John 14: 26

We read in Holy Scripture: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you." (John 14: 26)  The reason that our Messiah spoke those words was to make known to his disciples, and thereby to the world, that our visualization of Jesus the Christ was meant for our expressed benefit, and that his absence, soon to come, of his physical form, should not be a worry to anyone, for the Holy Spirit, will ever be amongst us.

In so many people's minds, they believe that the beginning of everything is the birth of, for example, a given person, and that therefore it so follows, that the end of everything is the death of that which was born.  This is true only to the extent that it is the truth for that which is physical; but it has never been true and never will be true for that which is spirit.  Further to the point, it is a foundational error to see ourselves exclusively as physical beings, of which, even the most cursory of thinkers, must recognize that the nature of thinking is not physical, and of which the brain that each one of us has, is not the originator of thoughts, but merely the sophisticated instrument that allows our thoughts to be expressed through our physical embodiment.

So too, though many wonder why Christ was born in such a relatively primitive age, and of which that time in history did not allow for mass communications and the ease of travel so readily done in today's world; those thinking that, are fundamentally missing the point, for there never was a time when Christ did not exist, and never will there be a time when Christ will not exist, for Christ is indeed that which is indestructible, unchangeable, and immortal; or else His mission here on earth had no real abiding purpose.  To understand the crucifixion, one needs to also understand the resurrection and also later, Christ's ascension, of which, that passion story in its unity, should clearly indicate to us, that Christ was not subject to the laws of time -- as we understand it here on earth, and further that Christ was in essence, not His physical body, but was ever Holy Spirit.

This thus signifies that Christ has not only never left us, but that Christ has always been with us and always will be, and therefore it is our responsibility, to find that Holy Spirit, so that we will be taught the most important things that we need to know, and therefore by our learning, help our fellow brethren in their journey on this earthly plane; for all those that do not really know who they are, are lost, and those that are lost, are subject to suffering all the ill effects of a life without purpose or of a life consisting far too often of confusion and missteps.  After all, if we do not know who we really are, how is it that we can hope to conduct ourselves in a manner that is beneficial for ourselves as well as for others?  Fortunately, the Holy Spirit is there for all of those that sincerely wish to search inside for such, for God ever leaves us the opportunity for enlightenment, so as to fully dispel the darkness and delusion that we so often find ourselves seemingly transfixed by.

Stock returns and GDP rates do not correlate

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate represents the goods and services so provided by the subject country, as compared to the amount so produced, the previous year.  The stock return in a given country reflects the biggest and most stable of those publically traded companies' price appreciation, in regards to the previous stock return of such, on a yearly basis.  One would logically think that the GDP of a nation should essentially mirror the stock returns of that nation, since the more goods and services produced should be indicative of better business for publically held stocks, in aggregate, but this isn't the case really at all.  For instance, as reported by wealthsimple.com, since the inception of the Dow Jones Index in 1896, until May 25, 2018, the average annual return of this index has been 5.42%.  Yet, the last time that the USA had GDP growth of at least 5.42%, was all the way back in 1984!  This then, indicates that GDP growth and stock market returns do not act harmoniously, one with another.

While pundits will claim all of the time that the stock market is forward looking, it is hard to fathom, that the market as such, is so forward looking that it can't ever seemingly recognize the obvious, which is that the United States will not ever be able to produce again, a growth rate of 5% or beyond.   So too, it would be one thing, if the yearly dividends so being provided to stockholders of record, (that is the monetary yield so provided to investors for owning the stock), was at such a substantial percentage that it made sense for people to invest in stocks, in order to receive those dividends; but in actuality the stock dividend yield, in aggregate, has been in steady decline over recent decades, so that those that simply own equities, in order to receive dividends so as to augment their income, must either invest specifically in those industries that have high yields, such as utilities, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, or find themselves having to live with yields which typically are below 1.5% or lower, or non-existent.

It would appear that no matter what the given GDP is of a nation, that the stock market seems to have a mind of its own, and in recognition that the investors that invest in stocks, are entitled to purchase whatever stock that they so fancy, and pay whatever price, per their discretionary choice; that it is fairer to state that investing in stocks, is more akin to speculation -- for the game seems to be played, more often than not, with one very simple rule and mindset, which seems to reflect that a given investment is good, not so much because of the stock's intrinsic value and worth, but rather it is good, when the price goes up.

The purchasing of stocks may perhaps be an art, or it may perhaps be something as simple as buying a given stock in the sole hope that somebody else will "value" it even higher, and will therefore buy it at a higher price, of which, money is thereby made, at least on paper, and the thought is that this will go on, forever.  The thing is, stock prices should reflect something of substance, and the less grounded stock prices are to the things that are germane to such, the less safe those investments will be.

Endless wars and the governmental misuse of public funds

America insists upon getting itself involved in every single global conflict that it can become involved in, and never seemingly ever says "no" when provided with a choice as to whether or not to continue its endless meddling in foreign affairs, that often are far, far away from its native land.  Not only do these wars exact a cost in human lives so lost, human psyches damaged, infrastructure destroyed, and the continuous making of more and more enemies, it also serves to extract from the public purse a gargantuan amount of funds just to pay for these needless wars.  For instance, as reported in 2013 by military.com, "The U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will cost taxpayers between $4 trillion and $6 trillion, a study by a Harvard researcher said."  In fact, this presupposed that the Afghanistan war would have been terminated sometime soon after 2013, but as of 2020, this war still continues, and therefore the expenses and commitment to such, still increases by the day.

The amount of money so projected to be spent by this government on just these two wars, would be one thing, if the public purse was always full, and the domestic population always completed satisfied and content with their lot, but that is clearly not the case; in addition to the salient fact that there are ethical considerations that must be taken into account, when human beings, classified as soldiers, thereby through the guise of their military adventures or misadventures, deliberately kill other human beings, who are conveniently classified as being de facto enemy combatants; though, in actuality, the sheer amount of innocent civilians killed as well as civilian infrastructure so destroyed, are sadly tragically high, though often excused away through the misuse of semantic words, such as being labeled as mere peripheral damage.

In the consideration that money matters, and that where money is so spent and utilized is always relevant to those that populate this country, it is a grave error that America has consistently misspent that money on behalf of destroying, killing, and damaging foreign lands and their people, in the misguided belief that such is done for the benefit and protection of Americans.  Rather, when there are millions upon millions of Americans that live below the poverty line and do not know where their next meal is coming from, or have safe shelter, or have good healthcare, or even have fair access to a decent education; and further where there are millions upon millions of Americans that work hard and diligently but do not earn enough to make a living wage, in which they could then thereby garner some well deserving self-respect, we have instead stolen those very important accouterments from the very people that need it the most, our native citizens, so as to pursue instead to the ends of this world, imagined enemies, of which these foreign targets are sold to Americans as being a clear and present danger, to us.

The real clear and present danger to us, is how long this country can well exist, when it has created unto itself a huge seismic fracture, between those that have, and those have not, and of which those that have -- have proceeded to turned out the light of liberty on those that have not, and replaced it instead with the falsity of a promised land, that never does come, because the very monies and infrastructure so needed for such, has been spent instead upon the killing fields of those foreign lands, far, far, away.

The Republic Party Platform and domestic jobs

In 1972, the Republican Party Platform stated: "We deplore the practice of locating plants in foreign countries solely to take advantage of low wage rates…  We will take action to discourage such unfair and disruptive practices that result in the loss of American jobs."  Yet, when we fast forward nearly fifty years since those important statements were made, clearly, we see that the Republican party has completely disowned those patriotic sentiments to be replaced instead with the corporate pursuit of profit, above all, and therefore subsequently the millions of good American jobs so lost, in order to thereby fill the coffers of multinational companies with extraordinary profits, utilizing, quite frequently, the cheap labor rates and easy environment regulations that foreign countries offer, in order to feed those foreign lands with desirable capital investment from those multinational companies.

Sure, plenty of Americans are employed, but far too often, the jobs that Americans are employed at, are skimpy in their pay, derelict in providing good and affordable healthcare, delinquent in providing a full and steady forty hours of week for employees, and abusive in dictating to their workers the hours, days, and times that their employees are mandated to work.  The bottom line is that people need money in order to survive in this country, and with labor unions essentially eviscerated by the powers-to-be, then those so seeking work, are often left to take what they can take, or simply have no work at all; of which, the bottom line is that millions of hard working and dedicated employed Americans, are considered not to be worthy of being paid a living wage.

When one's own country determines that its own people should not and do not deserve a fair opportunity to make a living wage, but instead insists that the biggest and most powerful corporations that rule the roost, are entitled to make their profit first and foremost, any way that they so desire and thereby without any constraints placed upon them; then by permitting these corporations to have their way, the end result can only be catastrophic for a wide swath of Americans, while primarily being of benefit to only those that are within the inner circle of those multinationals, along with those that finance them.

Look, it doesn't take a genius to understand that the wages so having to be paid within third world nations are going to be a fraction of what such wages would necessitate in the United States, and further that the necessary environmental laws which are required so that corporations are thereby compelled to take into proper consideration, that they have an ethical responsible to be a good steward of this earth, can more easily be circumvented in those nations that are not strong and vibrant democracies, for they are instead typically autocratic in nature and often corrupt.

All political parties make promises, but in this particular case, we can see that fundamentally the Republican party has sold out its fellow countrymen, so as to serve and pay full obeisance to those multinational companies, and in return for doing so, well placed politicians and well placed individuals are the beneficiaries of such; so that these select people, are able to thereby live high on the hog, whereas many of their domestic brethren, humbly feed at the limited trough of despair and loss.

Regulation and corporations

One might think that corporations as a general rule would despise rules and regulations, as an interference to their domain, and especially those so generated by the government in order to protect consumers with robust consumer laws, or laws written thereby so as to promote corporate fairness, to thereby help level the playing field so that businesses do not subsequently become monopolistic in structure, all in effect, to punish corporations that end up providing, inadvertently or not, products and services which are ultimately harmful or unfair to that society.  In fact, the above is a general truth; yet, what has occurred in this modern age with all sorts of rules, regulations, and laws that have come into existence through legislative acts, is that, more times than not, those corporations are the hidden hand that guides the very rules, regulations, and laws so enacted.

That is to say, some of the most powerful and biggest corporations, make it their point to see that rules, regulations, and laws are specifically written as a way to not put shackles upon their business; but rather, instead, to place barriers upon all those other would-be competitors or start-ups that somehow have the gumption to want to compete on some sort of level playing field with them; in addition, to thereby also creating legislation that highly favors the biggest industry players when it comes to any sort of product litigation.  In other words, corporations are delighted to work under rules and regulations, when those rules and regulations are either heavily influenced by that particular corporation, or in actual fact, written by them.

So then, the public is deceived in their credulous belief when the rules and regulations that have been put into place by their legislative representatives, ostensibly to serve their interests, has often instead been co-opted by specific corporations so that these corporations are effectively thereby able to strangle those other companies that are attempting to compete against them.  Further, these corporations make it their point to see that litigation, such as it comes, is heavily skewed to favor those deep pocket corporations, at the expense of all those little people that somehow have the gall to actually oppose them and thereby to seek justice in a court of law.

This thus means, that the very instruments that have been created by legislatures as a necessary means to assure the general public that there are controls in place, to protect the people, the environment, and their pocketbook, from all the various forms of corporate malfeasance and misbehavior, is often ineffective in what it has set out to do; basically because the most influential corporations have taken virtual control of the narrative, and have thereby declawed and defanged that which was meant to have the attacking power to confront and to thereby effectively regulate them.

The bottom line is that when the most powerful and biggest corporations get their way, they often become blinded to any sort of social duty that they owe to that society which has permitted their artificial and privileged creation in the first place.  Instead, in their relentless pursuit of profit, above all, they often become predators and exploiters which primarily provide an enormous benefit to those that are the corporate chieftains as well as to the most influential financiers behind them, all at the expense of fairness, justice and the people.

Public policy and the people

As reported at pnhp.org, "Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence."  This should rightly be seen as fundamentally upsetting and unsettling to all those that believe that this is a country of the people, by the people, and for the people.  Rather, it clearly seems to be a country that favors those that are the economically privileged as well as the business interests that make sure that the legislation so passed favors their interests, all to the exclusion of the general public, in whole.

Of course, nothing of this should be much of a surprise, because the majority of the very people that populate our legislatures, the executive office, and the interpreters of the law, are often those that are privileged, themselves; as well as those that have deliberately left private industry for governmental "service", often for the expressed purpose to game the system so as to favor the very industry that they so left.  Still, just because that is the way that things currently are, does not mean that it is right, and further does not mean that it should stay the same as it currently is, but rather should be properly seen as an outrage upon the people, for this government is supposed to not only faithfully serve the people, in whole; but, in order for that government to be of a legitimate service to the people, it must be just, and a government that favors the few and connected at the expense of the public, is certainly not just.

Unfortunately, it would seem that having the right connections with important governmental officials, as well as having the monetary means to influence such, appears to be the playbook that works, time and time, again.  That is why, it is so important that governmental business should be as transparent and as public as possible, for those that sway public policy prefer to take care of that sort of business, outside the public purview, for they know that the more that they are exposed for who and what they really are, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to achieve their biased goals and agendas. 

So too, a free and independent press is absolutely essential to keeping any democracy, fairly informed and engaged.  However, when that mainstream press is in cahoots with those economic elites and business interests, then they are promoters of the very agenda that favors those forces, against the people.  Regrettably, to a very large extent, the mainstream press is fundamentally controlled by specific business interests that put on the façade that they so disseminate all the news that is germane to the public, in a fair and unbiased manner, but in actuality, they don't.

Further to the point, the general public has to work for a living, and therefore typically are lacking in the time, money, as well as the resources to effectively monitor their governmental representatives; so that, they often take things on faith, as opposed to carrying out a proper due diligence.  That is why, it is so distressing that those that ostensibly are democratically elected so as to responsibly represent the people, are so often, nothing of the sort, but rather are in it for themselves, and further are often compromised, by those elites and business interests.

The physical body is not eternal, your soul is

Plenty of people get so caught up in this material world that they do not even consider, let alone recognize, that they have an eternal soul; but rather spend all of their time and energy, doing what they can do to enjoy or to get the best that they can get, from their life so lived upon this earthly dimension.  Then there are those that are ostensibly Christian, that conduct their lives in such a manner that they seemingly care much more about what they have, and their needs for their body, then they do about the destiny and the development of their spiritual being.

Of course, one's physical body has demands that do progressively become more demanding, when that body is denied the very things of sustenance that are needed to sustain itself, as well as to live with some degree of comfort.  That is to say, those who lack fair access to and thereby are lacking in food, in water, in shelter, and in healthcare, are going to feel incredibly vulnerable, and often aren't going to be appreciably susceptible to spiritual concerns, until they are secure with their bodily needs.  That shouldn't be considered to be all that surprising, because most people self-identify with their body and because our physical body has needs, and our mind understands well those needs, many people are going to rightly stress out about all those aspects of life in which they feel that they are in danger of losing, or have lost, those things which are necessary to live a physically sustainable life.

While all of these concerns have their place, even those that have what appears to be a sustainable situation in regards to income, wealth, and position, are still prone to stressing out about the ravages of time and how their body, as good as it may currently be, will, after so many years, begin to disappoint them to the degree that they know that their physical life will meet its inevitable end.  That is to say, no matter how blessed a given person has been with physical gifts, this will be subject for all people to the ravages of time, and a destiny of which was obviously known from the beginning.

So that, those that overly concern themselves about their physical presence, to the dismissal of that which is eternal, have indeed overvalued greatly that which has a limited and finite worth, for that which has an incalculable value.  Of course, we should try to do our best to treat our bodies well, and to the extent that we can reasonably do so, we should provide the nourishment and comfort for such on a sustainable basis for as long as we can accomplish such.  However, it must also be recognized that to devote an inordinate amount of time to all things, physical, and to concern our mind only about those things that are essentially for the benefit of our physical needs, is often to preclude from our mind, our true identity, which is not physical in nature, but spiritual.  If more people, would realize that our physical body is merely the vessel for our spiritual, and thereby would properly concentrate far more on developing their spiritual side, in the wisdom that the eternal is rightly of immensely more importance than the temporal, our world would be better for it, and our soul would thereby grow its way back to that which lovingly sustains it.

Christmas has not always been celebrated in America

The biggest and most anticipated holiday in America, is clearly, Christmas, of which plenty of children look forward to it eagerly and typically in anticipation of gifts; whereas parents and other family members more often look upon it as an opportunity to get together with friends and family so as to share their faith and their love one with another.  So that, it seems to be the quintessential American holiday, celebrating friends, family, generosity, hearth, good will, and the birth of Jesus the Christ.  Yet, there are mainstream religions of the Christian faith that do not observe Christmas, not because they do not believe in Christ, but rather, because they do believe in Christ; and in that belief, find it more sincere to be Christian by being of service to their fellow mankind, every day of the year, as opposed to celebrating such in a commercial way, or to participate in a holiday which has clear pagan origins.

So that, there was a time when Christmas was not celebrated in America, because it was viewed rather dimly as being a combination of the midwinter celebration for non-Christians, which subsequently co-opted the birth of Christ so as to be on the same day; despite the fact that in all likelihood, Christ was not actually born on the 25th of December, and further his birth was not noted as being annually celebrated in the Scriptures so written after his death and resurrection.  Additionally, there was a time in certain communities of America when the celebration of Christmas was forbidden by law, because those that passed that law saw Christmas as such, as an actual apostasy to the Christian religion.  Also, one of the greatest military victories of the revolutionary era was when Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware river, on the evening of December 25th, knowing the Hessian troops that they would face, would have celebrated Christmas, and would therefore be more than likely, unprepared or less prepared for a surprise military attack, which was successfully achieved by the brave American revolutionary forces.

Nowadays, few people are concerned about the origins of Christmas, and typically believe that such has always been celebrated and commemorated, though perhaps a bit more commercial in today's modern age, then in yesteryear, but fundamentally the same as it always has been.  Though this is not true, what is important for those that truly wish to celebrate Christmas, is to recognize that those that have the Christian spirit, or wish to represent such, should see the Christmas season as an opportunity to represent well the qualities that were propagated when Jesus the Christ was here on this earthly plane, which is to treat our neighbor as our own, to love our God, to be patient, kind, forbearing, considerate, truthful, courageous, generous, and just in all that we do.

So then, Christmas should best be seen, as a time for us to see Christ in the eyes of all human beings, with the implicit understanding that we are all children of the exact, same God; and that it is our duty, to go forth and thereby help to make this world a better place, for our having been here, by doing all the good that we can for as many as we can and for as long as we can, so help us God.

Trade deficits and money

The United States Commerce department reported that America's trade deficit for 2019, was $616.8 billion. This thus signifies that America imported far more goods from various countries in this world then it was able to sell to those other countries, of which, no single country had a  higher trade deficit than the United States, and the United States has consistently run a trade deficit each and every year, of this 21st century.  So that, in essence America trades its dollars for goods, which might even seem like a smart and sensible thing to do, for something of tangible value has been received for those dollars so spent; yet, recognize that another way of looking upon these constant trade deficits -- is that America helps to keep other countries and their businesses operating at a higher capacity and thus favors by the expenditure of their dollars the industries of foreign countries over their own domestic companies, which thereby means that less Americans are employed, and that there are less opportunities for good and stable employment for Americans, in whole.

The richness of a given nation could, in theory, be judged upon which nation purchases and thereby consumes the most goods; but in actuality, the richness of a given nation really comes down to who sells the most products to other countries, because that nation that has the highest trade surplus is a country that is typically on the right side of good economic growth and further is on the right side of saving that money so earned by their sales, so as to provide that country and its people with more flexibility, more opportunity, and the accumulation of wealth, going forward.  Whereas, those countries in which what they have bought exceeds what they have sold, have, in principle, drawn down their savings so as to purchase something today, as opposed to saving what they have, for something else, tomorrow, and are thereby limiting their flexibility, their opportunity, and  are compromising their wealth.

Fortunately, for the United States, the reserve currency for the entire world is the United States dollar.  This signifies that the go-to currency for business transactions for companies as well as for nation-states is typically the dollar, and because transactions throughout the world are primarily done with those dollars, this gives the United States, a tremendous and unique advantage over all the other nations, combined; for this means that the largest financial institutions of America, are able to extract their small fee for those transactions, from both buyer as well as seller, from one country to another, for providing the liquidity as well as for their reliance upon the historic stability of the dollar.  So then, trade deficits, from the perspective of the financial world, is not something that they are especially concerned about, for the more business so generated, the more profit there is to be had, and that therefore supersedes any concern that these financial institutions might have about domestic trade deficits.

Yet, when the business of America, switches from being one of what is good for those that are the domestic industries of America and thereby their exports; and is replaced by a mantra of what is good only for the financial sector, so that the apparent chief export of America becomes the dollar, in all of its many forms, then that sole dependency upon that dollar is subject to the suffering of having too many of the same goods in that one basket, and because of America's lack of diversification, as well as its inability to correct its trade balance, this will leave a lot of Americans, ill prepared for the real hard times that lay ahead, for all those that consume much more than they produce.

Wealth and work

One would rightly think that there should be a strong correlation between how hard we work and the monetary rewards thereof; demonstrated in kind by the income and eventually the wealth so produced.  Yet, there are millions upon millions of people that work very hard each and every day, that have little income, little security, and little wealth; whereas, there are others, though relatively few in number, that don't personally do much of anything that is worthwhile or even productive for society on a given day, but are blessed with both plenty of time, as well as plenty of wealth.  So then, clearly, the richest and wealthiest people in the world, aren't necessarily those that are the hardest workers, but rather such has a lot more to do with the privileges or advantages that some are born into or are able to accumulate over time, one way or another, legitimately or not.

Further to the point, while there are plenty of people of all income classes that are diligent in the performance of their work; so too, there are plenty of people of all income classes that clearly are not.  The thing is that for poor people and especially for those without a safety net to fall back upon, they are going to have to do what they need to do in order to just survive, which may well necessitate an awful lot of work, though the work that they do will not typically compensate them at even the semblance of a living wage.   On the other hand, those that have wealth, have a multitude of options that they can attend to on a given day, of which, one of those options, is to simply not to do much of anything of merit, because they do not have the financial need that compels them to do much of anything.

It isn't so much that those that have wealth, should be compelled to give up that wealth, to those that have not; but rather that there is a lot to be said about the fact that those that simply inherit money or opportunity or privilege, or situations in which they have an unfair advantage and have done little or nothing of merit to be deserving of their favorable financial situation, except perhaps some cleverness; lends itself thereby to a separate class of people, that have wealth, without correspondingly having had to labor for such, and those non-working rich people will not typically have the same mindset as those that are required to work.

As it is, there is a world of difference between those that work to earn their keep, and those that are not required to work because their material assets do not necessitate that they work.    So that, to the degree that any society treats passive income, more favorably than active income, in which passive income is taxed at a lower rate or substantially at the same rate as active income; this clearly demonstrates that the governmental representatives of that nation are either enthralled to those that have acquired wealth without income, or, are in substance, those people, themselves.

While wealth has its place, it must be recognized that those that have not fairly earned that wealth by their own labor and will not correct such by their positive actions towards their fellow denizens that are lacking, are the direct or indirect oppressors of all those that work hard, but have nothing.

Meet karma, meet yourself

Most everyone is sort of familiar with the meaning of karma, but many people, even those that really ought to know better, have a tendency to believe that karma can only be worked out person-to-person, or through similar previous life scenarios being reenacted, that thereby allows the opportunity for those that have created karma for themselves, to correct such, by addressing it with those that they have previously failed or hurt, or to correct scenarios in which they have come up short on.    While the above does make logical sense, the fact of the matter is that bad karma so generated is really about meeting those faults within your own character by personally correcting them; as opposed to having to hunt down and personally interact with this person or that person from some previous life, and thereby make amends with them, which would logistically be rather difficult, and might just be water under the bridge, anyway.

So too, life is not about endless or pointless repetition, but rather, it is about taking the opportunity to do better within the construct of the situation that a given person finds themselves in.  That is to say, God is the ultimate Creator, with the ultimate imagination; of which, as the players upon this cosmic stage, it is our duty, to do our level best with the role that we are provided to play, and never will we be put into the position of playing the exact same role, twice.  Therefore, the past is truly the past, and the scorecard, so to speak, does not have little chits so noted for every little trivial thing so done.  Rather, karma, paints a big and detailed picture, of which it is our sacred duty to see that the painting does justice and honor to that which created our being in the first place; of which to do right by that honor, we are going to be tested in a whole lot of situations, and from those tests, the painting is so made.

So then, as much as people like to play mind games, of believing that they must have done this or that in a previous life or lives, in order to be in their present situation, good or bad; the reality is that this is no more than idle speculation, for God so knows that without a veil precluding us from knowing what we once represented in a different place, as well as a different time, and upon a different stage, that we will lose too much of our present self in the reverie of what previously so occurred.  Rather, it is our duty, to plainly keep things simple, and to clearly recognize that if we only concentrated and thereby fulfilled being a good neighbor to all, and practiced therefore more patience, more love, some necessary humility, and maintained an abiding tolerance with others, that things would end up sorting themselves out, rather nicely.

The nature of karma, is in the conscious recognition that those qualities that are detrimental to good human interaction, need to be forsaken; and thereby we must take on the new cloak of being good in our actions and in our deeds in as many ways, and with as many people, for as long as we can do so; in which, by walking that path, that which has kept us burdened and has hindered our forward progress, will waste away, and we will thereby find ourselves in the presence of that Light that never wavers, and never dims.

"Labor is prior to and independent of capital"

Further, the above quotation goes on to say, "Labor is the superior of capital… A few men own capital, and that few avoid labor themselves, and with their capital hire or buy another few to labor for them."  Most learned people, almost with exception, would attribute that quote and that sentiment to somebody such as Karl Marx, and virtually none would ever attribute such an apparently radical statement as that, to any former President of the United States.  Yet, in fact, President Abraham Lincoln delivered that very message on December 3, 1861, and as much as it rang true back over 150 years ago, it is even truer, today.

The problem that America has is that its governance, and the institutions that it has set up, is in virtually every instance, beholden to those that have capital, and thereby it is those that employ that capital that make the rules, the laws, and are the captains of the American business fate.  There was a time when labor did have a seat at the table with capital, of which the percentage of the labor force that was unionized, peaked back in 1954, at nearly 35% of all laborers; of which, since that time, labor unions have been in a steady state of decline and their power and relevancy in today's world is relatively weak; this despite the fact that never have so many have had to labor for some other entity, as of today, In comparison to being self-sufficient or self-employed, back then.

The fact of the matter is that everything of merit that is created comes forth from those that have labored to do those very things.  On the other hand, capital, while having its necessary place, as something that is needed in order to obtain products and to sustain development -- does not necessarily require from those that have capital that they personally labor on a given endeavor which they have provided such capital for.  Further, those that have capital have typically co-opted governance in a manner in which their taxation is minimized or circumvented, and have placed instead, the heavier burden of such taxation on those that are required to labor through wages for their means of living.

The bottom line is that capital as practiced in America is clearly the only game in town, and labor must therefore adhere to whatever that said capital demands from them, or suffer the ill effects of having not the material means to sustain their own being.  So then, that is why the words of Lincoln sound so radical to our ears of today, as well as seeming almost revolutionary; even though, in comparison, capital back in Lincoln's day, had not nearly the power or influence that it has in today's world.

The reason that Lincoln believed as he did that labor is prior to and the superior to capital, has an awful lot to do with the fact that the slave masters made their money off of the back of enslaved labor, through their intelligent and relentless use of their monetary capital; of which those with that capital, richly reaped what they personally had not sowed through their own personal labor.  Though slavery is long gone, a look around the phenomenal disparity between the underclass and the privileged class, demonstrates that it is in essence, still here; because this country is owned -- lock, stock and barrel by those with immense amounts of capital, at the expense of all those that tirelessly labor for them.

Free, free money and so little inflation

With all of the helicopter money being dropped on the American economy, one would think that the inflation engines would have, by now, revved right up and that inflation would be thereby occurring in the natural order of things, because when there is an excess of money that suddenly appears out of what is essentially the clear, blue sky, and there are a multitude of people that have their needs and their desires to fulfill, then all that money chasing goods that are either limited in supply or that take some amount of time and logistics to create, are going to necessitate the price of those goods, increasing, because all that newfound money is in theory, chasing a limited supply of goods.

Yet, inflation has been relatively quiescent in America, and this has been the case for a number of years, though there are those items such as education and healthcare that are the outliers in regards to inflation, as these have each gone up noticeably in recent times.  However, for the most part, and certainly on what the government measures as inflation, the inflation rate has remained below 2.5% since 2010, with the sole exception being 2011, when it was just above 3%.  All of this seems to suggest, that the government can somehow run up massive deficits of not just hundreds of billions, but even three trillion or beyond, in a single year, without suffering the ill effects of dollar debasement, and hence thereby its corresponding inflation.

The answer to this conundrum is that the richest of the rich, and the most powerful of the powerful, have gamed the system, so that monies being created, first pass through the very hands of the people and institutions that don't really need the money, and are hesitant to invest their unearned money into industries that actually are employing people and creating things.  Instead, they are risk averse, and with the cost of money approaching near zero, for those of stellar credit rating, they find that the easiest course to thereby take and the most prudent course, is actually one in which the monies so being issued is passively invested into equities or similar.

This, thus signifies that the very people that have a real need along with a burning desire and would surely spend "free" money being provided to them; represented by all those that are without any substantial material assets as well as by all those that are struggling paycheck to paycheck and would not mind being able to buy those things that they have been precluded from buying because of budgetary concerns, are actually the last in line to receive any portion of that helicopter money and the proportion that they thereupon receive isn't enough to make any material impact to the economy, or give reason for businesses to crank up their engines; indeed, not a whit.

The bottom line is that when newly minted money is primarily distributed to those parties that have no real need to spend such or to expand their businesses with such, then that money is not going to be spent on buying material goods, but rather is simply going to find some reasonable conduit so as to invest those monies, instead.  This means, that helicopter money as implemented does not do much to jumpstart a sluggish economy, and neither is it inflationary for most goods; though it does provide a very nice boost for the equity markets, for that is often the chosen vehicle for those monies that are put to use, but not ever spent.

Majority rule, tyranny, and natural law

Most people believe that majority rule is a fair way for laws to be passed and to be exercised in their country, and on the surface, this seems to be fair, as what the majority so desires, in a fair election, or through the fair evaluation by its legislature, should rightly be the law.  However, as sound as that may well seem on the surface, there is fundamentally a problem with majority rule, when that majority, is permitted to pass laws that benefits that majority at the expense of the minority in which, therefore, that country thereupon devolves into essentially becoming a country of "mob rule".

So that, the qualification for majority rule should be based around a well written Constitution that serves to represent well the governing instrument of that country, of which that Constitution contains within it checks and balances, that guarantee first and foremost to each one of those citizens their unalienable rights, which thereby belongs to those citizens by birth and not by the pen of that government, but rather by the very hand of God, which therefore makes them unalienable.  Further to the point, the highest law of any land should always be that law which is immutable, true, and moral in its construction, and thereupon equal in its application, and thereby no respecter of persons, but only that which is the respecter of that law which is fair and just, which is natural law.

Natural law is that which is for the common good of all mankind, for the propagation of that which is of benefit for mankind, and of which, fair reason, recognizes such as being an unchangeable and fixed moral law, applicable to all.  That is to say, the very purpose of any good law is that the construction and thereby the application of such is universal, fair, and just, of which, the purpose of such a law, is for the wholesale benefit of those people that are under that law.

So then, within any majority rule of any country, there has to be applied to such, ethical universal laws, which supersede mankind's laws, and further that the Constitution of that country, must in its construction and usage, sustain in such a manner as to at all times, protect and defend the weakest and the disenfranchised that are part of parcel of all societies, so as to continually recognize that each person, by virtue of their birth, has unalienable rights, of which it is the responsibility of that governance to see that none of these unalienable rights are ever trampled upon by arbitrary majority rule.

Again, that which the majority wants and so wills, is theirs to have, contingent upon those laws so being passed, being in accordance with the Constitution of that country, and in harmony with natural law.  For, in absence of these very things, majority rule, devolves into a tyranny of those that have the exclusive power and thereupon uses such over all those of the minority that have no sanctuary to preclude that power from running roughshod over them.   So that, the checks and balances of a robust Constitution, in conjunction with natural law, thereby permits that which the majority so desires, within those necessary constraints.

The rich are very different from the poor

Quite obviously, rich and poor people in America aren't the same sort of people, because money affords all sorts of advantages and opportunities that typically aren't available or readily available for those that do not have money or the ready means to such.  However, being rich goes way beyond just the fact that rich people have more money, more power, and often live without having to deal meaningfully on any level with the type of worry that typically affects poor people such as food, shelter, education, safety, and so forth.  What really separates the rich from the poor is that foundationally the rich have a different mindset than the poor which really affects their perceptions about everything.

For instance, most poor people are going to earn their money from laboring at such and such a company, in which they as employees, or "associates", do not often have any meaningful relationship with management so as to influence much of anything that they must do and deal with, on a daily basis.  Additionally, poor people are often dependent upon the government for necessary resources dealing with public education, healthcare, rent subsidies or vouchers, and food, amongst other valuable things.  On the other hand, a significant amount of rich people do not labor, or at least do not labor in any sort of traditional 9-5 job, but rather more often than not, make the lion's share of their income through either passive investments in regards to equities, or through the ownership, partial or not of a company, or through the ownership of property that thereby generates rental income for them, as well as often receiving some portion of their wealth, simply through inheritance.  This so signifies, that those with lots of money aren't typically personally concerned about public education, governmental healthcare, rent subsidies, or food stamps, because none of these things are relevant to their life, as it is; because they are able to afford private education, along with all the other material things that they need to live a good life, as a matter of course, without worry or concern or needful governmental assistance.

So then, for instance, when it comes to policing and the criminal justice system, rich people are typically very pro law and order, because they are not the type of people that commit crimes; or at least not the type of people that commit the crimes that are a public nuisance or of danger to others.  So then, in essence, rich people want social order, and desire that the disadvantaged just passively accept their lot, as it is.  Additionally, taxation means an awful lot to rich people, for they, especially, do not desire to be taxed upon their wealth, for their powerbase, rests upon that wealth, which more or less, buys them influence and power.  So then, when it comes to taxation, rich people, desire and need to see that those that labor are to be the ones that must be burdened and thereby must carry the largest tax load, of taxes so being extracted for the auspices of the Federal government, State government,  Social Security and Medicare.  In other words, rich people are all about getting a free ride upon those that do not have a multitude of money or power, and must thereby labor for the man in order to earn their living, so that the rich can continue to grow their wealth, relatively effortlessly and without any onerous taxation placed upon them.  In short, rich people are different, because they don't need and thereby do not desire to pay into what a good civilization requires in order for it to sustain itself and to be vibrant, because this they already personally have.

The lost art of good journalism

One might think that never has there been a better time for the public to take in good journalism, as never has there been so many forms and formats available for the people, at such a low as well as convenient cost, to take in the news of the day, through, for instance, television networks, newspapers, the internet, social media, blogs, and podcasts.  Yet, what we find instead, is that rather than us having a vibrant and free press, we have a very powerful mainstream press that is controlled by interests that have not the public's good in mind, but rather are intent to proselytize their given viewpoint that matches the actuators of that press, and therefore the prejudices and agendas of that clique that are the masters of it.  Almost without exception, the great purveyors of journalism, whether it be in the written form or via broadcast TV, are owned by corporate interests that make it their point, to provide news that is filtered through the prism of their perception of how they desire the world to be.

Further, while never has there been so many alternative forms of journalism, most of those forms, suffer from their own agendas, that therefore colors their viewpoint of what it is that they so wish to discuss, as if the only thing that matters to them is just their one particular outlook, and none other is thereby considered to be legitimate or even entitled to a fair hearing. So that, in essence, journalism is filled with two basic formats, of which one is akin to the bully pulpit so as to stir up the masses to believe only that and to consider nothing else; whereas, the other is to hoodwink the public into believing that they are actually hearing a reasoned argument between two sides, of which the public is unaware, that such is really the two sides of the very same coin.

As for what good journalism is really all about, it comes down to the fact that a good journalist, actual takes the time and puts forth the necessary effort so that they end up writing and speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so as to thereby allow the reading or listening public to formulate their own opinions and judgments based upon the facts so being presented.  In other words, journalists should make it their point to inform the public of all that is going on of interest in the community for the public; as well as to especially concentrate on that which is relevant and germane to the people, so that the public can thereby make up their minds, as to the best course of action and thereby the best decisions to therefore make.

After all, for the public to make good decisions for the betterment of their society, they need to be informed of what is actually occurring, and they need to know the full story, as compared to getting distorted stories, or just portions of stories; for no country can be considered to do well at self-governing if they do not have all the actionable information at hand in order to formulate their proper course of action.  So then, to the degree that journalists express that which is true, is to the degree that country and its people will be at liberty; for a free press is one that is true, and that press which is not, is beholden to something other than truth.

America will NOT have the last laugh

America's Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.  Thereupon the course was set for those colonies to unite against their British oppressor, and thereby throw off the chains that oppressed them, of which they were successful in this pursuit through their extraordinary courageous efforts. The corresponding result became the republic thereupon so created, including the ratification of the Constitution, thereof, that is and remains the highest law of this land.

While the principles as written for America are really second-to-none, a given country is only as good as its actions so taken domestically as well as internationally, of which, quite frankly and to the disgrace of all those that love freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; America has not lived up to its noble expectations, but has fallen far short for what it was meant to stand for, again and again.  While much credit must be given to all those great citizens and American institutions that have done so much and sacrificed unselfishly on behalf of their fellow denizens and for the world at large; that unfortunately, is the exception and certainly not the rule in America, for the governing instruments of this nation, who are the collectively the captain of this ship, have insisted upon becoming an oppressive imperial power that continues to erode the good will so created by those that have been true to that republican course of our founding.

Despite all the endless propaganda, insisting that there are all sorts of countries, agencies, peoples, and individuals that have it in for America, the fact of the matter is, that America is the sole superpower in the world, and any enmity so created against America, primarily comes forth by the very actions that America insists it must take so as to "bully" and to control the world for its own greedy benefit.  For instance, America believes it has the right to attack any sovereign nation that it so desires to attack, under the most dubious of circumstances, and thereupon proceeds to kill as many non-combatants and combatants as it so desires, and to destroy as much infrastructure as it so wants, while suffering little or no retribution in kind, because those that it attacks, have not the power or means to respond to such in any sort of comprehensive way.  Further, America believes that foreign markets are theirs to control, and that valuable commodities such as oil, are only allowed to be sold and marketed per the conditions set forth by the United States, or else these will simply be confiscated and appropriated by America for its use.  Additionally, America does not recognize the sovereignty of any nation, but believes it has the national right to interfere in the domestic affairs of any country, at any time, and can take whatever action, that it so desires to take against those countries that will not bend to America's will.

Quite clearly, as it stands, the world is America's oyster.  However, America's bad actions have created a great deal of resentment, even from those that are allied with America; as well as creating a consortium of foreign and even domestic enemies , of which all of these entities are simply biding their time, in the knowing recognition that a house divided against itself, will not stand the test of time.  America is at that crossroads as to whether it will continue its godless behavior or whether it will nobly take up its proper mantle, of being that last best hope of mankind.  Presently, America's course is set, and that course of hubris, will end in utter disaster and thereby the destruction of that which failed to live up to its sacred and honorable purpose of its heretofore promising founding.

Crime, police, and their response thereof

One might rationally think that whenever a police officer is reasonably aware of a criminal activity occurring, that they have a Constitutional responsibility to arrest the perpetrator, or at a minimum to make contact with the alleged perpetrator, for the safety of that community, and in good prudence of performing their policing duties.  After all, the police are specifically engaged by the public purse to perform their duties on behalf of that society, of which their constituents are the public, at large; in which the very purpose of having a police force within communities in the first place, is so that they effectively thereby replace all previous forms of policing type organizations, such as vigilantes, militias, individuals, or privately financed security, so as to maintain law and order within a given community.

In other words, the people that make up communities are instructed to not take the "law" into their own hands, but to contact the police for the enforcement of those laws, of which, the structure of the deal for the people is that they have essentially contracted with those police officers through the auspices of the governance of that community, to effectively police their community.  Therefore, to the degree that police officers perform their duties, in an evenhanded manner and of being no respecter of persons, is to the degree that such policing is fair and equal. 

However, when police officers, for whatever reason, are in essence, co-opted by some important members of that society, or by the prosecuting arm of the state, or through the authoritarian structure of the police organization, itself; or through any other means in which those police officers are now performing their duties in a manner in which some are served, whereas, most are not, signifies a breach of duty to the people, and clearly becomes a situation in which rather than the police being utilized in a manner to uphold the law for all, they are, rather, being selective in the enforcement of that law, so as to be, in essence, of benefit to some, and of possible detriment to many.

Thereupon this creates the rather dubious problem that infects so many of our communities, in which, the law as exercised by the policing arm of the state, is unevenly applied, so that some are persecuted to the ends of the earth, whereas others that are also committing criminal acts are simply left alone.  One might reasonably think therefore that any time that a police officer arrests one person, but thereupon allows another person under somewhat similar circumstances, to remain free, that such must be a Constitutional violation, as clearly justice is not being equally applied.  Unfortunately, though, despite what many people believe, the fact of the matter is, in absence of a specific arrest warrant, the police are under no obligation to arrest anyone, but are permitted, in effect, to arrest whoever they so arrest, per their discretion.

So then, in a land in which the laws of that state, are effectively unevenly and arbitrarily applied, one can expect the sort of thing that we see all of the time in America, of which, some specific citizens suffer the enduring indignity of arrest, seizure and incarceration; whereas many others who are engaged in their own criminal activity, but are well placed, and well connected, are simply let be.

The unequal United States of America

The very founding principles of this great nation, tell us that each of us is inalienably entitled to "…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."   Yet, this is a nation in which the few are accorded mass amounts of benefits, privileges, and freedom, often unearned or unfairly earned, that so many are either denied or don't have fair access to.  What is so deceptive about America is that as reported by marketwatch.com, as of 2016, "The median net worth of the average U.S. household is $97,300."  Further, census.gov indicates that as of 2018, the median household income in America was $61,937.  Remember, that the median means, that half of those in America will be above that median number, and that the other half will therefore be below; so that if this instead meant that a significant amount of Americans had about $100,000 in net worth, and also about $62,000 in household income per year, than that would seem to be indicative that each household in America would be in a relatively good place.  However, a look around this country indicates that the disparity between those that have and those have not, is an incredibly great divide; of which, some that have, are simply so rich, that is well-nigh incomprehensible to be able to truly envision their immense wealth for the average American; whereas some are so poor, that they literally own nothing, and struggle to get by on a day-to-day basis.

Any country in which the favored few have the lion's share of the wealth, the benefits, and the privileges, and of which, there is a significant underclass that owns little or nothing, is never going to be a country in which there is a healthy civility between the rich and the poor.  In fact, such a country like that, is always going to have a great degree of tension, and in order to serve thereby the interests of those that are the favored few, will necessitate those few co-opting and then their subsequent utilization of the policing arm of the state which will solely answer to them, and thereby the "justice" so being rendered upon those without any power or voice, will be accomplished in a manner in which the underclass is oppressed and put down, by any means, so necessary.

The only possible way to bring some sort of semblance of fairness to this country, without a full-on revolution, is to address the inequality of income and of wealth, by progressively taxing those that have, so as to redistribute some portion of that wealth into the hands of those have not; thereby allowing the disenfranchised an opportunity to receive in return their fair chance, to reside in a stable neighborhood, with a good educational system, and correspondingly a decent chance at opportunity.  This thus signifies that the responsibility of good governance is to help to level the playing field, so that all Americans can enjoy their inalienable chance to make something of their lives, and it is the upmost responsibility of that governance to create and to execute those necessary laws that will accomplish such.

Unfortunately, when the government itself is controlled by the richest and most powerful Americans and institutions, this can only mean that the rich will get richer, the powerful will get even more powerful, and that the poor and disenfranchised will be stepped and stomped upon all the more.  The fundamental problem with America is not that it lacks collective wealth, but rather that it lacks the courage to see that each of its citizens are provided with a fair chance of a good life, freedom, and the opportunity to accomplish something of individual merit.

Excessive bail shall not be required

The 8th Amendment reads in part: "Excessive bail shall not be required…" and this was written well before America became known for incarcerating far more of its own citizens, then any other western nation.  Additionally, such was written well before the logistics of our justice system, became so drawn out in the amount of time for the judicial process to be fully served, that the 6th Amendment which stipulates that the accused "shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial…" has now become routinely violated.

The bail process as typically practiced in American jurisprudence is quite obviously setup in a manner in which those with monetary assets, are segregated and thereby separated from all those that do not have such.  This clearly indicates that the experience of being arrested by a person with money or the access to money is diametrically different from those that are improvident; of which, as reported by cnbc.com, "Some 40% of Americans would struggle to come up with $400 for an unexpected expense."  In an era, in which bail amounts are seldom below $500, this signifies that the accused will have little choice but to attempt to take care of such through the auspices of a given bail bondsmen, of which, the biggest difference for all those that are unable to come up with the full amount of the bail, is that whatever amount is required by that bail bondsmen, is money that will never be returned to the suspect, as it represents the non-refundable fee so paid to obtain that bail.  As for those, that at the end of the day are still unable to post bail so set for the crime that they are accused of, they will be incarcerated, though yet convicted of nothing, pending the typically glacial progress of America's criminal justice system.

The setting of excessive bail is routinely done in America, and is structured in a manner in which the least able amongst us, who are the indigent, the poor, the forsaken, the ill educated, and those suffering from a systemic lack of opportunity, are punished by the taking away of their freedom, which thereby subsequently destroys their credit rating, their employment, their rental history, their non-monetary assets, as well as the little that they do have, so as to be either pressured into a plea bargain, or to suffer to sit inside a jail facility, for an inordinate amount of time, though having not yet been convicted of anything.

It would be one thing if high bail was placed only upon those that are a true menace to society, such as those that are accused of murder, rape, terrorism, and other notorious crimes, but to a very large extent a lot of those suffering from excessive bail aren't in the scheme of things, a clear and present danger to society, at large; of which for all those law and order types, the answer to their concerns about suspects that have been arrested and thereupon let go, on their own recognizance, perhaps to thereupon harm society further, is the recognition that a justice system that truly provides a speedy trial, would address those concerns in a proper way, by getting to the nub of the matter and rendering therefore its justice.

In short, all of this excessive bail that America doles out, has indubitably proven that this does not resolve our crime issues; though it does indeed prove that America's justice system is surely non-egalitarian and structurally meant to punish the poor and the underclass, in a manner in which that justice so being rendered is never blind, but is instead wide-eye focused on keeping the little man in their place.