Felony arrest and mandatory DNA

In this nation, one is presumed innocent, unless found guilty in a court of law. Yet, we do so find, that the policing arm of some individual States, or those people that are under federal custody, have effectively added more tools to their arsenal, which serves to place all people within those States or of federal custody under the strong possibility that a given felony arrest, will subject those so accused to mandatory DNA being extracted from their person. To date, we find that for federal charges, as well as in certain States, court law, has determined that DNA samples from those arrested under a felony charge, is considered to be permissible as part of the standard booking procedure by law enforcement within that State or federal jurisdiction.

Again, it is important to point out, that it is one thing to sample DNA from a given person convicted of a crime, and it is an entirely different thing to sample DNA from someone that has not been yet convicted, may not ever be convicted, and in fact, may have the charges laid against that person, be subject to being amended, reduced, or eliminated at some future stage. In other words, it is never a crime to be arrested; or even to be arrested for a serious crime; for not only are mistakes made in regards to who is or who isn’t arrested, but also circumstances of what has occurred or has not occurred in regards to a given crime can easily change, as more actionable information comes to light, or when such is investigated in more detail. Further to the point, when it comes to probable cause, those that create such probable cause, are quite capable of presenting such cause in a way and manner, in which the background of such a decision is skewed in favor of that probable cause being justified, even when in the light of the day, such probable cause when seen by neutral eyes demonstrates such as being mainly manufactured.

The presumption of innocence, is an important right, contained within American law, and therefore any and everything that takes away from that presumption of innocence, is one step further away from liberty and one step closer to a police state. Again and again, those agencies and institutions that have information and of which, the general public is not privy to that data, or even how that information is subject to being utilized, are at an extreme disadvantage to all those agencies having such data. A given person’s DNA is a form of identity, that is unalienable to them, and therefore should be theirs to decide as to whether or not they so desire to divulge such, to policing agencies, or any other institution, for that matter. So then, to be compelled by State or Federal law, to give up one’s DNA, for a felony arrest, is a very dangerous precedent, that should not be countenanced, under any circumstances.

In short, the more DNA that governmental agencies are allowed to collect from people, no matter what the circumstances are that permits such, the easier that it thereby comes for that government, to thereby decide to collect as much DNA evidence that can be collected at a given crime scene, and then utilize their DNA database to arrest any and everyone that shows up upon that list, of which, each of those people, aren’t really going to be presumed innocent, at all; but, in fact, are by those policing agencies, presumed guilty, with now the burden of proof of them, to explicate why their DNA was there

Governments save corporations but won’t save their own citizens

There are all types of businesses in America, and all types of business conditions to deal with for those businesses; of which, throughout the history of the United States, there have been crises of one type of another, in which some of those corporate institutions are backstopped and thereby saved by that government; whereas, some others are not saved and thereby go bankrupt. The given reason why any banking institution, or auto company, is saved, is said usually to be based upon the stability so needed for the continuance of the country’s economy, and to a lesser extent, to “save” jobs. While indeed it might make sense to save some of these corporate entities, a very strong argument could be made, that corporations that are functionally insolvent, no matter the excuse, should in a capitalistic nation, go bankrupt; with the only real option for governments to avail themselves of, instead, is for those corporations that are deemed to be “too big to fail,” or of national significance, to be nationalized as their just punishment for their failure to maintain prudent business practices so as to remain solvent.

So then, we so find that those well-placed corporations who have undue influence upon important governmental officials, and that are also able to create a narrative that makes sense, have a fairly good chance of being saved by that government, which is obviously very beneficial for those saved corporations, because, unlike a given individual citizen, they are afforded the opportunity to thereby continue as a going concern. When it comes to the common people of America, we do so find, that the people, are virtually never bailed out, ever. Rather, if a given person is suffering credit card debt, which they are unable to timely pay, they then will not only have that credit revoked, but are subsequently subject to being harassed or even sued to collect the funds so owed to that credit banking institution. So too, when a given person is unable to make their car note payment, that vehicle is subject to being taken from that individual’s possession, and then to subsequently recover such a vehicle thereby requires the payment of corresponding repossession fees and other assorted penalties, and if that payment is not forthcoming, the individual has forfeited that vehicle, along with being subject to being harassed or even sued to collect the funds so considered to be owed upon that vehicle. Additionally, should a homeowner fall behind on their mortgage payment, the mortgage lender, has the right to foreclose upon that homeowner, and thereby to evict the homeowner from the home and then to take over possession, of that home. Finally, for those with student loans, that have been unable to make their mandatory student loan payment, and have no forbearance upon such, we do so find, that a lot of those students’ loan monies are subject to being extracted from Federal IRS refunds so being expected for that taxpayer.

In short, many individuals, have debts and obligations, somewhat akin to what businesses have to deal with; with the important exception that some of those businesses have received bailouts of one trillion dollars, or thereabouts; but individuals on the other hand, are left to suffer their own fate, without often any consideration be taken into account of extenuating circumstances, the economy, the wages so being paid, unemployment, their health, or anything else of merit. What we so find, is that when it comes to well-placed mega corporations, they are permitted to make as much profit as they can when times are good, and when they mess up, the government has their back; but when it comes to the common man, the only deal that they seem to get is always the same “raw” one.

Is this really a government of, for, and by the people?

All governments seem to have citizens that complain about this or that; of which, in some of those governments, because they are totalitarian, dictatorships, or similar, such complaints are often done sotto voce; whereas in republics and democracies those so complaining are prone to being rather vociferous and demonstrative in their complaints.  However, it may so be, we do so find that complaining about governmental policies and implementations, is something that seems ever endless, often without any real satisfaction, for any party, as if those that are our elected representatives, aren’t ever listening to those that voted them in.  That is to say, in those governments in which the people have the ballot box, the elections are free and open, and the debates are part of the process, would seem to be, all things considered, the type of construct in which at a minimum, the people of the party so winning, would be satisfied; but such satisfaction when it does so come, typically seems transitory and never secure.  In other words, part of the continuing tension and discord that one sees in a country such as the United States, is the fact that neither of the two major political parties, seems to be in complete lockstep with its adherents, and further to the point, the people of those parties, often feel almost irrelevant to such.

So then, what we so have is a situation, in which, despite the vote, that for all intents and purposes, the government so in charge, isn’t really of the people, by the people, and for the people, at all; but seems to have a mind of its own, instead.  That is also the very reason why all the desired change that people expect and want, year in and year out, never seems to ever occur, because those that believe that they have voted for that change, clearly themselves aren’t personally in charge, nor do we so find that the legislative representatives so meant to represent the people, are actually doing what was so expected of them as their sworn duty, by their constituency, either.  Indeed, then, the reason that there is so much complaining, which never goes away, really comes down to the fact, that the people have been cheated out of their own governance, which is the very first principle of what such governance was appropriately created for in the first place.

In truth, governing isn’t really all that difficult, when such governance takes into full account that its primary purpose is to promote the general welfare of the people.  For if that government was doing that very thing, then the complaining so being done, would be getting ever less in volume, for a satisfied people is the very same people that not only have no compelling reason to complain, but also are the very same ones that will praise the wisdom and fortitude of that good governance.  So then, a nation of complainers, is an unhappy nation; and further to the point, represents a nation, in which the people are not an integral part of such governance, which thereby makes them ever prone, with justification, to complain.

The forgotten Kerner Commission of 1968

In response to the 1967 inner-city riots, President Johnson created the Kerner Commission to ascertain as to what the problems and exacerbations were that served to create the foundation for inner-city violence and their subsequent destructive riots, and thereby what could be successfully done by that government to ameliorate such in the future. The Kerner Commission was the best of commissions in the sense that the government really did want to know what could reasonably be done to help make America a better place for all of its citizens. The Kerner Commission report made it clear that discrimination, segregation, lack of opportunity, ill-education, poor housing as well as inadequate infrastructure, along with a police force that often conducted itself in minority areas as an occupying force were the elements that led to the frustration and thereby the kindling of those riots; of which, we do so find, that over fifty years later, that a lot of the very same problems so identified by that esteemed commission, have not only not been rectified, but are arguably even more entrenched and worse, then they were back then.

It isn’t so much that America hasn’t made any progress in regards to the fair treatment of its minority citizens, of which, there are many areas that can easily be pointed to that are indicative that progress has indeed been made. The problem is that, there are apparently intractable issues in regards to the purposeful segregation of those that are the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens, into enclaves of ghettoized poverty, devoid of hope, devoid of promise, and devoid of opportunity. For these citizens, that are caught in an endless cycle of poverty and dreams denied almost at birth, we find that no good progress has been made, whatsoever.

It is well to remember that this nation is the richest nation that the world has ever known, but to its lasting disgrace and shame, it tries to paint the picture that equality, justice, opportunity, and fairness is really part and parcel of its everyday life, when in virtually any major city within this nation, there is quite obviously a subset of its own citizens, that are treated in a manner in which they are not respected, and these people are absolutely forlorn in every possible definition of that word. These poor discriminated people are the forsaken and the forgotten -- except when it comes to making quota on arrests so done by the policing arm of the state.

A lot of the success or lack of success in America, really comes down to the neighborhood that a given individual grows up in. All children are born with a desire to learn, and to become something of merit in their respective lives, and when that desire is properly nurtured and has the infrastructure that supports such, mostly good things occur. On the other hand, when those dreams are basically snuffed out in the cradle, then what so happens, is a significant portion of those that live within this construct of American democracy, have a promissory note that not only has not been paid in full, but basically have a promissory note that is bogus, fraudulent, and without legal standing, whatsoever.

The unfair dynasty of inherited money

There are no titles of nobility in America, but one wouldn’t necessarily know that, by the fact that more and more of the wealth in America is being concentrated into ever fewer hands, and of which, a substantial portion of that wealth, is thereby subsequently inherited by the progeny of these wealthy families; thereby, signifying that in America, that this isn’t really a land of fairness, equality of opportunity, justice, or anything of that sort; but rather America represents far too often a construct in which the very wealthy are able to pass on quite successfully all the advantages of that wealth to those that have been fortunate enough to be have been born into those families of wealth and status.

We read at inequality.net, that “Wealth managers have pointed to a substantial intergenerational transfer of wealth, recently estimated at $68 trillion, as baby boomers pass on wealth to the next generations.”  No doubt, any good family should have a strong desire to pass on their good name as well as their good ethics, and to the degree that they are so able, to also pass on some portion of their monetary wealth as a means to be of aid and of value to their progeny.  The problem though, is when that wealth is concentrated ever tighter among a separate elite of Americans, then, the very principles of the governance of this nation, are subject to being compromised, if they have not already been compromised, by that extreme concentration of that wealth.  As much as people so desire to believe that the most important issues of the day are voted upon, or legislated upon, in which everything is on the up-and-up and fair, the reality of the situation tells us, that whatever agency has the deepest pockets and the right connections, typically gets their way, instead.

There isn’t any doubt that money and status absolutely matters, and when that money and status is fundamentally held in the hands of privileged people and institutions that are in their way, above the claims of the common people, then we do so find that in America, we don’t have a meaningful democracy at all; but rather we have a nation that is run by a dynasty of those that have power, privilege, and money, which apparently has no end, because these people and those institutions are permitted through their undue influence, to pass on a huge portion of that wealth, position, and implicit power to those that they have earmarked to have those funds.

While it certainly is true, that the government does not deserve all of a given person’s wealth, upon their death, that government certainly deserves a meaningful portion, so of; for while these people were among the living, they were permitted to utilize what was theirs, for whatever purposes and desires that they so wanted.  But one would think, that death, should change something of that construct, and of which, we so know, that the most important inheritance for a given individual, should be the value of what it so means to be a good American, a good citizen, of good wisdom and of good virtue.  On the other hand, when privileged people inherit boatloads of money, but lack wisdom and virtue, then for a certainty, one will see what we so presently see, which is a dynasty that cares only about their own and is motivated to maintain or augment such, by any means necessary.

“Willful disruption of governmental processes”

One of the favorite mottos of the law-and-order type, is to “not do the crime, if unwilling to do the time.”  That type of short and succinct advice, seems sensible on the surface, but in reality, is just a bunch of hooey.  In point of fact, there isn’t any one person, or institution, that can for a certainty, list and thereby cogently describe each and every conceivable crime that there is on the books in the United States, along with knowing the specific punishment of each, and then be able to elucidate in writing the irreproachable claim that none of these so-called “crimes” would in any way, form, or manner, contradict another law, and of which, not a single one of these laws has ever been overturned, modified, or changed, ever and never will be.

One example, of a law, which has been manufactured and basically serves as a catchall for the governmental policing arm to arrest and thereby to remove people that are inconvenient to them, is the crime of “willful disruption of governmental processes,” which basically seems to be a crime that any common citizen of this land could be accused of, when there are out in the public sphere and are protesting something, or recording something, or just plain standing around in a public place in which those governmental authorities do not desire them to be.  In other words, when the government is annoyed by somebody, it has conceived of a way of stopping this annoyance, by concocting a crime charge, that serves to do exactly that.

The point of this type of law, really comes to down to the government exacting upon its citizenry, law-and-order, that reflects only the prevailing view of those that have actuated that government policing authority, against all those that they consider to be a nuisance and thereby an inconvenience to the state.  Of course, governmental authorities, don’t typically like to be bothered by citizens that question them, or are an annoyance, or are an inconvenience, or are basically precluding that government from doing what it so wants to do, because that government often does not seem to desire to answer to those people, as if governmental authorities, themselves, are above the law.

When we logically think about “willful disruption of governmental processes,” and thereby the crime, thereof, the common-sense thought that comes to mind, is whether or not, a given governmental process is, by definition, always legal, on the up-and-up, and right.  That is to say, should the government be permitted to have carte blanche as to what they so deem to be a necessary governmental process in which it is that very same government, that rules upon its own actions?  Rather, doesn’t it make more sense that the general public should be permitted to at a minimum, question that which appears to be a governmental process that does not seem correct without having to suffer the indignity of being silenced, arrested, fined, and convicted, for simply having the courage to make a stand?

America is supposed to represent the land of liberty, but when that government is permitted to exert arbitrary power so it can thereby put its boot upon the prone neck of the common citizen, for those citizens supposed willful disruption, then liberty and the American dream, have been betrayed.

American workers are carrying more and more of the load of Social Security taxation

Social Security taxes are routinely taken out of employee’s paychecks, with the employer also contributing the same share, of which this is applicable upon tens of millions of those workers – because those Social Security payroll taxes are a mandated requirement imposed by Federal law.  Because Social Security taxes have been around since 1937, there is a tendency for a lot of folks to believe that whatever taxation that employees and employers are paying in the present day, must be around what it was back at the inception of such a tax, but this isn’t true at all.

In 1937, Social Security taxes for a given employee was a total of just 1%, and was subject to a maximum income of just $3,000, before that tax was thereby phased out.  Of course, since 1937, we have had an awful lot of inflation, but to blame inflation for the rise in Social Security amounts so being collected, would be disingenuous, for the current amount of income before the Social Security tax is phased out for employees in 2022, is now $147,000; in addition, to the salient fact that today’s employees and employers are responsible for a significantly higher percentage amount so being extracted from each paycheck, to wit, of 6.2% for Social Security, along with 1.45% being so allocated to Medicare.  In other words, the Medicare allocation of these taxes, is at a higher percentage than the original complete Social Security tax was when first enacted.

So too, the amount of money being collected by the Federal government in regards to Social Security taxes so being collected, is as reported by cbpp.org, “35.9 percent of all federal revenues” for 2019; whereas, in 1950 that percentage was a mere 5% of all federal revenues.  This presupposes that fundamentally the Social Security tax has been transformed over the ensuing years; in which, more and more, that Social Security tax represents for each individual their contribution, in essence, to their individual retirement, even though the structure of Social Security stipulates that the funds so being extracted from individuals for Social Security taxes, basically does not ever represent a personal account, but really represents, their portion so being allocated for Social Security reserves, which each individual, thereof, has a future claim upon, subject to their lifetime earnings, disability, and other factors.

One of the most egregious problems with Social Security is that the structure of it, to begin with, made the fatal error, of making each individual, no matter how little that they earned or how much, subject to that taxation, from the very first dollar so earned.  A far better way to have addressed, a program that was earmarked to be of benefit for the elderly and disabled as an economic security safety net, would have been to see that all earnings below a living wage, so indexed to inflation, would not have been subject to that Social Security tax, whatsoever; and only those earnings on a yearly basis above a living wage, would have been subject to such, of which all those earnings above that given threshold, would then thus be subject to no taxable maximum.

The bottom line is this, the people that need Social Security benefits the most, and can afford the least to have their taxable income subject to such, are all those that have struggled to make their mark in this land, and the least that any government of any legitimacy can do for the very people that it is supposed to promote the general welfare of, is to do exactly that.

“He who pleads his cause first seems right; until another comes and questions him”

The above wise proverb comes from Proverbs 18: 17, and is as true now as it was before; and further to the case, it will be true, forever.  We live in a society of which, regrettably, there are plenty of the mindset, that believe that if they can just get their story out first, or their narrative, or their spin, and somehow get a quick judgment from someone in authority upon such, thereby validating their version of the story as the truth, then all will be well for them.  In truth, for those adjudicating such, who are too lazy to investigate, or represent blithe unconcern so that they do not ask needed questions or bother to cross-examine a given story, so as to determine its substance, and further are unwilling to contact and thereby to listen to the other side, then whatever resolution that subsequent so happens, is by definition, unjust.

After all, let’s face it, for many a person, that has done a misdeed and desires to take the easy road of concocting a story that will not make them look too bad, or will, even better, absolve them of any error, and of which, they believe that their story will not be examined, are in the most enviable of positions, for by being first to plead their case, they are thereby enabled to circumvent fair justice, so being applied to them.  Further to the point, the other party which therefore has not been listened to, or arrives at the scene too late to effect any change on a decision already reached, is for a certainty, getting the short end of the stick, which besides being unjust, thus serves to encourages that unfortunate person, to desire to see that in the future that they get some sort of revenge upon the other; for one injustice leads to another, and then to another, ad infinitum.

So too, there is egg on the face, of that personage that renders a poor judgment, for not bothering to allocate the time to have both parties to show up at the same time and venue, so as for each then to have the opportunity to state their case and for that individual that is judging such, to subsequently ask pertinent questions about the event in question; of which, as the wise adage so says, the truth of the event, thereof, typically lies somewhere in the middle. That is to say, that there aren’t really that many times that clearly one person is 100% wrong, and thereby the other person is 100% right, but rather there are often extenuating circumstances, and other issues, that turns what so appears to be a case of black and white, into something more akin to shades of gray, which is why it is a mistake to simply believe the first story so being told, without fairly investigating such.

It is well to remember, that none of us, wants to suffer from a judgment so rendered in which we never were provided with a chance to have our say, or the opportunity to cross-examine the evidence so put against us, or to question that who accused us of this or of that; and further, it also is to be found especially unnerving, when that justice that we so expected to be impartial and fair, hasn’t been that at all, but rather has simply been perfunctory, instead.

Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914

The United States has had over a century of experience in trying to regulate, tax, as well as to control the dispensation and importation of narcotics – so defined in this particular act as being coca-based as well as opium-based drugs; in which, a fair judgment through a century of this type of regulation and subsequent legislation, so enacted, reflects that America has essentially failed in its mission to successfully and constructively deal responsibly with narcotic abuse on behalf of its citizens.  The very purpose of such regulation so passed in 1914, and thereupon subsequently enacted, was for the government to make sure that first of all, the distribution of narcotics was only done through authorized medical authorities, in which, those medical authorities would thereby be compelled to keep accurate records reflecting the distribution of those narcotics so being prescribed to those patients determined to have a need for such, so that those patients, would thereby deal with their pain management in a responsible and medically approved fashion.

So then, it is fair to say, that America has been well aware of the dangerous potential abuse and the thereby the implicit peril of all those medicines and drugs that have been determined to be narcotics in their nature; but somehow, despite this knowledge, has failed to come up with an efficacious plan that first of all deals successfully with the unauthorized distribution and usage of such; in which, further, we so find, that this government has also failed to deal, often enough, with those medical authorities and druggists that clearly have prescribed and distributed far too much of these regulated narcotics, to “patients” that do not have a compelling or legitimate need for this medicine, and then have compounded that error in recent times, by basically treating narcotics as a drug in which the lust for profit by the authorized manufacturers and distributors of such, trumps any sensibility or proper regulation, whatsoever.

The effectiveness of a good law, really comes down to how it is dealt with in the reality of the situation as it so transpires in the real world.  When it comes to the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the precursor to further laws such as the Controlled Substances Act, we do so find, that despite the governmental recognition of not only the dangers of narcotic usage in regards to dependency, as well as the undesirable side effects, so of, from the continual usage of these narcotics, is that this all seems to be ignored, in the belief, that pain relief, above all, should be the guiding light; while also effectively ignoring the fact that many of those that claim that they are in “pain,” are really essentially seeking to procure a prescription to an addictive drug that provides them with a desirable euphoric feeling.

It is befuddling to believe that somehow, this government was hoodwinked by powerful pharmaceutical corporations into believing that somehow, that today’s narcotics, were fundamentally different than yesterday’s narcotics, and thereby the addiction or potential abuse of such substances, would not re-occur; when the proof that these narcotics being subsequently abused, was fairly in evidence,  from the get go, for all those that would care to look, but decided, instead, to hold their tongue, because in this nation, money and profit, is more highly valued, then the good health or protection of its citizens.

Capitalism at its worse: the consistent lack of fair wages

While there are advantages to living in the richest nation that the world has ever known; that doesn’t end up meaning a whole heck of a lot for those that make up the underclass of people that work in jobs in which the wages so being paid to them, the work conditions, so of, and the hours and schedule, therein, are in reality, unfair to them.  The biggest problem with capitalism and a structure in which companies are permitted to offer wages to potential employees that are in harmony with the prevailing minimum wage and no more than that, is that the minimum wage, does not represent a fair or a living wage for all those that make that minimum wage or are marginally above such.

In point of fact, there isn’t any good reason to have a minimum wage if that wage is not representative of a living wage, for a minimum wage that does not represent a living wage, is by definition, not a fair wage.  There are plenty of economists and capitalists that will argue that the wages so being paid to potential employees, are always subject to the conditions of the marketplace as well as the throughput so produced by that employee; this thereby represents to them, at least, the justification of why wages can thereby be below a living wage.  While that is indeed one way to look upon the issue, it isn’t the most appropriate way – because, in fact, any employer that cannot pay a living wage to every potential employee that they so desire to hire, should be precluded from hiring that employee, and thereby then let the chips fall where they will so fall.

In reality, what so occurs in America, is that the employer is almost always in the position of power, and the potential employee, in absence of a strong trade union, or a mandated living wage, or a skillset that just so happens to be in demand, is the vulnerable petitioner for that employment.  Those that do the employing, implicitly know that people need wages in order to procure food, shelter, healthcare, and the like, and therefore those employers are able to exploit that power to their advantage.  After all, for many an employer, there isn’t any compelling reason to pay a fair wage, when the person so applying for work, is in no position to fight back -- but pretty much has been reduced to accepting whatever wage that is put in front of their face, or suffer the ill effects of no wage at all.

Perhaps there was a time when a mandated minimum wage law, was structured fairly and made perfect sense – but that time, if it ever existed, has long passed.  This thus signifies that the minimum wage needs to be fully and completely replaced with a mandated living wage, which would thereby represent a fair wage; subject, just as Social Security benefits are subject to, a yearly inflation adjustment, so that it thereby remains a living wage, year-by-year.  It is vital to remember this well, no modern-day nation, is worth its salt, if it treats its own domestic workforce as a labor body which should be subject to exploitation -- but rather that nation has an obligation, instead, to provide its laboring people with something of substance, and thereby of respect.

Make sure to apologize by corrective action, so taken

All of us, make mistakes when we are so dealing with others, of which, some of these mistakes are of the nature in which quite clearly an apology is warranted, and many of those that so need to apologize to the other person, actually do end up going ahead and doing that.  Yet, not every apology is equal, and those making such apologies, know this for a certainty.  For instance, when we say that we are sorry to someone, but our body language or our voice seems to express something that is the opposite of such sorrow, then that apology rings quite false.  So too, those that qualify their apology, by blaming it mainly on some other agency, such as drinking, or anger, or frustration, aren’t really serving up a true apology, but rather are making more of an excuse for their ill behavior.  Finally, all those that apologize, and somehow are able to believe that their mere apology without any subsequent correction action or even an honest attempt to make good on an action to help right that wrong, have the hollowest of apologies.

Those that are on the receiving end of an apology, while often appreciating that they have been apologized to, will often find that sincere apology or not, that mere words, do not heal well a deep wound.  That shouldn’t be surprising to any of us, for our innate sense of justice, often cries out, that in sympathy to those that have been wronged or hurt, that they need something therefore more fulfilling than mere words to represent well a lasting and soothing balm.  This thus signifies, that the person so providing a sincere apology, must not only freely admit to their wrong, but also must do so without equivocation or excuse, and further to the point, they then must go ahead and couple that apology with the type of action that proves their sincerity and provides therefore the foundation of why that apology represents something of lasting value, by their subsequent good actions, so taken.

Again, to err is human; so too, to correct that mistake is our imperative obligation that we must so attend to, so as to thereby make good for that which was wrong.  Those then that desire to take shortcuts in regards to apologies by taking the easy way out, by thereby mouthing words that sound good or that seem appropriate, but don’t ever take the personal time for self-reflection, or to acknowledge that they have a duty to see that whatever ill that they have perpetuated, needs to be addressed in a forthright manner, haven’t taken the opportunity to learn from their mistake, or to become thereby a better person for having subsequently done the right thing.  In life, there are going to invariably be regretful things that each of us does, that we can’t take back because the action has already occurred; but in which, we can thereby do the next best thing, which is to admit our wrong through our sincere apology, then determine that we will not repeat such, and finally to take positive and correction action to make good, to the degree that we can so do, to ameliorate the harm that we have done.

Batteries store energy, they are not a source of energy

In modern society, we use batteries all of the time, such as for all of our myriad electronic devices, as well as, nowadays, even in our mode of transportation, such as vehicles.  The thing that some people get so wrong about batteries is that batteries are not actually a source of energy, but rather they store energy so as to keep an electronic device functioning, or a vehicle, moving.  This thus signifies, that batteries by their very nature, in the sense that they store energy, need to be carefully dealt with, for energy stored in compact packages, can be susceptible to that very same energy being unexpectedly destructive, as well.

To a very large extent, most of the public, despite whatever warnings that have been applied to devices that utilize batteries, or on the actual package container that consists of the battery or batteries, don’t seem to typically express a lot of concern or worry about those batteries; thereby, leading to those very same people and businesses often being rather cavalier about not only how they interact with those batteries, but also in regards to the disposal of those batteries, as well.  As in many a thing, the government needs to take on more responsibility in doing their good part by informing the general public that the public needs to be more cognizant of the potential dangers of batteries for not only the end user, but also in regards to the proper disposal of; by impressing upon the people, that batteries can be explosive, flammable, subject to being mishandled, and damaged, as well as acknowledging more forthrightly that batteries typically contain chemicals that can be quite dangerous.  Further to the point, through chemical leakage, poor design, cheap materials and the like, batteries can be susceptible to spontaneous bad and tragic events.

Again, batteries are storers of energy, and thereby they must periodically have that energy renewed, typically accomplished through electricity or else the device so using those batteries will soon become inoperable.  This thus signifies that the ease of providing that electrical charge to those batteries has to be universal as well as being readily available, which is typically the case when it comes to batteries in modern, western societies, but isn’t necessarily the case in foreign lands that lack the infrastructure to assure such.  So too, the price of that electricity most definitely is an ongoing cost in regards to batteries, so that, it would behoove governments to provide that electricity as an essential public service that should be responsibly regulated, which we so find is often the case.

Because batteries store energy, but are not themselves a source of energy, it is imperative, that the electricity so needed for those batteries be structured in such a way, that the electricity to these devices be both dependable as well as being robust, for a battery without stored energy, has little practical value.  So too, once a battery becomes unreliable, weakened, or has been completed used up, the discarding of such, should be something that is uniform throughout this nation, as well as being responsibly structured so as to thereby be safe for the environment.

It’s all about me and the alienation, so of

We seem to live in a modern society, in which never have so many felt entitled, privileged, above it all, special, and selfish.  That is to say, there are an awful lot of people, especially those that should know a lot better, in which because of their status in life, or their money, or their willful ignorance, are pretty much all about their own self, and thereby these are the very same people that are thus only interested in their own personal satisfaction, above all else.  In other words, it seems to be, especially for those people, a race to the proverbial bottom, of selfishness, narcissism, self-centeredness, and just about anything that continually validates their own self, without much of a concern or care about anyone or anything else.

Not too surprisingly, when our sole focus is pretty much upon getting ours and our satisfaction, then everything else must thereby take a back seat to our desires, or must be subservient to our desires, or else ends up being used for our desires.  This thus signifies, that those that are especially selfish, have by their actions and by their mindset, pretty much separated themselves from society, to live instead in a world of their own, in which in that world, the only thing that really counts, is them, and nothing else.  So then, at a certain point, those that are solely self-absorbed, whether they consciously recognize this or not, increasingly become more and more alienated from humankind, because they are not part of the social milieu, at all, but rather are part of a team of exactly, one.

Any society in which a significant portion of its membership, involves people that aren’t interested in contributing anything of value or of worth to that society; but rather see that society as nothing much more than as an instrument to exploit, or to take advantage of, or to use for their own purposes, and thereby believe that this is justified, because they have been endowed with free will, have not examined their own life in any meaningful way; for those that are in it only for themselves, must so recognize, that if everyone else was to have that same sort of attitude or mindset, then the inevitable fall of that society would be imminent; for we are, in actuality, social creatures, so created with an implicit understanding that we have a duty and an obligation to do our fair part of helping to make society better as our just obligation to such.

While each of us entitled to follow our own chosen path, those that insist that they wish to concentrate solely upon themselves, and on no other, are invariably going to come to that point, in which those that engage with them, are only those that are either compelled to do so, or those that are in their own way, extracting value from the other.  So then, we find that in a selfish person’s most honest moments, that they must so admit to themselves, that all is vanity; unless they are able to forthrightly find someone or something that is bigger than their own limiting ego.

The banking system should be non-profit

Logic would seem to tell us, that the loaning of money to people and businesses, should be one of those things, in which a small but steady profit should be made, by those banking institutions, and nothing much more.  That is to say, in a truly competitive environment in which banks, credit unions, and the like are truly competing against one another, the access to that money so being loaned would have to be competitive, and thereby the cost to the consumer and businesses to obtain those loans would be reasonable, and hence the cost of that money to those receiving those loans, would be manageable.  That, at least, is the theory, but the reality is completely different.

What we so find is that first and foremost, any business enterprise in which the biggest players within that enterprise are thereby designated by this government as “too big to fail,” are clearly implicitly dangerous in their construct to that nation.  In other words, the current situation in which when times are good, that these mega banks are thereby enabled to make billions upon billions of dollars in profit, through the mere loaning of money, or via leveraged investment schemes – in which, in addition, we find that the biggest and largest of these mega banks, have been effectively backstopped by the federal government, so that when those loans go bad, or those leveraged bets run against these mega banks, that they are thus bailed out by that same government -- effectively makes these mega banks the most desirable of all businesses, because these mega banks can never lose; of which, in essence, the profits so made are functionally privatized, representing thereby a form of monetary extraction from the pockets of one’s own citizens and businesses -- and when these mega banks subsequently suffer massive losses to the extent of insolvency, they are, in essence, made good by those very same citizens as so authorized by that government.

In order for business transactions to seamlessly be accomplished, the coin of the realm, as thereby represented by our currency of dollars that are utilized physically as well as electronically via interactions between businesses and people, so occurs  This thus signifies, that those institutions that control those dollars in the sense of the availability of that money, the cost of that money, such as in interest rates, and the liquidity of that money, have an incredible amount of influence over not only the general economic conditions of that nation, but effectively over the people, themselves – because the people thereby need fair access to such in order to successfully conduct their affairs and take care of their responsibilities.  In other words, banks, have untold power over the people and businesses, in which, for whatever reason, this government, enables those banks to extract profit and thereby to have dominion over the people and those businesses; whereas, sensibility tells us that a far better way for the people and businesses to relate to the coin of the realm, would be for those banking institutions, to be within their structure, non-profit, and thereby never conflicted about what they should or should not do, as opposed to our current corrupt state of affairs, in which the game is permanently fixed in favor of those mega banks for no good reason, whatsoever.

So how do you feel about that?

It’s important to ask ourselves pertinent questions so as to discover what our underlining feelings are in regards to a particular important event or issue; or in absence of our own self-evaluation, then to have a good friend help us to inquire about what is really going on, so as to add their insight or wisdom on behalf of us.  When we are dealing with issues that are having an impact upon us, for either good or for bad, we should want to investigate such, so as to get a good grasp of how we are actually feeling about that event, absence of overwrought emotions blocking us from a fair evaluation, so that we can thereby get the most out of that experience, for our benefit.

All sorts of things transpire in our lives, of which, perhaps a significant portion of such, are fairly routine events or are of things which we are fairly accustomed to; but then, there are also those seminal events that are of real significance to us, and that are the type of things that have a meaningful bearing upon us, as well; so that it would thereby behoove us to desire to know how we should honestly feel about such.  After all, the things that make us feel worse or involve outcomes that are negative, should be the very same things that we should, if it is so possible, want to avoid in the future, or to mitigate or to even overcome if such avoidance is not possible.  So too, those things that make us feel good, and are positive in their impact, are not only things that we should try to luxuriate in, so as to maximize such a feeling, but also should be the very same things, that we should so desire to repeat or even to enhance, if this is within our power.

It is important that we do self-reflect upon those things which carry real meaning for us, of which, further to the point, we should also want to know why we feel that particular way about whatever that it is that has impacted us.  In short, we do need to question why our feelings are a certain way as compared to not being some other way, and thereby to contemplate not only why this is so, but also as to whether such a feeling that we so have is reasonable, all things considered, or whether, perhaps, there are other legitimate feelings that we could have, or ought to have, instead.

Since we are a free will people, it is vital to remember that a lot of the satisfaction or dissatisfaction that we so experience in our respective lives, actually rests not only in our own hands, but also in our mind, and thereby how we react or feel about something is obviously quite meaningful and thereby influences our lives.  How we so feel about something, is indicative of who we are as a people, of which, why we so feel that way, is yet another piece that helps brings us clarity.  So then, it is thereby up to each of us, to examine our feelings, of which, by that examination, we may so find out a lot more of who and what we really are, which is to our lasting benefit.

Power, privilege, and control

There are all sorts of ways to look at nations and societies, of which, one of the more succinct and appropriate ways to understand such is that in many a case, those that have power and privilege, are effectively those that are the overlords of those nations and societies, of which, they often are determined to not only maintain that status, but to enhance such, so done through the control and influence that they thereby wield against all other parties and agencies through the effective use of that power.  That is to say, people and institutions that are in powerful positions, are the very same people and institutions, that most definitely not only look over their shoulder, but they also have a very strong tendency to vacuum up as much actionable information as possible about those that they do business with or upon, so that they can better control and manipulate them for the expressed benefit of the powerful and privileged.

It would be nice, if we so lived in a world and a society in which the mainstream mindset was really one of “all for one, and one for all,” but that alas is a pipedream, and thus this isn’t really the actual way that society and institutions so operate.  So too, it would be desirable, if the construct that we live in and of which each of us is a part of, really did believe in the absolute value and merit of truth, justice, fairness, openness, equality, and team spirit, but though there are many good people and even societies that nobly try to live up to this ideal, what we so find, is in actuality, that those that are the most powerful and privileged amongst us, often don’t have any real trouble in seeing that such worthy attributes as that, end up being of no real import in what thereby subsequently transpires day-by-day.

We live in an age, in which there is an ongoing battle, between those that are the elite, versus all those others, that are not so privileged.   Quite obviously, since the powerful are so few in number, and so obvious as to who and what they are, one might reasonably think, that the sheer numbers of the population in whole, would be able to successfully unseat the powerful; or if not, at least have some semblance of a seat at the table, in which a civil debate and discussion could thereby so ensue – yet, for the most part, this for all practical purposes, doesn’t occur.

The thing about the privileged and the powerful, is that they are never interested in the sharing of power, for they see absolutely no benefit in doing so.  So too, the alternative appeal to the elite’s sense of fair play and justice, will not ever work, because fairness, equality, and transparency are all anathema to them.  This thus signifies that the only thing that will bring about change, and thereby to take down the elite status quo, can only come forth from a well-informed people, that are not distracted by various trivialities and miscellanies, but rather are concentrated and dedicated upon seeing that truth and justice nobly applies itself so as to finally vanquish power and privilege, so accomplished by the unrelenting pursuit of that very aim, until the end of time.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of free will

Each of us is provided with free will, which is an unalienable right, that all are equally entitled to.  This thus signifies that any government, that operates in a manner, in which that free will is unjustly compromised, has done a grand disservice to all those that have thus suffered from that limitation.  We have each been granted and thereby graced by our Creator with our own mind, to thereby take responsibility for better or for worse, for progress or for regression, in the actions and thoughts so initiated by the use of our free will, so of.

The best government is that government, which supports and helps to backstop our unalienable rights, with the expressed understanding, that governments are a necessary creation so done for the benefit of those same people.  Regrettably, no matter how good a constitution is, and of the noble words so written and sung about, a government is only as good as it is in its actual operation; and many a government, best intentioned or not, has a strong tendency to wrongly take from the people those attributes which are part and parcel of free will, and replaced such with obedience and compliance, instead.

The best citizen is never going to be that which unquestionably obeys the preferences and dictates of the state, but rather the best citizen is that which questions, when so appropriate, that governmental authority, and above all, impresses upon its governance, the critical importance and necessity of that government always being transparent, open, just, and fair with the people.  There is an inconvenient truth, which cannot ever be denied, which is that coercion, deception, violence, and intimidation by the government, utilized against one’s own citizens, outside the norms and bounds of the rule of law, cannot ever be justified.  Rather, the government, must always first and foremost, respect that each of its citizens is entitled to think for themselves, so as to in their own right, be their own person; for each person has their own free will, and thereby must ultimately so answer foremost to that which first created them, for their actions.

The main problem with governments today, is not the fact that governing millions upon millions of people is so ungainly, but rather that many a government, has seemingly lost its way, by forgetting, in essence, the very purpose, of its legitimate existence.  Our government is meant to provide a level playing field, in which all are treated the same, and thereby through its delegated powers, to see that interactions between not only its own people, but also the world, at large, are above board, fair, conscionable, and right. So too, for one individual to impose their will upon another, without the consent of that other, is the same wrong, that a government so does, when it imposes its will, without consent, upon its citizenry.  That which governs, must be limited in what it can or cannot be authorized to perform, and any government that takes upon itself that somehow it has the right, to unjustifiably supersede the people’s free will, has clearly gone beyond its permissible bounds.

In a global market there are no safe havens

Centuries of business has told us that trade is the key to economies growing and being therefore of benefit to the people so doing those trades.  That is to say, whether such trade is done intrastate, or interstate, within one country, or globally, the purpose of trade, is for both sides of that trade to benefit; in which, quite frankly certain products, minerals, labor, food stuffs, and the like, are cheaper or more abundant or more efficient in one locale than another—thereby leading to not only a fair trade between those parties, but the very reason why such transactions are so done. 

Before the era of global markets and global trade, what happened within one country or one locale, obviously only affected that one particular place, for better or for worse, and thereby had no influence or affect upon another distant place or locale.  In today’s world, the largest economies in the world, are frequently intimately globally connected, which signifies that because of that interdependency, what happens to one big player within that construct, is going to have ripple effects, for better or for worse, to everyone else.  In other words, in a true global market, when bad storms come, there really isn’t going to be any safe harbors, because of that interconnectedness.  This truly does signify that in today’s global market there aren’t any safe havens for those that invest in equities, businesses, and the like, for global trade, tariffs, wars, and monetary policy are all integral to whether one’s investments continue to do well or whether they do poorly.

Additionally, what so happens in economies has a lot to do with the confidence level as well as sustainability that business as usual, will or will not continue as normal.  Further to the point, nations as well as multinational corporations, have bills and responsibilities that they must so attend to, and when there is a noticeable fear in the air, about this or that, justified or not, each of those parties has a tendency to desire to reduce their personal leverage or exposure to financial markets, or basically any market or vulnerability, that could adversely impact their nation or business, in a substantial way; and when these markets are vulnerable on a global scale, this obviously can easily turn into a situation in which something that is sort of bad, devolves into something that could reduce the edifice that nations and companies depend upon, to ruin.

All of this thus signifies, that highly unexpected and unanticipated changes to business as usual, can easily create a construct in which there is a liquidity squeeze and thereupon a rush to a safe haven; of which, in all likelihood these havens themselves, aren’t even necessarily all that safe or stable.  At this point in history, we are essentially all in this together, and when nations and mega-corporations get nervous, and thereupon find themselves under siege, all sorts of bad things can and do happen; in which, even the most neutral of countries and societies, are themselves subject to being towed under, for when unsuspected chaos so occurs, it can all so suddenly change from civil to uncivil, in a blink of the eye.

Capitalism and the desire for monopoly

Those that love capitalism believe it is the best economic system, ever conceived of.  Yet, even if we were to grant this premise as being true; the fact of the matter is, that capitalism, in order for it to be fair and of good service to society, must have necessary governmental oversight, as well as appropriate rules and regulations, imposed upon it, or else what capitalism could well devolve into, is something that is primarily going to be of immense benefit to the few, and of far less benefit to the many.

The basic fundamental problem with capitalism, is that those that are the biggest proponents of capitalism, in the sense of being industry leaders and influencers of such, are often by their actions so taken and intent upon, contradictory to what capitalism is actually supposed to be about.  In other words, the best of capitalism, is the competition between businesses, that never seems to end, and thereby encourages these competitors to not ever to rest upon their laurels, but rather to constantly improve themselves, in order to remain relevant and competitive, so as to maintain or to improve their position vis-à-vis other competitors, in a battle that is ever ongoing.

That is to say, it is that competition that forces companies to take calculated risks, to continue to innovate, to expend money on R&D, to hire the best and the brightest, and to be responsive to their customer base as well as to market conditions.  All of this, is to the good, but in reality, what we so see, is that many of the biggest and most influential corporations aren’t really interested in competing, day in and day out.  Rather, these mega-corporations are looking to at worse, create a consortium or an oligopoly, and preferably a monopoly, so that the thing that they fear most, which typically is the lost of profit or of the desired gross margin of their products so being sold, are never in play, but are rather, in their corporate control, at all times.

So then, to maintain or to enhance corporate profit, corporations are always looking to purchase other competitors, as well as to buy out innovative companies that have products that will help augment those products so being currently sold, or contemplated upon.  Further, the goal of the exercise, if monopoly power cannot be achieved, is to at a minimum, reduce the amount of competitors to a reasonable number, and thereby to have an implicit understanding between them that the object of the exercise for these supposed competitors, is for each of them, to primarily make a good and sustainable profit, by an understanding so reached with these other corporations that are in the same basic type of business, of the rules and grounds implicitly agreed to.

Finally, mega-corporations know the wisdom of basically co-opting the government in a way and manner, in which governmental contracts so issued to these same corporations are written in a format that clearly favors just one particular vendor, as well as often providing these same corporations with rules and regulations structured in a way that the barrier for entry for any future competitor is prohibitive.  In short, those that sing the praises of capitalism the most, often are the very same entities, that have done their level best to see that they can game the capitalistic system for their expressed benefit.

“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead”

The above quotation comes from Holy Scripture, James 2: 26, and it is vital for each of us to know within our respective hearts, that faith, without corresponding actions that are consistent with that faith, represents no real value, whatsoever.  That is to say, it isn’t good enough to know what is right, if we don’t concentrate upon doing those very things to make sure that we too are doing right.  So too, those that claim that they believe this or that, but have no works to demonstrate that belief, in tribute to such, are essentially living contradictions to that belief, or in reality, unbelievers to that which they profess to believe.

Our most sacred assignment in life, necessitates our intuitive knowledge of what we should be doing --which we thereby accomplish by putting forth the effort to learn what we so need to learn, to experience what we so need to experience, and then to take that effort and experience to utilize such as our basis to realize what we so need to realize, so as to thereby then successfully create good works.  To know what we should do, but to never have the works to demonstrate that we have done so, signifies that we haven’t even reached the halfway point of where we really need and ought to be.  It could be argued, that those that claim that they don’t really have faith or belief, or are somewhat blithely unaware of such, but within their life, have demonstrated time and time again, compassion, justice, generosity, consideration, throughput, and the like – have through their actions, in essence, demonstrated by their works, that they implicitly do have faith, for what they have so accomplished, is consistent with those that have faith.

Those that claim to have faith, but can’t ever seem to wake up to that faith, have failed themselves, and have failed the society that they are a part of.  Each of us, has a duty to do our best, within the skillset that we have been blessed with, and all those then that are content to rest on their laurels, aren’t doing anybody any favors, as well as not accomplishing all that they could and should do.  We are meant to prove our faith, and to validate our belief, by actually getting into the arena of life, in which, we may so be battered about from time-to-time, but that shouldn’t ever stop us or preclude us from doing what we can so do, to help make this a better world for our presence and our works within it.

There are plenty of those, that talk a good game, while also having some very good words of wisdom, but some of these very same people don’t seem to ever desire to get down and to get accomplished their fair part in life; which is especially disappointing, when we take into fair consideration, that they have the talent and the intelligence to actually do so.  All the great accomplishments that we so see and experience around us, have always come forth, from those that put their nose to the grindstone, and thereby by their works, accomplish that which faithfully makes society better.