Not One Soul left behind

American soldiers fight under the impression that not one soldier, to the best of their ability, to the best of the circumstances, will ever be left behind by their brothers in arms.  This is a powerful statement, made more powerful, when enacted by soldiers under the most trying of circumstances, so that this type of dedicated commitment materially helps to keep soldiers focused and strong, because they know that even when the fire gets especially hot, their compatriots will not leave them behind, and thereby they need not fear being left alone and abandoned.

In the western world, mainstream religion, basically teaches the people, that upon our death, there is a distinct division between those that have been saved and thereby go to Heaven, and those that have been abandoned and thereby go to Hell, and this result is eternal.  Perhaps there was a time when this type of indoctrination made sense, perhaps it even makes sense today, but fundamentally this perception is flawed, distorted, and false.

God would never condemn any soul to an eternity in hell, for to do so, would imply that God quits on certain souls and thereby abandons them.  In truth, the confusion about hell is not that God judges you and finds you wanting, but rather that a life poorly lived suffers consequences for its ill actions, of which, the most basic and fundamental of those consequences, is because that soul has not displayed in action the attributes that God consists of, now is unable to rightly re-unite with God, and thereby this separation from God, should be classified for what it is, which is hell.

The great thing about eternity, is that eternity, by definition, is beyond time and beyond space, so that as humans we may have a difficulty in processing this, but if we were to contemplate this properly, we would begin to understand that there could never be any circumstance, whatsoever, that God, in His infinite compassion, in His omnipotence and omniscience, would ever step away from His own creation, as that just isn't possible, and just doesn't happen.

All of us are truly the children of God, there are none that are greater, and there are none that are lesser, as all are equal in the mind of God, while it is true, that it appears that some have progressed more than others, and some have regressed, it is also true that we are all ultimately One, as there is no other possibility, as God never abandons any soul, in fact, much like our brothers in arms, great souls prove their greatness by saving those that have veered off of the straight and narrow path, fearing not physical death, or any negative consequences, for no greater love can there be than to surrender yourself in service to our Creator and His offspring.

Never, never, never will God leave even one soul behind.  It cannot happen, it does not happen, it will never happen.  We are all in this together, we will all leave together, we are our brother's keeper, and we will all thereby learn the necessity of carrying our brother onto our strong back, as God so carries us.

Treasure and our Heart

We get paid to work, and for most people, we work because we get paid.  The money that we make is our own, and the decisions that we make on where, what, and how we spend that money is, rather recognized or not, also our own.  This means that you can learn a lot about yourself or about others, by simply observing what they spend their money on, and also on how much they do or don't save in money in a given month.

People treat money in all sorts of different ways, some are extremely disciplined, in which though they need food or clothing or desire entertainment, they are diligent in shopping for such things and take full advantage of sales and timing, and by virtue of doing this, they are able to make their money go farther and to utilize, at least from their perspective, their money more prudently.  Then there are others that as soon as they get their money, spend it in a hurry, grabbing the things that they desire, without taking into account, better deals or consequences, and finally, there are those that are a combination of both, and really just about everything in-between.

So too, there are many, many people, that talk a big game, about how generous they desire to be, or how generous they would be, if only they had more access to ready money to do so, yet, two people, under similar circumstances and salary, will utilize their money in vastly different ways in which often times, if really desired, there is that available money to make a meaningful impact in another person's life, to make a donation, to give back to society, yet one person does and the other person does not.

It is true that the money earned is actually ours, so that, money earned and how we utilize it can be looked upon as our personal treasure,  in which our treasure is in our control as to where we place it, what we do with it, and how we grow it, or not.  Some prefer to hoard it, some to invest it, some to spend it, and some to find ways to use it in order to make this world a better place.  The bottom line, though, is that whatever is done with the money that you earn is ultimately your responsibility to yourself, and those decisions are truly a reflection of the type of person that you are in actuality, which may be quite different than what you believe that you are.

This means, that the way that your money is spent or utilized, ultimately represents yourself in action.  So that, there should be a conscious thought as to where your monies are being spent, where your monies are being saved, and how your money is being utilized, as it isn't good enough to just be blithely clueless about how your money just simply comes and goes as you must instead take personal responsibility for all that, for your money is your responsibility.   In fact, just the very act of paying close attention to how your money is utilized will help to redirect you to what is or isn't a priority in your life, for how and where you spend or store your treasure is the measure of what does or does not really matter to you and the life that you lead.

Apartments and Dog Poop DNA

Perhaps half of dog owners are responsible, and the other half are irresponsible, which is to be expected since there are not any tests of responsibility done on the owners of such.  Because so many of today's inhabitants have moved into the city, more and more dogs now habitually reside also in city environments in which many of those people live in apartments, so that not only do a significant amount of dogs not have back yards, they also don't have space to run around in, and are often not even afforded even one good daily, comprehensive walk.

While all that is bad enough, dogs are animals, and animals have to defecate and urinate, in which, if the only space that your dog is basically permitted to be in most of the time is the apartment or condo complex, or a relatively small area of common grounds that you live upon, dogs are going to take care of their business where they have to take care of it, and while, no doubt, dogs can be trained for all sorts of things, mainly dogs are going to defecate when they feel the urge to do so.  A responsible dog owner will then do their duty and clean up the dog excrement, since not doing so, especially in confined spaces that are heavily trafficked, could potentially create environmental problems that adversely affect human beings.

While there are myriad ways to attend to incidents in which dog poop has not been cleaned up, it is not too surprising that in a hi-tech world, DNA is one of those ways, of which, dogs are registered to each owner, a DNA swab is done of that dog, and when poop is discovered, a sample of that dog poop is sent to a DNA lab in which upon a match from that database, a monetary fine is issued to that dog owner.  While that "solution" might sound wonderful to some people, it also sounds quite creepy and invasive, in addition to the fact that like anything involving tests, there are workarounds, of which, the simplest is to bring in a dog that looks similar to your actual dog for the DNA test to begin with.   Another problem with this program, is the fact that not everyone is 100% competent in collecting dog excrement, and/or not everyone, especially when the weather is bad, or it is very dark outside, is capable of finding all of the excrement, or even recognizing from time-to-time that their dog has actually pooped, of which some basic consideration should be given for the fact that even people with the best of intentions, fall short.

So too, another problem with this stance of DNA testing, is that possible solutions for neighborhood dog excrement issues, don't need to be limited to just DNA testing, as a situation in which security cameras are utilized, good neighborly relations, training, and so forth, might be a better way to address a problem before it gets to become pervasive.  Additionally, sometimes the easier solution of them all, is to make it part of maintenance's job to take care of dog poop as soon as it is spotted, and while this may seem like granting a green light for bad behavior by pet owners, isn't the real object of the exercise to clean up the common grounds for the safety of others, as opposed to confrontation and accusations.

Finally, there is one other consideration when it comes to DNA and the taking down of malefactors, which is today your pet, tomorrow, could such be utilized against humans in which the government is permitted to collect DNA from everyone in order to get a driver's license, employment, school admission, and so on.

The Boston Tea Party and Patriotic Civil Disobedience

For the law and order types of all stripes, civil disobedience is often seen as unpatriotic, unacceptable, and intolerable, basically taking the same stance that our British oppressors took in regards to the rebellious colonists, in which a new tax law was passed by Parliament which was placed upon the importation of British-shipped tea, a consumer item consumed by most colonists as well as being an item that the British had monopoly control over.  Colonists felt strongly that being taxed on a common good in which they as colonists had no voice in Parliament, who decided on such taxation, was an outrageous imposition upon them.   Therefore, town hall meetings were held, to discuss such taxation and deliberate actions were taken to turn back ships carrying tea  in all ports of America, however, the tea on the ships sent to Boston, did indeed make port, in which the Americans prevented this tea from being delivered from the port to the streets of Boston, and further made the fateful decision that on December 16, 1773, that such tea needed to be dumped into the harbor so as to make the tea water soaked or sunk, which was done, in a preplanned action that was executed to its full effect on that day.

This Boston Tea Party, was considered by the British Parliament to be an overt act of rebellion, which must thereby be stamped out, so the Coercive Acts were passed by Parliament, in an attempt to punish Boston for its rebellion and in the hope that the other colonies would separate themselves from Boston, and by their inaction and unconcern, allow Boston to come to heel.  Instead, the other colonies and colonists stood by Boston's side, and the incipient rebellion of colonists against their British masters grew in force, which ultimately led to the rebellion between the States and Great Britain, and the inception of our great Republic, which still stands today.

All of the above, came from deliberate civil disobedience against authority, carefully considered in town hall meetings, debated and discussed, in which this civil disobedience was most definitely against the "law", it was most definitely unlawful, and it most definitely had consequences, as well as putting into motion what was not necessarily inevitable, which was the birth of this new nation. 

Those that speak of civil disobedience as if it is wrong, miss the forest for the trees, for it is civil disobedience that brought forth this great nation that lives today.  This means, as our Constitution so states, that when the people believe strongly that the laws that have been passed and enacted are unequal, unfair, arbitrary, capricious, and so forth, that they have the right to peacefully assembly, they have the right to petition their government, and they have the right to withdraw their consent of any government that no longer lives to the basic principles that all have the inalienable right to which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, in which governments are instituted amongst men to secure those very rights, and that governments that preclude such rights, have no real legitimacy, as their authority is corrupt, and should not be obeyed.

This country was formed to be a country of the people, by the people, and for the people, in which it is the solemn and hallowed duty of these people, to hold our government officials, and our government in general, accountable, so that this government is representing the people, rather than running roughshod over them, manipulating them, imprisoning them, and denying them, the very things that are theirs to begin with.

Machines v. Hand Labor

As robotics and machines get more and more sophisticated and more and more prevalent, those that labor with their hands and less with their sentient mind, find that their means of employment is in serious danger of being replaced or reduced significantly.  The race for ever more progress is in general a good thing, but as they say, too much of a good thing may have unforeseen consequences which are not good.

Human beings are social beings, that congregate into communities by default or by design, in which, a significant part of that commonality is the interaction of that group with one another.  A vibrant community consists of a give and take with other community members, so that there is something of intangible benefit from, for example, purchasing arts and crafts that are locally made, or food items that have been provided by a local farmer's market, which has little to do with "monetary savings" if there are any, but in recognition that we have an obligation to serve our neighbors by demonstrating such in an exchange of goods or experiences, which through this exchange, helps to be strengthen our ties with one another.

So too, there is always a value to accomplishing things that necessitate "sweat labor" in which your mind and body work together to produce something of merit, irrespective of whether that good could be or is mass-produced somewhere else.  The reason that the hand labor and the mindfulness aspect is so important is because first and foremost, we are fellow human beings, that have an implicit need to connect with one another, which can be willfully done by creating something of merit or worth that is of value to others, which is often unique in its own aspect, and not an exact duplicate repeated again and again, ad nauseum.

Further to the point, mankind has an implicit need to work, and not simply exist in a world of endless idleness or indulgence, for those that have nothing to do and have nothing of material worth, will inevitably find wrong things to do to themselves or others, whereas those that are slothful, will lose their capacity to rise up to the occasion, when driven to circumstances that demand such.

A sweater that is hand-stitched, over a considerable amount of time, is almost always regarded by the recipient of such, superior to a machine made sweater, not because the hand-made sweater is perfectly sewn, but because it is not, as well as the fact that it was made with thoughtfulness as a specific gift or with the intention to be sold to someone that would be genuinely appreciative of a hand-made item. 

It is often considered that the very best gifts in life are not the most expensive but the ones that have the most thoughtfulness and personal consideration within them, which is why a Hallmark card, as good as they can be, seldom is able to match up to a handmade card, because one has sentiment whereas the other is sentiment personified.

A man's life needs purpose and part of that purpose is performing thoughtful acts that make for a better neighborhood, best expressed through our hands, our heart, and our mind.

Hi-Technology Companies and their constant buying and consolidation

In general, hi-technology companies are relatively young, so for the unenlightened there would be a strong tendency to believe that because of their rather short overall tenure, and in addition to the fact that the hi-tech field appears to be very vibrant and innovative, that they wouldn't need to buy or acquire other companies in order to remain relevant, but, in point of fact, hi-tech companies are constantly buying out other hi-tech companies, from big to small, from developed to just developing, all in an endless cycle of get big, or become irrelevant.

There are a lot of reasons why hi-tech companies like to buy other companies, as well as paying what appears to be insane pricing or princely sums for them, in which one of the most significant reasons is that hi-tech companies are absolutely frightened that if they do not keep up their current trajectory of growth, or do not buy up potential threats to their business model, or do not keep up with other acquisitions that other companies that they are related to are doing, that they may easily end up being the hunted, and not the hunter, as happened with companies that were once as powerful as Yahoo, bought by Verizon, or Sun Microsystems having been bought by Oracle, amongst many, many others.

While most people, don't seem to particularly care about all the hi-tech mergers and acquisitions, there is a potentially insidious problem with such, in which, far too many worthy hi-tech companies, allow themselves to be bought for a very nice premium of their present-day value, which takes what formerly was a competitor and/or an independent company and places it into the fold and arsenal of a major hi-tech conglomerate, which not only consolidates power, but concentrates it, even more appreciably than before.  Another thing, that large hi-tech companies are prone to do, is to keep the names of their acquired hi-tech companies the same that they were before being bought, so the uninitiated won't really be aware that YouTube is owned by Alphabet (Google), Skype is owned by Microsoft, jet.com is owned by Wal-Mart, stub hub is owned by eBay, instagram and whatsapp are owned by Facebook, and so on and so forth.

Because the companies doing the acquiring have deep pockets and the right financial connections to both acquire more companies and to finance recent purchases, these type of buy-outs in a hi-tech world, allows those doing the acquiring to demonstratively know more about the very people that utilize their various tools and apps, in ways that permit them to know intimacies and correlations of individuals that are both enlightening and exploitable by such companies in many ways, both good and bad.

In point of fact, the world isn't better off by having just a handful of truly gargantuan hi-technology companies that know everything about everyone, for concentrated knowledge is also exploitable by governmental institutions that have the ability to play rough with hi-tech companies that may not initially cooperate with them.  This means, that the government absolutely implicitly does not mind mergers whatsoever between hi-tech companies as it is a lot easier to deal with a very small subset of corporations and executives, than information that is much more evenly disbursed. 

It is one thing entirely for hi-tech companies to grow organically and it is an entirely a different thing for hi-tech companies to snatch up revolutionary and disruptive technology by other companies so as to control and mold the overall comprehensive package to their benefit, with the consumers of such, typically none the wiser for it.

Prison guard Body Cameras

America imprisons an incredibly high amount of people in its jails and prisons, in which, the sheer amount of resources devoted to this institution, would presupposed that society should be receiving something of real merit in return.  Additionally, there is a very basic obligation that incarcerated people be accorded basic human rights and one way to assure that this is actually being accomplished is for prison guard body cameras to be the de rigueur way of verifying this along with the appropriate objective peer review of all meaningful interactions.

Of course, prison guards deserve to be protected and supported in their job duties in which prisoners can harm or even kill them, so too, their job can be a thankless task of being literally the last line of defense against people that have lost their sensibility and rationality, so the usage of certain stringent measures most certainly can be merited in circumstances necessitating such.

Then there are the unfortunate situations in which people with significant mental or drug issues are incarcerated, to which the prison environment exacerbates their problems, creating an unnecessary burden best dealt with by institutions set aside to handle these type of things, as opposed to incarceration which accomplishes little of real merit.

Another important factor favoring the usage of body cameras is for an objective review of procedures being conducted by prison personnel so as to ascertain that things being accomplished are in keeping with the rules and regulations in regards to the treatment of incarcerated individuals and hence such video can be utilized as necessary, for appropriate re-training, or disciplinary actions.  In actuality, in most incarceration institutions, it is usually a very small minority of prisoners or the guards that create the troubles that can lead to unnecessary harm and material damages to begin with.

One of the most germane reasons why body cameras are so necessary in incarceration facilities is the tendency for the general public to assume that prisoners are treated appropriately, and their belief that since everything is pretty much out of sight and out of mind, that this is a fair attitude to take in regards to such things.  The problem with this stance is that the vast majority of those currently incarcerated will at one time or another be released to the general public, so that those that are treated in inhumane ways, with their rights disrespected and truncated, probably will not readily adjust to public life, whereas those that have been treated in a more respectful way, with consideration and fairness, will no doubt, perform better.

Whether the general public cares or cares not for those that are incarcerated can best be responded to with the fact, that this particular industry that incarcerates people, whether through governmental institutions or subbed out to private correctional facilities, is a major drain against the budgets and monies of communities, and anything that will help to utilize these monies spent more effectively while also performing a service to the community would be considered to be a real boon. 

Those that run correctional facilities have an obligation to be responsible to those that are incarcerated within the facilities while also having a fiduciary duty to do right by the general population, in which, the bright light of openness and transparency drives out the darkness of wrong and mistreatment.

Recording Governmental Employees

We live in an age in which technology in many of its most common forms has become priced so that it can be purchased by the masses, if they are inclined to do so.  Specifically, smart phones are ubiquitous and while recordings can be done with audio/visual equipment that costs thousands upon thousands of dollars more, so too it can be done with even the most basic of smart phones. 

We live in an era in which the private sector, that is, your everyday citizen, seems to have ceded more and more of their rights and more and more of their control of their life to governmental oversight, whether deliberately or not.  That is to say, citizens, quite frequently have to interact with governmental employees to receive all types of governmental benefits, or governmental licensing or governmental approvals on so many activities that an average citizen cannot properly conduct their day-to-day activities without having had some sort of interaction with some governmental agency at some point.

While these interactions with governmental employees can be as basic as through internet communications such as chat and email, it is also quite common to interact with governmental employees through the telephone or in-person.  All of these interactions involve private citizens, or citizens acting in such a capacity interacting with governmental employees, in which, governmental employees as a matter of function and public policy, are implicitly performing their duties as a service to their constituents.

There are many, many people that have been frustrated at one time or another with their service with governmental employees, especially frustrating is situations in which such a citizen feels powerless to effect change, as if in those situations, it is the citizen that is playing the role of begging for satisfaction or service and the governmental employee playing the role of denying such, especially in a manner that indicates insensitivity, blithe unconcern, or arrogance.

You would think, that a citizen should always have the explicit right to record one’s activities with a governmental employee, while subject to some reasonable limitations, which would help overall to improve the customer to governmental employee interaction, for a recording of such, would be not only actionable evidence, but would probably have a strong tendency to keep both parties more civil and more responsive to one another.

Indeed, there are a couple of very basic things that would support such a recording as being a citizen’s right to do, in which, the first is the fact that as citizens we have Constitutional rights that preclude the government from silencing our freedom of speech or freedom of the press, in addition to the fact that these recordings are of public employees while operating in their capacity as public employees, and not recordings of private employees or private citizens that are within their own private, not public, space.

Additionally, the main purpose of such a recording is for the protection and entitlement of citizens, so that their word and their rights are not silenced by governmental employees that overstep their bounds, in addition, it protects governmental employees from harassment and such from private citizens, who have overstep their bounds.  In short, citizens should have the right to record and a right to present such a recording to a peer group that has the authority to effect change, when such evidence supports it.  This would most definitely be a benefit to citizens, who simply desire that the governmental employees of which their tax dollars foundationally support, would actually provide a fair service to them and other citizens.

The dark legacy of slavery and status

While American has taken many wonderful strides towards a more plural society, a more accepting society, and a true melting pot society, in which we must credit those people and those institutions that have promoted such, there is still, significantly too often a great divide between those that have simply because of the color of their skin as compared to others for are held back for the same.  While it may be said, that all non-Caucasian and non-Christian peoples of America have suffered at some point and for some time from prejudice and unfairness, the vast majority of those suffering from such, entered this country implicitly, if not explicitly voluntarily, whereas for those that are African-American and have history that dates back to antebellum times, came here mostly as slaves, in which, in this land of America, the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court, as stated by the hand of Chief Justice Taney that the black man was, "….so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect…"

It took a bloody civil war, a great President, dedicated sacrifice, as well as an Emancipation Proclamation, which, in turn was followed by the important and critical passage of the 13th-15h Amendments that finally abolished the abominable institution of slavery, provided equal protection under the law for all races, and the enfranchisement of voting for all races.  Unfortunately, there are words, there are laws, and there are the results of such in real application, in which, especially in the defeated southern states, things went back to the norm, which meant that blacks although not legally enslaved, were in many cases, for all practicalities, still in servitude with little rights that any white man of the street need respect, and an uneven and often aborted experience in expressing their suffrage at the ballot box.

As time moved on, progress was made for true civil rights here and there, helped by our activity in fighting wars abroad with soldiers of all colors, helped by the courts, helped by progressives of all races and creeds, helped by the initiatives of activist people that suffered indignities and injustices for their assertion of basic Constitutional rights, in which, slowly and inexorably, progress was accomplished. Yet, despite pockets of real merit, pockets of fairness, pockets of courtesy, pockets of consideration, the legacy of slavery still lives on and is obvious in its effects which is clear to anyone of reasonable perception.

For instance, on virtually every possible meaningful metric, those that come from a legacy of slavery, still suffer for it, from education, from housing, from well being, from healthcare, from opportunity, from policing, from justice, from wealth, from perception, from segregation, from separation, and from freedom.  Too often in America, there are still two distinct worlds, separate and unequal, in which the crime that has been committed by those that lack, is simply the color of their skin, nothing more, and nothing less. 

America compels African-Americans to pay their fair share, to obey the law, to pay their taxes as if they are equal, but treats them in application as if they are not; America, too often, demonstrates its hypocrisy in large things and small, in which African-Americans again and again, are discriminated against, explicitly and implicitly by a government of the people that is supposed to treat all with equality, justice, and fairness.  Too often the poetic words that America speaks so elegantly for are meaningless, as the results prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that African-Americans consistently have their dreams, their hopes, and their desires, crushed by the oppressive hands of a government that preaches one thing and lives out something more true to its corrupt and damnable character.

The Supreme Court Trumps all

Our government is broken into three separate branches, the Legislative which makes laws, the Executive that executes such laws, and the Judicial that evaluates and interprets laws.  This separation of powers as created by our Constitution was deliberate in which the thought process was that no single branch of the government would ever be so powerful as to create a nation-state that would be tyrannical against the people, for this nation was created to be for the people, by the people, and of the people.

Today, in way too many ways, the Supreme Court isn't really ruling as to whether a law is or is not Constitutional, but has aggrandized unto itself, the ability and the power to simply create new law, where there was no law before, which because the Supreme Court is the highest court of the land, when they enact such a decision, essentially making new law, this therefore impacts the entire United States.  For instance, and really irrelevant to whether you are politically left or right, the Supreme Court adjudicated recently that same-sex marriages are a national right, as well as previously that one's right to privacy entails ultimately the right to terminate one's own pregnancy.

While those that applaud such decisions are delighted with them, the fact of the matter is, that when a tribunal of nine justices are permitted to decide on vital questions that affect the whole people, and such decisions are irrevocable, than the necessity or relevancy of the legislative and executive branches have become not only nullified, but almost irrelevant.  In addition, the very people that are supposed to be masters of their own country are instead to live in a country, in which nine unelected and life-tenured Supreme Court justices don't just argue over a particular and specific case, but  too often render decisions in a manner that overturns long standing legislative and Constitution law, in which no longer do you have a nation that adheres to a written Constitution, but instead it has devolved into a land that is effectively run by a majority of a tribunal of nine, since they, and seemingly they alone, can decide what is or isn't the law of the land, and dictate to the people by their decisions, their activist beliefs.

Our Constitution is not a perfect document, the people that wrote it and the States that ratified it, knew that at that time, which is why there was so much debate, compromise, opinion, discussion points, and give and take at its inception.  Nevertheless, this written Constitution is the law of the land, and within that Constitution there are specific ways to amend laws, such as through the ratification of Amendments to the Constitution, of which, there have been a total of twenty-seven amendments made to our present day Constitution, of which ten of them, known as our Bill of Rights, were immediately part of our Constitution to begin with.

It is one thing to made an appropriate Amendment to the Constitution, which necessitates, debate, compromise, and an appropriate majority ascending to such, and an entirely different thing, when five Supreme Court justices tell the other four Supreme Court justices what the law is, and then imprint such a law unto the American people, without this law having been voted upon, legislated, or its appropriateness debated. 

The mistake that is made today, is forgetting that the Supreme Law of the land is the Constitution, itself, not the Supreme Court, as some sort of living justified embodiment of the Constitution.   This would so indicate, that decisions made by the Supreme Court which are in violation to the Constitution, or activist personal interpretations of such, have no real or legitimate validity, especially because the executive and legislative branches as representatives of the people are entitled to overrule wrongful interpretations of the Constitution, or, if they do not, they have vacated their sacred duty to their constituents, our honored dead, and the founders of this great republic.

What Government Control of the Economy Really Means

People, in general, desire consistency and implicit guarantees, so that if they do their part in getting educated and preparing themselves for gainful employment, that they should thereby always be employed on a consistent and reliable basis.  While that type of world certainly seems desirable, undoubtedly preferred, it isn't something that can be guaranteed by any government, unless such a government exercises the power to control everything in regards to the people and their choices, effectively eliminating free choice and negating free decisions. 

On the surface, this reminds one of repressive nations that put forth five-year plans, ten-year plans, and the like, only to see these plans constantly revised again and again, for their objectives never are reached, and hence always therefore revised or faked.  The main reason that planned economies fail, is not that the government doesn't have control of the people, for they basically do, but rather that these coerced actions by the government disengages the people from being as productive as they would normally be, with the additional issue that the governmental elite privileges itself so that the rules most definitely do not apply to them.

This means that the more power that the people cede to government, as well as the more freedoms that are sacrificed for their alleged security, along with the more arbitrary rules and regulations that employers are compelled to obey, the inevitable result will be less overall freedom that is permitted to occur for the people, in which this type of bargain, often results in the people gaining little, if anything, and losing the very essence of what it means to be gifted with free will, free choice, and a free mind.

The greatness of any nation is in direct relationship to the freedom and fair opportunities that it provides for each citizen, in which, those citizens, jointly or individually, can as they so choose, provide aid or mentoring to others, so that those on the lower echelons are helped to advance to a superior level.  The government of such a people, because it both represents the people as well as in actuality being the ultimate arbiter of fairness, has an obligation to behave as much as possible, in an impartial, objective, and in cases in which much previous wrong has been done, set standards to ameliorate and to thereby help restore wholeness to those so oppressed.

The economy is ultimately made up of the people with their intelligence, their knowhow, their vision, their capital, their negotiations, and their productivity in which the true purpose of the government isn't so much to be laissez–faire, but rather, as necessary, the government has an inherent obligation and purpose to breakup concentrated power, to eliminate crony capitalism, assure fair taxation, to forgo foreign wars done at the behest of the military-industrial complex, and to eliminate unfair profiteering in times of trouble.  If these things are done right, our economy will take care of itself, for it is, after all, these free American people that created this greatest nation on earth.

The People, Our Declaration, and our Constitution

Before there was our present day  Constitution there was the Articles of Confederation, which basically represented our first constitution, but the articles lacked the ability to take the now thirteen states and truly unite them under one body politic, essentially necessary in order to appropriately deal with the world at large, for trade, for debt, for just about everything, and hence there was a felt the need, as well as an urgency, that a central government, with limited and delegated powers, be created, which was done, with the final state ratifying our governing Constitution accomplished n 1790. 

The Constitution, itself, was controversial, full of vigorous debates, with some adamantly opposed to a strong central government, and others recognizing the need for such, in which, the slippery slope that all wished to avoid, was any sort of return to the tyranny that a bloody independence war had been fought for.  One of the most important measures created for the people, was the creation of the Bill of Rights to our Constitution, in which the rights of the people, were clearly written into that Constitution.  These rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, protection of the rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as the fact that the rights and powers not specifically enumerated or delegated would be retained by the people or the states, all represented to the people the essential message as distilled by President Lincoln, that this is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

It is fundamental to remember that our Declaration of Independence, our raison d'être, recognized that each of us is gifted inalienably with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and it is those very gifts, that created the common sense to declare and to fight for our independence from Great Britain.  This means that any government, so created, by these United States, in order for it to still be considered both legitimate and in keeping with the harmony of our Declaration of Independence, must as a matter of course, do nothing to steal these very inalienable rights from the people.  Further to the point, the Constitution is not really set forth as a document for the people to bow down and pay obeisance to, but rather clearly represents a document that asserts the people's inalienable rights, their basic freedoms and protections, and that the only legitimate national government is the one that truly represents all of the people, with equality, fairness, and justice for all.

Unfortunately, not too surprisingly, the national government, has gotten more powerful, more intrusive, more controlling, more taxing, and more tyrannical, over the ages, so that at the present day, many people rightly fear this government's power for rather than the people being the masters of their own fate, this inalienable power has been wrested from the people's hands, their God-given choices nullified, and too often, the government asserts its powers against the people in a concerted and concentrated force to exact whatever they so desire from them.

We now live in a bifurcated country, in which, our masters and their cohorts do as they please, with the vast majority of citizens, monitored, categorized and watched, in which this government tells the people that this is necessary for their protection, but in reality, done so as to benefit the avarice of the elite, so that our inalienable rights and our Constitution guarantees, are trampled upon by the very government, established for our benefit.

Laws, Legality, and Morals

We are told to "obey the law", which on the most simplest of terms, seems to make sense, but life isn't as simple as just obeying man's law.  For example, laws change, all of the time, so that things that are presently illegal such as slavery, were once accepted and legal; whereas things that are currently legal such as abortion, were once illegal, and so on and so forth.  So too, we have many different courts of law, that adjudicate whether a particular thing is legal or illegal, in addition to the fact that man has created so many laws, as well as having so many rules and regulations, that inevitably some of these laws or rules contradict or override another law, so that even if an individual had an innate desire to always obey man's law, they wouldn't be able to, because of inherent contradictions between laws, misinterpretation of laws, and lack of knowledge of certain laws.

The laws that are presented to us today, are for the most part, man's law, of which some of these laws have come from our legislatures, some from executive decree, and some from activist judges, in which, man's laws and their application are then adjudicated by the judicial branch of the courts, in which, one branch, can overrule another, and where precedent of laws may or may not be overturned, making for a rather motley stew of laws that man is supposed to obey.

But what of all this obedience, when each of us is gifted with an innate sense of right and wrong, in which, quite clearly there are laws that simply are fundamentally flawed or wrong, whether recognized on that particular day or not.  That is to say, man is consistently fallible, man is mutable, as well as mankind changes with the times, thereby blowing both with the wind and against it, and in short, because of its governance creates some laws through an often corrupt system that aids and abets one particular segment of the population that has the ear of power, while ignoring or dismissing those that do not.

All of this necessitates that rather than blinding following any law, there should be an overriding principle that guides all laws, that is both consistent and just.  That law exists, in which it is known as natural law, the law that states that a legitimate law must be in accordance with the Highest Law, of which that law, is always just, equally applied, and immutable.  This means that rather than blinding following any law, no matter the penalties or consequences of failing to adhere to such, that we have an inborn duty to disobey an unjust law, and thereby to act in accordance with the highest form of law, that cannot be rightly trumped by anything, because this Highest Law is eternal, just, and moral.

So that, because man's law does conflict with the Highest Law, there are worldly consequences suffered for those that disobey the dark arm of the law as applied by man, yet this rebellion must be made, for our highest duty is not to corruptible man, but to our Creator, who expects nothing less from his progeny.  This means that slogans or propaganda such as "What is legal is moral", or "What is legal is right" are a grand disservice to mankind, for legality as applied and exercised by man, is far too often for the benefit and service of a privileged few to the detriment of the many.

The American Empire

America celebrates its Independence Day on July 4, each and every year, but in actuality, the real celebration in America for its independence won from Great Britain, should be held on September 3, as this was the date in 1783, that Great Britain formally acknowledged the independence of America, with the Treaty of Paris, for the war fought over the preceding years.  Since that time, the original independent thirteen colonies of America have become the fifty States of the United States of America, in which America through its belief in "Manifest Destiny" conquered, claimed, and won lands from Native American Indians as well as the country of Mexico, along with buying lands from foreign powers, all to create our present day America.

So too, while America has fought or been an active force in numerous wars since its founding, it has, claimed, or ending up controlling virtually only strategic islands around the oceans of the world, in order to established naval bases for the protection and maintenance of the United States, as well as being strategically placed to assist its allies.  The overall restraint that America has shown in regards to foreign countries and the resources of other sovereign nations has been quite impressive, up to a point, but digging beneath the surface, vividly demonstrates that the American fingerprint is worldwide, invasive, pervasive, and relentless.

For instance, as reported by thenation.com, "there are now around 800 US bases in foreign countries," whereas they are exactly zero foreign bases in America.  In addition, the "unofficial" reserve currency of the world, is the United States dollar, as well as the financial capital of the world is generally considered to be New York City, in which the two biggest stock exchanges in the world, are the New York Stock Exchange, and the NASDAQ, both located in the United States.  Also, the seminal United Nations is headquartered in New York City, in which, the United States as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, has veto power, indicating that resolutions that it does not approve of, cannot be formally adapted by the United Nations.

Additionally, virtually the entire world has been subject to  some degree to exploitation by the United States, in particular, in third world or developing nations, for their valuable natural resources that the United States  or its allies so desires, in which, deals are constructed that are primarily beneficial for America as a whole to the exclusion of the sovereignty of the countries that "own" the mineral resources, as America's expertise and infrastructure, are often seen as necessary for the competent development of these natural resources.  History has also demonstrated to us, that America meddles in foreign nations by supporting or propping up leaders that are beneficial for America, while killing or marginalizing those that are not. 

When it comes to trade, America trades with virtually every nation across the globe, which while providing benefits on both sides of the table, also often necessitates an actual presence of American knowhow and infrastructure onto those same foreign lands, in which, America has demonstrated again and again, that once they establish a foothold upon foreign soil, they do not often cede ground.   For instance, although the Cuban embargo has been in effect since 1960, and despite repeated attempted assassinations of Fidel Castro, America, never has relinquished their control of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base which is actually part of Cuba, our historical foe.

The American Empire is truly worldwide and while America does not ostensibly insist upon tribute, tribute is paid to it, each and every day, directly or indirectly, and those that are obtuse enough to actually spit in America's face, will surely know the wrath that this Empire will bring upon them.

Stock Market Leverage and Panic

As of June, 2017, the stock market indexes are essentially at all-time highs which have increased the net worth of individuals considerably from the stock market lows of 2008, but like anything, nothing rises forever, and fundamentally stock prices have to have some sort of tangible relationship to the underlying intrinsic worth of the stock to begin with.  When times are good, a lot of this is somewhat ignored, for markets in America, are quite liquid, consistently and reliably open, and with both buyers and sellers in abundance, the market is said to be efficient.

Another prospective, though, would indicate that markets are not quite as quiescent, reliable, and consistent as one might imagine them to be, in fact, to ignore this, may entail rather dire financial consequences.  For instance, present day trading in stocks, are typically not conducted by individuals bargaining back and forth, as was the case, back when stocks exchanges were first conceived of, as the vast majority of trades are now automated, using advanced algorithms to take advantage of inconsistencies in pricing, trading patterns, and optimization, for such automation obviously carries the seeds of its own potential destruction, for "black swan" events do occur, and the robustness of automated trading strategies when panic is in the air is the true acid test of how failsafe that they really are.

Additionally, as in all investments, the leveraged of the money being utilized, especially the higher the amount of leverage drawn upon, creates a higher degree of volatility for the greater amounts of money so borrowed, which has to, at some point, be paid back, and those loaning such, have conditions that must be met, in which, within these terms and conditions, leverage, which institutions and individuals often take for granted, and even build their castles upon, cannot be guaranteed  continual access to, as well as the cost of that leverage can rise substantially, especially in the moments of time when most needed.  

Further to the point, the more leverage there is, the more potential panic there will be, as investors, automated or not, unwind voluntarily or involuntarily their stock portfolios, causing a cascade of selling pressure upon investors, so that investments that looked absolutely secured the evening before, have lost value in double-digits in one day, or even have collapsed completely as does happens occasionally to individual stocks, especially those that have questionable intrinsic value to begin with.

The difference between leveraged money and money that is actually yours, lock, stock, and barrel, is the difference between night and day, in which, leveraged money because it is leveraged, loves the market when times are good, and when times are bad, has as its overriding objective, a flight to safety, in which, the first one out of a sinking ship, has first access to the safety boats so attached.   This means when there are nothing but sellers, prices fall, and they will fall precipitously, and while pundits admonish us all of the time that the best time to buy is when there is "blood in the streets", panics have a way of feeding upon themselves, because most people have an abiding interest in at least retaining a portion of what they once had, rather than the ignominy of losing it all.

The bottom line is that borrowed money and leveraged used in investments, will ultimately create more volatility and far less stability, especially since so many believe in their infallibility as well as their impeccable timing, till a monstrous panic ensues, whereupon greed takes a back seat to pure unmitigated fear.

Bad Times for Labor

According to governmental statistics, unemployment is around 4.3%, which as reported by NYtimes.com, on 6/2/17, is "its lowest level in 16 years", in which historically low unemployment rates would necessitate better wages for those that are employed, but statistics also demonstrate to us, as reported by pewresearch.org that "today’s average hourly wage has just about the same purchasing power as it did in 1979," indicating that despite all of the productivity growth America has accomplished since 1979, that this has not translated into wage growth for the average laborer, which means somewhat obviously that the main beneficiary of this productive increase has gone to the owners of businesses and/or those that control the capital in the first place.

Further to the point, the world has shrunk considerably since 1979, in which there are less and less onerous tariffs associated to the trade and selling of goods worldwide, along with the fact that governments such as the USA consistently aids and abets exporting jobs that previously were performed here in America, being outsourced overseas, so that while American consumers benefit in lower cost products domestically, they also lose out on employment opportunities because those jobs no longer exist locally as American labor costs cannot compete in many professions, against foreign labor.

Additionally, companies make it a point to automate the things that can be efficiently automated for the dual reasons of the benefit of capital expenses as well as capital depreciation, which helps the company from a tax liability standpoint as well as the fact that automation and robotics are often labor saving devices, if not initially, then projected to be so.

All of the above puts extensive pressure upon labor, so that a significant amount of the jobs that people are presently employed in, don't pay well now, won't pay well in the future, and have limited upside for laddering up for those so employed.  In addition, to that fundamental issue, labor, unlike machinery, has associated costs that are mandated by various, somewhat intrusive, government agencies, such as OSHA standards, healthcare, vacation, sick leave, holidays, overtime, and so on and so forth, whereas machinery, does not have the equivalency of these things attached to it.

In this type of environment, especially in an age in which labor unions have become, especially in the private sector, almost irrelevant, the sole laborer, unattached to anything, that is, a free agent, often working under the semantic of "right to work" gobbledygook, has virtually no power, no matter how much value that person brings to the table, to demand, much of anything from management, especially when working in an industry, in which they are just another cog in the machine.

In short, just because you are employed, doesn't mean that you're making money, or progress, or a living wage, for as reported by fortune.com, "42% of all workers in the United States fit this bill," of making less than $15/hour, and as long as companies can outsource jobs overseas without penalty, can depreciate and expense capital equipment but never do the same with human labor, and labor unions remain essentially non-existent, it will continue to be for a significant amount of good Americans:  bad times for labor.

As ye deal to others, so will it be dealt to thee

We read in Holy Scripture: "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you" (Matthew 7:2).   This statement is something that all should take to heart, for in America, there is a strong tendency for some to believe that they are for whatever reason, above the law, or that rules and regulations that should be equally applied to all, doesn't really apply to them, or that shortcuts of various guises, are legitimate in all of their myriad forms, but all of these are both short-sighted as well as selfish in concept and execution.

For it is wise to remember, that the eternal hand of justice is always fair, and no matter how fallible man tries to deceive others, he cannot fool his God.   Of course, the most fundamental deception is the deception of oneself, which is done by believing that things that you do are fine, because it is you that is doing them and you basically mean right, even when your actions are both self-serving and foundationally wrong.  In fairness, though, it is extremely difficult to step outside one's own persona, and actually perceive yourself for what you really are, so you would think that in recognition of this, more people would be more humble, and more willing to admit at least the possibility of their fallibility, along with being more understanding that other people may indeed have perceptions about yourself that do have validity.

Further to the point, the empathy that one person should have for another is often lacking, if even considered to begin with, so too, it's well nigh impossible to walk in another person's shoes, so that appropriate consideration of other people's beliefs, which allows a dialog to happen is far more conducive to mutually beneficial interaction than didactic actions by either party, even when the answer seems rather straightforward or obvious.

For instance, most people have lived long enough to change their minds about some things that are of high import to them, because they have developed both experience and wisdom over the years, and are therefore able to see the error of their ways, but, most of the time, they do not come to such a conclusion through repeated browbeating by another person, but instead are often better aided by those that point them in the right direction so that they often on their own, they are able to perceive what has always been there.

The very things that we want from others in regards to how we desire to be treated and how we desire to be perceived, should be the way that we go about our business with others, so that a world in which we receive like for like, will indeed be a world that we find much joy in, for the change that we wish to see in others, must first be well represented in ourselves.  Not only must we believe in this change, we must live daily to this change, for the fairness that we so desire, must be the fairness that we display in all of our interactions, and measure for measure is a universal law that all are subject to, and therefore all should take good measure of.

Driverless Cars

To a certain degree, the whole thing about autonomous vehicles seems to be a very surprising new development, as trial balloons, are floated all of the time, of various futuristic items and things, of which, many do not even come close to anything other than the most basic of outlines, a theory, or a design, whereas on the other hand, driverless cars are actually here, and actually happening right now, in which states such as Florida, have passed legislation permitting true driverless cars on their public roads, that is to say, that there is no requirement whatsoever that a physical driver be at the control of the wheel, which is rather amazing. 

America is both a litigious society as well as seemingly covered with endless reams of red tape and paperwork, but here in the case of driverless cars, significant progress has been made and not really been held back too much by activist judges or closed-minded legislatures.  This feat is rather mind boggling, because not only are there an incredible amount of vehicles on the public roads to begin with, but there are all sorts of rules, restrictions, and regulations for those vehicles.  That is to say, in order to operate a vehicle, you must both be a licensed driver and you must have insurance, for accidents happen all of the time, and the liability of such, are litigated and/or settled by insurance companies on a daily basis for a lot of money. 

Then, and this is just scratching the very surface of autonomous vehicles on public roads, you have a myriad of things to consider about such vehicles being on the road, such as: what directive has been given to driverless cars in regards to when pedestrians, vehicles, and other obstructions when a collision of some sort cannot be avoided; what protections are there for driverless cars that the functioning of such won't be compromised by some outside force;  what happens when one of the driverless cars functions or fails unexpectedly; or what happens with driverless vehicles in extreme weather conditions, and so on and so forth. That said, there is another very important factor to consider when it comes to driverless vehicles, which is, that driverless vehicles are sharing the road with vehicles that have drivers, and human beings are not machines, and therefore don't always do what logically they should do, in fact, you can expect the unexpected from humans, so that driverless cars may not act "illogically" in situations in which that would actually be their best maneuver.

Additionally, it is important to consider that autonomous vehicles are in the industry of car manufacturing, car repair, and car insurance, that is absolutely massive on a global scale, so anything that helps to boost sales, or increases the velocity of turnover of vehicles is beneficial for such an industry.  Also, car manufacturers and hi-technology companies are working together to create these driverless vehicles, so that, if you were to take the sheer size of the players in the field of driverless vehicles, which includes some of the biggest multi-national corporations in the world such as General Motors, Ford, Daimler, Baidu, Intel, Bosch, Delphi, Huawei, and Microsoft, to mention just some of them, their influence that they are able to exert upon legislatures of all stripes is tremendous, especially when it comes to the lure of additional tax revenues or jobs.

This means that the narrative of driverless vehicles undoubtedly supports a fairly aggressive unrolling of such, because there is money to be made, as well as opportunities to grow, to wit, driverless cars are already here, and their presence is scheduled to increase substantially in the next few years, of which the picture being painted is that doing such will provide public benefits such as safer roads, fuel efficiency, and more freed up personal time, but the downside, and there are always downsides, are basically marginalized and dismissed as unprogressive thinking.

Sin: Defined

Of course, in today's more secular society, many people do not ever use the word sin, in any of their conversations, which is rather perplexing, for we have all kinds of laws, all kinds of duties, all kinds of obligations, which are built upon a very basic foundation that certain things are right, and certain things are wrong, in which wrong and sin are typically synonymous with one another.  Be that as it may, in formal religious organizations, sin is most definitely a word that patrons are familiar with and good church goers make a concerted effort to avoid such.  Still, in church or without, there are constant debates as to what is or is not a sin, in which, many believe that somehow sin is fluctuates with the times of the age.

Life though, isn't really taking something as significant as sin, and then interpreting sin or re-interpreting sin to fit into whatever construct that has been established in one's mind, nor is life about mindlessly conforming to man's law, which is often mutable, inconsistent, and substandard, but rather life is really about getting oneself into harmony with the Creator of it all.  So that, sin should actually be looked upon as anything which takes us away from God, which thereby loses our friendship and devotion to God, with the result that muddies our relationship with God, and that ultimately turns us away from God.

Think about this very carefully, for those that find this rather hard to understand, which is that in order to be in harmony with God, in order to become one with God, our mind-spirit must be 100% in accordance with our God, any anything that take away from such, is, when distilled, sin.  This is not to say, that each day we should be constantly meditating quietly with our Lord, or contemplating  only upon His words, while doing none of our duties for our brothers and sisters on earth, for that for a certainty, is selfish on our behalf, for we are truly responsible for our neighbors here on earth; instead, rather, it means that our activities, our thoughts, as well as our actions, should be in conformance with the truth, love, mercy, and justice of God, for these are the very attributes of our God.

We have no greater friend than the Incomparable One that created us and our hearts will forever be restless till we rest back in conjunction with our Creator.  Beyond all duties, beyond all obligations, there is the overriding need to seek out the True Light, for all else, are, at best, mere reflections of such, and none of these, will ever truly satisfy ourselves, for the purity of Our Lord, can never be tarnished in any way, form, or manner. 

We, that truly desire to be servants to our God, demonstrate such service, in our devotion to the fruits of the spirit, which are: "….love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…" (Galatians 5:22-23), as these are indeed the spiritual stepping stones needed for each of us to find our way back to our Almighty One.  Those that are true friends with our Creator have no sin, and those that sacrifice that friendship for momentary glory or selfishness, sacrifice such to the detriment of such friendship.

The Utility of College Education

The government provides us with "free" public education until we graduate from high school, in which, all things considered, since that education is free, it would behoove those attending such, to take advantage of that zero cost and thereby acquired skills, a skill-set, good habits, good focus, and a plan for furthering that education whereby in all likelihood, they or their family members will be on the hook for a substantial amount of the cost of post-secondary education, for the thing about college, depending upon the institution, your location, and the actual college itself, is that the amount of money that has to be devoted to it can easily exceed $100,000 or even more, with absolute no guarantee that the student will receive a collegiate graduate degree, whatsoever, but in any event, successful or not, the bill will be due and payable, and cannot be discharged even by personal bankruptcy.

Since, a vast segment of the population, struggles with bills on a monthly basis, the taking on of any debt, especially substantial debt, should be carefully and thoughtfully considered, for to try and fail in the college realm, has lifelong financial consequences.  In addition, the dumbing down of college curriculum, the addition of an endless amount of virtually useless college majors, along with for-profit colleges both online or in class that are deliberately inclusive because they are practically useless, makes maneuvering the roads of where to go for those desiring to attend college, much more hazardous and problematic.

Fundamentally, the thing that many students get wrong, is that the name of the institution that one does graduate from, while having a value, should be weighed against the cost of attending such an institution should one be accepted, so that, colleges of great reputation, may not have the utilitarian value that makes it really worthwhile for a given student.   So too, the two most important things about attending college are actually graduating with the degree and preferably graduating with a degree which has real relevancy to the actual job that you apply for and receive, for if you end up working in a field which has little or nothing to do with your major, it would imply rather strongly that the practical purposes of that major were misstated.

Further to the point of majors that are never activated, is that the sheer number of college graduates, from whatever colleges, cheapens the value of such an education in the real world of jobs, which is especially troubling for those that owe the money for such an education.  That is to say, for example, the more people that have liberal arts degrees, would mean that there are more people applying for the same positions, which not only would result in a downward pressure of salary requirements or offers, but would, as a matter of course, mean a lower and lower percentage of those receiving such a degree finding successful employment in that field.  Education is not like a "Field of Dreams", in which it is, get the education, and they will hire you in that field, but instead it is more akin to a calculated gamble, in which many people don't recognize it as such, believing that the degree itself solves all, but alas, it doesn't.

The above signifies that college attendees should be motivated to seek our majors in fields in which there is not already an oversupply or anticipated oversupply of graduates in such fields, as well as being value conscious, so that a prudent student would shop for the best college deal that they can get, in recognition, that in most instances, a degree from one college is basically of the same worth of another, and that therefore shopping for luxury brands as opposed to practical, should be consciously thought through.