  When the Catholic Church was put to the test by King Henry VIII in regards to Henry's desired divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, the church would not accede to his demands, but in proof that every action or decision that we make has consequences, King Henry VIII had his response.  Henry VIII's response, was undoubtedly, well thought out and contemplated by his court, to which his chief advisor Thomas Cromwell, in conjunction with the Parliament, decided that the king, and not the pope, was the supreme head of the Church of England, and that therefore no decisions from Rome were binding upon the kingdom of England, and that therefore the Catholic Church was now in conflict with the absolute authority of the realm, itself.

The upshot of this fundamental religious change within England was that the control of papal lands, assets, priests, and the influence of religious thought, was now under the guidance and command of the King of England to which those that were of the Catholic faith, would now be compelled to become part and parcel of the Anglican faith, which for all expressed purposes, was now formally separated from the Catholic fold, so that those that failed to affirm their faith to the avowed Defender of the Faith (King Henry VIII) would now be subject to the persecution of treason to the State.  This meant execution for some priests, banishment for others, and conversion by those that were perhaps more pragmatic in their outlook.

King Henry VIII's bold break from the Catholic Church enabled the taking of papal lands and assets within English territory, without compensation to Rome.  This obviously meant a very nice bounteous gift for those in authority, those in the court and those in parliament, with perhaps a small trickle-down effect for the commoners of England.  This also meant that since the King and the Church were now in total agreement as they were one and the same, that an appeal by the people to either one, would result in the same resolution, as the King was by law head of the State as well as head of the Church, meaning that not only did he have the Divine right of Kings, but was the direct interpreter of such.

Judgment at Nuremberg

Wars are often regrettable and are almost always a very nasty business, which often brings out the worst in people as well as their countries, although on the other hand there are those that display incredible courage, prescient vision, and bold gallantry that best defines a man that has risen and commended themselves well to the difficult tasks that occur when worlds collide. World War II was a war that cost millions upon millions of lives, to which not only were there a tremendous amount of soldiers that died, but also civilians, in particular defenseless citizens that were deliberately bombed without any real strategic purpose, dragged into concentration camps and/or murdered, and so forth.

Yet, in the end, one side was victorious, to which history tells us, that they were in the right, but to subsequently believe that all of the war crimes were committed by the Axis nations, and none were committed by the Allied nations, would be a grand disservice to mankind, and a form of propaganda that deliberately skewed the facts in such a way as to define, one group of nations as being evil, and another group of nations as being good, with no shades of gray in-between.  The fact of the matter is that there were atrocities committed against humanity on both sides of the war, as well as tremendous acts of courage by representatives of each and every nation.

Since the Allied nations were victorious, and at a tremendous cost, they felt that the vanquished should have to face the music for what they had wrought.  The tribunal at Nuremberg, however, was made of, and only of, representatives of France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Republic, and no other countries.  This, In of itself, was deliberately prejudicial against the German defendants, as without any judges from their country on the tribunal, it mattered little how good or how bad their legal defense was, whether evidence was favorable or not, as the result was determined by the tribunal who would ruled over all, to which all of the tribunal members were members of the victor nations who had suffered greatly.

At the Nuremberg trial, the German defendants were essentially accused of war crimes, as well as crimes against humanity.  The problem with these charges was that they were either essentially ex-post facto laws, or international laws, subject to interpretation, that were applied in this trial to only the defeated nation of Germany, as if by definition, the victorious nations were absolved of all, without question. While there isn't any doubt that certain Germans committed terrible atrocities, waged aggressive war of conquest, cheated, stole, tortured, abuse and killed civilians as well as prisoners, were inhumane, broke treaties and agreements; the trial itself was far less than a search for truth and justice, and far more of making sure that some would pay in blood.

This judgment at Nuremberg, which ostensibly was meant to demonstrate justice and fairness in jurisprudence, was neither. Instead, it merely took on that guise and was instead a corrupted form of retribution that resulted in the death and imprisonment for those that were conveniently found guilty, whereas those that had a scientific or other marketable value to any of the Allied nations, were often given a free pass; mirroring in a sick way, that those that have utility would live, and those that did not, would die.

Islamic Fundamentalists, Women, and Oppression

In any country, there are laws, and for most people, there is an obligation to obey the State as well as to adhere to specific religious commands.  In some countries, there is minimal mixing of religious with secular law, whereas in other countries, there is a commingling of such.  In most of the western nations, the battle for woman's suffrage and equal rights is for all practical purposes over, with women now standing as co-equals with men.  This, in itself, is both a great advancement for women as well as for mankind, which is richer for having recognized that women both deserve their voice as well as their place at the table of life.

However, human progress is never exactly easy, nor necessarily linear, nor do all societies see things in the same manner or same way.  In recent years, we have seen the increase of Islamic fundamentalists that have made it part and parcel of their religious belief and way, that women must conform to certain rules within their society or suffer the consequences for their disobedience to such.  The seriousness and severity that Islam takes in regards to their task of what women can and cannot do within their family, within their community, and within their country is not something to be brushed aside as of no real importance to those not of the faith, or not residents of such country, but should instead concern all of us, because we are all members of the same world.

Life is full of restrictions and punishments, in any country, and in any religion, to which the fact that these things exist, is because countries and communities are made up of laws.  Ideally, those laws are just, equally applied, and in accordance with natural law, but too often they are arbitrary, capricious, and wrong.  There are two sexes in this world, and one sex should not be allowed to run riot over the other, as if one sex, by innate order, has dominion over the other. 

There are many ways to insist that one person should have power over another, such as through divine revelation, scriptural interpretation, manmade law, tradition, power, strength, and fear, but this does not mean that this is right or in accordance with justice.  The problem that many Islamic States have and that the communities and families of such have at the present day, is the wrong belief, that somehow their interpretation, their law, their rules, and their commands, are sanctioned by the prophet or of God, himself.  It is always rather convenient to be both the lawmaker as well as the law interpreter, to which all sorts of mischief can be accomplished under these false flags.

The thing is, it comes down to this fundamental fact, that life moves too fast for certain peoples in the world today, and consequently because of that fear they want to turn back the sands of time, and thereby to control certain things as if their judgments were sacrosanct, but they are not.  This mistaken belief, taken to the extreme, means that incertain countries or communities, women must be "protected" by restricting their movements, by eliminating their clothing choice, by taking their right to an education away from them, by monitoring them day and night, and ultimately in practicality, doing and thinking for them.

This is oppression, pure and simple, for some perhaps the cage that they are in, is gilded, for many it most certainly is not.   Whichever it is, and however it turns out, the caged bird will sing, and its song must and will be heard.

Is Marijuana Legal?

The one thing that we have learned over the last fifty-odd years in the United States is that Federal law trumps State law, for better or for worse.  While it may be true that many States have decriminalized marijuana, and that some additional States have legalized recreational marijuana, from a Federal law perspective, marijuana is in direct violation of Title 21 United States Code (USC) Controlled Substances Act.  This means, that at any time, without notification, the Federal government has what clearly appears to be the legal authority to shut down recreational marijuana, no matter the State legal status of such. 

However, in demonstration that the laws of this country are truly arbitrary, clearly dependent upon which political party is in power and how that political party prioritizes what it will or will not prosecute, recreational marijuana is alive, kicking, and legal in four States of this union.  Each of those States that have legalized marijuana have done so while a Democrat has been in the office of the Presidency, whereas most Republican candidates for the Presidency have made it clear, that should they be elected, that they would enforce the law of the land and therefore federally prosecute clear and present violations of the Controlled Substances Act.

This means, in effect, the laws of the United States in regards to the legalization of marijuana are most definitely not equally applied, and are wholly dependent upon who is in authority in this country.  This is why banks that are federally charted will not and have not conducted business with organizations that are legally selling cannabis within their State, because the banks do not want to be caught in the crossfire of aiding and abetting consortiums that are clearly in violation of Federal law.

Further to this point, all landlords, vendors, employers and employees, and any and everybody that is directly or indirectly involved in the cultivation, storing, and selling of marijuana in States to which it is legal, are everyday putting themselves in legal danger, of being subject to prosecution actions by Federal authorities.  The legal status of marijuana in those States that sell it is most definitely a status that rests on a foundation of sand, and until such time that the Federal government removes marijuana from its list of Controlled Substances that fact will not change, despite marijuana's ostensible popularity or State legislative approval.

In actual fact, marijuana proponents are in a race against time, to which four States, are not in aggregate even close to a plurality of the States needed to end this game in their favor.  In all probability, the only real possibility for the Federal government to change its laws in regards to marijuana is for a significant number of States to legalize marijuana over the next few years and the number of those States probably needs to be somewhere around twenty States. 

Should marijuana become legal in about twenty States, and should the office of the Presidency remain in Democratic hands, then and only then, would it become greater than 50:50 that marijuana would soon become legal and regulated throughout the entire United States through Federal legislation that applied equally to all fifty States.  Until that time, those purveyors of legal marijuana, cannot rest easy, despite however much comfort they may get from the smoking of cannabis, itself.

"Gentlemen do not read each other's mail"

The above quote was made by Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State, in regards to diplomatic correspondence and the reading of it, by the United States, in 1929.  Depending upon your point of view, Stimson's attitude was either one of courageous insight which upheld the rights and the concept that diplomatic communications of nations that we were not at war with should not be intercepted and decoded, or just plain stupid naiveté of a sleuthing amateur, far outside his element, and lacking in the basic knowledge that information is power, no matter how that information is obtained.

Those spying days are generations removed from where we are today in regards to intercepting communications both domestic as well as foreign, and our ability to decode, process, along with our skill in correlating information today is unparalleled.  While there is definitely controversy about spying in America, most of that controversy nowadays is directed more towards the protection of our own citizen's 4th Amendment rights which are meant to secure us against unreasonable searches, rather than being concerned whatsoever about spying on enemies or allies. 

The thing is, if you do truly believe that it's just fine to spy on other governments as well as other country's citizens, whether they are allied with your country or not, it sure doesn't take much more effort to move the needle a little bit further over to authorize that the government should also have the right to spy domestically because we can't trust certain people from certain countries that are within our borders, nor can we trust their friends, or their friends of their friends, or associates, or their visitors, or sympathizers, or people that are in the same vicinity, or go to the same functions, or share some common link with those people, until after connecting all the dots, and all the degrees of the dots, you pretty much come to the conclusion, that the government has to track everybody, all of the time.

If you then still believe that all of this is right and good, and in fact, is patriotic in some way, than it isn't too much further of a stretch to stipulate, that the government should have the right to especially track, harass, arrest, and/or punish people that through analytical analysis are more likely than others to be a potential enemy to the State as it exists today.  This is the path that we are currently on, a country that treats its citizens separately and unequally without fairness or justice.

Do we really need to read each other's mail?  Do we really need to know all the minutiae of everybody?  The government insists that we do for our own protection and for our security, but that's simply the excuse that they use in order to more effectively monitor and to control its own citizenry.  The government wants to have all of this information on all of us to ensure that they have the means to suppress and to control us.  So far, it's working quite well for the government, while there are always going to be a few outliers, many more are content just as long as they continue to reliably receive their bread and their circuses.

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.