Should you flush the Toilet every time that you urinate?

In an era in which we should show more consideration for our environment and the resources that we use, the flushing of our toilets each and every time that we use them seems to be both a waste of water as well as adding to the overall burden and expense of sewage. While there is something quite valid to be said about sanitation and cleanliness, the mere fact that we choose not to flush every time that we urinate, especially in regards to toilets that are not typically available to guests, or other people roaming around the house, seems sensible, and except for the possible odor or staining issues, seems practical. 

From an economic standpoint, the less water that your household uses, the less of an expense that you will have in paying your water bill, in addition, the less wastewater that you create, the more efficiently that you treat the environment, so that if you can overcome the possible issues of grossness or nastiness, the fact that you don't always flush after you urinate and/or make it policy to flush just once a day for your urination is beneficial both for your pocketbook as well as the environment.

The fact of the matter is that water is a resource, of which good and plentiful water is not always readily available to the public, as a significant amount of communities will have drought or drought-like conditions from time-to-time so that those that make adjustments in their lifestyle that really are relatively minor, should go ahead and do so, including when it comes to toilet habits.

Now it could be for certain people, that no matter how you address the issue, they simply find that each and every time that they urinate in the toilet, that they must flush, that is fine for what it is, somewhat understandable, so that perhaps while you may not be able to save water in that situation, perhaps there may be another area of savings that can be made that is agreeable to both parties.

The non-flushing of the toilet after urination, is one of those things that some people may never warm up to, unless under the most dire of circumstances, perhaps that is the way it should be, although logically one would expect to see some flexibility on the issue, such as, for instance, being able to urinate at night without flushing, and then upon the morning activities, taking care to flush at that time, as obviously a little bit of savings, beats absolutely no savings at all.

So the flushing of the toilet for urination, really comes down to individual and/or family preference, to which it must be added that the act of flushing really does use a resource, and that resource is neither free nor without capacity/maintenance upkeep or issues.  This means that this is a reasonable issue to have a discussion on, to which, some will be more amendable to it, than others.

Settling a Credit Card Debt--the Upside and Downside

In today's economy there are a multitude of jobs that just don't pay a real good salary to begin with, couple that with the inevitable problems that will crop up, such as car or medical issues, or an unexpected lay-off or termination, and people's budgets that were once tight and barely manageable, revert to unsustainable, and thereby unable to service debt for credit cards.  This means, that there are millions of Americans that fall behind on their credit card bills and become delinquent on them, each and every year, to which some of these people are eventually able to right the ship and make good on their credit card bills, whereas many others simply sink under a sea of debt, and have their credit card accounts closed, their credit rating decimated, and still be on the hook for their credit card debt, credit card interest, and credit card penalties.

The thing is, circumstances do change, and financial situations can improve, so that some people that were unable to make credit card payments find later on, that though their monetary circumstances while not robust, have improved to the point to which they can address past due credit card debts.  However, for most people, by the time this occurs, their credit card debt has been processed and sold at a discount to a "professional "debt collector so that now the consumer no longer owes their debt to the original issuer of such, but to a debt collector, that specializes in buying consumer debt at a low price, and applying pressure as well as the legal means to collect from debtors the full amount.

A given debt collector will try all sorts of means to collect on the debt, and not just limited to harassing phone calls or letters, they are quite adept at using legal means, such as the courts, to request and get rendered judgments against the debtor, in the hopes of ultimately placing a lien or garnishment upon your wages, or your home, and so forth.  Of course, in America, there are two sides to every story, to which every debtor, no matter how bleak the situation appears to be, must avail themselves of fighting back against the debtor by writing, or in court, or essentially by any means necessary, because if you do not do so, your rights will atrophy, and basically the court will rule against you, if you fail to assert your consumer rights.

While debt collectors strongly prefer for you to give in to their demands and/or ignore their court summons, they do respect a debtor that fights back and asserts their rights, so that, in these types of situations, they will look to mediate the debt amount in question with you.  Not too surprisingly, the absolute best and cleanest way for a debtor to settle is to do so at a reduced amount of the total debt, with payment for that amount made in full, so that all of the paperwork reflects that the debt is satisfied and closed at that point of time.

However, typically, most people do not have that extra sum of money sitting in their pockets, so that the next best thing to do is to settle your debt at a reduced amount, with a payment plan which is agreed upon by both parties.  While the basic terms of that settlement plan are usually quite straightforward, such as a payment of $50/month for 24 months, there is a very important caveat that debtors need to pay attention to which is that the debt collector representative is either a lawyer himself, or has standard boilerplate paperwork drawn up by a lawyer and it is those extra terms and conditions that can create significant havoc in your financial life, so that if you fail to meet your payment terms, this will legally create an avenue for the debt collector to collect the full amount of the debt, with penalties, against you, and thereby also gives the debt collector the legal power to place a lien or garnishment against you.

This essentially means, that when you settle a credit card debt at a discount with a debt collector, you as a debtor want to be very sure that you can fulfill your obligations to this legal contract as agreed upon, or else your situation will be appreciably worst than what it was when you first began the settlement negotiations to begin with.

Nicotine -- Not Carcinogenic

In far too many countries and media outlets of all sorts, nicotine is instantly associated with cigarettes, which is of course, associated with cancer.  That viewpoint is unfortunate, as nicotine, itself, is not carcinogenic, despite all the efforts certain medical and governmental authorities have gone to in order to prove something that is fundamentally false.  This means that nicotine, should be looked upon for what it is, a naturally occurring alkaloid substance which is a stimulant from the nightshade family of plants, which has far more in common with caffeine, than most people might suppose, yet, for the ignorant, is vilified as a dangerous substance in of itself, which it is not.

What is always amusing is the lack of discernment displayed by a significant amount of the population, which allows it to get duped by authorities over and over again, as if these authorities know everything, see everything, and are always right.  The simplest thing for authorities to say is that the smoking of cigarettes which contains nicotine as well as many other chemicals is that smoking is dirty, dangerous, addictive, carcinogenic, harmful, and nasty with no redeeming positive qualities, whatsoever, and to pass this one-sided misstated propaganda nonsense as gospel.  If all this was really true, then nobody would smoke on a consistent basis, because without some sort of pleasure or positive return from the act of smoking, one's interest would quickly and completely vaporize.

The fact of the matter is, that it is nicotine, that attracts people to the act of smoking and it is nicotine that provides the smoker of such, the stimulant that relieves apathy, increases dopamine, improves concentration, and suppresses appetite.  It's a shame that caffeine gets a virtual free pass as a substance that is fine to consume, whereas nicotine, which provides comparable effects does not, mainly because one is typically consumed in a socially acceptable way, as in drinking coffee, whereas the other is consumed in an increasingly intolerant way, which is smoking.

Beginning in the 1940s, doctors first theorized that the smoking of cigarettes lead to and was the major contributing factor for pulmonary disease, a theory which since that time has been conclusively proved, although even this proven scientific fact has exceptions to it, by virtue that the incidence of lung cancer for native Japanese smokers is substantially lower than American smokers, indicating that correlations of smoking cigarettes and the incidence of cancer are empirically more diverse in their relationship than is typified by governmental assertions of such.

It is unfortunate, that in the United States' rush to judgment on nicotine, that they have found this naturally occurring plant substance to be guilty of being a carcinogen and/or of being a blight upon mankind, whereas in actuality, it is not, and is in point of fact, beneficial in many respects to those that partake of it, as long as it is consumed in a manner that isolates nicotine away from other substances that are known or are strongly suspected to be cancer causing in of themselves.  This helps to explain why so many are drawn to smoking in the first place, despite virulent negative outcry, which is that the smoking of products with nicotine, provides positive benefits for the smoker, to which, it is hoped that nicotine will one day, be seen for what it really is, a natural stimulant, much akin to caffeine.

Facebook and Ratting your Own Self Out

Facebook is the social media site, used by millions upon millions of people each and every day.  One of the fundamental problems with life is that wisdom, if it comes, is something that typically comes with age, experience, and general intelligence, so that the fact that at thirteen years old you can have your own Facebook account is probably not such a good thing, because at age thirteen, or even older, you really don't have a good conception of exactly how your posts, your pictures, your likes, and your comments will follow you, seemingly forever, and can easily once posted, be essentially out of your control.

Some parents consider that Facebook is a wonderful platform for children to have because if gives the parents an easy opportunity to check on what their children are really up to by simply reading and looking at the posts and if so desired, following posts onto other children's pages and so forth.  It doesn't help that far too many people on Facebook have a strong desire to have a lengthy friend list and the longer that list is, the less control or understanding they will have of whom is really following you, friend, family, or foe, as the case may be.

The best way of looking at your Facebook account, no matter its public or private setting, is to see each and every post that you make, as basically being available for anyone at anytime, forever.  While this may not be literally true, depending upon your sophistication and settings that you have initiated, it is true enough, that it should make you think about it twice.  It is one thing entirely to send a picture or text message via a cell phone to a real friend and an entirely different thing to post it on Facebook.  Inthe first instant, this is a modern way of communication which pretty much follows traditional rules in regards to privacy and discretion, while in regards to the other case, you have literally opened up Pandora's box, perhaps unwittingly.

Most people have a strong interest in seeing that their relationship with their parents is a good one, to which, they will when pressed to tell the truth about an unfortunate event, they will often resort to lying to their parents, simply because they feel that the alternative to not lying is even worst.  The problem with Facebook in these types of situations is that Facebook will allow parents to get a very good perspective on who you really are, and what you are really up to, so that lying about not being at a certain party the night before, when you have pictures of the event on your Facebook page is a lie that will not pass muster whatsoever.  This means that in a sense, that Facebook becomes a social media site that will watch you, a little bit akin to a parent watching you indiscriminately 24/7, which may not be what you really desire or seek.

Perhaps you want to live your life like an open book, for all to know what is important to you and what you do each and every day, if so, Facebook is a wonderful format for doing so, because those that spend any given time on your page, will learn an incredible amount about you,  your habits and your mindset, probably way more than you really desire, of which it should be remembered that information is power, and he who has that power, has you in the grip of his hand.

TV Resolution Quality and Compression

There are plenty of people that get their main entertainment and news programs from television and consequently spend inordinate amounts of time in front of their TV.  Nowadays, televisions come in all sorts of flavors, to which, the state-of-the-art TV has far more capabilities than televisions of even a few years ago.  However, somewhat disappointingly, some of the features that consumers believe they are paying for, they aren't really getting in all of their true glory.  That is to say, it is commonplace for content providers to issue High-definition channels for you to watch, if your TV is capable of viewing them, and if you are inclined to pay the price of this upgrade. The problem with the upgrade to HD is that the viewing picture that you are seeing may or may not be truly as impressive HD picture as you might expect, and that problem does not rest with the TV that you own, but often with the content provider, itself.

The bottom line is that the data that is being sent to customer's TVs often times has to be compressed in order to free up enough bandwidth to the customer especially in regards to the final mile that reaches the consumer's TV and in order to remove any of the lag effect from the capacity of the content exceeding normal bandwidth capabilities in reaching its chosen destination, that content may be purposely compressed.  This means that depending upon where you live, who your content provider is, the channel that you are watching, and the overall resolution capability of your television itself, whether the picture is HD or even of a decent picture quality on non-HD channels is to a large extent, out of your hands.

In addition to the above, there are some television shows that are shown on different television stations, depending upon the time of day, so that you will commonly find that the resolution of the show varies considerably from one station to another, even though each station is re-broadcasting the exact same show.  The difference between the picture quality of the show comes down to the compression of the picture by that particular TV station itself, as the more compressed the signal, the less bandwidth, the less storage, and the less burden is placed upon the content provider's resources in general, rendering the cost of providing such content to be cheaper and easier to transmit.

The thing is, it is the height of frustration to spend the money to purchase a high-end television set, which is capable of providing an absolutely breathtaking picture, only to find out, that you will be in effect, cheated in that quality by your content provider.  The fact of the matter is, by cable providers offering their customers an endless supply of channels that are available at all times of the day, they have made a purposeful decision that you will accept content of a lesser quality to enjoy a more comprehensive choice menu, indicating that once again, quantity and quality are often found to be in conflict, with the customer receiving the short end of that stick.

There is no Death, Only a Change in Consciousness

In the western world, too often, we are brought up in the mistaken belief, that our lives, somewhat like a movie, have a beginning, middle, and an end.  That is to say, we are born, we live, and then we die, and upon out death that ends the story, but it does not. This wrongful thinking has enormous consequences because if you believe that your life, centers around your physical form to the exclusion of all else, you will have a strong tendency to want to do everything that you can to protect and sustain that physical form in the mistaken belief, that the choice has come down to life, even one of diminishing returns, as compared to complete oblivion, to a land that none ever returned.

It is this belief, that brings such a sadness to mankind, because the nature of physicality, is that it must grow, mature, and then ultimately decay and die, or in unfortunate circumstances, be injured or die before its time, because of physical disease or other circumstances.  While it may be quite tragic when anyone meets their physical death, that person that has left this physical world, is dead only in the physical sense, but alive in consciousness and in spirit.

Too often, people wrongly belief that death is the worst thing that can happen to them or to anyone else, but in fact, that is merely the play upon the cycle of life, the worst thing that can happen is in actuality to deny in whole or in part your divine connection to God and thereby to live a life that reflects an inordinate sense of selfishness which lives out in action and in words, which is damaging not only to yourself but to others, all for the joy of some temporal enjoyment, as if you, somehow, have gamed the universal system.

A great country has an obligation to bring the truth to its citizens, because wrongful thinking creates wrongful thoughts, so that the first step that any nation owes it denizens is that they should teach their citizens to think.  To ask the question, what is the meaning of life, is the question to ask, because those that believe that the answer is to eat, drink, and be merry, are going to find out to their dismay, that when you make the pleasures of your body and the lust for lucre, your main emphasis in life, that these treasures while providing momentary pleasures, have done nothing to provide you with wealth beyond this material plane.

While it certainly makes sense to fear the sword, for the sword will take your life, it must also be recognized that the life being sacrificed has not been obliterated, has not lived in vain, has not been destroyed, but instead has been transformed.  There is no death, your consciousness upon physical death, has been freed from the prison of its identity with the physical form, so that it must be understood, that this earth is not the end-all or be-all of life, but the proving ground of your soul's development, a divine test of your will and desire to seek the One that has no beginning, and has no end, is the same yesterday, today, and forever; forever patient in awaiting your return into the Light which has no end.

The Rise and fall of the Blue Collar Middle Class

Not everybody has the skill-set or the inclination for a college education, even if it was true, that by definition, a degree at an accredited college always leads to a good paying job, which alas it doesn't.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with having skills that are good for farming, or manufacturing, or building, and so forth, and as long as you are a person that believes in doing an honest day's labor for an honest day's wage, there should be a good job out there waiting for you in a country as richly satisfying as America.  There was a time when workers could make good wages at jobs that did not necessitate a college education, but since the early 1970s, those types of jobs have plummeted and in consequence are absolutely annihilating the blue collar middle class and shattering their dreams.

There are plenty of cars that are sold in America each year, to which somewhat surprisingly; vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Tundra are considered to be "American" built cars because they are primarily manufactured in Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas.  The thing is though that these cars are manufactured by significantly lower compensated blue collar earners that do not come close to getting the unionized wages and benefits that once were commonplace in the greater Detroit area for car manufacturing but have since disappeared through jobs being eliminated, transferred, or re-negotiated for certain new workers so that they will not come close to receiving the previous pay packages of yesteryear.  This means that the labor and legacy cost of manufacturing automobiles in America has been reduced considerably since the 1970s, eviscerating the blue collar middle class in this industry.

According to the businessinsider.com: "Back in the year 2000, more than 20 percent of all jobs in America were manufacturing jobs.  Today, about 5 percent of all jobs in America are manufacturing jobs."  Of course, these manufacturing jobs often still exist, but they no longer exist in America, and instead have been exported to foreign nations so that the employers of such can take advantage of far lower wages and compensation packages without apparently any negative consequences to them; meaning that these multi-national corporations as a whole hugely benefit their bottom line and competitive edge, while American workers have far fewer options available to them in order to make a good wage and have virtually no earning power when it comes to accepting employment at whatever the prevailing wage might be.

The unions in America are at a huge unfair negotiation disadvantage and often cannot help their workers in achieving the type of fair market labor conditions, contract guarantees, and wage gains that they were previously able to successfully negotiate in the 1930s through the 1970s for many reasons.  For instance, many States are able to stymie unions by enacting right-to-work laws which effectively freeze out unions and thereby keeps labor costs low, courts have not been very helpful to the union cause in recent years, and critically the United States government on behalf of multi-national corporations has enacted virtual worldwide "free trade" laws which essentially means that workers in America must now compete against labor wages of peasants from around the globe. 

The days of labor being able to sit down at the same table with management and negotiate a fair wage deal are and have been in great peril, because as long as management has the option without penalty to simply export their labor needs to foreign lands, or to transfer jobs to States which give them free rein, they will avail themselves of those same options, over and over again, enriching themselves at the expense of the blue collar middle class.

Soda v. Juice

There are not any nutritional benefits in drinking your common sodas, whether diet or not, in fact, the drinking of soda is hands down not good for your health and never has been.  The basic problems with drinking soda are the fact that soda contains way too much sugar or sugar equivalent or sugar substitutes of which sugar in all of its various forms and flavors is debilitating to the body over time, especially in regards to weight gain, diabetes, and wreaking havoc on proper insulin production.  In addition, to sugar, phosphoric acid is commonly added to sodas to give the necessary "bite" to the taste- buds as well as reducing bacterial counts for good shelf life, however, phosphoric acid is not good for your teeth enamel, your bones, or your kidneys, and sustain use of such is typically detrimental to your body.

There are plenty of people that like to drink juice, of all sorts, whether that is orange juice, or apple juice, or various other fruit juices, because they somewhat wrongly believe that fruit juices are beneficial for your body.  Unfortunately, commercially soldfruit juices in most cases, are of dubious benefit, and can be quite harmful in the ways that soda is, by the simple fact that the sugar content in your typical juices is at the equivalency of soda drinks or sometimes even higher.  While it is indeed true that fruit in all of its many forms is good for the body, the main reasons for this being so is the fact that fruit is filled with essential vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, as well as the sugar which gives fruit its distinctive pleasant taste.  However, when eating whole fruit, you are consuming the fiber of the fruit at the same time with the natural fruit sugar, which means not only will this send signals to your brain that the fruit that is being consumed is filling your stomach up, it also means that the sugar contained within that fruit is being processed by your liver at a consistent and non-elevated rate that you are able to absorb it without any ill effects upon your body.

In addition, because of the way fruit juices are processed, packaged and sold, there is the misperception that you are getting all of the nutrients either naturally or added in that makes juice sort of like a liquid alternative to going through the trouble of eating the fruit itself.  The fact is, that the lack of fiber as well as  the removing of vitamins and other nutrients and the then adding in of flavors and other ingredients to give fruit juices a long shelf life and consistent tasting product is not the same as squeezing the fruit itself or eating of the fruit.  In short, drinking commercial juice, no matter its label, is typically far different and not the equivalent to eating of fruit, and the fact that many people believe that drinking fruit juice is de facto good for you, is unfortunate and mostly wrong.

To make matters even worse, or perhaps ironic, the biggest fruit juices in the world, such as Minute maid and Tropicana, are owned by Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, respectively, which means that with so much money in play and the liquid refreshment market at stake, they won't willingly cede ground to anyone or anything, unless they are getting a good piece of the action.

Remembrance of Our War Dead

America has fought many wars and skirmishes throughout its history, some of them exclusively on American soil, while some of them have been overseas and far away from the American homeland.  Because the nature of war involves death, standards have been set up to properly bury and remember our dead that have been implemented over the years, so that at the present time, the overarching goal of our military is to see that each of our military dead is repatriated back to the United States, properly identified, and buried in a national cemetery, or in a private cemetery, if the next-of-kin so prefers.

That these soldiers deserve the respect and courtesy of their nation, for performing their duty is absolutely true, and a tribute that the living owes those that have paid the final price for the defense of liberty and their country.  While it is never easy to deal with the aftereffects of a solider that has lost their life too soon, it is of vital importance that there is a solemn acknowledgment that those that risk their lives, irrespective of their race, or their color, or their religion, that all have equally and faithfully bled the colors of the red, white, and blue.

America has been a fortunate nation in the sense that it has in recent years never had to suffer the effects of catastrophic war dead, making the processing of our current war heroes that have died in the line of duty, far smoother to effect.  However, there may come a time, when for whatever reason, perhaps because the killing machines of the modern age are so devastating in their effectiveness that America will be overwhelmed with war dead in a very short span of time.  Should this ever happen, America may not be able to immediately address, nor may it ever be able to effectively address, so many that have sacrificed so much, so soon.

It is in the most tragic and difficult times, that the true measure of a country and its people either rise to meet that occasion or fall short.  We owe those that have died in faithful duty to our country, our respect, our remembrance, and most importantly our duty to see that each of us lives our life in such a manner so as to honor these fallen soldiers as well as to uphold the very foundation of this American republic and the principles for which it stands.

Each of us must die, as this is the nature and cycle of the physical world, so that the legacy that we leave behind can only be gifted to our contemporaries and offspring that yet still live.  It is these values that they see in the manner that we live, our interactions, our generosity, our love, our charity, our duty and our faith, that we pass forth to one generation to the next.  These fallen soldiers are the frontline of that defense of the liberty and freedom that America best represents, and the last best hope of mankind, to which we the living, must stay united and keep ever bright the sacred fire of a God-fearing nation.

One Tragic Moment Can Change Your Perspective on Life

Most people live days of predictable basic routines, perhaps out of habit, perhaps because of their job, school, or family obligations, but however it is structured; for the most part there is a consistent rhythm to most people's way of managing their life, for better or for worst.  The thing is on any given day, something can happen in a blink of an eye that will change all of that, such as a car accident, a shooting, a bad mugging, a catastrophic weather event, or similar.  While it is true, that these above things are in aggregate at a low percentage chance of happening, the fact of the matter is that these events do happen each and every day to someone, unexpectedly. 

Tragic events can either happen to us or they can happen to someone very close to us, in either event, that event will have material effects on your life.  For instance, when you wake up after a good night's rest, only to discover that there are a bunch of messages on your phone, to which, in the checking of them, you learn that your mother or your father, or someone very close to you, has died unexpectedly during the night, the impact of the immensity of this news, of this incredible lost, will absolutely stagger you.  The thoughts and emotions that will run through your mind will be almost overwhelming to you.

Consider too, a situation in which through, for instance, a significant car accident, that you are badly injured in such a manner that whatever routine you once had, is changed, in the flash of the moment, so that now you are no longer able to walk or eat without aid, whether forever, or for a period of time.  This means, that the freedom of movement and actions that you once took for granted, no longer exists for you, as you are dependent upon others to help and to aid you in your day-to-day activities.

No matter what the event was, whether it happened directly to you, or to someone else, the tragic nature of it, especially in the sense, that there is no going back to putting things back to how they once were, is unsettling to say the least.  In these types of situations, you will not ever say to yourself, that you wish you had been meaner in your dealings with individuals, that you wished you had been greedier, more selfish, more condescending or rude, more angry or more drunk, or that you wished you had spent more time wreaking havoc instead of bringing more peace and serenity to yourself and those that you loved.

In any given day, there are choices upon choices for us, even on the most routine of days, and those choices that we make, good or bad, coherent or not, are the choices that build the blocks of who and what we are.  There is a mirror, and when you face that mirror, there will be only one person facing you back, and the answer that you want to give to the question of the meaning of it all is that when presented the choice of doing right or doing wrong, that far more often than not, you did the right thing; and if you have done so, when those tragic or unexpected events hit you, which they will, the essence of what you really are will absorb them so much better.

Mega Corporate Mergers are Often Wrong

This is the era of huge multinational corporations to which it seems to be whatever that they want from those that ostensibly regulate and handle antitrust issues that these well connected mega corporations almost always end up getting their way.  The fact of the matter is that the larger an organization gets, the more concentrated its power is, so that over a period of time, its footprint is large enough that regulators, are typically well outmaneuvered, out-financed, resource challenged, and outplayed, with the message from the mainstream media usually lacking in substance but high in applauding false merger benefits, while much of the credulous public is apathetic or confused.

When massive mega-mergers are first proposed, they are carefully orchestrated events, speaking typically of the need for a particular merger to happen because of synergy, competitive reasons, market forces, innovation, growth, and so forth, of which basically none of these are the real reasons for the merger.  The fact of the matter is the real reason for most mergers comes down to money and corporate greed, to which those at the top of the corporate pie benefit, and those that aren't, most definitely come up short and often are dismissed.

For instance, while every big merger is different in its own way, a typical merger, will provide massive fees for those financial firms that broker and finance the deal as well as the legal team that makes sure that all the paperwork and deal making with regulatory authorities is constructed in such a way as to bring a good assurance that the deal will be approved.  Further, the top executives of the firms make sure to take care of their own, so that even if some high executives are put out to pasture, as they most certainly will be, that the compensation package that they do received will more than make up for any small damage to their ego. 

It can also be said that often real synergies will be created, which in fact, often results in the need for less physical space as well as a reduction in employees because of redundancy, so that a merger of two large organizations, is often the perfect time to jettison employees that simply don't make the grade, without losing much in productivity, which, of course, is quite beneficial to the corporate bottom line.

In some mergers, those that are merging were once competitors, with these former competitors now uniting this creates an entity which is now larger in size and power, which often means that their pricing power and/or their ability to exert pressure on their remaining competitors increases substantially.  It can also mean, paradoxically, since there is one less competitor, that pricing can become softer, since the consolidation of the industry, makes it easier to effect a "gentleman's agreement" that prices need to rise, so that the industry can stay comfortably profitable for all.

So too there are mergers that are vertical in nature, such as buying the supplier of your feed for your chickens, so that now you can provide "most favored nation" pricing and throughput for your chickens, while conversely charging a little bit more to rival buyers of such and thereby squeezing your competitors who previously had been receiving their feed from that supplier at free market pricing, but now must struggle with this new paradigm.

The basic fact is that most mega-mergers are done so as to concentrate power and wealth into far fewer hands to which over time, if not almost immediately, that power and synergy will be used to unjustly extract more money and profit from consumers, by small incremental increases.  For instance, if you enjoy soda, you might not notice that there really are only two basic choices, in which one will be a Coca-Cola product and the other will be a Pepsi Cola product, with the illusion that all these other different brands, containers, and such, are different companies, whereas they pretty much are a product of either one or the other.

Love Conquers All

In this cynical age, perhaps a phrase such as "love conquers all" seems trite or even a bit misplaced, yet, this is as true to the path as any wisdom that could be given from one person to the next or from one generation to the next generation.  In life, there is a hierarchy of lesser truth to the Highest of the highest truth, and this Truth is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  At the top of this pyramid is Love, because God is love, because "love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (I Corinthians 13:7).

This can be a violent, corrupt, and brutal world, to which those in power or seeking such, will stop at absolutely nothing to have what they must have, but for every dog that has its day, for every dictator that gets his way, their way does not and will not ever last.  Every great military power will be defeated whether from within or from without; so too will every bully be vanquished, as the kingdom that so many aim and seek for, is the type of kingdom to which the crown of such has at best, a hint of gold, but is tarnished thoroughly throughout.

Those that believe that a bullet stops love, or a sword, or rape, or fire and destruction, wrongly believe that all power rests in this worldly domain.  Yet, the way of the Cross proves that beyond a doubt, that this could not possibly be true, that there indeed is a power far beyond man's power to kill, and that power is love, and love is God. 

The path of so many is lived in darkness and the ignorance that they know everything, when in point of fact, they know so little, and what they do know, is often fundamentally flawed and wrong.  Those that live in this darkness of seeing life as nothing more than a glorified animal kingdom, to which life is a zero sum society, and therefore they must kill or oppress or con others in order to live, are so far from the Flame of truth, that the chill of their faithlessness haunts them, and thereby they must deaden their conscience through drink or bad company or some such in order to cope with the twisted reality that they perceive.

The principle behind love is the exact same principle which is behind Light, and that principle is as straightforward as understanding that darkness does not and has not ever conquered Light, but darkness is the absence of Light, and nothing more.  This means that when the darkness of man's ignorance and hubris faces that great chasm and braces itself for the fight of all fights, that the fight is over in the blink of an eye, because the intensity of light overcomes all darkness instantly, as if darkness never existed.

The goodness that you see expressed in the best of mankind through their generosity, their caring, their concern, their listening, their sacrifice, all these and more are the attributes which make up love.  It is this love that is the fundamental key to re-uniting ourselves with the One who is love, and to thereby to find ourselves back in the very place where it all began.

It's Easy to Kill a Clown

In some Muslim countries and parts of Muslim countries controlled by certain religious fanatics in conjunction with paramilitary forces, there are strict dress codes, honor codes, and moral codes impressed upon women as well as to a lesser extent, on men.   Some of these codes are interpreted very specifically in regards to what is appropriate dress for Muslim women so that outside of their home, Muslim women must wear either a burqa which covers the woman from the top of the head to the ground, or must wear a hijab, which covers the body and depending upon the prevailing religious viewpoint is combined with a niqab which veils the face.  The upshot of all these rules, is that it is quite common to see women walking around wearing clothing that does not hint of their bodily shape, while also giving out very little facial recognition characteristics except perhaps a slit for their eyes, if even that.

This means that for Muslim women wearing a burqa or equivalent, that not only will it be somewhat difficult to determine whether indeed that the person behind the outfit is even female, it also takes away common human clues of the humanity of the person, herself.   It could be though for those that deal with Muslim women wearing burqas on an everyday basis, that perhaps they are able to discern this or that about a particular woman, although one could argue quite strongly, that being that perceptive so as to have knowledge on the outside of who that person really is, defeats the whole purpose of the intended modesty of the person involved to begin with.

Most everyone has dealt with a clown or has seen a clown in person at one time or another, at a circus, or at a party or on TV.  The thing about a clown is that a clown is by definition wearing a costume in such a way as to disguise the person so cleverly that it can be difficult to discern whether that clown is female or male. To the point, the hair is a ridiculous wig, the face is painted in different colors, the costume does not conform closely to the bodily shape, the clothes colors are bright and mixed, and the shoes are oversized and silly.  All of this is done for show, and to make it typically easier for those watching to laugh at the silliness of the clown's antics which appeals to young children, most of the time, but not all of the time.  The thing about clowns is, for instance using the Joker of Batman fame as a prime example, aka"The Clown Prince of Crime", is that because of the clown's makeup, exaggeration, and disguise it's difficult to see a clown as being human, in the same way that we see everyday humans, so that when a clown goes off the rails, it can get downright scary, tragic, and if necessary, it becomes easy enough to kill a clown.

It would be wise therefore, to remember that anytime you take a fellow human being and disguise them in such a way so as to place some significant doubt as to their humanity, their sex, and their identity, it then becomes much easier to take care of any dirty business, because in the killer's mind, the object being targeted isn't seen as a child of God.

I love My Job Restaurant T-Shirts

While there isn't any doubt that there are some people that truly love their jobs, it's difficult to believe that restaurant employees would typically fall under that category, especially since many restaurant employees at chain restaurants are really there to do their tour of duty, as opposed to making being a server or a busboy their call of duty.  Yet, somehow or another, there are certain restaurants that have employees wearing t-shirts that state that they love their job.  While, from a customer perspective one can kind of chuckle at the silliness of it all, it does seem to be a bit more sinister than that.  It just seems to be one of those situations to which the employer is trying to guilt their employees into wearing a t-shirt which somehow displays a mood or a loyalty that probably doesn't really exist.

It would be one thing entirely, if those wearing t-shirts displaying how happy they are to have their job were true in one form or another, but this seems to be wishful thinking of behalf of those running the establishment.  Of course, one might then ask, why anyone would wear a t-shirt indicating an emotion that they aren't really feeling, but that answer depends upon the person, to which possibly sarcasm, guilt, conformity or pressure may all play their part in this demonstration.

Now all things being equal, my main complaint about such t-shirts is the belief from a customer perspective that the sentiment that a server loves their job seems rather insincere.  Further, that a server who wears this sentiment on their shirt is doing so in the hopes of creating a perception to management that they are a team player or perhaps it's because they believe that by wearing such a shirt this therefore could lead to better shifts, more money, or career advancement.

Having said that, it doesn't seem fair or particularly dignified that besides being a good server and employee that as a pre-condition for advancement or continual employment, that an employee should have to implicitly comply with wearing shirts that signify their contentment with their job.  Instead, that speaks of the type of pressure that employers should not be able to exert against their employees.  It is a reasonable thing that a certain neatness, politeness, and cleanliness are part of the dining experience, and further it's probably fine to have employees wear shirts that indicate the name of the property, but false emotions, even if done tongue-in-cheek, or for camaraderie, or good spirit, seems a false fit.

The bottom line is that you don't have to love your job in order to do a good job, and employers should more frequently recognize that good work involves having a two-way dialog, in which displayed false sentiments do not provide an open line of communication, but rather have a strong tendency to foster a working relationship to which one party must be obedient to the other, with the other party displaying the illusion of contentment, just to have that job.

Why are Banks so Rich?

You wouldn't think that banks would be all that rich and powerful because their ostensible business model appears to be a rather simple one as all they seem to do is loan out money, make capital investments, create bonds, and add fees, but they don't actually have an actual tangible product that they manufacture and sell.  Herein lies the rub, their product is money, to which they have unnatural advantages over their customers on virtually every level which they can leverage in all sorts of manners to their betterment and to the consumer's chagrin.

One of the massive advantages that banks have, that consumers do not have, is the fact that banks have access to money and assets through the fractional-reserve system. Essentially, the fractional-reserve system, allows banks to create money out of thin air and to thereby leverage deposits many-fold.  That is to say, a deposit of $1,000 may only require that the bank actually have 10% or 12% in ready cash to back that money up  and the balance can be invested, used as collateral, or swapped with other banks, so that this deposit with another bank, of 90% of $1000 or $900 will be treated as a new deposit and therefore that bank can loan out or invest 90% of $900 or $810 to another bank or subsidiary or virtual bank and so on and so forth.  The long and short of it is, is that a deposit of $1000, gives the bank or banks the same leverage of having $9000, and it is this multiplier effect that enables banks to make bucketfuls of actual money, because their cost of money is so low and so cheap, in consideration of the 9x multiplier effect that they are literally making money off of other people's money and other people's labor, by for instance, charging an interest rate that is high enough to benefit  the bank, but low enough that the customer can handle it while at the same time maintaining a margin which is quite comfortable for the bank.

In addition, banks get very rich, because the biggest debtor in America, the U.S. Government, borrows its funds from the Federal Reserve, which despite its name, is a consortium of private banking interests that acts as the U.S. Government's central bank.  In any business, and especially in the money business, the entity that creates and controls the product is the entity that is going to be in the driver's seat of making money from that product.  There is no better customer than the U.S. Government, because that is very citadel of power, which must itself feed thirstily from the central bank.

Further to the profitability of banks, we are all well aware of the new adage in regards to the biggest banks that they are "too big to fail" which means, no matter what fiscal mistakes that these banks make, that the game is fixed and that they will be bailed out by the U.S. Government, which makes these banks therefore theoretically unbreakable and consequently perpetual profit machines for the owners and stockholders of such. 

It is said that money is power, and the banks hold and have the money, meaning quite clearly that they too have the power.  These massive banks are truly in the catbird seat as to whether any of our Constitutional rights even matter, because with the capability to bring economic depression, recession, or hyper-inflation within their grasp, private wealth is at their mercy.

Voting Rights Have Changed the Outcome of Elections and Viewpoints

Back in 1790 only white male adult property-owners had the right to vote, but over a very long process of time the easing of voting qualifications were relaxed throughout the United States. For instance, it took a civil war to provide voting rights to males of all colors although the actual full implementation of such involved a long and tortuous path of which some of these remnants are still with us today, but for the most part we have successfully seen removed unfair barriers for the disenfranchise to vote.  Later, the woman's suffrage movement was victorious in bringing the vote to all citizens of the United States, irrespective of the sex of the voter, so that today, all citizens that have reached the age of eighteen are eligible to vote, subject to a few restrictions.

The expansion of voting to all citizens has clearly changed the outcome of elections, because different races, different creeds, and different sexes do not register to vote at the same percentages, nor do they affiliate with the major political parties at the same percentages.  That is to say, more minorities as well as more women register to vote with the Democratic Party as compared to white males.  This means for a certainty, that election results have changed because the makeup of the voters has changed over the last few decades.  Further to the point, women in general, vote at a higher percentage than men do, signifying that women have a greater influence upon elections than men do, simply because they vote at that higher percentage than men.

The foregoing makes for a very interesting dynamic, which is to say, that living in a country to which each person regardless of income or status receives the exact same voting power as the poorest of the poor, indicates fairly clearly that the people in whole have the final say at the election booth as compared to a small subset of the population at large.  Whether this is mainly a good thing or a bad thing, depends upon your point of view, but it is consistent to the Constitutional principles of America, and upholds the American principle that all are equally entitled to be treated fairly and all are entitled to vote in the manner that satisfies them and their point of view.

In taking a look at the whole, this means for politicians and political parties, that they cannot simply have things their own way, that in fact, there is an inherent recognition that the makeup of those that are voting will influence party policies, party choices, and party decisions.  This means that politicians, in general, cannot run roughshod over voters, but must instead, come up with coalitions that voters will get behind and support, making for a country that is more pluralistic rather than didactic.

Because voting rights have changed, this country has embraced the vision of a country that is for the people, by the people, and of the people, more than at any other time in its history.  That is how it should be, for that is what so many nobly sacrificed and dedicated their lives for.

The Hypocrisy of Gun Control

Every time that there are shootings of defenseless movie goers, or students, or church goers, or a health care clinic and so forth there is almost an endless hue and cry from certain media outlets and politicians decrying the easy availability and the inappropriate use of firearms throughout America.  While on a certain level, these critics have extremely valuable points; their reasoned answer always seems to revolve around de-arming everyone except authorized governmental servants.  This might make sense, if you believe that the defense of your family, of yourself, and of your community, should be outsourced to governmental authorities which in theory, have your best and the communities' best interest in mind, and somehow, no matter the circumstances of such, will always be there to defend such, in a blink of an eye.  Unfortunately, in reality, the cavalry is often too late to the scene, except to collect the carnage from these sorts of regrettable events.

The biggest flaw in all of this cry for gun control isn't so much that governmental authorities don't have the ability or wherewithal to collect all the current weapons on the streets and in citizen's homes, nor has it much to do with Constitutional concerns about upstaging the Second Amendment, as the Supreme Court has demonstrated time and time again, that the Constitution isn't a document to pay any homage to, but instead has everything to do as to why America is the biggest and baddest nation in the world, bar none. The fact of the matter is, that the world marches to America's beat, because America is the most awesome military power that the world has ever had to contend with, and the reason that this is so, is not just because of our technology, our personnel, our training, our experience, our logistics, and so forth, but most importantly because any country with any sensibility whatsoever fears our massive and destructive firepower.  Additionally to that, and in particular in regards to domestic affairs, there is no police force in the world, that is more militarized then the United States police agencies throughout all the major cities of this country as well as many that are far smaller. 

This means, that both our military as well as our domestic police force, recognized that an agency that is well trained, well armed, and knows how to use those arms is an agency that is virtually impossible for anyone or any group of people to contend with or overcome, if even for a brief period of time.  It then follows, if all that firepower as well as the logistics and equipment that are behind that firepower are so good for the security of our nation overseas as well as domestically, than why would any citizen of any sensibility, willingly concede his right to arms, since the military and police are prime examples of departments that recognize that with the power and usage of firearms, comes control and protection.

The question that should be in any good American citizen's mind is why is it that your normal, everyday policeman carries an incredibly lethal firearm, as well as other instruments of violence, routinely upon his body, unless that officer believes that peace, security, protection, and service, comes from the very barrel of a gun.  Since none of us have our own personal policeman on our premises, unless we are actually a law officer, than it would seem reasonable to assume, that at a minimum, we should emulate those that are here to protect and serve us, by having and using the same.

The Greatness of Islam

There are three Abrahamic faiths which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, to which they have many things in common, of which the most important is their belief in monotheism, or one God.  While each of these religions historically have suffered persecution, today the religion that suffers the most persecution from western nations is Islam, to which, for some people, politicians, or even governmental agencies there is a belief that to be Islamic in your faith, somehow means that you are guilty of something or an undesirable as a person.

Although there are some significant sayings that can be identified in the Quran to which they can be interpreted as advocating violence against certain other people, such as infidels, so too there are sayings within the Torah and within the New Testament which are guilty of similar criticisms.  As it has been said, by Shakespeare no less, the devil himself can cite scripture for his own purpose, so too can those of certain faiths take passages out of context, or misinterpret, or construct in such a manner, so as to advocate violence or other evil acts against other faiths and peoples.  This should not mean that all should be guilty for the crimes of a few, but it does mean that those that advocate or perpetrate violence against the innocent should be held accountable for their actions, and never be allowed to hide under the color of their religion for having done so.

The faith of Islam has its own points and emphasis which while often in sync with the other great Abrahamic faiths, differs in its own way.  For instance, Islam does not permit usury, or the charging of monetary interest on loans, probably because it benefits the few, as in those that have the capital to begin with, at the expense and exploitation of the many, to which the lender essentially makes money from money without having to put forth any labor for it.  The ill effect of charging interest for loans can be demonstratively seen by virtue of the fact that amongst the biggest and most powerful institutions in the world are banks and financial institutions, while often have power and wealth that influences strongly the policy of nation-states, while the mass of population struggles in their day-to-day existence.

Then too there is the Islamic prohibition of the consuming of alcohol, to which, it can be said that there is no drug that is more prevalent and more destructive in its nefarious effects upon family structures, upon the physical body, upon the mind and right decision making, than alcohol in all of its many forms.  The Islamic faith is likewise against gambling and games of chance, which is an activity that encourages people to believe that the road to riches is paved through the throw of the die, rather than by honest hard work and labor.

Additionally, the Islamic faith believes strongly that pre-marital sex is a grievous sin because the parties that have joined together in carnal knowledge have not done so as sanctioned by a marital bond, but instead has decided that their physical pleasure should supersede their devotion to God and that thereby the physical should be superior to the spiritual.

To be Islamic means that there is a call to prayer five times a day, and so too that there is an obligation to fast during the time of Ramadan, to which all of these are demonstrative proof that "there is no God but God" and that thereby the subjects recognize His sovereignty and his governance over their affairs, by humbling themselves to He who gave them life.

It can be said that true practitioners of the Islamic faith bring honor to their country, to themselves, and to their family, by submission of their free will to God.

Should Quarterbacks have Won/Lost Records?

While obviously winning the game is the most basic objective of any sport, one must keep in mind that when the sport is a team sport, with uneven schedules, with injuries and therefore personnel that changes from game-to-game, inconsistent coaching decisions, poor refereeing, the skill of the field goal kicker, the hands of receivers and so forth, the end result of any given NFL game isn't necessarily in the hands of the quarterback, yet he is the onestuck with the win or the loss in a particular game.  The difference between a win/loss record for a quarterback in football as compared to a pitcher in baseball, is that starting pitchers are in rotations, so that it isn't that difficult to compare a starting pitcher's record with or without him in the lineup on the same team and therefore come up with a statistic indicating his overall worth, which while still being somewhat suspect, at least tries to measure his material worth with some meaningful success; whereas in football, quarterbacks are not rotated in and out, unless they are deliberately benched or injured, so it's difficult to fathom what a given team's record would be with or without a particular quarterback, so that a good quarterback on a bad team, will probably have a poor record, and a fair quarterback on a really good team, may have a very good record, to which it is unknowable as to how each would have fared had they been on each other's team.

The problem with quarterback win/loss records is that quite obviously they pretty much reflect the exact win/loss record of the team that they are playing for and since quarterbacks are only one factor in the winning or losing of a given game, there will always be some quarterbacks that will have records that far exceed their true ability and other quarterbacks that will be shorted in their real ability, if one were to look exclusively at only the winning percentage of that quarterback.  This doesn't mean that a win/loss record for a quarterback doesn't have purpose, but it does indicate that it doesn’t really have a lot of purpose or that it is particularly meaningful.

On the other hand, the head coach is responsible for pretty much the whole gamut on the football field, so that his record on the field of action is meaningful.  In actuality, with the exception of the fact that the head coach is not a player, his decisions more than anyone else playing the game, influence whether the team wins or losses on a given day.  It certainly seems much more equitable and more logical to stick head coaches exclusively with win/loss records, but far less so to pin it additionally on a quarterback.

The fact of the matter is that there are so many other meaningful statistics that will validate whether a given quarterback is any good or not, that the winning percentage of a given quarterback will almost never shed any additional light on his skills on the field, so that there really isn't any good reason to attach wins to a quarterback, especially considering all the other factors and players involved in a given game.

Malware -- A Real Menace

If you have been around computers long enough you have almost for a certainty come across computers, whether your own or a friends, that have strange and persistently annoying pop-ups, pledging that they will fix your computer problems, which might range from speeding up your computer, to cleaning bad files from your computer, or to removing viruses from your computer.   Not only are these pop-ups extremely annoying, there are in addition to these pop-ups, malware or viruses that will change your home page and even change extensions on your documents so as to render them useless. 

When it gets to the point where you think that you really do need to resolve the problem, you will often find that the so-called solution to the problem is some anti-virus software that you have never heard ofand which will cost you $39.95 or thereabouts to take care of the issue.  Not too surprisingly, that software is often the back part of the malware or virus to begin with, that is to say, the company offering to fix the problem is the part and parcel of the company that created the problem on your PC to begin with.

For those that think that the entity behind these malware programs are bored and inquisitive kids that just want to have a little fun and to make a little money through the internet, that theory, unfortunately, is way off base.  In fact, these are institutions, some of which are either State-sponsored or State-sanctioned, that are sophisticated in what they do, how they accomplish what they do, and know how to monetize the very nasty things that they do to computers.  This is, for all practical purposes, a real business, which is highly profitable, because of the sheer number of personal computers that can be attacked, exploited, and then forced to submit to paying "protection money" in order to get control back of one's own computer.

The problem of malware is so insidious that a very strong argument can be made that at a minimum, the sellers of the most popular operating system, Microsoft windows and all of its many versions, should provide as a matter of course, anti-virus and anti-malware protection as part of the purchase of the machine to begin with.  While Microsoft does offer something, it does not seem really robust enough, subsequently leaving consumers and other users to avail themselves of anti-virus software to purchase on their own.  The unfortunate aspect of this all, is that there is a significant percentage of consumers that don't take the precautions that are mandated in the first place to protect their computer from malware and also there are a significant amount of people that are fooled into actually loading the malware software onto their computer through an attachment to an email or similar.

The fact of the matter is malware is enormously profitable and enormously prevalent.  This means, that it isn't going away anytime soon, in fact, it is a growth industry.  The onus for the protection of our computers should primarily be on the provider of the operating system, so companies such as Microsoft which consistently shows yearly profits to the tune of $20 billion dollars or more, needs to do far more to protect the purchaser of its products from the dangers and real menace of malware.