Insurance, risks, and risky behavior

Most Americans have become normalized towards insurance, not only because mandated insurance is required, for instance, for healthcare, automobiles, and homes; but because society as a rule has bought into the belief that managing risk is prudent and in order to do so, they are willing to pay a premium to a licensed party so that an unanticipated catastrophic affair, should it occur, will not financially devastate them.

On the surface, the above makes sense, as people, pay premiums to obtain insurance so as to protect themselves in case of an adverse life event.  However, having insurance in and of itself, just as in the simple observation of a particular phenomenon in physics or similar, can change the nature of that phenomenon, by virtue of it so being view, or in the case of insurance, by virtue of that insurance so being issued.  So that, it is logical to believe, that the reason that more and more homes are being built within flood zones, is because the buyers of those homes, are able to obtain insurance; but not only that, in many cases, the insurers themselves, when they are explicitly or implicitly backed by government agencies, adjust to that meaningful fact.  This would seem to strongly imply that people, companies, and insurers are more willing to engage in risky behavior, if, at the end of the day, they believe that they will be covered by some other entity that will actually bear the real cost.

This signifies, for instance, that insurance companies, that have their bonus and profit incentives misaligned, may find themselves being subtly or not so subtly encouraged to take on riskier insurance policies, in order to receive those higher premiums, and to therefore meet bonus and profit objectives, because they believe that at the end of the day, if things actually go amiss, that they will be bailed out by a third party or a governmental agency.

Additionally, people are more likely to engage in riskier behavior, if by engaging in such, they are safeguarded in their decisions, by having healthcare or automobile insurance that will protect them from having to suffer the full effects of those riskier decisions.  That is to say, those that are lacking insurance are going to, if they are prudent and sensible, be more careful about what they actually do, knowing that they don't have a safety net to cover them from a very bad fall.

The biggest problem with insurance and risks, is that some sophisticated companies have made it their policy to game the system, so that, they purposefully take risks, including specifically risks that are short sighted and imprudent, knowing that or believing that when those risks go horribly wrong, that they will be backed by governmental agencies that will thereby declare they these corporations are "too big to fail" or too vital to the nation or some other dubious reason, which allows these companies to thereby benefit greatly on the people's dime, but never suffer the fair consequences of paying the full price for their gambles gone horribly wrong.

The concept of insurance, in which pools of money from individual premiums are utilized to take care of paying a given legitimate claim is a sound one; but when some of the players within that game, are able to engage in unnecessary risks, when they should be actually reducing or properly classifying risks, will invariably lead to bad outcomes, of which the availability of that insurance, itself, has led to riskier behavior.  

Rigid moral precepts and proper judgment

For any society to function well there is a requirement that constructive rules, regulations, laws, and morals must be utilized, effectively.  The problem that so many modern societies have created is that they act as if they believe that the more laws, rules, and regulations that are legislated into existence and thereupon put into effect, the better that society will function and will be.  Unfortunately, if laws, rules, and regulations in and of themselves would or could transform mankind into something better, than the world that we live under would already be some sort of paradise, or approaching such, but sadly it is not.

So too, it just isn't possible to write laws, rules, and regulations in such a detailed and even handed manner, that those laws cover every single possible contingency and that the justice thereby rendered from those laws is always therefore just and fair -- simply by following the rules of the road so agreed upon.  That is why, legislated statues such as "three strikes," in which the third time that a particular person commits a certain "serious violent felony" in conjunction with having two other convictions, of which one of those has been defined as a serious violent felony, thereby mandating life imprisonment, cannot possibly be just or fair, because it does not take into account, that all crime, no matter how similar or mundane, has its own peculiar circumstances that precludes such from harsh cookie-cutter judgments with no wiggle room, whatsoever.  Additionally, this is why "mandatory minimums", in and of themselves, are a very poor excuse as well as being very poor justice to enact upon people, because what is not apparently taken into consideration is the pertinent information that is not only germane to the case, but also the fact that each case has its own mitigating circumstances, and thereby to legislate that certain offenses must always be subject to a mandated minimum is therefore a gross injustice.

Those that are simple minded or act as such, and do not like to think, appreciate simple solutions that anyone can follow in which by adhering to some sort of preset justice chart, justice will be rendered in a swift and certain way, but that is not justice; it is at best, following rigid moral or legal precepts, without availing oneself of one's brain and thereby failing to properly use discretion and proper judgment.

Those that do not like to think, are the very same people that desire to follow rigid rules and regulations, perhaps because they like order, or consistency within their own life.  On the other hand, those that like to think, are appalled at any institution that simply indoctrinates people in a manner in which certain things have to be done in certain ways, because those thinking people, know that they are far greater beings than being wrongly classified as simple automatons, for they are quite cognizant of having been gifted with a free will and a free mind, and that gift, necessitates the proper usage of judgment, which is best demonstrated in those situations in which it really matters, such as in a court of law, or the important day-to-day interactions that people have with one another.

The superrich and their superrich luxury boxes

The superrich are completely different than the average American.  In fact, it can be said, that the superrich are completely different from the mere rich, for the superrich live within a construct that separates them as a class from the people, for their own prudent protection, of which this is by their own volition and by their preference.   

The sporting industry is a very big business in America, and it is a basic truism that the owners of these teams, actually don't even care about the sport, itself.  Rather, what they care about is making even more money and/or using the ownership of sporting teams as a means to protect and to augment their assets.  What also matters to these sports owners is being able to provide to their clients an appropriate atmosphere for those business contacts and associates that will match well their high expectations and desires, of which, those expectations would include being properly served by obsequious personnel as well as not being interrupted or having to deal with people of the wrong social or business class.

This so means that the superrich aren't going to enter the stadium through the same entrance as your typical fan, they aren't going to be searched, they aren't going to be touched, and they aren't going to be bothered.  Rather, they are going to have their own separate entrance, their own separate elevator, their own separate and exclusive luxury box, and all of this will come with all the accouterments that superrich people expect to have at their disposal.

While the average fan truly cares about the game and the result of the game, the superrich aren't really there to even watch the game, and while the superrich are competitive, they are first and foremost business people, that care only that their sporting investment and the decisions that they make are favorable for them, and what thereupon happens on the field is pretty much an irrelevancy.

The most disturbing fact isn't so much that these luxury boxes exist, though that clearly demonstrates the wide division between the average fan and those luxury box occupants, but instead it is the fact that so many of these stadiums and arenas are actually built with the taxpayers' money, of which, it is the taxpayers that are stuck paying the bill, but never being able to luxuriate in the facility, like the owners are able to.  To make matters even worse for taxpayers and tax collectors, the owners and occupants of these luxury boxes, are able in most cases to write off monies spent as being business entertainment expenses or categories of this sort, whereas the fan, isn't able to write off anything.

Why so many communities, towns, and cities, use taxpayer monies to build stadiums and arenas for superrich owners that can actually afford to on their own to pay for or find the financing for to build their own, is well-nigh incomprehensible; but typical for the way business is so often constructed in America, for the superrich are experts at using other people's money and other people's labor and other people's ideas, to their exclusive advantage, so that they can live their very best life, at everyone else's expense.

Few employers are prosecuted for hiring illegal aliens

In America, it is always about the money and the power structure, whereas on the other hand, it is seldom about justice and fairness.  There is an awful lot of talk in America about illegal immigration, in which some people of this nation spend inordinate amounts of time decrying all of the illegal aliens that have invaded our sovereign land, and demand thereby that something be done about it.  When you have, as estimated by Pew Research Center, as of 2016, 10.6 million undocumented immigrants in America, quite clearly, something fundamentally is going on, that demands a reasoned explanation.

In point of fact, the real reason why there are so many illegal aliens in America, has absolutely everything to do with the employers of such, desiring to employ illegal aliens of which at best, they do so, because they are unable to find documented workers, that will work competently under the same wages and conditions; and at worse, the real reason is for outright exploitation, so as to increase their profits at the expense of illegal aliens deliberately exploited out of their sweat labor for the benefit of those so employing them.

It is unfathomable, why so much time and energy is wasted rounding up illegal aliens, as if America is just now discovering them, when they have been amongst us for generations.  Additionally, it's disingenuous to believe that America as it stands right now, can't secure their border with the very resources that they have currently have, unless there is an explicit acknowledgment that some of those securing those borders are essentially in on the game and thereby personally benefiting from those crossing it.

But all of this is really to miss seeing the forest for the trees, because America would not be a destination and a beacon for illegal aliens to try to attempt to cross into, unless there were jobs available for them, that would gainfully employed them, as well as there being real genuine opportunity for those willing to work hard in America.  Further to the point, America is a capitalistic society, in which, the cost of labor is almost always a very meaningful cost in regards to whether a given company is profitable or not, and if profitable, how much it is profitable. Even more to the point, America is competitive, so that, those that are in competition with one other recognize that their growth is dependent upon that profitability, and therefore having lower yet reliable labor costs is quite germane to the success of their business model.

So too, even on a small scale, being able to avail oneself of labor that is not legal, and therefore has limited legal resources to appeal against labor violations as well as personal violations of all stripes, is exploitable by just about anyone that is legal.  So then, the real reason why so many employers are hiding in plain sight in regards to their illegal aliens working for them, and are with the exception of a few well publicized raids, left alone, is that these forces combined are a powerful political force, that will not sacrifice their money to have their labor taken from them, and all the rhetoric in Washington or wherever, isn't going to change a thing, because money and connections make very sure that nothing ever changes, and therefore this is why there are millions of illegal aliens in America, often exploited, and why the employers of them are pretty much untouchable.

Spirit is the only true reality

There are so many people that believe that everything that they see and that everything that they touch, and that everything that is happening all around of them is an absolute reality.  To those people that believe in this material world as being an absolute reality, this belief is so obvious, that therefore all those that don't believe that this material form is the only reality, must be obtuse, stupid, or just plain fools.

The thing about material reality is that it isn't as real as our senses perceive.  For instance, something as solid as a brick, is not in actuality all that solid, for given enough time, the very elements that make up a brick, will eventually but inexorably disintegrate, for all material matter, no matter its size and grandeur are not stable for eternity, and never will be. 

Additionally, the dreams that we have in our mind, when we are sleeping, appear to be reality to those that are dreaming them, but upon the consciousness awakening, our minds perceive such as merely being dreams.  This dream state should be our first clue that all that we perceive cannot possibly be real, for our perceptions come from our mind itself, and that mind through those dreams, is indicative that the mind is not subject to space and time limitations, and because that is true, it therefore follows that the very things that so many of us are absolutely convinced of as being real, are in all probability, transient and illusory, though they appear to be real to those senses that we most often utilize.

In point of fact, the only possible reality is a reality that is eternal, that has therefore no beginning and subsequently has no end; for those things that did not first exist, are by definition, transitory illusions, and those things and attributes that have always existed, are by definition, spirit and reality.  Our spirit is our only reality, and because of that spirit, we can experience other dimensions for our own amusement, for our own testing, and for our own adventures, knowing that at the end of such, we will return to being all that we were in the beginning; for just as water can take on a multitude of shapes and forms, such as ice, liquid, and mist, it is in its essence, always maintaining the same chemical composition of water.

The frustration that so many feel on this material plane is so often cause by those that exclusively try to find satisfaction and happiness in this transitory material world, in which worldly things are forever changing, of which the life cycle and eventually decay and destruction of the physical form cannot ever be stymied, for the physical within this material world is finite, and ever will be.  Those that get so caught up in their physicality, stressing that all is so real that they experience, in regards to things such as pain and happiness, as well as feelings such as love and hate, are caught up within a construct that they believe to be real, because it feels real to them; not seeming to comprehend, that the physical is merely temporarily housing the mind and the spirit, and that those that are enraptured by their physical senses, have willfully lost sight of their spirit, and therefore have lost sight of the only true reality, leaving them  bereft until such time as they truly wake up.

The return of company towns

Back in the heyday of the industrial age, company towns as well as company scrip were created in small communities that essentially were built around one industry, such as coal mining, with those laboring at these mines, getting paid often in company scrip which could only be utilized to pay rent, and to buy all of their household goods from the company that effectively own all the land and ran all the stores.  This does mean that those laboring within those mines were stuck within a construct in which they could never ever escape from being exploited and thereby utilized up until the day that they passed away.  So too, within those company towns of which there was just one main corporate employer, it wasn't necessary that the company use company scrip to pay their employees, mainly because they were such an outsized influence upon that community that the justice, policing, and taxing within that community were always performed in accordance with the company desires.

While for the most part, company towns don't now exist, though there are still small communities in which one employer has an outsized influence upon that town; the new company town is almost exclusively one that for those that aren't paying a lot of attention to is located within the hi-technology sphere.  That is to say, there are hi-tech companies that make it their point to provide to their employees, food, entertainment, exercise facilities, healthcare, daycare, and even sleeping pods.  While to the uninitiated, this might seem to be an unmitigated joy, and it very well might be, for some people; it can, on the other hand, present to those working there, an insular existence, that distorts their view of the real world, by providing them an artificial world in which all of their needs are met, never seeming to recognize that the reason behind why the company is being so accommodating may not quite be as benign as such an appearance so seems.

There are cult like religions, of which, those that enter into it voluntarily, later, find out that it is extremely difficult to extricate themselves, should they become disengaged; so too, these hi-tech companies are, in their own way, selling their own cult like existence, and are especially gifted in getting those that are employed there, especially the impressionable young, to believe that they are invaluable and special.  The thing about cages and enclosures, is that some of these cages and enclosures may well be created to be very pleasant, but they are, at the end of day, still cages and enclosures, in which those that spend inordinate amounts of time with the same people, having the same mindset, with the same sort of goals, all for the betterment of the company and the company goals don't seem to recognize that they have become a very important cog into a machine, a machine which does not want to let them go, and because of that they have vacated their independence as well as their mind to that machine.

The thing is, when someone never takes a step outside to breathe in the outside air, as well as to take in the world as it really is, but are instead living within a pleasant construct that supposedly provides them with everything that they really need, they have effectively sold their soul to the company; so that they then have sold their very essence which is priceless, for a price.

The CIA Assassination manual

This government creates all sorts of documentation and has all sorts of rules and regulations, and because America insists upon being the world's policeman, then it so follows, that there must be written instructions about how to best police other countries, insurgencies, and so forth, all contained somewhere within that government and its agencies, of which, since the CIA is responsible for foreign intelligence, it would seem logical to conclude that a competent and comprehensive department such as the CIA, would have at least one manual dealing with the assassination of those that represent a clear and present danger to the United States, in one form or another.

Not too surprisingly, there are documents purported to be legitimate USA documents in which, one is circa 1953, and entitled "A Study of Assassination" and another was obtained by wikileaks.com entitled  "Best Practices in Counterinsurgency:  Marking High-value Targeting Operations an Effective Counterinsurgency Tool" dated from 2009.   Not only do these publications appear to be legitimate but the one dated from 2009, clearly shows at the top of the document that it is a publication of the Central Intelligence Agency.  In addition, as they say, where there is smoke, there is fire, so, no doubt, there are in all likelihood even more documents dealing specifically with the assassination of foreign targets, by the CIA.

Perhaps for some people, all of the above might seem legitimate, as well as necessary, so that they do not question the need for assassinations and thereby implicitly accept such as the prerogative of their government.  However, it must be recognized that the assassination of anyone or the deliberately harming of any target, by governmental forces so authorized by some national authority with the supposed power to legitimately do so, is questionable, at best, and morally wrong in virtually every possible case.  For, if any government decides on their own volition that they have the right to assassinate any foreign national, then they have taken as an irrelevancy any international agreements that they are party to and have simply ignored such, or twisted such, in a manner which permits such assassinations, to be justified, and unimpeachable by any international consortium of member countries.

Further to the point, any document that is created that specifically deals with how to target and kill someone or to assassinate someone is, by its creation, setting the foundation for its usage, by the very creation of such.  Additionally, those that are aware of how to best professionally conduct an assassination, and have hired specific people or devices to perform such assassinations, have thereby created assassins, in which, to believe that an assassin so created, is something that will be always controllable by that government, is misguided.

Rather, assassinations are a very dirty business, and should not be the legitimate business of any government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  This country, has, quite unfortunately, created departments and the personnel within those departments that utilize all sorts of legalese to justify what is assassination, by calling it by different names, such as the targeting of enemy belligerents, with the belief that this government has the right to do whatever it finds necessary to do to defend itself, by using whatever force that they so chose, including assassinations, and have apparently written manuals so as to instruct their personnel on how to do exactly that. 

All of this is true.

Postal mail and email are not the same when it comes to privacy and rights

The government through the United States Postal Service (USPS) delivers millions upon millions of letters and packages throughout the United States each business day, in which those letters and packages are subject to federal laws and regulations in regards to the right of the government to open up or to record the cover of letters and packages so shipped.  For the most part, this means that the average American can mail and receive letters and packages in which the contents of those letters and packages are not known and have not been copied or tampered with by the government. 

Then there is email, something that people in this modern world utilized routinely on a daily basis, and quite frankly, something that can have a treasure trove of private information discussed in regards to social security numbers, credit card numbers, names, birthdates, tax information, gossip, pictures, videos, and all sorts of information that most people believe is secure and private and that is specifically meant to be shared with one intended party to another.  However, the fundamental difference between email and USPS mail is that the former is pretty much under the control of the terms and conditions of that particular provider's email policies, in which those that utilize that email platform have implicitly agreed to, as opposed to the later being subject to federal laws and regulations.

This does mean that some email providers have not only the right to look at your email but actually make it their policy to do so, not so much because they desire to be "peeping Toms" into your private life, but rather so that they can scrub, analyze, and extract actionable data that is relevant for the creation of targeted ads, of which third party providers are desirous of providing.   That said, once an email is opened by any machine or human for that matter, even if such is done for the express purpose of marketing or advertising, it still exposes those that believe that their emails are private and secure to the very opposite of those things, of which, most people would not readily want that to be the case, though, for many email providers, that is actually the case, indeed.

One of the things that so many people forget, is that for the most part it is their responsibility to understand what they are signing up for, when they open up an email account, and if they are unhappy with the terms and conditions of such, to thereby find an alternative email provider, whose terms and conditions, for instance, explicitly protect the privacy and security of those communications.  Another thing to consider is that in this hi technology world, when programs and apps are provided to users so often at no charge, that there must therefore be some sort of catch, and that catch usually has a lot to do, with the provider having the right to build a profile on its users, by collecting and aggregating the users' information and thereupon selling it to third parties that have a desire for it.

It should be seen as disconcerting that one's "private" emails are actually being read by outside parties, but that is exactly what is happening in so many instances, today.

What footprints are you leaving behind for those to follow?

People learn in various ways, on which, one of the more common ways, is that they learn from imitation and from following the example of people that they admire, look up to, or respect.  This does mean that what we do on any given day has some sort of influence over others, and can have a considerable amount of influence upon certain people, especially if we are in positions of respect, power, and authority.  If we wonder why certain family members have similar traits, good as well as bad, such often comes from the emulation of one person to another, of which that emulation typically supersedes words of caution, or other words, that contradicts the actions so often seen.  This means, that many people learn from the actions and deeds of another, rather than mere words of advice, without that corresponding action, because we imitate what we see from those we respect, for better or for worse.

The things that we do on any given day, will invariably leave lasting footprints, of which the most lasting of those footprints are the ones that truly represent who and what we really are.  So too, every step that we take is in some sort of direction, of which, many a person will literally meander around aimlessly, whereas others will make continual circles, and still others, will go way off course and become hopelessly lost.  These then are our footprints, of which these are not only our responsibility for having taken those steps, but because we live within cultures and societies, a reflection of our contribution to that society.

If, more people were to consciously reflect upon their responsibility to live up to and to be the best that they can be per their abilities, then the footprints so left, by those people, would be far more purposeful.  That indeed is the mindset that more people need to adhere to, because the better and more true that our actions are, the better and more true other people's actions will therefore be, because so many learn so much from others.

Remember well, that it isn't just politeness that makes so many people give due credit to others, in regards to their success and achievements in life, for in many cases, those people so acknowledged, did indeed provide meaningful guidance and assistance, either directly or indirectly.   If, today, we shudder at the thought that someone is actually trying to emulate us, we ought to therefore know that our footsteps are clearly not right, for if it is just good for the goose, but not good for the gander, then the reality of it is it probably isn't good at all. 

It is important to understand, that in order to make the right and purposeful footsteps, a well developed and well reasoned plan must be foremost in our minds, and every step that we thereby take, should be a step in which we consciously acknowledge whether that step is taking us closer to where we need to be or taking us further away; and the more that we stay in tune and in harmony to what is purposeful and right, the truer will be our footsteps, and the better therefore will be our guidance for others that so follow our steps.

Survival of the fittest and the rise of racism

The problem with an insidious philosophy that believes that human society reflects in its natural order the survival of the fittest, is that such a philosophy leads to a rather convenient conclusion -- though flawed and quite fallacious -- that those at the pinnacle of power within society are therefore the fittest. Additionally, it then so follows that such provides the basis for circular reasoning and becomes the raison d'être for all sorts of laws, injustices, unfairness, and inequality created between peoples, races, creeds, and sexes; all under the guise that the fittest have the exclusive right to do whatever they so will, because they are the fittest.

That is to say, within any society, in which the reality is that society is both unfair and non-egalitarian; there will not be any design for real improvement of the general conditions for the population at large, because the prevailing sentiment of those that are in power, is that such a country, is built fundamentally upon a belief that those that are at the top, are quite obviously the most fit of the peoples in that society, and because they are the most fit, it is therefore their right to do what they so will, for the betterment of those so fit, foremost, and only do what can be done for the unfit, as an afterthought or from charity, if that.

Lost somehow to the closed minds of those that so often have been in positions of power and authority, is the real salient fact that the reason that so many believed for so long, and still believe even today, that white people, are of superior intellect in comparison to black people or brown people or red people or yellow people, fundamentally comes down to those oppressed peoples' historic lack of opportunity, lack of education, lack of healthcare, lack of family structure, lack of safety, lack of justice, lack of capital, lack of  land ownership, lack of entrepreneurship, and lack of just about anything of value, in comparison to their overseers.

Not too surprisingly, when the results are stacked to favor one race to the exclusion of all others, than those that are judged to be unfit, have an arduous and daunting task to get their selves to even the starting line of opportunity, and are handicapped in just about every conceivable way, thereon out.  Further, the supposed unbiased results of the testing of the intelligence of different races are going to quite obviously favor those that have been prepared for such, as compared to all those that have not been.

All of this combined leads intelligent people, even well-meaning intelligent people, to conclude all sorts of nonsense, about other races, and other peoples, without seeming to recognize the most fundamental fact that the color of a person's skin has absolutely nothing to do with their intelligence; and further that the survival of the fittest, is applicable, at best, to the animal kingdom, and has nary to do with the human race, of which the mind and spirit properly developed is the builder of great societies and great nations.

It is social Darwinism, especially as propagated in the late 1800s that lead to the unnecessary delay and late integration of societies, a legacy that is still being dealt with, today, for far too many that are in positions of authority are truly unfit to be there, though they act as if they are fit to be.

The gossip that never ends

In the age of Facebook, blogging, and all other social media sites, many things that are posted, seem to have a life completely of their own.  That is to say, once something is posted into a public forum, the person that first posted it, no matter their intent, has for all practical purposes, lost control of that posting, which can often be re-posted, commented upon, edited, changed, and spun into an entirely different direction, without anyone's expressed approval or permission.  To a certain degree, that might be okay, if such a posting was merely a 24-hr posting, or had a relatively short shelf life, but some postings and re-postings, are especially resilient and because of that, they can create embarrassment or even far worse for those that are posted upon, with nary an end in sight.

Additionally, it is one thing for those that are in the public eye to be commented upon and to be posted upon in forums of all types, but those people are often well compensated as well as being consciously aware that in being a public figure that to a certain degree, they are living a life within a fishbowl.  On the other hand, most people are relatively unknown, and reasonably circumspect, of which, virtually all of those people, do not have an interest in being publically embarrassed or publically scorned, especially when they have no recourse to delete the post, or even to make an impassioned defense.

So too, there are things done in public, in which some people are only too willing to post such, whereas others within that same group, would prefer not to have that posted, whatsoever; but rather would prefer to remember those events through their memory or their own un-posted remembrances via their personal pictures or video.  The problem with social media posting in general is that the consequences as well as the appropriateness of things posted, are often not fully taken into account, or even not taken into account, whatsoever.

It is one thing, for people to get together and to remember moments, good and bad, embarrassing or not, and talk about them; whereas, it is an entirely different thing for someone, especially someone that isn't really one's friend, to have the ability to bring up posts of things about someone else that aren't really relevant to the present age, or should be left alone and forgotten, but instead they insist upon repeating these posts, in a manner that humiliates or shames another person, again and again, without end.

All of this would seem to indicate that social media sites need to design into their websites, a function in which the person that initially posts has the exclusive control of that content, and that those that copy and re-post upon it, are only able to do so for a finite amount of time, before that copy and all other copies so produced, are erased and eradicated.  This seems to be a fair and reasonable way to control posts, especially posts that have created controversy or trouble, so that these posts do not live on forever -- especially within that public forum, as well as to preclude certain others from having the apparent right to be unnecessarily mean and vindictive, as well as being a prudent protection for those that simply suffer from poor judgment.

Inherited wealth creates dynastic wealth, which is what America is supposed to have escaped from

America was long been seen as the land in which those precluded from exercising their right to free religion, as well as those that wished to escape lands that offered no opportunity to rightfully receive fair opportunity and fair wages, as being the epitome of an egalitarian society, of which, one of the cardinal rules for any democratic society to meaningfully demonstrate that indeed all men are given a fair chance, is to preclude to a large extent, the unfair receipt of inherited wealth with minimal taxation, especially because that leads to and creates dynastic wealth.  For it is the dynasties, so created, that undermine democratic societies by essentially corrupting those institutions, by the power of that money, status, and privilege bought.

It should be stated, that not all inherited wealth is the same, for the real problem with inherited wealth, simply comes down to it being a numbers game, and the larger that number, the more that is at stake, in which, those that are very rich as well as being very powerful, don't ever play to lose; which is why, America, now has  so much dynastic money which produces, far too often, children that will see that money as their own personal play toy, for them to do with whatsoever that they desire to do, so that their lives will revolve not around diligence, drive, and determination but instead around indulgence, entitlement, and leisure.

While it is argued by some, that those that earned the money are entitled to pass it on to their progeny, without limitations or restrictions, because it is their own to do with; that argument is specious, for those that, in theory, have rightfully earned the money, were entitled to utilize that money per their discretion during their lifetime, but at the conclusion of their life, that discretion ends; so that those that depart this world, should not be the captain of a ship, that they have long departed from.

Those that have labored hard to earn money surely do appreciate the trials and tribulations that they have gone through; whereas those that simply have received inherited money, though they will not likely admit to it, suffer from the enervation of their ambition and desire, and thereby this corrupts them.  So that, rather than being productive agents of their communities, they instead set themselves apart from the mass of humanity, preferring only to live with and within small exclusive enclaves of like-mindedness, in which, the money that should rightfully have been used for the betterment and reinvested for the advancement of the community as a whole, is instead used to indulge those spoiled ones without limit, and for their pleasure.

Money matters.  Those that inherit or know that they will inherit substantial amounts of money are often unable to correlate or to acknowledge that money should ideally be seen as the appropriate compensation for hard work and good preparation; but rather instead they see money more as a tool to simply buy and to get their own way, to protect and to embellish their own, with nary a concern about anything else other than protecting and enhancing their familial dynasty, come what may.

Modern day peasants

Far too many people want to really believe the narrative that America is a country of meritocracy and egalitarian principles, of which the core of America is its vibrant middle class, which is the middle ground between those that have it all and those that don't have a damn thing.  That middle class still exists, and while statistics can tell us all sorts of things, of which, some read such to contend that the reason the traditional middle class appears to be hollowing out, is really because so many of those are moving up to higher incomes; whereas others read the very same tea leaves as instead being that the middle class is under assault, in danger, and disintegrating, in which the present population growing into adulthood, have far less opportunity, far less security, and far more debt than any other generation of its age, so seen.

In point of fact, America has a huge and persistent problem with a rather uncomfortably large underclass of which as reported by 20somethingfinance.com, 55% of the American population are struggling in which, "36% are living paycheck-to-paycheck, 19% are actually worse off than that – accruing debt."  At the same time, that there are so many that literally have nothing or are under constant stress in regards to timely paying their bills, as well as simply existing or not drowning, there is an elite upper class of the superrich that have enormous assets of unfathomable scale, and are basically untouchable; in addition, to those same superrich functionally running the government and its institutions for their benefit. 

It would seem that the so-called dream in America, that all have a chance to succeed, is for huge swaths of Americans, an absolute lie; especially for all those unfortunate people that have little or no opportunity, little education, little or no assets, and little or no hope.  Additionally, the police presence in poor communities isn't there to ameliorate the violence and despair that is so evident in those areas, but rather to let it be known to that population that the police are ubiquitous, legally protected, armed to the teeth, handcuff happy, and devastatingly lethal.

Yet, though America in many ways, is far worse off in the sense of the futility of so many being unable to lift themselves up by their bootstraps as compared to the 1960s, riots such as was seen in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC, Detroit, and so on, is for the most part, not happening, currently.  Perhaps, that could be plausibly explained by the growing acceptance and mainstreaming of things such as marijuana, pornography, and mindless entertainment of all sorts, in addition to the assistance by the government in providing food stamps and Section 8 housing; as well as just a more inclusive society in general, especially in being able to see different creeds, different races, and both sexes, strategically displayed in positions of authority or class.

That said, this persistent underclass of so many that lack both opportunity as well as hope, essentially means that these are our modern day peasants, sustained only by the escapism of drugs, drink, mindless entertainment, and sex; yet, seldom actually starving or going without the basic necessities of life.  So too, all those that are gainfully employed but never actually getting ahead of the curve, don't seem to recognize that with their employment often being "at will," as well as working at non-unionized companies, that the game is fixed, so that, they too are left with apparently just drugs, drink, mindless entertainment, and sex for their satisfaction; never to get ahead, all because the comforts of the very, very rich is built upon the backs of those that are their peasants, in fit, form, and function, if not quite yet in name.

The early tax preparation refund ripoff

Regrettably, a significant swath of Americans are somehow not able to fill out and file their own taxes or don’t feel competent to do so without the aid of tax preparation outfits.  It is one thing, for those that make a lot of money, equity trades, have businesses, other assets, and a lot of other considerations, that would in prudence necessitate the consultation of a tax professional which seems quite reasonable; as compared to the million of Americans that really don’t have much more than W-2s, childcare, and not much else, but still fell the need to get their taxes prepared by an outside company.

If, in the getting taxes done, those that did so, simply paid a reasonable fix fee, then probably, in the scheme of things, since the filing of taxes for those that have income is a legal requirement, as well as a necessity in order to get tax refunds for the Earned Income Credit or for having more tax dollars withheld during the year than necessary, than this would seem to be a prudent step and a reasonable course of action; but in America, where the dollar seems to be the king of many decisions and the be-all and end-all of life, it has become a way for those in the tax refund preparation industry to exploit the ignorance of basic mathematics of their clientele as well as to appeal to their  client’s instant gratification monetary needs.

In point of fact, the government, allows tax preparation companies to offer a service that is extremely profitable to them, which is to provide the option to advance the tax refund to their customer base in return for a fee for having done so.  A fair analysis, though, would seem to suggest, that tax preparation companies that provide this, should be more seriously regulated in the amount and reasonableness of such a fee, akin to financial institutions as in banks and credit unions which are regulated in the legal usury that they can charge; and in particular, taking into full consideration that since tax refunds for a significant amount of Americans is the only time in the entire year that a hefty amount of money will accrue into their hands, that this should by all accounts be respected and not be exploited.

Of course, in America, when there are millions upon millions of dollars to be made off of millions of people that are in most cases,  financially stupid and inept, than there will be created parasitic companies that will market their tax preparation services, including advances on tax refunds as filling a need, but in short, it’s a ripoff, costing consumers on an annualized basis interest of nearly 36% on the monies so loaned, in addition, to those very pesky and annoying fees for prepaid cards, ATM access, and so forth.

Those people, for the most part, paying those fees and interest rates, are the very people that really do need every dollar that they can get a-hold of, but instead are having siphoned off from their pocketbooks meaningful amounts of dollars, of which these tax preparation companies are exploiting the weaknesses of those people, in a blatant betrayal of actually providing a fair service to them, of which those that have labored to earn the money, should really get all of what is rightfully theirs.

Fine Art and full disclosure

In a world in which masterpieces of art are auctioned off for millions upon millions of dollars, one would think that those buying and trading such, would really want to know absolutely everything about that piece of art, and in particular, its restoration history.  Truth be told,  just about everything in masterpiece art world, really isn’t completely on the up and up, and deliberately so, because when art galleries, museums, and auction houses, discuss with reverence  historic artists such as Michelangelo, Rembrandt, da Vinci, an so on, they know that in virtually every case that the art so being displayed is not now entirely by their hand, and if full disclosure was made, would not therefore actually be considered to be authentic, by any real definition of that word.

The very first hint that there just couldn’t conceivably be a way that paintings created 400-500 years ago, could still maintain vividness of color as well as their robustness is the very basic knowledge that most sentient people are aware of, which is that material objects which are not climate protected, one hundred percent of the time, from any and all of nature’s elements such as wind, rain, and sun are going to ultimately find those elements to be debilitating to any work of art.   Additionally, even art that is kept indoors and hence away from the most obvious harmful elements, still will suffer from the ravages of time, from humidity, light, and other factors, most particularly when that art is not deliberately protected at the highest possible level.  So too, the construction of most art pieces is not done in a format, which consciously considers that the length of time of its material constitution and construction elements is somehow the prevailing consideration of that art piece, and hence the viability and quality of masterpieces is finite, without an act of restoration.

So then, it could be said, and probably should be said, that some of the finest masterpieces in museums and art galleries, are at best, a faithful and devoted restoration of the piece as it was original conceived, in a style of the artist that so painted it; but in many cases, probably a disturbingly high percentage of cases, the restorations have been done so many different times, by so many different hands, by so many different degrees of skill and knowledge, that to say a given piece is a Rubens is not the whole truth.  After all, if movies, can run disclaimers that state that this movie “has been modified from its original version,” most definitely all of these fine masterpieces need the same sort of disclosure, if not more.  In fact, in the interests of full disclosure, there should be a history, or the best attempt of a history, of all the restorations done to any piece of great art, especially that art, that people flock to see from all over the world. However, this probably won’t be done anytime soon, if ever, because what the art world most definitely does not want to do, is to discredit the authenticity of the institution that benefits in particular some very highly placed individuals, but would instead, prefer to stick with the current narrative that most people, don’t seem to challenge much; though it would be nice to really see, for example, an original Botticelli, untouched and unvarnished, though faded and ravished through the ages of time, just to be able to appreciate the real authentic thing.

It is far easier to start a war, then to justly end one

For a world in which its leading nations consider themselves to be civilized, we do not in reality, live in a civilized world; for in a civilized world, differences between nations and nation-states, would not be “resolved” through acts of war and terror.  So too, in order to properly defend a country, countries would not need to have standing armies of enormous size and power, nor armaments that have been specifically built not for defense but for offense.

In a fair and civilized world, before any war was waged or entered into, each country contemplating such a war, would have to make a case to a respected world politic of countries, specifically outlining their cause or justification for war, and then have those member states debate upon it, before coming to some sort of just resolution, that would preclude as much as possible, actually having a war.  Regrettably, countries such as the United States of America, as well as other nations, simply declare war against other nations or nation-states without any real and meaningful debate, whatsoever; for countries that are already prepared for war, with all the armaments, logistics, and personnel ready to do so, just go ahead and do it.

As bad as declaring a war against another nation or nation-state is, this is often compounded by the fact that there doesn’t often seem to be any end plan for such a war, other than to destroy, damage, kill, and annihilate the enemy until submission.  Somehow, lost in the act of war, is the very purpose of the war, of which, if that is not clearly understood by all responsible parties then the end result will always be destruction without its appropriate attendant restoration.  Further, if the act of war, fails in the end, to benefit the people of the countries that have participated in that war, then all that bloodshed has pretty much been for nothing.

Those that truly believe that war, that is, the deliberate and targeted  killing of other human beings by nations, is the best way to resolve differences, essentially believe that force equates to righteousness and right; but justice, itself, belies that viewpoint, for justice is the honest weighing of all factors in regards to a dispute, of which, force unleashed is seldom the just answer to any dispute.

So too, far too many countries, deceive themselves as well as deceiving others, when it comes to the conditions that aid and abet those decisions that lead to war, by not recognizing, that many disputes between nations, are, in reality, disputes between the political, military, and industrial leaders of those opposing countries, in which, the common citizens of those respected countries typically don’t have much a dog in the fight, but simply have an abiding desire to have a decent life.  

That said, all wars should rightly be judged almost solely on the aftermath of that war, so that those that start wars but are unable to benefit and evolve mankind for having done so, should be subsequently stripped of their legitimacy for their insistence upon choosing the sword of force, rather than the table of democratic negotiation and fair peace.

Royal palaces and the commoners

In the United States, the White House, consists of approximately 55,000 square feet, which seems pretty big.  However,  on the other hand, royal palaces, all over the world,  are absolutely astonishing in size, which often is  something that is problematic for the average person to actually fathom.  For instance, though many of the very biggest palaces have become  museums, such as the Louvre Palace,  now known as the Louvre  Museum, in which, this former palace occupies an incredible space of over 2,000,000 sq ft.  Additionally, there are still plenty of present day royal palaces, such as the Ak Saray in Turkey, which is the presidential palace, which also measures over 2,000,000 sq ft.  Basically, countries all over the world, have either histories of royal palaces that are absolutely unfathomable in scale or presently still utilize royal or presidential palaces of enormous scale; and while it could be said, that large palaces are necessary in order to conduct the business of the state, it could also be said, that size matters, and therefore the size of those palaces which are colossal, are purposely constructed that way.

In point of fact, most royal palaces, are absolutely astonishing not only in their scale but also in their amenities, furnishing, and status.  On a historical basis, in a world before literacy became common place, as well as a world in which royalty was considered to be God’s secular representative on earth, those commoners that could even consider the audacity of believing that they were entitled to an equal voice or a voice at all, would be in virtually every case, intimidated by the sheer size, magnificence and scale of the palace, the people within the palace, the power behind and within the palace, and just about everything in-between, and therefore would simply have had little choice but to continue to submit to that royalty, despite the fact that commoners historically, as well as today, vastly outnumber royalty, yet royalty still takes in the lion’s share of just about everything of value, and passes on to the commoners all those things which are valueless.

Anytime that as a tourist, people visit a royal palace, or what once was a royal palace, it is thereby easier to comprehend that in era when commoners had no voice, had no literacy, and had no choice, that any commoner would acknowledge implicitly if not explicitly, that those of royalty, could only be in that position, because it was their God-appointed position to be there, and it was therefore the commoners’ place therefore to be in their lowly appointed place.  

All the ostensible images of power, strength, and grandeur that any government displays, is not necessarily displayed because it is necessary to do so, but rather as a present reminder to the people, and especially to the commoners, that protest is absolutely futile; and therefore rather than to die ignobly, it is far better to appreciate that those in royal power, are the elite, which are wholly separate from the people, and thereby live in palaces or palace like places, and are feted and treated as if, for all practical purposes, that they are gods, though they are not.

Towards the victim’s revenge and the death penalty

The United States is the only G7 country that permits capital punishment, and it remains the only established western nation that permits such.  While not every State of the union, permits capital punishment, it is still the law in 30 States and those convicted of crimes and sentenced to the death penalty in those States are subject to that sentence being carried out.  While there are all sorts of debates about the death penalty, itself; and an awful lot of hullabaloo about those being sentenced to die, being executed in a civilized and humane way, all of this misses the point -- that if the United States insists upon embarrassing itself to the world at large, by its bloodlust for what all other established western nations have already abolished, than why not just embrace that bloodlust, itself?

That is to say, those convicted of heinous crimes deserving of capital punishment by a jury of their peers, have obviously committed a crime, that in most cases, has at least one victim, if not more.  While in some or perhaps in a majority of those cases, that victim is dead; that is definitely not the case in all of such cases.  Additionally, most victims are survived by relatives, so that, when it comes time to execute a given criminal, there is almost always some representative of the victim or victim’s family or its relatives that are present or allowed to be present for that execution.  

But why should that victim or its relatives, have to just sit there and basically watch the convict, die through a passive lethal injection, which would not appear to be all that cathartic, whatsoever, but would seem more akin to watching someone just go to sleep?  Rather, there should be law, mandated in all of those states, stipulating that when it comes time for that execution to be carried out for the death penalty, that the victim or the next in line as designated through court documents, has to execute with their own hand, the convict, their own self.

Not only that, but the execution, could only be carried out through the thrusting of a knife through the body of the convict, of which the convict would be strapped to some sort of containment frame, that would not allow the convict to move or to protect their body, and a State issued knife would be provided to the victim, with some rudimentary instructions on how to use it as well as being provided with the knowledge of the areas of the body of which such knife thrusts would be especially damaging. Additionally, this person would be given a time limit in order to carry out the execution, of which, after that time, if the convict was still living, that convict would be given appropriate medical attention and would thereby be confined to life imprisonment for the duration of their natural life.

While some might argue, that this would be the epitome of “cruel and unusual punishment,” the response by some clever lawyer would be that it is only the federal government that is precluded from exacting “cruel and unusual punishment,” so that that the victim of an especially heinous crime deserving of the death penalty, should be afforded the reasonable opportunity to enact an “eye for an eye” in response.  In any event, such a law, would seem to richly satisfy the bloodlust that defines Americans, and therefore would be quite apropos.

The 4th of July, means absolutely nothing, unless…

Each year in America, the 4th of July is celebrated, as this nation’s independence day, but many people are not cognizant that at the time that this declaration was signed and ratified by the thirteen colonies and by their representatives, that America was for all intents and purposes still a colony of Great Britain.  That is to say, the 4th of July should more properly be remembered as a resolution for that independence, but did not in and of itself, create that independence.  Instead, America would have to battle Great Britain, in a bloody revolutionary war, until 1781, to effect its independence, and had it failed; the 4th of July, would not mean much of anything, except as an answer perhaps to some obscure trivia question, for many a colony or civilization has risen up against its master, only to be absolutely crushed.

So, first of all, for the 4th of July to mean anything, whatsoever, that revolution to effect that independence, has to succeed, which it did.  Secondly, and really of even more importance, that revolution having succeeded must then live up to its lofty goals and ideals, of which, many a revolution and revolutionaries have succeeded in their arm rebellion, only to fundamentally after having taking over power, not been any improvement over the government that they so overthrew.  In regards to America, the standard that they must be held to, is a very high standard, for America in its declaration declared foremost that all men are created equal, and further that their Creator has endowed those men with certain unalienable rights, in addition to the salient fact that just governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of those so governed.

America has existed as an independent nation since the Treaty of Paris in 1783; so plenty of time has passed in which a reasonable person can therefore render a reasonable judgment as to whether or not America has lived up to its Declaration of Independence, or whether it has not.  In regards to all men being created equal, though it has taken many generations, bloodshed, and amendments to the Constitution, itself; America legally has created an institution in which all people are subject to equal rights, as well as equal laws, but, sad to say, a law is only as good as its effect in reality, and for this, America, is clearly a country that favors the few at the expense of the many, which has been the case since its inception.  In regards to its Creator and those certain unalienable rights, America has in recent generations attempted to redefine itself, as a country in which there is a impregnable wall of separation of state and its Creator, and further the state has taken fundamental steps to remove the Creator and treat such as an irrelevancy, and thereby those unalienable rights, have been replaced by the state, so that now what once was unalienable have become alienable rights, for it is the state that declares what is right and what is wrong.  Finally, a just government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed, but America has functionally created a privileged and powerful elite class, that is above the law, and that effectively rules this nation and vacates the voice of the people.

In summary, the 4th of July is a promise broken, and a promissory note, defaulted.  Those that celebrate the 4th of July, mostly do so, without comprehending that America has not yet lived up to its Declaration of Independence, and doesn’t appear that it ever will do so.

The federal war against marijuana has been fought and lost

It seems absolutely remarkable, considering that the usage of marijuana is a federal offense, that there is anything such as legal medical marijuana, but as incredible as that might seem,  that is the case in 32 States of the union; and then, even more amazing is that legal recreational usage of marijuana is the law in 10 States of the union.  What makes this seem so improbable, is that the reality is that federal law trumps State law, and not only that but importantly the history of the United States is a history in which individual freedoms and State freedoms have basically been curtailed by federal law and federal power trumping over them.  So that, the federal law in regards to marijuana does not equivocate about marijuana, whatsoever, in which marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug, which means by federal law that marijuana is considered to have ”… no medical value and a high potential for abuse.”

Yet, somehow in the last twenty-odd years, marijuana has become decriminalized in many States as well as being medically prescribed within a majority of  States, in addition to becoming  legal as a recreational drug, regulated by those States, that have legalized it within their State jurisdiction.  None of this makes any sense whatsoever, because quite clearly, the possession of, the selling of, and medicinal use of marijuana are all federal crimes, subject to federal law and its penalties, and there are no exceptions to that law.

The thing about federal laws is that there are so many of them, so that laws that are not equally applied to all, or selectively applied to some, or not applied at all to anyone, are laws that will allow lawyers, States, and citizens to possibly circumvent what is the law, by simply ignoring federal law, and thereby considering federal law to be a nullity, and proceeding with that mindset.

At this point with the majority of States having either decriminalized, medically accepted, or permitted the recreational use of marijuana, with the federal government, during all of this time, simply sitting on its hands, has effectively created a situation in which it is now too late for the federal government to stop something that for all intents and purposes is now legal, or medically prescribed, or decriminalized within the United States.

This would seem to imply that it is only a matter of a relatively small amount of time, before the federal government, legalizes marijuana throughout the entire United States, so that the federal government, can at least generate some federal revenue from marijuana, as well as to set up federal rules and guidelines for the possession of, the usage of, and selling of marijuana.  This so signifies that the federal government’s war against marijuana, has been fought and it has been lost, and that marijuana for all effective purposes going forward is going to be treated more akin to something like alcohol and will no longer be treated as a schedule 1 drug.  

Whether all of this is good or not, misses the biggest point, of which, the people of this great nation, should well remember; which is that the people in conjunction with progressive and imaginative legislators, have a voice, of which that voice, can successfully trump federal law, even federal law of long standing, because this is in substance, supposed to be a nation by the people, of the people, and for the people, and revolutionary State marijuana legalization laws are proof positive, that this can indeed be true.